An Early Exchange of Emailsmembers,

May-June 2012

Issue No. 2 Class ‘63 Digest

Special Interest Articles:

• The Reunion

• Reunion

Rejoinders:

• Obsession

• Yesterday…

• “Huli Ka!”

• Pursuing the

Fil-Am Dream

• A Day in the

Life of a Single

Retiree

Obses-

sion

Individual Highlights:

Featured Birthday

Celebrants:

May

• Carmelita Baylon-

de Guzman

• June

• Lourdes Manuel-

Sajorda

• Racquel Magat-

Sanchez (Pursuing

the Fil-Am Dream

V. MAPA HIGH SCHOOL

It is with mixed feelings that we announce the revival of our VMHS Class 63 Digest. We’re both excited at the same time embarrassed that the second issue of the Digest comes almost five years after the first Digest was issued on September 21, 2007, after which, it went into long hibernation. We can’t think of excuses, but we promise to make up for lost time. In our count down for our 2013 golden jubilee which by now is “less than a whole pregnancy term away”, if I may quote an editorial team member, we feel time is running out on us and there is still a lot of sto-ries that we need to know as we try to catch up on each other. It is only of late (thanks to email and the internet!) that we got reconnect-ed. The intricate sleuth-ing is a great story in itself and worth retell-ing for the benefit of new members.

From the Editorial Team:

The Revival

The Editorial Team

Cesar G. Banaag Juliet de Guzman-Blackwell

Josie Astorga-Campbell Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled

Erlinda Tablan-Fernandez Regie Lauzon

Juliet Mascarinas Racquel Magat-Sanchez

This Digest will try to fill you in, particularly on what life has been like to most of us after Mapa High. Thus we’re featuring batchmates according to their birthdays falling on the months for which this Digest will be pub-lished. We’re afraid though that we can’t feature everyone so our choice will be of prox-imity and availability of information. (Hint: if your birthday is coming please drop us a few lines about yourself.)

As originally intended, this Digest is for every-one and from everyone who wants to write on just about anything. It can be anecdotes on our

high school experi-ence, about life as it is now for you, or even about your family. It can also be a news story like our upcom-ing reunion. Let's make our Di-gest flexible for the purpose of communi-cating our ideas, and disseminating infor-mation to the group. Your views and opin-ions, are most wel-come.

We can’t bring back the glorious golden days (49 years and counting!) of high school life, but surely, the days ahead shouldn’t be less inter-esting.

∞

∞

.

Class ‘63 Digest Page 2 of 12

There was a time when

we were like young

developing trees in a

nursery. God, our Gar-

dener, placed us in

groups and assigned his

assistant gardeners, our

teachers, to each group.

He instructed them to

help us grow into good,

strong trees.

We were so happy. We

spent our days play-

fully hitting each other

with our small

branches. There were

other groups of trees in

the nursery and when

the wind blew, we hol-

lered across to them.

Most of the days, we

were confined to our

own group, happy with

each other.

Then the time came for

repotting. We were ex-

cited. A bigger con-

tainer! At the same

time we were sad to be

separated from the

group. A few of us had

to be repotted with oth-

ers from another nurs-

ery to reproduce our

own young trees. Oth-

ers were placed in

smaller groups in a

bigger nursery to con-

tinue their growth. Un-

til that time when our

Gardener saw that we

were ready to spread

our roots. So He placed

us in different locations

around the world. Indi-

vidual trees were

planted in the North,

South, East and West.

For years, each of us

trees was able to spread

our roots deeper in our

own assigned place.

However, no tree was

spared from Natural

Disasters like storms

and hurricanes. Each

beating just made them

grew stronger, bigger,

greener. Unfortunately,

not everyone survived.

Some were not strong

enough. Their roots

were not deep enough.

The Gardener had to

take them away.

The strong ones re-

mained in their spot.

They survived because

they learned to sway

with the wind. Some of

these trees were able to

reproduce in accor-

dance to their Gar-

dener’s plan. Others

remained on their own

because their Gardener

knew that it is what

was best for them.

