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Where are you now? Not just geographically, WHAT'S UP?
in other words. What name do you go by, what do you do, who are your significant others, any kids? any beloved
pets? What do you want us to know about you? We've got at least 25 YEARS of catching up to do!
Give us your stories, make it long, make it short, just tell it!
STORIES BELOW (so far!):
Antonio, S., Capili, M.; Carino, P.,
Concepcion, C.; Cuenca, J.; Dario, L.; De los Reyes, L.; De Ocampo, M.; Estrellado, A.; Eusebio, N.; Feliciano,
T.; Francisco, M.; Galang, K.; Harper, S; Montemayor. C.; Ocampo, R., Sison, A.; Tan, E.; Vasquez, L.
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MARITES CAPILI GAA
After
1 year in UP Diliman, I left for the States for a year. After that, I went back to UP where I went on to finish my degree
in Fine Arts. Worked for an advertising agency after graduation, but had to resign abruptly due to health reasons. I left
again for the States for treatment and rest, then went back home to Manila. The year was 1988 and Mike Gaa and I got married. In 1992, we moved to Toronto where we've been living since. Because of the state of my health at that time, we thought we might not have any
children at all. Lo and behold, we ended up having SEVEN! Michelle (16), Marco (15), Marianne (14), Matthew (12), Melissa
(10), Maxine (8) and Michael, (6). Yes, they are all M's !
Even
when we were in high school, I thought I would have many children, but back then, I thought 3 or 4 was many;. 7
was just beyond the range of my imagination. As the years have gone by, I had stayed home with them all this time, going about
the most mundane chores that we all do, except that I do it in a larger scale, (Read: the laundry basket is always full and
meals have to super-sized and super-divided and driving them to everywhere they need to go). Through the course of time,
out of necessity, aside from being the "yaya-cook-lav" and driver, I think I could safely add to my repertoire: part
time-plumber, electrician, and yes, even occasionally, mechanic, but always, all-around Mom.
Everyone
asks me how I manage with 7 children, and I use to say, "I really don't know". But given more serious thought and of
course, honesty, I must say, that I don't manage it all by myself. Mike has taken to helping out whenever and wherever
he can, and he does so, a lot. The beauty of living here in North America is, because of the absence of household
help, the children are trained from an early age to have specific chores at home.
Now that
their ages range from 6-16, the range of the chores that they can do has also quite expanded. At the start of each year, Mike, who
works as a data analyst, creates a chart of their different job assignments from January through December. (I call
it a chart in my vocabulary, but to him, it is a database.) These are rotated on a monthly basis and they are allowed
to "job swap", but they must settle that between themselves. Though it is difficult, we try to teach them to be producers
and not just consumers.
We had
put them into the French immersion program, so that they would have the benefit of knowing another language. They can understand
Tagalog, but English is still the language of choice. Amongst themselves, they can carry a conversation en francaise,
but that would leave Mike and me out.
Now that our
youngest son is about to enter grade 1, I am looking for a part-time job even as my presence at home is still required
full time. (07/06)
JANINE CUENCA DARIO See Janine's family's website at http://www.zpdee.net/~24-7/family2.html
KARINA GALANG now lives in Portland, Oregon with husband Joe Kluck (pronounced Klook)
and their three children: Hunter Brice (almost 5), Chase Maxwell (just turned two) and baby daughter Avery Taylor (7 months
old.) Karina and her garden were featured in the August 2003 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, her "15
minutes" of fame as she puts it. But I believe there will be more. Karina tells us her story in her own words:
I met Joe in college at Boston University, where we both majored
in Electrical Engineering. I worked for Lotus (now IBM) when I lived in Boston then for Intel as Program Manager and
Liaison with Microsoft (working primarily in software) when I moved to Portland in 1995.
