"If I remember correctly, we graduated from HS on March 21, 1960. ...5 days after March 16...the day Philippines was discovered by Magellan in 1521."-Sari

"O.M.G., We are RICH! Silver in the Hair. Gold in the Teeth. Crystals in the Kidneys. Sugar in the
Blood. Lead in the Ass. Iron in the Arteries. And… an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas.
We never thought we'd accumulate such wealth."







Monday, July 16, 2012

A Wedding (Affair) to Remember



On the beautiful 3rd Saturday of June 2012 (16th day of the month), guests savored the sound of music played from a harp while they await at the church of St. Mary’s
of Winfield in Woodside, NY. At about 2:45 pm, the wedding entourage march begun…featured Mom (Azucena Valenzuela-Poblete) and daughter (Raquel Margarita) who walked hand in hand down the aisle…By the altar, the groom (Daniel Lewis Maltz) awaited to “claim” his bride…calmly Mom “surrendered” her daughter to begin the wedding rites.






At past 4 pm, Raquel & Daniel were wed and recessed to the front entrance of the church. Former high school classmates, Lolit Agustin Sison, Carmen Exconde Altman along with hubby Michael Altman and Sari Valenzuela were among the 200 plus guests who blew bubbles to cheer and welcome the newlyweds..

Reception followed at 7 pm at the Roosevelt Hotel grand ballroom….This hotel located in Manhattan is favored by many visiting Filipinos. There was a open-bar and hors d’oeuvres galore before dinner….

The newlyweds joined their guests via a grand entrance from the mezzanine balcony to the main grand ballroom floor.…



Opening dance…Mom and Daughter danced with the Valenzuela brothers of Ening……

Joined later by guests….it was a “swinging” evening…young & old…male & female, female & female dancing freely to the music of a live band…Raquel, a Julliard graduate specializing in flute, surprised her guests, played the flute with a piano accompaniment by a fellow Julliard graduate…it was a day filled with memories of a beautifully planned and executed wedding….the evening past midnight was capped with personalized wedding favors in the form of capiz-made picture frames featuring the newlyweds…..it was indeed a wedding to remember.





Thursday, July 12, 2012

"A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH TWICE THE SURPRISE"


Yesterday, July 1, 2012, should go down in the birthday history of a certain lucky celebrant -- Aurora Villanueva Agellon (Rory).

At around noon hour, each of Rory's guests arrived, in two's and three's, each one admiring her beautiful, well-tended garden. A little touch here and a little pinch there -- the poor plants and flowers must have uttered some complaints without being heard by us. Oh, well let them complain. We were having fun under the warm sun and blue sky, taking some pictures amid some giggling. And so it went until the sun became too hot for us "senior citizens", so we decided to take shelter under the canopy provided by Rory's loving husband, Noli.










We didn't waste time in catching up with lost time. The "how are you's" and "what's new with your life" and the funny jokes seemed to have no end until the birthday celebrant opened her gated garden to a guest. Suddenly, oh suddenly --- I heard loud shrieks and somebody fell off her seat (wait a minute, that was me!). For a moment I thought I was watching a concert of Lady Gaga or Madonna, not that I'm a fan of these two.


Everything came to a halt. All I remember was everybody's jaw dropping and everybody's mouth agape as in very slow motion --- in walked the surprise guest! With a trail of flaxen hair being blown as she walked by, the "Oh, my God, it's her, it's her!" remarks were all that could be heard.

Can you guess who just walked in? Why, it's the greatest sleuth of all times, the Sherlock Holmes of PWU class 1960! It's -- it's Sari Valenzuela herself! Which brings me to the question: where is Watson, her sidekick?


And from here on, the party really begun. WE HAD FUN, FUN, FUN! It goes without saying, last night must have been Rory's happiest get together and birthday celebration yet. We dined and talked and played a game similar to Jeopardy till it was time to go at last.

Oh, but wait, we didn't leave empty-hand. All of us won the game and were given a gift by the celebrant herself. The gifts (bracelets) were hand carried by Rory's sister, Lita, from Manila. I shall bring mine to Sweden and proudly wear it, because I know by doing so, I'll be in the company of my dear sister and classmates like last night, and I'll smile. Endlessly.









Happy Birthday again, Rory. May you have more fun-filled birthdays to come. And next time, we hope to see Sari's Dr. Watson, her partner in this wonderful surprise.


Naty

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A LONESOME ROAD

"Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road. Our journey consists of constant ups and downs ... "- Chogyam Trungpa

Written by Evelyne Dirige Resella:
I always believe that Life is like a long  journey.  Many times our journey in life is filled with endless ups & downs. Steep mountains to climb & dry valleys that tests our endurance. Happiness & pain. Joy & sorrow. Sickness & good health. Richer &  poorer. But in all of these happy & stormy experiences many of us remain sturdy and strong.

This short story is dedicated to one of our classmates named Evelyn Nazareth Zabala. I first met her during our freshman year in high school at the Philippine Women's University. We both have the same beautiful English name "Evelyn. " So I never will forget her as we are what  they called in Tagalog as "tukayo." Later in college, I asked my father (a lawyer) to change the spelling of my name to Evelyne, a letter "e " was added to make it sounds more Frenchy. Today I am popularly known among classmates as Ebb and Evelyn as ENZ. I hope this will dispel the confusion among some of us. We were in class section- A, where many of the brainiest from the class 1960  were cloned. Ha! Ha! Ha!

   Ebb and Evelyn

 I didn't see Evelyn again till after 50 yrs. later. I attended college at the UP. School of Fine Arts she went to PWU for her B.S. in Chemistry. We were reunited by our PWU blog & grp.- emails. I actually saw her again face to face during our 50th PWU high school class reunion in Makati last February 27,2010. In high scholl we were the petite type. Surprisingly, she is now taller than me.
We continue to reconnect after our 50th reunion because my husband (Rhod)  & I moved to San Diego, California, where ENZ lives.  Rhod & I finally met Evelyn's 2nd husband, Frank Ferarro. Had dinner together at the Joe's Crab Shack at Pacific Beach, San Diego. We planned many more dinners together but our schedules were always in conflict. We will always treasure the happy short memories we had shared.


Audrey (Ebb's grandaughter), Evelyn, Ebb & Rhod
Simon (Ebb's grandson-not in photo. He took this photo.)
Left to Right

Last June, Evelyn's husband (Frank) passed away.The memorial service was held at the St. John's Church at San Fernando Valley, California. Fortunately, we were able to attend the mass w/ our    2 grandteens. We just moved to Valencia which is not too far away from the church. In behalf of the PWU class 1960, we were able to give her a lovely live orchid plant w/ 2 cactus on a pot of white  conch shell.
                                                                                                             


I searched many florist shops & nurseries to find the right  plant for Evelyn on this sad occassion, the death of  a second husband. Being widowed twice is a very lonesome road to walk through.. But I admired her for being as strong as the cactus and lovely as the orchids. She stands strong not giving in to despair. She looks good and still young. I think in the future she's will able to go for the third round. How about joining my CLUB? Many of you know about  it .."COUGAR CLUB ." 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT AS WE JOURNEY THROUGH THE REST OF 2012............ 
"May we all know God's presence, protection and love for as us through each tunnel, curve, detour, slippery road, steep hills, stormy times, etc."