Throwback Thursday: Why DFAT was so Memorable

Back in 2008 the Davao bloggers organized the "Davao Food Appreciation Tour". We were so excited since it was the first of its kind. For a few days we hopped from one resto to another to feature their food in our blogs. It was dizzying since we would cover five to six places a day. The best thing about DFAT though is we gained a lot of new friends.  

DFAT 2008, Marco Polo Hotel

Because we had so much fun during DFAT 1, we signed up for DFAT 2 the next year. The organizers mixed in some activities in the itinerary. One activity they offered was ziplining at Outland Adventure. I immediately signed up for it since I enjoy ziplining. Sweetie wasn't keen, but he went along. What I didn't know was he conspired with our blogger friends to surprise me. 

Headed to Pepper & Peppers after the adventure.

When we arrived at the resort I was told to leave my smart phone in the car. It was for safety they said. I complied without a second thought. Apparently, they didn't want me to have access to the internet in case someone spilled the secret (someone announced the engagement before it happened haha). While waiting for my turn to go on the zipline, I wondered why Sweetie and I were split up. I even wondered more when I was put last on the line. 

The answer was waiting at the other end of the zipline. I was winded when I hit the stopper because my camera hit my chest. Then I saw the huge signage that said, "Sweetie, will you marry me?" Then I was surprised to see Sweetie on the platform with a ring. We shared the beautiful moment with so many of our friends from all over the country. 

DFAT is a happy memory from 2008 and 2009. We got busy with work and life after that and we were not able to join the tour anymore. Many things have happened also since then, but I'm happy I'm still able to keep tabs with what's happening with the friends we gained from that tour. They'll probably laugh at our old photos once they see it again. We were all so balingkinitan back then! Haha. 

Here are my DFAT photos:

2008 DFAT Day 1

2008 DFAT Day 2

2008 DFAT Day 3

2009 DFAT

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Pi Day Engagement

A year ago a big conspiracy happened. For several months I received cryptic clues from Sweetie and it came to  a point I got so annoyed that I just ignored any additional clue he gave me (haha).

So March 14, 2009 came. We were in Davao for the Davao Food Appreciation Tour and I was just expecting to eat lots of yummy food. I lost a lot of weight prior to DFAT because of my allergies and looked forward to gaining some weight in Davao. My other primary concern was not to have an asthma attack, so I wasn't really looking forward to the trek to the zipline. I tried to get out of it the day before, but everytime I brought it up Sweetie got stressed and dizzy. He said that he wanted me to zip down the mountain even if he had to carry me on the trail.

I was cranky half-way to the top since I was wheezing badly. Anyway, you can read my recount I wrote a year ago here and here's the video of the proposal.

The Mid-Air Proposal (via zipline)

March 14, 2009

Sweetie proposed to me while I was mid-air on the zipline today.

I was pretty nervous about today since we were scheduled for a zipline adventure at Xcelerrator here in Davao. I wasn't so gung-ho about it since I was scared that trekking up the mountain might trigger an asthma attack (nginig!). I did not want to disappoint my friends (and myself) so even though I was a bit anxious about the trek I still agreed to do it. Good thing it was a bright and sunny day, unlike yesterday when it rained the whole day. It was not an easy trek and I had to take a lot of breaks with Sweetie. I was last on the list anyway so I wasn't worried about not making it to the platform immediately. 

After a couple of stops Sweetie and I finally managed to get to the platform area and everyone clapped. I then sat down beside Ria and chatted with Jeff, Fritz, Hana, Markku, Chattee, and Brendel. I was a bit sad though that Sweetie was going to go down ahead of me, but I did not want to make a fuss so I just kept quiet about it. 

Marrku and Hana went ahead since they were #20 and #21. Long way to go I thought since my

 priority 

number was 40. We were all surprised though that Sweetie was called after Hana. He held my hands before he went up the ladder to tell me that I was finally going to find out what all the clues were all about (he's been giving clues since November and one every week since Valentine's). What he said did not sink in since: (1) I was nervous for him going on the zipline;

 (2) I had given up deciphering the clues since they were really hard to crack and (3) I was anxious about going on the zipline, so my comperehension was pretty below average.

