NDJ Hi-School Reunion - Last Nite Together

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. Last Gimmick of Class79 w/Me
Day 07 – Thursday, 01 September 2009

Early morning I went back to my sis Beth’s house then met with Mimi again. This time I was able to get hold of my cousin Lilibeth Tan-Garcia and decided to visit another paternal aunt Giok Ping Lim we fondly called Koh Ping & her husband Pah Jioksan Mumbing who are now in their late 70’s. They are now staying with 2nd daughter Rose Mumbing-Isahac.

Koh Ping had a stroke after staying for quite sometimes in Canada so her right hand wasn’t coordinating well, tho’ she’s still mobile and can do simple things. She can bathe & feed herself, so she wasn’t much a burden at all. Pah Jioksan whom we knew to be always on the macho side was now stooping and smaller than I had imagined. However what had not been taken away from them is their positive outlook and ready smiles. Somehow rather we reminded her of somebody in the past, like Lilibeth has the voice of her mom, Aunty Amina Tan, now residing in US, while I reminded her of another uncle, now uhmmm...very handsome! The remarks like, “Himansome kau tuud, toh” rang again & again in my ears that when I related to Atchie Beth, she just brushed off, “Bukun, limingkat!.” Hahahahaha....

Pah Jioksan took out their treasured albums and slowly as we leafed thru’ the pages, memories of us growing up in Simbahan, Pangutaran became vivid again. Once in a while tears rolled down from Koh Ping’s eyes as she walked us thru’ time with all the photos in the albums. We belonged to an elite few during the ‘peacetime’ and our parents enjoyed a relative affluent upbringing. My late father Edward Lim former Mayor of Pangutaran used to tell us stories of Japanese occupation where they had to hide some of their treasures in smaller islands. There were few occasions where we accidentally dug few coconut shells full of silver 1-peso coins mixed with some gold 1-USD coins. On the other hand, we used bundles & bundles of Japanese-issued money as play money & sometimes we didn’t know what to do with it, we just make paper boat out of it & set it into the open sea.

My father’s grandfather came from Fukien, China at the turn of the century and settled originally in Jolo, Sulu. Like most Chinese immigrants, the family traded on copra, marine products & even lumber from Indonesia. Then they moved South-West to Pangutaran Island as it was nearer the trade route to North Borneo. My father’s father was youngest with Ah Mah Aga & Ah Kong La Ya ‘Sibi’ the other siblings. He was killed at a young age by the Japanese while my Ah Mah Aga’s husbang Ah Kong Hu Shiu was severely beaten up that until his last breathe, his hands were always shaking like having Parkinson’s disease. That explains their hatred towards Japanese even up to the present time. However Chinese are Chinese & coupled with Tau-Sug blood, they started from scratches after the war & rebuilt the dynasty again. My father’s uncle & aunt took him & his sister Suy Kim into their family and so few of their cousins as these couple had no children of their own. The eldest among the lot was Lilibeth’s father, Robert Ching Guan whom we call as ‘Pei-Ya’. He was one of the few from Chinese family sent to Manila to study along with other uncles. However, my father finished only up to Grade-6 and had to look after his island in North Ubian which later became their home with my mother Rustica Swee Eng.

I saw myself in one of the birthday photos of some cousins & Lilibeth too was equally elated to see herself in old photos along with the other siblings. In the other album, there were some more photos of our uncles & aunties during their courting times. My aunt still kept our family portraits circa68-71, some faded or dog-eared. I remember my father always had a family portrait taken whenever we visited my maternal grandparents for Christmas and I think I must continue this legacy for my son’s children. So Lilibeth borrowed the album from our aunt & had the photos of her family scanned. Saying goodbye was as painful as saying hello, so in teary eyes, Koh Ping & Pah sent us off with a blessing to us & our respective families.

I asked to be dropped at Garden Orchid Hotel and lingered there for a while until Jimmy ‘Joey’ Chiong appeared. He had been staying in that hotel ever since he arrived last Friday with Eugene Tan as his ever-present companion. After a short while Madel arrived then we went to see Nur Hussin’s mansion somewhere in Sta. Maria. It was a very impressive mansion with 5 self-contained bedrooms upstairs & another guest room downstairs. Of course the master bedroom was really fit for a sheik (now that Nur Husin is working in Saudi) furnished with kingsize bed in intricate carvings & designs imported all the way from China. Tho’ the handrail of the stairs was made from hardwood, the baluster was made from pure stainless steel which Joey said could have been gold-plated instead. The sitting hall was big enough for ballroom dancing and the adjacent kitchen was spacious and airy which led to the enclosed garage that could fit 4 cars easily.

