Undermined Love!

"When the enemy comes, like a flood..." The truth is that the enemy rarely come in that fashion. Most times, this telenovela enemy creeps in, like a friend! Actress María Rebeca Zepeda alias "Emilia", (the wild girl - photo left), changed gear and pretended to be friendly with Catalina and Sebastian. She went abeging, pleading for forgiveness over her past tantrums, and she was forgiven.

The purpose of Emilia's new tactics is to undermine the pillars of romance and devastate the armory of growing love between Catalina and Sebastine. By maintaining a close rapport with her enemy, Emilia gained and took advantage of the loopholes in the defense bulwark of Catalina's romantic wall.

By being friendly with Sebastine, she made him to lower his guard and thoughtlessly told her about the friends of Catalina- Luis, the gym manager, Eduardo and Alicia. That was enough admission ticket for Emilia to the gym, where she quickly and cunningly became friends with Silvia and Eduardo. From thereon, she also gained vital romantic espionage, that revealed Eduardo as a former boyfriend of Catalina who jilted her for Silvia and whom she still loved dearly.

Armed with this information, she headed for Sebastian's apartment, where she consciously and cunningly threw a casual romantic bomb at both Catalina and Sebastien saying. "I just enroll in the gym where I met Eduardo, your former boyfriend, who is still madly in love with you..." That was what shattered the romantic night for Catalina and Sebastian. He flew into a rage and confronted Catalina, demanding to know if Eduardo was truly her former boyfriend.

Catalina almost wished the ground to open up and hide her from the shame and embarrassment which that unexpected question caused. She stammered and slowly recovered from the shock by apologizing, and explaining that she would have told him but, because it was an old flame, and she has no feelings again for him, that was why she considered it unimportant.

Lupe was able to secure the cooperation of Reverend Father Geronimo to preside over the wedding of Sebastian and Catalina on Friday, a few days time. he communicated the good news to Sebastian and an apprehensive Catalina.

Silvia wanted her pound of flesh, she turned down Gustavo and requested that Catalina must come by herself to pick the 'settlement' cash for abandoning Eduardo for her. The deal flopped but Adela refused to give up, she re-armed and this time went with cunning and fury to convict and subtly threatened Silvia who surrendered a check of fifteen thousand dollars (Mugu money), for Catalina to 'disappear' permanently from Eduardo's life.

Mild and touching drama ensued when Lupe instructed Carmelo to henceforth call him "Papa", at least for the one day trial of Catalina's love for Sebastian. Carmelo, ever hungry for a father that never was, emotionally moved to tears when, for the first time, he called Lupe "Papa" and Martina "sister" ('Trouble dey sleep, Yanga go wake am').

Carmelo ran ecstatically to the Cantina and bought beer for all there, declaring that from now on, Lupe has commanded everybody to call him his son. The next day, he packed out of his hovel into the big mansion in the ranch, as the new and acting 'son' of Lupe.

Test Her Love

Don Guadalupe got himself drunk to stupor because if his sense of being betrayed by his son, Sebastian. At the height of his stupor he almost denounced Sebastian as his son as he unconsciously proclaim Carmelo as his new son before everybody at the beer parlor of Soferino.

This is one innocent and seemingly harmless announcement that he would dearly pay the penalty with his life, later in the telenovela. This proclamation made in the moment of careless stupor only served to fuel the irrepressible ambition of Chameleonic Carmelo.

With that careless utterance in the moment of anger by Lupe, Carmelo took it to heart and took over Lupe's welfare that night, to his humble shanty where Lupe passed the night. By the time Lupe woke up the next morning, another brain wave by saying that Sebastian was his only son and he and he would give Catalina a chance to prove her true love for his son , Sebastine. (Carmelo was crushed with disappointment in this new twist by Lupe).

Lupe summoned Sebastian and told him that he would give Catalina a chance to prove her true love by testing that love. He told Sebastian to pretend to be the foreman of the ranch and watch to see if Catalina would still be ready to go ahead with the religious wedding. He proposed a switch of roles with Carmelo, the real foreman, while Carmelo would be acting heir and only son for one day.

Sebastian was shocked that his father doubted the love of Catalina for him, but reluctantly accepted the Love Litmus Test. He feared that Catalina would never forgive him for doubting her love by the application of this ridiculous test. Lupe assured him that he would personally take responsibility for the test and explain the reason behind it, if Catalina passes the test.

Meanwhile, Luisa could not hold her tongue for long, she revealed the wicked scheme of their parents which trapped her in a marriage to Sebastian. She went 'ga-ga' and openly disgraced Adela, her mom and chief strategist, in the unholy plot. She packed out of the penthouse and went to live with her friend, Alicia. She vowed that she would divorce Sebastian because the innocent young man did not deserve to be tricked by the evil schemes of her parents.

By the time Catalina saw Sebastine and told him that she wanted a divorce, Sebastian pleaded with her and assured her he knew it was because of the tantrums of Emilia, but he assured her that he would not let Emilia come between them, as he would always protect her from the jealous fury of Emilia.

He closed in on her and ... sealed his lips on hers, her breadth gave way in ecstatic passion and she began to wonder if she had the courage to break from Sebastian... she realized that she was getting fond of his kisses and tender person. He made her feel like a real woman, never like the infatuation which she formerly mistook for love which she once had for Eduardo.

Afterwards, she packed her luggage and returned to the penthouse, telling her family that she was ready to go ahead with the marriage plans with Sebastian but for a different and personal reason.

The unbridled jealousy of Sylvia was the mild drama for the rest of this episode as Eduardo, during moments of passionate kissing, began to moan Catalina's name. Silvia was mad and broke off the romance, accusing him of treachery. She later began to plan to go for plastic surgery to remove wrinkles from her face, in order to compete effectively with Catalina for Eduardo's love.

Silvia proceeded to Catalina's house to offer her money so she would desist from following after Eduardo. Catalina lambasted her and told her that she is not for sale. Adela overheard this conversation and ran into the room to device another evil plan with Gustavo, to raise money for the upcoming wedding of Catalina and Sebastine.

They both went to Silvia's house (after having tricked Alicia to collect the address). Gustavo asked Silvia that she should bring the money because his daughter has accepted her offer.

Emilia and Antonieta also furthered their intrigues by dispatching Emilia to Mexico to dig into Catalina's background if they could find some muck that could scatter the wedding plans with Sebastian.

