Originally emailed/posted in January 1995:
I've lost some email and snail-mail address, and I'll probably get my
mail spool flooded so here goes:
(Hold nose and diving in!)
As of Nagumpisa noong ika
January 8, 1995 8 ng Enero 1995
We, Kami,
Charrie Balagot Charrie Balagot
and at
John Mascio John Mascio
would like to proclaim gusto naming ipahayag
our Love for each ang aming
other and announce pagmamahalan sa
our Engagement. isa't-isa at ang aming
pag-iisang dibdib.
OK. Now that I've opened the flood gates on my mail spool, here's
more info!
Date: July 29, 1995 (tenative)
Where: Warren, Ohio.
The other language is Tagalog, which is the Filipino language.
So, yes, my wife-to-be is from the Phillipines. And yes, I'm starting to
learn it. Fortuantly, all of her family, including the part still in
the Phillipines, all know english, so I do not need to get an emergency
crash course before the wedding!
OK. Now that I've opened the flood gates on my mail spool, here's more info! Date: July 29, 1995 (tenative) Where: Warren, Ohio. Please send me your addresses/phone numbers. We are going to have small family-and-a-couple-close-friends wedding to keep the costs and insanity down, but we will be having an informal reception back here in Dallas about 2 weeks after the wedding! Please get me your addresses and I'll get out invites when we get it planned! First and foremost: Thanks for all of your well wishes. It means a lot to me and us! Second: The other language is Tagalog, which is the Filipino language. So, yes, my wife-to-be is from the Phillipines. And yes, I'm starting to learn it. Fortuantly, all of her family, including the part still in the Phillipines, all know english, so I do not need to get an emergency crash course before the wedding! Lots of details, skip if not interested: We "met" via a personal ad in the Dallas Observer. I was tired and frustrated with my then current dating situation, and happened to have a DO around. So I said what the heck, can't get worse! Fully expecting it to fail. I called two that looked interesting, and Charrie was the only one to call back. This was about early July. We talked off-and-on for a bit and then dropped out of touch for a bit when I changed jobs. Neither of us expected much, she lived in Tyler, and I in Dallas, about 2 hours apart. Early November, we actually met in person. She is a physical therepist, and was doing contract type work for her company to help nursing homes and such when they were either short handed or over loaded. Well, that put her in Dallas for a while, so she called me, and durng the course of our conversation, I learned she was here, and so we met and went out for dinner, and hit it off! Well, about T-day, we decided to work on a more serious relationship, but both of us were playing it real easy and not pushing for anything in particular. And by New Year's, I almost asked her to marry me, but was not quite ready. So a week later, I asked! (Me in my rocking chair, obviously pensive about something) Charrie: (quietly) What's wrong? Me: mumble, mumble... shrug. Charrie: (quietly) What's wrong, John? Me: (in a quiet voice, stumbling) I...I want you to be my wife. Charrie: (either unsure, or did not catch it) What? Me: (in a stronger voice) I want you to be my wife. Charrie proceedes to run around to get in front of me, plops on her knees to look at me face to face: Charrie: Are you sure? Are you serious? Me: Yes. Charrie: Then you know my answer! And Charrie proceedes to attack me and my lips need a retread! --------------------------------------------------------------- Our plans for the weding is to have a small, mostly family wedding back in the church I grew up in, and the same one my brother was married in. We will have a slightly larger formal reception there, then a big informal reception back here in Dallas for everyone. We are tenitivly going to get married July 29, but we have to see about her parents' and sister's visas to come to the US. Other then that, we are deep in to planning! About mid-June, we will be moving into a house over in the Garland area. It's about 1/2-way between our work places. Later this year she will be looking for a job in Dallas.