Tuesday, April 26, 2005


Dave has acquired an almost-one-hectare property in San Roque, Bacon District. He divides his time between farming and raising his family in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Posted by Hello

Why did i have the feeling that Henri was "at home na at home" in the farm of Dave? *Junie* Posted by Hello

Monday, April 25, 2005


dave has pitched tent in his yard for a slumber party with his children under the full moon Posted by Hello

Kit Gacias' home on the web

i accidentally found kit's website while googling for his name. originally i was searching for ely noel dino then erlano gacias' name just came to my mind. i googled it and out came some interesting stuff. seems like kit is a budding writer.

here is is Kit Gacias Website. mostly his writings -- pretty heady stuff-- one of his writeup is entitled "Towards An Hermeneutics Of The Word Oragon". wow di ba? its interesting reading actually. nice work kit!

also it seems he's planning to publish a book. anyways go visit his website.

Friday, April 22, 2005


What's Henri laughing about? ***junie*** Posted by Hello

Is this a pedicure session? ***junie*** Posted by Hello

spiritual session interrupted by the cameraman. Posted by Hello

giving pointers on how to sweep away the colegialas without really trying. ***junie*** Posted by Hello

What's this session about? Mysticism? Hypnotism? The Occult? Aphrodisiacs? Korean Bugs? Posted by Hello

a perfect example of contrast (he-he-he). ***junie*** Posted by Hello

graduation picture Posted by Hello

graduation picture

i rummaged through my files yesterday and found this picture. hope this brings back memories
hope you can also post pictures from our seminary days.

junie

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Sikat si Sanni

junie just emailed me a the directory of batch 86 and on a whim i started googling for the names of our classmates. most turned up nothing (i wonder why) but two results were interesting. gabby lagamayo turns out has been dabbling in linux programming and sanni gargallo was featured in the sunday inquirer magazine.

anyways here's the full text i lifted. its about a year old. hope we make contact with sanni who i learned has migrated to the states.


Making music to win votes with
Posted:9:22 AM (Manila Time) | Jan. 11, 2004
By Emir Emano Gamis
Inquirer News Service


(http://www.inq7.net/mag/2004/jan/11/text/mag_5-1-p.htm)


ELECTIONS for Sanni Gargallo, 34, is what Christmas is for retailers. It's peak season for this musician-composer and owner of G-Cliff Media Productions, which this early has become a must-stop for local politicians and campaign managers in Sorsogon province.

He did about 50 jingles during the last elections in 2001, but it's not so much the number of clients he's after, he says. He'd rather that his songs and ditties become local anthems in the whole province, popular fare hummed by voters and kibitzers alike.

At 15,000 pesos negotiable fee for every political jingle, Sanni made good business, having cornered 70 percent of the clients' needs in Sorsogon. He expects at least 30 clients this coming national elections, and is targeting "a 100 percent saturation," he claims.

His trade secret could be his versatility. A former bass guitarist of the neo-ethnic group Tanglaw Sining, Sanni can produce political jingles to suit the image his clients want to project. "Some politicians don't want popular jingles, especially those who are banking on a formal image. But the younger candidates go for the likes of the Sex Bombs' catchy tunes as come-ons to their rallies," he says.

"Mr. Suave," says Sanni, has become very popular with the masses and may be the choice of most politicians even in the Bicol region. His biggest competitor, he says, are music pirates, those who make karaoke records armed with nothing but a minus-one and some lyrical savvy, and who can thus afford to quote a much lower fee for their services.

But making music is hardly a seasonal service for Sanni. It's something he can't help, he says, as he traces his musical talent to his genes. His late grandfather played the violin, his mother is a pianist and his maternal relatives have a natural bent for music.

Ironically, getting into music as a profession had not been easy for this fifth in a brood of six. As a Communication Arts student in Trinity College, Quezon City, Sanni had to juggle his time between his studies and his job as crew in a chicken restaurant along Quezon Avenue. But getting into the glee club was a dream even if it meant spending extra hours in school. To Sanni's frustration however, he was turned down after an audition.

Still, talent will win out and soon, Sanni found himself with Tanglaw Sining, a "neo-ethnic group that showcased alternative music." From there, he formed Bandala, a pop music group that performed neo-ethnic music in Manila and pop music in the Bicol region.