Later Omar dropped us at Arnie’s place where Queenie would pick us up for dinner. For a change, we chose Mano-Mano Restaurant at Sta. Maria and this time Queenie volunteered to buy us dinner. Now the gang had been reduced to only Madel, Irene, Arnie, Belle & Queenie plus two guys Albert & Me. We had a bilao package—a tray of mixed b-b-q chicken, fish, calamares, with choice of veggie & crunchy mango in bagoong salad. For side dishes, Queenie asked for kare-kare (ox tail in thick peanut sauce) & pinakbet (a mixture of okra, pumpkin, string beans, French-beans, yam, spinach sauté in fish & oyster sauce). The lemonade ala-bottomless (no limit) was as refreshing as Albert’s ever-present companion San Miguel light beer which he had to take away later as the restaurant closed on us.

We adjourned to Arnie’s place again for a cuppa and some for a light (Arnie, you know who?). Arnie’s Mom had always cakes & pastries to complement our coffee not counting all sorts of tidbits & sodas. Since the night was still young at 10.30, the info-downloading continued till 12midnight until such time Arnie’s Mom came out to remind Arnie that she has work tomorrow.

All this I rekindled old friendship with Nida, Belle, Arnie, Madel & Albert that we certainly know each other by heart at the same time I met new friends like Irene, Queenie, Jennifer, Desabel, & Laureto with the impression that our friendship would grow stronger with time. Now that Irene & Queenie are also in my Facebook, it would be easier for me to say hello to them from time to time. This is the last of the series for the NDJ Hi-School Homecoming Reunion. My next blog may be in December when I visit Zamboanga City again. Bye everyone! EdLim signing off. edlim001@gmail.com

NDJ Hi-School Reunion - More Gimmick of Class79

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. More Gimmick
Day 06 – Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Continued....

Too many wayward thoughts coming to my mind and couldn’t concentrate much on my works. For one thing Albert’s youngest daughter Brittany Anne was continually asking me for her dad’s friends that she could add in her Facebook page. I wrapped up my works & closed my email & before I knew it was already 6pm. Checking the girls at Arnie’s place, they were all waiting to be picked up for dinner at Paseo de Jardin as promised by Albert last night. Among the girls who came were Arnie, Belle, Des, Irene, Madel . Queenie called up to say that she would find her way there.

Paseo de Jardin as the name implies is a cluster of eateries alfresco, that cater for those diners who prefer garden settings and since it’s located in Pasonanca Park, the weather was cool not chilly and traffic very light. Music ranges from Latin jazz to contemporary tunes and like it’s counter-part in Paseo del Mar, the lighting complementing the scenery was an art in itself.
The restaurant we chose belonged to Albert’s nephew—MJ something and it was adjacent to the pasta shop. This time we ordered individually according to our taste. The buttered chicken I ordered was highly recommendable—crispy on the outside and tender-juicy in the inside. When all our orders finally came in, I saw chicken b-b-q, fried calamares, grilled fish but nobody ordered veggie. Albert ordered ‘sisig’, minced meat(?) served in sizzling hot plate (until now couldn’t figure out what it was) but was good enough for Albert to chase with beer.

Just before we left he place, Belle went to check the fruit stall across the street and came back with 3pcs of ‘marang’ another exotic fruit native to Zamboanga & Jolo. Irene immediately got hold of one with a strong warning that it all hers, while Des & Madel had also one each. We ate inside the van as Albert cruised along Pasonca-Sta. Maria road on the way to Lower Calarian to visit Belle’s cousin, Mario Yanga who is the incumbent Chief of Police of Zamboanga City.

Mario’s wife Ruth immediately cleared another table for us and laid down a pot of crab in thick turmeric sauce, prawn cooked in coconut milk and two big grilled ‘pugut’ trigger fish and down with cool light beer. This time I had all the crab for myself which Queenie captured me in few candid shot of pure greediness. I thought the girls were all full, but Irene & Madel couldn’t resist the sweet taste of the crab. I was into my third beer when we had to say goodbye. Belle decided to be left behind and our next stop was Zalo’s a bar famous for staging ballroom dancing.

