Friday, August 8, 2014

High School Confidential



I SETTLE DOWN to write on my makeshift desk positioned near our front door for a clear view of the small garden. Suddenly the hovering gray clouds give way to a burst of rain, complete with creepy silver lightning and roaring thunder.



        I remember suspended classes during the rainy season which usually starts as a new school year begins. The time was ages ago when I was a high school student at UST (University of Santo Tomas) and its building is the one in the picture below. Today, it’s an entirely new building …



        Anyway, my dad used to say in jest that all the Dominican fathers running the school had to do was empty their bladder and the school would be flooded. This joke is half meant in terms of how easily the school and the streets surrounding it can get submerged in water.

            But there’s more to high school life than floods and suspended classes.

High school was a defining
moment in my life.
Words aren’t enough to capture
the laughter,
the friendship, the passion
and the challenges that came about.

It’s more than a James Taylor song,
an enlightening Chemistry
lesson, or an inspiring
long-haired guy.
It is a flurry of this and that
which has led me
to who I am
and what I have become.

        These were the words I wrote in the Bookazine we published for the Ruby – 40th – anniversary of UST High School’s Batch ’71, our batch – which we collectively called the Remarkable Batch – in 2011. It was an honor being part of the Editorial Board (EB) and we had our high school pictures attached to our names in the EB page. My bangs look weird …




        The celebration coincided with the Pontifical University’s Quadricentennial (400th) celebration and so there was one great event!

            Photos taken during the red-letter night were shared on batchmate Tommy Bombon’s Facebook page. The last two were from Joyce’s camera showing a long overdue reunion of a few of the Section F – as in fabulous! – girls. With me, Joyce and Cynthia are Alice and Yonnie in a souvenir shot at Plaza Mayor; and then hanging out at Joyce’s condo along Espana for more girl talk after the event. Also in this photo is Alma.






            
        High school is like a spork, says John Mayer. “It’s a crappy spoon and a crappy fork, so in the end it’s just plain useless,” he concludes.
           
            Obviously, this singer/songwriter and on-and-off boyfriend of Katy Perry didn’t go to UST High School.

            Since a couple of years back leading to UST’s quadricentennial,  I have reconnected in a big way with batchmates who I was meeting for the first time after leaving the high school’s four walls.

BFFs

        Of course, BFFs (best friends forever) Edna and Joyce were always in touch one way or the other. We always find time to meet up – with their husbands in tow – and catch up. One of such times was in 2012 at our favorite restaurant, Claw Daddy at The Fort.


            There was also a time when we would hang out with the boys at Sangkalan Grill & Bar – batchmates Honey, who owns the place, and Rolly, Bong, Tony, Oskie and Benjo. But the rest of Batch ‘71 simply banished into thin air right after graduation.

        Joyce, who’s based in California, comes home once a year to visit her mom, who is very much settled here and runs her own optical clinic in Quiapo. She was here last April and she, Edna, and I got together and checked out the famous Willie Revillame-owned WilTower along Mother Ignacia in Quezon City.   

            More than touring the place and savoring a tasty meal in one of the restaurants, we enjoyed catching up as well as fondly looking back at our four years in high school.



        Since Edna has taken residence here in Manila, we get a chance to meet up each time a classmate comes visiting. Early this year, two of them came – Del and Janina – and there was girl bonding to the max …




        Previous years saw our class president, Susan Nite, coming home for a visit and Edna arranged a get-together at – you guessed it – Claw Daddy at The Fort.




THOUGHTS

        I’ve been meaning to write about high school life for the longest time but I didn’t know exactly how to go about it. In fact, I have asked some batchmates a long time ago about the first thing they remember when they think of high school. I gave a one-sentence limit for their answers.

        Just a few responded and here are their thoughts with corresponding looks [photos requested – or were they demanded? – from them or liberally taken from their Facebook accounts and my personal files]. The chronology is based on when they sent their answers --

JOYCE RODRIGUEZ-ESTANISLAO: “Happenings galore, without worrying about any responsibilities and can almost do anything.”



