vmhs class '63 digest issue #2
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An Early Exchange of Emailsmembers,
May-June 2012
Issue No. 2 Class ‘63 Digest
Special Interest Articles:
• The Reunion
• Reunion
Rejoinders:
• Obsession
• Yesterday…
• “Huli Ka!”
• Pursuing the
Fil-Am Dream
• A Day in the
Life of a Single
Retiree
Obses-
sion
Individual Highlights:
Featured Birthday
Celebrants:
May
• Carmelita Baylon-
de Guzman
• June
• Lourdes Manuel-
Sajorda
• Racquel Magat-
Sanchez (Pursuing
the Fil-Am Dream
V. MAPA HIGH SCHOOL
It is with mixed feelings that we announce the revival of our VMHS Class 63 Digest. We’re both excited at the same time embarrassed that the second issue of the Digest comes almost five years after the first Digest was issued on September 21, 2007, after which, it went into long hibernation. We can’t think of excuses, but we promise to make up for lost time. In our count down for our 2013 golden jubilee which by now is “less than a whole pregnancy term away”, if I may quote an editorial team member, we feel time is running out on us and there is still a lot of sto-ries that we need to know as we try to catch up on each other. It is only of late (thanks to email and the internet!) that we got reconnect-ed. The intricate sleuth-ing is a great story in itself and worth retell-ing for the benefit of new members.
From the Editorial Team:
The Revival
The Editorial Team
Cesar G. Banaag Juliet de Guzman-Blackwell
Josie Astorga-Campbell Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled
Erlinda Tablan-Fernandez Regie Lauzon
Juliet Mascarinas Racquel Magat-Sanchez
This Digest will try to fill you in, particularly on what life has been like to most of us after Mapa High. Thus we’re featuring batchmates according to their birthdays falling on the months for which this Digest will be pub-lished. We’re afraid though that we can’t feature everyone so our choice will be of prox-imity and availability of information. (Hint: if your birthday is coming please drop us a few lines about yourself.)
As originally intended, this Digest is for every-one and from everyone who wants to write on just about anything. It can be anecdotes on our
high school experi-ence, about life as it is now for you, or even about your family. It can also be a news story like our upcom-ing reunion. Let's make our Di-gest flexible for the purpose of communi-cating our ideas, and disseminating infor-mation to the group. Your views and opin-ions, are most wel-come.
We can’t bring back the glorious golden days (49 years and counting!) of high school life, but surely, the days ahead shouldn’t be less inter-esting.
∞
∞
.
Class ‘63 Digest Page 2 of 12
There was a time when
we were like young
developing trees in a
nursery. God, our Gar-
dener, placed us in
groups and assigned his
assistant gardeners, our
teachers, to each group.
He instructed them to
help us grow into good,
strong trees.
We were so happy. We
spent our days play-
fully hitting each other
with our small
branches. There were
other groups of trees in
the nursery and when
the wind blew, we hol-
lered across to them.
Most of the days, we
were confined to our
own group, happy with
each other.
Then the time came for
repotting. We were ex-
cited. A bigger con-
tainer! At the same
time we were sad to be
separated from the
group. A few of us had
to be repotted with oth-
ers from another nurs-
ery to reproduce our
own young trees. Oth-
ers were placed in
smaller groups in a
bigger nursery to con-
tinue their growth. Un-
til that time when our
Gardener saw that we
were ready to spread
our roots. So He placed
us in different locations
around the world. Indi-
vidual trees were
planted in the North,
South, East and West.
For years, each of us
trees was able to spread
our roots deeper in our
own assigned place.
However, no tree was
spared from Natural
Disasters like storms
and hurricanes. Each
beating just made them
grew stronger, bigger,
greener. Unfortunately,
not everyone survived.
Some were not strong
enough. Their roots
were not deep enough.
The Gardener had to
take them away.
The strong ones re-
mained in their spot.
They survived because
they learned to sway
with the wind. Some of
these trees were able to
reproduce in accor-
dance to their Gar-
dener’s plan. Others
remained on their own
because their Gardener
knew that it is what
was best for them.