It was almost 11pm when we reached the place. The dance floor was indeed designed for dancing—smooth and wide. Sitting alone waiting for us was Laureto who was too happy to see us especially Irene. Did I miss anything between these two seemingly crossed-star hi-school sweethearts? Belting sensuous tune from cha-cha to rhumba, the voluptuous singer really know how to captivate our senses which later had Laureto going up the stage as well. While in the midst of ordering our drinks, Laureto sang something that awaken Irene fully to the amazement of the gang. That song must have meant something to them way back in hi-school. Queenie & I also burnt the floor with salsa, meringue & swing. Joey & Eugene dropped by to say hello & informed Madel of their date to check out Nur Husin’s castle.

We sent Des home first then all of us went to Arnie’s house for early morning coffee as it was already 1am. Arnie was saying that she had to report to work by morning and so did Queenie who still had seminar to conduct. It was indeed a long day for the Class79 but it seemed there was no indication of stopping the gimmick later in the day. “Bye & Good morning everyone”, Albert said as he drove off. edLim001@gmail.com

NDJ Hi-Sch Reunion - More Gimmick of Class79

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. More Gimmick of Class79
Day 06 – Wednesday, 30 September 2009

How I came to know Albert Wu, Madel J Serrato, Nida Manuel & Arnie Perera? Well right after finishing college from Ateneo, I accepted the invitation from Fr. Nuel Sison, OMI to help organize the Dean of Student Affairs of Notre Dame of Jolo College. At that time they were already in their junior years taking up Commerce/Business course. After gaining their respect & trust, teacher-student relationship matured into friends then ‘barkada’ relationship where we shared same frustration & anger, laughter & tears. Until I left NDJC, I still keep in touch with Albert Wu & Jimmy Ting which spans almost 20yrs. Moreover, I felt more comfortable in their company than in my own batch, had it not for Imelda Conculad-Salasa who rallied behind all of us.

The tres Marias—Marydel, Mary Arnie & Maria Irene dragged me out to have breakfast at Jimmy’s for ‘sati’ again. Like the previous days, people still crowded at that place even it was almost 7.30am. As usual I had that teeny-weeny meat skewered over hot charcoal and flooded my ‘tamu/puso’ with thick hot sauce. On the other hand, Madel & Arnie opted for the bigger chunks with double portion of ‘tamu’. Irene particularly asked for additional serving of the gravy and slurped it just like ordinary soup! We couldn’t linger on our table for so long as the queue of late comers spilled to the next shop (so now you have an idea how popular the place is). Coming out from the shop, we realized that the sky was cloudy with no indication of opening the floodgates and so, we decided to hop into a tricycle and headed towards Paseo del Mar for a short morning walk. There were a lot of senior citizens walking around the park with few isolated group fishing towards the farthest end.

Fascinated by the young Badjao boys lingering down the water, Irene started throwing coins into the sea. The boys, who were patiently waiting at their small ‘banca’ (a two-rigged canoe) dived immediately into the water to retrieve the coins in lightning speed and natural agility. Depending on how far the coins were thrown from them, they could stay like few minutes underwater. I don’t know whether the other boys were malnourished or just too small for their age but they were well equally adept in the water. Story has it that right after a Badjao baby is born, he will be thrown into the sea; if he’d survive he’s a true Badjao. Perhaps that what inspired the wicked nursery rhyme that goes: “Minnie, Minnie, myni, Moe, take the baby by the toe, if he cries, let it go!”

Then we strolled our way towards Fort del Pillar, a shrine devoted to Virgin Mary. There was a huge marble table in the middle for saying the mass with permanent stone-benches designed as pews. The whole area was paved with well-manicured low-lying shrubs which ran from both ends of the entrance. You could also see so many devotees lighting candles for whatever petition or favour they asked. Outside the shrine, there were rows of small stalls selling all types of religious objects ranging from crucifix to prayer book & from rosary to talisman & charms. Madel was hooked to some wrist beads while Irene was more interested in trinkets & charms and I was just wondering for whom the charm was intended for. Of course with Arnie around, the haggling could continue for hours and would not leave the cigarette-puffing lady vendor until they got what they bargained for.

