Vol. 7, No. 9, August 4, 2003

The LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc. is calling on generous alumni worldwide for donations in support of its Scholarship Program.  Fe Quimbo (Batch '55), in photo, past LCHS Alumni Foundation president, says the limited funds of the Foundation are now barely sufficient to subsidize its average of six scholars each year.  With the rising cost of tuition fees, the number of its scholars faces the grim prospect of reduction to even fewer grantees.  The Scholarship Program, conceived in February 1998, grants annual scholarship to children of less fortunate alumni to enable them to study in LCHS.   Funding of scholarship grants is derived from bank interests earned on the time deposit placement of the Foundation.  Its source of funds relies mainly on voluntary contributions of alumni and friends.  The Foundation and the LCHS-AA will soon solicit the help of alumni in the Philippines and abroad with a joint appeal by e-mail.  Alumni based in Iligan may give their contributions directly to Fe Quimbo, or LCHS Foundation president Siote Dy, or any alumni officers.

Spectrum archive now available on new website

The Spectrum website containing its library of past issues has moved out of the IligaNet server.  In recent weeks, several alumni here and abroad who wanted to review past issues of the Spectrum have written the Spectrum to report the inaccessibility of the web page on Iligan.com.  As a result, the Spectrum has transferred its archive from IligaNet to GeoCities in the U.S.A. where alumni anywhere can now browse past issues of the Spectrum with relative ease.  The Spectrum archive, containing the complete collection of its past issues from April 15, 1997 to Dec. 23, 2002, is now accessible at the Spectrum Home Page at www.oocities.org/lchsspectrum, under "Spectrum Archive."

Joint induction postponed to Aug. 9

The joint induction of officers, directors and trustees of LCHS Foundation and Alumni Association will be moved to Saturday, August 9, 2003.  It will be held at Crystal Inn, Maria Cristina Subdivision, San Miguel, Iligan City.

To be inducted as officers and directors of LCHS-AA are:  Henry Dy, president; Suniel Lim, first vice president; James Booc, second vice president; Roger Suminguit, secretary; Teresita Racines, treasurer; Vy Beng Hong, auditor; Rodolfo Yu, PRO; Ernest Oliver Uy, assistant PRO; Glenda Sy-Cabilan, Dy Sio Te, Fe Quimbo, Arturo Samson, Alexander Chua, Chester Dy-Carlos, Carlos Dy,  Calixto Tan, Andy Lee, Manuel Te and Santiago Ong, directors.

To be inducted as officers and trustees of LCHS Foundation are:  Siote Dy, president; Mary Ann “Andy” Lee, executive vice-president; Fe D. Quimbo, vice preisident for internal affairs; Roger Suminguit, secretary; Catalina Dagohoy-Decipolo (Batch ’75), treasurer; Suniel Lim, auditor; Roger Suminguit, Dy Sio Te, Christopher “Tek-an” Chua, Mary Ann “Andy” Lee, Suniel Lim, Fe D. Quimbo and Vy Beng Hong, trustees.

The new set of officers, directors and trustees will serve from 2003 to 2005, in time for the holding of the second grand alumni homecoming.

Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

Brain drain

Franzemyll V. Dy (in photo), daughter of Wilson Dy (Batch '72), is now in Fuzhou, China to compete in an international mathematics contest.  She started the qualifying process while she was still studying at Lanao Chung Hua School.  Unfortunately, she is now enrolled at the high school department of MSU-IIT (Mindanao State University--Iligan Institute of Technology) along with her classmates Samantha Fae C. Chan, Darryn Michael W. Chiu and Jason Edric T. Dy.  What raised our eyebrows was the fact that these are not run-of-the-mill students.  They are our valedictorian, salutatorian and honors graduates.  One cannot help but ask what's wrong with our alma mater when four of our top-five graduates chose to migrate to other school?

Alumni on the move

From Peter Dy (Batch '66), "Tracers" learned that a group of alumni golfers are off to Manila for a national golf tournament.  They are LCHS-AA president-elect Henry Dy (Batch '64), Carlos Dy (Batch '58)[in photo at left], Joe Tan, Christopher Chua Tek An (Batch '55) [in photo, second from left], and Bebencio Palang (Batch '56).  They made up the Iligan contingent in the Filipino-Chinese Golf Tournament in Manila on Aug. 2-3, 2003.  Meanwhile, spotted taking a quick business trip to Cebu two weeks ago was Salvador Booc (Batch '66), basketball star of LCHS in the 60s.  Salvador, or Sheik Kian, now a resident of Cagayan de Oro City, runs a flourishing bakery in Lapasan, CdO.  Three of his grownup children spent some years working in Taiwan.  They are now back home and are successfully managing their own Internet cafes in CdO.

