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“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16.
Easter is not just about bunnies and chocolate eggs. It's far more better than that. It is the oldest and probably, the most important Christian... read more
In the forums, although I love myself getting entangled with debates about politics, I was also a regular of an ‘Ilonggo’ thread. I wanted to learn the dialect because my work that time requires me to travel to the cities of Bacolod and Bago in Negros Occidental. So I am pretty familiar with the people posting in that thread. One day, I noticed a new member with her cute picture as her avatar. She was an Ilongga looking for people familiar with her hometown and anyone who could teach her the Cebuano dialect in iSTORYA.net. I did not present myself but her avatar sure sparked my interest. After all, Ilonggas are known for their “pagka-paraygon”. So, for me, target acquired. Just kidding.
potterboy & mimsnav
Being a true Cebuano gentleman, I thought it would be appropriate for me to show her “around” iSTORYA.NET and maybe, just maybe, teach her our dialect (and get to know her more as well). So I sent her private messages indicating my preparedness and willingness to be her tutor since I know a bit of Ilonggo but I did not get even a single response.
She ignored me and replied only once after three days telling me that she is not interested especially that she can see I was openly flirting with other female members of the forum site, I might not be serious with my offer (That’s her impression although I know deep in my heart that I was just being friendly. Promise.). Say what? But I was consistent (or persistent).
I kept sending her private messages and pushed a common friend in iSTORYA.net who happens to be her co-worker (burby_dull), to get her mobile phone number and Friendster account. She did not reply to any of my text messages though and it took weeks before she finally answered me, thru private messages. The messages were none too interesting. They were just about places in Cebu that her sisters could visit. Everytime I try to open up the topic of meeting up, she was too quick to change it and add another subject.
Then our first meeting.
An iSTORYAn balikbayan (Springfield_XD_40) setup a party in his house to celebrate his return after being away for years working in the USA. He invited me along with other members of the site. There was a catch. He did not tell me that she was also invited to the party.
Everyone was trying to contain their excitement when she arrived. Apparently, everyone was aware that she’s coming except me. We were introduced but I never had the chance to talk to her because she had her sister with her and they didn’t stay long enough for me to be able to muster the strength to do so. But that night defined everything. She was cuter than her pictures. I am in love.
And our first date.
Every single day after that party, I would login to iSTORYA.net sending her private messages and posting sweet nothings. To me, it won’t matter if she replied or not, I just wanted to tell her what I wanted to tell her during the party. iSTORYA.net was my comfort zone and I wanted it to become our venue to know each other better.
It took me a few more days before I was finally able to ask her out (How to ask a woman not your level to a date 101 courtesy of thisbe.ara and giver_bert). She said yes but only on a lunch date. There she was, in her office uniform, so beautiful and didn’t even look like she was old enough to work. I was waiting from a distance, looking straight at her, “Jackpot!” (By the way, just to set things straight, she is 2 years older than me.)
After that lunch date, I worked 24 straight hours, energized.
We dated for 2 more months before we finally became officially together. I can say that it was not an impossible feat, yes, but definitely not a walk in the park. 2 years later, we exchanged wedding vows in Bacolod City, together with our families and close friends from iSTORYA.NET.
I wonder what could have happened if I did not sign-up in iSTORYA.NET?
As an iSTORYAn couple, though we no longer live in Cebu, we are still actively participating in the forums and join its outreach activities whenever we can. It has become part of our lives. Because for us, iSTORYA.NET is not just an online community. It is family.
As for our 4-year old daughter, we will definitely introduce iSTORYA.NET to her when the right time comes (She has a username ready).
By:
Raymund Gestopa aka potterboy
for wifey
Mary Ann Navarro-Gestopa aka mimsnav
Behind the Nick
This article belongs to the Behind the Nick column of iSTORYA.NET.
This column features real-life stories of fellow iSTORYAns. It reveals the offline life of forumers, it unmasks the avatar and lets you get to know our iSTORYAns more.
Related Articles:
You can check out some featured stories of love from our Valentine series (click on featured couples to read more about their stories):
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