Every now and then,

the Gardener would

bring home a tree or

two. He needed to

show the young trees

a good model. When

the sky cleared, some

of the trees were cling-

ing to the West, pushed

there by the strong

Westerly winds. Others

were clinging to the

North, some to the East

and others to the South.

The trees followed the

direction of the wind in

order to stand strong.

Their roots, deep and

wide, in their own spot.

Robust, aged trees. Full

bloom with very strong

branches. Green, huge

leaves. Some even have

beautiful flowers in

them. Different colors

too.

Then our Gardener

thought, "I will bring

these trees in one loca-

tion one more time so

that they will be able to

be together before I

retire them to give way

to the small growing

trees”.

(continued next page)

AN EARLY EXCHANGE OF EMAILS:

Editor’s Note: The following article was first posted in our MapaHighClass63 Yahoo group which elicited some interesting rejoinders. This was subsequently published in the first issue of Class63 Digest. We are reprinting the article here, including the rejoinders, then and now, with the hope of encouraging participa-tion from the group, and rekindling the enthusiasm shown in the early days when we were starting to find and reconnect with one another.

The Reunion By Josie Astorga-Campbell

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 3 of 12

So He did. All the trees

were happy. They were

going to see their group

again. The other groups

too! All of them were

energized by the news.

Each one felt so proud

of how they have

grown. Strong, big,

branches. Stumps so

big and round. Roots so

deep, no strong winds

can uproot. Then

slowly they realized

they can’t fit in the

nursery anymore. Their

branches are so spread

out, they are hitting the

branches of the other

trees whenever the

wind blows. Their roots

get tangled with the

roots of the trees

around them. The trees

that were blown hard

by the Westerly winds

were clinging more to

the West, hitting the

tree beside them which

happened to be cling-

ing more to their side.

It was awkward. They

all knew they liked

each other. After all,

they have the same

Gardener. They are

saddened by this situa-

tion. They want to be

together. They want to

playfully hit each

other’s branches one

more time. Alas, their

branches have become

longer and stronger.

They have all outgrown

their space.

******

To the reader: do you

have any suggestion on

how these trees can en-

joy each other? Please

comment, and pass

around.

The Reunion (cont’d)

A photo collage of mini-reunions

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 4 of 12

From Cesar Banaag:

That's one thought-provoking question - for the trees, that is ;) That's why I'm tempted to an-swer it from the point of view of a gardener which happens to be my favorite role. Why, I'll simply trim all those trees, leaves, branches, roots and all, and then put them all in a bigger space and voila! there's enough room for every-one.

But it seems, poor me,

am one of "them" trees.

Shall I exercise self-

pruning? Cut off some

leaves and twigs here

and some branches

there? And maybe some

roots as well? Shall I

make myself small that

others may have space?

Nah, that wouldn't be

fun. Shall I leave my

trunk and come as a

branch, a twig, or a leaf?

Or maybe, be a little

naughty and come as a

coquettish flower? But

horrors, what if I get

plucked!

Whew! I better leave my

tree trunk and come as a

spirit. I’ll even have the

pleasure of tickling eve-

ryone and nobody

would know who did it.

Alas, I'll just come as I

am. Well, not exactly the

way I was 50 years ago,

that's not even remotely

possible. But I know that

there lies in my heart, as

well as in everyone's,

some bonds that have

been kept intact through

the years. I may have

changed physically,

mentally, emotionally,

but for sure, the bonds I

have with the friends of

my youth, remains. For

how else can I explain

this longing to be with

those friends of long

ago.

If there isn't enough

room for everyone, we

shall embrace and hold

each other tight, for I

know that the bonds of

friendship, born in our

youth, transcends space

– even time.

Worry not, Josie and

everyone. Know in thine

heart, we shall have fun.

From Linda Tablan-

Fernandez: Now you guys make me think, if I'm a tree, what kind of tree am I? Maybe this can be a subject for the newsletter. Let's write about the kind of tree we did become (or what we'd like to be .... we still got time to grow into one). We can elabo-rate on it any which way, seriously or in a fun way.