"Tracers" also learned from its satellite connections that Josiefel Quimbo-Ello (Batch '83) [in photo, third from left], flew over together with her family from their home base in Vancouver to Edmonton, Canada last week to spend a brief vacation with uncles Peter Dy (Batch '66) and Jesus "Hesing" Dy (Batch '63).  In Cebu, Aida Lim-Uy (Batch '61), who owns Cebu Fortune Travel, was a recipient of Special Citation during the Grand Chamber Awards Night of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc.  Her award was in recognition for her outstanding contribution to the travel industry in Cebu.  The Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry this year is headed by Carlos Co of the Cebu Oversea Hardware, Inc.   Meanwhile, Dionesio Clemen (Batch '70), aka Sy Sin Chong, who used to work as salesman of the Cebu Oversea Hardware, is now running his own business in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.   He is engaged in the copra business and other agricultural products.  His sister, Felicitas Sonia Clemen (Batch '71) [in photo at right], is working with a pharmaceutical company in Davao City.  She used to work at the Cebu Ever Drug Co. of Sy Chu Tek (Batch '56) in Cebu City.

Juanita Portugaliza, 79

Juanita Portugaliza passed away on July 29 and will be laid to rest on August 4, 2003 at the Iligan Chinese Cemetery.  She was 79 years old.  She is survived by her children:  Gil (Batch '73), Celina (Batch '73), Sherley (Batch '74) and Cecilia.  We request our readers to pray for the eternal repose of her soul.

Thanks from Sianse Siok We
Sat, 26 Jul 2003 14:42:25 +0800

Thanks so much for the support given to me by all the LCHS alumni, specially to Charles Sy and Igdono Caracho.  CEC's Ms. Yap passed away so unexpectedly; the vacuum she left behind gave me no choice.  Being the acting administrator, I can only do my best.  Hopefully I can meet everybody's expectation.   In closing, I want to let you know how much I appreciate those alumni working for the publication of the Spectrum.  The Spectrum is doing a good job, keeping us updated with what's going on in Iligan, the school and our alumni.  Some articles about old times (our time) and the  people we knew are really fantastic.  They bring back a lot of good memories.  --Kho Siok We, Cebu Eastern College, Cebu, Philippines, email: khosw@pacific.net.ph

With felicitations, our congratulations to the new set of officers for the LCHS-AA year 2003-2005 on the occasion of the incoming Induction and Changeover Ceremonies! Sail on! Good Luck!  From Remedios, Marciano, Elenita, Pablito, Ricarda & Timestocles Tan.  --Remedios Tan Wee (Batch '64), Cotabato, Philippines, email: airtime168@hotmail.com

Alumni updates
Sun, 27 Jul 2003 18:27:12 +0800

To uncle Charles:  I have visited the web site and glanced at the Batch Directory; there is a slight revision with the detail, namely:

Batch 1963:   Ursulina Bernardo (Esteban), Excellent Hardware, Inc.,  810 Reina Regente Street, Binondo, Manila, Tels: 02-2449420; 02-2441206,  Telefax: 02-2441196, Cellphone: 0917-5347875; email: resteban@starnet.ph and ehi168@starnet.ph

Batch 1990:   Clair Ann Salud (Esteban), Excellent Hardware, Inc., 810 Reina Regente Street, Binondo, Manila, Tels: 02-2449420; 02-2441206,  Telefax: 02-2441196, Cellphone: 0917-5380128; email: resteban@starnet.ph and ehi168@starnet.ph

Batch 1989:  Jason Robert Lim, Regence Enterprises, Sabayle Street, Iligan City, Tels: 063-2213593; 063-2216524, Cellphone: 0917-7162320

Batch 1987:  David Warren Lim, Regence Enterprises, Sabayle Street, Iligan City, Tels: 063-2213593, 063-2216524, Cellphone: 0917-3222998

Batch 1990:  Sheena Bernardo (Magallanes), Gerona Highway, Tambo, Iligan City, Cellphone: 0917-7162380

Batch 1994:  Kenneth Bernardo, URC Enterprises, Aguinaldo Street, Poblacion, Iligan City, Tels: 063-2213157, 063-2230553, Cellphone 0917-5300128