This summer, I've been busy with the daily activities of my three
children: Hunter is in lots of summer sports camps; I take Chase to Gymboree and swim classes; while Avery is busy
putting everything in her mouth. Who would have known I'd get in to gardening? Now it's my sanctuary when I want to get some
time to myself. The pictures in the magazine article were taken in May 2001, when I was 8 months pregnant with Chase.
It took over two years to publish. The garden has changed a lot since then. It's more established now (I started working on
it when I was pregnant with Hunter.) BH&G came back this May and did another shoot. It will be out in the Spring issue
of BH&G Perennials. It should be nice to see the garden two kids later. My neighbors are so proud of me. They
ask me all about their plant questions. They think I am a master gardener, but I'm still learning as I go. Two years ago I quit work while pregnant with Chase since I wanted to spend
more time at home with the children. I didn't do as well as most moms and soon wanted to spend some time outside of the house,
to go to my own "daycare" for a few hours a day. When I thought I had "weaned" Chase and since I always wanted
to learn how to cook, I enrolled in cooking school to start a one-year culinary program. I found out I was
pregnant again (had a hard time getting pregnant with the first two, so this was a pleasant surprise ) and so I quit
cooking school in September. I also needed bed rest for the last trimester. Now I have two boys and a baby girl. So
here I am, a stay-at-home mom with three children under 5. I'm enjoying this time with my kids, they seem to grow so
quickly. I hope to get back to cooking school if we get a nanny when we return from our vacation in Manila this coming
August. (7/03)
AURORA (RORY) OCAMPO CHAN After
graduating from high school, I got my BS Computer Science degree from UP Diliman, worked a couple of years at a NY-based
consulting firm, took my MBA degree from Boston University, worked a few more years at different NY-based consulting firms
until I was hired by Bear Stearns & Co, an investment bank/brokerage firm with headquarters in Manhattan. I have been at Bear for almost 10 years now. I am an Associate
Director in their Information Technology Department, supervising a team of developers who support the Accounting applications
of the firm.
I've been married for 10
years to Jojo Chan, a Vice President in the IT department of Morgan Stanley. We
have a 6-year old boy Nico, who will be in 1st grade this coming September. Nico loves to read, ride his bike and
swim. We live in New Providence, New Jersey, a small town which is so perfect
for us because it has a small-town feeling but is close enough to New York (my husband's train commute is an hour long) and
it is just a 20-minute drive to work for me (can you believe that I drive???) We
are able to enjoy the quiet life of the suburbs but we're just a short drive away from the museums and cultural activities
of New York.
Instead of boring you with my mundane
activities (who wants to hear about grocery shopping, cleaning, doing the laundry, painting the house?) I decided to share
one of my terrifying but life-changing moments --- the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
My husband worked at the
68th floor of Tower 2. On the morning of Sept. 11, I was working from
home and oblivious to what was happening. A friend called at about 9 a.m. and
told me to turn on the TV. I turned it on just in time to see a plane crashing
into my husband's building. I was terrified.
I knew that Jojo was in the building because he usually is at work by 7:30 a.m.
I didn't know for sure on what floor he worked on. I tried to call
him and got his machine but couldn't get in touch with him. Then, at about 10
o'clock, I saw my husband's building collapse to the ground. At that point, I
just couldn't believe that this was happening. The only thing I could do was
pray that he got out of the building alive. I tried to get a glimpse from the
TV of anyone who got out of the building safely. But, all I could see was a pile
of rubble and people running and hearing of people jumping out of the buildings. Finally,
at about 11 a.m., I got a call from Jojo. He couldn't reach me so he got
through by calling my neighbor, who brought her cordless phone to my house. Apparently,
as soon as the first building got hit, they started evacuating out of theirs, walking down 68 flights of stairs, not knowing
what was happening. When his building got hit, he was on the 20th
floor and felt the building moving and shifting. They got out of there about
15 minutes before it collapsed. He spent the day at a friend's house in
the Village and got the first train back to Jersey at about 3 pm. When he walked
through our door that day, I was never happier in my whole life. He walked into
the house like it was an ordinary day --- with his briefcase and not even dirty from the rubble. You wouldn't know from how he looked what a terrifying experience he just went through.9/11 was a horrible time for the people who live in the Tri-State area.