Sanni himself turned out compositions by bulk in the frenzied hope to have his songs heard by everyone. His enthusiasm and diligence once landed him as a finalist in a nationwide song festival, where he performed with the singer Jaya.

Although Bandala submitted demos to reputable recording studios in Manila in the hope of getting the big break, he never did. Eventually, the band members parted ways and Sanni ended up working as a production manager in a known Bicol radio station.

"It was one of the things that encouraged me to put up G-Cliff, thinking that homegrown artists from the provinces don't really have a place in Manila."

Using up his savings from two years of working as production manager, Sanni then started his own media production with a little help from his sister abroad. "I really did some financial planning," he says.

By October of 2000, G-Cliff Media Productions was launched. The following year, Sanni was cited by Entrepreneur Philippines magazine as among the 35 young businessmen to watch out for. He brushes off the honor. "Actually, we started in haste because of the coming elections in 2001. We planned it so we could easily recoup my investment," he adds.

Friends brought in clients, and word of mouth did the rest. "My timing was good because of the elections. We had a strong start." G-Cliff Media Productions, so named after Sanni observed the cliff-like architecture of a portion of the building where the company is housed, has become some sort of landmark in Casiguran town, Sorsogon, the musician claims. "You can tell the driver to drop you off at G-Cliff and they'd know where it is. Maybe it helps give Casiguran a little recognition."

But choosing his hometown for the production studio's location is also a sound business decision. Not only would it be a pioneering venture in Sorsogon, it would also cater to the needs of the nearby provinces of Masbate and Samar. Soon enough, G-Cliff's clientele included not just politicians but also NGOs, business groups and local artists, and musicians from as far as Tabaco and Legazpi City.

Catering to local artists is the biggest reward he's had, says Sanni, who says he identifies strongly with them. "A lot of these artists in Sorsogon need a break, and they have the same talents as those who come from Manila. The difference is maybe the followers, the mass base," he observes.

Citing the group of musician-priests Fathers Ed Fulay, Totoy Alcantara, Alex Jeros and Felix Elegado, Sanni adds, "These artists really have potential; they just need a break."

And that's exactly what G-Cliff gives them, says Sanni. The production house, he says, gives local artists a package that includes arrangement, recording studio time, mastering, mix-down and editing to help them reduce the costs of producing an album. The musicians then sell the record to their contacts themselves.

"It's like underground selling, the way Joey Ayala and Gary Granada did it before. It's hand to hand," he describes. He offers the same package to non-government organizations and government agencies for their advocacy jingles.

Business is good despite the lean months in July and August, and already, G-Cliff has started to venture into video production.

More than the cash receipts, Sanni considers having helped a lot of local musicians in Sorsogon as fulfillment enough. "I have lost my desire to record," he says. "Now that I have my own studio, I already feel fulfilled. Arranging songs for others is where I find joy now. It's something I can't describe."

With dreams of moving to a bigger studio complete with an orchestra, plans of going into further studies and saving up for his next projects in the United States, Sanni Gargallo seems to be playing a rather familiar tune from his not-too-distant past. "I'll take whatever comes to me, " he says, as if his music and good fortune came by sheer serendipity.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Nice Write-up Junie!!!

magayunon an istorya ni junie a. ok an pagkasurat. nano daw junie kun maghimo ka nin blog mo (hal. tungkol sa trabaho mo as mun. administrator?). siguro damo an interesting na kwento.

nakita ko palan sa comments (junie's writeup) nagcomment si bong miaco. di ba siya yung "rocker" nun? impressed ako nun sa kanya kasi na-appreciate niya yung super ingay na sounds tapos andami-andami niyang cassette tapes ng rock music nun. tsaka si larry manda rin one time tinulungan ko yun mag-impake ng tapes niya. grabe, isang duffel bag tapos me tira pa sa cabinet niya.

nagtext pala si kit, sabi, ang nickname daw ng bagong pope ay "Papa Ratzi" :-)

siya, hoy kamo na maelstrom na dili pa dida nagriribok, magpost naman kayo ng kwento niyo.