From C. Banaag:

Thanks Linda! That's a

great idea. And we don't

even have to limit it to

trees. We can write

about "the (blank) that I

have become" and you

can supply the missing

word – tree, plant or

flower (why not?)

The choices are endless.

Just let your imagination

go on the wild side ;)

That will be fun. You

don't have to submit it to

me. Just post it!

From Juliet de

Guzman-Blackwell: Wow, I did not know you

are such a good writ-

er.....and you must be a

super gardener to be in-

spired! I am not a gardener.

My fingers are not green,

they are brown.

Well, I have to print this to

take with me in my train

trip to a meeting and have

to do a lot of pondering

while reading it again

and again and again but

can I choose where I be-

long? Where did the

GARDENER put me?

Do you know? Well

done, mate.

From Peng Estavillo-

Cavanna:

Didn't I already tell you

what kind of tree I have

become? BONSAI tree,

of course!!! Small, beau-

tiful and delicate. Yeah,

right! I am very well

looked after by my gar-

dener husband who has

such a green thumb.

(continued next page)

Reunion Rejoinders: Editor’s note: We are reprinting here the rejoinders to the article “The Reunion” with the hope that the enthusiastic re-sponse to the article will further inspire readers to come out and contribute their thoughts as we approach our Golden jubilee with open heart and mind.

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 5 of 12

From Racquel

Magat-Sanchez:

What a revelation!

Thank you so much for

sending me the premiere

edition of the Digest.

Josie, I like your piece.

Like a parable used by

the Gardener to form His

trees.

Your note to your read-

ers asks suggestions as to

how these trees may en-

joy each other again and

I have some pointers

from the mind of an ar-

borist (ha-ha-ha).

Have you ever wondered

when the Gardener’s

pruning season might

be?

You see, an arborist spe-

cializes in individual

trees. His first and fore-

most duty is to make

sure that the health, ap-

pearance and safety of

trees are maintained.

Here’s another sort of

addendum to your beau-

tiful parable/poem:

The Tree that I’d like to

be

Is with a trunk straight

and true

Its roots firmly planted

into the ground

Those branches reaching

the skies so blue.

I won’t demand so much

sunlight

To make me the tallest of

its kind

For I might take from

those in need

This gift that trees

should always find.

So I ask the Gardener to

prune away

Dead wood and twisted

twigs one

early spring

So my branches might

grow appropriately

And become a reflection

of His Being.

All right, at least give me

a "B" for effort. This is

not my cup of tea and

honestly, I laugh at the

thought of even trying

because some funny stuff

came to mind like whose

branches went huge and

got twisted with other

branches, or those trees

that grew so tall that

their roots encroached on

other spaces.

(Author's note: The article

was written a little "tongue in

cheek", but the underlying

sentiments are quite true.)

Obsession is defined by the

Oxford dictionary thus: “an

idea or thought that domi-

nates someone’s thoughts”

also “the state of being ob-

sessed”

Obsess (be obsessed) is

defined by the same dic-

tionary as “thinking about

someone or something con-

tinually and disturbingly”

Early in 2006 my dear wife

crawled into our bed at

about midnight and dis-

turbed my sleep by giving

me a rather sharp elbow in

the ribs. I remember mur-

muring sleepily “this is

nice, has my luck

changed?” but was met

with a very sharp “no” then

a somewhat, to me, bewil-

dering “I have found one”.

I realize now, upon reflec-

tion, that I should have said

no more, but, being wide

awake, I sarcastically asked

“one what, another crack in

the bathroom tiles, a mouse

in the pantry or a spare bot-

tle of Tanduay under the

stairs?”

“A classmate, you fool,”

was the reply. And so after

many, many hours of

painstakingly searching

through websites, online

Phone books, etc. the first

The author with wife Juliet de

Guzman-Blackwell.

breakthrough had come,

Juliet’s hours of research

rewarded.

Since then, a few things in

our household changed,

instead of being greeted

“Good morning”, it became

“I must check the emails,

perhaps I have another

positive reply from the en-

quiries I have sent”. To call

our email account active

was a huge understatement.