That Dammed Letter!

The secrets of men (and women) are in their stories. Behind the full story of Catalina and Sebastian is a letter written by Matilda, the late wife of Don Guadalupe. In that letter written on her death bed, were poured out the secrets of her reckless and shameful whoredom. This is what dominated this episode 10.

The whole village knew she was a rich slut, as there were few men in town who did not go to bed with her. She was a terrible disgrace to her rich husband who regretted the day he met her. In that letter, she cleared the air about the paternity of her children Martina and Sebastian. The letter was also speculated to contain secrets about the paternity of Carmelo (whom I personally suspected to be the her illegitimate son by another 'customer' from her roaring prostitution).

Palpable fears were also being felt that some secrets of Madame Antonieta (her best friend), may also be contained in that letter. The letter was given by Matilde to the old priest of the village church, who himself is now late. It is popularly suspected that Petra may be in custody of that letter, but she has always denied it.

Meanwhile, after accomplishing the first phase of her scheme, Adela organized her discharge from the hospital, on the pretext that her disease was incurable, so she wanted to go and 'die' at home.

Adela's pretensions were however exposed when Catalina's sister, Luisa, eavesdropped and knew that Adela feigned her illness so at to trap Catalina and Sebastian into wedlock. (I am amused at what force would break this matrimonial padlock contrived by Adela).

Luisa threatened to expose the truth to Catalina but Adela countered her threat by warning her that she (Luisa), had much to lose if Catalina should know the truth, because she would stop going to school as there would be no money coming from Sebastine to pay her school fees.

Emilia refuse to cow and vowed that she would break the marriage of Catalina and Sebastian. She went to propose an irresistible deal to Carmelo, telling him to help her win Sebastian's love, and she would help him find information about his paternity from Antonieta.

Carmelo set to work on Sebastian by telling him that it would be a great loss if he ignores a ravishing Emilia for any city girl.

Antonieta too proposed a deal to Emilia that she would help her to win Sebastian if she gives her the first child from her conjugal union with Sebastian to raise. She wanted to raise the child to hate Lupe. The stage for thriving intrigues is now set.

Carmelo too, eaten up by doubts about his paternity, he went to Petra to ask her why she was alway kind to him. The old woman told him that that she was only the last wish of his mother whom she claimed was her sister, who also worked in the ranch for Lupe before she got pregnant and died some few years after giving birth to Carmelo.

He wondered aloud if his late mother was carrying Lupe's pregnancy. Petra denied that and told him to stop imagining that he was Lupe's son, because it is not true

Matrimonial Bribe

Now the torment of Sebastian has begun, because he did not keep the word of a Mendoza. For failing to heed his father's warning and, by allowing himself to be tricked by Adela Negrette to marry Catalina, without letting his father have a prior notice, as he had promised him.

At about the same time, Eduardo and Silvia were also being joined together at a marriage registry. When they got home, Silvia presented a wedding gift of a brand new sports car to Eduardo. He was ecstatic.

Sebastine went back to the ranch and got himself drunk because he was afraid of telling his father that he had betrayed his trust. Lupe too traveled to the city with Martina with the hope of meeting Catalina for the first time, but unfortunately missed Sebastian. Sebastian fell ill with feverish high temperature because of the torment of confessing his error to Lupe.

When Lupe phoned the ranch, he was told that Sebastian was ill with fever. Emilia was about to throw one of her tantrums when she was told by Carmelo that she has been beaten to the finishing line in the game by Catalina. She rushed to find out from Sebastian who also told her that she should forget about him because he is now tied to Catalina. She was desperate and confused, so she had to travel to the city to confirm from Catalina, what Sebastian meant by saying he was tied to her.

Catalina smiled and told her that she just got married to Sebastian. Emilia was crestfallen and angrily ran to tell Lupe and Martina, but they would not listen to her because they had to rush back to the ranch to look after Sebastian who was ill.

As they got to the ranch, Emilia followed on their heels and opened the can of worms, by exposing to the family that Sebastian had secretly married Catalina in Mexico earlier in the day. Guadalupe Mendoza flew into a rage as Sebastian confirmed his worst fears. He walked out of the mansion and went to the forest to pour out his disappointment.

Happy 5th Birthday- Telenovela-World

The Telenovela World Forum marks her 5th birthday anniversary today, 23rd June 2007. This website, coordinated and edited by Ben who is the webmaster (picture bottom left), has been a major entertainment resource for over 200 telenovelas in the last five years. It has also been a center and platform of romantic web entertainment and social networking amongst telenovela fans world wide.

We at Telenovela Love Garden salute the courage and commend the wisdom and energy of Ben and his team, for giving the world a great resource platform to enjoy the Latin soap operas.

The website on many occasions has been my resource base for many of my telenovela summaries and snippets with the exception of The Gardener's Daughter and Esmeralda. On several occasions many 'die-hard' fans of telenovelas come to that Forum to discuss and also post episodes (sometimes, complete episodes) of many telenovelas, which they have watched from their T.Vs at the forum, for the entertainment of other fans.

We appreciate the loyalty of the fans and the dedication of Ben and his team. It is great to have you as a rescue point for many of us who hungered and thirsted for the popular telenovelas.

I say on behalf of our friends and fans of the Telenovela Love Garden here: "Thank you and, Happy 5th Anniversary" Five Happy Telenovela Cheers to Ben and his dedicated team!!!!!

Hip, Hip, Hip, Hurahhhhh!!!!!

Gaby Espino, Married at Last

Last week Thursday, 30-year old wild telenovela actress, "Princesa Izaguirre", of the 'Rebeca' and 'La Heredera' telenovela fame, Gaby Espino, has finally donned the bridal gown and marched to the altar with her boyfriend of many years, Cristóbal Lander, in the city of Caracas, Venezuela.

The wedding took place under the evening warmth and radiant candlelight at the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church in Caracas. The new groom is the popular modeling star- Cristóbal Lander.

Resplendent in an expensive but beautiful white designer lace gown made by Piera Ferrari, Gaby made family, friends and single ladies envious with desires to 'hook' Messrs Rights, and also settle down. Cristóbal too was Tuxedoed, and necked with a white bow-tie.

Characteristic of the quenched flames of the screen, some writers have already and unjustly started predicting a probable six-month duration for this newly consummated marriage.