Monday, April 18, 2005


the park across the street from the churchyard Posted by Hello

the view from the window of Weewee's room Posted by Hello

in front of the function hall and standing directly below his room Posted by Hello

answering interview questions Posted by Hello

inside his room reconstructing the events in his life Posted by Hello

a lot of renovation work still to be done. HELP! Posted by Hello

the parish is still a good 3.5 kilometers away Posted by Hello

the lector Posted by Hello

the engineers discussing the details of the renovation as i aim the camera at us Posted by Hello

saying the mass at the unfinished church Posted by Hello

gutumon an padi hali sorsogon Posted by Hello

peewee and eric at the doorstep of the church. the parish house stands as the backdrop Posted by Hello

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Wiron Demate

On April 17, 2005, I went to Barcelona to take pictures of and interview Weewee, for i know that he will not have the time nor the inclination to post his life story here. For those not in the know, Weewee is serving as the Administrative Assistant of the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Cecilio "Butchoy" Datar and concurrently acting as Parish Youth Advisor, for almost a year now. No, he is not a priest. Neither has he gone back to the seminary.

Wiron stays in a room in the attic of a function hall located beside the church. It is separated from the "convento" by the church. When I arrived around 3 pm, Weewee was lying with eyes closed on a hammock inside his room. [In my book, Weewee's room is an ideal place for sleeping,relaxing and drinking. You don't need an electric fan to cool the place. The breeze from the sea which is only about a hundred meters away is enough to do the job.]

I immediately asked him to write down a chronology of his life from the time he left the seminary. It took him a while to reconstruct the events in his life, claiming that his memory has become hazy (from an overdose of protein, perhaps. he-he-he). Even as i write this, i cannot vouch for the completeness and accuracy of significant periods and the dates he cited.

From the Coke Major Seminary, he went to UP College of Music. After 1 semester, he transferred to UST Conservatory of Music and studied there for 8 years. From UST, he moved again to another school. This time, he enrolled in the Philippine School of Interior Design in Makati and finished 4 semesters in a year there. (Heard about a school with 4 semesters in a year?) As a student in this school, he mentions as an accomplishment the showroom he designed for Collier’s Encyclopedia.

After school, he returned to Casiguran and worked in the Youth and Music Ministry of the Parish from 1997-2000. Manila beckoned again, and in 2001 he worked as Operations Manager of Kimju’s Music Lounge. His stint lasted only 3 months, saying he had differences with the floor manager and the manager of the club. He found himself in Casiguran again and resumed his work at the Parish under Fr. Datar until 2004.

When Fr. Datar got assigned to Barcelona in 2004, he brought Weewee along with him from Casiguran.

I asked Wiron to answer certain questions that many of us in the batch have been asking. Like, what has kept him connected to the church? Is he still having thoughts of becoming a priest? Why is he not driven to seek work that would give him success in the way that most of us understand the term-—money, prestige and/or fame, since many of us are convinced that his work in the church will not get him anywhere?)

His answer was short:

DI KO ARAM KUN NAKAY ADI AKO SA SIMBAHAN. BASTA AN ARAM KO MAOGMA AKO.


Posted by Junie on April 17, 2005

Eric and Junie Visit Butag Parish Priest

Eric’s article ‘Kudos to Peewee’ got me curious enough about the place and Peewee’s accomplishments as a parish priest that I decided I’d visit the place one day. That day came on Saturday, April 16, prompted by a text message from Eric that he was home in Bulan and by the SORECO II advisory which said that the whole province would have a power outage from 8 am to 5 pm. (What would I do the whole day without electric power?)

I arrived in Bulan around 12 noon and was treated to a lunch fit for a king by Eric’s family (Salamatonon Pards. Regards to your beautiful mother and sisters). Around 2 pm, we went to Butag on board a tricycle. (For those who haven’t gone to Butag, it’s a coastal barrio 3.5 kilometers away from the highway.)

We set foot on the Parish around 2:30 and had to wait for an hour for Fr. Peewee to arrive from Sorsogon. While waiting, we decided to take a look at the place and take some pictures. Then, we settled at the parish office where Eric got down to interviewing the parish secretary about Peewee, asking leading questions most of the time and shooting silly ones at other times. Good that the secretary knew how to answer. Not once did she reveal anything that might be damaging to her boss, choosing to answer only the questions that put his boss in a positive light.

