-Manus Ho Ria Cloma -
September 20, 2015
Our Story
Her Story
When I met Manus, I wasn’t expecting to be in a relationship, but somehow we clicked. I had felt like I could be comfortable with him and talk to him. I didn’t feel like he was a stranger when we met. We met through friends and started to talk on myspace and then exchange numbers. One time I was in Jersey City at a friends house, I got stuck in Jersey City because there was a snow storm. I called and asked him, “Could you take me home?” He actually said yes, but in a few days. We went to his house a few days after that for his family dinner. I didn’t know what to think. It was a bit awkward. At the end of the night, he took me home surprisingly. When he took me home, I kissed him for the first time. He called and asked why did I do that? I said because I wanted too and that I liked him. From that day on, we sort of just became girlfriend and boyfriend. I introduced him to my parents a few months later. My mom sort of accepted him right away and my dad not so much. After Manus came every weekend, help around the house and help out when me and my mom went to the Philippines, my dad let him in. When my dad got sick, that’s when Manus accepted him. My dad then passed away.
Now were still together. The day before my 29th bday I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just expecting to spend the day with the man I love. I didn’t know that he would propose to me. I said yes. He’s not a perfect man, but an imperfect man that completes me. I’m very happy I’m on this journey with him.
I’m very happy God gave me a man who wants to put HIM first in our relationship. Through this journey, we want to grow together in God first.
His Story
Dated back in 2008, I was on my friend’s MySpace and somehow bumped into Ria’s MySpace page. I was reading through her page and found that her profile was interesting. For my curious self, I decided to add her and somehow she accepted my request. That’s exactly how our story begins. We started chatting and I felt like she is really down to earth. As a result, we started to exchange numbers. One winter, she came to Jersey City visiting her friend Chelley for a few weeks. On one Friday night, I decided to ask her out to grab some food in NYC. She didn’t hesitate and said yes. As I remembered, we went to Oh Taisho Yakatori to have some Yakatori. I had a blast hanging out with her and I felt like we had a bond building up. Therefore, I followed up with her and we started dating. We were dating over a year or so before she introduced me her parents. However, Ria warned me about her dad is being strict and we had a long talk before moving forward to “meeting the parent”. She suggested meeting her mom first before her mom. She suggested attending one Sunday church service with her which I did. Afterward, I had a lunch with her mom. I was kind of scare and awkward at the beginning, but it turn out her mom was really friendly. After the lunch, Ria and her mom introduced me back to their home to meet with her dad. I was so scared at that moment, and shaken as unknowing what the outcome could be. Ria’s dad was a really strict man I ever met, he first started with tons of house rules and expectation. I immediately knew that he might be really tough to get along with. Fortunately, I eventually get along with him by learning his tough life in the past and as a result of being extremely protected for his family. To make the story short, before Ria’s dad pass away on December, 2011; he recognized me and welcomed me to his family. I was gladly accepted his acceptance. On July 14 2014, I decided to surprise her on her birthday by asking her to marry to me. And she said yes!