Courtesy of the TV Chismes, I bring you photo glimpses of the wedding ceremony from the altar to the reception party. Thanks also to Wikipedia for the 'wild' picture above left.

We, from the Telenovela Love Garden here wish Gaby a blissful matrimony. We fervently wish that your happiness would endure as your marriage. It would not be like your telenovela 'marriage' to Eduardo Montalban.

The reception bash that took place after the church wedding was at the La Quinta La Esmeralda Center in Campo Alegre, Venezuela.

The Marriage Trap

This is episode 8: Emilia has inadvertently fast-forwarded the marriage plans of Sebastine and Catalina, by her jealous interference in that relationship. After her fierce encounter with Catalina, she went to pass the night in Sebastian's apartment, hoping to lure him into his bed. She was disappointed to meet Romero there. Sebastian even made sure she slept on the couch in the living room.

However, in the morning, he and Romero made the mistake of leaving her behind, alone in the apartment because she had not woken up when they left for work. When Catalina showed up at the apartment to discuss wedding preparation with Sebastian, alas! it was a sleepy Emilia who opened the door for her.

Another round of altercations began between them as Emilia lied that Sebastian was her lover, and that Catalina was just wasting her time. She retaliated by banging the door on Catalina's face. Catalina went back home deeply hurt, and demanding that Adela should find her another millionaire husband, because she could not tolerate Sebastian having other lovers.

When news got to Sebastine that Catalina had gone to his apartment, he knew there would be trouble, so he ran to Catalina's house to explain the presence of Emilia in his flat. Adela told him that to proof his genuine commitment to Catalina, he should give her an engagement ring immediately and fix a date for the wedding. He had no option but to agree with her, and he went out shopping for wedding ring with Ricardo.

On his return, he gave Catalina the engagement ring and also gave a huge 'loan' to Gustavo to offset his mountainous debts. While they were all having a sumptuous dinner, Sebastien received a phone call from his father, Lupe asking him to come home for dinner, He had to leave immediately when he sensed disappointment in the voice of Lupe.

When he got home, Lupe conceded to his desire to marry Catalina, but not without his prior notice and that, Sebastian should bring the young girl to introduce to him. He also warned him not to do anything stupid, like getting her pregnant before being sure that she loved him not because of his money. Sebastian agreed to his father's conditions. He returned to the city to break the good news to Catalina.

Eduardo made a last ditch of penitent efforts to reconcile with Catalina. He visited Catalina in the company of Luis and Alicia, but were shocked to meet Sebastian there and also to be informed by Catalina that they were already engaged to be married. Eduardo returned home disappointment and urged Silvia to let them get married the next day at the court registry.

Later when Catalina realizes that the true reason for Eduardo's visit was for reconciliation and marriage proposal, she foolishly rushed to his flat in the hope of restoring her lost fantasy. She got a devastating shock when she opened the door and saw Silvia and Eduardo, who told her tomorrow would be their wedding at the registry too.

When Sebastian arrived, it was obvious that Catalina was not happy and was still reluctant to go ahead with the wedding. Suddenly Adela pretended that she fell to the ground gasping for breadth and holding her heart. Catalina panicked and the woman was rushed to the hospital.

This was part of the grand design by Adela and Gustavo to tricked Sebastian into marrying Catalina with Sebastian. She demanded to see the two and declared with a pretentious weak voice that she had a heart problem and would die soon, but not before they fulfill the last wish of a dying woman. She told them to get a marriage registrar (Judge) so she could witness their 'marriage' before she gave up the ghost.

With eyes streaming with tears Catalina agreed to fulfill her mother's manipulative 'last' wishes.
The judge came and they were pronounced husband and wife, in presence of Adela. sebastian knew he had incurred the wrath of his dad, for not consulting or notifying him of his emergency marriage to Catalina. A marriage contrived from the wicked and horrible heart of Adela.

The Rivals Encounter

Gustavo was the first to break the good news to Sebastian the next day that Catalina had agreed to marry him. He was excited and headed to Catalina's house to confirm the news.

Meanwhile, Silvia's obsession with Eduardo drove her to drag him into humiliation by making him to go with her to Catalina's apartment, to tell Catalina to her face that, they would be going for their marriage at the registry next day and she should henceforth stop hustling after Eduardo.

After they left, Catalina wept sorrowfully for the humiliation. While weeping, Sebastian came in unnoticed and overheard her saying: "... I love him". He misunderstood her to mean that she loved him -Sebastian. She concurred, saying yes I loved you.

When the news got to Emilia that Catalina had accepted to marry Sebastian, she deployed her wiles to obtain Catalina's address in Mexico from the detective. She went to Catalina's apartment, to threaten her that she should not meddle with Sebastian because Sebastian belonged to her.

Cataclysmic Catalina was not to be intimidated by Emilia. She countered by declaring that Emilia was a desperate looser, seeking for ways to trap a man that did not love her. Emilia called her a poor gold-digger who wanted top marry Sebastian for his money. Catalina banged the door on her face.

"I left You for Money"

Alicia was given the unenviable job of delivering Eduardo's treacherous blow to Catalina. When that assignment was completed, Catalina almost ran crazy with unbelief, she practically dragged Alicia to Eduardo's flat to witness the fact that Eduardo still loved her, and that, there must have been a misunderstanding somewhere.

She got the greatest shock of her life when she saw Eduardo kissing and esconded in Silvia's arms. Silvia was furious and called her names, warning her to steer clear of Eduardo because he belonged to her (Silvia). The scale fell off Catalina's romantic eyes, as Eduardo told her off, saying: "... I left you for money", and he could not live on puppy and romantic love alone. She was emotionally crushed, walking dazed like a robot on the streets. She sworn never to let any man hurt her, and never to love any man again.

Silvia too angrily walked out and slapped him for cheating on her with a much younger girl. She walked out on him, leaving Eduardo stranded. He later went to her house with roses to reconcile with her. She promised buying Eduardo a "wedding gift" of a new gymnasium, just to make sure Eduardo never strayed back into Catalina's arms.

Back at the ranch, Sebastian discovered that his father had employed a private detective to investigate Catalina's family. He was furious because he felt it was insulting for his father to think that, he was incapable of determining the true character of Catalina and her family by himself. He broke off relationship with his father saying, Don Lupe should not consider him as his son anymore for violating his privacy with Catalina.