Batch 1993:  Michelle Salud (Siao), URC Enterprises, Aguinaldo Street, Poblacion, Iligan City,  Tels: 063-2213157, 063-2230553, Cellphone 0917-7160097, email: marksiao@iligan.com

Batch 1975:  Emilia Bernardo (Chiong), Dona Cristina Subd., Banawa, Cebu City,  Tel: 063-2545518;  Cellphone 0916-8233498

--From Richard Esteban, e-mail: resteban@starnet.ph

To Richard Esteban:  Thank you for your inputs.  The corrections and additional info are now in place on the batch directory.  Best regards! --Charles O. Sy, Cebu, Philippines, e-mail:  syanlok@yahoo.com

Hi Jen, it's nice to hear you're back in school.  Nicer still to hear you've got a classmate who's older than your mother!  I  always admire people who never stop learning.  Since the second grand alumni homecoming is fast approaching, we are updating our database of alumni especially the younger ones.  Can you recall any Mary Grace Tiu or Gladys Joy Tiu as one of your classmates?  Gladys Joy is not listed in our Directory but we have information that she finished Grade Six in Lanao Community School in 1983 or 1984.   Can you recall any of your classmates who was not included in the Directory posted in our website?  We are in the process of reaching out for lost or unheard-of alumni.  (Reminds me of the story of the good shepherd and his lost flock.)  --Victor Chiu, Iligan City, Philippines, e-mail:  perfidia6180@hotmail.com

Hi Boss!  Of course I know Grace Marie, she was our valedictorian when we graduated in grade six.  She's our batchmate, Batch 87.  I know that Gladys is just one year younger than we are so she should belong to the Batch '88. --Janiefer Q. Lee (Batch '87), Makati, Philippines, e-mail:  janiefer@pacific.net.ph

To Charles O. Sy:  Hi, remember me?  This is Emma Yap-Matiao, your fellow LCHS alumna. I have been trying to contact you and was able to locate your cell number from the batch list on the Spectrum website.  Congrats again for another job well done on the batch directory! --Emma Yap-Matiao (Batch '66), Dumaguete, Philippines, via text message, cell 0917-3141417

Views on GAH 2005
Mon, 21 Jul 2003 03:00:32 +0000

This is my view on GAH2005.  Those three days are sure enough to rekindle some memories and make us all long for more, just like the first one.  Besides, it is a burden for the organizing committee for a prolonged agonizing work ug basi'g motagam.  Due recognition should also be given to the organizing group who tirelessly and voluntarily devotes time and money for such an occasion for everyone to cherish ... lechon is not enough.

On the topic mentioned by Eddie Tan about sex discrimination on the selection of awardees, I would probably say that we have to give due recognition to the deserving people, irregardless of their sexual orientation. Give unto Ceasar what is due unto Ceasar.  I guess that's what the Committee on Awards did rather than being sexist.  Just like other reunions we have attended, I guess teachers who are out of town should be given free accommodations which can be taken care of by having local graduates accommodate them as house guests.  For sure one teacher to a family is easy enough to handle. I suggest that all teachers who will attend the reunion should not be charged any fees. Instead, we could request somebody to sponsor or one class to chip in for one teacher of their choice. I agree with Johnny Chen's vision that we have to urge people to register early to make it easier for the organizing committee to move forward.  One solution to this is to start and keep on talking about GAH 2005 starting now and in every Spectrum issue.  In such column, the address to where registration fees shall be sent must be mentioned all the time. This will serve as a reminder and, at the same time, an invitation to entice more attendees.  A Committee on Accommodation for out-of-town teachers should be formed to handle this matter so as to encourage more teachers to attend.

As usual, long speeches should be avoided, like keynote speakers.  Reunion is designed for more or less informal gatherings of certain group of people sharing common interest.  I for one don't care who will come to address the group. I'd rather be with my classmates and schoolmates.  I'd rather listen to Mr. Fidel Fuertes' inspirational talk than to any dignitary's speech.  Ernesto Yu has a point about safety and security because everyone is looking forward to have a smooth happy and memorable reunion. --Alex Rodriguez (Batch '66), Miramar, Florida, U.S.A., email: alpacino_8@hotmail.com

Dear Friends and Fellow Alumni:

Greetings!  We are pleased to report that every year we are sponsoring the scholarship of six children of our less fortunate alumni.  Because of your generous support, we are able to maintain this number since 1998.