AT THE FORT in 2013; and early this
year at her mom’s optical clinic in Quiapo.

MIRELLA GOTANGCO-CLARETE: “This is not a sentence but here goes: Days of gay abandon and youthful exuberance.”



WITH ONE of the boys at Cottolengo
 Filipino … and with her beautiful family.

JUN SIBUG: “The beginning of teenage experience of many memorable happy adventures.”


PLAYING SANTA for the boys
of Cottolengo Filipino, Christmas 2012.

RUBY PAREDES-MACARIO: “H.S.: Where I met the least, the last and the lost and the opposite of them all.” … “H.S.: La Naval … I never attended it again after high school.”


PRETTY in pink with her first angel, Baby Elise …
[an overexposed photo in this blog site].

DORES LAGMAN: “The first word that comes up is nostalgia … Nostalgia for carefree times of yesteryears and the youthful energy that accompanied us.”


A SELFIE from last year, 2013.

SONNY MARQUEZ: “High school marks a period for my rite of passage.”


FATHER of five, seen here with one
of his daughters, last year’s new bride, Kristine.
 He’s nicknamed Supremo by his gangmates.

TERI MIRANDA-OBEDOZA: “I always feel blessed whenever my birthday (February 2) comes because it was also the birthday of Fr. Pinon … usually Holy Mass would be celebrated and there would also be a program.”


PLAYING Trip to Jerusalem with one
of the boys at Cottolengo Filipino.

RANDY ORDONEZ: “Wonder years.”



RESTORES mem’ries and forms of art through
his Heirloom Archival Printing, soon to be launched.
He shares a sample of his work
and he’s currently preparing his website.

EVIE REYES-LAURITO: “Field Day performances at the PE Building … Mrs. Murillo … na-late ako minsan, hindi na ‘ko pumasok kasi natakot ako sa kanya …”


SHOWING off her Christmas gift; beside her
is BFF Mel, whose answer I failed to save
and she refused to answer again …

EDNA BALATBAT-GATMAITAN: “My friends … my friends through exams and lakwatsa stick together …”


CATCH-UP DINNER when classmate
Del visited Manila early this year. This was
at Crowne Plaza’s Xin tian di.

CYNTHIA ILLESCAS-FORES: Wala’ng maisip in particular but one one of them is our terror (assistant) principal: no less than Mrs. Murillo!”


AT THE QUEEN Elizabeth Park
in British Columbia …

        Of course, such answers aren’t as prolific as when we’re face to face and reminiscing the good old days. You should hear the boys talk about those good old days or is it bad, bad naughty days?

            It’s already tough to find one word to describe high school or one sentence that defines it. It’ll probably take a thousand words or words will never be enough to fully reveal how it was.

DEEDS

        The one thing definite about it is that you can’t help but smile – or even laugh – upon remembering. However, it’s not all reminiscing each time we get together.

            Presently, we no longer have the agility of a teenager. Our realities focus on physical conditions, cholesterol rising and aches and pains to go from here to there.

            But that doesn’t stop us from making long drives – from McDonald’s at Ever Commonwealth, our meeting place, to the hilly city of Montalban, now Rodriguez, in the province of Rizal to cheer the boys of Cottolengo Filipino.



        Or to the cool city of Tagaytay to unwind, try out new dishes or savor once more favorite food, especially at Sonya’s Garden, and personally say our thanks to God Almighty at the Little Souls Sisters Chapel there.



       
        Some of us girls – Ruby, Lydia and, for a couple of sessions, Mel – have likewise ventured into getting physical and finding time to Zumba! And we did it at Mirella’s dance studio, the House of Dance in Quezon City. Our sexy teacher Fina is the one in the middle, front row.

