My daughter Au's wedding

MY DAUGHTER AU'S WEDDING

Tears of joy flowed as we marched down the aisle

THE WEDDING

The time will come when one day, one by one, your children will finally leave you on their own. Last Saturday, April 4, 2009 it was my daughter Aurora's turn. My eldest child, Ponchie was the first one to leave us who married last 2003. What is left with me and my wife Edith at home is my second child, Agatha. . . . . As a father, losing another child in marriage can be very sad and emotional as I have loved and reared them, seeing them growing up and sending them to school through the years. My lovely wife, Edith and I have been biding for the time up to the last minute of the wedding of my daughter Au to her beau, Paul. . . . . .

There were mixed feelings of emotions as excitement intensified when Edith and I began walking nervously down the aisle to the processional of the bridal entourage. We stopped on the midway of the aisle waiting for Au to join us and proceed towards the altar and present her to the groom, Paul to start the wedding ceremony. There was an air of anticipation and surprise as my daughter Au's dramatic entrance into the church door kept everyone waiting. I could see her at a distance just as she was preparing to march down towards us. She was nervous, I supposed but composed and well poised for this occasion as I thought confidently that she had prepared long enough for this wedding as her happiest moment in her life yet. . . . . . .

She was beautiful and radiant in her long cream wedding gown as she smiled gazing at everyone, pausing sometimes to greet some familiar faces. Guests, friends, classmates, relatives were awed and dazzled by her beauty as she marched magnificently. A beautiful filipino love song rendition of "Panunumpa" being sung by the choir filled the air as everyone was thrilled to the song. . . . . . . . .

I was speechless and amazed with admiration to the beauty of my daughter watching her for the last time as she leaves us for someone to live for the rest of her life. My lovely wife, Edith and I anxiously joined her to march towards the altar as Paul was waiting impatiently. Consciously, I felt everyone was watching us as we moved on. I felt sad and teary eyed with my head bowed as I was thrilled to the sentimental song of the choir. Thinking back, I will miss my daughter Au, who was very loving, caring, obedient, sweet and thoughtful to us and to her siblings, Ponchie and Agatha. At that moment, I was very proud of my youngest daughter, Au. I loved her so dearly and letting her go was definitely a loss but I guess, I gained a new son, Paul because Au will never leave us actually. . . . . . . . . . . .

The beautiful bride and her bouquet

Nice shots of Au just before wearing her wedding gown

Ponchie and Babes with their one year old son, Gabe

Our family picture sans Paulo at the Ascot (formerly, the Oakwood), Glorietta, Makati

The women in my family

Au and her parents

My children Ponchie, Au and Agatha

Nice dramatic photo of Au beside the window catching the needed light for this shot

My favorite shot from Nice Print

Beautiful black  and white photo of Au at the Church door

Tito Toots Fajardo looking after Au at the Church door

Waiting at the door of Sra de Gracia Parish Church

The long march

The wedding ceremony

Paul and Au cutting their wedding cake

Our family

Our family and relatives

Paulo's Family and relatives

Paulo and Au with the Bride's Maids and Best Men

At the altar after the ceremony

The Pastiche singers with Markke Marasigan, they stole the night with selected songs from Burt Bacharach 

Tossing the bouquet for the lucky next bride

Paul and Au 

The reception at the Monastery garden

The beautiful buffet trays of Hizon's that provided the catering at the reception in the garden

Nice pair!

Paulo and Au with their friends in front of the Church

The wedding was held at the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Parish Church at Guadalupe in Makati near Edsa. This is a very old Spanish church with a monastery on the left wing area where the reception held at the garden. The wedding and reception of my edldest son, Ponchie and Babylin was also held at this church in Jan. 2003. Some of the photos here were taken from Au and Ponchie's Canon Ixus digital 90, the first 3 photos above. The rest of the  photos were from Nice Print. Thank you.

Our Foods from Gubat, Sorsogon, my Town II

BISUGO AND BALAGUITAN

DALU-DALO WITH SLICED GREEN PAPAYA

Rustic Gastronomy

I remember my childhood years in my town in Gubat, Sorsogon in the 50s and through the 60s. I was living with my grandmother with fond memories of the many foods that I have grown with and loved to eat. These are prepared from our bucolic kitchen in our ancestral home in Mabini Street. . . . My maternal grandmother, Lola Nila Acuna concocted her culinary skills handed down from her parents. She could have learned also from the traditional way of cooking that we Gubatnons followed for a long time. In my growing years, we simply followed a healthy living by eating a simple flair in our daily meals on our antique Narra table; it may consist mainly of fish, shellfish, chicken and the many vegetables grown in our backyard or bought from the "Maritatasan" (vegetable stalls) in the Market. Coconut was our primary delectable catalyst in preparing most of our dishes. Coconut is endemic to our place and one of the main livelihood of the Gubatnons. Expect a coconut concoction on every meal and dessert prepared on our table. 

