Remembering my Dad, a Father's Day thought

Dad.
Everytime i write a post, or look at my old-style hand-written journal entries, i am reminded of my Dad.
He had a meticulously kept medical journal as well as a regular journal. 

I was able to read one of his journal - on the Death March.  Made me cry.
I was thinking perhaps other people might like to read it, so i am asking my Dad to send me a dream so i will know it is alright to have it published......

i havent found his other journals, but then i havent had the time to really go over the papers.

As for his medical records. i saw it, he would have time and date he had his bp taken, when he took what meds, and if there was any reaction.

Remembering my Mom

my Mom.  A wonderful homemaker.  gorgeous woman. she is the exact duplicate of my grandma.

of all her children, i was the one she spent the most time with.  i am single you see.

she told us that we should all learn the basics of homee-making. all of us learnt how to cook, iron, wash, and  clean the house - even the boys because she said what if they married women who knew nothing.  they should show their wives how to do things - and as for us - girls, we mentioned we would try to marry rich men and that we would have kasambahays to help manage the house.  she said, all the more we should know because how would we know what to teach if we didnt know how to do things.

yes, i know how to cook.  the hard stuff, too.  you know, things like pancit luglug, karekare, lechon sauce, embotido, morcon, galantina, bibingka, ensaymada and regular food....

easiest thing i learnt to cook ... meat loaf.  delish meat loaf, but just meat loaf.

one of the hardest things i've had to iron is a man's pina barong tagalog.  yipes.....

i remember times when i slept in the master's bedroom because my dad was away, or when both of them were seniors and my mom was experiencing vertigo, and since i was single, i was nominated to help her stand up, take a bath, go the bathroom, what-have-you since my dad couldnt manage ....

Remembering Erpats

Today is the birthday of my Dad, or as Kuys and his friends and brods coined it, Erpats from the Latin word Pater, meaning Father. i miss my Dad.  he wasnt given to much words, but he was deeply caring man.  his word was his honor, and he taught us that honor was one of the most important things a person owns.

Dad graduated from the Philippine Military Academy, and as they say, he was muy pogi (very handsome) and girls were very attracted to him.  (well, my mom was gorgeous so Dad went loco over her)

He was very disciplined, and had, as they say, a mole near the sole of his foot - an indication that he loved to travel.  Oh he did.  He traveled a lot.  Part of the travel was during his army days.  And when he retired, and had gone to the USA (being there helped his asthma) he traveled a lot, too. he didnt drive, but since he was a senior, he had a discounted RTD bus pass and went to all the beaches ... i think, in California.

i only hit a few beaches there .... Long Beach, Venice Beach, and Huntington Beach, to name a few but he went to a lot of beaches and even did some fishing.  i would have wanted to try fishing  but we couldnt find common down time to go fishing....

he loved to tease my mom, who was a bit pikon - perhaps the easiest English translation is .... not teasable?  but he was very very supportive, in all my endeavors.  one of the things he taught me is to finish things that i start.  he said to leave nothing pending.  one might not finish things at once, but once started, must be finished.  i still honor this teaching to this day.

Dad was a strong person, usually quite quiet, and had a wonderful control of his temper.  His kids, that is, us - the family - will always remember his words of wisdom that he imparted to us

Less talk, less error.  No talk, no error.

perhaps not original, but definitely true.  What he really meant was, you just dont blurt out what you think, it has to go through a thinking process, an evaluation, you might say.

Especially true when one is angry, and apt to say things that might be later wished unsaid, but what is said, cannot be unsaid.  Said things are like blossoms in the air, when good ... and stink bombs when not.

Saying goodbye to Edwin del Valle

*

Edwin del Valle of the Social Security System, lately assigned off-SSS, passed away Sunday morning, the 10th of  March 2013.  He was young, but i do not know  his exact age. 

I last saw him at the Trellis restaurant located at the corner of Matalino and Kalayaan. 
He looked okay, but was very thin. It was an accidental meeting, a friend and I were having lunch, and while chatting and eating an appetizer, we were also looking around, and we simultaneously saw him.  We both sent off a little wave, as we had no chance to talk - they left earlier than we did.  And that was my last view of him.

Edwin was a nice guy, and he had depth.
those who know me will know what i mean.

He is with his Creator. Do remember him with joy.

Carlos A. Arellano has passed away

He was fondly called Chuckie by his intimates and though i did not know him as much as i would have wanted, the little i know has shown him to be a warm and charming man, a true patron of the arts.  Condolences to his family and loved ones, and to all the friends he made.

He was the President and Chairman of the Commission during his tenure at the Social Security System, at the time of President Joseph Estrada.

he passed away yesterday, 20 February 2013
and cremation was last night.

necrological services are scheduled for tomorrow night, 7 pm 22 February 2013
Christ the King, Green Meadows, Quezon City

i dont think i can attend, as my leg is aching, but i will pray for the eternal repose of his soul
he is with his Creator.

for more info about CAA, click here to visit his site, then click contact to get to other choices

Choices - 1

There will probably be a series of posts on Choices.

i hope some of them will be funny, and not all serious.  

i choose to find laughter in this world, and better, to help spread laughter.

 Rachel Olsen writes these words in my crosswalk email

• We always have a choice between hope and despair - no matter what circumstance we are in.

• We always have a choice between fear and faith - no matter how bleak things look.

