Bits N Pieces
Hey, people. After 25 years, I think we could use a little re-introduction to each other.
After each of us has travelled different paths, different careers, lived in different places,
I profoundly conclude that there's got to be a lot of chismis material out there!
So, here's a page that is intended for anything you would like to share (even your real age).
There are no rules or any specific format. Feel free to share pictures and stories, experiences
(life-changing, extraordinary, extra-terrestrial, whatever...)
Annette Alazas
I came to the US in 1985 to visit my sister, Achin and brother Alvin who were
both studying in the US at that time, little did I know that I was going to
live and start a family here. Living and working in the States was not even
in my mind. My husband, my boyfriend then, followed and decided to try it
out here. He stayed behind while I went home. He came home after a month to
ask me to marry him. So I came back to the states with him. We got married
in Seattle (that is were Achin and Alvin was) and settled in the SFO area.
Like most of us, the first few years were tough. I had a hard time adjusting
to the lifestyle here, no maids and no driver. It was hell. Plus I had to
work for somebody else. I only work for my family in Cebu. We were already
thinking of going back when that thing with "Marcos" happened. Then my
husband's family decided to migrate to the states. So we got stuck here.
His whole family lives in the Bay Area now. We have been home a few times
now, we try to every two years, and I tell you I don't think I can live in
the Philippines anymore. Not anymore, now that I have adapted to the
lifestyle here, sure having a maid is great but not if I have to keep nagging
them to do things the way I want it to be. You know what I mean? Not that
life here is a lot better but it is if you think medical care, hospital
facilities, education for our children and stuff like that. But I love the
night life in Cebu!!!!
I married my longtime boyfriend, Bingen Mendezona. We only have a child,
Marianne, she is now 13 years old. She is very talented and very smart and
very religious. She goes to a Catholic school and she is very active in her
school activities. She is very involve in the speech competitions here in
our county which she has won first place, twice already. She plays the piano
and basketball. But she can't dance like I do!!! She just wants to join in
everything and I had to stop her because I am the one who drives her from one
place to another. I am pretty sure she did not get any of that from me at
all. We bring her up the old fashion way and traditional way. My husband
and I are both very conservative and we make sure that she will grow up with
good values and self-respect. I even told her she can't have a boyfriend not
until she finishes college. Can you imagine me saying that. My husband is a
cop, he has been a cop for almost 12 years now. I can't think of any job
that fits him well. It's very "him." I have work for Southwest Airlines
since 1993. Actually it was my husband who got me this job. He filled out
an application form and set up an interview. He even pick what I should wear
to the interview, even the color! No, he does not know anybody in SWA, he
just wanted me to get an airline job so we can travel. I was very clueless
when I went for my interview. The color of my suit match the color of their
planes and I had no idea! So we have been traveling quite a bit, we have
been to Europe twice now and we try to go to Cebu every two years and yes
with our daughter. Right now, I took a year off work to care for my husband
who injured himself at work chasing a bad guy. He is back working now but on
light duty. He can't go back to patrol just yet.
Well, my memories of UP are not much. I remember Alan Merced who made my
life there a living hell! I also remember being in the principals' office
quite often. I remember having a fight with Harry Abilla a lot and ripping
his shirt. And girls I remember making our own dress to wear to some
activity in UP. I also remember playing basketball and going on hikes with
the girls. Does anybody remember the "spirit of the glass" we use to do at
the basement? Well, those were all fond memories and I just wished I had taken
pictures then.
Annette's Family Pic
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Alfonso Alvarez
I'm married to Joy Toledo - of class of 1985 of UP College Cebu BSBM
- for those of you who could have been classmates with her.
We have one 30 month old daughter - Raphaella Francesca, Ella for
short.
I'm currently a Business Developer for Wireless Works, a mobile
application solutions company, and Digicomp Asia - digital media
programs integrators and publishers. Heck, I just sell these
services to companies that need to integrate their databases with
gateways for M-commerce and put their training manuals, annual
reports, etc. on CD-ROMS. Our focus is Asia, and outsourcing
requirements from the US and doing it here.
Long way from radio, where Joy and I have spent a lot of time doing
together - we put up two FM radio stations together, specializing in
Jazz music. I somehow migrated here for a while, and while the
market is soft for digital broadcast applications, I'm focused on
telecoms solutions.
