Sunday, October 19, 2014

Blogging again

I was able to gain access again to my blog after so many years. I am overjoyed that all entries  up to 2009 are intact.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mama's Birthday


September 4, 2009
We had a little party to celebrate Mama's __1st birthday.
On hand to greet her were Terry Yanga and family, Noli and Connie,Lulu, Emma and Belen, and Kuya Fred with some of his apos. Of course, there's Moi, Jeffrey and Ezra.


Marie and Nikos could not make it to Lipa last September 4. We met up at Rustan's last September 7. Nikos is shown here opening the gift certificate envelope for his Mama Beth from Marie and Pierre. He was only supposed to give it, but I guess he wanted to now (or read?) what was inside.
Later that night, Marie hosted a quiet dinner at KAI, at Greenbelt 5, as a post birthday blowout for Mama and an advance birthday dinner for herself. Her birthday, September 8, falls on a working day. Also present was Moi, Pierre and Steve Katigbak.


Mother and daughter with personalized birthday cakes from Kai.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

MACAU Aug 19_21, 2009

We took PAL flight 352 for Macau last Wednesday, August 19,2009 after two postponements due to work schedule conflict. Finally! The plane was full and the flight was not exactly comfortable. It was really hot in Macau when we arrived and it was a respite getting to the Venetian Hotel. The cue at the check in counter was long but the staff was efficient and friendly. We got a West Side suite on the 23rd flr. We spent late afternoon and evening exploring, reviewing the map and planning for the next 2 days.
We were picked up by the tour guide the following morning. We were only 6 in the group and two were from Mataas na Kahoy, vacationing from their work in Saudi Arabia. The couple Cher and Anthony Dimaculangan are now part of our tour memories and were responsible for taking many of our photos found in this blog and in our online kodak gallery.
This setup was not for us and was set up for a wedding anniversary earlier so we just posed.
Taken outside the Macau Tower with the Grand Lisboa Casino in the background. Both projects are owned by Stanley Ho.
Taken in front of St Paul's Cathedral. The tourist attraction is just the facade of the Cathedral propped up by steel structures at the back to keep it from collapsing. What packaging can do for tourists to come in droves!
At the entrance of a temple a short distance from St' Paul's. Nothing to it yet tour groups are scheduled to go through it.
The gondola ride is realy memorable. In our Silver Anniversary trip 15 years ago, we had the real thing in Venice. Now it's just the make believe ride. Our gondolier was Vittoria whose songs were applauded by the UZI watching the gondolas in the canal. Vittoria was a school teacher at Philippine Normal University and a BSE graduate major in Music. She says the pay is good and she is able to support her daughter back home. She aspires to record some of her songs someday and to make it the music industry. We wished her luck...which she needs as she already has the talent. Hope some talent scout notices her talent.
We went to the ZAIA show Thursday evening. It was an unforgetable 90 minute presentation of high tech visuals and circus. The ticket prices were quite stiff but it was worth it. No cameras were allowed inside so the next best option was to have a photo in front of the poster. More photos of our trip are available at our on line kodak gallery album.

Friday, August 7, 2009

40th Wedding Anniversary


The Anniversary actually started with a 6:00 am mass at Carmel. The Carmelite Sisters prepared breakfast for us but I had to leave for QC right after the Mass. I was lucky with the traffic situation and was able to get back home by 5:30 pm. Just in time but special guests MARIE and NIKOS got here ahead of me. Mama was still at the PT when mother and son arrived.
After the short but meaningful prayer delivered by Br. Bong before meals, our guests pose for a photo taken by our imported fotog, Marie. Food was prepared of course by Mama and consisted of roast turkey, lengua, greek salad,mosaca,pasta with spinach and shitake mushroom etc. We did not intend to have this little celebration but a booking problem with the airline and complicated by rescheduled CHED meeting prevented us from flying to a secret destination. We had planned to do the celebration similar to our 25th anniversary.