Lots of lives were lost. But, it is also like a new birthday for my husband
and for me. On that day, not only did my husband get a new chance at life but
it made me see life in a different way. It made me realize that life is
very precious. And, that we always have to show our loved ones how much we love
and appreciate them. We get caught up with everyday mundane issues that we forget
what is truly important. Before my husband left for work that fateful morning,
I didn't even see him or kiss him goodbye! I am attaching an e-mail my husband sent me a few weeks after 9/11.
It may give you an insight on how this event changed his life.(08/03) Click to go to: JOJO's E-mail.
NANA EUSEBIO SHAM lives in Manila, in Merville Park, close to the home she grew up in. She is married, since 1987,
to Matthew Sham, one of her Band of Boys from High School. I am sure many of you still remember him (the cute, quiet
and mabait one!) They have three daughters: Margaret, 14 yrs old, Nicole,10 yrs old, and Megan 1 1/2. Nana says raising
their daughters now means having to deal with three personalities: teenager, wanna-be-a-teenager, and the world of Barney!
There is also a Prince in the Sham household: her beloved boxer Skeeter. Nana tells me, "he is the son in this house!"
After high school, Nana went to Assumption College, and took up Interior Design. She worked in animation at one point, working
as color stylist for two animation firms. She also ran an office supply store in Moonwalk. Nowadays, Nana is a stay-at-home
mom, who does Interior Design work now and then, mostly as a favor to friends. (So, if you call her after reading
this article, you are hereby put on notice that she will send you a bill for her services!) Nana once told me that her
daughter Margaret has no idea what Nana was like in high school. Well, dear Margaret, here goes: your mother was fun,
funny, kind, sweet, and a fierce, loyal and protective friend: someone you would love to have on your side for the
rest of your life. So there, now you know. (8/03)
MIMIE de OCAMPO HUANG After high school, Mimie attended Assumption College. Then she went to Finishing School in Switzerland for a
year to learn French, Etiquette & Protocol, Cokking, Nutrition and Flower Arrangement. She went back to Manila in 1986
and her family transferred from their home in Merville to Dasmarinas Village, Makati. As fate would have it,
she met her husband, Raymond L. Huang, in 1987 in the Parish church Sanctuario de San Antonio and
they got married in the same church on December 15, 1990. Raymond is now the Country Manager of Cisco Systems. Mimie gave birth to their first son, Anthony, on Sept. 17, 1991. He just turned
12 and is now taller (and weighs more) than his mom! He attends Southridge School for boys in Alabang. Mimie and Raymond's second son, Justin, was born on June 1, 1994. He is now 9 years old and goes to Xavier
School. Raymond agreed to let Anthony study in Southridge but when Justin was born, he
wanted one of his sons to go to his Alma Mater.
The boys are very happy in their respective schools and both are doing very well academically ("mana sa Daddy",
Mimie says)so they can't transfer one or the other. Anthony and Justin are very close to each other and look forward to seeing
each other after school so the arrangement works well for all. Mimie works for her Dad, managing their recruitment business,
which is now he No. 1 agency in the country. Mostly, they deploy nurses to the UK. She also plays a lot of tennis at the Polo
Club and is also active at the Opus Dei Center. She personally tutors Justin (except for Chinese, he has a tutor for that)
and Mimie adds: I am a full-time wife, my most important duty of all! (09/03)
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Maritoni
Estrellado Esteva
Just a brief update, I'm a physical therapist by profession (graduated from UP in '86, worked in PGH for 3 years before moving to Michigan to work in Port Huron in '89 then in Ann Arbor in '90; completed
my Masters in 2000, ); and a wife and mom by vocation (been married 10 years to Pedro, who was originally from Mexico,
works at DaimlerChrysler Services as a software engineer. We have 3 sons, 8, 5,
2 and a daughter 7, all bright, lively, and happy children.); and we're actively involved in Christian community life
and service. (01/06)
PATRICIA
CARINO CHAN
As
an honorary graduate, I am pleased to know that I am included as part of the batch of 81 even though I did not officially
graduate from AC HS. After I left the Philippines in December of '80, I finished my senior year of HS (1 sem)
at the local public school in Daly City, CA.