Every now and then,
the Gardener would
bring home a tree or
two. He needed to
show the young trees
a good model. When
the sky cleared, some
of the trees were cling-
ing to the West, pushed
there by the strong
Westerly winds. Others
were clinging to the
North, some to the East
and others to the South.
The trees followed the
direction of the wind in
order to stand strong.
Their roots, deep and
wide, in their own spot.
Robust, aged trees. Full
bloom with very strong
branches. Green, huge
leaves. Some even have
beautiful flowers in
them. Different colors
too.
Then our Gardener
thought, "I will bring
these trees in one loca-
tion one more time so
that they will be able to
be together before I
retire them to give way
to the small growing
trees”.
(continued next page)
AN EARLY EXCHANGE OF EMAILS:
Editor’s Note: The following article was first posted in our MapaHighClass63 Yahoo group which elicited some interesting rejoinders. This was subsequently published in the first issue of Class63 Digest. We are reprinting the article here, including the rejoinders, then and now, with the hope of encouraging participa-tion from the group, and rekindling the enthusiasm shown in the early days when we were starting to find and reconnect with one another.
The Reunion By Josie Astorga-Campbell
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 3 of 12
So He did. All the trees
were happy. They were
going to see their group
again. The other groups
too! All of them were
energized by the news.
Each one felt so proud
of how they have
grown. Strong, big,
branches. Stumps so
big and round. Roots so
deep, no strong winds
can uproot. Then
slowly they realized
they can’t fit in the
nursery anymore. Their
branches are so spread
out, they are hitting the
branches of the other
trees whenever the
wind blows. Their roots
get tangled with the
roots of the trees
around them. The trees
that were blown hard
by the Westerly winds
were clinging more to
the West, hitting the
tree beside them which
happened to be cling-
ing more to their side.
It was awkward. They
all knew they liked
each other. After all,
they have the same
Gardener. They are
saddened by this situa-
tion. They want to be
together. They want to
playfully hit each
other’s branches one
more time. Alas, their
branches have become
longer and stronger.
They have all outgrown
their space.
******
To the reader: do you
have any suggestion on
how these trees can en-
joy each other? Please
comment, and pass
around.
The Reunion (cont’d)
A photo collage of mini-reunions
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 4 of 12
From Cesar Banaag:
That's one thought-provoking question - for the trees, that is ;) That's why I'm tempted to an-swer it from the point of view of a gardener which happens to be my favorite role. Why, I'll simply trim all those trees, leaves, branches, roots and all, and then put them all in a bigger space and voila! there's enough room for every-one.
But it seems, poor me,
am one of "them" trees.
Shall I exercise self-
pruning? Cut off some
leaves and twigs here
and some branches
there? And maybe some
roots as well? Shall I
make myself small that
others may have space?
Nah, that wouldn't be
fun. Shall I leave my
trunk and come as a
branch, a twig, or a leaf?
Or maybe, be a little
naughty and come as a
coquettish flower? But
horrors, what if I get
plucked!
Whew! I better leave my
tree trunk and come as a
spirit. I’ll even have the
pleasure of tickling eve-
ryone and nobody
would know who did it.
Alas, I'll just come as I
am. Well, not exactly the
way I was 50 years ago,
that's not even remotely
possible. But I know that
there lies in my heart, as
well as in everyone's,
some bonds that have
been kept intact through
the years. I may have
changed physically,
mentally, emotionally,
but for sure, the bonds I
have with the friends of
my youth, remains. For
how else can I explain
this longing to be with
those friends of long
ago.
If there isn't enough
room for everyone, we
shall embrace and hold
each other tight, for I
know that the bonds of
friendship, born in our
youth, transcends space
– even time.
Worry not, Josie and
everyone. Know in thine
heart, we shall have fun.
From Linda Tablan-
Fernandez: Now you guys make me think, if I'm a tree, what kind of tree am I? Maybe this can be a subject for the newsletter. Let's write about the kind of tree we did become (or what we'd like to be .... we still got time to grow into one). We can elabo-rate on it any which way, seriously or in a fun way.
