MEMORIES FROM H.S. REUNION-PART 5

GRAND FINALE- THE BALI HAI DANCE PRESENTATION-CLASS 1960

DANCE ENTRANCE-FRONT-TESSIE CASTRO PURI, BACK-EVELYNE DIRIGE RESELLA

OUR BALI HAI PRINCESS - THE BEAUTIFUL BAYANIHAN DANCER-LITA RAMOS

ALOHA FROM THE JUBILARIANS

SPECIAL DANCE PRESENTATION BY PURI & COMPANY
VIVA PURI! VIVA PURI! WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EFFORT. CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB WELL!

You made all the difference in our 50th hs reunion.I know how much sweats & time went into the production of this event. We couldn't have done it without your talent,creativity, & dedication. You went the extra mile & expenses too.
TO CELIA, GERRY & LITA-Congratulations on doing a superb job of organizing our 50th h.s. reunion. My sincere thanks to all of you for making such a great effort, extra time. Please accept my sincere compliments & appreciation on all your deligence & hard work. I am so proud to be apart of this 50th reunion.
This is the last chapter of our "Gintong Ala-ala" blog. We are ending this blog to pave the way for another PWU blog called "Gintong Daan (Golden Road). It's comming soon, so watch out for it.

One of my joys is life is being able to contibute to the success of our 50th hs reunion. Updating this blog for over a year is a great pleasure. I know that many of us literally went the extra mile to help create this blog. Thanks to all who contibuted to scanning high school photos, wrote bios & stories, sent photos. To name some like-Esther, Puri, Cora, Cherrie & Sari. MARAMING SALAMAT! MUCHAS GRACIAS! ARIGATO!

MEMORIES FROM H.S. REUNION-PART 4

"O.M.G., I'm rich!
Silver in the Hair
Gold in the Teeth
Crystals in the Kidneys
Sugar in the Blood
Lead in the Ass
Iron in the Arteries
And… an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas.
I never thought I'd accumulate such wealth."
Written by Evelyne D. Resella:

The above quote is about rich senior women. This is from Sari and she forwarded it to our e-mail group. It's amusing but very true. When PWU alumni reached their h.s. 50th reunions, no doubt they are truly rich like the above quote.

This nostalgic event was the 79th PWU alumni reunion. For our h.s. class 1960,it was our "JUBILLEE" (Golden Anniversary). Hurray! Hurray!

I never thought I would be able to make it to the reunion. But I was happy as reflected in my smile in the above photo. I had never been back to my homeland for 35 years, so it was a beautiful homecoming.
EARLY BIRD.....EARLY PHILWOMENIAN CAUGHT THE....BIG SHOT!

When I entered the ballroom, it was excessively noisy with excitement, chatting & laughing. Our 1960 class were scattered every where. I saw Puri and asked for a dual photo but four more classmates joined us.

Left to right: Marilin Fernandez Arellano, Eloisa Dizon Farrales, Evelyne Dirige Resella, Puri Capistrano Laconico (Our Bali Hai Creator), Corazon Fausto Gatchalian and Tessie Castro Puri. A BUNCH OF BEAUTIFUL PHIWOMENIAN FROM H.S. CLASS 1960! THE MERRY BELLS WERE JINGLING WITH JOY FOR THE JUBILARIANS!!! THEY SAID THIS WAS THE BEST REUNION EVER. GLAD THERE WERE MANY OF US WHO MADE IT THERE.LEFT TO RIGHT: Marilin, Eloi, Evelyne D., Puri, Cora, Tessie P., Roselani, Sari, Evelyn NZ, Cherrie, Yolly, Carmen, Marlene,Renita, Precy, Lani, Lita, Glo & Nati.
THREE SOME BEAUTIES - TESSIE MARZAN, EVELYNE D. RESELLA AND EVELYN NZ ZABALA
Left to Right: Tessie Castro Puri, Tessie Lonzame Marzan, Evelyne Dirige Resella, Cynthia Ugalde Tan, Celia Arreza Espiritu and Renita Abary Gorostiza

I am hesitant to post this photo. I was next to the former Miss Philippines Cynthia Ugalde). I felt like an ugly duckling & elf next to her. The 2 Tessies- nakapikit naman. Celia looked stunning next to Cynthia. Puwedeng mag-compete. Anong sinasabi mo Renita?

So long.....and enjoy reading our blog!

MEMORIES FROM H.S. 50th REUNION-PART 3

"Memories light the corner of my mind. Misty water color memories. Of the way we were." - From the song "The Way We were" by Barbra Streisand.

