Class 1975 2nd SFO Reunion Feb. 19,2000

Thanks so much to all of you who went to the Bay Area reunion on Saturday. Special thanks to Noel and Mars for coming all the way from LA. Saludo ako sa inyo. Thanks also for the food, desserts and drinks that poured that night. Sobrang daming pagkain that my family and I are still eating the leftovers. And oh the cakes...yummy!

And of course thanks to all the significant others who came. I hope they didn't think that the Paconians were crazy people. Pero mukhang there will be some explaining to be done later that night...like I did. Biro lang. Anthony really enjoyed everyone's company.

The kids had a blast, too, I hope. Wala namang umiyak so siguro enjoy din sila. I will have to leave the details to those who are better at writing them...Noel? Lani? Anyone?

Pero I can't help but say that Alex is a real Paconian. Alam pa niya ang PCS song. Kami nina Noel, hanggang "Here We Are" lang. Mars taught everyone how to drink "shots" and not cocktails. Mars, nasa freezer pa yung vodka.

Here's the list of people who were present...in order of arrival:

Dennis and Ella with sons Joni, JV, Jomar and Paolo
Noel
Lani and Rod with sons Jed and Andre
Evelyn with sons Francis and Nikki (Evelyn, talaga bang sons?)
Babes (Concepcion) with daughter Monica
Angeline and David with daughters Rachel and Elise
Rey Cote and Vangie with children Alex and Alyssa
Al Nodado and Gigi with daughters Adrianne and Mariel
Alex Ramirez
Mars and friend Monet

Did I miss anyone? Pasensiya na kayo if I misspelled the name(s) of your children.
We missed Romy Ayong who could not leave work early that day.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone and I look forward to the next one...LA, here we come!

I could not believe that after 25 years of not seeing each other, parang pareho pa rin ang "tsismisan" natin. Reminiscing about those days was such fun that I was still hyper afterwards. My friend, Obet, and I stayed up until 5 a.m. dahil hindi pa ako inaantok!

You and Anthony were the perfect hosts. Alagaan mo ng mabuti 'yan because I think God broke the mold when he was born. Your kids are great as with the rest of the kids who were there. May bunga ang pinagpaaral sa atin sa Paco - nakikita sa mga anak natin.

My regret is that wala tayong video of the event. Mayaman na sana ako kaba-blackmail para huwag ikalat ang mga napag-usapan duon. Dennis still has his infectious giggle; Alex Ramirez still knows everything and anything; Lani, Babes and Evelyn barely changed (that's meant in a good great looking sexy way); Rey is still soft spoken; Angie bloomed into a conservative Republican (????); Mars and I have finally accepted our not being together anymore; and MOST OF ALL, I have finally put closure on Al's past!

Now that I have stirred a hornet's nest, bahala na kayong umispelling kung ano ang details of the above.....ha....ha....ha.......! 'Yan ang napapala nang wala duon....mahuhuli sa balita! Boots and Kitty joined us in spirit when they called for a marathon phone conversation with us that night (magkano kaya ang phone bill ninyo next month?) hehehehehe........

Dennis (with his family) and Noel were first to arrive, naturally because Dennis and Richie are neighbors. Eh pag nahuli pa naman siya, eh makakarinig siya sa amin (just kidding). Beybs Guevarra-Bucholz (with her daughter), Evel yn Flores-Ramoin (with 2 sons) and I (with my husband and 2 sons) arrived right about the same time. And hey, hindi kami nagkabiglaan! That was a good sign, huh, which means we all aged gracefully, including Richie of course --she even looked younger now with her size 3 figure. I remembered her as chubbier in high school. . She was the perfect hostess always making sure everyone was enjoying.

It was really heartwarming to see those familiar faces again. Beybs is still soft spoken and she still has this unique tone of voice that is so malambing. It's just too bad that she had to leave early to meet an aunt at the airport. Evelyn is still mahinhin and I see that she gets a lot of exercise from keeping up with her 3-year old son who enjoyed dashing through all parts of Richie's house. Angeline Gonzales, who admitted she is a waray just like Pilita Corrales, which explains her ease in the English language than Tagalog, came with her husband, David and their 2 lovely daughters.