            As you can see, we also have young “classmates,” including Mirella’s daughter, Kim, (right, front row). Bragging aside, they too huffed and puffed like us not-so-youngsters during class …  



            Schedule and distance, however, have since become a hindrance from making us pursue that famous form of exercise …

        While there’s no app for instant memory uploads, we have managed to be techie in our own way and we have comfortably learned to use this generation’s communication gadgets. Never mind if we fumble and mumble before we finally get it …

        And we can still party like rock stars and dance way past our bedtime as one of us turn 60!

H W G

        After a couple of meetings related to the Ruby reunion and the alumni association’s advocacy projects, some of us sort of gravitated towards each other and started getting together on a regular basis.

            Initially, they offered me respite from the daily grind, the familiar and the humdrum. Until I started missing them. Until we developed our own mutual appreciation society. Until we decided to officially call ourselves the Hot Water Gang or HWG.

        We even have this crazy mantra with one simple hand gesture – as seen in the photo below; not in photo are Mirella and Evie but shown in lower photo taken during a Kris Kringle/videoke Christmas get-together – which has nothing to do with our friendship or our noble (?) undertakings.




        The number of years has definitely levelled the playing field – no more sections and all that. Drawn together from different professions and persuasions, we blend pretty well. The only person I know in the group was classmate Cynthia, who convinced me to re-join this high school thing-y in the first place.

            Well, I know Ruby – but I wasn’t sure if she knew me from way back – because she was the editor of the Veritas, the UST High School Yearbook, and Pilipino editor of the Aquinian, the high school magazine.

        Way back in high school, I have never met nor seen the boys in the group – Sonny, Jun and Ernie.

            Sonny is Supremo to us, being the alumni association president for two consecutive years until Frances Soliven-Quebec was voted last year to replace him. Photo shows the two during last year’s elections at Sangkalan …



        Jun has been christened Eddie by the group due to his skills. He is computer savvy and he is utterly dependable at announcing anything and everything relevant to the alumni association through Yahoo and Google. He is also good at producing those video clips that immortalize our get-togethers. When something needs to be done along those lines, he quips, “Eddie sino pa di ako …”

        All this time that we’ve been seeing each other, we have become notorious for asking hot water in any restaurant or fastfood chain we eat at. Notorious because we need the water so that we can taste “supplier” Cynthia’s stash of all kinds of coffee – from three-in-one to gender-related (?) flavors – which come in colorful sachets.

            It’s obvious that we no longer look like a bunch of misbehaving naughty teenagers so waiters and food servers give in to our requests. But it embarrasses Sonny’s wife Charisse when she’s with us.

            Coffee is just one of the many things we imbibe. Another favorite brew is beer. We likewise enjoy buffets, never mind if most of the food are no longer healthy for us to eat.

        We love BonChon fried chicken and everything on the menu of Seafood Island and Burgoo and Mesa and Tong Yang and Kuse and even McDonald’s and Burger King.  






        In between bites, we practically talk about everything and tackle each issue under the sun. That is, of course, after discussing matters at hand, concluded with Sonny’s recap.

            And when we plan things, we still think like high school teenagers – meaning that time is in our hands and we have forever to accomplish them.

        P.S. We have stopped making requests for hot water but the name stuck and that’s how we call ourselves collectively.

M Y (A) M P

        An interesting twist is that we have made our friendship meaningful by making (y)our alma mater proud. 

            The boys of Cottolengo Filipino have been a major beneficiary of the alumni association. I believe that HWG has likewise made this a personal advocacy. In fact, I have discussed this lengthily in previous posts, playing up on how we have become some sort of a family to the boys. They are no longer just a Christmas activity and we have managed to visit them on a regular basis.
       
        And as I have said before, the boys have become more responsive with ready smiles, a far cry from the time when they would simply give us blank stares. [The following photos were taken in 2011 during our Christmas season visit to the shelter with Evie and Lydia.]




