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MANILA | 8 MAY 2025
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It all started one afternoon. My bestfriend Lloyd (fingolfin in iSTORYA), who is an active moderator of the site, was browsing through some photos taken during iSTORYA’s outreach program with the babies at DSWD. I was looking at the photos with him and there was this one girl who caught my attention. I immediately asked my best friend who she is and he told me her iSTORYAn nick – cottoncandy. Her nick is as sweet as her face and her smile. I had no idea then that she is one of the site’s moderators until Lloyd told me a few things about her. I got so interested with her so I asked Lloyd to introduce me to her someday.
I tried my luck when iSTORYA held its Christmas party at Mt. View, December of 2005. It was a first for me as I rarely participate in such activities. Like a percentage of most forumers, I was a lurker back then in the forums. Lloyd introduced me to the site but I wasn’t that active until, well, until I saw her picture.
Looking back, our first meeting didn’t actually indicate how the rest of our lives would turn out. I can’t remember if I was feeling optimistic to finally see her or really desperate to meet her in person. The point is, I wanted to meet her. To my dismay, I never had the chance to talk to her because she was busy with other things that night, being the way she is, attending to almost everything. She also seemed like she was with someone else, so I just kept my distance and filled my heart with just looking at her.
A few months after while at work, I think that was the 1st week of May 2006, I got a call from Lloyd. That call changed my life. I was just doing some random work stuff when he called and told me he was with other iSTORYAns. They were busy organizing a Home for the Aged outreach at Gasa sa Gugma. He was updating me with what’s going on, something we used to do since we were like Grade 3 and to my surprise, someone just grabbed the phone from him. And I heard the sweetest voice with a straightforward and without hesitation kind of request:
“Hello, pwede ka mo donate ug manok or anything para sa among outreach activity? Puhleaseeee
” My heart was beating fast when I realized it was her voice—cottoncandy’s.
And I thought, “Biliba pud nako aning bayhana dah! Diretso man pangayo maski wala pa mi nagkaila.. Di man maulaw!” haha. Kidding!
But then, of course, I immediately said, “Yes”. And behind that yes, YES! This is the chance that I’ve been waiting for! How can I say NO? I’ll bring her that manok and some eggs, pork, the whole farm, if I have to! Haahahaha
During the outreach activity, which I definitely attended, I never really had the chance again to chitchat with her because everyone was busy and that wasn’t meant to be a dating activity anyway. I just started to observe and admire her and the iSTORYA.NET’s dedication for this beautiful cause. It also meant the start of a new friendship with her and other iSTORYAns. We ate with the group after and this was followed with a couple of group activities and group dates. We exchanged numbers and we started texting each other. I never got to be close to her as she was always with her tropa who seemed to be very busy with a lot of other things.
But fate has a way with these things you know.
I got invited as the best man to my friend’s wedding in Maasin, Leyte. We were texting each other while I was onboard the ship and told her where I was headed. She then replied that she was traveling to Surigao also, to visit her family. After a few texts and much to our surprise, we learned that we were on the same ship. I didn’t realize the ship I took was bound for Surigao via Maasin. So, I took this opportunity to talk to her and asked her if could meet with her and have a quick chat. She was happy to say yes and said she needed toothpaste, anyway. She stayed on my deck after she got the toothpaste and we just talked and talked and talked. I got to know her better. It was short for some but it was meaningful for us. I got to spend time with her alone—just me and her on that ship and that silly old toothpaste.
After that, things leaped to a more serious note and our relationship developed for the better. I knew and I was sure that I was in love. We really hit it off just like that—from going out with groups to constant textmates and getting myself involved with iSTORYA’s activities (because I know she is really passionate on these things). We started dating then—just me and her. It took some time for me to get her precious “yes”. It was a wait, but so worth it. The rest was a happy and challenging history.
during our wedding with fellow iSTORYAns
Three years later, we got engaged and we migrated to Australia to start building our future together. We got married 8 months after in a very simple wedding ceremony here in Sydney. Then, last year, we went home to have our church wedding with family and close friends. Now, I am proud to say that we are expecting our first baby who will be here sometime July. We will be proud parents.
As I’m writing this, I looked at my life in retrospect and wondered how I got so blessed with finding my true love. I searched hard for her all my life and I never thought I’d find her here in iSTORYA.NET. I finally found someone I’d share a happily ever after with.
iSTORYA.NET + RusTeD+ cottoncandy+ Manok + toothpaste.
Just meant to be.
By:
Serge Bacalso aka RuSteD
for
wifey Janice Bacalso aka cottoncandy
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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