In those days pork and beef were only prepared on Saturdays and Sundays. It is a special treat of every family or on special occasions like fiestas or weddings. Everyone can reserve for a piece of meat to their meat vendor in the Market Plaza early in the morning. I usually ordered our beef for our "bistek," (a delicious beef recipe) from Tio Piping Esporlas who was a relative of my dear Lola. She used to make a delicious "Tapa," tied up to a rope at the post near the ceiling. When she liked to cook some, she just cut a piece of meat prepared for our meal. She also prepared an adobo recipe without the vinegar, packed in a bottle with lots of pork fats preserved for a long time. We also had a huge antique "tapayan" (chinese vase) that my Lola preserved her Santol jam or salted "Kuyog" (small Siganid or Danggit fish)

SHRIMP SUAJE

COOKED STEWED MARARA FISH

Our kitchen's design was of a simple construction traditionally seen on every kitchen of Gubatnons in the olden days. It was made from a suspended wooden pit covered with soil plus the accumulated ashes from the countless burnings of firewood from the clay stove at the center. Above the kitchen pit, was a shelf connected to a wall stocked with clay pots and casseroles of different sizes. Underneath was a supply of firewood and dried coconut shells gathered from our farm brought by my cousins or bought from the market. A "bakay" (pandan basket) with half full of pili nuts taken from leftovers of "linanta na pili" placed near the corner of the kitchen. These Pili nuts were a treat on my afternoon snacks. 

Above the stove was a rattan basket tied to a wooden beam at the extended kitchen ceiling where my Lola used to keep our leftovers at lunch or at dinner. It is interesting to note that this idea could be very efficient in those days when refs were still scarce. Food will not spoil for safekeeping that neither rats nor ants troubled us at all. Beside the kitchen, to the right, was our "banggerahan" (kitchen sink) with bamboo grills and water faucet. There was a bowl that we used for cleaning the dishes that we would discard the soiled water down below to the ground. This was also the place where we stored our cutlery, drinking glasses, kitchen accessories and the "Biso" (Water Vase) where we stored our cold fresh drinking water.

TUNA COCIDO

BINUT-ONG, PUTO AND BINAMBAN

Breakfast

Our breakfast consisted mainly of a choice of rice, dried fish, eggs, pan de sal(popular filipino bread) with mantekelya(margarine), coffee with milk or hot chocolate made from tablea(chocolate balls). Sometimes binut-ong, suman, ibus or puto(different foods made from rice) could be prepared from our table brought by relatives or made by my grandmother. My lola would make a delicious garlic fried rice that our neighbors would often smell its delicious aroma. We always stored dried fish of tunsoy or herring that would match the fried rice and coffee. I always bought our pan de sal and mantekelya at Escoto Bakery in the center of our town at the plaza.

I liked my eggs cooked sunny side up or a 4 minute boiled egg (malasado) which my lola would prepare in a boiling pot biding her time carefully. At one time when I was in grade 2, a farmer from Ariman, at the edge of our town would deliver to us a bottle of fresh carabao's milk everyday in the morning just before going to school. It had a sweet taste but I hatedf the smell which made my Lola stopped the supply. She made tablea(chocolate balls) once a while which was my favorite breakfast drink as cacao nuts were readily available in our town. My most unforgettable favorite coffee from my memory was to buy a freshly brewed robusta blend of coffee in the morning from the "karehan" of Tia Biyay Endeno near the Encinares where they also made the famous "tayuba"(stewed fatty pork cooked in soy sauce and vinegar and garlic).

IBUS AND SUMAN

LANTAHON NA PILI

Lunch and Dinner

We are blessed with the produce of the vast resources of the Pacific Ocean to the east. We have exotic specie of fish that thrive on the northern portion of our town in Bagacay. It is called "Angul," a soft scaly brown fish that we loved to eat, fed from a rare sea plant that abound in the bay. My father-in-law, Alex Fajardo regularly brought us this delicious exotic fish. Cooked in a clay pot just before leaving our town and brought the pot as well for us to eat it as soon as he had arrived on an early JB line trip from Gubat together with the many "pasalubongs"

One of my favorite, the Salted "Kuyog" (siganid) packed in a bottle especially made by Tata Rustom Fajardo, where a mild mixture of salt and a generous "sanaw" (rice liquid) to blend with the fish that would be a favorite of my children for a dip with our "Linanta na Pili" (ripe Pili fruit soaked in a lukewarm water.) There was "Dalu-Dalo" (Conches), seashells cooked with sliced green papaya and coconut milk that we loved to suck at dinners with our mouth. The sucking noise would definitely excite everyone of us for a competition for who could be the fastest sucker of all.