Now let's talk about the boys...or rather gentlemen (hindi na bagay ang "boys" sa kanila). Excited ako talaga nuon pa na ma-meet si Noel dahil mahilig talaga akong humagalpak ng tawa. And I was not disappointed, he was everything that I thought he would be, antics and all. Dennis is very reserved at ang cute-cute niyang tumawa, siguro yun ang kaniyang "it" sa mga babae nuon, kaya maraming nahulog sa kaniyang mga kamay. Noel commented that Dennis didn't change a bit, not even his hair style. Ella (Dennis' wife) agreed and volunteered the info that Dennis is the master hairstylist of all their kids---kaya pare-pareho ang kanilang mga gupit. Kidding aside, ang bait bait talaga ni Dennis, kung hindi siguro siya nag-asawa, pare (as in Padre Damaso) siya ngayon.

Sa tingin ko ay mas mahihinhin yung mga lalaki kesa sa mga babae --- ewan ko ba pero parang behaved na behaved silang lahat that night. Was it because katabi nila yung mga misis nila? (I think that's better left unanswered) Mapunta tayo dito kay Rey Cote, hindi ko siya masyadong narinig magsalita that night---ngiti lang siya ng ngiti (dahil kaya katabi rin niya si Misis?). Next time Rey, papaaminin ka namin talaga kung sino ang crush mo nuon sa high school. That was the question we asked each one, ala "Truth or Consequence". We cornered Dennis and had him explain the rumor that he had 2 great loves back in high school. And again katabi rin niya si Misis so we weren't so successful. Mahigpit talaga ang kanilang mga bantay.

We appreciate Alex Ramirez' presence that night inspite of the fact that his wife was recuperating from an illness back in LA. Hope she gets well soon! At last here's a member of the boys department who actually remembers me and K akak (not fondly, but as the ones who laugh the loudest in our group). Alex is a "Cantor" and he does it so well, he led us in singing our school hymn that goes, "Hail to Thee, our Alma Mater, Hail To Thee, our second home. We Thy Children.....that's it, hindi ko na kasi alam ang kasunod. I'm really impressed, tandang tanda pa niya.

The boys were amazed at Al Nodado's transformation. Grabe pala siya nuon mang-asar. Oh well, ngayon iba na siya, meron na siyang "halo" (pronounced hey-lo) sa ulo, at saka hindi na niya maalala yung crush niya nuon. To keep us from probing further, sabi na lang niya ang crush niya was one of our teachers (safe answer). Despite his "balbas sarado" look at matipunong katawan, si Bro. Al ngayon ay mukhang anghel na.

That special night wouldn't have been possible if not for Anthony (Richie's husband) who painstakingly prepared the sumptuous dinner - a salmon dish topped with a really luscious sauce sprinkled with bits of tomatoes, basil, green pepper and a generous sprinkling of "caviar". Feeling "rich and famous" kami after partaking of it. Pang-international talaga ang dating ni Anthony when it comes to gourmet cuisine. Pati ang kaniyang fried rice ay naiiba---it was probably cooked with clam sauce kasi nakakalat yung clam shells sa fried rice. Matanong nga si Anthony -again another unique concoction. Even the green salad was special cuz he whipped his own brand of dressing. Kaya kayong gustong matuto ng anything gourmet, Anthony is it! Appointments can be arranged by telephoning Richie.

Last but not the least, pero last pa rin, dahil late siyang dumating, ay si Ma rs Mauro, together with her significant other, Monet (you've got to meet her cuz she knows a lot about mixing cocktails-- she matches the drink to the person). Mga 4 hours late lang naman si Mars. Pinatawad narin namin siya because she had to run around town to look for the best in desserts. Magaling magpalusot! She ended up at Trader Joe's with a variety of yummy cakes. And my, how she gulps vodka straight, bottoms up! Richie reigns second sa galing tumagay ng vodka. Nagmistulang Santa Claus si Mars sa pamimigay ng nga M&M stuff toys/candies sa mga bata, and aromatic candles (special ordered) sa mga adults. She also talked a lot about investing in penny stocks, while doing "tagay" with the men.

Mars & Richie have mastered the art of intercepting the bill---that I learned when we had lunch at the Olive Garden the next day after the reunion. Mars' style is cool, she converses with the bartender while slipping the money when we're not looking. Richie's style is the classic "May I go out to the bathroom" and that's when she connives with the waitress and the cashier. Next time you go with them, you've got to be as creative, or even more, to surpass these tactics they have mastered through the years.

O, did I forget anything? Ako na ba ang panalo, Boots & Lina? Hironako! Wanakosabe! Sukonako! Hainaku!

Lani Gaite-Flores