After Sweetie took the zipline I just continued chatting with my friends. I had nothing to do since I left all my gadgets at the hotel and my phones with Gwing who was at the entrance of the park waiting for us. Little did I know that there was an ongoing Plurk 

riot already because Arpee and Jane announced that we had gotten engaged. Blogie issued an embargo and the plurks were deleted because they were worried that I might've been surfing while waiting for my turn.

I was really surprised when the crew called me. I'm wasn't prepared yet! I wanted to tell the crew that it wasn't my turn yet since about 10 people were supposed to go ahead of me. But they insisted and called me by name. So up I went the platform and waited for my turn. My knees were shaking since I was nervous that I might drop my camera while I was on the zipline since I was going to take a video. I even had to stop the crew before pushing me out because I was really nervous. They just gave me a few seconds before they pushed me out of the ledge.

The zipline was a dizzying, enjoyable experience. I kept whirling around

 and I'm sure the video I took would attest to that. When I got to the end of the line everyone was looking at me as though they were expecting something. I just smiled and waved. I was about to panic already since I could not find Sweetie in the crowd. I was already ready to cry because I could not find him.

Blogie called my attention and I finall

y noticed that he was holding this huge tarpaulin. I immediately noticed that it had “Sweetie,” on it. I had to squint a bit to read what was written below it. It asked, “Will you marry me?” 

I was floored (I was mid-air though LOL). I finally found him after twisting around a bit. He was on the “rolling stairs” holding another tarp explaining all the clues he gave me. And then he said, “Sweetie! Will you marry me?” I was really so surprised and tulala and I remember someone from the audience asking, “So what's the answer?” I then just shouted, “Yes Sweetie I will marry you!”

Then I was reeled in by the crew and Sweetie reached out for me. He then brought out the ring and kneeled down and asked again, “Will you marry me?”

Everything else was a blur and I'm not sure how I managed to go down the steep steel staircase since my legs were wobbly. When we got down we were greeted by our friends and new-found friends and the owner of Xcelerrator also gave his congratulations and gave us two free t-shirts! (Apparently the whole staff knew what was going to happen!). 

I was really, really surprised today since: (1) it never crossed my mind that Sweetie would propose now (2) I knew that Sweetie was planning something and I thought it was a surprise trip, I never thought that he would conspire with Andrew with this grand plan; (3) I always wished for the perfect proposal, but I never really thought about the details and (4) eversince I got asthma my daily concern has been focused on not triggering it (LOL).

Thank you Sweetie for making me the happiest girl in the universe today and for making this a really perfect day. I appreciate all the hard work you put in to make it work. Naisahan mo ako ha!

Thank you also for the co-conspirators:

Honey – for the ring! Aba, nung isang taon niyo pa pala pinagplanuhan ito ha!
Andrew – for all the legwork and tiny details you guys worked out. Uber fail ang rants ko sa iyo about the clues! Arggghhh! Naisahan talaga ako!
Blogie – for proceeding with the zipline today even though you thought of moving it to the 15th. At may heart pa pala sa schedule ng DFAT ha! And for the Plurk embargo! Good thing I did not bring any gadgets when we went up to the platform.
Markku and Hana – for the full photo and video coverage! Wow! Wala ako masabi! Super duper thanks! We will cherish the photos and videos forever.

AJ - for accommodating Sweetie's request to put one of the clues in your blog.
Our blogger friends from Manila, Davao and GenSan, and Plurk friends from all over (sensya na sa riot ha, wala ako kamalay-malay), you guys made it more unexpected because I never thought Sweetie would do a public proposal. Thank you for all the support! (And please do send me a copy of photos/videos you took of the day, pretty please?).

Matt McNeil and his staff at OutlandAdventure.org (Xcelerator) - I should've picked up the excitement of the staff! They seemed all kilig! Thank you! Your camp will forever be in my heart.
And most especially to Papa God – the past 15 years have been pretty rough, but with faith anything is really possible. Thank you for writing my perfect love story.

You may want to visit our new website, www.AileenJay.com for full details on how Sweetie planned this perfect day.

More about the proposal:

Our website where Sweetie recounts how he planned everything

Yogajane's back-end kwento

My Plurk announcement

You can also watch the raw video of the proposat at Markku's Vimeo channel

The raw footage by Markku

Leonard's photos

Janette's post

Jay's Plurk announcement

Rico's post

Pogz' post

Ria's video

Andrew's Zipline of Love and Lols Post