My First Attempt to Update

Everyone was here Sunday and when I say everyone, that’s Leda, her daughter Lera, Len and her kids, Berna and her kids and sister Gay. Leda and Donna were playing kwaho when Len surprised me by saying, “Uncle, you haven’t updated your blog, it’s still on ‘Panic’!” Didn’t realize she reads it. So now the pressure is on to update and here I am..

My last entry was around 4 weeks ago - I still beat Eph whose last blog was on his birthday last year and Robert’s last one was about their trip to Wales last December. Now I don’t feel so bad!

The question now is where to start…

FOUR FUNERALS

Donna’s cousin’s husband passed away recently and when we went to Good Shepherd Memorial, a priest was already there saying mass. The priest, it turned out, was Father Rudy de Guzman. We went to elementary school together. We talked a bit after mass. I didn’t recognize him, he’s changed quite a bit. He’s bigger and a lot less hairier!

My sister-in-law Ate Pie’s brother-in-law also died a few days before that. During the funeral they found out that her brother Geronimo Jiao died as well. He’s the gentleman who survived the attack in my blog “History of Violence – Philippine Style”.

A couple of weeks ago the wife of Dr. Ruben Maniago, a councilman from Angeles City, succumbed from cancer. Since he’s a Maniago, I figured we might as well show up at the wake, he could be a relative after all. I found out they’re from San Vicente, Mexico. A sister said their older brother knows a lot more about their relatives in Mexico but he hasn’t arrived when we were there. We’ve decided, however, that we’re related since our side of Maniagos also hails from Mexico. I figured if they’re from Mexico and we’re from Mexico, we’ve got to be relatives.

SAN JOSE PANLUMACAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Speaking of elementary school, grade school classmate Roland Canlas who resides in London nowadays was here on vacation a couple of months ago. I thought it was a good time to organize a get-together since we haven’t seen most of our classmates since 1966. To some of you, that’s a lifetime ago!

Anyway, one of our classmates Loreto (Boy) Tumang is the current Barangay Captain of San Jose. He was all gung ho about it when we told him about the reunion. He started making phone calls, sending text messages. Most of our classmates are still in the area which basically is his jurisdiction and they’re his constituents. We set the date for Friday, August 22. We were going to have it around lunch time but someone suggested it be changed to dinner since some of them work and won’t be available during lunch.

Finally the day came. By the way, the night before, we went to Panlumacan to invite a few who are still living there. Check out my post “Various Events and Visitors…(Panlumacan Elementary Pre-Get-Together”.

The day of the reunion came and I was expecting around 10 people, 15 maximum who’ll be attending. A little over thirty people showed up. It was great! We barely had enough food for everyone. Roland Canlas even brought a whole lechon (roast pig) to the occasion. They rented a Videoke machine and a few of us sang a song or two. I suggested for everyone to come up and speak to introduce themselves to the crowd. I didn’t recognize more than half in the group. We basically saw each (most of us anyway) other the last time when we were twelve years old!

Last Friday, I went to see Precy, Aurora, and Consorcia at Myrna’s house in San Felipe. I had them help me out in identifying everyone in my pictures.

I took quite a lot of pictures; to see them all and to place the names on faces, click here.

HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY (formerly Holy Angel College)

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, I have yet to see any of my former classmates in college. I’ve been hanging out at SM Clark, nothing. We’ve been going to church at the Angeles City cathedral, nothing. It took another Balikbayan classmate, Beth Gamboa Quito for me to see some of them. Check out my blog “Various Events and Visitors… (Holy Angel College). I just realized I failed to post any pictures of HAU alums in that blog. So here are some of them.

Below are from left to right Amor, Beth, Vangie, Rey Pogi (!), and Joven.

Beth and Amor with their daughters.

It was pretty hot and humid that day as you can tell from my shirt!

Here's Beth with the birthday celebrant. I think she turned 80 but didn't look it.

And here is the rest of the pictures I took that day.

By the way, quite a few of our high school classmates have been wondering what happened with Alice Puno. She also became my classmate at Holy Angel and Vangie has mentioned she’s met her in one of the parties they catered in the past.

Early last week I received a text message from Vangie saying they’re catering a party here in Greenfields and that Alice will be one of the guests since the host Belle Patawaran is her cousin. So finally Donna and I, through a last minute invite from Belle, went and saw Alice. I found out that Alice was one of Donna’s closest friends in high school.

JASHS w/ Rebecca Manaloto

Back in July, high school classmate Rebecca Manaloto visited Southern California from Chicago and met with my LA group. I don’t personally know her but she’s the one in the black shirt.