• And we always have the choice to give and serve - no matter how little we own.

and i agree. we choose. part of God's Will for us. To give us that choice

it is not always easy to choose rightly, and many times we may not choose what is best for us. or sometimes the hurts in our hearts take over the goodness.
  

pray with me that we may choose what is best in most times.

also, today is my lola - Petra Galvez Ongchangco's biological birthday. 
she used to scold me at lunch because i couldnt hear her (she was right beside me) call us to lunch as i was reading on the dining table. 
we ate lunch at the kitchen table in her home at Lardizabal, Sampaloc.

Special remembrances to my Tito Pepe

Tito Pepe.
His complete name:  Jose Galvez Ongchangco
Brother of my Ermatzi (her maiden name) :
Aurora Galvez Ongchangco

Remembering Antonio R-Infante

ARI, that was his initials.
One saw it in all top level communications at Anscor Insurance Brokers, Inc.  (AIB).
i was a management trainee and he was the President of the Company.

He was tall, past 6 feet.  Spanish. Very autocratic. Very wise. 
But was a warm and lovely person though i did not know that in the beginning.


One of his passions was Cardinal Ceramics, the marketing firm of the Tala Foundation.

At the time when there were no small computers, i was given a small computer with a printer to make a small claybody analysis application system.  What, you would ask is a claybody analysis system?  Well, clay has different properties that make it suitable for different kinds of ceramics, and the application gave him details about the different clays to make a good combination.

i loved doing that little system.  And i think he loved to use it too.
he said that it made deciding which clay to use easier.
for a man whose time was as valuable as it was.....
those were pretty words for me.

i remember he danced with me once - for the giddy girl that i was then, it was the highlight of the evening
AIB had a party and the date of the party fell on my birthday and so he did - a brief waltz!
Tony Reyes-Cuerva did the boogie with me. 

i also remember playing GHOST around the dinner table at his home.
The word was CRAZI...... and the next person seemed to have no choice but to be GHOST, but he saved the day and said there was a word CRAZING .

i still have that mug that defines CRAZING to me.

his death is recorded in October 1996
i did not get to read his obituary on time to make it to the wake

But he will always be part of my memories


***************************************************
The officemates that I do remember:
John McLaughlin, Tony Reyes-Cuerva - the senior management guys
and the 2 secretaries of Tony R-Infante.  I remember their faces very well
Malu Gaite-Faber, Luz L. Lorenzo, Bibit Berena-Stein
Mark Cordero, Tess - there were 2 of them  ....
Pete Mendoza-the "fire" guy,  Tony-the marine guy, George Francisco-the casualty guy, Ed Atayde...,Arlene -she handled Bonds , Rico Nicasio - he was a nephew of Tony R-Infante
the IT people, Bert (+), Queenie, Alex Eufemio, Alex, ......
Sigismundo - Sig (+), Brenda (Head of Accounting, Juliet, Carmen, Cynthia - she was the secretary of Tony R-Cuerva
 

Remembering Edgar H. Sarte - The Horse Collection

Collecting elephants is my thing.   Ed had a horse collection.

i started Ed's horse collection.  i dont know where they - the horses - are now

but the collection started with my first birthday gift to him at Systems Technology Institute (STI)

i couldnt think of a unique birthday present so i cogitated .... and thought... and pondered

He was born in the Year of the Horse

So i figured, i should give a horse and i did, and that first gift was really just a figure of a horse

but it came with an original short free verse

in essence the verse said that he was THE herd stallion

briefly it described what a herd stallion is - 

it defends and protects

and you know, it also tickled his fancy ....

here's a link if you want to read about herd stallions

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stallion

my last horse gift was an ancient horse drawn carriage, the cinderella type

like the first gift, this too came with an original verse

this time, about horses ... and dreams come true

Looking backward to look forward

Last February 6 2008, Ash Wednesday - I had life-changing surgery.  i had a kidney transplant at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

It will be my two year anniversary this Saturday. And today, as Saturday approaches, i think about yesterday and look at tomorrow, to see what i should implement today.

Life goes on, sometimes so fast. We must never forget to stop, take a breath, and look at where we are, what we have done, and what we have yet to do, and most especially, to always count our blessings.

Amihan, Alice, Benita, Dr. J

Robert A, Amihan, Alice, Benita, Dr. J

In December 2008, we had the first of Arts n Friends art sale. We were at Rafa's.

By the way, watch out for the Arts n Friends gallery at multiply. http://artsnfriends.multiply.com/

Black Soup Owner, me, Alice, Rafa owners, Benita, Manny

Last 30 January 2010, we had the second Arts n Friends art sale at the Black Soup at Maginhawa Street. We had lots of fun, even if we were so very tired at the end of the day.











One of the main beneficiaries of Arts n Friends is the NGO Kidney Friends. Their website is at http://kidney_friends.livejournal.com/

Remembering my Friend Edgar H. Sarte

Remembering Edgar H. Sarte


he would have been 66 in real time today. those who knew him would understand what real time meant. he was a very good friend.


i still have his old cellphone number - and he passed away in 2003. a day before Christmas eve. i was at the office - in the middle of an office Christmas party - when i found out. i couldnt believe it. so i called his number, knowing that someone close to him would answer.

he gave many IT lessons. a lot of them both technical and financial.
i had known him for more than 20 years! we met when i was at my first job - in Makati.
a company i didnt even apply to - they had seen my name in UP's list of honor graduates.


i remember the gifts i had sent him through the years.
i had given him a book in the 80s... which he never got to read until year 2000.
as i said then, at least he got to read them and liked them .... even if it was more than several years later.


i shall think of him tonight.

edit:  those of you who love my friend Ed who want to know more about him, i will be periodically posting stuff i remember. just follow the label EHS