The Grand Entrance To The 50th H.S. Reunion

Hello everyone! Here's some memorable moments in time. This photo was taken at the grand entrance of the Dusit Thani Hotel. Right photo (Rhod & I) was taken prior to the start of the grand celebration. With everyone laughing & screaming inside, we quietly slipped away from the crowd to have this photo session. Don't feel bad if you're not included here.These lucky people were there at the right time & place when the cameras clicked.

PRESENTING THE LOVELLIEST COUPLE
FROM OUR REUNION:
MARLENE DE LEON LEYSON & ALFREADO LEYSON.

THEY LOOK SO REGAL IN THEIR HAWAIIAN OUTFIT. PARANG REINA AT HARI.

LEFT PHOTO:

WOW, KAMI NAMAN NI GERRY & ME. LIKE A FISHER-WOMAN NAHULI KO RIN SI GERRY. MAILAP SIYA. SHE WAS SO BUSY ATTENDING TO THE DEATAILS OF THE REUNION BUT SHE COULDN'T RESIT THE BAIT FOR PHOTO SHOOT. SMILE! TAWA! NGITI NAMAN DIYAN!

HERE'S OUR BEAUTIFUL MOMENT TOGETHER. HONESTLY I DIDN't KNOW A LOT ABOUT GERRY. BEFORE THE REUNION, WE EXCHANGED TONS OF E-MAILS. GOT TO KNOW HER BETTER THRU E-MAILS. WE SAT TOGETHER DURING DINNER BUT NOT ENOUGH TIME TO CHAT LONG. HER DINNER STAYED COLD WHILE SHE ATTENDED TO THE MANY DETAILS OF THE REUNION.

MORE HAPPY TIMES AT THE REUNION.............Left to right: Marlene, Miss X, Gerry, Ebb and Rhod

MEMORIES FROM H.S. 50th REUNION-PART 2

Memories may be beautiful and yet,

What's too painful to remember

We simply choose to forget

So it is the laughter

We will remember,

Whenever we remember

The way we were. - From the song "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand

Written by Evelyne Dirige Resella:

February 22, 2010. Yes, an unforgettble date! It was our PWU high class 1960 golden reunion. With my husband and son, I entered the banquet room at the Dusit Thani Hotel just fine. A little nervous & overwhelmed by the loud noises. Every classmates looked great. Still the faces seem familiar. I wasn't imagining, but somehow, I'd expected them to stay as young as they were on that long-ago h.s. days. We'd hugged many more welcome hugs. But like me through the years , many classmates added gray to their hair, or pounds to their years. But as we celebrated the golden reunion, we were like twelve yrs. old again in spirits, though there's no doubt we all looked like grandmothers. We rolled back the years and were young again even for a single night.

HERE ARE FIVE unforgettable photos from the 50th h.s. reunion: Seems like only yesterday, I was with Renita and Eloisa. There were only 3 of us since the rests are still dressing up or "nagpapaganda pa."

A POSE DOWN MEMORY LANE-WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT WE WOULD BE TOGETHER AGAIN AFTER 50 YEARS? Marami na kami dito.

Left to right: Eloisa Dizon Farrales, Evelyne Dirige Resella, Renita Abary, Tessie Castro Puri, and Roselani Blancaflor Mariano.

THE MORE...THE MERRIER....... Left to right..............................

Eloi, Ebb,Renita, Annie, Sonia, & Rose

"OLD CLASSMATES ARE THE BEST ANTIQUES"....... How true! After 50 years we were the most preserved antiques from the past. There were seven of us in this class photo. A curious mixture of Hawaiian beauties, tall & shorts, wide and still skinny. Left to right: Sonia Alvarez, Rosario Valenzuela, Renita Abary, Evelyne Dirige Resella, Cherreie Silva McSorley, Tessie Castro Puri, and Roselani Blancaflor Mariano. "SPECIAL CLASSMATE BROUGHT SPECIAL MEMORIES."

YOLLY BELLO PAJARO AND EVELYNE DIRIGE RESELLA WERE TOGETHER AGAIN. After high school graduation Yolly & I continued to be together at the U.P. School of Fine Arts at Diliman. We were both aspiring commericial artists. I became an artist while Yolly shifted to another degree. That was the end and I never saw her beautiful face again. I saw her latest photo in our PWU blog prior to the reunion. I was so happy that she became a successful business woman w/ her her famous shoe brand Via Venetto.
Until next post! Marami pang darating na photos! Abangan!