It was time of vengeance and rebellion: Sebastian packed his luggages and departed for the city, while Catalina came home soldering; she ordered her mom to get ready and prepare the most expensive wedding in the city, as she was now ready to marry Sebastian Mendoza! She said the old, stupid and romantically foolish Catalina has died, and a new ambitious and cold-calculating Catalina is born! Adela assured her that Sebastian's money would make her to forget the pain of betrayal by Eduardo.

Gustavo was shocked by this new decision of his daughter. When he queried her if she was sure of her new decision of sacrificing herself for the greed of her family, she assured him that was the best thing now to do in order to save him from jail. He admitted that he was weak but would not like to see her suffer in a loveless marriage.

DECEIVED!

Sebastian, in anger rushed back to the ranch and warned Emilia never to spead lies to Catalina's family that she (Emilia), was his girlfriend. Cunning Emilia denied that accusation and told him that it was bad joke.

A growing secret love has begun to swirl between Martina, Lupe's daughter, and Romero, one of the trusted workers at the ranch. This 'secret' love was an open secret before all the ranchers. Why it has not blossomed was because, Romero was the shy type who was afraid that the rich girl would turn down his proposition. Even Lupe also desired that this cool-headed and responsible worker would be his son-in-law, one day as soon as he dared to break the romantic ice between him and his daughter.

Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. The old maids were gossiping about their fears of Emilia corrupting the innocent 'angel' called Martina. How on earth could an innocent and pure-hearted girl like Martina be the 'best friend' of the crooked and cunning Emilia.

Back at Mexico, Sebastian declared to the family of Catalina that he was not taking advantage of the debt he paid to recover their properties and rent. he told them with passion in his voice that his love for Catalina was unconditional and not to be bought. Catalina was trilled by this noble gesture as it frees he from the manipulation by her family and also gave her free reign to pursue the mirage of romance with Eduardo.

Meanwhile, Eduardo was petrified by the 'stubborn love' of Catalina. He had to specially commission Luis, the gym manager friend of his, to get Alicia to convince Catalina that he was set to marry a rich lady by name Silvia, and should forget about him.

Carmelo (my son called him Chameleon), continued his elusive and ambitious search for his paternity. Petra warned him that he would dig up somethings that would hurt him if he persist in seeking what was not lost because Lupe was not his father.

A Lover's Rescue

Catalina was shattered by the blunt declaration of Eduardo which called it quits with her.

The private detective phoned Lupe to confirm his suspicion that the Gustavo Negrete family are a bunch of desperate gold-diggers who would do anything for money. He however told Lupe that Catalina seems to be the angel in the family who was not involved in the evil plots for money by her parents.

Carmelo held fast unto his dreams that, Lupe would soon recognize him as 'his son', as soon as Sebastian get married, and decide to live in Mexico city with his new 'wife'.

Sebastian bought beautiful roses for Catalina. As he arrived at Catalina's apartment, he saw all the properties of the Negrete family being confiscated and carted out by creditors. Catalina was so ashamed and told him the truth that they were heavily indebted. Sebastian impulsively intervened and stopped the creditors from further action, asking how much was the debt.

He was shocked to learn that it was two hundred thousand Dollars ($200,000)! He however paid it off immediately, and even paid additional one month rent in advance. Catalina was exceedingly grateful to him. She accepted his flowers, and also accepted to be friend only with him.

The adventure of Adela and her greedy son, Ricardo, to the Mendoza ranch in Hacienda, ended up in a puff, as their car caught fire and they had to return back home by taxi cab, only to find their properties already thrown out by creditors, and also witnessed the salvation from shame by Sebastian.

Petra and Rufina, the two poor servants in the Mendoza ranch were discussing about a mystery letter, supposedly written by Matilda, Sebastian's mother, just before she died several years ago. They knew it was a confessional statement and there were fears that the letter would open a can of worms if found. But nobody seemed to know where or who took custody the letter.

Josefa, Antonietta's old maid, Rufina and Panchito also became curious about the lettered and they called it the "DAMNED LETTER". Meanwhile Carmelo began a restless inquisition about his past and origin, he could only remember that he was brought up from the age of 5 years, by Petra who claimed to be his aunt. He was told that his mother died when he was young, and the origin of his father remained a mystery.

Gustavo was shocked to meet Emilia in front of Sebastian's apartment. She lied to him that Sebastian was her lover and fiance. In anger, Gustavo went home and lambasted Sebastian for deceiving his daughter, Catalina, when he was already engaged to another girl. Sebastian denied and told them that Emilia was his childhood friend who lived in a neighboring ranch, and had lusted after him since, but he never loved her.

Carmelo went to the church to meet with the reverend father to ask him if there were any documents in the church to proof his paternity, unfortunately there were none. On coming out, he met Antonietta who despised him and called him a bastard. Carmelo admitted being a bastard but asked her: "... of who?"

Fury of a Jilted Lover

By this episode 3, it was clear that Catalina lived in a romantic dreamland from which she would soon be exiled. She rushed to her boyfriend's apartment to look after his health, only to realize that Eduardo was well, and he abruptly ushered her out of his house unceremoniously, to avoid meeting with Silvia, whom he had hid in the inner room.

Catalina was worried to see that her boyfriend was hale and hearty, she went back to confront the Gym owner (Luis), whom Eduardo works for, she told him that she was suspicious that Eduardo was hiding something. Luis would not disclose the double-dating game of Eduardo to Catalina. She went home disappointed.

Meanwhile, Sylvia had overheard the disturbing romantic concern in Catalina's voice. She vowed that she would not let Eduardo escape from her grip nor lose him to a much younger Catalina. She exemplified the sayings that: 'money answers all things', she vowed that she would buy Eduardo's love with her money, and would not share him with Catalina.

Madam Antonietta was one woman who had sought the hand of Don Lupe in marriage, after the death of his wife, Matilda. Lupe, till date had shunned her because, he regarded her as a 'worthless woman'. Antonietta was the best friend of the late Matilda. Over the years, her rejection by Lupe has nurtured a bitterness that has swelled into unbridled hatred for Lupe. She has vowed to bring Lupe to ruin if he refuse to marry her. She was constantly looking for any loophole of blackmail in the emotional armory of Lupe.