As the rays of morning sun started filtering from the big trees around us, I asked to be excused as I had some important thing to do late in the morning. I had a long bath in my sis Beth’s house and no more 2nd breakfast, eventho’ the sweet aroma of durian jam permeated the whole house. In between chatting with my sis Beth, I was also checking the things that I’d bring back home and hopefully I wouldn’t over-pack my luggage beyond the weight allowance given by Cebu Pacific Air.

After getting all my personal things sorted, I decided to see Albert & update my work at his place as well. I could have dropped by Joey Chiong at Garden Orchid where he was putting up for the duration of his stay in Zambo City and take advantage of the WiFi band there. However in Albert’s house, I would have free coffee of my choice and some ‘chichron’ & other tidbits too. Moreover if he is in the best mood, I could even have ice-cream & cakes too plus other fruits of the season which their freezers always have all sorts of food piling up to the brim.

I remember back in Jolo, his late mom Aunty Hajji Churian (may her soul rest in peace) whose durian would never be out of season, as she would freeze tons of it during peak harvest, had a lot of best thing s to offer. Not only prized durian, you can also find hoards of marine treasures like ‘curacha’, ‘kamun’ (sea-mantis), prawn, lobster, giant sea crabs, sea-cucumber & shark-fins stashed in rows after rows of freezers. If she sensed that we were tired of eating seafood, there were always variety of Chinese or Western food to eat like ham, bacon, pork leg, chorizo/sausages (few types including embotido sent by a niece all the way from Cavite). Her stock of food could feed thousand at any one time! Now Albert had learned this for his own family, in fact, he’s well-stocked both in Jolo & Zamboanga.

By the time, I reached Albert’s place at Tumaga, the whole family had already left, so I proceeded to Arnie’s place which was just a walking distance away. When Arnie’s mom ushered me in, I found the tres Marias already sitting in the kitchen together with Desabel, who sneaked out from her office for another carbo-loading & info-sharing session. The spread included freshly grilled fish, ‘kinilaw’ fish in vinegar & lime tossed with crunchy raw mango, ‘bagoong’, grounded fried dried fish and garnished with tomatoes, chillies, onions, shallots & ginger. We also had ‘adobong calamares’ cooked together with its ink (In Spain squid & its ink are sold separately) and some fried chicken for a change. Later Annabelle arrived together with Jennifer and despite her litany of complaints, it could never out-weight the goodness of food in front of us. I didn’t touch the rice & the ‘piutu’ but went for more grilled fish with the ‘kinilaw’.

Later we adjourned to the living room where I immediately looked for a nice spot to work on my laptop. I had a few long over-due reports to finish and it was already the end of the month. While having my great coffee (Arnie kept on reminding me, had I failed her in my Finance class, I couldn’t have this coffee; let alone this session), Des was crooning on the video-K with love songs (mostly ‘bigo’ broken-hearted tunes). Perhaps it reminded all of them of their own situations or the long-lost boyfriends that never come to pass. Once in a while Fheng would just scream from somewhere belting her own interpretation of the song that could culminate in wailing crescendo. In the midst of the ‘entertainment’, Belle could just lie down in any position she felt comfortable and for all we knew she was already asleep.

I left the girls alone & proceeded to Albert’s place to surf the net. Likel I said I could still have a choice of coffee, this time I chose Malaysia. To be continued..

NDJ Hi-School Reunion - The Gimmick of Class ''79

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. The Gimmick of Batch’79
Day 05 – Tuesday, 29 September 2009

I went to my sis Beth’s home for quick change ‘coz I’m supposed to meet Arnie Perera for breakfast, but was caught up with the aroma of fried dried fish with fried rice plus corned beef with side dish of egg omelette. As if drawn by imaginary string (or another excuse for sheer greed), the next thing I know I was sitting comfortably on the dining table armed with fork & spoon. Coffee was already brewing at the percolator & its aroma was really overwhelming. Sheepishly I asked Arnie to be excused from the ‘meeting’ & of course I had litany of reason which most of them didn’t convince her.

What was supposedly a quick change dragged to an hour of eating hearty breakfast. Regrets? Not at all when you can make excuse of going for exercise later which is another topic.