From C. Banaag:
Thanks Linda! That's a
great idea. And we don't
even have to limit it to
trees. We can write
about "the (blank) that I
have become" and you
can supply the missing
word – tree, plant or
flower (why not?)
The choices are endless.
Just let your imagination
go on the wild side ;)
That will be fun. You
don't have to submit it to
me. Just post it!
From Juliet de
Guzman-Blackwell: Wow, I did not know you
are such a good writ-
er.....and you must be a
super gardener to be in-
spired! I am not a gardener.
My fingers are not green,
they are brown.
Well, I have to print this to
take with me in my train
trip to a meeting and have
to do a lot of pondering
while reading it again
and again and again but
can I choose where I be-
long? Where did the
GARDENER put me?
Do you know? Well
done, mate.
From Peng Estavillo-
Cavanna:
Didn't I already tell you
what kind of tree I have
become? BONSAI tree,
of course!!! Small, beau-
tiful and delicate. Yeah,
right! I am very well
looked after by my gar-
dener husband who has
such a green thumb.
(continued next page)
Reunion Rejoinders: Editor’s note: We are reprinting here the rejoinders to the article “The Reunion” with the hope that the enthusiastic re-sponse to the article will further inspire readers to come out and contribute their thoughts as we approach our Golden jubilee with open heart and mind.
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 5 of 12
From Racquel
Magat-Sanchez:
What a revelation!
Thank you so much for
sending me the premiere
edition of the Digest.
Josie, I like your piece.
Like a parable used by
the Gardener to form His
trees.
Your note to your read-
ers asks suggestions as to
how these trees may en-
joy each other again and
I have some pointers
from the mind of an ar-
borist (ha-ha-ha).
Have you ever wondered
when the Gardener’s
pruning season might
be?
You see, an arborist spe-
cializes in individual
trees. His first and fore-
most duty is to make
sure that the health, ap-
pearance and safety of
trees are maintained.
Here’s another sort of
addendum to your beau-
tiful parable/poem:
The Tree that I’d like to
be
Is with a trunk straight
and true
Its roots firmly planted
into the ground
Those branches reaching
the skies so blue.
I won’t demand so much
sunlight
To make me the tallest of
its kind
For I might take from
those in need
This gift that trees
should always find.
So I ask the Gardener to
prune away
Dead wood and twisted
twigs one
early spring
So my branches might
grow appropriately
And become a reflection
of His Being.
All right, at least give me
a "B" for effort. This is
not my cup of tea and
honestly, I laugh at the
thought of even trying
because some funny stuff
came to mind like whose
branches went huge and
got twisted with other
branches, or those trees
that grew so tall that
their roots encroached on
other spaces.
(Author's note: The article
was written a little "tongue in
cheek", but the underlying
sentiments are quite true.)
Obsession is defined by the
Oxford dictionary thus: “an
idea or thought that domi-
nates someone’s thoughts”
also “the state of being ob-
sessed”
Obsess (be obsessed) is
defined by the same dic-
tionary as “thinking about
someone or something con-
tinually and disturbingly”
Early in 2006 my dear wife
crawled into our bed at
about midnight and dis-
turbed my sleep by giving
me a rather sharp elbow in
the ribs. I remember mur-
muring sleepily “this is
nice, has my luck
changed?” but was met
with a very sharp “no” then
a somewhat, to me, bewil-
dering “I have found one”.
I realize now, upon reflec-
tion, that I should have said
no more, but, being wide
awake, I sarcastically asked
“one what, another crack in
the bathroom tiles, a mouse
in the pantry or a spare bot-
tle of Tanduay under the
stairs?”
“A classmate, you fool,”
was the reply. And so after
many, many hours of
painstakingly searching
through websites, online
Phone books, etc. the first
The author with wife Juliet de
Guzman-Blackwell.
breakthrough had come,
Juliet’s hours of research
rewarded.
