Happy 5th Anniversary

to our E-group!

BATCH 80 CONQUERS HALF-DOME

It all started with an idea, that became a thought, that grew into a plan, that led to a call…and now, finally the CONQUEST– the 3 Mountain Goats Gruff of USTHS80 and their Goldilocks conquered the crags and steppes of Half Dome at the Yosemite Valley.

Chito Rabadam, Jojo Sayson, John Talabis and Tweet Vizcarra; together with John's better half Hannah Talabis, after almost a year of preparation, of pumping iron, of deciding which ski-boots to wear, of taking protein milkshakes in between jumping in and out of red briefs, of flying in and out of  Pinas for a covert hospital check-up, finally made it to the 3,000 foot high granite dome.
 

Yosemite is 200 miles east of San Francisco where 3 state roads (CA 41, CA 40 & CA 120) converge. CA 120 is often closed by snow until July but is now open with its spectacular cascading falls from the melting snow. The hikers brought with them their Gatorade, camelback hydration system, 1000 calorie snackbars, flashlights and other life saving device, including bear bells to forewarned grizzlies of their approach.

Aside from its fun, thrill and adventure, the trek was dedicated to Batch80 in celebration of the e-Group's 5th anniversary.  It also marked the launch of the fund-rasing campaign for CHILDHouse Manila, the batch's beneficiary. 

 

We shall wait for the blow-by-blow account of  the conquerors.  Meantime, enjoy the spectacular pictures of the USTHS80 Half-Dome climb at our Photo Album and Chito's Yahoo Album.

CONGRATULATIONS to Chito, John & Hannah, Jojo & Tweet!

Click here for photos.
 

                                       -USTHS80-

Our E-group and Web Netiquettes INTRODUCED

NEW HEIGHTS & VISTAS

Our Philosophy: There is no measure to all the knowledge accumulated by man.  The tomes of books and information that are laid out before us, ready to be accessed at the press of a key, pages after pages, are almost wearisome to behold.  These usths80 sites however exist as "watering holes" to all usths80 classmates where we can refresh our tired senses, express our minds, share our needs and calling to other members in a manner pleasing and beneficial to all.  
 
Our Mission:  The pages herein are committed to demonstrate our talents and versatility as a group, to articulate our aspirations, ideas and interests, to build each other up while edifying truth, to consolidate all our god-given resources and channel them to good use, that we may ignite a level of participation and good-will that could profoundly touch and transform not only our individual lives but the society we move in.
 
Our Conduct: We shall conduct ourselves in humility, doing nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit but in lowliness of spirit consider others better than ourselves, consequently making us patient and more forgiving of each other's shortcomings.  We shall look out not only to our own interests but to the interests of others.
 
House Rules:  The e-group is a great medium to communicate; to share, solicit, express and interact.  To avoid miscommunication and ensure that the purposes of which are served, the following are to be observed:
 
General Conduct
1.      Use language comprehensible to most; English, Pilipino & Spanish.
2.      No chain letters, pornography, extreme violence and vulgar language.
3.      Healthy participation is encouraged.  Please post and contribute.
4.      Exercise freedom of _expression; personalities and styles should be given vent.
5.      Exercise personal responsibility in discerning contents of materials.
6.      We shall be more accommodating and tolerant than discriminating.  Even trivia are welcome, and help enliven the exchanges.
7.      No editing, word/writing critiquing please unless solicited.  
8.      If one wishes to express a contrary view, do so in a respectful manner.  Or, one may post one's contrary view with out having to correct and refer to earlier message.  However...
9.      Debates, and friendly spirited arguments are healthy signs of camaraderie and maturity; they should be developed.
10.  If feeling alluded to or slighted/offended by certain remarks or email, please privately email concerned party.
11.   Sensitive issues and very personal topics should be e-mailed privately.
 