The private detective, Mr. Rosas, hired by Lupe called to tell him that the Gustavo Negrete family are broke and they could do anything to get money. This news made Lupe to conclude that Catalina must be a gold-digger, like mother like daughter. He was more determined to abort the relationship and romance between Sebastian and Catalina.

For Carmelo, who believed that he was the bastard son of Lupe by another woman, ambition and obsession were the principal driving force in his life. Every attempt by Petra to warn him not to stir up inquiry in that direction because he would end up hurt, was thrown overboard. He was even prepared to 'dine with the devil', getting closer to Antonietta, Lupe's enemy, in order to get the truth of his paternity.

Catalina became desperate and began to make elaborate plans to run away with her lover boyfriend Eduardo, so that her parents would not force her to marry Sebastian.

Ricardo, her brother who had followed in the footsteps of Adela, hired some thugs to threaten Eduardo so that he would steer clear of Catalina anytime he sees her.

Emilia too became alarmed and desperate because of the impending romance between Catalina and Sebastian. She slipped unnoticed into his room and stripped naked waiting for his entry into his room.

When Sebastian arrived and saw the naked Emilia on his bed, he angrily threw her out of his room. When she challenged him on what Catalina had that she did not have. He replied that Catalina would not cheaply strip naked before a man in order to woo him. I read somewhere when someone wrote that Diego was an expert at throwing out naked women who cheapen their womanhood before him. Antonia was the reference point in "Cuando Seas Mia" (When You are Mine".

As Catalina made effort to tell her father about her plan to disappear, Gustavo knew what she was about to say, so he schemed her ignorance by thanking her for 'falling in love' with a 'more responsible' Sebastian and he blessed her right 'decision'. She was lost for words...

The next day when she visited Eduardo in the gym, he bluntly told her that there was another woman in his life and he was calling it quit with their relationship. She thought that it was a huge joke and became confused.

History Repeats Itself - (Episode 2)

Adela, the self-centered wife of Gustavo opened a window curtain into the past of this couple, and gave us a view of how they found themselves in the current debts of mess. In their desperate bid to turn-in Catalina, their daughter, as an emotional merchandise to Sebastian, Adela voiced her fears saying: "... I don't want our daughter to make the same mistake that I made".

Gustavo was shocked by this profound statement of his wife, so, he questioned her to know if, her choice of marrying him, over 2 decades ago was a mistake.

The truth however was that Adela had an age-long obsession with riches. When the time came for her to marry, she preferred to marry her heartthrob, Gustavo, than a wealthy rival, hoping that Gustavo too would be very rich in the future.

Gustavo however failed to make her dream of stupendous riches come true, he ended up becoming a middle-class Head of Administration, of a stock-broking firm in the city of Mexico. Adela would not settle for any middle-of-the-way, destination. She took over the steering wheel of family expenditures, and drove the family to live in a penthouse and filling their garage with expensive cars.

Having driven her family into insolvency by her compulsive and ostentatious spending lifestyle, and now finding her family at the precipice of financial bankruptcy, she deeply regretted not having married the wealthy rival of Gustavo, over two decades ago.

This is why she was hell-bent in 'selling-off' Catalina to any wealthy man, regardless of whether her daughter loved the man or not. Unfortunately, hard-working Gustavo was weakened with indecision and therefore, was subject to the emotional blackmails of his wife, surrendering the matrimonial rudder to her in financial and other matters. But destiny seems prepared to dribble her match-making scheme with a surprise package.

Gustavo, propelled by his wife, went ahead with match-making efforts, by making Catalina to escort him to the office. This was a pretext for the destined meeting with Sebastian. When the encounter happened, Sebastian fell in love at first sight with Catalina, without any promptings by Gustavo, who was not even present at the parking lot where it happened. Catalina too secretly acknowledged in her heart that the young man looked handsome.

By the time Gustavo arrived, the 'chanced meeting' between Catalina and Sebastian had been consummated into a destined meeting, as Gustavo confirmed that Sebastian is the man he had brought his daughter to meet. He later advised and encouraged Sebastian not to give up his attraction to his daughter, but should brace all obstacles to win her love.

A dinner date was set and the two went to one of the best restaurant in the city. Catalina enjoyed herself, so was Sebastian. He dropped her off at the gym where her boyfriend, Eduardo worked, but not without a memorable and forced kiss, which made Catalina to lightly slap him on the cheek.

Catalina was told by the gym owner that Eduardo had gone home because he was ill. She was so apprehensive that she decided to check on him at home. The next episode (3), would be a devastating shocker that would shatter her romantic dreams, as she would catch her boyfriend in a romantic compromise with Silvia.

It is quite significant that Kenia Gascon has always played the role of a rich and desperate 'sugar mummy' with hot pants of a sucker for con-boys, much younger than her. In the case of this Catalina y Sebastian telenovela, she was 10 years older than Eduardo, and had to be the first to practically propose marriage to this young lad. That was another repeat of history, in similitude of 'Marissa' falling head-over-heels for the younger 'Luis Alejandro Montero' of the Gardener's daughter telenovela.

Don GuadaLupe Mendoza seemed to have learned the lessons of history, so, he was determined not to repeat it's predictable doom. When his son and heir-apparent, Sebastian, told him that he had fallen in love with a girl called Catalina, in Mexico. He quickly instructed his right-hand man, Carmelo, to hire a private detective to investigate the family background of Catalina. He doesn't want his son to fall prey to gold-diggers, like he did with his late wife, Matilda, who bore him Sebastian.

Sebastian swore saying: "... I would not accept any girl for marriage who is not Catalina". In a similar fashion, Emilia also swore, when she heard that Sebastian has fallen in love with a city girl called Catalina, saying: "... I would not accept any man for marriage who is not Sebastian". She vowed to destroy Catalina.

The Four "Wives" of Destiny

Folashade Adekoya (I call her FSP), is one of our most devoted and active members of this telenovela garden, sent me this mail, and I strongly feel that the moral and other lessons from it would be a good tonic for our souls.

A little research showed that the wise story was written by an unknown author in years past, but the potency of the story still impacts, even today.

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four
wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her
with rich robes and treated her to the finest of
delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always
showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he
feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and
was always kind, considerate and patient with him.
Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in
her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great
contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not
love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice
of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of
his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when
I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with
the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife,
and she walked away without another word.. Her answer cut like a sharp
knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now
that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!", replied
the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His
heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep
me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd
wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her
answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter
where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was
very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly
grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I
had the chance!"