Since then, a few things in
our household changed,
instead of being greeted
“Good morning”, it became
“I must check the emails,
perhaps I have another
positive reply from the en-
quiries I have sent”. To call
our email account active
was a huge understatement.
Conversations centred
around who had replied,
which photos had been
shared, who was living
where and the stories of
classmate’s lives. I learnt
very quickly to show inter-
est, ask the odd appropriate
question and encourage
Juliet’s efforts. The alterna-
tive was to stay silent, have
no conversation, and, quite
possibly, no dinner.
Things have settled down
quite a bit now, others have
taken up the search, the
website and social forums
provide the medium for (continued on page 8)
Rejoinders (Cont’d):
Obsession By Ross Blackwell
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 6 of 12
Circa ’63: John F. Ken-
nedy’s assassination
shocked the world; Martin
Luther King delivered his
now immortal speech “I
had a Dream”; and we,
batch ‘63, graduated from
V.Mapa High School - and
we, too, had our dreams.
But before we pursued
those dreams, we first cre-
ated wonderful memories
of high school life together.
This column is about shar-
ing. We invite everyone to
share yesterday’s memo-
ries, good or bad. All of us
have one or two that we
remember most: what we
did and who was with us
when we did it.
Time has a way of blurring
one's memory, so let us see
who remembers well. Let's
confirm each other's
memory. Or dispel those
that may have just been
"figments of our imagina-
tion."
Hopefully, we will rekindle
the feelings we had during
the good old days.
Come with us…..
down memory lane
we go ...
“In our first year I
remember the two
Cynthias, Esguerra and de
Hitta, singing the Lem-O-
Lime jingle in one class;
Racquel Matignas trying to
convince us during election
time she will not make a
good treasurer; neverthe-
less, she was elected class
treasurer. Then there was
Diana who fainted at the
mere mention of a cat. Also
Racquel Magat leading us
everyday in singing the
National Anthem. She
showed confidence and
guts in my mind. Then
there was the teasing of a
student that resulted in her
mother storming the class-
room threatening to sue the
school. Ok that's all folks,
next time 2nd year.”
– Regie Lauzon
∞
“My memory of Juliet
Mascarinas was that of a
quiet girl who was always
neat and clean. Ready for
class all the time. Di ba
tumatayo ang palda mo, by
itself, sa P.E.?”
-Josie Astorga-
Campbell
∞ “I remember the palda.
Once after a presentation
at the Rizal Memorial Coli-
seum, somebody took my
palda and I went home
with a flimsy one.”
– Juliet Mascarinas
∞ “I also lost my new skirt at
that time. I brought home
one that was too short and
too tight on my waistline.
It was a contest from dif-
ferent high schools in Ma-
nila?”
Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled ∞
“One very exciting mo-
ment, was in my English
class under Mrs. Natividad.
We presented "Merchant of
Venice" in one of our
dramatization classes and I
assumed the role of Portia.
I don't quite remember
what act it was but I recall
having to wear a robe dur-
ing the court scene. My
teacher was so amused that
she took the cast to her
other classes.- Racquel
Magat-Sanchez
∞
“Mrs. Gloria Domingo was
our Adviser and also our
Biology teacher. When she
called me, tayo agad ako
and she asked "what's un-
der your skin". Mabilis pa
sa alas kuatro ang sagot
ko..."bones"! Ay mali pala.
She asked again, I didn't
answer maski na every
body around me was
coaching "muscles", "
interaction as the 50th anni-
versary fast approaches.
One thing has certainly not
changed, and that is the
enthusiasm with which
Juliet checks and answers
all incoming e-mails,
morning, noon, and night.
My dear wife insists it’s
not obsession, you be the
judge.
From a personal point of
view, I have found meeting
you all, both in Manila and
the U.S.A., and being ac-
cepted as an “honorary
Mapan”, most enjoyable
and a great privilege.