Not too far off, considering we're doing mostly new media
applications. It's still music that drives us - but mostly now, our
preferences are for Ella Fitzgerald, Satchmo, Coltrane, big band
music and the stuff you hear on KBLX in SFO, KTWV in LA or CD101.9 in
the East Coast.
Work is mostly fun, so it's not really work. And when we're not
working, we're at home experimenting with recipes and enjoying our
music. Ella is also partial to jazz now. She taps to the jazz
pieces on Nick Jr's. Little Bill cartoon show. But of course, Blues
Clues and Sesame Street are still staples.
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Joanne Aranas
A few weeks after high school graduation, I made the trek with my family to San Francisco and about six months later settled a few miles south - in San Jose - and have been here ever since. The transition from Lilo-an to the "big city" was somewhat intimidating. I was eager to enter college but was disappointed when the 4-year colleges and universities would not accept me in their programs. I was only 15 going on 16 at the time, was "too young" and I think they doubted that I completed high school even though I had my diploma. On their recommendation, I went to a junior college while I waited to turn at least 17 or earn the required credits to qualify for admission in their schools. This proved pivotal: I needed to earn a living to help my family get its footing so I only took part-time classes at a junior college and took a full-time job at 7Up Bottling Company doing some bookkeeping functions. That's where I met Jon Endow, my husband of 19 years, who was then working for 7Up USA. He now works for 7Up Bottling as Vice President of Marketing. Ironically, we are not much of soda drinkers but, needless to say, 7Up is significant to us. Inasmuch as I was already dabbling in the accounting arena, I majored in it at San Jose State University, joined Price Waterhouse after graduation and did the requisite public accounting stint to earn a CPA license. The hours of auditors were too long and I was at the mercy of our clients' demands - so when we thought of having a family, I left public accounting and worked in various capacities in accounting and finance. More recently, as Vice President of Finance of Apptitude, Inc., I oversaw and administered our merger with Hifn, Inc. where I am now Director of Corporate Finance. Hifn develops integrated circuits and software for networking infrastructures. Jon and I did not get into the "kid thing" until much later so I could finish college and took advantage of the "just the two of us" time. Of course, our lives changed with the arrival of our thoroughly enjoyable chickadees: Kevin who is 8 and in 2nd grade; and Karli who is 5 and will be entering Kindergarten in September. Our family hobby is karate. Jon and Kevin have been training for almost 4 years and both have recently earned their black belts in Shotokan. As is seemingly a consistent theme with me, I was also a late starter in karate and I am playing catch-up with the boys. Barring any injury, I hope to earn my black belt this November. But don't let it fool you - I am far from dangerous to have around. I train mainly for the exercise and so that I can eat whatever Jon cooks. He is our resident chef and since he is far better at cooking than I am, I have graciously allowed his culinary skills to flourish and develop - the children and I are his taste testers - a job we enjoy very much. I have not touched any cooking utensils in 19 years other than to wash them - oh, but I do cook rice. Okay, it is with a rice cooker but it still counts. And just like Marlon, I also sort the laundry effectively plus I do a nice job ironing clothes. Memorable teachers: Mr. Castillo (whom I visited in Cebu last year). I struggled through his Physics, Trig and math classes. I had a particularly hard time with Geometry. Mr. Castillo counseled me to try just a bit (actually more like a lot) harder. It took a little while, but the light bulb was eventually lit. I earned higher scores in the exams after the pep talk (surprised me, too), managed to overcome earlier scores with room to spare and passed the class (*whew*). Ms. Alino surprised me when she gave me responsibilities in YCAP that I thought I was incapable of doing. Dr. Almase, our biology teacher, did the same for the science fair. Many years later I realized they were both nudging me to use skills I obviously did not even suspect I had. I appreciate the subtle yet effective way they prompted me use those skills - I really needed the nudge. My parting memory of high school on graduation day: I very badly wanted to join in singing the class-composed song "Of Notebooks and More." I only knew the melody but not the lyrics. Barbara (Fortunato) noticed I was at a loss and mouthed off the words of each line to me from across the aisle so I could sing along. That pretty much captured the essence of my high school experience. I don't think I ever had the chance to say thanks so "Thanks a bunch, Barb." Snippets of memories: Making radios in Electronics Club, overdosing on cinnamon powder in Home Economics, the caterpillar-laden trees by the basketball court, creative intramural cheers, Girl Scout camping in the rain (Adele and I shared a tent with wet mats), Justino's and Kathy's dance moves, catching butterflies and Atlas moths after lunch for Montayre's bug collection, defending our thesis in Ms. de la Cerna's class, singing "Ikaw ang Superstar" for Dean Sala on his retirement (can't erase from my memory the words to that song), planting trees for CAT in Lilo-an, Barb Fortunato successfully convincing Dean Nesperos et al that singing the national anthem once a week (on Mondays) makes it less rote and more meaningful - so with flag retreat (on Fridays), Jude's favorite expression "ay, cholera" . . . . and I suppose if I ponder long enough I could come up with more. But folks, I could sometimes keep going like the Energizer bunny so I better put on the brakes before I usurp everyone else's allocation in the website. Looking forward to seeing everyone next year!
