Ups and downs galore, but grateful for those that lifted me up.

Things have been pretty crappy since this past weekend. I hate it when you were shown an open window to crawl through, but then after all that hoping, someone slams the window shut right in your face. Ang pinakaayaw ko talaga ay yung pinapaasa ako. I'd prefer it if people would tell me right away, and in person please. Some people always prefer the coward's way out, so that makes them even more of a jerk.

I really needed a good day after all that, so when I got a text from Carms about a wedding prep meeting on Monday (yesterday), I looked forward to that. We were to meet in Greenbelt with the rest of the people involved, and because I rushed to hitch a ride with my aunts and cousin (who were on their way to Mandaluyong), I arrived pretty early in Makati, and eventually forgetting to bring the gift I had for Carms.

I was walking around aimlessly around Greenbelt 3, when I almost immediately ran into Carms and Jay, who were there early as well. Finally got my invitation, plus Jenga, hahaha (super sorry that I forgot yours, Carms!). We ended up going around the mall, window-shopping, until we settled at Figaro for a while. I was still recovering from a cold (which sort of worsened last Sunday because of a damn talk and text episode) and an itchy throat, so I ordered some hot tea with my sandwich (yes, Carms knew I was hungry). That was when I got to see the dummy of this awesome souvenir which will be revealed at the wedding. I was just skimming through the whole thing, but there were too much funny stuff that I couldn't help but to laugh out loud.

Carms and I walked around some more and left Jay sitting at Figaro. Yay, a few minutes of just the two of us. Eventually we had to return to a store for a tie for Jay plus someone else in the entourage, then we walked to Coffee Bean because that's where we had decided the meeting will be.

The meeting with Carms and Jay included Dan and Bodj (who I'll be working with at the reception), plus the 3 hosts--Yas, Ila and the notorious Alex, hahaha. Every time someone arrived, the souvenir was always there. Talked about every point in the technical script, discussed a few minor details, and everything was always punctuated by Alex's crazy quips, so it took us a quite a while to recover from infectious laughter. But at least we were all having fun, and the whole thing really got me even more excited for the wedding. It's less than a week away!

I was so grateful for everyone's company that night, especially Carms and Jay. Friends like these are such blessings. I felt like crap the day before, and I really needed a good laugh. Heck, being with Carms is like stepping into a waterfall on a really hot day, and Jay laughs like there's no tomorrow that you can't help but laugh along with him.

Yep, even though life feels such like an emotional roller coaster, there's always the awesome parts to look forward to.

And if things couldn't get any better, the package that Ate Lizzy sent me arrived this afternoon! I was so surprised to see the box that I stared at it for quite a while before signing for it and finally holding it, hahahaha! Thank you so much, Ate Lizzy and Kuya Serg!

Of course, there's still that downward plunge that you really can't avoid. This evening, while I was watching TV in the guest bedroom, I heard the phone ring. My aunt answered it, and after a while, I heard her running to my parents' room, calling my dad with her voice sounding all funny. Then I heard it more clearly. She was crying. As it turned out, their eldest brother, my Tito Eddie, had passed away this afternoon. Oh my.

Please pray for the soul of Edgardo S. Cadlum, an awesome uncle, brother, father, grandfather, and educator (as he was known as the first principal of De La Salle Zobel). May he rest in peace. We love you, Tito Ed.