I met him on my first day of work. Literally! =) But no sparks then. We were in our own relationships at that time, so... it was just that.

We started as officemates, then became friends... And when problems started coming into our respective lives, it was when we got to see what we were made of. The values and principles we had were the same... We clicked, and people around us even started to tease, much to our amusement.

After some time, we started to notice a certain level of respect and care between us. The good thing about us is that we could talk about absolutely anything, and we made it clear to each other that we had to first and foremost make everything right. We were both no longer happy with our respective relationships -- I was particularly in a bad shape due to the stress that my then-relationship was giving me. I was even rushed to the E.R. for waking up with a serious pain in my chest i could hardly breathe.

The decision was clear for me, even before Jon & I became close, that I would have to move on from that problematic relationship, and so I did. And in his own pace, he also decided to start a new life -- with me by his side.

Fast forward to when we were already free from our respective relationships...

We chose to treat the new year as literally a new life -- another chance to make things right. And so we did.... And everything else just followed...

The ring came at a time I least expected it...

Jon was in Malaysia for an IBM training, and he called up to say he had something for me that I'd really like. I was really thinking more along the lines of a flashy purple bag or wallet which would really make me uber-happy already.

So when he finally came back here, we were in his car, and he told me to look at his hand-carried pouch for his gift for me. I was thinking," Shet, so hindi pla un wallet or bag kasi hindi magkkasya sa pouch un. Ano kya un?" So I went ahead and opened it, and found the box... a small, square gold box with a tiny ribbon. Unassuming as I was, I again thought it was something purple. Ang kulit ko noh?! I thought, maybe a purple necklace, or earrings, or ring.... RING.... then a flashbulb lit up in my head (finally). I opened the box and then I understood, and he was smiling (with matching taas-taas ng eyebrows!) and again I understood... eto na yun... todo na 'to...but since we were in a moving car, the hilarious non-verbal proposal came later... =)

Sporting a new ring and a warm glow in my face, we headed to Duty Free with his family... where I was barely able to shop (sayang nga eh hehe!). My mind was on the shiny simple bling (no stones, just a white gold band wrapped with lots of love) that was on my ring finger.

He later admitted that when he talked to my Tita who is based in Malaysia, they were conniving on where to buy the ring. HMPH!!! CONSPIRACY! At sa tita ko pa!! =)

When I had the ring, I felt I had the right to plan for the wedding seriously. So here I am... planning the wedding... seriously. =)