I still have another ‘meeting’ to attend to and later that morning I met up with another old collegiate classmate who fed me with info about our batch as I wasn’t able to attend the college homecoming last year. I learned also that our classmate who is now City Councillor is intensifying her campaign despite the election date is still some 6 months away. Of course he himself was approached personally by this friend, which he confirmed with that she is in the camp of ‘lesser evil’. Sad as it may seem, this is how politics is played in the Philippines.

There were other things to talk about like family and long lost friend but then it was time to bade goodbye again as another ‘meeting’ was on the table. Later I proceeded to Albert’s place and was getting ready to go the beach for an evening picnic again. It was asgreed to be at the beach by 3pm.

While Albert's wife Elaine was busy preparing lunch, I was surfing the net with Albert’s daughter Brittany “Bien-Bien”, whose friends at the Facebook had multiplied with the addition of her dad’s friends. One particular friend that Bien was attached to was Queenie, whom she brushed off as ‘suplada’.

Anyway after lunch, Albert was getting more and more busy along with his boys in getting all picnic paraphernalia in order. Soon we were cruising along Sta. Maria-San Roque road towards the beach, but our choice beach would close by 6pm, so we went to Golf Beach instead. It has basic amenities including dirty toilet & non-functioning shower (Bert,sorry for the blunt remarks). There was also b-b-q pit where we char-grilled our fish. The kiosk was big enough to sit 12 persons comfortably. While getting ready the b-b-q pit, Agnes De Castro arrived together with her brother.

Later Queenie arrived with an entourage of almost-middle aged girls headed by Madel, followed by Arnie, Irene, Jennifer & Des. Annabelle didn’t make it on time to join us as she was with her relatives at the farm supposedly gathering ‘lanzones’ for us. Different types of tidbits were passed around but it was ‘kilaw’ raw mango that seemed to dominate the appetizers on the table. It was almost sundown when we finally had our meal which made the setting even more romantic with candles flickering thru’ the night. We had char-grilled tuna, succulent young squids and fried chicken and some other non-descript dishes but otherwise scrumptious. The ‘piutu’ we bought earlier along the roadside proved to be everyone’s favourite as it blended naturally with raw mango salad with 'kinilaw'. Just before we could wallop everything, Belle arrived with all drama enfolded in the farm but no fruits in hand. Some more freshly grilled fish was served by Albert’s handymen to the delight of Belle who would never say no to food—good food!

Later while we were having out desserts, three boys from their batch joined in but I only knew Laureto thru’ word of mouth. Irene, you didn’t formally introduce to me you boyfriends!

Later Madel & Arnie excused themselves and headed towards the water for a night swim. Altho’ the weather was breezy, the water was calm and warm. Had I brought extra shorts, I would have jumped in as well. That’s why I waited for Arnie to change and lend me her shorts. As usual all these girls had always topic to discuss and the ceaseless conversation could continue whether in the house, at the beach or even in the car. Madel enjoyed most of the chat ‘session’ (file-downloading according to Madel) where she could confirm things, probe doubts or disqualify some known facts as Arnie plus Queenie had always almanac of truth to share. From what I deduced, Des & Fheng, who are both are civil engineers, went to the same school since elementary to hi-school and until college and that explained the closeness of these two.

Then it was time to say goodbye again. As I’ve said the info-sharing continued even when we reached Arnie’s home. Before Albert bade ‘adios’, he reiterated his invitation for dinner the next day at his cousin’s stall somewhere in Paseo de Jardin in Pasonanca Park. Good night.... Another memorable day had gone. Ed edlim001@gmail.com

NDJ Hi-School Reunion - The Aftermath

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. The Aftermath
Day 04 – Monday 28 September 2009 – Part II continued...

This time in unanimous vote, we proceeded to Paseo del Mar—a newly gazetted park with open eatery & concert ground. It was Irene’s turn to buy us dinner so we opted for some unusual meal like crab in thick turmeric gravy, prawn cooked with coconut milk, fish & chicken b-b-q complemented with home-made 'achara'. Jennifer was the first one to order then Des tagged behind to ask for chicken b-b-q. Annabelle was trying to ask for something like double serving, but when told of the price, 'di bale na lang, mamaya kung gusto pa nila'. Arnie & Madel were already busy rearranging the table so that all of us could be seated comfortably. All the while Nida & Queenie were already 'recceeing' the vicinity for better view of the horizon. While waiting for our orders, we took advantage of the view and took more photos. Queenie had most of the shots—candid or otherwise which was later downloaded to my laptop.

