tuffer_10: the love of my life.

Today, I'm going to tell you a story about how I met the love of my life. I've told this story a dozen other times but it's a story I love telling. It's Valentine's day and this is my favorite love story as it is my own.

It was the late 90's... The time of anime afternoons on TV, Nokia 5110, and the internet boom. I was in high school, an awkward wallflower, I read books for kicks and wrote letters to my best friends. While my batchmates discovered love and courtship, I discovered the wonderful world of mIRC and frequented internet cafes, saving my allowance to pay for internet use by the hour.

mIRC was a popular inter-relay chat client back in the day. I used to connect to the UnderNet server and from there, join channels that were of interest to me. One of the channels I joined and operated was #ghostfighter (Yu Yu Hakusho) because I'm such a fan of the anime. I met this guy <tuffer_10> on that channel and I get excited every time I talk to him. Why? Because he uses perfect English in all his messages to me. He always seems well-read and very intellectual. I haven't seen this guy's photo nor do I have any idea how he looks like but I already find him very sexy.

I also added him on the now-defunct Yahoo! Messenger. I was always looking forward to our conversations. I was obviously nursing a crush on this dude and I haven't even met him in person yet. He was in Manila and I was in Cagayan de Oro. We were miles away from each other and we only talked online as we both didn't have cellphones to text each other with. It was always just mIRC and Yahoo! Messenger so you can imagine the effort I make to go online hoping to talk to him. Time passed... I got into college... Life happened and we lost touch.

I haven't really forgotten about him. I've always imagined talking to him again and meeting him in person. I didn't expect it would actually happen one day! Years after our first meeting on the IRC, I found him online on Yahoo! Messenger again. I was working the graveyard shift at this call center in Makati and out of boredom waiting for a call to come in, I just logged into the messenger and his online light was on. "OMG why am I even so nervous?", I thought to myself then I clicked on his name and said "hi". I didn't expect him to reply as it was already past midnight, he probably just left his messenger on or something... But to my surprise, he replied AND HE STILL REMEMBERS ME!!! I was so giddy then, happy to have found him again. We exchanged numbers and promised each other to keep in touch.

Then finally, our meet-cute:

He asked if he could meet me during my break time. I was hesitant at first because I work the graveyard shift and my breaks are usually scheduled after midnight and it's only an hour-long but he didn't care, so I said yes. As soon as I got on break, I waited for him at the 7-Eleven beside our building. His friends dropped him off and were egging him on as he got off the car. I don't remember if we gave each other a hug or if we shook hands when we met, all I can remember was he smelled so gooooooood (and sexy). He told me that his friends were really excited for us to meet, they kinda did him a makeover -- they did his hair, chose his outfit, and glammed him up with all the works! That explains why he came looking so prim and proper, I was so ashamed I looked so haggard in my casual-Fridays getup but he didn't seem to mind. We just went in the 7-Eleven to buy stuffed pandesals and Big Gulps then sat outside, we were both just smiling, it was awkward and cute at the same time 😅. For the most part, we just sat there in comfortable silence, eating our food and just feeling the butterflies in our stomachs. Our meet-cute was perfect, short and sweet.

Here's a photo of us in 2006.

That was basically the evolution of our friendship. From chatmates, we lost touch and found each other again, we became text mates and met for the very first time... and from there, we became phone pals, constantly calling each other. He would call sometimes and play me something on his guitar. I would always swoon when he plays something from Tool or Incubus. We also started going out on dates, mostly checking out new places to eat. It's funny how we like the same things, it was like we were meant for each other 😊

We both were having fun, enjoying each other's company... On the evening of October 22, 2006, he gave me a call. He said he was at the Metrowalk Ortigas for the Oktoberfest, I told him I was looking at the lights from Metrowalk as they were visible from the window of our 25th-floor condo unit... Then through the crowd's noise, he exclaimed "I LOVE YOU!". It was as if the sky lit up with fireworks as I heard him say those words. I whispered "I love you too" but I don't know if he heard it.

That same night, he gave me a call again. He was at a friends house, he just asked me to listen and set the phone down then he and his friends started playing my favorite song "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional. I could tell he was the one playing the guitar and singing. You could just imagine the KILIG I felt just listening to him singing 🥰 I know, it's super cheesy but hey, that's the day we became official. October 22 is our jowaversary and we've been inseparable since that day in 2006 💕.

tuffer_10

His name is Topher. He's my guitar hero and serenades me with sweet lullabies. He is the most patient man in this whole wide universe. He loves me dearly and he's able to bear with my tantrums, mood swings, and nagging. He is the love of my life.

Toph and I had been together now for 5,229 days! We've been through a whole lot through the years but we're still here. Our love is not perfect but it's the kind of love that we both deserve. It is unconditional, it's always there, and it never fails.

I guess one can say we both found our "happily ever after". We both think we must've done something right in this world because we're given the most precious gift ever -- our awesome daughter, H.

Our little family.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! 😘

Thank you for listening to my story. 'Til my next blurt! ❤️