Joanne's Family Pics
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Melvin Cabahug
I went out with my wife for 5 years before deciding to go the next
step and get married. We've now been married 16 years. My wife's name
is Joy and we are blessed with our only son, Jordan, who will turn 15
in 4 weeks time. I've been working around computers since 1985 and was
a system analyst/programmer before I migrated to Australia in 1990. At
the moment, I work as a technical consultant and am mainly involved in
computer network design, WAN, network security and all that sort of
stuff.
I have a lot of funny memories in my days at UP High. There was this
one of many visits to Chuck's mum's office because I was allegedly one
of the students who punched a hole in the wall of the 1st year-
Bartlett room. (Obviously, I had to deny it because it really wasn't
me.) I remember, together with a few classmates, going for a walk up
the hills at the back of the school, crossing the river and going to
that cave. I remember eating merienda in Manang's store. It's really
nice to reminisce about our days in UP High.
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Edita Carolino
Click on this link to read an article on Ditsi and her films.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Interview/8544/filmmakers/ditsicarolino/ditsicarolino.html
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Allan Dolores
After high school, I did a semester in USC Talamban before transferring to U.P. Diliman to study to be an
Electrical Engineer. My first job out of college was as a Production Supervisor for Timex, but I did not really
like it that much. So, I went for my EE license and was awarded the first place in the EE board exams for 1986.
This opened an opportunity for me to work for a Japanese company, and I was based in Japan, and later, Indonesia.
It was very fascinating learning about these two cultures and picking up their languages as well. Towards the end
of 1987, I finally decided that I had had enough of sushi, sake, nasi goreng, and Bir Bintang. I returned to Cebu
in time for Christmas. This was the time that I met my future wife, Antonette. We were introduced by the matchmaking
team of Rey Gavino and his future wife, Joy. I landed a job with San Miguel. At first, I worked at the Mandaue plant
as a trainee. Eventually, I was sent to Bacolod together with a team of engineers, and we built the Bacolod Brewery
and Bottling Plant from ground up. I can't help but be amused at the fact that we visited the bottling plant during
one of our high school field trips and actually ended up working to install and commission the bottling equipment.
It was like playing with Legos and R/C toys. Fun!!! And yes, we did get to crash a few pallets and smash several
hundred bottles before we finally got the controls and calibration right on the equipment. Once the plant was up and
running, I became the Electrical Supervisor, and my team handled any project related to the power distribution system
as well as the electronic controls governing the various pieces of automation in the plant. By the way, there was lots
of free beer so I was constantly motivated.
I married Tonette in 1990. In 1992, we packed our bags for New Jersey.
Tonette went into residency training as a Pediatrician. I remember feeling excited at the thought of going to this new
place, but I was also sad to leave San Miguel. I had made so many friends there and was very proud of my work, my team,
and our achievements. For four years, I struggled with wanting to come back. Meanwhile, I worked for Roche in one
of their new plants in NJ. My role was to automate their packaging processes. This was similar to my stint at SMC because
it involved automation, but it was different because everything was a miniaturized version of the stuff I worked with at SMC.
While working for Roche, I finished my MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
In 1994, our little pride and joy, Matthew, was born. It was quite an adventure juggling our schedules around Matt, school,
and work, but we did it!