Later Albert Wu joined us and ordered light beer for himself plus another b-d-q fish. I was still downloading most our photos when our food was served. Immediately, I could smell the sweet taste of prawn in coconut milk, but it was the crab I was more interested in. Being the only guy from outside, I had the opportunity to have a good choice of the food. More chicken b-b-q came with Albert almost to the 5th bottle of his light beer.

More shots were taken amidst the sweet music from the adjacent kiosk that served typical western food. We also passed another kiosk that served only snacks & desserts but at that time there was no more room for more food in our tummy. However I really craved for good cuppa and so Arnie suggested to adjourn to her house where she just received a pack of Brazilian coffee. With more traditional cakes ‘ransacked’ from Nida’s house, there was even more good reason to have coffee at Arni’s house.

I was on pillion in Albert’s motorcycle while the girls were all cooped in Queenie’s Toyota Rava. Actually, more food was also waiting for us there, as Arnie’s mom had cooked another type of cake. The first one to be sent home was Des who was staying somewhere in Paraiso Housing Estate. The rest of the gang crass at Arnie’s place for a night which later on ran for two to three nights.

Another day had passed with more memories to cherish. Actually more happenings at Arnie's place that night. More to come.... EdLIm

NDJ Hi-Sch Reunion. The Aftermath

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. The Aftermath
Day 04 – Monday 28 September 2009 - Part I

With too much booze & coffee, my aunt urged me to spend that night with my cousins who was also scheduled to leave for Manila late that evening. I didn’t realize that we slept nearly 2am that day, so everyone was up only at 11am, except me who was already up by 4am. Back in Malaysia, my body clock had been tuned-in to 4am waking time, as it was the time I usually prepare breakfast for my son & my wife. The school bus normally would picked my son Jared at 5.15am and my wife ‘s shift also starts around that time.
Altho’ I still linger on the bed tossing from left to right, I finally got up around 5am and had a long walk, along the boulevard then traced my way to the stadium. Despite being Monday, there were a lot of health-freaks doing all sorts of exercises from simple body bending to vigorous running. To the farthest end of the stadium there a group doing aerobics some isolated groups playing basket ball.

I slipped into the arena and started a slow jog, too slow that one voluptuous lady could out-run me in just a matter of minutes. I told myself I just try to finish one round in the track & field circuit, but my one round became two then three and before I could stop, I was already running at the outer lane of the circuit which was already the 8th lane. I guess my body was clamouring for exercise since Friday, ‘coz in Malaysia I ran on Wednesday & Friday and sometimes on Saturday & Sunday. Especially when I train for long cross-country running, I would intensify my exercise to log at least 50km per week.

I finished to the last circuit again and the sun was already biting my skin. From there I decided to return to my aunt’s house. To my surprise all my cousins were still asleep, only my aunt was at the kitchen preparing our breakfast. The aroma of coffee all the way from Jolo was already inviting even I was still at the bathroom. After shower, I had another full breakfast even with so much pleading to my aunt that I wanted only toast with jam, I ended up with garlic rice plus sweet meat (tocino) & salami as well as omelette eggplant with ‘bagoong’ & sunny side-up.

When all my other cousins were awake, I bade goodbye to all of them, as I promised to meet with nephew Doods for lunch. We went to “Mi Abuela”— literally means “My Grandma” with recipe said to be passed down from Spanish grandparents of the owner mostly of Spanish-Italian influence. I particularly like torte de pescao – fish fillet and wrapped with crab omelette garnished with spicy clear sauce. The ‘lumpia ubud’ is also excellent with its smooth texture on the outside and rich filling inside. My nephew opted for adobong hipon (prawn) & kare-kare (oxtail cooked with peanut sauce).

For dessert we adjourned to Minpro the nearest shopping center and grabbed a pint of Selecta ice-cream then sat inside Dunkin’ Donut for coffee. That’s where I got a call from Annabelle asking me join them for hi-tea at Nida Manuel’s house. We all met at Des’s office at DPWH then waited for Queenie to transport us there. The gang included Maridel ‘Madel’ Serrato, Irene Ulama, Mary Arnie Perera, Des Demerin , Annabelle Yanga, Queenie Wadja-Espinosa, Jennifer ‘Fheng’ Isahac. After shifting here & there finally I ended up doing 69 with Belle inside the booth.

