CONFUSINGLY CALM

This yahoogroup reply thing is starting to get kinda confusing, di ko na alam kung sino yung kausap ko kasi at kung sino yung kumakausap sa akin, hehe. but hey, am in touch again with my old brothers, so am not really complaining.

Anyway, who's dohep guidote, sya rin ba si jose guidote? astig din yung taong yun. hope i can get to talk to him.is atty. lanuza related to SAYTON, that's sayton's middle name kasi, just wondering. i've been in contact with sayton for years now. he's very eager to get in touch with a lot of you guys. i don't really wanna know why, hehe. but i guess he misses everybody else like i do. sabi nya nga his experience in the seminary wasn't tragic (some of you probably have an idea why am saying that, sshh!), but instead, it was a "blast", he told me. i hope he gets invited here too. just to sorta spice things up.

I also wanna get in touch with TOPOI, also one of the coolest guys back in minor seminary. he was like my volleyball idol. taught me a lot of good things too. =)also, is CARLO(s) "SONNY" SAN JUAN here? (not sure if i got his last name right) but he was in jonas, sato and jose guidote's batch. he was also one of the guys nicest to me. everybody else like SATO, SAYTON, ARTHUR JIMENEZ, BRYAN EMIL GARCIA, IAN PEREZ, JOSEPH and FRANCIS ESPELETA, etc. (all from the minor seminary) na hinahanap nung iba dito are all in my friendster. just add me, juanraphael26@ yahoo.com.

Am still waiting for GERAN BUENDIA, FRANCIS SALAZAR and MANOLITO "JUN" MICLAT to accept my invitation, if they still remember me, that is. also, may nakakaalam po ba how i can get in touch with WILSON SITCHON, JOHN ERA, JOSE MARI CARBONELL and FR. MODESTO LOPEZ? Am also looking for ELCO POLICARPIO and JOSE RENE VIDAL and JOVY STEPHEN TAMAYO (all from my batch), are they here?

Finally, thanks to everybody here for the warm welcome. this is exactly how i expected a vincentian welcome is gonna be like and more. saya! JONAS, thanks for the add. WILLY, salamat! BRYAN RAAGAS, thanks din pero nawala na mga text mo. WARREN, thanks! BOGS VARGAS, any news from our batchmates at thanks for the add din. FR. TIMOY, thanks!ingat po sa lahat.salamat ulit.

john...
(917) 394.6036"Corgito, Ergo Sum..."

BROTHERLY EXCHANGES...BROTHERLY LOVE

Welcome Atty. Al !!!

Your batch> includes Bilet Joaquin and> Mel Astilla (if I remember right)! You were juniors when we were freshmen. My batch includes - Nestor Rebong, Rolly Flores, Roman Canon!!!

Great Reminiscing!!

J. G. Guillen


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This is really nice. Like time in a freezeframe. I remember you. If I remember right you werethe chubby one, a little dark and baby faced? I only knew you by your last name since we were not classmates.

Yes, Cirilo and Mel were classmates of mine. Also Rosauro, Elias, Adlai, Mario, Bonifacio and of courseFr. Victor Velasco. I distinctly remember Cirilo dribbling the basketball. He had a unique way of doingit but he was good. Adlai had thick glasses. Mario, Bonifacio and Mel were always talking in Visayan. Elias is now a lawyer too. He became a lawyer ahead of me and was I think a lawyer of Pantranco before.

I met Bonifacio's father, also a lawyer, when I went to LosAngeles, California in 1999. You were one of those seemingly omnipresent guys whose name seems always on everyone's lips. Guillen. Thanks for the memory. It has been such a long timethat bringing the memory back feels like a part of mylife is getting resurrected with images of the past. It is like reviving some old and faded brain cell.Great antidote for alzheimer's. We can never underestimate the power of good memories.

Thanks.

BASKETBALL..PRAYERFULL

Welcome Al!

Fr. Vic Velasco was our professor way back in 1985 when we were 1st year highschool in SVS, Tandang Sora. I will never forget him because he once during class threw me out & told me to get out of the classroom. Hahaha . There’s no hard feeling. Those were the days.

You should have moved on to VHS in Angono. There seminarians were diehard fanatics of basketball. Prayer intentions such as “for Ginebra” or “for Purefoods” were said out loud during vespers aside from usual “for benefactors & friends”. Afterwards, you would see seminarians shed a tear or two and cry “deep inside” when their favorite team lost amidst the boisterous hooting & triumphant shouts of joy from the opposing team.

We played games like kids (and still do sometimes) and responded to every sound of bell calling us it’s time.

Just like you, I treasure those days of our lives, molded us to who we are now.

Truly, Benedicamus Domino, Deo Gratias!