MEMORIES FROM H. S. 50th REUNION- PART 1

MEMORIES ARE THE BEST SOUVENIRS............
Written by Evelyne Dirige Resella:

Hi dear classmates and other viewers. At last, I am blogging about our high school golden reunion last February 22, 2010. I apologized for the long delay. When my husband & I returned to the U.S. after our long trip to the Philippines & Southeast Asia, we were extremely busy moving to our new home in San Diego , California. It took months to be able to find the photo CD. My son Ryan, whose hobby is photography, had a very good photographic skill & camera, took hundreds of photos. Somehow many photos didn't come out well especially those taken inside the dark hotel, where the reunion was held. Also it was a big file, so I only selected the very best photos to publish.

What more can I write about the reunion? Ano pa ba ang dapat isulat? Tessie Marzan already wrote a very beautiful tribute. Bong also wrote a collection of appreciations for classmates who made the reunion a success. This blog is simply a catch-up & an appreciative gift of time toward those who made the extra effort & expense to be at the reunion. Gee, where did the time goes? It sure went by really fast. Just like that! It's hard to believe that 8 months had passed since this sentimental 50th reunion happened. To those who attended the reunion, here's a refresher. Naalala pa ba ninyo? To those who misssed it, here's an update. It's wonderful to have photos to look back when many of us no longer have photographic memories. May these photos make us laugh once again. In the past... we were brave, we were crazy, we were mostly young once. In our golden years, hey....life it isn't over yet. Come w/ me and let's travel through the pages of time.....
AMONG MY REUNION SOUVENIRS- "PRETTY PHILWOMENIANS"

H.S. CLASS 1960

Left to right;

Celia Arreza Espiritu

Evelyne Dirige Resella

Roselani Blancaflor Mariano

Eloisa Dizon Farrales

PRE-REUNION: I arrived in Manila mid-night (Monday- February 15th ) like a wilted gumamela from the long distance flight. On Tuesday, I slept most morning due to jet-lagged & fatigue. In the afternnoon my husband , Ryan & me, toured the Mall of Asia. We had to see as many sights as possible in the 3 weeks that we will be in the Philippines. Tuesday night, had family reunion with the Villas at Q.C.

On Wednesday (3 days prior to the reunion) was my 1st time to connect to many classmates and practice the dance presentation. Many classmates had been practicing for months. Our class 1960 being the "Jubilarians" would be performing a special Bali Hai dance show. Puri Capistrano Laconico was the creative brain & producer behind this ala-bayanihan show.

I was very nervous because dancing is not my forte. I am old but my legs are still strong. Nakakaindak pa ako, but w/ no graceful bayanihan sways & moves. What a relief when I found out that the late comers would be "background." Well, I like being in the background because I don't have to worry when I mistepped, unless someone recoded my steps on a video secretly. Maraming tatawa doon.

What a JOY to see classmates I haven't seen in 50 years! The above photo was taken during our dance practice break. It was a surprised that Celia, our valedictorian was seated on my left. Wow! This was unbelievable! Even during our h.s. days, hindi ko nakatabi si Celia, kahit minsan. Then Rose, one of those lovely mestizas from our class was next to me on the right. Ang gaganda naman nang mga katabi ko ano? Pero mahinhin ang mga smiles. Wala kasing taga Canada dito. My ex-class-seatmate (ELoi) was there too. What an exciting moment!! I LOVE REMEMBERING THIS BREAK TIME WITH LOCAL SNACKS. Many bought snacks but my favorite was the delicious pili from the Bicol region. Thanks to Lilia Villa Javier for sharing them. The same photo from the first except Marelene De Leon Leyson and Renita Abary de Gorostiza were included.

BEAUTIFUL PHILWOMENIAN

CLASS 1960

Left to right

Marlene de leon Leyson

Carmelita Ramos

Evelyne Nazareth Zabala

Carmen Exconde

Evelyne Dirige Resella

Cherrie Silva MacSorley

Renita Abary de Gorostiza

During the short breaks it was time to catch up wih 50 years of stories & happenings. Maraming kuwento but not enough time to tell them all. I was not able to join the PJ overnight party at the Canyon Woods in Tagaytay. Courtesy of Celia. I heard it was a whole night of sharing many memories and retold some class jokes.

WOW! PHILWOMENIAN PRETTIES.......TALAGA!!!!!!

Left to right: Roselani, Tessie P., Evelyne, Gerry Tiongson Osias (President of PWAA, Celia ( chair-79th PWU reunion) and Renita

Athough all tired from the practices these Pretty Philwonians could still smile.

Gising na Tess P. Nasa harap ka nang camera.......he!he!he!

Those were the days when we thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance forever and a day. Oh, yes those were the reunion days.

Next week, I will be postings more photos from our real reunion. There will be 4 series.

Till next post! Abangan ang karugton!!!!

