The Power of a Kiss!

A life changing series of events.

So here I was, a lucky American, in a position to travel and enjoy the fruits of hard work and good fortune, ready to travel and see the world, a free man in Paris so to speak.  I went to the Philippines without any thought of "relationship."  On the other hand, I did not go to the Philippines to go bar hopping -- I was there to play golf, see the sights, and have some fun.

Almost from the beginning I was drawn toward Maricor.  When I first met my guides in Makati, Maricor was the one who was more fun to be with.  She wasn't texting someone else, she wasn't making comments about my waistline, she was a companion that was fun to be with.

I will admit, I wasn't as forward about my attraction to Maricor as I might otherwise have been for several reasons.  1) Filipino women are interested in marriage, and I was really only there for a vacation, so it seemed to me unfair to importune her; 2) Maricor seemed a little distant (because she was being respectful of her friend Geraldine, who had been my original contact in Manila); and 3) because Maricor and I were never alone together -- we were a touring threesome.

For reasons that were never clear to me, Geraldine became upset with Maricor and I, and left us alone for the last two days of my trip.  On our last day on Palawan Island, I kissed Maricor on the cheek and told her how attracted I was.

But even then, I wasn't sure about what it all meant.  I wanted to know that she felt as I felt, especially after two weeks of leaving clues at my feelings like bread crumbs for her to follow to my heart, I was worried that she was not really interested in me.  You have to remember, I am considerably older than she is.  Why would she be interested in me?  I was really not sure about anything, except that I had been very attracted to her from the beginning.

The main thing that encouraged me were my conversations with Nick and Joyce, who made me realize that marriage with a Filipina was a viable option even for someone like me.  Nick (Australian) and Joyce (Palawanian) had generously given me over an hour of their time at the New Year's party countering virtually every objection I could raise to a Filipina/Californian marriage.  About the age gap, they said "she will have your child to love when you are gone," and "there are benefits for both of you from the relationship."  About the culture gap they said "it is not so big an obstacle -- there will be issues, and there will be communication problems, but you can overcome them."  It opened a door in my thinking.

So on our last day on Palawan, when Geraldine had decided not to talk to either of us, I had the luxury of having Maricor to myself, and just before we flew back to Manila, I kissed her.

Dinner the night before we left Palawan.	The last morning on Palawan she came and sat outside my room and we talked.	We went to lunch at a nice restaurant perched on pilings over the water.	Shot as we walked to the restaurant over the mangrove forest below.
After we ate, we went to the beach. This little kid was all alone in the water having a ball.	Shot either before or after I kissed her.	Later Maricor said that when I kissed her was when she realized that she had feelings for me.	In the airport on the way back to Manila.	Everything was in the air here. Not yet my darling, Maricor is looking at photos in her camera.
Back in Manila, we almost did not reconnect. Maricor eventually convinced me that I wasn't just dreaming, that there was hope for us, so we went on a "date" to the Mall of Asia.	The Mall of Asia (supposedly the largest mall in Asia), has a somewhat exclusive access to the boardwalk at that section of Manila Bay. Quite romantic, eh?	Romantic sunset.	Another romantic shot. (How could she resist, eh?)	My last day in the Philippines. Shot of Maricor in front of a grassy area in a Makati shopping mall.
Our last dinner together, just hours before I left for California.	I shaved because she wanted to see my face. This picture captures us at the beginning of a whole new adventure!

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Last modified: 03/18/09