The code words of the recent mini-reunion/ site visit to Vancouver, British Columbia are "Alz" and "Remote control". "Alz" is a reminder of the condition so pervasive in many of us: loss of recent memory. This blog is being typed and posted promptly, otherwise I risk forgetting some of our exciting experiences. The days of having a photographic memory are gone - I used to be able to remember even the minutest detail, I could even picture the page in the book where the detail could be found.  That is no longer the case.

Friday September 28, 2007 was "Fly to Seattle" day. We decided to fly to Seattle and drive to British Columbia as the fares to Seattle were affordable and reasonable. Charito and her husband Martin were kind enough to offer to meet us at the Seattle Tacoma (SeaTac) airport.  Sammy Umetin also invited us to supper at his place, so that we could literally "fill-up" prior to our drive to British Columbia. Having had recent experiences with missed connecting flights, I chose to drive two hours to Nashville,Tennessee (from Huntsville) to catch a NONSTOP flight to Seattle, having learned that the only way to avoid a missed connection is to take a nonstop flight.  Sammy T flew from Austin, Texas (with a layover in Houston, Texas) and Miriam flew from Newark, New Jersey. 

By  9:30 PM Friday evening we were all in Seattle: Sammy T, Charito, Martin, Miriam and myself.  Miriam was delayed by about an hour due to bad weather in New Jersey. We did not get to the home of Sammy Umetin and Joy until about 10 or 10:30 PM - there we enjoyed a delicious late supper consisting of tinolang manok (with papaya and malunggay), macaroni salad (Philippine style), papaitan, fried marinated milkfish (daeng na bangus), rice.  Sammy Umetin gleefully showed us his Manny Pacquaio paraphernalia - from T-shirts to boxing shorts, to a den dedicated to his idol where enlarged pictures of Sammy U with Manny Pacquaio were on display!  We also learned that the secret to becoming a good boxer is lots of malunggay (Balunggay in Ilonggo) - this is according to Manny Pacquaio as relayed to his number one fan Sammy U.   SSShhhhh, don't tell the other boxers......

The drive to Mission, British Columbia took about two, maybe three hours. I slept most of the way although I roused up enough at the border to know that the guard checked our passports and greencards.  Once you get to the border, Mission is only about 30 minutes away, maybe even  less on a good day without traffic.  We got there in the wee hours of the morning ,Saturday ,September 29. We pretty much unloaded luggage and went to bed at about 2:30 AM.  We were advised by our super efficient and organized hosts Charito and Martin that we had to wake up early  (i.e. 7 AM) so we could catch the ferry to Victoria Island, British Columbia.  I kiddingly remarked to Charito that I did not realize we had arrived at Boot Camp!

We had a hearty breakfast Saturday morning, after only a few hours of sleep: sunny side up eggs, turkey bacon, fried dried Philippine fish, fresh and sweet Bing cherries, zucchini bread made from scratch by Charito, orange juice, rice.  (I could not complain about only having a few hours of sleep as Charito woke up a good hour before any of us guests to prepare breakfast.) Then we got ready for the drive to the ferry that would take us to Vancouver Island.  The ferry ride to Vancouver Island takes about one and a half hours but we were engaged in conversation the whole way that it seemed much shorter than that.  Saturday was clear and dry, a good day for touring and sightseeing.  There were a lot of scenic views on the ferry ride to Vancouver Island. We drove around Victoria, a scenic city in Vancouver Island and capital of British Columbia. It is also the largest of British Columbia's 6500 islands. We admired the beautiful homes by the water, drove around the city and visited the Inner Harbor, took pictures of the Capitol/City Hall and dreamed about staying at the Empress Hotel, the hotel in Victoria where VIPs stay. There is a Madame Tussaud wax museum, horse drawn carriages for touring the city, and lots of shopping....  There is impressive flora and fauna - inclduing a deer we spotted on one of the residential lawns, and a wide eyed (think Precious moments eyes) Harbor seal  -- we took pictures of both.  Lunch was at a seafood restaurant- Sammy T had grilled fish and the rest of us had ciopinno ( a seafood soup).  Then it was off to Butchart Gardens where Charz, Miriam and myself ooohhhed and aaahhhed at the sight of gorgeous flowers - huge hydrangeas, giant hibiscus, colorful mums, etc. Miriam was the expert in naming the flowers.  The landscaping was impressive! Where were the guys? Sleep deprived and physically drained, they chose to stay in the car and sleep!

We had some sprinkles during our visit to Butchart gardens and more rain on the ferry ride back as well as the drive home.  We were starved and exhausted but  thanks to Charito's culinary prowess we enjoyed a very satisfying supper consisting of pinakbet, oysters on the half shell, crabs and mussels, tea, red wine, chocolate cake and more zucchini bread.  (We had found the  live Dunggeness crabs, oysters and mussels at  the harbor in Victoria - Charito efficiently prepared these as soon as we reached home).

