26th of September Surprise

19.09.2011 - Sent the following message to a few of my friends:

I told my friend, our fellow Achiever, I'll make him cry (tears of joy) on his birthday (Sept 26) and I need your help. :):)
Guaranteed he's going to appreciate your greetings. Ang theme is, "May your dreams come true." I will send you a copy of the layout once it's done together with the success story. :):)
Please start your greeting with: Dear Robert... Send greeting by replying to this message.
Saka na kayo mang-intriga, tulungan nyo muna ako.
Sobrang ngayon ko lang gagawin to, kaya pagbigyan nyo sana ako. hehe
Thank you! Love you!

27.09.2011 - Sent the following message to the friends who replied. As promised.

Mission: Make Robert Cry (Tears of Joy) on His 26th Birthday
Lead: VernaTeam: Roan, Lowell, Rico, Rachelle, Aienne, Dani, Bonn, Rhauss, Aubrey

25.09.2011, Day Before Birthday:
Went to a Christian Rock Concert. Fun. Learning Experience. Good music. Great God.
Robert mentioned he is going to attend early morning mass at St. Michael Church in Bayani Road, Taguig.

SMS to Roan: Halu marekoy. How do I get to St. Michael church na malapit sa gate nyo? Magsisimba daw si Bitoy, I want to surprise him.

SMS from Roan: Sakay ka jeep sa guadalupe north bound. ang signage ay Gate 3. Pababa ka sa St. Michael (not exact words, nabura ko na kasi. :)

26.09.2011, Robert's Birthday

0000H - Still wide awake. Fussing about the final plans for the mission. See, plans were already done one week ago but I forgot to consider that Robert also has a family who would like to spend time with him on his birthday. So I have to make major changes. Plus, I went home to Cam Sur the other week, so the logistics of the original plan will be hard to work out.

0100H - Still awake. I composed a birthday message for Robert that goes like this: "26 on the 26th, so here are 26 things I like about you". Mahaba yun, so di ko na ilalagay. Plus, Robert has the one and only copy.
0200H - zzz...

0430H - I wake up with the sound of the alarm. It's raining. I was having second thoughts of going to Taguig. But I picture him alone at church on his birthday. And then alone again, going to work on his birthday, and it's raining, when I could have been there. I've been through a lot of alone birthdays and it was no fun. So I get up and get ready to leave.

0500H - Walk to Aurora.0505H - Jeep to Edsa0530H - MRT Cubao and pray that I make it on time. Taguig is still too far away.0545H - Jeep to Bayani Road. I make a quick call to Robert to greet him happy birthday and to make sure he's going to church, hoping he doesn't hear the jeepney's noise.

0610H - at St. Michael Church. He's not yet there. I call him again, greet him happy birthday and nonchalantly ask if he is on his way to chuch. I go inside the Church, it was cool, well-lighted, and smelled of roses. Nice. Still raining. I wait.
0615H - No sign of Robert. 

SMS to Roan: Gandang umaga! I'm at church. Wala pa si Bitoy. Di pa din nya alam. SMS from Roan: Aww... Good morning!

0625H - Like a naughty child waiting for her victim. I reminisce of the time I happened to be walking in Ayala minutes before 5pm and I knew he was going out of the office by 5. Imagine his surprise when he found me walking alongside him. Haha. He was so surprised, he was speechless for a couple of minutes. I got a lot of laughs. Hahahaha. Priceless...

0630H - Patience is a virtue. Mass starts. Am about to text him when he appears at the door. He finds a seat. I am 5 rows behind him. He does not see me. Quietly, I walk toward him and stand beside him. He looks to his side to see who stands so close to him when there are about more than 100 other empty seats. Then he sees me. 
Definitely surprised, speechless, and happy.
Five minutes into the mass, I can still see him staring at the altar, shaking his head in disbelief, and preventing himself from smiling. I am smiling too... Priceless...
Surprise #1. Done! 

0950H - Surprise #2. A small gift in a small box, with a small note. Given after breakfast at Jobee, and Robert thought surprising him at church was already enough as a gift. The gift, a die-cast mini, mini cooper (the car that he wants to buy).

Surprise #3 Photo-Op. For more than a month already, Robert's been trying to steal photos. He even requested me through text one day. So, I made one his wishes come true-- have a picture taken with me. Hahaha. 

1311H SMS from one of you. I get the message to complete surprise #5.
1315H Lunch at Chowking Insular.
1415H At Medical City. Nobody's going for a check up, don't worry. I just accompanied him on an office errand.
1500H Robert tells me to go home to rest already. So I did. He thinks that it's the last he will see me today.

**Surprise #4 was supposed to be a cake to be delivered to his office because he was throwing a small office party, but the circumstances did not allow it because I had to finish Surprise #5.

1600H Home. Had to finish my last surprise. I type each of your warm and touching messages. Print. Cut. Paste on colored paper. Cut. Fold. Tape your picture outside of each to serve as a marker.
Then, I have this Siberian Huskey (his favorite dog) stuffed toy I bought 2 weeks ago, for which I make a cylindical container from a plastic envelope. Punch holes. Tie to its ribbon. Voila: a messenger dog! 
(I took a picture but bluetooth in my pc is not working, so just ask me for the picture when we meet.)
I re-write the "26 things..." to fit the container and so it goes with the format of your messages.
Dog in the bag. Ready to go.

1745H - Suprise #5 finished. Now, how do I give it to him? By this time, he is on his way home because his family is expecting him. He still had to buy wine and bbq. I can't give it tomorrow because by then, the magic is gone... and he still hasn't cried (tears of joy).
1800H - I change clothes and make my way to Bayani Rd for the 2nd time today.

2000H - 
SMS to Robert: Here lang ako Fabula Pharmacy if na kayo eat. 
I give him the gift with the instruction: open the gift when you are ready to sleep. Don't peek. It should be opened when you're done with everything. Otherwise, you'll lose the moment. He obliged.

2200H Home. Satisfied. But not yet ready to sleep until...

2226H 

SMS from Robert: Oooommmmggggod! You are sooooo sweeeeeet, pnooooo mo ginawa yun B,lalo na ung dedication ng achievers... Naiiyak aq grabe.. 

Mission accomplished! His next SMS again confirms this. 
Thanks you alll!!

Now you must be thinking, why go through all of these? And my answer to that is this:

Robert is special and I wanted him to know that. Making other people happy makes me happy.Life is short, if I have an opportunity to make someone cry tears of joy, I grab it.

And my other lessons are these:

Things don't always go the way I plan, but if my intention is clear and pure, God will make way for it to happen. 
Loving should be effortless but going the extra mile has priceless benefits --- more to the giver than to the receiver.
I will never be able to pull through something like this if I was not in Nu Skin. Yes, I could easily file a leave of absence, but I wouldn't get the same awesome messages you gave for Robert. 

Thank you everybody. Anytime you need my help to surprise someone, just tell me. It will be my pleasure.

This message will self-destruct in 10... 9... 8... Haha. Joke lang. 
But seriously, kayo lang ang nakakaalam nito, ha... Unless I decide to post it in my blog. 
Love you all! 

28.09.2011 - As the last of the 26th of September Surprises, I decided to post the message in my blog.