With my co-workers at DLSL Br. Ruben, Br. Bong and Br. Mawel of the Lipa FSC community. Since I just arrived from a CHED activity held at the QC Sports Club, first topic was a report to my President, Br. Mawel about what transpired earlier in the day. The others guests were chatting with Mama and Marie while grandson Nikos was showing off. Br. Mawel had to give two congratulatory messages to me, the first was for the anniversary and the second was for my election as the first national Vice President of the National Asssociation of Higher Education Institutions or NAHEI. It will be the sole organization that CHED will deal with for its major projects. The Board of NAHEI is composed of the 17 Regional Association Presidents. I represent Region IV-A, the second largest region for HEI's after NCR.

Close friends who joined us in our family celebration. Chito Ilagan, Nini Paz, Fe Pimentel, Nora Arreglado, Belen Villanueva, Connie Macasaet, Eddie Segismundo and Eli Paz.

What was the laughing all about? I tried to drink the champagne ala newly weds, crossing my arms around Mama's. We didn't do it the first time 40 years ago so it was all in fun. In you noticed, Marie was not in the photos. She was our photographer and she couldn't entrust her Nikon SLR to anybody else. I will post other photos in my kodak gallery albums for all to see.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Moonstrucks





Our yahoo group has been very active lately and this has opened the memory book of the fifities and sixties. Classmates like Ricky Nuguid and Cesar de la Fuente, of Minstrels fame ( they were the originals) have posted photos of our early school years up to the time we graduated from College. Once in a while, reference is made by classmates to the Moonstrucks which I managed starting in 64. The combo was founded by my younger Freddie in 62 when he was only 13 years old. The very first group was composed of his classmates from San Beda.






I scanned this story from the souvenir program of the concert "Thirty Years After-The Original Moonstrucks Reunited" which was held at the Westin Philippine Plaza in November 17, 1994. The story was written a the late Oskar "Oskee" Salazar who was our PR person at the time. Oskee died a few months after the untimely death of Eddie around 2001.
The others are still around. Toto and Boyet still do their trade, performing Friday nights at Bistro RJ in Bel Air Makati. Danny is a music entrepreneur. Bert is retired and lives in QC with other retired combo members. Freddie hones up his music as a church choir director at Alabang.


The group became a purely professional group doing the Asian circuit and local clubs sometime in 1969-70. Freddie became a full time student at DLSU, graduating Summa cum Laude in 1971. Danny concentrated on his music biz career as producer, composer etc while Eddie started to manage their family business. Toto, Boyet and Bert added new members and that was the start of the next generation of Moonstrucks, as a purely professional combo. I turned over the reins of the Moonstrucks to Toto sometime after martial law was declared. I decided to call it quits together with my business of sending combos and singers to Japan. I was then Dean of College of Commerce of Western Philippine Colleges in Batangas City, a post I held from 72 to 93.








Friday, July 31, 2009

San Beda Classmates


CLASS PICTURE





I attended another get together of San Beda classmates, Elem '59 and HS '63 last night at the palatial home of Vic Barranda in San Juan Metro Manila. Early birds were Jimmy Santos, HS'62 but was with us in AB Philo '67, Tony Perez, in red , who came with his fav son Princeton, MOI, clebrity lawyer Vit Aguirre, Ateneo Professor Dr. Manny Tejido, Biz Center pioneer Bobby de la Paz and Judge Bert Serrano. Except for Tony, everyone in this photo were AB Philo buddies.The affair was hosted by Dennis Ang who was reportedly celebrating his 6_? birthday so the speculation was that was the reason for his hosting. Dennis is shown on the photo with Bert Serrano, who is an RTC judge and Bobby de la Paz. Dennis is a successful stockbroker and had very good investment advice for his HS classmates.
In attendance as shown in photo: seated:Sonny Lozano, Bobby de la Paz, Jimmy Santos, Vit Aguirre, Cesar Reyes, Manny Tejido, Art Tugade, Vic Barranda, Manny Pilares
standing: Dennis Ang, Bert Bacsal, Sherwin Yu, Simmy Po, Tony Perez, Bert Serrano.
Also present but not in the photo: Lito Ancheta, Tony de Vera and Bobby Javier

Monday, July 20, 2009

Nikos greeting Lolo

Nikos and Lolo blowing together the candle.