After Tonette graduated from residency, we moved to the boondocks and bayous of Louisiana. For
awhile, we were neighbors with Chuck Mangubat and his family. Even though we were out in the country, I was lucky enough to
find a job as a Robotics Engineer for a company which specialized in automating pharmacy processes. I was part of a four
man R&D team that developed a robotic cell that would take a prescription, fill a vial with the required medicine, label it,
and present it to the pharmacist for verification. For our work, we were awarded a U.S. patent. Here are some pics.
As always, the fun in automation happens when things go wrong, like
crashing the robot and smashing things like a bunch of Lego blocks. Whooopeeee!!!
In 1997, we decided that we wanted to live in a bigger city with more to
do and more opportunities. So, we moved to the Atlanta area. It was the height of the tech boom and most jobs were in the
computer field. So, I went back to school to get my MS in Computer Science. This opened the door for me to join a company
that provided consulting services to Scientific Atlanta, the cable set top box manufacturer. I got the opportunity to play
around with the software embedded in the set top boxes. I had done some work with software before, but this was my first
experience with a fairly large piece of code. So, it was quite an adventure. Unfortunately, the tech bubble burst in
2000, and I lost my job. Luckily, it only took me two months to find a Software Engineering position with a company that was eventually acquired by Oracle. Working for Oracle, I had the opportunity
to develop software tools in Java and C++ creating feature rich Windows apps complete with lots
of GUI bells and whistles. Added bonus...we were the only ones who could wear shorts and sandals daily in a building full of people in business suits and ties.
In March 2006, I was ready for a new challenge. I joined Scientific Atlanta as it was being acquired by Cisco. Currently, I am working as a Software Engineer with the Cisco team that is taking cable and video technology
into the "bleeding edge" of TV interactive applications. We are implementing the middleware that enables the standard known by different names as OpenCable Application Platform or Tru2Way Technology.
If you love your cable TV now, wait till you
see what it can do besides just show regular video! For the curious, click on this link to find out more about this topic OpenCable Platform.
Latest on the family...went on a tour of Europe in 2007 (let me know if you want to see the pics...caution, there are 900 of them). Our dream is to visit Australia and New Zealand next. Tonette now has her own clinic which is fully computerized. I fill in as the IT guy / plumber /
electrician / paralegal / HIPAA documentation specialist / whatever it takes. Matthew is 14 now and will be in high school. He's the "temperamental" clinic janitor. He was into Tae Kwon Do for some time, but is now focusing on tennis.
Tonette and I also play tennis and hope to continue playing till we're 101 years old. After that, I might try soccer. Other current interests...biking, movies, and politics...really excited over the prospect of Clinton or Obama in the WH next year.
(Sorry, could not resist a political plug...I've been really frustrated for 8 years watching Mr. Bush and his mess. Other than that, I'm still an easy going guy ;-) )
Allan's Family Pics
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Lillibeth Ebarle
got married in August 16, 1986 to Alan R. Luga, an Army officer. he is in
schooling right now at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. we have three kids - Gia
Leanne, 14 yrs old, an incoming junior high school at Cebu City Science High
School.... Bea Sarah, 10 yrs old, going on 5th grade at MZED Christian
School in Banawa... Alan Joseph, 5 yrs old, who will be Kinder 2... also at
MZED.
i am into Finance at Jollibee Foods Corporation - Visayas and Mindanao area.
i am actively involved in our church organization - the Word of Life
Church - a conservative Baptist church in Lahug. I am the auditor and a
member of the Praise and Worship Ministry and Sunday School Ministry.
most memorable event in high school was how i was nicknamed Macbeth... it
was after our whole class saw the movie "Macbeth" and this guy who was one
year above us was teasing me and asking who i was... and i turned around and
just got a scene from the movie and followed it and said it in the most
horrible voice I could muster "I am Macbeth"... from then on I had this
nickname Macbeth...which followed me up to college when I was playing
volleyball in the USC varsity team....of course now nobody calls me that
anymore, I am just "Beth."
the teacher that created a great impact in my life was Ms Sofia Alino... I
remember we had this subject under her...i don't remember what it was but i
do remember that as part of her subject, we went on a field trip... and we
visited the Southern Islands Malnutrition Ward.... it was so so so so smelly
that it totally changed my decision to become a nurse... i could not stand
the smell. i wrote it in my reaction paper, and she wrote something in my
reaction paper that made me realize that this was a teacher who cared about
her student.... with that small note of hers in my reaction paper, she
showed me she read my paper and cared enough to communicate to me about what
i was thinking. of course, at that time, my ego was still very fragile...
and having a teacher that cared about what i was thinking really meant much
to me.
i had a chance to teach at UP for one semester... it was for HBO and
personnel management. i tried to relate to my students like how Ms. Sofia
Alino did... and really caring for them. of course, it was really a
challenge to check all their essays...what with the handwriting and
everything...still I went through each paper and wrote something of what i
thought about the paper...encouraging and just reacting to what they wrote.
i hope i made some positive impact on those students too as Ms Sofia did to
me.