Peewee arrived from Sorsogon around 3:30. From the time of his arrival to the time of our departure (around 5 pm), we talked mostly about his ministry and the diocese. [Eric, it turned out, was in the dark on the administrative setup of and on certain other things about the diocese--the Presbyterian council, the vicariates, the manner of choosing the vicar general, the priests’ honoraria. So, Peewee gave him a crash course on the matter.]

We saw for ourselves that the parish really needed donations for the completion of the renovation of the church and the improvements on the parish house which Peewee described as unfit for human habitation at the time of his arrival in the parish. (Peewee was still wondering how the previous occupant managed to live there.)

The renovation of the church that Peewee has initiated is commendable and deserves support. Peewee can't rely on his parishioners for financial help so he travels abroad and begs for donation. (The regular collection won't go far. Peewee pointed out to us the amount of collection for one week written on his bulletin board: only a meager P687.75.)

Batchmates, our classmate is doing fine as a parish priest, if we go by the parish secretary’s words. And Eric and I believed (and still believe) her when she said that the parishioners love their parish priest not only for his mild manners but for what he has achieved in so short a time—the renovation of the church and the parish house.

Keep building the church, Peewee. Never waver in your resolve to build your church even when the donations are hard to come by. Remember the film Field of Dreams? Take heart from the gem of an advice from that film, “If you build it, they will come.”

Junie

Friday, April 15, 2005

Blogging tips

hi eric! what's kawayan s.a.? ano na an balita saimo baya? diin ka na nagtatrabaho niyan? diin ka nakaistar.

junie, to use hello you click the picture icon (the second to the right icon in the create new post window"

you click Hello BloggerBot then you download the hello application first, then install it. after installing hello open it. then upload the pictures

i sent u an invite email

hoy man!!!!

jet kumusta na? he he he next time ibubutang ko na an ngaran ko pagpost. nalimut lang talaga ako pards. mayad man ako padi. i saw your pictures, guapuhunon an batit mo, mana sa neighbor mo. ha ha ha.

mga KAKLASSSSSEEEEEEE!!!!!! kumusta kamo intero!!!! pagcontribute man kamo para maogma.

cute man guihapon,

gojie ( Kawayan S.A.)

hello tutorial

jet, turui man ako maggamit hello. I didn't realize until now that i am such a slow learner. lain ako nakasusog.

junie

whodunnit?

nagtext si junie sabi niya si gojie daw pala an nagpost. hoy gojar! kumusta ka na! ano an balita sa imo?


-jet

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Welcome!

wow! nangarat ako nan ugmahon kay may nag-post din sa wakas!!!!!!!!! paghuna ko ako lang didi an magpost :-)

kaya lang for now "unknown" kung sino ang nagpost. nakalimutan kasi mag-identify. hehehe.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

kudos to fr. peewee!!

during the holidays, it was good friday i think, together with two of my sisters, a cousin and a friend, i drove through the tortuous rut goin to butag to visit peewee in his parish. yes classmates, si peewee cura paruko na. he was so priestly in his manners. it was a pleasant surprise to also see mam reno there. she and sir spend their weekends there she told me. si sir turog san pagkadto mi. while pwee and my cousin were discussing regarding a project, i roamed around the vicinity. behind the pastorate, where a shabby, dilapidated church used to sprawl, now proudly stood a new house of God courtesy of peewee's initiative. mam reno obviously was very proud of her son's achievement. pero daghanon pa kuno an kaipuhan. the church was not even halway done yet.

after peewee, we dropped by the house of the barangay captain. to my delight, the bouncy kapitana was all praises for our classmate,"daanison si fr. peewee kay maski bag-o pa lang may resulta tulos[referring to the new church]."

driving home masiramon an pamati ko mga padi. iwas truly proud of peewee. maorag talaga an kaklase ta.

keep up the good work fr. agta!

to our classmates, lalo na sa mga makwartahunununon, tabangan man nato si peewee para matapos an simbahan niya. maski diyo lang. mao pa kun daghan!!