∞
muscles". - Juliet de Guz-
man-Blackwell
∞
“In our third year English
class under Mrs. Salvatin,
we were made to memorize
Shylock’s piece “To bait
fish withal…”. She called
Eduardo Lopez (RIP) to
recite it, but he wasn’t too
sure and just followed the
prodding from classmates
seated behind him. When
he came to the part ‘He
hath disgraced me and hin-
dered me half a million…’
someone, I think it was
Danny Cunanan, prodded
him ‘half a million pesos’ and Lopez repeated the
words. The class erupted in
laughter.
– Cesar Banaag
Yesterday…
Oh, I Long for Yesterday…
Time has a way
of blurring one’s
memory,
so let’s see
who remembers
well.
Obsession (continued from page 7)
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 7 of 12
“
“Huli ka!” was the catch-
phrase that started it all.
And it meant you’ve been
looped by Batch63 loopers.
Juliet de Guzman-
Blackwell from Down Un-
der was believed to be the
first looper of the batch.
Linda Tablan-Fernandez
was among the early
loopers who jokingly called
it a “Search and Rescue
Operation”. And rightly so,
as it proved to be a wide
manhunt for every dear
batchmate, in an affection-
ate attempt to rescue them
from oblivion. The sleuth-
ing was worthy of John Le
Carre, but we’ll let every-
one do the talking.
We shall appreciate your
version of how you’ve
been looped and what it
means to you. Meanwhile,
we’ll start with a few reac-
tions we lifted from our
group messages as well as
personal contributions to
this column.
∞ I first noticed the word
“huli” in an email from
Meny (Segura-Gonzales)
on March 8, 2007. She
announced to a group of
about seven, who her
second “huli” was - me.
Her phone call three
days earlier was the be-
ginning of a very special
kind of journey for me -
back to 44 years ago. It
also inspired me to ea-
gerly search for long lost
friends and schoolmates.
I am quite proud to claim
a few “hulis” myself.
How did this all begin?
Thanks to Romy (Tito or
Mulong as we fondly
called him) Tolentino
and Juliet de Guzman-
Blackwell for paving the
way to where we are to-
day - 75 members in our
yahoo group alone.
Search and “Huli” is
simply that: we look, we
find, everybody wins.
The feeling of reconnect-
ing with classmates who
were once near and dear
to us … priceless!
Let’s keep this column
alive by sharing our
“huli” stories.- Linda
Tablan-Fernandez
∞ "Just as life was starting
to get boring in 2007, I
got a call from my son.
He said, "Mom, do you
know a Linda Tablan
Fernandez?" He then
proceeded to tell me that
Linda had left a message
asking for my telephone
number." (I called her.)
She told me about this
"Loop" that has started to
form. I believe she said
there are now 8 of them
in the Loop, having fun
with each other. So I
joined and life was never
the same again." - Josie
Astorga-Campbell.
∞ “Josefina, I just received
your letter yesterday. I
graduated from Mapa
High School in 1963 and
I belong to section 4. I
only remember a couple
of my classmates -
Mariano and the other
one is Cruz, that is his
last name.”
– Precioso Domingo
∞ My participation started
June 29, 2007 when I
received an email from
Regie, He knew my e-
mail from the list of
UST Med Tech Class of
67. Juliet GB started
rounding us all up. I re-
ceived a phone call from
her on my 60th birthday.
I live in So Cal, in River-
side County, next to LA
and Orange County.
Meny is just an hour
away. I went to see
Meny at St. Paul's in
1991.-
Juliet Mascarinas
∞ “I am really happy we
are getting somewhere,
may additional na
naman sa listahan and
it's from Reginaldo
Lauzon who has contact
with Julieta Mascarinas.
Wow, amazing!!! Once
someone was traced,
nice na meron din silang
contact with others.
Those people whom I
long to hear from eh
coming into reality na!!!
Awesome!”- Juliet de
Guzman-Blackwell
“Hi Lina P. This is Cyn-
thia de Hitta-Drilon. Fi-
nally someone has found
you. Welcome to our
class loop…I'm sure eve-
ryone will be excited to
see you again and learn
more about you after 44
years. I would love to
chat with you.
Hanggang sa muli.”