Officially, I am part of the class of 1982. I entered the local community college hoping to take Architecture which
was my childhood dream. After learning that I had to take a couple of years of
Chem, I quickly switched to Interior Design (which was also part of my dream). I
worked for an Interior Designer for a couple of years but since we were in a recession in the early 80s, the Interior Design
field was not quite big unlike it is today. I missed that boat. In 1986, I started working for a family-owned Import-Export Co. in So. San Francisco and continue on until this day. I head the Customer Service/Order Dept. which consists of anywhere from 4 to 10 CSRs
depending on the season. In Sept of 1992, I married Paul Chan and we have 2 children:
James Michael (Miko), born July 5, 1994 currently in 4th grade, and Julia Marie Felice, born March 2, 1997 currently in 1st grade. We moved into our home in South San Francisco in July of 1993 and have stayed there since. We were content with 2 kids but in 2000, I found out I was pregnant again.
Sadly, my angel baby never came to be. It would be nice to have more than
2 kids if I had more than 24 hours in a day. Last January, a gray cat with white
paws decided to adopt us. Kitkat (guess who named him?) rode in my husband's
car when he left the trunk open one day and came home with him. Now, he is part
of our household and the children just love him. Aside from having a full-time
job, I am very busy driving my kids around to their different activities throughout the weekday as well as the weekend. Julia was just promoted to the Children's Advance class at her Hula/Tahitian school. She attends 1 hour classes, 3 times a week and she will be part of their competition
group starting next year. She just started taking piano lessons (4 lessons so
far) and already, she has 5 piano pieces she can play. Miko (mai-ko) has been
taking piano lessons for 3 years now. They both sing at the local church's childrens
choir at the 11 am mass. Every second Sunday, I have the duty of conducting their singing. I also try to get them to be more active in sports like tennis and swimming although they are very much
like their parents, not too interested in actively participating in sports. I
make it a point to attend all their activities such as concerts and programs both at school and outside school. Being at work
8 hours a day really takes away from my time with the kids so I try to have quality time with them when I can. Unlike you,
I will bore you with my other mundane activities. I started painting the interior
of my house and I finished 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, the upstairs hallway and the foyer area.
I will have to do the rest of the house otherwise we will never be able to redo our floors unless the walls are painted. Maybe next summer. It is hard work and I have lots of respect for do-it-yourselfers
which my husband and I are not. Whenever it tickles my fancy, I move my furniture
around (the Interior Designer in me) and my husband gets a surprise every time I do it.
He is just amazed that I can move the different furniture by myself, including the piano. I pride myself in being a good mother but I am not a good housekeeper or one who enjoys gardening. I do enjoy cooking and sometimes, I get into a cooking fit wherein I make 6
or 7 dishes in one afternoon. This does not happen often but when it does, we
are sure to have a different dish every night for the rest of the week. Overall,
I have had a quiet & peaceful 22 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and don't plan on moving anytime in the near future. (8/28/03)
SUSAN ANTONIO CORONEL:
Susan and her family live in Maryland. Here is her story in a nutshell for now. She promises
more kuwento soon. I have 4 daughters (Jessica-16, Isabel-10, Claudia-7 and Katrina-3) have been married for almost 17 years
to Emer Coronel (my college boyfriend) who's an Internal Medicine Doc with a practice here in MD. I work part time (3
days a week) as a researcher/policy analyst/lobbyist for a trade group of health insurance companies. (2004)
ELIZA "LENG"
DARIO DE LAS ALAS: My post HS life.... Went to UP Manila for 2 years, didn't really know
where I was heading, took up Social Science until I transferred to Diliman to take up Veterinary Medicine. Still wasn't
sure if that was really what I wanted since there was talk that the College was going to be transferred to Los Baņos, Laguna.