        The boys have even learned some skills like molding candles and religious figurines. During one of our visits, the boys – especially Joey – were excited in showing us their work.



        According to Fr. Stefan, the main man at the shelter, this has proven to be good business. More importantly, the boys enjoy doing them. “Sometimes they forget to put some scent but they’re improving,” Fr. Stefan relates. “We’re also improving on quality and packaging.”

            The batch has actively raised funds for them and HWG makes itself available as tour guides for batchmates who want to spend some time with the boys and/or hand in gifts.



AN EARLY breakfast at McDonald’s Ever Commonwealth
before going to Cottolengo Filipino in Montalban. Fr. Stefan
welcomes the group, including US-based Pidoy Banzon with wife
Malou, and Volet Natividad-Carolan from Down Under. With them is Lydia.

        In another of our visits there, Fr. Stefan filled us in about the man behind the shelter’s name. He is Saint Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo or Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, founder of the Little House of Divine Providence.

            “He was the first one to set up a hospital for people with disabilities, including mental problems,” Fr. Stefan said. “It was called the Cottolengo Citadel of Charity and this was in built in Turin 150 years ago.”

        Wow, isn’t that amazing? We’re part of an age-old charitable undertaking?

            And there’s another remarkable man who followed the same path and founded the Sons of Divine Providence congregation and that’s St. Luigi Orione, an apostle of charity and father of the poor.  Cottolengo Filipino is owned and managed by the Local Superior of the said congregation.

        And that’s the reason why his name is written just below the signage at the shelter’s entrance. The following group picture was taken during our visit last year, Christmas season. With HWG are batchmates Emy Elipano and Mon Sanchez.



        Aside from the one in Montalban – which currently houses 42 boys with subsidized SPED classes for 45 indigent boys and girls from nearby communities – there are also shelters in Payatas, Quezon City, where Fr. Julio is now assigned; and Quezon province, with Fr. Martin.
       
GANG RELATED
         
      We have also levelled up the gang’s acts of generosity. I’d like to believe that in a couple of years, HWG has become like the Mafia in a good way – organized.

        Organized in terms of coming up with benefit concerts and other fund-raisers, routing donations from here and abroad, etc.

        With that, we became more confident to explore other areas where we could help. We didn’t look too far though because we felt that Mirella’s advocacy with cancer-stricken kids – through her House of Dance – was a worthy endeavor. Not one of those celebrity-endorsed undertakings, the KKK or Mga Kaibigan Ng Kabataang May Kanser is a non-profit organization formed in 2007 in Iloilo City.

            As mentioned in a preceding post, KKK was introduced to Mirella by one of her daughters’ dance teacher, Sol Fernandez. She has been supporting them for a long time now. 

        In her latest project called Tatak Pinoy, a benefit concert mounted by the House of Dance, HWG humbly volunteered its services – not as dancers – but as receptionists, Souvenir Program staff, and solicitors of sponsors.

            Still with the help of some batchmates – seen in an after-concert photo below, including Bong Dizon, Ansel and Liberty Basilio, Nelia  Villacorta, current alumni president Frances and Emy – and many other kind-hearted citizens, the concert raised a total of PhP220,000 for these kids.



        The non-profit organization – whose president, Dr. Socorro Martinez, watched the benefit concert – was formed primarily to provide financial support for chemotherapy of cancer-stricken children of indigent Filipino families in Iloilo. Mirella has earlier informed us that sadly, most of these children die because the necessary treatments could not be availed of due to monetary constraints.

        House of Dance shared Dr. Martinez’s post about one of the kids being helped by KKK, eight-year old Nene, who is being treated for leukemia. The girl was able to “live her dream of being a flight stewardess even for just a day aboard a PAL (Philippine Airlines) airplane at Iloilo airport.”



        The book The Fault In Our Stars, written by John Green and recently made into a movie, comes to mind. It centers on a 16-year old cancer patient named Hazel, who is encouraged by her parents to join a support group. She then meets an ex-basketball player and an amputee and eventually falls in love with him.

