my comic relief

i was born and raised in this country. i spent the first 18 years of my life here and in those 18 years i don't think i ever really felt like i fit in. not easily anyway. i know i know.. i already blogged about this. this one's a slightly different aspect. i'm filipino but i don't look typical and this is the reason i think that my fellow peeps always hold me at arms length when they first meet me. i have to work extra hard to get people to be at ease. i've been told that the initial impression people get (on sight that is, as in before i even open my mouth) is that i'm aloof or snobby. it really surprises me. i'm actually pretty shy around strangers but once i get started you can't shut me up and usually by then people are warmed up to me. it's like i have to work harder than most to get others to be comfortable around me.

curtis, my dear curtis, is the complete opposite. i drop him off for a second and he makes a room full of friends in under a minute. he's got this smile that's disarming and a personality that you just want to be around. i want to say magnetic but that's almost too cheesy. he's just warm and funny. being with him ups my koolness factor by about 20 points. i swear more than half the people we meet are because of him. gravity pulls you know? i'm the serious one and he's my comic relief.

this adventure we're on would never have been the same with anyone else. i can skip happily thru anything out here and feel completely safe and at ease because i'm with him. i just love this guy. i firmly believe that things happen for a reason and i'm glad all the chips fell as they did to bring us together.

well these last 13 days i've been battling the nastiest cough and cold. dear sweet curtis has been so patient with me. he made me salabat (hot ginger tea, the best thing for scratchy throats) whenever my cough was really bothering me and he made sure i was hydrated with warm calamansi juice all day. when i couldn't sleep, he let me lay on his chest even when it was too warm to snuggle coz it soothed me to hear his breathing. and when i really couldn't sleep he didn't mind that i would huddle on the corner of the bed laptop open, brightening the dark room with the eerie light, clicking away into cyberspace.

a couple of days ago i had a stir crazy, cabin fever moment. i just had to walk around and do something. i was getting tired of being sicky. we ended up hanging out in the beach hut after a walk thru the tide pools. it was getting dark and the bare lightbulb gave me a surge of energy and some inspiration. dear patient curtis humored me by playing my favorite game, be michelle's photo subject. we played the 27 faces of curtis. i called out a word or a name and he would give me his best rendition. for bobby and steven and curtis' dad, see if you guys can find the expression that's supposed to be a depiction of you.

i just want to say... thank you, thank you, thank you honey! i love you. i hope i take care of you half as well as you take care of me.