How can I live away from home when I dreaded retreats in high school (I didn't go to the 4th year retreat because I knew AC
Baguio was the scariest of all them retreat houses ) for fear that I'd be up the whole night when the rest of the class would
be sound asleep then hear eerie sounds aside from snores). I never outgrew this. I'm still a scaredy cat--my 10
year old daughter can watch a scary movie alone and I can't. Anyway, I finally decided to go ahead with Vet. Med and relocated
to Los Baņos for the next 4 years. This is where I met my husband, Bing de las Alas. Married in April 1992 and
decided we wanted a baby right away. Maria Iņiga was born 20 March the next year. After 2 years, we were ready for another
one. By 1997, still no baby, I was contemplating on adopting a baby boy, but Bing said it would be unfair for the baby. So
one weekend, we went around Manila looking for a male PUP. We got Rex, a black pitbull with a white collar and spot
on one eye. He's our first son. After doing tests, OB-GYN said I'm still very able to get pregnant. In short,
she said I was just stressed from work and to try to exercise. Bing got me an exerciser for Christmas 1999, used it everyday
and PRESTO! Found out I was pregnant in March 2000. Carlos Ruben was born on 21 December 2000. So here we are now, a
girl and a boy plus an overweight canine. Rex is the manong, at one time even catching Carlos fall when he was learning to
walk. Carlos would ride him like a horse or lay on him while watching tv, or use him as a trampoline and Rex wouldn't
mind at all. Iņiga is our fashion consultant, telling us if our clothes match or if we look good in something.
I really don't know whom she took after. She started to show interest in jewelry, accessories and CUTEX at the age of 3 so
unlike ME. She is a very good ATE though to Carlos and Rex. Carlos, well he's THE terrible toddler. After
him, no more babies for us! Every weekday is spent in the Greenhills clinic, my quiet time alone, unless Carlos comes to work
with me which is most of the time. The Makati clinic (right at the exit of Ponce gate, SLV) is handled by my husband
so he brings Iņiga to and from AC. In the afternoon, they pick us up in Greenhills, then go home. Rex, meanwhile,
waits for the sound of the car as we turn the corner of our street and sits by the window, wagging his tail, eagerly waiting
for us until we get in the house. I am so excited to see the class on Saturday. I'll send you pics as soon, if I don't
forget to bring the cam...(08/03)
SANDY HARPER
FRANKLIN lives in Fremont, CA (Bay Area) with husband of 16 years,
Craig Taylor, and daugher Lauren Marie who turns one on Assumption Day, 8/15/03. Sandy came to the States in 1982, after
a one-year stint at De La Salle University and continued her studies at St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA. She went into
mortgage banking straight from college and has been in that line of business ever since. She is now an independent
underwriter allowing her to work out of her home. Craig, a software consultant, does a lot of travelling so that leaves
Sandy pretty busy with the baby and working part-time. There is also another member of the Franklin household who
keeps Sandy on her toes: 5-yr old "son" Halo, a 170 lb. St. Bernard! (7/03)
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EVA MARIE TAN ELLIOTT I have been living in San Francisco for almost 14 years now. I met my husband in San Francisco through mutual
friends. His name is Edgar Elliott and he is currently the director of Kimpton Hotels. They specialize in boutique hotels. I worked as a manager for a medical billing office in San Rafael for anesthesiologists and plastic surgeons
for ten years, but resigned two years ago after I gave birth to a baby boy. My eldest daughter Ana Erika is fifteen
years old and my second child, Christopher is 9 years old. The youngest, Jason, is one year and nine months old.
So now I am a full-time mom. I am now here in Manila for vacation until August (2006) It has been such a looong
loong time since highschool and I am happy that everyone is well. I can't believe that time has passed by so quickly.
