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!