Conversations centred

around who had replied,

which photos had been

shared, who was living

where and the stories of

classmate’s lives. I learnt

very quickly to show inter-

est, ask the odd appropriate

question and encourage

Juliet’s efforts. The alterna-

tive was to stay silent, have

no conversation, and, quite

possibly, no dinner.

Things have settled down

quite a bit now, others have

taken up the search, the

website and social forums

provide the medium for (continued on page 8)

Rejoinders (Cont’d):

Obsession By Ross Blackwell

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 6 of 12

Circa ’63: John F. Ken-

nedy’s assassination

shocked the world; Martin

Luther King delivered his

now immortal speech “I

had a Dream”; and we,

batch ‘63, graduated from

V.Mapa High School - and

we, too, had our dreams.

But before we pursued

those dreams, we first cre-

ated wonderful memories

of high school life together.

This column is about shar-

ing. We invite everyone to

share yesterday’s memo-

ries, good or bad. All of us

have one or two that we

remember most: what we

did and who was with us

when we did it.

Time has a way of blurring

one's memory, so let us see

who remembers well. Let's

confirm each other's

memory. Or dispel those

that may have just been

"figments of our imagina-

tion."

Hopefully, we will rekindle

the feelings we had during

the good old days.

Come with us…..

down memory lane

we go ...

“In our first year I

remember the two

Cynthias, Esguerra and de

Hitta, singing the Lem-O-

Lime jingle in one class;

Racquel Matignas trying to

convince us during election

time she will not make a

good treasurer; neverthe-

less, she was elected class

treasurer. Then there was

Diana who fainted at the

mere mention of a cat. Also

Racquel Magat leading us

everyday in singing the

National Anthem. She

showed confidence and

guts in my mind. Then

there was the teasing of a

student that resulted in her

mother storming the class-

room threatening to sue the

school. Ok that's all folks,

next time 2nd year.”

– Regie Lauzon

∞

“My memory of Juliet

Mascarinas was that of a

quiet girl who was always

neat and clean. Ready for

class all the time. Di ba

tumatayo ang palda mo, by

itself, sa P.E.?”

-Josie Astorga-

Campbell

∞ “I remember the palda.

Once after a presentation

at the Rizal Memorial Coli-

seum, somebody took my

palda and I went home

with a flimsy one.”

– Juliet Mascarinas

∞ “I also lost my new skirt at

that time. I brought home

one that was too short and

too tight on my waistline.

It was a contest from dif-

ferent high schools in Ma-

nila?”

Evelyn Teodoro-Cowled ∞

“One very exciting mo-

ment, was in my English

class under Mrs. Natividad.

We presented "Merchant of

Venice" in one of our

dramatization classes and I

assumed the role of Portia.

I don't quite remember

what act it was but I recall

having to wear a robe dur-

ing the court scene. My

teacher was so amused that

she took the cast to her

other classes.- Racquel

Magat-Sanchez

∞

“Mrs. Gloria Domingo was

our Adviser and also our

Biology teacher. When she

called me, tayo agad ako

and she asked "what's un-

der your skin". Mabilis pa

sa alas kuatro ang sagot

ko..."bones"! Ay mali pala.

She asked again, I didn't

answer maski na every

body around me was

coaching "muscles", "

interaction as the 50th anni-

versary fast approaches.

One thing has certainly not

changed, and that is the

enthusiasm with which

Juliet checks and answers

all incoming e-mails,

morning, noon, and night.

My dear wife insists it’s

not obsession, you be the

judge.

From a personal point of

view, I have found meeting

you all, both in Manila and

the U.S.A., and being ac-

cepted as an “honorary

Mapan”, most enjoyable

and a great privilege.