As I now look at our highschool pictures I reminisce on the good times that we had back then. We have all come a long
way and it seems like it was just yesterday. I still wonder at times how we got where we are now when we look back through
our highschool years; marriage, kids, family life, was very far from our minds. I wish you all well and hope to see
you soon. (07/06)
CHONA MONTEMAYOR ELABDOUNI actually took up her Dentistry course, like she planned to, but later decided it was not for her. From 1989-1995,
she was a flight attendant for Saudi Arabian Airlines and was based in New York. From 1996-2003, she worked at the Waldorf
Astoria. Then she decided to go back to school, and is now a registered nurse! Chona is married to Mohamed Elabdouni, a Moroccan.
They have a 5-year old son, Omar. Look at PHOTOS42 and see them in their Moroccan finery. Chona works at the North Shore University
Hospital in Manhasset , in the neuroscience intensive care unit. We've been searching for Chona for a long time, and
it's so nice to have found her. (03/06)
AGNES SISON LIM is married to Roman Lim, and lives in the Toronto area in Canada. They have three children:
Sarah (12), Becky (10), and Joseph (8). Agnes and Roman moved to Canada from Virginia in 1989. While in Virginia,
Ning worked for the Embassy of South Africa while Roman was at the World Bank. Today, Roman works as a Civil Engineer and
is a contractor, building residential homes. Ning used to be an account executive with a sports marketing firm until the children
came along. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the last ten years, but is now starting to work again in the Catholic school
system. Sarah will be in the 7th grade, Becky in the 5th and Joseph in 3rd this coming school year. They are all
musically talented. The girls play piano with the Royal Conservatory of Music and Joseph plays classical guitar. They
are also into sports like swimming and basketball, and the girls also play volleyball. Nine says her kids are "very
athletic" unlike her, and participate in school team sports. (08/04)
LUCILLE VASQUEZ-CHIPONGIAN:
I am a dentist now with 2 children aged 8 and 5. My husband
is also a dentist specializing in Oral Surgery. He is working in a hospital here in Quezon City. As for me, I am practicing
in Quezon City together with my brother and sister. Yes, dentistry runs in the family. I am a general practioner with a limited
practice of Orthodontics. (10/03)
STELLA DE LOS REYES CLARK
Since graduating from high school 1981-1983: Worked for a little bit, bummed around. 1983-1987:
Back to school in Assumption, getting a B.A. Communications, Specializing in PR & Advertising.
Class 1987. 1987-1988: Worked at Link Advertising Co., Legaspi Village,
Makati 1988-1993: Came to US, lived in Virginia
with brother. Got married in 1991 to Marty Clark. Former, EMT, Fireman, Scuba Instructor
and now a safety professional. 1993-1999: Moved to San Mateo, CA. Worked
for Hitachi Semi-Conductor, Marketing 1999-Present: Moved to Las Vegas, NV. Working
for the Howard Hughes Corp. Community and Gov't Relations. In a nut shell, life has been good.
My husband and I have been together for 14 years. No kids, just 2 retriever dogs. A Golden and a Labrador.
I miss the four seasons I had in Virginia. While living in Virginia, we went
to neighboring East Coast states for camping trips or simply just to visit. The steady cool climate of the bay area all year
round while living in San Mateo, we sometimes needed a break from, and took trips to Hawaii or the Philippines.