Sunday September 30 was rainy but we were not going to let a little bit of rain keep us from touring Vancouver, so after another healthy and hearty breakfast, we were off to the Salmon Hatchery.  Here we were impressed by the life history of salmon - how they mature, then instinctively start swimming UPSTREAM to get to their spawning area - after spawning, they die (both male and females ).  So the next time you eat salmon, there is no need to feel guilty, their destiny is to spawn - and then be eaten (completing the food chain)!  We drove to Grouse Mountain where one could take a cable car to the top of the mountain and there enjoy shopping, fun activities, fine dining. It was a foggy and rainy day so we saw no point in going up the mountain but decided this had to be included in our 2008 Second Global reunion. Capillano hanging bridge was our next stop where we survived going across a suspension wooden bridge held up by thick and strong wire cables, stopping several times as we crossed the bridge for pictures. Then we did the Treetop tour where we went from tree to tree by walking across bridge like structures connecting one treetop to the next. This was a good walking workout.  A drive to Stanley Point followed, with more scenic views of the water, boats - and many totem poles.  We were getting hungry by this time, so off we went to Chinatown where we had a good lunch consisting of house special soup/Hototai, house special chow mein, house special fried rice, siopao with sauce (Philipine style- delicious - tasted like real Philippine siopao).  At Chinatown I was delighted to find some fresh lanzones - expensive, but for lanzones deprived me it was worth it. Sammy T found a giant red snapper head that he made into sinigang that evening - he and Charito competed for the fish eyes.  Our last stop was Granville Island, where I found some fine art prints at a gallery that was going out of business - at 75% off, I could not resist.

Supper Sunday evening consisted of sinigang na ulo ng red snapper, dinuguan, kare- kare, rice, tea, red wine, zucchini bread and chocolate cake.
No wonder Martin and Sammy T had to struggle with postprandial sleepiness - we were always so full!

Monday we had to leave Mission by 6 AM to be sure we got to SeaTac airport on time - we had a quick breakfast - I mainly had oatmeal.  I flew out first at 12:20 noon, Sammy T was next at around 1:20 pm and then Miriam at past 3 pm.

We did find out during this site visit that Canadians are better than Americans in achieving life-work balance. Canadians work hard but allot time for family activities, especially outdoor activities. There are plenty of biking trails, walking trails, picnic areas, parks, skiing resorts in British Columbia.  There is also an abundance of trees/greenery and flowers.  There is a reason Vancouver is called Beautiful Vancouver.  We know you will enjoy Vancouver just as much as we did - if not more. Charito does want me to pass on the reminder that  if you do not have a US or Canadian passport, a visa is required to visit Canada beginning January 2008

To our very hospitable hosts - Charito and Martin, THANK YOU for taking good  care of us and for taking time off work just to show us your beautiful city.  Thank you for sharing your home, time, finances, food, camaraderie..... Thank you also to Andre and Julian, your well behaved sons.  Charz, you are among the great chefs of CPU high school class 1972 - I know I have given that distinction in the past to Sonia Calderon, Becky Clemente, Armi Joy Lacuesta, Rimia Figuracion, and Tessie Saturnino.  You now join this esteemed group!

As for the code words "Alz" and "Remote Control" - the stories behind these will be shared with classmates during the 2008  Second Global Reunion in Vancouver.

                                                                                           - by Irma F. de Leon

I have just arrived in Huntsville,Alabama --  have not even unpacked. My two suitcases are still unopened in the garage. Flew out of Las Vegas yesterday evening, and arrived in Nashville, TN this morning, then drove the 2 hour drive to Huntsville. Managed to squeeze in four hours of sleep and a shower, and was ready to see patients again at my clinic today, Monday, August 7, 2006! 

How I wish we could , as one classmate verbalized,  have a reunion everyday. I think everybody will agree that the time spent with classmates in Las Vegas was well worth it!  Everybody had lots of fun. In fact we had so much fun and were so loud that we got a  hotel security guard sent up to us on Thursday evening August 3 to warn us that there were complaints from other guests about the noise, and the following morning as we were enjoying a buffet breakfast at the Imperial Palace Hotel, the restaurant manager approached us and requested us to reduce our conversation volume as again she was getting complaints from the other patrons. ( I would have gladly posted bond if they had come to arrest me - since as president of the group, the buck stops with me!)

From different areas of the U.S., British Columbia, Canada, United Kingdom,  thirty five (35) class members of the CPU High School Class 1972 converged in Las Vegas to do what we do best  - P A R T Y !!  Thirty four (34)  years  after we graduated from CPU High School, we were finally seeing each other again, some for the first time. No wonder I could no longer recognize Tessie Saturnino - it has been thirty four years since I last saw her, and boy, have there been positive changes!