∞

muscles". - Juliet de Guz-

man-Blackwell

∞

“In our third year English

class under Mrs. Salvatin,

we were made to memorize

Shylock’s piece “To bait

fish withal…”. She called

Eduardo Lopez (RIP) to

recite it, but he wasn’t too

sure and just followed the

prodding from classmates

seated behind him. When

he came to the part ‘He

hath disgraced me and hin-

dered me half a million…’

someone, I think it was

Danny Cunanan, prodded

him ‘half a million pesos’ and Lopez repeated the

words. The class erupted in

laughter.

– Cesar Banaag

Yesterday…

Oh, I Long for Yesterday…

Time has a way

of blurring one’s

memory,

so let’s see

who remembers

well.

Obsession (continued from page 7)

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 7 of 12

“

“Huli ka!” was the catch-

phrase that started it all.

And it meant you’ve been

looped by Batch63 loopers.

Juliet de Guzman-

Blackwell from Down Un-

der was believed to be the

first looper of the batch.

Linda Tablan-Fernandez

was among the early

loopers who jokingly called

it a “Search and Rescue

Operation”. And rightly so,

as it proved to be a wide

manhunt for every dear

batchmate, in an affection-

ate attempt to rescue them

from oblivion. The sleuth-

ing was worthy of John Le

Carre, but we’ll let every-

one do the talking.

We shall appreciate your

version of how you’ve

been looped and what it

means to you. Meanwhile,

we’ll start with a few reac-

tions we lifted from our

group messages as well as

personal contributions to

this column.

∞ I first noticed the word

“huli” in an email from

Meny (Segura-Gonzales)

on March 8, 2007. She

announced to a group of

about seven, who her

second “huli” was - me.

Her phone call three

days earlier was the be-

ginning of a very special

kind of journey for me -

back to 44 years ago. It

also inspired me to ea-

gerly search for long lost

friends and schoolmates.

I am quite proud to claim

a few “hulis” myself.

How did this all begin?

Thanks to Romy (Tito or

Mulong as we fondly

called him) Tolentino

and Juliet de Guzman-

Blackwell for paving the

way to where we are to-

day - 75 members in our

yahoo group alone.

Search and “Huli” is

simply that: we look, we

find, everybody wins.

The feeling of reconnect-

ing with classmates who

were once near and dear

to us … priceless!

Let’s keep this column

alive by sharing our

“huli” stories.- Linda

Tablan-Fernandez

∞ "Just as life was starting

to get boring in 2007, I

got a call from my son.

He said, "Mom, do you

know a Linda Tablan

Fernandez?" He then

proceeded to tell me that

Linda had left a message

asking for my telephone

number." (I called her.)

She told me about this

"Loop" that has started to

form. I believe she said

there are now 8 of them

in the Loop, having fun

with each other. So I

joined and life was never

the same again." - Josie

Astorga-Campbell.

∞ “Josefina, I just received

your letter yesterday. I

graduated from Mapa

High School in 1963 and

I belong to section 4. I

only remember a couple

of my classmates -

Mariano and the other

one is Cruz, that is his

last name.”

– Precioso Domingo

∞ My participation started

June 29, 2007 when I

received an email from

Regie, He knew my e-

mail from the list of

UST Med Tech Class of

67. Juliet GB started

rounding us all up. I re-

ceived a phone call from

her on my 60th birthday.

I live in So Cal, in River-

side County, next to LA

and Orange County.

Meny is just an hour

away. I went to see

Meny at St. Paul's in

1991.-

Juliet Mascarinas

∞ “I am really happy we

are getting somewhere,

may additional na

naman sa listahan and

it's from Reginaldo

Lauzon who has contact

with Julieta Mascarinas.

Wow, amazing!!! Once

someone was traced,

nice na meron din silang

contact with others.

Those people whom I

long to hear from eh

coming into reality na!!!

Awesome!”- Juliet de

Guzman-Blackwell

“Hi Lina P. This is Cyn-

thia de Hitta-Drilon. Fi-

nally someone has found

you. Welcome to our

class loop…I'm sure eve-

ryone will be excited to

see you again and learn

more about you after 44

years. I would love to

chat with you.

Hanggang sa muli.”