Managing E-mails
                                   
1.      Make subject title more descriptive of the message. Be specific. This will save busy readers precious time sorting out messages.  Example: "Informatics Franchisee" is better than "Business Opportunity"
2.      When replying to a message, try to cut or shorten message you are replying to, one need not include the whole message (unless for clarity), more so include the entire trail.
3.      Clean files of viruses before attaching.
4.      Compress files to at most 200kb (or if necessary, less than 1MB) for each downloading.  Do not attach more than 1MB files.
5.      Switch your option to Daily Digest if you find your e-mail program overloaded with usths80yahoogrps mails.  Go to yahoogroups site -> members -> edit membership -> check Daily Digest instead of individual emails.  Try this URL too - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/usths80/join.             
 

                                                                          -USTHS80-
 

from espana to cyberspace

OUR E-GROUP IS 5 YEARS OLD

How it Started

by Rey Espino, father of USTHS80 E-group

This group started right after a small reunion with HS classmates attended by Leo, Teng, Wendel, Eddieboy, and Tato at Dome Greenbelt1. I was telling them the story that I accidentally joined usths79 yahoogroup and I was impressed on how the earlier batch communicate among their batchmates. Their moderator enrolled me inspite of him not seeing my name in their yearbook. At that time, i did not know that a technology called 'yahoogroup' exists and i thought that you will need
a special software to be able to start this group. Later on, i discovered that yahoo! has made the job easy for anybody who wanted to start a group. This
discovery as well as the short reunion inspired me to create our own.

Setting this up is a very memorable journey. Monthly reunions started not only here but also in America. Almost every week, a new batchmate will enroll. At a
time, we were very idealistic that we can contact ALL our batchmates and we would be able to get all their updated contact numbers and addresses. But later on we realized that this is impossible. But our efforts bear fruits... as we all know, our batch was the most well attended reunion so far!

Now, I'm still part of the usths79yahoogroup. So far i can say that ours is much much better... Happy 5th year anniversary to all of us!

First E-mail:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/usths80/message/1

July 30, 2001 9:55 PM Phil. Time

Welcome everybody!! Our group is growing. We are now growing in number since we registered the yahoo group yesterday. We would like to aknowledge jopet, teng, wendel, and yours truly as the first 4 to
join. I also invited others ... sila ring, ray b., tamey, arlene. Ifyou know the email addresses of other batchmates, lets invite all of them.

You can start sending email to usthsbatch80@yahoogroups.com and all
the members of this group can see your message.

Rey Espino

First Response:

July 30, 2001 3:55AM US Time

Hi, Rey! Great idea to keep in touch with highschool friends. I forwarded this to Sally, Alice, Gina, Bubut and Doybie (Pastor). Actually, Pastor, Alice and I will get together this Saturday...finally. We are all in LA, ngayon lang kami magtatagpo.

Arleen Apetrior-Boog

-USTHS80-

the nalagans in manila

Color Our Sky Clear
by Yna Torres
 

And we got one, with just the right amount of sun. We should have asked for a rainbow but maybe we needed none. While portions of Manila were being rained out, we have none from our sky.
One could say it was a pretty long drive to take for some honest-to-goodness chitchat. But there are sub-plots to those long drives if one will care enough to pause and appreciate them, besides, the chat was truly honest-to-goodness. Somehow I knew the weather will be clear and surely, sub-plots underway. Few days before the get-together for Gerald and Linda, the rains were coming down in torrent. Few suggested we postpone, one suggested I offer eggs to Santa Clara and pray. I did the latter but not the eggs…natatakot akong malimahan. Imagine, asking for fine weather and I end up with number five!
 

The rains broke and my mind cleared. I knew why I was doing what I was doing. I knew many wanted to spend time with this couple regardless of their no show. Their absence only gave me more time to ask some personal questions but before that, the palabok muna. Gerald and Linda were brother-sister section in high school. During our grand reunion at the Manila Hotel they won that Mr. and Mrs. Batch 80 award, or a version of it. Rightfully so, almost 3 decades after and we find them still very much in love with each other.
 