Brian R.

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Thank you.

During our time it was Crispa v Toyota. Jaworski v. Papa, Mariano, Cleofas. I remember we made so much noise watching a basketball game between Crispa and Toyota that Fr. Comvarros had to come and pacify us. Football was one of our favorite games. I remember Fr. Villar who had the menacing look of a pitbull giving us some lessons in the game. And when somebody absentmindedly touched the ball with his hands, he would holler out loud, BURIQUITO.

Yes, Angono Hills would have done me a lot of good. I fell in love with the place the first time I wasthere. There was a place there up the mountain where Iwanted to spend my solitary moments because it was sopeaceful and serene. But I guess I was not yet ready to go up the mountain and find my burning bush. I was not able to shed off the "child at play" in me while I was in SVS and that might have been the reason I was not able to move on to Angono Hills. NOw I know why the older guys like Trix Tria, Greg Bañaga and the rest looked stern and strict like they carried the world on their shoulders. It somehow reflected like a mirror an "inner maturity and strenght". Me, I was achild. Those were the days my friend.

The Old..the New, they are All the Same, They are One.

Dear ACMers,

I must be the oldest in the group. Thanks for takingme in. Remembering those days gone by can really beinvigorating. I feel young again. I can close my eyesand remember those high school days. I cannot reallymention the names of my classmates here as they mayvalue very much their privacy. But I guess, it may be ok to mention Fr. Vic Velasco, who every recreationtime wrestled with me in a game of Chess. He was the Anatoly Karpov of our time when there was no Fischeror Kasparov to beat him.

Those were the days. I missthe games of Football and the opportunity to score on a cabeza with somebody behind me shouting BORIQUITO. I miss those times when I would hear the clapping inthe morning and the words Benidicamos Domino and wewould all chorus Deo Gratias. It was something thatliterally roused our spirits from slumber and got usready for the spiritual and academic exercises upahead. I wanted so much to move on to Angono hillswhich I found so serene and so conducive to deepcontemplation and meditation. I wonder how many mysteries I might have unravelled if I were able to reach that place.

But as fate would have it, I was not lucky enough to make it. Long Live the Vincentian spirit. Congratulations for launching this internetgroup. It has always saddened me that the Seminarywhere I lived and spent practically my days of early youth and age of puberty was no longer where I left it. It was a really nice place. There lived a community that was unique in many ways. The voices,the classroom sessions, the games we played, the morning masses, the night prayers, the late night tv on weekends, the weekend leaves, the cathechism at nearby Karuhatan, the smell of grass being mown, the fraternal meals at the refectory, the holy retreats,the weekend visits at the porteria... Some things exist only in legends... And I can only tell those who care to listen... Once upon a time...

Vincentianly yours,

Al

New Year...New Members

We welcome the new members of ACM for this year.

1. Raphael Topacio.
2. Giovan Cuchapin
3. Al Lanuza, Jr.


1. Complete name (GIOVAN P. CUCHAPIN -cuch/ giovan)
2. Year Entered (SVS School year 89-90...Batch 1993 MINOR SEMINARY)
3. 14075 Towneway Drive Sugarland, Texas 774784.
4. Cellphone (832) 858 12255.
5. Business/ Company/Profession/ Position Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston working as a Campus Minister for University of Houston and Texas Southern University website: www.uh.edu/catholic
6. Office Phone: (713) 748-25297. Birthday (8-19-1976)




Name: Alfonso D. Lanuza, Jr.Year entered St. Vincent Seminary: 1970
Home Address:10th St., Our Lady's Village, Bibincahan,Sorsogon
CityPresently residing: 369 Bagumbayan Sur, Naga CityResidence
Tel. No. (054)475-0839Mobile Phone No. 09159157900
Profession: Lawyer/Clerk of Court VI Regional TrialCourtOffice Phone: (054) 255 6569
Birthday: September 24, 1957

Thanks so much. It's nice to reminisce and maybe getin touch with classmates of long ago. Some of my former teachers included Fr. Manuel Canal,Fr. Saldaña, Fr. Comvarros, Fr. Mariano Silva, Fr.Prado, and Fr. Robles. My favorite retreat master wasFr. Cavanah. I belong to the class of Fr. Vic Velasco,who always beat me in the game of chess.Evangelizare Pauperibus Misit Me.

Enteng-Houston Christmas Party

The much anticapated 2007 Christmas Party finally happened last Saturday, January 12, 2008 at Giovan's Home in Katy, TX. The synchronization of our schedule was the culprit why this was too late of a celebration.

On the brighter side, though, this was a lot better considering the fact that December is normally a month of so many parties, moving it a month after gives our bodies respite from too much fat intake and little exercise.