Over there we went scuba diving and enjoyed the warm water tremendously. Living in Las
Vegas is different. We pick and choose which show/ concert we would be interested in seeing. We've
had our fill of all-you-can-eat buffets. Since moving to Vegas, we had our guestroom booked almost every weekend, with family,
relatives and friends visiting for the weekend or holiday. My husband said he never realized how many friends and family we
had. So, if anyone of you decides to take a trip to Vegas, be sure to call me 2 weeks in advance to make booking arrangements
at Club Stella (that's what Marty calls the house). Seriously,
I would love to have you guys over. (08/03)
TONI FELICIANO
BICK married husband Ofer under a Chuppah, a wedding canopy, in a
beautiful traditional Jewish wedding ceremony, in Malibu, CA on New Year's Day 1997. The Bick family, now with
Michael (5 1/2) and Daniella (3 1/2) live in Studio City, CA. Toni and Ofer own and operate a medical
billing and physician practice management business. Even with 6 other employees, they are pretty busy since their
hands-on involvement is required. In spite of this, they manage to be flexible in their schedules (including working
in the wee hours of the morning) so that they each are able to take one week day off to take care of the children themselves.
Toni and her family consider themselves conservative Jews.
Although she does not keep a kosher kitchen, she does observe Jewish dietary practices. Michael and Daniella attend
a Jewish school. Watch out for Toni in a future SPOTLIGHT as she tells us more about the Jewish faith.
Toni calls Ofer the family's "Entertainment Committee." Ofer
plans their vacations very meticulously, making sure they go someplace fun yet educational. Very recently, they went to Michigan
where they toured factories like Kellogg's and the Airstream company, and even watched a cow birth her calf. (Click here to
learn more about Airstreams http://www.airstream.com/). Their dream is to one day get into an Airstream
and travel around America for a year, while home-schooling Michael and Daniella along the way! Anyone else
want to come along for the ride? (8/03)
MONICA
FRANCISCO: 22 years in a nutshell: 4 years at U.P. Diliman, three years in Chicago, 2 more
years in St. Louis, Missouri and almost 14 years now in New York. When I first got to this city, my roommates were CRICKET
CONCEPCION, and Didi Manahan. Cricket introduced me to my now husband Gerry Benares, her childhood friend. While Cristina is
still here, Didi moved back to Manila and opened her own pre-school (Explorations, on Lee St. in Mandaluyong.) Only we
who have known CC a long time call her Cricket anymore. Gerry and I have twin 5 1/2 year old girls, Angelica and Beatriz.
I work at a law firm, managing 70 people. I never really practiced (?!) in any of my fields of study (math, computers,
third-world development) but the perspective and technical edge are certainly advantages. My mom pushed me out the door after
maternity leave to get me back to work, and I do not regret that. Twins are fun and double-the-pleasure, but
they keep me very busy. Ahh, but they are the loves of my life (you too Gerry!) Still, to keep my sanity, I have my hobbies:
painting furniture, making bead jewelry, knitting, photography, and designing the Parents of Twins Club newsletter. My latest
passions are the Atkins diet, capoeira, Mary Magdalene, and to find you all and create this website. Cricket and I try very
hard to see each other in spite of our hectic NY lives. CC works as a Director of a software development group, with grueling
hours and a busy travel schedule. If you need to contact her, call me and I'll find her for you! Yes, we do have
an emergency evacuation plan (such is life now in this great city) that involves who gets to rescue whose kids. Isabella,
Cricket's two-going-on-ten toddler, is my godchild, born on my birthday. CC is also Ninang to my kids. We all go away on weekends
together to do stuff like strawberry picking, foliage drives and marathon shopping. We try to go on at least one
vacation a year together (we let Gerry do ALL the driving since we are still non-driving senoritas) including ending
up in haunted rental vacation houses now and then. Remember the "psychic powers" book I used to lug around in high school?
That has developed into quite a library, but my scientific side still holds much sway. I guess you can call me a digital flower-child?
New York is home now and will likely be for a long, long time because truly I Š NY, (and because I just got the twins into
a hard-to-get-in Kinder to Grade 12 school.) Cricket's own efforts at getting Isabella into a good pre-school are
legendary enough for a book of its own. Life may be tough in this marvelous city, but I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else...except
when I'm pining for a Karina Galang garden or Mia Unson's year-round outdoor fun... (7/03)
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Who would have known I'd get into gardening,
now it's my sanctuary when I want to get some time to myself.
---Karina Galang
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