Two days before Saturday, Benjie Mallari-Alvarez brought the Nalagans to PSJ (if you do not know by now where that is, you are not eating good food enough) where they were joined by Margie Agapinan- Alfonso. The two doctoras couldn’t make it to the Tagaytay trip so they had their small reunion that day.
Saturday, Nina, Gigi and I were to meet at PSJ and ride with the Nalagans (who were with their three beautiful children, Lance, Macky and Gab). Malaki daw sasakyan. Malaki nga, pick-up, walang bubong! Eh ang laki pa naman ni ----! Problema, problema, SOS ki Gina. Whew! Meet at Petron Slex and disgorge some baggage, that means, Nina and I. I hardly expect Gina to join our batch affairs, meetings or socials, because of her very busy schedule - especially after she was made general boss of Red Ribbon. But she made way and Friday morn came the text she will join. So there, in her comfy van, Nina and I started updating her on the goings on.
 

Reaching Tagaytay, the house looked a little different, I have not been visiting it and I realized, why not? Sayang. Others started trickling in and soon after the talks around the oval table started. We snacked on Red Ribbon ensaimadas, yummy mammon and other junk food. We had beers and cheers, San J cold cuts, Greenwich lasagna and fried chicken, dessert galore. Gina brought chocolate tiramisu that was excellent. You take the cake, Gina!
 

Teng and Rey came with their lovely wives, Cecille and Rose. Harold Kraft was our first time visitor. He gave an excellent report of the group after and promised to come, no, asked be invited more often. Ponch Villaroman and Noel Mayuga were there too to jeer with all our kalokohans. Probing we reveal the immortal love story of our couple. Love at every sight for Gerald, mooning for this girl, waiting for her to pass by, angling for a view, while Linda hides her face or turns the other way. He was a CAT officer, Lt. Col. Gerald Nalagan, she was his lady-sponsor. 3rd year high school, 4th year high school, first year college and finally they were on. Pinahirapan talaga. She was his first love, he, finally, became hers too. From looks of it, they are to be each other’s last. Kung hindi pa nag-Charismatic, hindi pa maka-ka-first base. Bakit sya? I asked. Of course I could see why, but I wanted to hear it from the lovers, always better that way.
 

And like the familiar refrain of true love – no clear definite answer, just that unexplainable certain knowing that she or he is that special one. Coca Cola body, pahabol ni Gerald. Yakult daw corrected Linda. It was not an easy road they took to get to where they are now. Gerald worked as a Mc Donald’s crew and had a stint with Pizza Hut. Linda had to make determined decisions to get her degree and M.A. Now they are building a vacation (and batch) house in uplands Antipolo while residing in and working for Uncle Sam. Their children are their best showcase; disciplined, achievers, getting their best combination, all their best features.

We will not brag; it was a simple afternoon. We got clear skies and clear minds; we got lovely, lasting smiles. We got good time, fancy, funny lines; it was simple, simple, simple…divine.
Linda and Gerald coming, I am inviting.
Respondez S’il Vous Plait - No regrets!

-USTHS80-

 

Fourth of July:

Pasiklab in Manila

by Marina Valenzuela-Torres

Independence Day: World Peace and Inter-Galactic Creatures - the film that propelled Will Smith to stardom. These are not the topics I will ponder on. Rather, on this historic date (especially to our American immigrant batch mates) the batch had, to my mind, one of the best reunions we’ve had. It was very casual, very relaxed, yet the conversation was free-flowing, non-stop and on any topic, from labada to the upcoming board election, from planning when to have the next bigone, possibly in the US, to whodunits. With us that night, basking in “usths80” welcome,” were two very pretty, very affable batch mates: John Talabis and Mot or Marie Rosette Barin.

This is going to be a long one. I have not done a blow-by-blow recap for some time, the last I remember was for the Career Talk. You may follow me in my Alice-in-Wonderland narration of last night for I will let my mind and story meander from reportage to impressions.

To kick off the afternoon, Teng, Leah, Leo & I, chose this date to finally turn over our batch donation for Sagip Leyte to the GMA 7 Kapuso Foundation. Mabuhay! This had been much delayed but we assure you the help, which totaled to a tidy sum, was not tardy. Leah could not join us, so the three of us trooped to GMA’s cramped and overcrowded compound looking so pogi and sige na nga, sexy. Humor lang ha, walang ma-a-antipatikahan. It is common knowledge that Lewis Carol was on high on substance when he penned this children’s classic.