RED CRABS

ANGUL AND LINANTA NA PILI

The American Military Cemetery and Memorial

Our visit to the American Cemetery

I visited the vast American Military Cemetery and Memorial last week together with my lovely wife, Edith which I have always admired for the beauty of its scenery. We just wanted to engross ourselves on the importance of this cemetery by remembering the heroes who died in World War II for the sake of our freedom. It is located in Mckinley road at Global City in Fort Bonifacio.

We live just about 3 kilometers from our residence in Makati and it was not really difficult for us to reach the place by enjoying the walk throughout the park. It has a vast area of more than 60 hectares of land with an impressive Chapel and the two large Hemicycles at the center built on a slightly raised plateau visible at a distance. At the entrance to the cemetery at the North side, a Security Guard will ask for your ID or a passport if you are a foreigner and sign in at their visitors' log.

There is a Visitors' Building at the right side where visitors can park their cars and obtain informations from an attending staff. The imposing view of the memorial from the plaza is enhanced by a beautiful line of mahogany trees from both sides of a big wide mall. It contains the graves of 17,202 servicemen that include 570 filiipinos who were killed in action in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Edith and I were so absorbed by the serene, quiet, peaceful, clean and  all the things that you would expect on a cemetery. Long clean lines of white crosses dominated the plots from left to right of the grounds with manicured grass brought from the US. At the center of the American Memorial is a tall Chapel with two hemicycles stretched in a semi circle.

The two hemicycles contain 24 pairs of tablets. On each tablet is inscribed the names and particulars of 36,282 of the missings who gave lives for their country in the last World War. There were many filipinos inscribed on these tablets. We were in fact finding some familiar names or relatives that we might discover as we pored through all these long marble tablets.

I found out that Filipino servicemen who joined the US forces in World War II were assigned mostly in the lowest rung of ranks in the service. They were sailors or soldiers doing menial works as cooks, musicians, carpenters, mess boys, barbers, etc.

EDITH AT THE HEMICYCLE TABLETS AND AT THE MALL

It is really a nice experience for those who are interested in the history of World War II. At the walls in both of the hemicycles were Map rooms designed in tinted concretes with brilliantly colored aggregates. The data are expressed by mosaic or ceramics inserts depicting the many battles in the Pacific Islands and the Philippines.

If you are interested to visit the place, the American Cemetery can be accessible from Edsa through the Mckinley Road by passing the Forbes Park. From the Market Market near C5, it is just 1 kilometer away to the south.

Arturo Luz's exhibit at the Art Center in Megamall

Everytime I go to the SM Megamall in Ortigas, Mandaluyong, I always try to visit the many Art Galleries located at the fourth floor of this big mall. Being an avid fan of filipino artists, I always update myself on their latest works and try to discover some old paintings of famous artists displayed on these galleries. My son, Ponchie began to realize the importance of owning some works of new artists, bought at a fair price today and as it ages the price could escalate afterwards. He bought two artworks by Alan Morales and Fatima recently which I would say, they are a good investment today and later on he will not regret that he bought it.

As my lovely wife, Edith and I went shopping the other day we happened to visit the Art Center at the Building A at the fourth floor to view the recent works of a very popular artist which incidentally, is one of my favorite abstract artists, Arturo Luz whose many paintings could be seen hanging on the walls of the homes of the rich and famous. As many local lifestyle magazines feature these beautiful homes, very seldom that you will not find Arturo Luz's masterpieces.

As I read his biography, Arturo Luz is a painter, sculptor and designer. He received the National Artist Award in Visual Arts in 1997. He is best known for his works in linear art and a series on street musicians, vendors, cyclists and carnival performers. He is also an sculptor whose works are in metal, wood and concrete characterized by sophisticated simplicity and exemplify sublime austerity in their expression and form. Arturo Luz himself described his paintings as "semirepresentational, semi abstract"

Luz was born in Manila in 1926 and began his lessons in painting under Pablo Amorsolo, brother of the National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo. He finished his Fine Arts degree in University of Santo Tomas then received a scholarship at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He continued his education at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York.Then he started his own figurative works but developed into abstraction.

He exhibited his first one-man show in Paris by his drawings at the Raymond Duncan Gallerie in 1951. He held his first solo exhibit in Manila Hotel when he returned to Manila on the same year. In 1960, he put up the Luz Gallery wherein contemporary works were showcased by different artists. As I always see his works on some selected galleries in Megamall, you would recognized his works by geometrical forms in lines, curves, circles and angles with meticulous simplicity with subdued colors and unobtrusive form.