Monday, April 11, 2005

karaw karaw lang

do you still remember the southern sorsoganon sound? the short e is pronounced so emphatically loose yet so unintentionally.

house cleaning sa small dorm-up
Espinar: Atug Tunee! sa ako yuon baneeg!
Tony : Atug diree! sa ako inee!!

games period sa volleyball court

a volleyball match was approaching a classic level. two teams were so competitive. they wouldn't let the rally end when an eager spiker from barcelona, with eyes hungry for a kill, loudly demanded," Tuuseee!!!" the supposed tosser rolled in laughter. the ball dropped to the ground unchallenged.

pinakro

one lazy afternoon, jason and i decided to shake off the boredom by executing an escape. we were about to go when jason suggested," padi masiramon an merienda, pinakro na saging, mabalon kita."i disapproved," ayaw padi kay makararaw-ay magbalon suon." we abandoned the idea. halfway to the street where we would wait for a tricycle ride goin' downtown jason stopped," padi hulata lang ako didi kay may nalimutan ako."
"dali-dalia padi kay an oras. madakop pa kita didi."
he returned with a backpack.
we went straight to a movie house. the movie was turning out well when in one quiet scene i heard a faint clink of a glass just beside me. i suspectfully asked,"padi nano yuon?" voila!! jason was giggling, may kaput-kapot na garapon, already eating pinakro.



Sunday, April 03, 2005

April 2 Meet-up Sa QC



i was a pleasantly surprised when rino called me up early saturday morning and was told we'd have a little get together somewhere in QC. i had a meeting buti na lang nakatakas. hehehe
when i arrived at sweet inspirations in katipunan. rino and kit were there already.

rino was his usual jovial big kuya self. very executive looking :-) also quite introspective and spiritual.

kit changed a lot. he's bigger, has short cropped hair. and he was very "zen' looking. we were a bit surprised to learn he's now a successful businessman. after all he finished philo, theo, canon law - literally, parang he was an inch away from becoming a priest ano? and i bet he would make for a good priest, same with rino :-)

jason was late coming over and wasn't able to meet kit. although a bit stressed out from his work, jason was his usual bouncy self.

we spent some time reminiscing about the seminary days and updating each other about the goings on in our lives. they also filled me up on the reunion last march. dami interesting kwento pala.

anyways magpo-post din sila so wait for their kwento. meantime we're planning to do a meet up again sometime and hopefully all batch 86 based here in manila will be able to come.

Friday, April 01, 2005

About Jet

mga padi! kumusta na. more than 12 years na yata an nakalipas san urhi nato na pagbaragat. anyways, to update you about me and the goings on in my life:

school
going out of the college seminary after a year, i found myself enrolled in a psychology course in PUP -Sta. Mesa. it was the first time in my life that the average no. of students per class was around 50. sa minor 20+ lang tayo di ba. sa college 10+. shocking. anyways lumipat ako ng sociology kasi isip ko lalo akong mabubuang sa psych. sa kabutihang palad naman nakatapos din.

work
upon graduating "officially" i worked for otradev, an NGO working with the indigenous peoples and fisherfolks in the southern tagalog region. i was assigned in oriental mindoro and worked amongst the iraya mangyan for around 3 years. after my the project ended i worked at phildhrra (a network of NGOs focusing on agrarian reform) in the upland development unit, then later on was assigned to the technical services department. then i was hired by natcco (a confederation of coops) as a communications officer and worked there for 2 years. i am currently working at asiadhrra (a regional network of asian ngos) as the MIS officer.

i am also a self-taught graphic designer and i design and produce books, websites, presentations, large format prints, magazines.

family
i'm married (officialy last jan 28) to Let and we have a precocious 4 year old son Julian. we've been together for around 10 years or so. we live in a suburb in masinag, antipolo. presently, let and julian are living in the states. kasi immigrants na sila. i'm still here in good 'ol philippines. buhay single kuno. if all goes well, magkakasama kami in 3 years.

here are some pictures when i visited seminario again after 19 years.


me, julian, msgr. pax, mama ko nan si tiya betty


kaupod si sister sa garden


me, my son julian and my wife let in front of the main entrance sa minor


julian wasn't impressed when i told him our college building was cool :-) . scary! he said.


my son julian, 4 yrs. old