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives:

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in
making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will
all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been
there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power
and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will
follow us wherever we go.

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us
that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout
Eternity.

Thought for the day:

Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect
position to pray.

Thanks again, FSP for this piece, I enjoyed it and I also hope others would too.

Catalina y Sebastian: Millionaire Men Don't Grow on Trees!

Tonite, the first episode of that 8-year old telenovela, "Catalina y Sebastian" began showing on T.V. We saw a much younger (and slimmer) Silvia Navarro "Catalina", dominantly featured as the principal actress.

Like every telenovela at the beginning, there is always a "PAST" shrouded in secrecy, that would always return to threaten and haunt the beautiful future.

Our famous actor (Sergio Klainer), "Lic Ordonez" of The Gardener's daughter fame, played the role the conscientious father of Catalina, called "Gustavo Negrete" and he had an avaricious wife, called "Adela" (Claudia Islas), who lives in a facade of glamorous life that her husband's income could not sustain.

This precarious situation drove that family into a mountain of debts that threatened Gustavo with imprisonment, and his family with eviction and a life of misery. The greed, selfishness and ambition of Adela triggered an intrigue to 'sell-off' Catalina into a dreaded marriage, to one old rich man- "Don GuadaLupe Mendoza" (Fidel Garriga).

But destiny played a fast one on them, as Don Lupe got injured from falling off a horse in his ranch, so it was his son, "Sebastian Mendoza" (Sergio Basañez- our "Diego", of 'Cuando Seas Mia' fame), who substituted for him at the ordained meeting with Gustavo.

Catalina had her own romantic dreams, which she nursed, to get married to her heartthrob - Eduardo. But Eduardo betrayed that dream by secretly dating an older rich lady for her money. That rich lady was called "Silvia" (Kenia Gascon) or Marissa Gomez, of the famed gardener's daughter telenovela. She would show up tomorrow in Episode 2. I look forward to know how she looked 8 years ago. She must have had a young look then to have rivaled 'Paloma' in a telenovela.

In the ranch, the newly arrived heir and son of Don Lupe- Sebastián, faced a silent war waged by the usurper foreman of the ranch, called "Carmelo" (Alberto Mayagoitia).

He was embittered and envious of Sebastian. Having served Lupe as servant from youth, he felt threatened that, Sebastián being the heir-apparent, would take all his privileges and favors, which he had taken for granted, in the absence of "Diego", pardon me, I mean to write Sebastián.

Carmelo was orphaned from boyhood. His origin was shrouded in mystery, a mystery that haunted him until adulthood. He lived in the believe of an unproven rumor that he was the bastard child of Lupe. He never knew the love of any parent when he grew up in the ranch, except the generous disposition of jolly good old man Lupe, (who is in his 50's), and that of an old maid called "Petra". This is what set the stage for intrigues, rumors, forgeries and scandal that later made the life of Sebastián a misery....

"Vanessa Sotomayor" (Alejandra Lazcano), was another character from the gardener's daughter that showed up here in Catalina y Sebastian. She played the role of "Martina", the lovely younger sister of Sebastian. She had a friend called, "Emilia" (María Rebeca). Emilia would play the role of a Jealous, desperate, scheming lover, like that of Jennifer de la Vega, of the gardener's daughter telenovela.

Emilia would set as her mission, the destruction of Catalina, so that she could marry Sebastian. She would go to ugly lengths to fulfill her mission, as this telenovela rolls on.

One mortal and vengeful enemy we cannot forget to mention in this snippet is Madam "Antonieta", played by Regina Torné. Her enmity with Don Lupe was rooted in the secret and odious past. Being a sworn enemy of Lupe Mendoza, she carefully planed how to bring down and ruin him, using members of his household against him. She promises to be the "Consuelo Alcantara" of this novela.

The Intimacy Test in Marriage

Lasting marriage is all about intimacy, once it is lost, that marriage would inevitably hit the rocks. More than anything else, this is one thing that should be closely watched and jealously guarded by couples.

When I talk of intimacy, not just of the bed (that is perhaps 40% of the intimacy equation). I am talking of the intimacy of thoughts and actions. I mean the intimate bonds of true friendship.

long after the hoopla of wedding receptions, what makes marriages to go the marathon distance is not the hubby-wife relationships and duties, but the intimate bonds of friendship that runs deeper than public certification of marriage. This is what made me publish this story of deeper marital lessons from my dear friend, Omodesola Ilechukwu (Mrs.) Please, enjoy:

"When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her
hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate
quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

"Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let
her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic
calmly.

"She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me
softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw
away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That
night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she
wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could
hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew.
I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

"With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which
stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my
company.

"She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who
had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt
sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take
back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly.

"Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected
to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce
which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and
clearer now.

"The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing
something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep
and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.

"When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just
did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

"In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't
want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.
She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal
a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a
month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

"This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked
me to recall how I had carried her into our bridal room on our wedding day.

"She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her
out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was
going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her
odd request.

"I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions. She laughed
loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she
has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

"My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce
intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the
first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is
holding mummy in his arms.

"His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the
sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her
in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son
about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down
outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove
alone to the office.

"On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned
on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that
I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she
was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair
was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I
wondered what I had done to her.

"On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning.
This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

"On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was
growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry
her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made
me stronger.

"She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a
few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my
dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so
thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

"Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness
in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

"Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry
mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an
essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer
and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I
might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms,
walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her
hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly;
it was just like our wedding day.

"But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I
held her in my arms, I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to
school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life
lacked intimacy!.

"I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door.
I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...
I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I
do not want the divorce anymore.

"She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do
you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I
said, I won't divorce.

"My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value
the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more.
Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day
I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

"Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then
slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove
away.

"At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers
for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled
and wrote, 'I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart'.

"The small details of your lives are what really matter in a
relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the
bank, blah..blah.. blah. These create an environment conducive for
happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

"So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things
for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

Feel free to share this story with someone out there, you just might save a marriage. Thank you sister Omodesola for this story and happy birthday to your Son, on Friday, 15th June 2007.

"I will keep a smile on my face and in my heart even when it hurts today. I know that the world is a looking glass and gives back to me the reflection of my own soul. Now I understand the secret of correcting the attitude of others and that is to correct my own."