Teachers I can not forget : 1. Ms Madrilena dela Cerna - for being a
terror.... but later I found out, she was not.. her brother became my
volleyball coach; 2. our teacher in Biology (age is catching up on me - i
can't remember her name)... i still remember her lesson about sleep and
dreams and how the food goes through our digestive system... i found her a
great a intelligent teacher, i really understood biology under her; 3.
Madame Lelani Verdan and her English; 4. Sir Montano and his social studies
lessons - about Marcos and about the way the Education budget was cut; 5.
Madame (I forgot her name) for her Home Economics lessons...though I did
not learn how to cook from her... I learned cooking from Joy Escano, one of
my volleyball pals....6. Madame Gallenero for introducing me to Volleyball,
7. Mr. Lutao and his Math...the one we did in module... 8. and last but not
least, our teacher in Physics, Trigo and Geometry...which I could never
get... I always remember his exams which included the page number of the
book we were reading.
Beth's Family Pic
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Barbara Fortunato
Since graduating from college, I've been working with NGOs in various
fields: research, writing and editing, training, evaluation, development
management. From 1996 to 2001, I worked with an international organisation
called Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) which, as the name suggests, posts
volunteers to work in developing countries. Initially, I helped set up
placements for volunteers here in the Philippines and Tanzania (teachers or
teacher trainers, health workers, gender advisers, small business advisers,
agriculturists, etc). Later, I established and managed a programme
recruiting Filipinos to volunteer overseas -- there's over 40 of them
overseas now, all over Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, very highly
respected by the local organisations and having a lot of fun.
Next month, I'm taking the plunge myself and volunteering for two years in
Vietnam. I'll be working with a programme called Support to Regional
Aquatic Resource Management, based at the Ministry of Fisheries, as
management/communications adviser, trying to bring together all
stakeholders in participatory planning processes and ensuring that lessons
are shared widely with similar programmes in the Asia-Pacific region. Very
daunting stuff! I'm excited, terrified, overjoyed, and lonely all the the
same time. Hanoi is a lovely city, and Vietnamese food is great, so you
and Tonette must visit. Because the next few months' workplan is still
uncertain, I can't confirm that I'll definitely be able to get back for the
class reunion, although of course that's a big personal goal for me.
Sayang, pero I've really lost touch with everyone in our group. Karun gani, dili
ko sigurado if I'd still recognise anyone if we met in the street kay hanap na sad
ang mata. Kana bang tipong I have difficulty reading shampoo bottles na! I'm
afraid I've also been very future-driven lately, which is why it's such a
refreshing surprise to be in touch again with everyone from high school, and I
really look forward to meeting you all and catching up with each other's lives.
Dili na pud kaayo klaro ang akong memories of high school, so I'm excited
about the do-you-remember-when moments that we will surely have next year.
Ang pinakamahinumduman pa gihapon nako ang team effort during practice for
the cheering competition or Christmas carols or Linggo ng Wika programmes.
The really odd thing is that although I've lost touch with classmates, I
actually maintained contact with some teachers. Do you know that I shared
a house with Sofie and Viking for several months in 1990? And in 1998,
when I was organising a gender conference for the Visayas, I worked with
Mads and Sofie in the organising committee, and si Fe Reyes was the
preliminary editor of the conference proceedings. That was very special to
me, parang coming full circle, working with them as peers.
No, I didn't get married, and I didn't want to be a single mother either,
so no children. Some advantages (I travel light), but I also know I'll
feel a bit awkward when everyone exchanges family pictures during our
reunion! Turned vegetarian some years ago (may ilusyon that I'd have
clearer skin which is unfortunately a fallacy but too late to turn back
na); maayo na lang beer and wine are considered vegetarian.
Barb's Despedida Party
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