Every time I think of this place, I hear my divine mentor GTD's voice in my head. "Sta. Monica Beach Resort... because at Sta. Monica... at Sta. Monica... come to Sta. Monica Beach Resort, the place to be..." over and over, that lusciously modulated tone of hers, just drilling into your brain refusing to go away. She is the voice of Dumaguete after all; anything she says, we follow. We're programmed to do this. Her voice is inescapable.
Another memory: Illi and I, with his Sony Handycam. Bikini Open, in the late nineties. This girl in a yellow bikini, gyrating in front of his camera for all posterity, and the girl didn't know what a tampon was.
Final memory: my aunt Rowelda had her wedding here. I remember her motif was green.
I never thought it would be here... I can just see Chuck and Illi raising their eyebrows, going "whaaat?!". Between you and me, I think it's just the GTD voice going over and over in our heads. We've fought against the lure for so long, and I'm succumbing. All that aside, it's a very picturesque place.
Party this Saturday!
So now the world knows I'm getting married ("world" being my workplace). I have personally never had so much congratulations in my life, I got congratulated less when I graduated fifth honorable mention. Truth! (yes, elementary allowed me to graduate with the honors they give to students so their parents won't get mad at the establishment... I keed, I keed. It's great, eh? )
Anyway, congratulations. What does it really mean when they congratulate you for getting married? Why are they issuing congratulations? I've been mulling it over, and here are some possible hidden meanings:
1. Congratulations on being brave enough to shackle yourself to one single person for the rest of your life, world without end, ad infinitum.
2. Congratulations! You've officially gone nuts.
3. Congratulations, you've managed to sink your hooks into a human being and actually managed to convince the human being that you're worth staying with forever.
4. Congratulations, this is a feat that no ordinary mortal can achieve.
5. Congratulations, you've avoided old maid status.
6. Congratulations - we never thought it would happen.
7. Congratulations, I never thought you'd do this before I would.
8. Congratulations, you're not going to be lonely!
9. Congratulations, you can now have sexy times without skulking around and denying it!
10. Congratulations, I'm happy for you.
All in all, it's very weird to get congratulated. Is marriage an accomplishment after all? It's just strange. I don't mean to sound like an ungratefully paranoid brat, but seriously - sometimes I just wonder.
I know this comes out next year, but it's pretty compelling. On that note, I now have the Smashing Pumpkins tune on heavy rotation. Brainwashing for the masses.