The Curtain Drawn Over TGD

The curtain has finally been drawn over the gardener's Daughter (La Hija del Jardinero) telenovela, some few hours ago, after 9 months and 10 days. This would make me to effectively break my emotional ties with that soap opera, and move forward to reach my dreams of serializing other telenovelas for our collective pleasures on this blog.

Luis Alejandro Montero paid the prize of 2-decades of treachery and perfidy - 10 years behind bars! I am not too happy about the repentance of Jennifer de la Vega, at the last minute. I would have wanted her punished with an equal penalty, with her 'comrade' and accomplice, L.A.

10 years behind bars or in a psychiatric clinic, would definitely have broken her pride and send her out of the beauty and fashion industry, and would make her to be ineligible for marriage. She was the chief promoter of mischief and misery for Luisa Fernanda.To pardon and release Jennifer to go home from the psychiatric clinic, after the so-called repentance, was unfair to Solozarno and Luis Alejandro. To me, Jenny does not seem to have fully repented, because, up till the last second, she was still expecting Carlos Eduardo to return to her bosom, not caring for the feelings and sacrifices of her emotional 'spare tyre', poor Guillermo.

I would miss "Mr. M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S"! Victor was another super comedian who spiced the wracking tensed moments throughout the telenovela. I am happy and, at the same time sad for Xochil. Happy because she would be marrying her heartthrob- Dr. Anzola. Sad because, she still felt unsecured, after everything. They are not soul-mates, and she is heavily prone to hit the bottle, being addicted to alcohol.

It looked like, half-way into this final episode, Don Fernando was substituted with another man with a bigger body frame than the old man that played that role for 179 and 1/2 episodes.

My good sister and friend Bola Oluyemi of Mums and Dads' Children, has written me and sent me the summaries of Catalina y Sebastian which would take off probably tonight. I saw that she had 'let the cat out of the bag', by 'greeting' me for my 10th marriage anniversary today. Shhhhh! it is a quiet family affair here. I don't have anointing for partying (like sister Omodesola would say).

I need to edit it (Catalina y Sebastian), to make it flow as we read ahead of the beginning. Lorenzo's Wife, I have an appointment with you for this month, so friends, keep praying for me to have the emotional and enthusiastic resources to pay off a significant part of my Telenovela debts this month.

AGLOCO Viewbar Launched: From Promises to Proofs

With the launch, on Monday 4th of June, of AGLOCO Viewbar, the 7-month old promise of 'owning the internet' through accumulated shares while surfing the net has been converted to proofs.

For many months past, in fact, since last year, many have scoffed at the AGLOCO model of, owning a share of the company by browsing. That mockery looked real when the promised View Bar was not released, after so many postponements.

At a time, I was so ashamed that I could not openly identify with this Agloco lapses, so I opened a fresh blog called AGLOCO Masses, which later turned to AGLOCO HOURS.

There, many Agloco activists submit there referral numbers, as they recruit more people into the Agloco train.

The paradigm has however changed now, your proof of relevance in the Agloco scheme is determined my the total accumulated hours which is proportional to the amount of money or wealth you can create or make through AGLOCO.

As you can see from the table above, the maximum permissible hour per month for Agloco is 5 hours, I am almost there at 4.6 hours. What is most significant is the leverage power of my referral network which could go as much as 255 hours if each of my 205 referrals download, and browse for 5 hours before the month-end, with their respective Agloco Viewbars.

This is the plan of Agloco, to give you 25% of the browsing hours of the people you referred to Agloco. The accumulated hours would be partly converted to share ownership for you in Agloco company, and partly converted to money (cash for you), after offsetting the running costs.

This is what I mean by PROOFS! Agloco has moved from the first phase of promises to the second phase of performance, the third and next phase would be the payment phase, based on how many people you brought on board, who are actively using the Viewbar to browse, for at least five hours per month.

Now, with all my patient tutorial and explanation, I advise you to take a sure step and become an AGLOCO owner, by registering now, and if you have registered before, check your mail box for Agloco letter asking you to login to your Agloco account, and download your Agloco Viewbar.

If you miss the first phase, you can still catch up now by registering to become a part-owner (Sharehoder) of Agloco, and begin to accumulate browsing hours (2nd phase), that would be convertible to cash (3rd phase).

I have started my own quiet but certain journey to AGLOCO riches, what about you?

Making Money With Google

Talking about how to make money online, I recently stumbled upon an announcement by Blogger Buzz, which is a subsidiary of the giant Google cash 'milking machine'. Upon reading it, I knew instantly that, many of you, my friends and fans on this blog, who had expressed desires to make some cool money (not Yahoo-Yahoo! kind). This is your opportunity.

This is what I read:
Test Blogger and We'll Love You and Pay You

"You can help us out and make money just by using
Blogger! From time to time at Blogger we run
usability studies to make sure that we’re on the
right track with all the new features we’re
working on.

If playing with Blogger for an hour or so and
making up to $100 (Emphasis mine) sounds like
something you’d like to do, please Sign Up Here.

Have more questions? Read the FAQ. You don’t
even have to live near Mountain View, CA
to participate."

I am passing this privileged announcement to you so you could give it a shot. While it is not a get-rich-quick system, Google is known for proven integrity and if you are lucky enough to be invited (after honestly filling this form), by Google, then it may be another avenue to turn your human resources and intellect into some good token from the lovable Giant of the web.

For me, I have already filled the form. I have the basic requirement to face the challenge. Do you have your PC at home or have access to PC connected to the internet at your offices? Do you browse regularly? Then give it a trial, luck may be smiling at you from the corner.

If you want to read further about this opportunity, you can read further from the FAQ Section now.

Welcome Amina, The Telenovela Rainmaker

Beholding her sweet visage is a pointer to her daring writing talents. Amina Adams promises to be a telenovela rainmaker. I am welcoming her on behalf of our numerous friends from this blog. With her new 3-week old blog: My Favorite Things, she pointed to the rain of telenovelas that have besieged TV audience in recent times and 'promised' to be updating as the time goes by.

I have longed for people who would join in the telenovela crusade on the web, even if not as detailed as my 'Snippets' were. it would be a great entertaining relief. Amina is a 'budding novelist' with passion for movies, reading and writing.

Her passions apart, her heart is currently engaged with another "pre-occupation", and that is: still 'seeking' for that person that would make it throb for ever. She is based in Lagos.