This scholarship program, conceived in February 1998, grants annual scholarship to children of less fortunate alumni to enable them to study in LCHS.  Funding of the scholarship grants is derived from bank interests earned on the time deposit placement of the Foundation. Its source of funds relies mainly on voluntary contributions of alumni and friends.

However, with the recent decrease in bank interest rates, the interest earned on deposit is barely sufficient to cover the cost of scholarship.  With the rising cost of tuition fees, the number of its scholars faces the grim prospect of reduction to even fewer grantees.  Much as it is the Foundation’s wish to sustain the current number of scholars and even accommodate more deserving students, we are however restrained to do so.

In view of the existing situation we are appealing again for your generous support for the Scholarship Fund.  We hope that our alumni, who have the means, will find it in their generous heart to extend their helping hand to the alma mater.  As Henry Siao, LCHS School Director, said in his speech during the grand alumni homecoming, our "greatest reward would be the glow of inner satisfaction that we would feel for having repaid to our alma mater what we have received from it."

Your support on this noble endeavor will be appreciated in immeasurable ways by our scholars.  We will be happy to accept your donation through a direct deposit to our account at Banco de Oro, Iligan Branch, Account No. 607-10200047-7, under LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc. or you can contact Miss Siote Dy or the undersigned.  Thank you for your continued support for the Scholarship Fund.

Sincerely,

For and in behalf of the officers and the board of trustees of LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc.
Fe Dy Quimbo
Past President, LCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc.

Marie Janiefer Q. Lee, Batch '87

Ask me where I was last Saturday night?  Well, at about the time the whachamacalit soldiers (I’m not trying to sound impolite but there’s still a debate as to what to call them, some would call them rebel soldiers while some would call them mutineers) were setting up their booby traps and positioning themselves strategically inside and around the Oakwood Premier, I was just a stone's throw away.  I was with my friend Arlene in Greenbelt.  At around that time we were just sipping our Starbucks’ Green Tea and contemplating whether to get a Brownie or a Cinnamon roll to go with our tea.  Which reminded me of that one sip I made which probably caused a third-degree burn on my tongue.  Ay naku, I should have waited for it to cool a little before making that one sip.  But what the heck, don’t cry over spilt milk, so they say.  What’s done is done; so I just started hoping that the sting in my tongue would go away by morning.  Although theoretically speaking, it was already morning.  Even if the whole Greenbelt 3 was still buzzing with life there was no denying that it was already 2 a.m.  Yes, it was already the wee hours of the morning.  But the whole place was still packed; there were still kids and toddlers running around while their parents were sipping their drinks at the al fresco bars around the fountain.  Arlene and I were just having our one-for-the-road tea after listening to a band at Tavern on the Square.  We didn’t have any inkling that just a few blocks, actually just barely two blocks away, something dramatic was already unfolding.  We were really clueless.

At around 8 a.m., Sunday, my brain was still half awake and my eyes were still half open when I checked my cell phone and the lone message there was from my sister–in-law telling me to avoid going to Makati. The skeptic in me deleted the message right away muttering, “Why can’t these people stop all this rumor about coups?” But then my nocturnal friend Arlene texted me that she can’t go to the gym because it’s close due to the unrest in Makati.  That’s when I bolted out of bed and turned on the TV.  GMA 7 was showing a press conference from Malacañang. I gasped and said, “My goodness, it’s all true.”  The big question hovering on my head at that time was a big “why?”

I was really curious what drove these officers and gentlemen to throw their military careers to the wind and risk their lives and that of the public. Aside, of course, from threatening to blow up one of the very nice and expensive buildings in central Makati.  Had there been faces of the opposition leaders on TV showing support to the Magdalo group, then it would be easier to comprehend that there’s some hidden agenda to this.  But the whole day that this whole scene was playing nobody from the Erap group showed up, so I was getting more confused.  Could these men be just too idealistic?

When their demands were aired on every TV channel, I felt nothing but sympathy for this group.  Some of their grievances really hit home.  But it seems that their means of airing those complaints was kinda off.   I can see that these officers are highly intelligent and, knowing this, if their sole aim was just to air out their dissatisfaction of the system, then they could have thought of some other way other than this.  But this whole thing is under investigation.  Although at the rate the wheel of justice moves, I doubt if we’ll see the prosecution of the big fishes behind this whole thing.  Well, before I air out my own two cents worth, I have to stop here and not speculate on things that I’m not an expert on.  Before my mother drags me by the hair and tie me to a tree upside down.