MEMORIES FROM MINI REUNION#2

"We all take different paths in life,but no matter where we go,we take a little of each other everywhere.'- Anonymous

By Evelyne Dirige Resella: Aaaahhhhh.......!!!!! the high school days! I never thought I'll get back to it!!!!!!! Not even on my dreams.

So far, I had another reunion w/ former high school classmates, Ev Nz Zabala. After months of planning, we finally had a mini -get-together with our spouses Although Rhod & I moved to San Diego last October 2009, we were often out of town or out of the country. Ev & I only connected by e-mails. Thank God for e-mails. One of the best inventions of the century.

The good news, Ev & I saw each other during our 50th reunion in Makati last Febuary, 2010. We frequently talked during breaks from dance practice. There's so much to catch up after not seeing each other for 50 yrs. but not enough time. Our schedules were hectic & didn't spend much time w/ each other..

Ev Nz is one of those classmates that I remembered vividly. WHY? We have similar names. She's Evelyn Nazareth and me, Evelyne Dirige. I changed mine to Evelyne later on. To distinguish us on our e-group e-mails, she's known as Ev Nz, while me as Ebb.

I also remembered that we were those "petite" ones in h.s. Maraming matatangkad like Cynthia, Lolit, Girlie, Roselani, Sari, etc. During the reunion, I was surprised to see Ev taller than me. I did't add a lot of inch since h.s but I am happy w/ it.
We finally had a casual dinner at "Joe's Crab Shack" in Pacifc Beach, where Ev & hubby live. We decided to drive & see their area since we haven't been there before. It's a nice coastal area & crowded with beach bums.

Rhod & I arrived on time for our dinner date- 5:30 p.m.. Ev called that they will be late. Hindi pala American time! Anyway, walang Americano sa amin group, so we took our...time. While waiting for them, we had some cool drinks & fried calamari. The place was casual, funky, busy & extremely noisy.This is our happy photo at JCS.

Fr. left to right (Ebb, Frank, Ev & Rhod). This resto is famous for seafood, so that's what we indulged in. Ev, Rhod & I had lobster bisques for soup. For main dish, Rhod & I shared a huge pot of steamed crab legs, lobster, clams, sausage, potatoes, & corn. All these were served on a big metal, black pot. Yum...yumm!!!! Frank, had the usual fare"fish & chips." He wasn't able to finish, so the left over was "to go." I am not sure what Ev ate. I guessed she had a plate of rice pilaf w/ fish dish. Her hubby said that they don't like to split their meals. Although they don't share their meals like us, Ev & Frank are very nice couple. I discovered that Frank is an Italian guy. He is a widow like Ev. They both attended a support group where they luckily met each other & remarried the second time around.

We chatted & ate over the din of the resto. It was a miracle that I was able to HEAR many of the conversations but also missed some due to my hearing problem. I have a bionic ear (cochlear implant) but it's impossible to hear everything when the noise was extreme. Such kind of noisy resto is not an ideal place for hearing impaired. I think it was my fault that I didn't tell Ev that a quiet place is preferable. At this time, my new Freedom processor was only 3 weeks old. I was happy that I could at least hear some chit-chat in a very challenging situation. I had a new processor because my old one (Esprit 3GN22) will be obsolete by December 2010.
THE TWO SMILING EVELYNS: . After dinner we had a short chat by the broadwalk & some photo session. The Pacific Beach in the background. It's almost at the end of the day but we didn't watch the sunset. Left photo.

Right photo:

IN FRONT OF JOE'S CRAB SHACK-EV & EBB

Tawa naman diyan! Casual lang kami dito! We were by the beach and it was quite windy.

FOURSOME - "OUR GOOD -BYE PHOTO:"- (Rhod, Ebb, Ev, Frank)-Taken by an amateur guy, I requested along the way. Since Ev & I now live close to each other here in San Diego, this is not the end. We are already planning more get togethers. Tuesday night is a good day for us since there are many discounts for seniors on restos & movies. Ev is still not retired so, she's not always off. Till our next.....happy hour!

MEMORIES FROM MINI REUNION

"Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. " -Francis Bacon

REFLECTIONS FROM EBB TIDE: I am back after a sentimental journey to the Philippines & dream trip to Southeast Asia. Those trips were one of the best times of my life. Last February, being reunited w/ many past high school classmates in Makati after 50 years was something I am very thankful & will forever treasure. Also going back to my homeland after 33 years of absence gave me a wonderful feeling. The Southeast Asian trip & cruise is something to remember. I am extremely happy to have done such a long travel while I could still walk & enjoy the hassle of taking a trip. It was worth the long distance journey & expenses.