Nida’s house is tucked away from the bustle of the city at San Roque area. It was a long drive to her place but the unending banters & jokes from Fheng made the journey enjoyable. Nida’s blue house stands majestically & was the only one in the newly open housing estate completely fenced in an equally friendly neighbourhood. When we were ushered in, there were already ‘bang-bang Sug’ waiting for us. There were 'Ja, patulakan, pitis, gallang-gallang, pasung' & two other unknown cakes & pastil complete with hot sauce. Of course the ceaseless flow of Coke & orange juice complemented the generous spread that even her hubby Damsid remarked that it was way too much of only few of us. Not satisfied with the cakes, we also had crunchy raw mango ‘kilaw’—a concoction that most Notre Dame Girls have perfected it since our time before the civil war up to the present. In between giggles & banters of old days—their days of awakening, Belle poured out to us her frustration & relief in her life. Only that day have I known that Belle’s brother Rene was kidnapped for ransom in Jolo and she was still mourning the death of her mom. To her greatest consolation; her eldest daughter who is taking up nursing will be graduating this summer & the younger one is in Melbourne on student exchange program with a good chance of getting scholarship in one of Universities in Australia.

Later Damsid excused himself as he had to leave for Jolo that night accompanied by their son and then Queenie summoned her driver again (she’s really a queen with entourage of chauffer, handyman & escorts/bodyguards at snap of her fingers). Tobe continued...

MY FAMILY & RELATIVES

Notre Dame of Jolo High School Homecoming Reunion. My Family
Day 03 –Sunday, 27 September 2009


Few of my paternal cousins took me to Jimmy’s ‘sati’ again for breakfast & by this time I started to get used to the hot sauce again. Like Malaysian ‘satay’, ‘sati’ is a skewered meat cooked over a charcoal to give it a burnt taste & eaten with ‘puso’ (rice cooked inside a woven coconut leaves) then doused with hot peppery sauce (more like stew). Complemented with home-brewed coffee, it’s an excellent wake-me-up food which could last till lunch time. I noticed a few ordered Coke or Sprite to go with their ‘sati’ as cool sensation from these sodas equalized the hotness of the sauce. For those who opted for a bigger chunk of chicken, there were few choices from legs to breast even chicken livers & gizzards.
The ‘towkey’ must be earning a lot with the number of customers going in and out of the shop. Just before we asked for our bill, there were already customers waiting to jump at our table. Anyway we made our exit before the owner would ‘throw’ us out to the street.

Next stop was another cousin’s house before we headed towards the central market to get our food for the beach. Caragasan beach lies some 10km away from the city proper with basic amenities of picnic tables & benches. There are also separate shower rooms for both genders and ample parking space. Our table was right to the shore line of the beach and even at 10 in the morning it was already crowded with people. Along the main street of the beach, there are Kara-OK joints with singing enthusiasts blasting thru’ the sound system each to its own noise level. Well Filipinos are known to have penchant for singing, let alone dancing & drinking.
What’s beach party without ‘lechon’, booze & dancing that every nook of the beach has its own music. “Nobody But You” a K-pop song seemed to be the most popular song with everyone seemed to dancing to its beat. In fact one group had a well-choreographed movement to the song. Well it reminded me of the dance performed at our hi-school reunion.

Among the food prepared by my Aunt were the famous Tausug delicacies of b-b-q ‘piasak’ (chicken cooked in coconut milk & garnished with native herbs), ‘pugut’ or trigger fish with succulent meat that taste just like chicken. We had sea-weed salad topped with raw sea urchin and tossed with a combination of vinegar, lemon, lime, soya sauce, tomatoes, garlic, minced ginger & onions. The spread included squids (ink still cooked intact), clam soup with corn, steamed curacha (half crab, half lobster) and Valenciana rice (more like paella minus the saffron) not forgetting the ‘bianban, piutu & sianglag’. Of course ‘sotanghon’ & chicken salad are permanent picnic food for our family.

Yes, it’s true with heavy breakfast earlier, who could think of eating again? Well not necessarily eating, I just picked here & there and before I realized I was having more than I bargained for, I was already in my 2nd glass of Coke & felt little bit bloated with ‘piutu’ in my tummy starting to swell to an uncomfortable level. But again there are toilets around!