            I read the synopsis in www.goodreads.com – a site that sends book recommendations, etc. in my email. One quote from the book is relevant to what KKK is doing –

        “There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There’s .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others ... Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”

        You see, the more important objective of KKK “is to fight against the hopelessness that the kids with cancer and their families feel.” The emotional support the organization gives, making them feel that they are not alone in their struggle, is “the most important intangible contribution that KKK extends.”

            And I think this is their version of giving the kids an infinity that translates to a heartening taste of “forever within the numbered days.”

        P.S. We were also able to raise some money to help Erlie Pergis, a volunteer teacher from Gawad Kalinga, continue her studies. She sought Sonny’s help and HWG decided to accommodate her tuition fee requirements.
           
MATTERS OF THE HEART

        Talking about reminiscing the good old high school days, the boys who made our hearts beat faster are a perennial topic.

        I had my first crush in grade school but the boys we were attracted to while in high school have the most romantic impact.

            One of the high school heartthrobs include Rey Gruenberg, who attended the batch’s Christmas Kiddie Party last year as shown in photo below. Additional information is that he is the father of hunk actor Polo Ravales, shown in bottom photo.

        Well, his good-looking DNA continues …





        Other cuties were Joseph and Angel but later on, turned out to be more like beauties. There were more cute boys in high school but after all these years, they have to remain unnamed to protect the guilty (read: those who still have a crush on them … LOL).

            Classmate Del, who came home in April and had dinner with me and Edna, said something like these guys never really found out that we had a crush on them.

            Well, she’s wrong.

        Everybody knows who mine is and he himself knows he was “the love of my (high school) life.” Thank God, he found out several years later when it no longer mattered …

            Way back in high school, he was such a cutie. I just loved watching him from afar as he seemingly walks with swag, long hair flowing in the wind, and gloriously thin.  Ha-ha! He didn’t even have to say or do anything. Just show up every single day before I go home … I lived for those near-lunchtimes!

        When some of the HWG girls found out who my crush was, I told them that isa lang naman ang ayaw ko sa kanya. They ask ano? in unison and I answer ayaw niya sa akin.

        Oh well, high school is when you experience what you think is falling in love. Lao Tzu once said that “being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

        Did I learn the virtue of courage then? Or was I simply a template for Aunty Acid’s logic –


        But, as I said earlier, I wasn’t really waiting for him to like me back … and in terms of him, I never felt like it was unrequited love the way Charlie Brown did. I was just having fun …



        Well okay, sometimes, I give in to thoughts of “what if” but that is for another post …

TOTAL RECALL

      Anyway, I never met him much less had any interaction with him during high school. Classmates who knew him from grade school told me what his name was.

            Sometime in 2000, I had the chance to talk to him over the phone. We were having a high school reunion at Sangkalan and he called up to catch up with the boys. A little later, Bong passed the phone to me. He sounded very kind and we tried to get to know each other in that one telephone conversation.

        That moment brought me back to that classroom overlooking the canteen where he, together with the rest of the boys, hung out before their afternoon classes. It was surreal …

            After that, we have become friends in cyberspace.

MILESTONES

      And because we have lived more than five decades, we celebrate our milestones big time.

            “Let’s have a steak party for my birthday,” Sonny announces and the HWG replies positively in unison.

        The habagat threatens and a quick alternative – Vikings at SM Marikina – is put in motion. That was November last year when he turned 60. Ruby likewise pitched in for the treat because her birthday also falls in the same month.

            Sonny was the first one to turn senior and he had this interesting idea of having a Junior-Senior Prom for him and us who will be turning 60 in two years’ time yet.




        But after that, Supremo’s not done celebrating. As soon as the skies cleared, he pushed through with his original plan. I was impressed as he used a timer to ensure our steaks were grilled to perfection.