In attendance were, Kris, Cathy and Tom; Alex, Jaz, Zach and Coco; Stanley and Lalaine; and our host-family, of course, Giovan, Jackie, Gian, Bea and Joseph.

Although that was a pot luck, yet Giovan and Jackie took the brunt of much of the food preparation...including the "post accommodation".

This is the 2nd gathering of Enteng - Houston, and will certainly not be the last. We were excited to hear that Stanley and Lalaine were coming. The first time was the barbeque and basketball at Kris' home.

In between the "gulps" of wine and spirit were stories of family living, esp. of family sleeping. Unlike in the seminary, where we were afforded too much privacy and comfront, now these little kids are the ones usurping our little space in bed. Sometimes kicking us in the face, tummy and all over. That no matter how you diligently positioned their feet away from you, they'll end up in your face anyway.

We all agreed upon ourselves that no matter how you tell them to go and sleep on their beds, they'll crawl back and end up on your bed the following morning.

The party was fun even though we missed Kris' much promised sushi. In between the stories of seminary bloopers and "famous characters", we were honored how great we are to be together again. This time, venturing into a different but equally awesome vocation, but with the same radical message coming from Vincent...our idol.

Our next pit stop, though with no sched yet, will certainly be at the Lakes of Savannah. We'll be glad if you could join us.

N.B.

If you are planning to come to the Houston area, give us a call anytime and we would be glad to see you.

We're looking forward this year for the visit of Fr. John Era and Rory, remember her? I don't know about you, but Giovan and Kris were too excited and can't wait, when they confirmed that Rory is coming.

YEAR-ENDER...REJOINDER

It was certainly one of the peculiar years for us migrants. Counting the year’s blessings and curses is not on the top of my “to do list” at the end of each year. However, I could give an exception.

The first quarter of 2007 shaped our family’s focus of the year. Feeling the heat of the two kids, I have to stop working and Jaz has to pick up additional load from Altercare. After 2 years of understanding the culture of weather in Ohio, last Spring was a moment where we really got the real meaning of rebirth. It was something that we looked forward to, and Summer was the most anticipated one.

Right after Coco’s baptism, we drove all the way to Washington for our Spring vacation. We joined Bernie and Malou in going to the DC. The plan was to go to Niagara, but the icy lake has not started to thaw yet, hence we decided to visit the Baltimore Aquarium instead. That was our first real out the state drive. It scared the hell out of me, especially when we traveled through the PA turnpike, which was not very welcoming to drivers like me.

Summer was fun too. Right after Memorial Day, we went back to Philadephia, for MM’s baptism. It was a 6 hour drive from Ohio. To maximize the trip, we indulged ourselves to the blooming paradise of Longwood Gardens. (We nearly lost our video camera, thanks to the crew of the garden, we never had a hard time finding it back.)

At this time of year also, Coco and Zach started to show peculiar characteristics of growing up. Zach exhibited his linguistic prowess by calling milk, MILK; instead of manamanami. Coco on the other hand showed how fond he is with food and books.

In the middle of Summer, we were tossed into a situation were we have to decide whether to uproot ourselves from the confines of Ohio to the ranger’s life in Texas. It was not though a question of leaving or not, but of when. Hence, at the end of July, most of our things were already in Houston, except us.

Fall of 2007 proved to be something that I will always remember. Lolo Ente, after a long battle of old age illness, passed away. He was the last to go among my grandparents. I would always remember him as a meek husband to our strong willed Lola Consing. He was the most resilient one though. All my life, I had only witnessed him got angry once to me. It was when I “mistakenly fish-hooked” one of his chickens. ( I was then too tired from eating gulay and bagoong balayan.) He was a man of one word, and I will tell you, dare not to wait for the second one.

We barely noticed how this year ended. We were too busy fixing our new shack…and partying. The last four months of the year was all for “situating” ourselves trying to be real Texans. We have to introduce ourselves to the Freeways and Malls and to the whole Texans’ culture (roads and traffics here are very much different from Ohio). I found out that some of the drivers were not too courteous while driving. You really have to watch out.

Christmas season here was different. It was not always silent night. There was a lot of partying. We capped the year with a party in Rommel and Jean’s house with some of the folks from Roxas. Although we missed the BOOM and the BANG of Bocaue firecrackers, yet the ending was the same. It was a BLAST!

We have a lot to look forward to this year. Among which is Zach’s awakening, when is he going to start going to the potty chair...for real ? And of course, Coco, when is he going to start dieting.

Right now, we can only hope for the best of the rest of this year. I would always believe that all of our new year’s ritual for better health and wealth will have no meaning unless it points to the welfare of others…other than us.

We can only look forward to.