The new MSI Wind U100 Netbook

The New MSI Wind U100 Netbook 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                    

On my review of the very popular Asus Eee PC 701 and Eee PC 900 last May 16, 2008 here on my blogspot, it was my first ever to focus on rating any netbook. Apparently, these small UMPC notebooks with 7.5" and 8.9" LCD monitors were the best products in its class, noted for its functionality, affordability, durability and quality have made these models to be loved by people on the go especially, beginners, students, writers, reporters, bloggers or any one who love small size packed in a bag. Its sales had surged in the market that they were copied by rival companies in such a short time.

Now, with the many notebook computers, ubiquitous in the market, more and more models were made to improve their novel features as smallness proved to be a drawback for its management such as smaller keyboard, memory and functionality. Computer companies have rushed their own models to catch up on this market segment of the UMPCs. Hewlett Packard launched the HP 2133 mini-note PC Notebook while, Acer has the new Acer One, Lenovo made their own latest UMPC to be able to catch up with the market.  The Asus which was the forerunner of the UMPC, popularized by their older models have their latest larger Asus Eee PC 1000 atom computer and the MSI Wind Netbook U100.

One particular model that I have in mind among these low priced notebooks is the new MSI Wind U100 which is one of the most practical choice. Having visited some noted computer dealers at the Cyberzone in Megamall at the 4th floor where friendly sales persons have been helpful in providing their MSI Wind U100 to be used and operated for a long time every time I visited them. This new notebook is crisp and clean design with a number of exclusive functions that gives the user the freedom to do "whatever, whenever, wherever."

The MSI Wind U100 is simple yet practical in design concept that makes it ideal as a partner by anyone on the go. It is the latest computer that uses the Intel Atom. It has a 10" wide LCD monitor that can be an advantage to smaller monitors. Its LED power-saving back light providing full colors and light yet it can lower the power of usage thereby saving its precious battery for longer hours. It also has a magnifying software capability when viewing words, pictures and videos on any application. It is bundled by Microsoft Windows XP which is still the best Windows operating system. Vista has still many glitches that Microsoft must improve.

Its ergonomic Big-Size keyboard and touch pad design can allow your finger to touch freely every key without any fear of miscalculation as in smaller keyboards. Its lightness in design by a weight of 1 kilogram and a dimension of 26 centimeters in length and 18 centimeters in width and 19-31.5 mm thickness making it extremely thin making it ideal on the go for everyone. Unlike other competitors that have compromised their memory size, the Wind has the 2.5 inch standard hard drive of 80 gb. It can operate just as any notebook computers without any fear of not having enough memory for any capacity of recording data. In some dealers at the Megamall, there are limited promos that expands the hard drive up to 160 gb free of charge.

The MSI Wind U100 is equipped with a high resolution web cam together with a high-performance stereo speakers and a powerful microphone. It has a wireless 802.11 b/g that can access your Internet anywhere you go and the standard Bluetooth V2.OEDR for your phone connectons of videos and photos. It has a complete interface entertainment connection which include 4 in 1 card reader (applicable to SD, MMC, MS and MS Pro) making it possible to the mainstream standards of memory cards uploading digital files into the notebook computer. 

Digital cameras, PDAs, MP3, MP4s and Global GPS systems are capable in connecting to the MSI Wind U100. Last but not the least, the battery has 3 cells with an option of 6 cell that can prolong its longer working hours. I recommend this new product to anyone who is planning to buy a new lap top or a notebook computer. This can be a good spare if you have a desktop at home or for any beginner who likes to venture the power of communication through the Internet. This is also good for students who study and research their projects and thesis from the web and realize its power of communication. Moreover, this notebook is simply affordable for those on the budget without compromising its quality and functionality.

F E A T U R E S

Processor                    Intel® Atom™ 

Operation System    Genuine Windows® XP Home

Chipset                     Intel®945GMS + ICH7M

Memory                    DDR2 667 support up to 2 GB

LCD                          10” 1024x600  LCD Panel

HDD                          80 GB (2.5” SATA)

Card reader              4 in 1 (support SD,MMC,MS, MS Pro)I/O

                                 D-sub*1 , USB 2.0*3 , Mic-in

                                 Headphone, LAN

Battery                      3 cells  / 6 cells ( option)

Wireless                    802.11b/g, Bluetooth V2.0EDR

Webcam                   1.3/ 0.3M Webcam

Sound                       HD Audio, Stereo speakers

Dimension                 260*180*19-31.5mm

Weight~                    1.0 Kg (including 3 cells battery)