A meeting of friends, Friday 5 June 2015

Ofelia Templo treated us - Mamu (Emily Ferrer),  Ronnie Pingol, Hermie Bungay, Ging dela Paz, and myself to dinner at Chili's at Tomas Morato last Friday.

It was also a good luck/farewell dinner for Ronnie who is migrating to Canada this June.

Ofie told us about their trip to Europe, and that was great.

Makes me wonder when i can go off on a European tour (i wish it need not be after retirement, and instead be .................. next year if not this year).

We saw a  bit of the pictures  and heard about their food trip, pizzas in Italy, for example - because of Jutes or Junjun.

We also touched a bit on politics ... Grace Poe, for example

As for food, Ofie hit all my faves - fajitas (shrimps, steak, chicken), quesadillas, salsa

Saying Goodbye to Benj Punay

Benjie Punay passed away this morning at the ICU unit of the FEU hospital, Fairview, Quezon City.

Condolences to your family.  

May the love you have shown hold you fast until you are in the arms of our Creator.

We will miss you, Benjie.

You are one very nice man, if a trifle shy.

To use the words of Alice "ang bait, bait nya"

I remember you first as a classmate at our first year at the Philippine Science High School at Agham Road ..... when we were still using the Marcos-type classroom.  One of our projects that first year was the curtains to minimize the glare coming in from the bars.  Our homeroom teacher was Evaline Gerochi, and our first ever Christmas party was at home. My home in Kamias, Quezon City.

Those were the early days of being together at Sayans.

Our batch has managed to keep in touch with each other, periodically meeting at places like Lito's, Janet's or restos, and even at Science itself.

then we went to UP-Diliman, where we all went to our separate majors ........
Benj took BS Geology

I remember the jokes everytime there was a power outage ...

Bakit, Benjie, nabitawan mo ba yung cable?

referring to your work with Napocor and that power only surged because you were holding it together.

Bakit, Benjie, absent ka ba?

I saw you last, if not at Lito's house when Jimmy arrived from CA, was at the house.

we talked about the roof and the garage.

goodbye, Benj.

we will hold you in our hearts

A day to see friends

Saturday, 5 January turned out to be a day to see friends


Lunch time - i met up with my Stat classmates .....

Leorey Marquez, who is based in Australia - and here to visit his mom as well as present to the College of Engineering disaster models - particularly those to do with dams, and thus flooding.  too bad i cant attend as it falls on a workday.

Mel Bernardo with his wife Miriam. Mel works at Metrobank with Joan - and i found out that 55 was the mandatory retirement age for Metrobank! 

 

Mel, Leorey (looking off camera), and me.....

 

with Miriam, the wife of Mel

and for dinner, Ofelia Martin Templo invited us - Emily and Chito Ferrer, Hermie, and Ging de la Paz, and me to dinner at .... King Bee - right across St. Peter (Hermie could actually walk to the place!).  

I had told Ofie that i could not drive so she offered to pick me up.  I told her i lived too far but she said ok lang so then i agreed.  i wanted a chance to see and talk with her again.  I told her it was difficult to go to the corner to get a cab and i needed advanced warning (a day or 2 at least) to arrange a driver so she asked me how i went to work.  i told her i had a service - have someone pick me up and bring me home.  weekends, i have someone get me a taxi if i need to go anywhere - as i have someone come in during weekends but last weekend, my assistant had the flu and couldnt make it to the house.  

my car has very low mileage - and it has traveled to Pagodpod way up there in Ilocos, Ligao in Bicol, Baguio - where we almost had the head-on collision due to a stupid driver going up to Baguio who overtook on a blind curve.  oops, i digress.

Ging couldnt make it to dinner as they were having a special event at their house.  

we had a very good time.  Ofie showed the pictures of her grandkids and Junjun's (or Jutes in his business cards - he owns Gino's, a pizza joint named after his son, located near Merriam College) daughter is just the cutest!  *sigh*

Ofie kindly brought me home and i was very glad Bernard (the youngest son of HTT and Ofie) texted his mom if she could fetch him at Centris.  At least, Centris wasnt too far off from the house.

It was very good to see Ofie, and i was really very happy to see pictures of her grandkids.  they are just the cutest.

Chito and Emily (accidentally hidden behind me), Herms, Ofie

here's a better picture of us, particular Mamu (Emily Ferrer)

At least my gladiator braces cant be seen in any of the pictures.  i call that successful dressing!

celebrated Christmas this way ........

Set the table for Noche Buena

made sure the gifts were ready

placed the food

made sure my bed was ready for me.  i love the print incidentally

Israel, Manong Enggoy, Efren

me, Manong Enggoy, and Efren at Sampaloc

Saturday Socializing

our group, Sakonit, met last Saturday at the home of the MD of the group, Jerry.  he lives in Philinvest 2, and has a wonderful home, and like all homes when December nears, a little crowded because all the Christmas decors are out...

we played mahjong.  i havent played in the .... maybe last 10 years, and was a trifle rusty, but i broke even.

i was thinking if i could parley my jedi sense (you know, when you sense things beyond the normal ken) into winnings.  i guess my jedi sense isnt for financial gain, more for danger - and that's good enough for me.

i discovered that everyone in the group knew how to play, if not prodigiously, then at least adequately.  i was never one with jokers except when playing poker with family members - and then we'd have all kinds, queen-low, one-eyed jacks, bigotes wild. we played one mahjong game with a joker and it was interesting - and fast!

in an aside, 

my dad taught his children to play contract bridge, poker, and mahjong just in case a group of people needed a fourth, and he felt all his children should be able to play.   not really into bridge, but i know someone who used to be into it.  dont know if he is still playing.......

Jerry, Li-Ann, Dale, Liz ... i'm taking the pic

Alice and Paeng.  Manny and I have no pics

A Prayer for Today

One Door Closes   ..................................   Another Opens

Revelations  3:8

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! 'The power of one sentence! God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor If you believe, send it. If you don't believe, dont pray. God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close..


"Lord, I love you and I need you,
Come into my heart, and bless me,
My family, my home, my finances,
And all of my friends,
In Jesus's name. Amen."

A friend emailed this to me.  So i am sharing it with people who read my blog - i investigated via the internet and apparently some people think Danny doesnt exist.  i find it doesnt matter.  i like what he wrote.  may we all have this kind of faith.  it will keep us close to our God.

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.' I wonder if any of us could have done as well? (and he had such an assignment, in California, and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen!)

EXPLANATION OF GOD:

'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

'God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.'

'Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.'

'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and
God said O.K.'

'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.'

'You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.'

'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'

'But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that's why I believe in God.'

(If you believe in God, please pass this on, and may God bless you too.)
Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you!

People

there are many compassionate people in this world.  i hope there are people like this in your life. i hope you know them, and pray and thank them.

i am blessed with many compassionate persons in my life, whereas  those that hurt me terribly seem so few - even if by rights, they should be those that care because they are kin.

there are friends better than kin.  i hope you treasure your friends.
there are strangers better than kin.  i hope you meet some.

i hope you are able to return good for evil, and if not good, at least pray for those who are evil.
unfortunately evil people abound. but let this fact not blind you to the people who are good.