I was just surprised at how they thought of seizing Oakwood Premier.  I was expecting the activity to be centered either at the Edsa Shrine or in Malacañang.  It never entered my wildest imagination that the whole commotion was actually happening right under my nose.  The minute this fact sank into my sleep-deprived consciousness I thought to myself that this is not a coup.  I mean that based on my past experiences on “coups,” this one is totally different.  We should try to come up with a new term for this “exercise” because based on the attention and the media exposure the Magdalo group gathered over the weekend, I won’t be surprised if some other disgruntled junior officers would follow their lead.  You know how it is with us Filipinos; we’re good at imitating others.  Just like when one channel started whose tele-novelas, all the other leading TV stations followed suit.  When the “black pearl” or sago mania broke loose some years back, every corner was riddled with sago concoctions of all varieties.  It even comes in different colors, as many as the imagination could take.  Although what happened last weekend was more like a tele-novela, I’m just afraid that copy-cats might begin to breed and it might spread like a plague, or spread like the sago stalls everywhere.

So ask me where I wanna be this coming Saturday night?  My answer would be ... at home.  I’d rather make my own Green Tea and sip it in the comfort of my bed while listening to my favorite band’s CD.  And just be contented with texting Arlene, forego the face-to-face chatting when we see each other at the gym on Monday.

Dearest Daddy,

It was a very beautiful day today.  The past days have been sunny with not a hint of a breeze, but today was just the perfect weather.  A little rain moistening the hard, parched earth and showering the leaves with dew.  I wish you could have been here with me.  It would have been a more beautiful day.

Daddy dearest, I wonder where you are.  Do you think I’ll find you someday?  Will you recognize me on the street, I wonder.  What if we do meet each other everyday, only we don’t know that each is the other?  That would be pure romance, Daddy, if it were true.  Do you admire intelligence in a woman?  You must, Daddy.  I can’t imagine you carrying on a conversation with someone having a feather for a brain.  And I am not being awful mean, just awfully frank.  That’s two awfuls in one sentence.

It wouldn’t be fair to you, Daddy, if I didn’t describe myself to you.  Perhaps I should just send you a picture of myself.  But then I wouldn’t know where to send it.  Letter-writing can be such a dilemma when you have no address to send it to.  I’m very pretty or so I’ve been told.  A winning smile is an ace of mine so this means that I’m not buck-toothed, Daddy.  I have a sunny personality which I think you’ll like.  Of course, I can be serious if needs be.  There are always two sides to a coin.  What about you, Daddy?  How do you appear to be?  Surely not a knight in armor with a claymore?  That’s going overboard, Daddy!  But it would be so much fun, wouldn’t it?  Tickled-pink fun.
 

What about English?  I hope you do like it more than just some because it is a very great love of mine.  I love the language and just about everything in literature.  Poems, although I have no favorite poet.  I do like Alfred Noyes’s The Highwayman.  Have you read that piece?  I’ll send you a copy if you haven’t read it yet.  Or perhaps one of my original poems?  Would that be too presumptuous of me, Daddy?  Or perhaps one of my writings?  Perhaps you will find them extremely lacking to a man of your great intellect.  Oh, I do so wish we can meet, Daddy and have healthy debates over poets, poems, writers, and stories.  I just love debates, Daddy.  Did I tell you that I speak my mind and that independence can be a good thing?  Thank you for not thinking of me as one who always has the vapors.  I cannot imagine you having to carry smelling salts all the time.  Poor, poor Daddy!

Long strolls in the park.  Running among golden autumn leaves.  Having long, long talks over hot coffee and little tea cakes.  I know you won’t dislike this romanticism, Daddy.  This very feminine thing can do so much for you.  You just don’t know it yet.  Do we have to be in Europe to be able to do this, Daddy?  That seems like a world away.  I hope you can put up with a woman’s tears.  I like a good cry sometimes.  If this puts you in great distress, I’ll just have to slow down my waterworks display.  You’ll just laugh at my silly tears.  You will because you possess a sense of humor.  I simply cannot imagine a life without laughter, Daddy.  Everything would just be grayer and sadder.  Have you fallen asleep from this steady monologue?  I will still love you, Daddy, even if you do fall asleep in the middle of my letter-writing
 

If we do meet, Daddy, can we spend reading time under one of God’s trees?  It is a very lovely way to pass the time.  We can sit there just reading and talking.  If we happen to sit under an apple tree, we just might get inspired like Newton was.  What do you think of love, Daddy?  It can be so complicated.  I believe that a man and a woman can be made for each other.  That if one was meant to be married, then there should be someone in this whole wide world for him.  Have you ever been in love, Daddy?  I have been a few times but not the kind of love that I would want to last forever.  Love has never quite so much touched me so deeply.  Have you ever experienced a great love?  One that was greater than all the others?  It must be heavenly, Daddy.