I am trusting God that she would come fully on board the telenovela harvest. (The laborers are few, but the harvest is plenty). many of the people I have encouraged into blogging, have passions about writing on other things, and not necessarily on telenovelas. So, Amina is a gem in the in our telenovela rainbow.

Help me welcome Amina and visit her blog regularly, to see and read how regularly she too would feed us with her talent.

Welcome dear sister.

Rekindling The Telenovela Spirit

Two people sent me messages in the dying hours of May, Their concern gives me a foretaste of what we shall see on this telenovela blog in the month of June.

The first person, called Olichin, posted a comment (which I edited partially, for the sake of comprehension), on my Cbox, saying: "hi phil, how is de family, pls i don't know what is really happening with ur blog, can u pls up-date us on the current happenings like b/f. I think u make ur fans (to) take joy in visiting de website, u r ma ... (don't make) us get bored, pls rekindle the spirit, pls even if u want me to subscri(be) for de story, I think i'll (do). hv a lovely day, and a great future wit telenovela".

The second person, I know, and I call her "Sweet-Bibi", Blesyn Joseph is the author of that blog that talks all about a woman's world- Pluto-Women's World. She lit a fire in my heart that promises to warm up our Telenovela Garden this month of June.

This is her own letter: "Hi Phil,

How are u doing, thanks for all u've been doing 4 me, u 've been my inspiration since i started blogging, i knew nothin about blogging, i dint even understand what it meant but 2day at least, people check my blog and thanks 2 u!

I also wanted to bring 2 ur notice what i noticed on ur blog, 4 1yr now, u've entertained us to the fullest with telenovelas, u gave us full snipets of TGD and ESMERALDA, u gave summaries of others and even promised completing the postings, but 2 my greatest surprise i realised on ur comment box dat people are complaining and are using the word 'bored' already. i dont want to sound like a nice person, but i feel its wrong of us viewers to use that language, its still early after 1yr of fun. i miss the snippets too, infact i check up on ur site every day 2 see if there are new things, but really i understand that there is always a reason for the delay!

I dont know but am kind of dissapointed dat people are complaining 2 much, i understand them too, cuz sorry 2 say, u are kind of cutting their fun but ur work should be appreciated, i must say u've done well and God will continue 2 bless u, u could ve chosen to post 4 money and people wld still subscribe and pay but u chose 2 do it 4 free and i think that gesture should be appreciated.

Am just trying 2 encourage u 2 continue what u've started becos its not easy and then some1 comes along 4rm no where, and say that u are begining 2 bore us just because dere is a litle bit of delay, i read ur comment box, i put myself in ur shoes and i felt u needed encouragement, thats y am doing this personally. I apologise on behalf of we viewers who do not understand and i also beg u to pls. try and continue de good work u've started and the Lord will surely be ur strength.

In as much as i dont like the way we viewers complain, i wld also want 2 say i undertand wat they feel, ur blog is a 2nd option 4 live broadcast of the telenovelas, they feel whatever they miss on tv can be read on ur blog so, there is never a reason for any1 to feel lost.

So pls. Phil, I know its not easy but plsssss. try and continue posting the snippets and i apologise again on behalf of we viewers for not understanding, me inclusive.

Regards to ur kids and family as a whole. Have a nice day!!!!"

Blesyn.

==================================================

I was moved to repentance when I read these two letters from avid fans of my blog. I had to wake up from licking my wounds, crawled out of defeat and lay hold of then promise of Dominion for this month.

I have had my set-backs in the last six weeks, concerning setting up my own independent blog: Story-Story Dot Com. The web hosting company based in Ireland, in fact, the biggest hosting company in Ireland, shot down my blog after two weeks, on the flimsy but racist excuse that Nigerians are spammers and scammers, and therefore they have a standing policy not to host websites from Nigeria because of possible abuses. They even admitted that it was a mistake on their part to have registered and hosted my blog in the first instance.

I wont bore you with my trials, I would rather share my testimonies with you. Because of that breach of contract, I was tempted to sue the company, but after much consideration, I have handed them over to God. If I am embroiled in a legal battle with an Irish company for the rest of the year, it would be a big minus for this telenovela goals for this year.

Life must go on. How long would I cry over a spilled milk? I have decided to convert my anger and disappointment into frantic telenovela labor, that would at least complete, "Lorenzo's Wife" snippets, (La Mujer de Lorenzo) this month.

With the end in sight of the gardener's daughter, (La Hija del Jardinero), a great search for new telenovela stories this June, would be the natural consequence. I prefer to be part of the solutions to those upcoming searches, than teaching some racist companies a lesson in civility.

Omodesola Tango: A Friend Like A Sister

"I wish, I have a friend, saying Yesss, to my dreams..." The theme song of the Skye Bank adverts on TV is so melodious and sweet that even though, I don't bank with them, my family and I enjoy it so much. It is classic and romantic.

Omodesola Ilechukwu is one friend that I met, just like you, on my blog here at the Telenovela Love Garden. There is a love tango growing between her and me. A love wand has begun binding me to this amazing lady of gentle mien.

We have so many things in common,

1. We both hailed from Edo State in Nigeria.

2. We are both happily married to wonderful men from another tribe. (my Husband is Yoruba while hers is Ibo),

3. We are both Christians, and I suspect we both drank from the same spiritual well. (at least for a period, I was of the David Oyedepo stock, and I once heard her spoke affectionately about Bishop David Abioye).

4. We are both young at heart and visionary (ambitious).

5. We both have lovely children and have passion for the family.

6. We both live at a stone throw to each other (I only knew this yesterday).

There is this magnetic attraction between two people, that strike right on, at the start of a relationship. Omodesola is my friend, and that friendship is growing into a sisterly bond. She is one person who did not allow my birthday last month, to go without a showering of precious gifts.

She ventured to deliver the package through a dispatch rider to me, (I had to stop that royal treatment, so I could meet her physically, first). Hear her: "I would not have forgiven myself if your birthday should pass without my knowledge". These are things that Blogging has brought my way, you see why my passion for blogging cannot die? They (treasured relationships), are more than whatever Google and other revenues from this blog could offer me.

Things are still happening great between us, like yesterday... I thank God for the day when I met you. You are gem and rare treasure. I would cultivate and appreciate your lovingkindness and generosity.

Best regards to your family, my family.