            The following photos randomly capture how the extended celebration went …






        Last April, BFF Edna celebrated her “seniority” by doing what she loves best – dancing. The venue was Bellevue Hotel in Muntinlupa City and husband Jun indulged her by joining her in a dance number …  



        We, her guests from high school, had fun dancing to the music of our generation. And because we were busy rocking the dance floor, there aren’t any pictures to show for it. But we did have a souvenir shot with the dancing queen birthday girl …



        Before Edna’s event, Ernie’s wife Cathy invited us to a surprise party at Max’s Restaurant in Scout Tuazon for the hubby turning 60. In a couple of minutes, we came up with a “production number” – complete with a headdress (?) made of baby’s breath! – to honor the new Senior. Thanks to Ruby’s talent and creativity, the birthday boy was amused with our number done to the tune of ABBA’s I Have A Dream.



        Of course, we had to be properly introduced and Sonny did the honors, only after he acknowledged Ernie’s positive traits starting with the letters in his name Ernesto. For letter O, he quipped “awesome” …





        Ernie’s kids prepared a memorable program, complete with nostalgic AVPs. His  colleagues at Couples for Christ rendered interesting song numbers even if some of them forgot the lyrics. So timely, senior moments for a senior’s birthday celebration.



            When he finally got the chance to speak, Ernie thanked everyone present and concluded, “see you on my 75th birthday.”

        Well, the kids seem to enjoy surprising the seniors-to-be and last June, Mirella’s daughters Kim and Clang gave her a surprise dinner at the Adarna Food & Culture along Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City.



        The place complemented Mirella’s personality – subdued and with an Old World charm. We had Pancit 1913 for long life; and a sinful moist dessert called Feliz chocolate cake – the best we’ve tasted so far! – for more sweet moments to come.

            Mirella entered the place surprised because she was made to believe that they’re stopping by for dinner before proceeding to PETA Theater to watch the Rak of Aegis.




        And just last week while we were wrapping up this post, we celebrated Mel’s birthday with a hearty dinner at Kuse in Centris, a place which is becoming to be a favorite.          






            Of course, we had Pancit Lechon, among other favorites.



FRANCES’ ADVICE

        On top of all these celebrations, we eat liberally and we pig out in wild abandon – forgetting high blood pressure, disregarding cholesterol levels.

            This, despite incumbent alumni association president Frances Soliven-Quebec’s mandate of “a healthy batch made possible by a positive state of mind, proper exercise and diet.”

            In fact, in her first address to the batch last year – through Yahoo Groups – she encouraged everyone “to share in my advocacy to prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications … as you know (this) is also a global epidemic.”

        Of course, during the day she was elected at Sangkalan, she made clear that wellness is going to be her term’s battlecry.




            She wasted no time in sharing a book she wrote detailing 111 ways towards a long and healthy life.




        We pass the positive state of mind in flying colors. She can give us an A for a-ffort in the proper exercise category. But we surely fail in the diet part.

MISCELLANEOUS

        High school trained us to stick together – against the (assistant) School Principal, for trying new things (read: alcohol and cigarettes and something illegal). We adhered to Commandment #11: Thou Shalt Not Get Caught and Commandment #12: Thou Shalt Not Volunteer Information.

            That trait we practice until today as we continue to watch out for one another. As we try to be always there to help or at least always making an effort.

            And some things remain the same.

        In parties or meetings, the boys still stay together and us girls keep to ourselves. An example was our kiddie Christmas party last year at McDonald’s Centris in Quezon City.




        And oh yes, even when we attended the wedding of Sonny’s daughter, Kristine, at Diamond Hotel in Manila.




        I have fond memories of classmates having two waistlines to be able to adjust the skirt length. You see, the horrible skirt length should be that when you kneel down, it should be in level with the floor.

            Our first taste of alcohol happened right at the PE Building – was that White Castle whiskey? We tried the illegal stuff but that was all,  tried it once. No big deal.