Cynthia de Hitta-
Drilon
∞ Wow! This is one "huli"
I really appreciate. All
these years I've been
wondering where have
all my high school
classmates gone, and
now suddenly I'm walk-
ing down memory lane ;)
My eternal gratitude
goes to Juliet M. who got
me looped.- C. Banaag
∞ “Life has become MORE
exciting after having
been reconnected with
some of our batchmates
‘63 and I hope to get in
touch with more former
school mates!”- Johnny
Villanuva ∞
“Huli Ka!” (or How it all Started)
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 8 of 12
Educator Carmelita
Baylon-de Guzman pre-
fers to be described as “a
mother of five and a
grandmother of four”.
This sense of family is
what endeared her to the
countless students of T.
Earnshaw Elementary
School in Punta, Sta. Ana,
Manila, where she was a
school teacher and a moth-
er to her pupils, for almost
four decades.
Mely loves to reminisce on
her senior year as a IV-2
student under Mrs. Alzona.
“She was more than a
teacher to us, she was our
second mother in school,”
she enthused. It was a trait
Mely would take with her
throughout her teaching
profession.
After Mapa High, Mely
graduated from the Far
Eastern University with a
degree in Education in
1967. She started teaching
the following year and it
was to be a distinguished
teaching career .
Mely was a Demonstration
Teacher for Mathematics
and in 1987, she won the
Outstanding Math Teacher
Award in District VI in
Manila.
The following year, she
received the Exemplary
Math Teacher Award, earn-
ing for her an MTAP
(Mathematics Teachers
Association of the Philip-
pines) fellowship leading to
a Masters Degree in Educa-
tion at the National Teach-
ers College.
It was during her masteral
studies that she met fellow
educator Alladin de Guz-
man and they eventually
got married.
Mely retired from teaching
in 2006 as Master Teacher
II, while hubby is currently
dean of Education in a pri-
vate college in San Mateo,
Rizal.
∞
Batchmates would best
remember June celebrant
Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda as a folk dancer who al-
ways performed in school
programs.
Lourdes belongs to a fami-
ly of Mapans. Her brother
and sister graduated from
Mapa in 1958 and 1960,
respectively.
Her parents, Jose P. Ma-
nuel and Natividad J. Ma-
nuel (deceased), were both
educators and Mapa High
teachers. Her mother taught
Geometry while her father
was then head teacher in
the former Hidalgo Annex
who became principal in
the Villamor High School
until his demise in 1972.
Lourdes graduated from
Mapua Institute of Tech-
nology (MIT) with a de-
gree in Chemical Engineer-
ing. She then took comput-
er courses from IBM Phil-
ippines where she met her
husband, Felix Sajorda.
She then joined San Miguel
Corporation as a program-
mer then left for the US
after five years.
In the US, she worked as a
Programmer/analyst in ma-
jor companies in New York
and New Jersey. until her
retirement. Although al-
ready retired, she opted to
work as Claim Analyst in
Aetna Insurance Company,
then later worked part-time
at the Manheim New Jer-
sey.
Lourdes and Felix were
blessed with four children
and two grandchildren. In
between taking care of her
grandchildren, and once in
a while going to parties,
Lourdes enjoys gardening,
cooking and baking.
She counts flower arrang-
ing as one of her hobbies
(having worked part-time
in two flower shops and
had received certification
for flower arrangement for
online courses. Lourdes
also enjoys travelling with
her husband whenever time
permits.
