36 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Sherwin

My husband is a very private person. He has uncompromising standards when it comes to the details of his life that he is willing to share. He maintains a VIP security access list for all his stories. Because it is his birthday, I want to make him feel uncomfortable in the same way that surprise birthday cakes and blowing candles in public make both of us squirm in places where the extroverts' sun don't shine. Of course, this is only second to the fact that I think he is the most exquisite human being alive, he should be featured in Reddit's AMA. I sure do hope that Reddit reference prevents him from disowning me tomorrow.

Disclaimers: this is a mix of funny, yucky and cheesy trivia. He may or may not disagree with everything in the list. Also, I have given birth twice (CS Delivery) so where my memory fails me, feel free to register your disdain. Most important of all - if you are also a private person who feels that this is an inappropriate birthday gift, or if you are someone who makes remarks like "cheesy-ness overload" then stop reading and move on with your life.

36 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Sherwin

#01. His grandma named him after the "Boysen" of yesteryears. Yes, my friends. "Sherwin" was a popular brand of paint back then.

#02. He didn't speak "Tagalog" until he was almost four. His parents figured it will be safer for him if he knew how to converse in Filipino after he wandered a little too far away from home and the neighbors had a rough time understanding where he lived and how to bring him back to his house.

#03. Collier's Encyclopedia and American History: favorite books when he was a little boy.

#04. His mom taught him how to play the piano. She told me that he's a gifted kid (he could play by ear) who just lost his interest in the instrument as he got older. Last year, I heard him say he wanted to learn how to play the piano again. I giggle seeing him play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Star" in our kids' toy piano. I may just die of giggling when he starts playing songs for me. His mom will be thrilled. Of him playing the piano again not of me dying from giggling, ok?

#05. He had his first and only brother during his freshman year in high school. He had no playmates until he went to school. Except for that short amount of time when his cousins stayed in their house. He loved his cousins dearly. Their adventures make him LOL to this day (like when they etched their Bioman names in his mom's precious narra dining table).



#06. His story, not mine: he had a crush on me on the first day of high school, 1993. He still remembers what I was wearing that day. My story: I had a crush on him on the first day of high school, 1993. I still remember what I was wearing that day.

#07. In senior high, his classmates named him: Sherman, The Sexiest Man Alive

#08. His high school barkada is called "Fatal Dizazterz." It's a group of lovesick guys with a million young lady-problems in their heartbreak repertoire. I hope I spelled the "band name" right.

#09. Rajesh Koothrappali (Big Bang Theory) is not the first guy who tracked the menstrual cycle of his girl friends. Sherwin accidentally confessed that he was documenting mine long before we kissed for the first time. Pure geekery. I just loved the guy even more after this revelation.

#10. In his first job, hubby and team wrote all the copies and ads for Eastwood City - hotels, condos, restaurants, everything about that developing community back then. They also screened models in bikinis. That part of his job did not amuse me at all.

#11. He really is a man of few words. He was sleeping when I found out that I was pregnant with Potling. I had to wake him up. He said "talaga?" and closed his eyes again. Of course he made it up to me/us the next day.

#12. When it was Sopling's turn to say hello for the first time through a pregnancy test kit, I ran from the bathroom to our bedroom to show him the red lines. He said: hindi nga? Again, a man of few words.

#13. Oh but he talks too much when he's drunk. In one of our first few trips to Puerto Galera, he yelled at noisy Koreans in a karaoke bar near where we were having our quiet drinking session. "Ang iingay niyo magsi-uwi nga kayo sa bansa niyo!"

#14. Also, no matter how drunk he is, he answers my questions. I asked him a question about powerbutt girls in their office. I asked for the name of the girl with the best butt. I got a straightforward answer. Loud and clear. Because he was cooperative, helpless and half awake, this went on and on and on, until I built a complete and comprehensive list of queens for all body parts.

#15. He has an admirable, refined and intelligent taste for music and musicality. He has all the genre and eras covered. In one of our playful battles over the Winamp territory, he asked me to please change my playlist because he's not in the mood for "you and your sad songs." How are The Carpenters sadder than his Bach? :P

To be continued... Do you have a question about Sherwin? Maybe I can include some answers in the next post.