Have I bored you, Daddy?  You must be nodding off in your chair!  You can’t be that old, Daddy, because we are still going to have many glorious years together.  I wouldn’t want you leaving me behind so soon.  Life would be very lonely and I shan’t think that I’d ever recover from that.  We will meet someday, Daddy.  I just know we will.  And when we do I shall love you forever and ever.  It will be the most beautiful feeling in the world, to love and be loved.

P.S.  I hope my letter gets to you soon.

Yours forever and ever,
Judy

[Editor's Note:  The foregoing piece is a love letter of sorts.  The title of the essay and the name of the character were inspired by one of Candice Ang Uy's favorite books, Daddy-Long-Legs, written by Jean Webster.  The book tells the story of a young orphan girl who is unexpectedly sent to college by an unknown benefactor who is a trustee of the orphanage where she grew up. The benefactor requires that she write him a letter every month, but he will never write her back.  Candice welcomes comments and can be reached at: candz911@yahoo.co.uk.]

Hers is a heart that throbs to every song of love.  In her breed resides the spirit of the new, nurtured by the quiescence of the old.  In her veins thrives the soul of the East, buoyed by the temper of the West.

She is the new Tsinoy woman, child of a rich cultural heritage, raised in a world that teeters on the crossroads of history and modernity, tradition and ambition.

Whereas the Tsinoy woman before was a picture of a coy maiden confined to the humdrum grind of domestic proclivities, she has now emerged into the forefront of her community and asserted herself in realms once dominated by her male counterparts.  Whereas before, her role was confined to plain household chores, she may now be an executive bigwig calling the shots in top-echelon boardrooms.  Where once she was just a nurse or a schoolteacher, she may today be an omnipresent dynamo cracking corporate whips in many a corridor of power.   The influx of fresh opportunities for personal growth in a changing climate of liberalism has spurred today's Tsinoy woman to scale greater heights and cross distant horizons far beyond the imagination of her sisters of earlier generations.  It is not uncommon to see her on the frontlines of the various engines of industry.  Over the past few years, there is an increasing number of young Tsinoy women taking lead roles as architects, engineers, corporate managers, lawyers, broadcast journalists, bank officers, accountants, doctors, and many others.

The emergence of the new Tsinoy woman into the maelstrom of contemporary rat race now arms her with greater zest for life's bounty. She now enjoys a greater degree of individual freedom than her sisters of long ago.  She travels more freely and moves about with more ease and style in circles that her predecessors dared not tread in their time and clime.  The advent of women's liberation has fortified her with a no-holds-barred promptitude into gut-level interactions with her male counterparts.  She is more liberal in her attitude towards sex and even more candid in her feelings towards men.  In like manner, it has become less of a cultural shock to see Tsinoy women these days entering into interracial marriages.

Yet even as all these may have catapulted her into the marathon of modern-day pursuits of happiness, she is at the same time stymied by a heart that stays ever faithful to the sobering ethos of age-old norms.  The new Tsinoy woman remains unwavering in her femininity, steadfast in her affinity to family elders, and unflagging in her rectitude as a Tsinoy woman clothed with Confucian values -- a poignant contrast to the feisty character of her western sisters.  Even as she, emboldened with a new sense of derring-do, plunges herself into the scramble for a greater foothold in the frontiers of corporate totem poles, she still carries on with aplomb and enviable grace, maintaining at every turn a high degree of visible dignity; her soft-heartedness unscathed, her charisma intact.  All of which surface as enduring testimonies to the inscrutable nature of her race and the resiliency of spirit that embody the true character of a people carving their own place in the Land of the Morning.

Indeed, the new Tsinoy woman has arrived.  You've come a long way, baby!

Fun facts from the Internet: The Whys and Wherefores
By Peter C. Dy, Batch '66

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.  When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on.  Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight."

What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?  All were invented by women.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.  So in Old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down.  It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink.  Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month we know today as the "honeymoon."