I was deposited at the entrance of the building where I sat myself rather primly in one of the ubiquitous plastic monobloc chairs. Took more than half an hour for the guys to find parking, and only after a little resourcefulness - they left their vehicle in a nearby car-wash. We were made to wait for another half an hour or so but having so much fun gabbing with each other, we hardly minded the wait. An omen of more good things to come, not only for the night but perhaps of future undertakings.

Mr. Nonie del la Fuente, GMA Kapuso Foundation Executive Director, finally arrived, was charming, grateful and sincere, briefed us on the status of their outreach in Southern Luzon, gave us bottled water and huge ensaimadas we didn’t touch, posed for some video and picture taking, and off we marched to our next misadventure. Meantime, a short status report on the foundation’s program for the affected region: The tragedy tugged the heartstrings of many donors that there was an outpouring of assistance to Sitio St. Bernard, the barangay entombed by mud. The foundation then decided to extend help to surrounding villages which were adversely affected too and presently beset by periodic mudslide. Infrastructure is underway, they have thus far built 3 school buildings of 2 to 3 classrooms each, and of the 300 families whose lives were interrupted when they were uprooted and evacuated, 100 are assigned to GMA Kapuso. This is where our donation will be poured
in.

After saying hi and goodbye to Kapuso Foundation Chairperson, Miss Mel Tiangco (sans make-up), who was caught by surprised when we peeped into her improvised dressing room (Ow, hahahaha, thank you, said she. What else could she say?), we fetched John Talabis, he of eyes fair and curly lashes known. Reports were true that he is cute, but that’s not the best of him still. The best of him, is that, he, like us, is usths80. I am fast becoming an apologist of the group. Don’t push it, Marina. Only in this site, only with this audience!

The place had a lot to do with the success of the night. As I thought, the mezzanine level of Dome Podium would make an ideal get-together joint for the batch. Place was private and classy, chairs were comfy, food was good, service was excellent, the waiters trained by Leo to take digital photos of kodakan-hungry batchmates, and, as bonus, food was free. Thank you Domemaster, I mean, Domehusband, I mean, takusa. That was the thread that ran throughout the entire evening. Leo proffered this theory that all, or most, usths80 males are under. Under the weather? Agree naman ang John, ang Nonoy Ruda, Teng mitigated their condition by saying, “mabait lang kami sa asawa.” Then they started enumerating male members who they believe were active members of the league, damay ho pati mga wala pa ruon. Pinakain nga kayo, nilait naman pagkatao nyo!

Another pleasant surprise of the night was Fides having another balikbayan batch mate, Mot, in tow. The youngish-looking Mot is based in Houston the last 20 years. Mot was immediately at home with the group. Galing! Hence conversation was lively and uninterrupted. John was just quiet, his pretty eyes (ayan na naman kami sa mata!) scanning around, panning our faces, taking imprints of what was going on around him. Mot’s were chinky and always smiling. Present that fabulous evening were (in order of appearance): Teng, Leo, John and I, Fides and Mot, Nonoy Ruda, Noel Mayuga, Nina Rigor, Wendell and amiable wife, Chie Meneses, Jeff Castro, Lou Torres, Tato Martinez, and Anthony Castillo. It doesn’t require much to have a grand time.

From 4:30 that afternoon to 12 midnight, I was talking with batch members! And there was no gap, no awkward silence, no boring moment. I think. I think the batch has so evolved we are ready for more challenges ahead. I think we have realized to the full initial goals set out by the founders of this egroup. I think this is extra-ordinary. I think we should pause, take this into account, appreciate it, be thankful and in turn, reach out to more members, not perfunctorily, but with our substance, our commitment. I think I shall want to have more fun. I think we are wonderful creatures.  More Photos >


P.S. – Allow me quote the good book again that reminds us, when words abound, sin is present. Forgive us Father.

--USTHS80--

Election 2006/07:

Nominate our  USTHS80AAI Directors/Officers

---USTHS80---

They whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.