∞
June Celebrant:
Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda
Insert photo
Insert photo
Personality Profiles:
May Celebrant:
Carmelita Baylon-de Guzman
June Celebrant:
Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 9 of 12
As the pilot of the Phil-ippine Airlines 747 was giving instructions for landing, the plane start-ed to turn and there it was - my first glimpse of what was to become my new home! The diamond-bejeweled tapestry of Los Angeles became visibly brilliant through the aircraft's windows on an early evening of October 1981. The stunning lights stretched as far as my eyes could see and I re-membered being carried away with such extraor-dinary sight but was overcome with an un-bearable sadness know-ing that I have left Ma-nila for good. I came to America for a better life, leaving bad memories behind. Thanks to my short-lived career as a business journalist for several weekly and daily news-papers, my trip was funded by both private and government offi-cials, initially to attend a Trade union conference
in Bangkok and Vietnam then proceed to visit my mother and brother in California. My first trip to down-town LA was intimidat-ing as I was literally dwarfed by tall build-ings along several one and two-way streets un-til my little steps led me to the L.A. Times’ build-ing - my dream employ-er. After securing the required papers to stay in the US, I made sever-al attempts to get em-ployment at the Times. My old self, Raquel, was armed with arrogance
and overwhelming self-confidence, took simple grammar and IQ tests, passed with flying colors but miserably failed the required typing speed. "What a joke", I quipped, assuming a clerical job should not be that com-plicated. Besides, I thought this position would just be my step-pingstone to becoming one of the most daring, investigative business reporters. A rude awak-ening was about to begin! While waiting for the Times to make up its mind about hiring me, I
took a data entry posi-tion at one of the largest seafood distributors in the west coast. Here, I met a strange computer consultant who was dared by the VP’s wife to ask me out for a date - Darcy Sanchez, a walk-ing encyclopedia with a peculiar sense of humor. We went out for over 18 months and I was re-married in August 1983 (his first marriage) and I was reunited with my two daughters from pre-vious marriage. What a life-changing process packed with more chal-lenges that I could han-dle while assimilating the American culture! Not only was I unpleas-antly surprised by the reality about working in the US, I was shocked that I was living on my own doing some chores that I wasn’t used to. It meant laborious toil dai-ly and while my tre-mendous ego was slow-ly deflating, my false pride still insisted that I would get the job I truly “deserved”.
(continued next page)
Pursuing the Fil-Am Dream By Racquel Magat-Sanchez
Racquel with hubby Darcy, enjoying a light moment in Hawaiian inspired outfit.
(Editor’s note: The author is celebrating her birthday in June and we are publishing this article as a way of featuring her along with other May-June birthday celebrants.)
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 10 of 12
That was when God de-
cided to give me a hint
of His plan which be-
came the tipping point
of my life. I’m now con-
vinced that the events
that happened were
chronologically land-
scaped to prepare, teach
and mold me to become
the person I ought to be. My initial break in the newspaper business was in 1983 as a pagination specialist at the Pasade-na Star-News where it paid decent wages with insurance coverage and fringe benefits. After a couple of years, my big break happened when the Times finally employed me as a page make-up coordinator which required fast and logical skills to close the needed number of pages daily. I was sort of the "dummy" girl who in-formed each section edi-tors how much space they would get for their stories daily and where ads were placed. I eventually earned both editorial and advertising management confidence but it was the latter that was quick to have of-
fered me an account ex-ecutive position in ad-vertising which gave me the opportunity to travel and win trips to Europe, Mexico and Asia. The prospect of being a re-porter was shelved per-manently while I re-ceived several recogni-tion for a sales job that I never imagined I could do.
Looking back, I could not imagine how I en-dured all the physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that came with the job, but it proved to be a learning experience that leaned more on the spiritual side of life. And as I looked within, I started looking back from where I started to keep me grounded; to make me humble.
I retired from my dream employer in August of 2001 after it was sold to the Chicago Tribune but was hired immediately by the Los Angeles Newspaper Group on September 10, 2001, tak-ing numerous posts from account executive to management and cur-rently, back to consult-ing.
Those unspoken hurdles and challenges in the past helped me make wiser choices. But I’m always learning some-thing new so “growth” is still in progress. I am eternally grateful for the numerous second chances that were and are given to me so that this new life - my rebirth that I now share with my family, including my
five grandchildren, will continue to be my an-chor to prepare for my “next” home.