            I looked forward to the yearly Weenie Roasts because that meant interacting with the boys. Usual spoiler would be Mrs. Murillo’s announcement just when everything’s beginning to heat up, “girls it’s time to go home!”

        Somewhere along the way, you soon realize that Trigonometry has nothing to do with life’s realities. And that Chemistry is only relatable in terms of boy meets girl … Too bad though, I never found out whether I had that chemistry with D.

REALIZATIONS

       
        Judging the years that we’ve known each other, BFFs Edna and Joyce never seem to age. Each time we get together, we are still very much like those giggly girls in high school as if the years didn’t go by. In fact, Joyce was saying that even if we don’t get to talk every day, once we do, it’s as if we didn’t miss a thing.

            Taking a look at my high school friends, aka HWG, in a recent get-together – at Asya at Centris – I am happy that time and tide have been good to us.

            We remain active in our daily lives. While I like watching those plants and weeds growing in my small garden and enjoy feeding the birds that hang out in my front yard, I don’t think we will be relegated to simply pruning flora and watching avian creatures. Although there is really nothing wrong with that …

            We are not about to just loll around and slow down. Some of us continue to pursue respective careers. Mel works with government through the Department of Energy, tasked with monitoring the downstream oil industry. Evie remains at UST as professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering.

        Ruby is with Vitarich Corporation and remains active with the Daughters of Mary Immaculate. Ditto with Jun who is manager of the New Pagoda Boarding Homes, a halfway house for seafarers from different provinces waiting to be deployed on ships by recruiting agencies.

            Ernie finds time to serve the Lord, together with wife Cathy, through their community’s Couples for Christ.

        Lydia is a professional realtor, with emphasis on professional. That Lydia Malvar in Janet Napoles’ list of cronies is definitely not her. She works hard and honestly for the money …

            Same thing with Sonny who continues to be professionally active. He just completed a construction project in Calatagan, Batangas. Currently, he tells me he is “technically in between projects …”

            I am in between projects, too. My events planning team – for the unknowing, me and some friends from MOD magazine set up thethirdpartyplanners – has just finished the Clavio-Macalino nuptials last July 20th. The groom, Ardy, is GMA network’s anchor/TV host Arnold Clavio.


       
        Cynthia is now shuttling between Canada and America since she joined her daughters a couple of years back. Currently, she is in Maryland to do what she calls apos-tolic duties. Her daughter there gave birth to a baby girl.

            She doesn’t just spend her time drinking coffee and doing picture puzzles. In fact, she just quit her job in Canada, working part-time at Wendy’s preparing salads and sandwiches. “I did it for three months then quit as I had to prepare for my flight (to Maryland),” she says. “Will be back in Canada by the first week of December.”

            And Mirella, who continues to run House of Dance, is exactly what her daughters said in an invitation they did for her surprise dinner – still swingin’ at 60.  



LEARNINGS        

        I cannot say, however, that we are who we are because we all went to UST High School. But the education we got in this four-year span can neither be overrated nor taken for granted. Unlike what John Mayer feels, it is not plain useless.

            High school may or may not have affected or defined who we are now. It was a fleeting phase and it cannot be measured by a diploma made of special parchment paper. Likewise, it cannot be gauged by the fun and happy memories earned and experienced.

        We cannot even pinpoint which part of History or Algebra or even Religion has the greatest influence on our well-being and persona.

            But for whatever it’s worth, high school is definitely one of the most fun milestones in life. At least, among my high school friends, that letter to Ann Landers stating that “only two kids enjoy high school: One is captain of the football team, and the other is his girlfriend” is definitely untrue …

        We were teenagers in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. They were times of meaningful slogans like “Make Love Not War” and “Peace” and “Flower Power.” As far as I’m concerned, it was a great time to be a high school student.

            Today, those times are a hit for party themes as well as fashion pegs. Need I say more?

            

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