Kristine S. Calleja and Rebie P. Ramoso
On the Radar
By Mikee dela Cruz
PUBLISHED: SEPTEMBER 2009

BIG REALIZATIONS. "I’d like to believe she did the wooing, and she’d like to believe I did the wooing,”  “In reality, though, there wasn’t any (who did the wooing).  We didn’t have to.  We already liked each other, and the four years we were best friends made us realize it wasn’t enough for us to be just friends,” says Kristine S. Calleja.

Money talks “came sooner than we expected when we decided to put up a business.  We had to talk about money because we needed to pull our resources together.” In fact, “one of our reasons for doing so was to bring down personal expenses that could eat into our investment.  That was when we decided to live together, forgo our old lifestyles, and put ourselves on allowance.  I now even need to sign a voucher before I could get money, just so I could have coffee with my friends,” Kristine says.

That was but one of the challenges they faced as a couple.

“When we started living together, we discovered a lot about each other.  We are both OC, but not about the same things.  Rebie is so strict about time that I have learned to make an appointment with her if I want her company.  And she is such a workaholic.  She lugs her laptop everywhere, except to Mass, that I have learned to live with her laptop turned on most of the time.  My OC-ness, on the other hand, is about order.  I like everything neat and clean.  Rebie has learned to squeeze the toothpaste tube at the bottom, and put used clothes and towel in the hamper, and not leave food on her plate or coffee on her mug.  I also prefer to work alone in a room.  Rebie has learned not to enter the room when I’m writing,” Kristine says.

As in any relationships that work, though, “over time, we have learned to manage our differences and have made adjustments to accommodate each other’s idiosyncrasies.”

Both Kristine and Rebie agree that “it is important for the adjustments to be made by both parties.  To her credit, Rebie appreciates spur-of-the-moment moments; and to my credit, I let Rebie wrinkle the well made sofa bed, and let her eat snacks in the room and in the office,” Kristine smiles.

NATURALLY NURTURING

“Rebie says we are both KSPs, so we’re naturally nurturing toward each other,” Kristine says with a laugh.  Then, turning serious: “Kidding aside, we do have a deep love and respect and admiration for each other.  I respect the fact that she has a male crush on Adam Lambert and she respects that I have a male crush on Barack Obama.”

It helps, too, that “we complement each other.  Our skills match: I write and she designs, and we share the same aesthetics, so we could always team up for a creative project.  Our working styles match as well: I do things in bursts of energy, which she claims makes me better suited than her in handling crises; she, on the other hand, does things in a uniform pace, which makes her better suited than me in managing day-to-day operations.”

Both Kristine and Rebie believe that “a relationship is never perfect, but is always a work in progress. It is important for couples to allow themselves to grow together and to change through their own process, in their own pace.”  In fact, “Rebie says, in time, I have learned to watch with her American Idol; and she has learned to stay awake when we watch Nat Geo, CNN or BBC,” Kristine says.

With their families supportive of their relationship (“Our families and friends are happy for us – Rebie’s family knew that eventually we would end up together, while Rebie’s friends were relieved that we did since she would often confide in them about her frustrations with me; and my family and friends were glad I am in a more stable relationship after being in several short-lived ones,” Kristine says), the couple is already looking at finding a place to call home – even while “we also want to travel again, so we’re growing the business to the point that it no longer needs us; give back to our families (I’d like to help my aging parents raise my two younger siblings, and Rebie would like to keep her promise to her mother and help raise her nieces and nephews, especially her godsons); and support the arts more, since we believe the arts provide an opportunity for people to view things from various perspectives,” Kristine says.

Lofty goals that reverberate not just for the couple.