Cynthia de Hitta-

Drilon

∞ Wow! This is one "huli"

I really appreciate. All

these years I've been

wondering where have

all my high school

classmates gone, and

now suddenly I'm walk-

ing down memory lane ;)

My eternal gratitude

goes to Juliet M. who got

me looped.- C. Banaag

∞ “Life has become MORE

exciting after having

been reconnected with

some of our batchmates

‘63 and I hope to get in

touch with more former

school mates!”- Johnny

Villanuva ∞

“Huli Ka!” (or How it all Started)

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 8 of 12

Educator Carmelita

Baylon-de Guzman pre-

fers to be described as “a

mother of five and a

grandmother of four”.

This sense of family is

what endeared her to the

countless students of T.

Earnshaw Elementary

School in Punta, Sta. Ana,

Manila, where she was a

school teacher and a moth-

er to her pupils, for almost

four decades.

Mely loves to reminisce on

her senior year as a IV-2

student under Mrs. Alzona.

“She was more than a

teacher to us, she was our

second mother in school,”

she enthused. It was a trait

Mely would take with her

throughout her teaching

profession.

After Mapa High, Mely

graduated from the Far

Eastern University with a

degree in Education in

1967. She started teaching

the following year and it

was to be a distinguished

teaching career .

Mely was a Demonstration

Teacher for Mathematics

and in 1987, she won the

Outstanding Math Teacher

Award in District VI in

Manila.

The following year, she

received the Exemplary

Math Teacher Award, earn-

ing for her an MTAP

(Mathematics Teachers

Association of the Philip-

pines) fellowship leading to

a Masters Degree in Educa-

tion at the National Teach-

ers College.

It was during her masteral

studies that she met fellow

educator Alladin de Guz-

man and they eventually

got married.

Mely retired from teaching

in 2006 as Master Teacher

II, while hubby is currently

dean of Education in a pri-

vate college in San Mateo,

Rizal.

∞

Batchmates would best

remember June celebrant

Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda as a folk dancer who al-

ways performed in school

programs.

Lourdes belongs to a fami-

ly of Mapans. Her brother

and sister graduated from

Mapa in 1958 and 1960,

respectively.

Her parents, Jose P. Ma-

nuel and Natividad J. Ma-

nuel (deceased), were both

educators and Mapa High

teachers. Her mother taught

Geometry while her father

was then head teacher in

the former Hidalgo Annex

who became principal in

the Villamor High School

until his demise in 1972.

Lourdes graduated from

Mapua Institute of Tech-

nology (MIT) with a de-

gree in Chemical Engineer-

ing. She then took comput-

er courses from IBM Phil-

ippines where she met her

husband, Felix Sajorda.

She then joined San Miguel

Corporation as a program-

mer then left for the US

after five years.

In the US, she worked as a

Programmer/analyst in ma-

jor companies in New York

and New Jersey. until her

retirement. Although al-

ready retired, she opted to

work as Claim Analyst in

Aetna Insurance Company,

then later worked part-time

at the Manheim New Jer-

sey.

Lourdes and Felix were

blessed with four children

and two grandchildren. In

between taking care of her

grandchildren, and once in

a while going to parties,

Lourdes enjoys gardening,

cooking and baking.

She counts flower arrang-

ing as one of her hobbies

(having worked part-time

in two flower shops and

had received certification

for flower arrangement for

online courses. Lourdes

also enjoys travelling with

her husband whenever time

permits.

∞

June Celebrant:

Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda

Insert photo

Insert photo

Personality Profiles:

May Celebrant:

Carmelita Baylon-de Guzman

June Celebrant:

Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 9 of 12

As the pilot of the Phil-ippine Airlines 747 was giving instructions for landing, the plane start-ed to turn and there it was - my first glimpse of what was to become my new home! The diamond-bejeweled tapestry of Los Angeles became visibly brilliant through the aircraft's windows on an early evening of October 1981. The stunning lights stretched as far as my eyes could see and I re-membered being carried away with such extraor-dinary sight but was overcome with an un-bearable sadness know-ing that I have left Ma-nila for good. I came to America for a better life, leaving bad memories behind. Thanks to my short-lived career as a business journalist for several weekly and daily news-papers, my trip was funded by both private and government offi-cials, initially to attend a Trade union conference

in Bangkok and Vietnam then proceed to visit my mother and brother in California. My first trip to down-town LA was intimidat-ing as I was literally dwarfed by tall build-ings along several one and two-way streets un-til my little steps led me to the L.A. Times’ build-ing - my dream employ-er. After securing the required papers to stay in the US, I made sever-al attempts to get em-ployment at the Times. My old self, Raquel, was armed with arrogance

and overwhelming self-confidence, took simple grammar and IQ tests, passed with flying colors but miserably failed the required typing speed. "What a joke", I quipped, assuming a clerical job should not be that com-plicated. Besides, I thought this position would just be my step-pingstone to becoming one of the most daring, investigative business reporters. A rude awak-ening was about to begin! While waiting for the Times to make up its mind about hiring me, I

took a data entry posi-tion at one of the largest seafood distributors in the west coast. Here, I met a strange computer consultant who was dared by the VP’s wife to ask me out for a date - Darcy Sanchez, a walk-ing encyclopedia with a peculiar sense of humor. We went out for over 18 months and I was re-married in August 1983 (his first marriage) and I was reunited with my two daughters from pre-vious marriage. What a life-changing process packed with more chal-lenges that I could han-dle while assimilating the American culture! Not only was I unpleas-antly surprised by the reality about working in the US, I was shocked that I was living on my own doing some chores that I wasn’t used to. It meant laborious toil dai-ly and while my tre-mendous ego was slow-ly deflating, my false pride still insisted that I would get the job I truly “deserved”.

(continued next page)

Pursuing the Fil-Am Dream By Racquel Magat-Sanchez

Racquel with hubby Darcy, enjoying a light moment in Hawaiian inspired outfit.

(Editor’s note: The author is celebrating her birthday in June and we are publishing this article as a way of featuring her along with other May-June birthday celebrants.)

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 10 of 12

That was when God de-

cided to give me a hint

of His plan which be-

came the tipping point

of my life. I’m now con-

vinced that the events

that happened were

chronologically land-

scaped to prepare, teach

and mold me to become

the person I ought to be. My initial break in the newspaper business was in 1983 as a pagination specialist at the Pasade-na Star-News where it paid decent wages with insurance coverage and fringe benefits. After a couple of years, my big break happened when the Times finally employed me as a page make-up coordinator which required fast and logical skills to close the needed number of pages daily. I was sort of the "dummy" girl who in-formed each section edi-tors how much space they would get for their stories daily and where ads were placed. I eventually earned both editorial and advertising management confidence but it was the latter that was quick to have of-

fered me an account ex-ecutive position in ad-vertising which gave me the opportunity to travel and win trips to Europe, Mexico and Asia. The prospect of being a re-porter was shelved per-manently while I re-ceived several recogni-tion for a sales job that I never imagined I could do.

Looking back, I could not imagine how I en-dured all the physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that came with the job, but it proved to be a learning experience that leaned more on the spiritual side of life. And as I looked within, I started looking back from where I started to keep me grounded; to make me humble.

I retired from my dream employer in August of 2001 after it was sold to the Chicago Tribune but was hired immediately by the Los Angeles Newspaper Group on September 10, 2001, tak-ing numerous posts from account executive to management and cur-rently, back to consult-ing.

Those unspoken hurdles and challenges in the past helped me make wiser choices. But I’m always learning some-thing new so “growth” is still in progress. I am eternally grateful for the numerous second chances that were and are given to me so that this new life - my rebirth that I now share with my family, including my

five grandchildren, will continue to be my an-chor to prepare for my “next” home.