The beach was not as beautiful as our beach in Jolo especially the Quezon beach. However with the frolicking young girls around, it was just natural for us ‘seniors’ to be captivated by their infectious giggles. From time to time my aunt would shout from the bench to focus our eyes on our wives we left at home or if we are already immersed in conversation with anyone of these beautiful specimens, she would gently pull us away from the crowd. Ah, my aunt, just like my mother, every daughter-in-law is happy to have her around, where she would march straight to any woman whom she felt was starting to be comfortable with any of his boys. To the delight of her daughter-in-law, my mom too would bring my sister-in-law to confront any woman who would show special interest in any of his married sons.

My aunt still treats us like we were teenagers and wouldn’t care to show her matriarchal dominance. Instead of our eyes ogling on the other equally tantalizing sight, she would offer us our favorite food. I don’t know why until now these mothers still remember the food we craved most, the food we quarreled for or even sneaked from. I love this aunt for remembering all these wonderful things that glued us cousins together. In a big family like ours, we are still close even to 4th degree cousins and knew each one of them by name including their own respective families.

Later Albert Wu another friend called to check where I was. I still have a lot of things to catch up with another cousin who was stationed in Nigeria as a Commanding Officer under UN Peace-Keeping troupe. So I didn’t joined Albert to hang out with his gang which later I found out they ended up at Latitude disco.

We have siblings & cousins working all around the world from all continents; in fact one cousin is working as Research Scientist with Russian government in Antartica. For those who married Muslim became Muslim or Christian depending which country they made their homes. In our family religion is not an issue, it’s the person’s perspective which threatens to destabilize the family that all of us are concern of. Like in my family alone I’m a Christian and so are our eldest brother John & youngest brother Rusward. My eldest sister who married someone from the north is a Christian while one is non-committed. All the rest are Muslims, but during ‘Chim Bing’ (Chinese day of the dead) everyone will make an effort to go back home & pay homage to our Chinese grandparents regardless of beliefs. Of course for Christian we have All Souls Day and for Muslims it’s ‘Taiti’ the day before the start of fasting month.

There are lot of things to talk about even among cousins and pause for a while when we remember the plight of another cousin or the death & birth in the family. While our coffee and beer continued to be replenished, we tell stories like it happen just a week ago. Now we can laugh at our mistakes like the time we went to another uncle’s house and not knowing their nasty dog Sputnik was not on leash. We ran like mad and climbed onto whatever higher place we thought we were safe only to find out Sputnik could also climb. We were terrified by its growling and howling but actually Sputnik was also happy to be off the leash and pranced around. Our presence made him even more excited and started licking each one of us instead of biting us to the amazement of our uncle. From that time on, we always had biscuits for him whenever we visited our uncle.

Growing up in the island town of Simbahan, Pangutaran, Sulu, my granduncle & grandaunt had this massive house which the local called it ‘rumah batu” or stone house. Like a typical Chinese house, the front of the house was the shop selling everything from cloth to basic necessities, including medicine both Chinese and Western. My granny had this young billy and a hoard of ewes and every Saturday when there’s no class, we usually take them out to a pasture. Not knowing the neighbor’s big billy-goat with beard that almost covered its face got out from the fence and started attacking our billy which was only half its size. We tried to shoo it away, instead it started to cower its head with its foot-long horn in an attack position then ran towards us. All of scrambled to climb even to the smallest guava tree and started ramming its horns at tree where my cousin Sam hanged on. Our scream caught the attention of few passers-by, but they were too scared to be attacked by that crazy goat. I could see the tree swayed vigorously with every ram then my younger cousin Fred took out his slippers and throw at the billy and the billy turned his attention on him. By that time, Sam had a chance to slip from the billy’s attention and when the big billy saw our billy ran towards our house, he also chased him and the whole shop was turned upside down. Of course my uncle took out his shotgun, but granny stopped him from killing the beast instead enticed it with the ewe which was on heat at that time. Uhmm, now we know what calm down the angry men. Scared as we are, it was nevertheless a joke our lifetime that we still talked about it again and again when we meet each other. There were few more incidents that glued our relationship together and our childhood was just as wonderful as our lives now.

I still believe blood is thicker than water. “No matter what; family first!”, was my father’s remark to us.