Posted by marie on Sep 20, '07 12:19 PM for everyone I met Joey by "volunteering".. I was working for "Bank C".
My job as Communications officer was to create and write a monthly in-house magazine for the branches to stay in touch. Remember this was the B.E era (Before Email). Prehistoric.
Fresh out of UP as a Broadcast Communication grad, my first work experience was as a tv announcer in Binondo on a cable tv channel that aired only stocks reports all the time. That was a short-lived stint. My eyes would glaze over as i had absolutely no interest in numbers or what these stocks and share prices meant.
So, not being interested in numbers, I next applied...at a bank. (Such is the logic of the female mind.)
When this dignified, upright, banking institution asked me for proof of any professional written work I had done, I dug out an old notebook...my angsty collection of college poems. My writings depicted ramblings of love, heart ache and crushes with all the emotional maturity of teenage dramas.
That landed me the job! Later on I would see that same notebook passed around as some of the guys would come and ask, " Pakopya naman." They wanted to copy some lines to help them write to girls!
I enjoyed my work and visited different branches to get to know more of their operations and the staff. One branch I was assigned to was the newest one, the Ortigas Branch along Emerald Avenue.
One day, a messenger called Mang Jim, came and said that his boss, who worked a few buildings away, wanted to meet the manager right away.
The Ortigas Branch was barely a month old, working with a skeleton crew and Laarnie, the Manager was super preggy and about to pop. So the task of promoting the bank fell on me ...me with my number-challenged abilities.
I've never been on a clent call before and didn't know what to expect. But I wanted to help so I volunteered and off I went.
As I was walking alone on that breezy afternoon down the street to the Strata 100 building, I had this strong, quiet impression that said "You will never forget this day." Huh? Weird! " I muttered softly and dismissed the thought.
As I went up the elevator , I reached the Red Ryder office. I don't know if they were cutting costs or something but the windows were open on that high floor so the wind was super strong. So i guess I announced my presence with a bang. Tousled hair, slammed door and flying papers!
Well, I finally sat in the cubicle with the VP, who happened to be Joey's brother. I tried to sit as "bankerly" as possible in my professional role and "expertly" spouted off the bank "script" I had hurriedly put together in my mind.
All of a sudden, I see this head pop up above our cubicle door and peep over . Then, it popped up again.
Without even a knock, this denim-clad, thin young scruffy guy with rolled up shirt sleeves just comes in unnannounced, pulls up a chair and joins us.
He doesn't say a word but just sits there, arms crossed, legs relaxed with a little frown on his face.
"The nerve!" I thought, "Hummph, he may be cute, but how kapal! Who in the world is this guy barging in the VP office?" (Joey was then, the young President of that company).
"Oh no..." I thought, " what's he staring at? Maybe he can tell...that I really don't know what I'm talking about! What if he tells me to crunch some complicated numbers??? Yikes, I'm busted!" Ok marie, keep the poise, keep the poise!
After my visit, I walked back, absolutely relieved that that soo strange client call was over . Phew! Someone else was going to follow them up. Great!
But I couldn't shake off the impression "You will never forget this day."
True enough, up to today, I can still see myself walking down Emerald Avenue, the ourtfit I was wearing, the exact shoes I had on, even what Joey wore! But I don't remember his brother's.
What I didn't know until later was this...When I left his office, Joey turned to his brother and said, "That's the girl I'm going to marry."
 | haha -- great story, marie! i think u should ask joey to write about the same day from his perspective...! :) |
 | bitin ako sa love story. tele novela to!!!!! and then....... ???? |
 | great story!
bitin though. haha! :) |
 | oh my gosh! got so kilig reading this! more, more! :D |
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 | galeng--you will never forget this day, and you never did :) |
 | Oh! How sweet! I didn't know that part of your love story, Marie! Napaka-romantic! |
 | kfav wrote on Sep 20, '07 wow... you gotta tell joe,david, and josh that this is "how i met your father". Great story tita, it's something to go as one of the best stories i've read/heard. =) |
 | woah! awesome testimony. more please! :) |
 | hahahahah! love it! can't wait for the next installment...and strata 100? that's where i worked for 5 years! |
 | great post, Ms Marie! you're truly gifted in writing! thanks for the ...hahaha!!!! i had a great time reading your story! |
 | Hahahahahahahaha
This is so cute! Astig!! |
 | grabe !! wow..unforgettable encounter..that changed your life..amazing..thanks for sharing it publicly..keep it coming.. |
 | wow! that's quite a story! |
 | yiheeee!! let's sell the story and make it into a movie! hehe. |
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 | yihee... continue the story!! |
 | wow, what a love story. it's for the books! |
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 | char0403 wrote on Sep 22, '07, edited on Sep 23, '07 is there a part 2 to this? "the 2nd time i saw your face"? |
 | Yes! Abangan ang susunod! There will be a sequel. But since I've been sleeping past 2 am these past nights ,let me sleep first! . ; > Check in on Monday night! |
 | Tita, I love it! hahaha. It's so sweet :-) |
 | abangan ang susunod na kabanata |
 | wow, I only heard about the last line..
may tele-serye na sa multiply ah |
 | We can't wait for the next kabanata!! |
 | destiny it is! very nice. |
 | hahhahhaha! Teleserye in the mind....grabe! Marie!!! Feeling young na ko ulit! hhahhaha! |
 | Great story tita! Can't wait for part two! =) |
 | awww!! nakakakilig! tita marie..your love story is soo cute :) |
 | i finally knew how met past joey! :) |
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i think u should ask joey to write about the same day from his perspective...! :) 
