Saturday, December 16, 2017

A High School Reunion To Remember


December 2016

40 Years After:
Reunited and it feels so good...

like the good old days


Proud to be a member of this batch...Classmates from near and far gather round after every five years to once again foster bonds, reminisce loving memories of our teenage life, dance and sing like we used to and/or just monkey around with our laughing buddies.

Wacky pose

Behaved pose

Our section (St. Mark)  presentation, dancing to
'All I Want For Christmas'
And then we went on to win the grand prize!!!





section: St. Mark





Thank you to our Alma Mater, St. Peter's College of Toril, Davao City, Philippines, for being the source of all the unforgettable memories!!!

Saturday, December 9, 2017

A Night Of Fun, Food & Frolic

Forget the worries for a while. Immerse in sheer joy and laughter. Reminisce the good old days.Okay, these and more were what we did during our annual Christmas party on 9th December, 2017. For the second time, Wilberto 'Nonoy' Al-ag played host to the batch's gathering  in his large mansion!!! Love you Noy from all of us.


Again, we felt we were always in our teens when we're together. What magic could there be? Just so amazing!!!


Us together again



And this time, the party was like we're having our after-every-5-years reunion, in terms of attendance. Though almost half of the group cannot be with us since they're overseas or just living far away from most of us, pretty sure the spirit of camaraderie will always be present.

Like in the past Yuletide gatherings, once again, generous classmates have shared their financial support voluntarily, without us asking for donations. Kindhearted ones, you know!!! Grateful to have you guys in our life!!!




These are their high school pics



Actions speak louder than words. These photos below need no explanation...See how obvious everyone's delight is!



























Hoping everyone could come round/come home for the next big reunion in 2021. God bless us all. To God be the glory!!!

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Batch ’76 Invades The Visayas

Yes folks – you heard it right. We flew all the way to the Queen City of the South from Davao in the Land of Promise. We made Cebu the entry point to the groups’ journey to other wonderful places in the Visayas.  

It isn’t every day that high school classmates get to bond together and go to areas outside of their hometown. But, we did, all eight of us (7 ladies +1 gent). Our flight to Cebu was on Sept. 12th and the journey ended on the 18th. Because we are suckers for promos, we were able to chance upon a promo flight as early as March of the same year. It was literally six months of waiting! Gosh!

The early birds, Eva Vallecera,
Cecille Ledesma & Lucille Fornolles

Day 1
Nothing could ever stop us, come hell or high water. Though we went in two batches, yet, circumstances failed to break us apart. Why in two batches? You see, our chosen time of departure couldn’t accommodate us all since promo seats are limited only. 

So, what happened was, three ladies went ahead in the morning, while the rest of the group took the night flight. It was only around 10:00 PM on that unforgettable day when we next saw each other again, this time in our hotel room.

Together again at the hotel

Raring to go

Day 2
We wasted no time in visiting exciting places in Cebu and toured the city as well. First stop was Sirao Flower Garden in mountain Barangay Busay, also dubbed as Little Amsterdam, since they had an assortment of breath-taking flowers blooming in different periods of the year. There were ample blooms enough to serve as background to our selfies and groufies.




Next stop was the Roman architecture-inspired Temple of Leah which was undergoing renovation at that time, since some portion of the place incurred damages from a strong earthquake some years back.



Third stop was the oh-so-charming-ever Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills. It’s good to see the place well-maintained after all these years. It still continues to attract tourists since it opened some decades ago. All these three attractions offered magnificent views of Cebu City from various angles.




From the mountains, we proceeded towards Cebu’s newest mall - SM Seaside, said to be the biggest and the most glamorous of the malls in the Visayas and Mindanao, and in addition, the third biggest mall in the country.  

Me and my kids at one of the restos inside SM Seaside


Finally, the group headed south – to Cebu’s Castle Church – the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, which also houses the miraculous Shrine of Simala in Sibonga. But, before that, we made a stop at Carcar’s shoe arcade where the girls bought some cheap footwear for pasalubong. And the excitement mounted as the van driver directed us to the pasalubong center in Carcar. There, we had a buying frenzy, as if there was no tomorrow. We were tempted to buy its world-famous chicharon, masareal, ampao, otap, rosquillos, among others.





I led the team to Ronda, my hometown where they were billeted at a local hotel while I stayed with family. It was the last time we were together since all throughout the vacation, I was with family while they continued their Visayan tour.

Pics taken in Ronda

Day 3-5 – Dumaguete/Siquijor
On their way to Dumaguete, the group made a stop at Kawasan Falls in Badian and took pictures. After Dumaguete, they also went to see the lovely town of Siquijor and went back to Dumaguete for their lodging.




Day 6-7 – Bohol/Cebu


Day 7 – Home Sweet Home

In closing, I'd like to thank the son of classmate Chito Buat (US-based) who tended to our booking needs through his travel agency; classmate Roy Ruiz ((Canada-based) who sponsored our Suroy Sugbu; classmate Lucille Fornolles for the use of her credit card to purchase our tickets; Joy Fornolles, Lucille's hubby, for fetching us up from Davao International Airport; Cecille Ledesma for providing the venue for our group meetings.

Likewise, grateful for my Ogario family in Ronda, Cebu for our good  and delicious times together, especially with Alex and Zephora Blanke (Adelaide-based) who warmly received us at home.

Lastly, to my BFF Elvie Manus way, way back from our PLAN International days, thanks for accommodating me and Shalom, my daughter in their lovely home in Mactan and for touring us in Lapulapu City - 10 000 Roses, Virgen de Regla Shrine, Pueblo Verde, and more.

Me & my best friend Elvie

Time will pass and so will people,places and events. But the memories will linger in our hearts forever. Buti pa ang memories may forever...

Here's more of those sweet memories...