When I got back to the U.S. last April 1st, I wasn't in the mood to jump into blogging. So many things occupied my mind & time. Moving to San Diego was my priority every moment of the days. I was disconnected from the e-group for months but it didn't mean I no longer care. I am glad that many were patient & understand my silence. My endless thanks to Sari who made an effort to continue our blog despite of my long absence. She did a good job filling in.

Meanwhile, although I haven't updated our "Gintong Alaala" blog I thought of it once in a while. I wanted to start the Part 2 of "Gintong Alaala" w/ new layout & design but so far, I have gotten rusty and needed to practice a bit. Also not having all the time in the world kept me away from blogging. It will take months before I could spend as much time as I did the first time I started designing our golden blog. I am sure many of you wanted to continue our Gintong Alaala & looking forward to Part 2, Part 3, & beyond.

Anyway, I'd like to restart our blog and share my latest mini-beach-vacation to Cayucos, California last July 10. It was tiring but fun filled w/ new experiences. This place is a quaint village near Morro Bay, surrounded with little towns such as Cambria & San Simeon. There are many interesting places to visit, that will not make you sleepy during those quiet times.

THE HIGHLIGHT:Our mini-get-together w/ Eloi & Jun (hubby) on June 10th (Sat.) was the best part of course. It's over a week since we saw each other. Time flies so fast! We met at the beach house where we stayed -for-4-days (courtesy of my sister-in-law-Dita). It is just 30 minutes drive from Atascadero where Eloi & Jun both work. They wanted to see this million dollar beach house. We toured them around. It was a beautiful day. ELOISA FARRALES & EBB RESELLA AT THE CAYUCOS BEACH HOUSE

HAPPY QUARTET- JUN AND ELOISA FARRALES & EBB AND RHOD RESELLA

LUNCH AT THE HOBBIT: Later we had lunch at the Hobbit, a resto recommeded by Dita, as the best in Cayucos. We took lots of photos. We had a wonderful lunch of gourmet hamburger & mixed seafood soups (ala bouilabaise).

THE HOBBIT RESTO: It has an ocean view & nice garden in the back. We only remembered to take pictures after we ate all the food. So no photos of the food. Thanks to Eloi & Jun for splurging. They too had millionaire's personality. Why not? Parehong doctor yata!

HOBBIT OUTDOOR GARDEN: This is one side of the beautiful garden. We choose to eat indoor because it was cold outdoor. After we finished eating our lunch, the beautiful sun came out & it's too late to eat in the garden.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE HOBBIT GARDEN
BACK TO THE BEACH HOUSE: Later, we went back to the beach house. This is Dita's small garden on the entry way to the house. My grand kids were there already. So Eloi & Jun were able to meet our young poet (Audrey). Soon, we were inside the SUV of John (Dita's hubby). There were 7 of us (me/Rhod, Eloi & Jun, John & Dita & Aaron (Rhod's youngest brother), so it was packed. Mas marami mas masaya. The winding road to Paso Robles was thrilling, where we enjoyed wine tasting ala "Sideways." There are 200 wineries in the area & we only went to 4 of them. Most in our group like to drink wine except me & Eloi. They had so much fun. Wine tasting is free up to 6 glasses if you buy at least a bottle later on. So for our 1st tasting, me & Eloi had sparkling fruity wine (virgin/non-alcoholic ). I drank it while Eloi only sipped a little. LAST STOP: In Opolo Winery they served appetizers (grilled sausages), crackers with wine tasting. This winery was more hospitble because their wines are more expensive. Some cost$20.00 per bottle. Amazingly, Jun bought a whole box and gave some bottles away to Rhod & Aaron. We could have stayed longer at the wineries but Eloi & Jun had to go back to Astacadero by 5:00 p.m. We had so much fun that saying good-bye wasn't easy.

STUNNING SUNSET BY THE BEACH: This is one of the sunset views that we saw during our refreshing times by the beach house. Sorry that Jun & Eloi missed this beauty but I hope the photo will inspire them to take more time off.
Eloi's e-mail & comment ......"It was a comfortable feeling being with you, as if we did not have 50 years in between." How true like a good aged wine.
IN THE FUTURE: I am trying to convince Eloi to retire here in San Diego. She will never be lonely with us around-(me & Evelyn NZ).Plus my 3 sisters & 1 brother are all here. We could adopt them to be part of our big family. Also, my 4th sister Didi is married to a doctor. It's a small world because my brother-in-law is also a past classmates of Eloi & Jun while at UP Medical School. It's not to late to start all over again.

ENJOY READING FROM EBB!