My highschool's 30th reunion

In 2006, my highschool had its 25th reunion party. This January 8, 2011, we had our 30th reunion party. This was for the Far Eastern University (FEU) Girls High and Boys School batch 1981, which was the last segregated (girls and boys) high school of FEU. As it was in the 2006, I was in the organizing team of this year's reunion and, as usual, it was a hard, tiring job to do.

But seeing how happy the alumni were at the reunion was worth it. I also saw some friends I haven't seen for 30 years, especially some who couldn't make it to our 25th and vowed to be present in this 30th. We held the party in a rented venue--with lots of food, games, raffles, and a live band--that lasted from 5PM to 1AM in Quezon City. It took almost a year to prepare for that. Some 150 alumni came, including many from abroad. We were joined by eight teachers. Some other teachers couldn't join because of previous commitments or, sadly, because they were sick.

The previous day to our reunion party, we held a campus tour of our school, which is located in a busy area of Manila, the Philippines's capital city. After the morning tour, we went to the Holy Mass that we sponsored at the chapel inside the campus. To me, aside from the Holy Mass, the highlight of our homecoming to our school was when one of our batchmates jammed with the FEU Bamboo Band at the start of our tour. Good thing that an angel inspired me to ask the FEU Alumni Office (and Mr. Martin Lopez of that office with whom we coordinated the tour) if it could arrange for the Band to play for us that day. Janette, my batchmate who is among those in our alumni who were former members of the Band (when we were still students), was able to play one piece of music with the Band since, luckily, the instrument that she used to handle was available that morning. Seeing Janette play with the current student-members of the FEU Bamboo Band sent chills down my spine. Mr. Victor Toledo is the original creator of the FEU Bamboo Band, but he is now retired. In fact, we invited him to be among our guest-teachers in our reunion party on January 8, but he's not in the best of health right now, according to his daughter who's also one of our batchmates. God bless him.

Anyway, below are some pictures of our tour and reunion party. I still have to get my hands on some pictures of Janette playing with the Band and the Mass. Below, I'm with my classmates (4-1 girls, of whom many were absent that night though), and a photo with the teachers who made it to our party (except that girls on the leftmost who's actually my classmate but sat along with the teachers during the photo op). The 4-1 boys joined us in the photo with the teachers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR--this girl needs help

Girl with rare disease seeks aid

By Santiago Alcantara
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:01:00 01/04/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Mary Patrice Nicole Siaboc has been diagnosed to be suffering from Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare disease among children. Medical records show that only one in every 100,000 children is afflicted with the ailment.

The 4-year-old daughter of Liezel Siaboc of Bangkal, Makati City, is undergoing chemotherapy at Philippine General Hospital. Doctors say her treatment should last for 54 weeks.

“We don’t know where to get the PhP14,647 we need to spend per session because my husband Rogelio works as a janitor at a gasoline station in Quezon City,” Siaboc told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Filipino.

Those who want to help the Siabocs can contact them at 0909-3923661 or deposit their donations in Rogelio Siaboc’s bank account at Allied Bank (Philippines) (account number 0316007965).

Merry Christmas

...to all of humanity, may each person celebrate Christmas the genuine way because it is, simply, the birth of Jesus.

Maligayang Pasko (as we say it in the Philippines).

Charice goes jingle bell rockin'

It's only a few days to go before Christmas Day. And here's a wonderful Christmas song (one of my favorites) from wonderful singer Charice, when she graced the recent Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Center in New York, USA. (from Raytatlo's Youtube channel)

How to rob a footbridge!

If this almost a year-and-a-half footbridge can talk, it will scream "I've been robbed!" But it can't talk and can't say who took out its lights (and all things attached to the lights) that illuminate its path on dark nights when people use it, especially students from a nearby school. Streetlights near the bridge aren't always functioning at night thus people tend to still cross busy Mindanao Avenue on street level than risk meeting someone with dark motives up there on the dark and dreary footbridge. The footbridge stands on Mindanao Avenue near corner Road 3, in Project 6, Quezon City, Philippines.

Did anyone love this dog before?

I've come to call him "Brownie, the Dog Wanderer" because since late last year, I've always seen him wandering around our neighborhood, usually around the intersection of Corrina Avenue and Aramis Street in Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora district, Quezon City, Philippines. And he's always been sleeping--rain or shine, if not walking around--rain or shine, on the sidewalk in front of the gate of a house there. Thus I suppose that Brownie used to live there. Maybe his human, his dog parent, in that house used to love him, and Brownie loved him or her back. That is, until maybe Brownie's dog parent kicked him out because he or she couldn't stand anymore or didn't want to do something about his wounds and nasty smell. Just a thought.

But if Brownie's not sleeping on that sidewalk, he just walks around the vicinity of the said streets, silently eyeing passersby and looking at vehicles zooming by. Having taken pity on Brownie, I would take some leftover food with me if I knew I will be passing by the area where I usually see him (I live nearby where his territory is). He has come to recognize me (or maybe my "smell" since, I think, he can barely see now) whenever I approach him, waiting for me to give him something to eat. Sometimes, he follows me even several meters away, looking at me with his pitiful eyes, if I pass by him and I don't happen to have food with me to give him. But there've been instances, too, that I bring him food, but I don't find him in his usual place. That's the time he's off wandering somewhere. Perhaps looking for food and water. Or, perhaps following another neighbor who's taken to dropping Brownie some food, too, as he or she passes by this friendly-looking dog. Brownie still had brown fur when I first saw him wandering around (late last year). And I was able to take his photograph in December 2009. Now, he's lost much of his hair, exposing his gray scalp (if that's what's it's called in a dog), and has more wounds. But I still call him "Brownie." And...he responds to that name, too! Or, maybe he just smells the food am carrying for him, that's why he stands up when I call him Brownie. Or, maybe, he just didn't have a name at all and has come to like being called Brownie. I took more photographs of Brownie just the other day. And he gamely posed. I've not seen him since then. I hope he's okay. Sometimes, I can't but wonder about Brownie, the wanderer.

CHARICE on GLEE

My fellow Filipino "Charice," a great singer, conquers GLEE, a famous TV show airing from the USA. Charice plays a foreign exchange student named "Sunshine Corazon" from sunny (except when there are typhoons, of course, which we get plenty of) Philippines! Showing starting today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcWhiu3D5Mw

thanks to Journey4AP9 for the video.