We had good intentions as far as a morning program goes, but because we had stayed up so late that first evening together just chatting and having fun, our next big get together was on Friday evening, August 4,  at the PAGTILILIPON at Nene Orlina's house. Catered by Fiesta Filipiniana, the party was intensely enjoyable, with delicious food, karaoke performances, deep conversations among several classmates - plus the required CLASS MEETING during which the class members formalized our organization, finalized  and approved our constitution and by-laws, and ratified  the guidelines for the Benevolence Fund.  The term of office for officers was set at 2 years, beginning August 2006.  It was also agreed that the next global reunion will be in July 2008 in  Mission,British Columbia. Our hostess Charito Carnaje is requesting everyone to take a week off! The reunion will last a whole week and will include  fishing, fly fishing, clamming, oyster picking, and  lots of sightseeing!

During the PAGTILILIPON, T-shirts  and mugs commemorating the Las Vegas Reunion were given out by Joshua.  Fredgel distributed T-shirts sent by our Philippine Classmates. We were able to talk by phone  to our Philippine counterparts who had also gotten together in Iloilo City.  Thank you , Philippine Classmates, for your thoughtfulness. We love the T-shirts!

Friday morning August 5 we had the Hoover Dam tour. Mr. Porfirio Mayordomo, who is now 90 years old,  honored us with his presence.  The group thoroughly enjoyed the Hoover Dam tour. Personally I was in awe of the project and was impressed with how a vision and a remarkable engineering feat resulted in  taming the Colorado River and generating hydroelectric power utilized  by three states - California, Nevada and Arizona. Truly it is one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering wonders. Sammy T. kindly assisted Sir Mayordomo during the tour. I could personally vouch for Sammy T.'s wheelchair manuevering capabilities!  The tour bus almost left without Lina Agreda who was buying a souvenir Hoover Dam cap at the gift shop for Sir Mayordomo. From there we stopped at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory where we all enjoyed chocolate samples and purchased some to bring home. For those who were interested, there was also a self-guided tour about how chocolates at the Mars company (owners of Ethel M) are made.

Friday night was the thoroughly enjoyable Dinner Dance at Fong's Garden Restaurant.  The program consisted of a devotional led by Ruth Dorillo-Taglorin, Welcome Remarks by myself (as group president), and remarks by Fredgel Padernilla, Mr. Porfirio Mayordomo, Mrs. Evangelica Padernilla. The suprise  event of the evening was the proclamation of  Mr and Ms. CPU High School Class 34th Year Reunion: Miriam Javier de la Fuente and Joshua de Leon.  Bases for the selection:  the great enthusiasm and hard work displayed by both class members , and their significant contribution to the actualization of this global reunion 2006. The Crazy Santa exchange gift was fun as well -- Elmo Familiaran and I ended up exchanging gifts. I got the Rutgers University sweatshirt he brought and he got the NASA sweatshirt I brought.  Becky, Lina, Racquel Clemente and myself participated in a birthday skit and the June,July, August 2006 birthday celebrants joined in  afterwards to help blow the candles on the 50th birthday cake (a delicious mango cake ordered from Goldilocks, Las Vegas, Nevada).  Fredgel read a letter
to the class  from Jeremy Bionat, President of the CPU HS 1972 Alumni Association in the Philippines, and Luis Espino added some remarks of his own. Capping the event was dancing and more dancing -- featuring our talented dance guru Gil Assin with multiple very capable dancing partners including Valerie Diesto, Miriam Javier, Wendelyn Baloyo.

Maybe because everybody was so exhausted from the previous evening's activities, some people failed to wake up on time Sunday. A little more than half of the group joined the early morning worship  on Sunday August 6 at a picturesque park close to the home of Melvin's parents.  Rev. Elmo Familiaran led a  worship service that touched the hearts of all who were there. Classmates who did not manage to wake up and attend, you missed an excellent sermon shared by one of our own.  Then Melvin took us on a Red Rock Canyon driving tour, and several of us enjoyed lunch at the Fiesta Filipiniana restaurant afterwards, courtesy of Sammy T.

It is hard to capture  in words the joy of meeting classmates again, the thrill of reuniting with barkadas, best friends, former loves and crushes, the delight of getting to know the spouses and children of our high school classmates  and hearing about what has happened in the intervening years...  You have to be there to really know the absolute exhilaration  that filled the air,  to feel the palpable excitement of all the participants....

I know others will also record their memories of this thoroughly fun and memorable  reunion.....I declare the 34th Year Reunion in Las Vegas a resounding success. Thank you to all those who have worked  so hard to make it so.

Before we know it it will be 2008, so after a couple of weeks' rest, we shall embark on preparing for our 36th Year reunion in 2008 in British Columbia, Canada.