Pursuing …. (continued from page 9)

A (Baby) Grand Gesture: Class IV-2 of Batch63

recently donated a portable Baby Grand Yamaha

Clavinova to alma mater V. Mapa High School

through batchmate Aida Aldama-Gallardo, music

teacher and only batch 63 graduate who joined the

teaching staff of VMHS. Photo shows Aida playing

the Yamaha as she accompanies a student singer. The

brand new Clavinova was used in last April gradua-

tion rites. Aida Gallardo thanked the donors in her

Facebook account: “Sa VMHS batch 63 class IV-2

Nang magsabog ng kabutihang loob ang Panginoon

ay may nakatanggap ng malaking bitak ng kabutihan.

Natupad ang pangarap na magkaroon ng yamaha elec-

tric grand piano upang magamit sa araw ng pagtata-

pos sa ika 2 ng abril. Sa pangalan ng inyong mahal na

paaralan, lubos kaming nagpapasalamat sa biyayang

ito. Asahan ninyo na pangangalagaan namin ito nang

buong husay. Muli,maraming salamat po!”

Those unspoken hurdles

and challenges in the past

helped me make wiser choices.

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 11 of 12

I'm not the best writer

but I want to tell you

about a day in the life of

a retired single guy.

Nothing really exciting

but enough to answer

some of your questions.

My daily routine is wak-

ing up at around 6:30 am

(no alarm clock) and be-

ing in bed by 11 pm.

Breakfast at 7, lunch at

noon then dinner around

6 pm.

Today I don't feel well,

my allergy makes me

feel like I have the flu.

Probably will rest most

of the day. It's almost 9,

have had my breakfast,

read the morning paper

and still working on my

sudoku while watching

CBS "This Morning" on

tv.

The sun is out and if I

feel like it, would do

some work outside,

spring cleaning still has

to get done. It's 9:30, I

have finished my su-

doku, filled the bird

feeder with seeds and

have washed the dishes.

There's a pile of tissue

begging to be thrown

away.

Almost noon time, what

else have I done? Ah

yes, I paid my bills, took

chicken from the freezer

to thaw and chatted with

a friend online for about

half an hour.

This afternoon I have to

make leche flan to take

to our meeting (Fil-Am

Association of Central

NY) tomorrow, then

cook my arroz caldo

with chicken. I can't

really taste anything and

tired of chicken noodle

soup and crackers.

Just turned off the oven,

leche flan is done, arroz

caldo is almost cooked

but I couldn't check for

seasoning without my

sense of smell and taste.

Cooking is fun when you

can taste as you go

along. Nothing I can do

now.

Decided not to do any

heavy work like garden-

ing but instead watched

back-to-back episodes

(Thursday and Friday) of

"Walang Hanggan".

Took a short nap which

was interrupted by a

phone call. My lawn

mowing service guy

broke his wrist and I

need to find someone

else to mow my lawn.

Don't have a lawn

mower anymore.

The evening was rather

uneventful. Dinner at six

while watching the local

news, 6:30 national news

then entertainment news

between 7-8 pm. I was at

the computer at 8, logged

off by 9:30. Watched

"True Blood" till 11 and

in bed on time.

Of course, some days

can be more exciting, but

that won't be a typical

day in the life of a single

retiree, and that is an-

other story.

∞

Batchmates (L-R): Rudy Tolentino, Josie Ilagan-Alejandro, Menchie Vidal Ventura, Lulu Manuel-Sajorda and Regie Lauzon represented Batch 63 in the Dinner-Dance fund-raising of the East Coast Chap-ter of Mapa High School Alumni Association USA and Canada. Lauzon was inducted board member of the East Coast Chapter which will host the 2013 MHSAAUC-sponsored biennial reunion in North Amer-ica.

A Day in the Life

of a Single Retiree By Regie Lauzon

Class ‘63 Digest

Page 12 of 12

MAY

2 Angelina Palaad-Paraiso

8 Josie Ilagan-Alejandro

9 Benjamin Andres

14 Emelito Asturias

16 Nicanora del Monte

17 Florentino Bugallon

23 Carmelita Baylon-de

Guzman

25 Carlos Jalijali Guanlao

JUNE

4 Benita Sacluti-Gonzales

12 Violeta Portillo

22 Racquel Magat-Sanchez

23 Buenaventura Ugarte

25 Lourdes Manuel-Sajorda