Pursuing …. (continued from page 9)
A (Baby) Grand Gesture: Class IV-2 of Batch63
recently donated a portable Baby Grand Yamaha
Clavinova to alma mater V. Mapa High School
through batchmate Aida Aldama-Gallardo, music
teacher and only batch 63 graduate who joined the
teaching staff of VMHS. Photo shows Aida playing
the Yamaha as she accompanies a student singer. The
brand new Clavinova was used in last April gradua-
tion rites. Aida Gallardo thanked the donors in her
Facebook account: “Sa VMHS batch 63 class IV-2
Nang magsabog ng kabutihang loob ang Panginoon
ay may nakatanggap ng malaking bitak ng kabutihan.
Natupad ang pangarap na magkaroon ng yamaha elec-
tric grand piano upang magamit sa araw ng pagtata-
pos sa ika 2 ng abril. Sa pangalan ng inyong mahal na
paaralan, lubos kaming nagpapasalamat sa biyayang
ito. Asahan ninyo na pangangalagaan namin ito nang
buong husay. Muli,maraming salamat po!”
Those unspoken hurdles
and challenges in the past
helped me make wiser choices.
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 11 of 12
I'm not the best writer
but I want to tell you
about a day in the life of
a retired single guy.
Nothing really exciting
but enough to answer
some of your questions.
My daily routine is wak-
ing up at around 6:30 am
(no alarm clock) and be-
ing in bed by 11 pm.
Breakfast at 7, lunch at
noon then dinner around
6 pm.
Today I don't feel well,
my allergy makes me
feel like I have the flu.
Probably will rest most
of the day. It's almost 9,
have had my breakfast,
read the morning paper
and still working on my
sudoku while watching
CBS "This Morning" on
tv.
The sun is out and if I
feel like it, would do
some work outside,
spring cleaning still has
to get done. It's 9:30, I
have finished my su-
doku, filled the bird
feeder with seeds and
have washed the dishes.
There's a pile of tissue
begging to be thrown
away.
Almost noon time, what
else have I done? Ah
yes, I paid my bills, took
chicken from the freezer
to thaw and chatted with
a friend online for about
half an hour.
This afternoon I have to
make leche flan to take
to our meeting (Fil-Am
Association of Central
NY) tomorrow, then
cook my arroz caldo
with chicken. I can't
really taste anything and
tired of chicken noodle
soup and crackers.
Just turned off the oven,
leche flan is done, arroz
caldo is almost cooked
but I couldn't check for
seasoning without my
sense of smell and taste.
Cooking is fun when you
can taste as you go
along. Nothing I can do
now.
Decided not to do any
heavy work like garden-
ing but instead watched
back-to-back episodes
(Thursday and Friday) of
"Walang Hanggan".
Took a short nap which
was interrupted by a
phone call. My lawn
mowing service guy
broke his wrist and I
need to find someone
else to mow my lawn.
Don't have a lawn
mower anymore.
The evening was rather
uneventful. Dinner at six
while watching the local
news, 6:30 national news
then entertainment news
between 7-8 pm. I was at
the computer at 8, logged
off by 9:30. Watched
"True Blood" till 11 and
in bed on time.
Of course, some days
can be more exciting, but
that won't be a typical
day in the life of a single
retiree, and that is an-
other story.
∞
Batchmates (L-R): Rudy Tolentino, Josie Ilagan-Alejandro, Menchie Vidal Ventura, Lulu Manuel-Sajorda and Regie Lauzon represented Batch 63 in the Dinner-Dance fund-raising of the East Coast Chap-ter of Mapa High School Alumni Association USA and Canada. Lauzon was inducted board member of the East Coast Chapter which will host the 2013 MHSAAUC-sponsored biennial reunion in North Amer-ica.
A Day in the Life
of a Single Retiree By Regie Lauzon
Class ‘63 Digest
Page 12 of 12
MAY
2 Angelina Palaad-Paraiso
8 Josie Ilagan-Alejandro
9 Benjamin Andres
14 Emelito Asturias
16 Nicanora del Monte
17 Florentino Bugallon
23 Carmelita Baylon-de
Guzman
25 Carlos Jalijali Guanlao
JUNE
4 Benita Sacluti-Gonzales
12 Violeta Portillo
22 Racquel Magat-Sanchez
23 Buenaventura Ugarte
25 Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda