Vegas Thanksgiving '03
24-29 Nov 2003, Las Vegas: Holiday
mini-reunion with Brenda
Martinez, Ann Arellano, and Maisa
Enriquez with hubby Francis Yuvienco and daughter, Katrina,
(Photo courtesy of Maisa. Recap to
follow. Thanks!)
Vegas Thanksgiving '02
24-30 Nov 2002, Las Vegas: Week-long
Thanksgiving Reunion with Maisa Enriquez, Brenda Martinez, Erika Miranda, Mae
Cendana, Maddy Zamora, and host Ann Arellano!
For an animated version of this recap,
check out Maisa's storybook slide-show.(1.5Mb PPS
file.)
Las Vegas' Ann Arellano, UK's Brenda
Martinez, San Fran's Erika Miranda, CT's Maisa Enriquez.
Ann Arellano-Madrid's
Reunion Recap:
Hello girls!
We had such a great
time...words aren't enough to describe our reunion. A year in the making made
it more exciting to look forward to. One week was short, the 1-day of Tksgiving
Dinner even shorter...kung puede nga lang i-time warp, eh ginawa na namin 'to.
So here goes.
TEA, MADAME?...HINDI,
KAPE LANG 'DAY!
Brenda arrived
evening, Sat/23Nov. We connected Sun. night & I was to pick her up 615am
for the next 3days so we could do our morning workouts at the Gym. She hasn't
changed much in appearance except for her shortened hair, vedy-vedy British
accent as well as her fluent French twang w/c she can switch to at ease. It's
her accent that will catch you more than anything else, an attraction that
caught Erika's attention as I'll tell you later. Brenda is quite an organized
lady & will carry as much as 3 different bags to put in her stuff -- di
puede ang mini cooper for her kase too small so Range Rover ang car nya. One
thing w/ Lady B, you know where you are w/ her coz she doesn't mince words
& sorry ka na lang if u don't get it. But among friends, she's helpful,
gracious & is a good listener...like me! (hahaha). As usual, she &
Maddy had time together and heaven knows more juicy secretos surfaced, but my lips
are sealed. At curfew? wat's dat mean? Brenda stayed w/ friends near Ann's
house & would be dropped off at odd hours till it came to a point na
grounded muna sya for 2days dahil "good girl" muna sya sa host nya.
'TEN HUT...PICK ME UP
NOW, THAT'S AN ORDER!
With San Francisco BABE Maddy Zamora.
Tu/26Nov, Ann &
Brenda pick up Maddy, Tony (her Beau) & Randall (her son). Maddy is slim as
ever. She was promoted to Capt earlier in the fall. Quite precise in her speech
and able to cram so much in 3 days: means parang si Tazmanian Devil gumalaw si
Maddy. Her days are always filled & ito ata yung tao na di mauubusan ng
things to do coz she likes things moving muy rapido. Randall told me (when I
drove him to the airport) "I'm proud of my Mom; she's in the Air
Force!" w/ such gusto & sincerity that it made me realize that all her
pagod, efforts, hirap, ekekek, labs sya ng bunso nya. Mads, I know it's not
easy being a single parent, but I gotta hand it to you, you've got some great
pluck, Captain. And tho kids may not always do as Moms want them to do lalo na
yung chores, we just have to do our best. Girls, Maddy helped me super clear
Nikolai's room to make it ready for Maisa, minutes before we were to pick her
up sa airport. Pigil na pigil yung crispy pata kong Tagalog w/c I revert to
when I'm displeased w/ anything or anyone. Anyway, Nikko came to me later in
the day saying in a contrite voice that he felt bad we'd to clear his room as
he was gonna do it once we'd left. Good boy naman my bunso so I said "It's
ok, Tita Maddy helped me fix it." Pala, we all had late nite dinner: $2.99
Steak & Eggs w/c was an unbelievable deal but really, this is normal for
LV.
EAST(Coast) MEETS WEST
Lunch special of the day (We/27Nov) was Maisa who's plane arrived on time. So far so good as everyone was flying in on sked. Screams & tili at the curbside when Maisa was picked up: Brenda went down to search for her while Maddy stayed w/ me in the van. When she saw da 2 of them, sabay baba at iniwan ako mag-isa at nag-titilian to death ang mga walanghiya samantalang dakilang tsuper ako! Muntik ko na nang layasan bigla ang mga 'to at kung di pa nag-senyas ang airport sikyo to move, eh magtatagal pang magtatalon ang 3 bonsai na Maisa, Brenda at Maddy. Maisa has grown more attractive from the HS gel that I remembered. Very classy & has that typical East Coast glam. Ultra slim as ever, Erika & I just wondered how she stayed slender! Kakainis ... hmmmp. Also, may usapan palang mag-shopping ang Brenda at Maisa so whip out agad ang credit card sa curbside pa lang! Eh bokia coz I'd to drag them all to finish my grocery shopping w/ da list Erika gave for our dinner. Note: Erika was arriving 5hours after Maisa so we had that time to get it all done! Mission accomplished naman & w/ much creativity, we were all able to bring ourselves to the Strip where the rest of us waited habang Jes (my dakilang hubby) picked up Erika, Tony & Louie.
We all had buffet
dinner sa Excalibur & kodakan ulit. Actually, ako lang ang may Kodak, mga
'day dahil Maisa, Erika, Maddy all had Di-jai-tal cameras! Left behind aki
dahil retarded kodak lang yung sa 'kin. Siempre, long table dahil dami namin sa
party at buffet fitted us right dahil lahat gutom & eat all u can lang ang
puede mag-satisfy. Gluttons that we are, we'd jog to the city after da
pagka-porky pig eating. Labas-pasok sa mga casino sabay collecta ng mga tabo
coz they make such good souvenirs. After watching da Bellagio fountains dance
to "Titanic" w/c is the best so far (dramatic effect), we walked
across to the Aladdin where Erika's Tony won $75 from the $1 he dropped sa
slots at the very 1st hit! This happened while Erika did her "thing"
of marking territory sa Strip by hitting their Restrooms & doing #1! She
treated everyone w/ a round of Starbucks coffee & then we all headed home
na. So my "cast" was almost complete: I'd a "Royal"
visitor; homeland security from USAF; Exec Chef & Sous Chef from West &
East Coast; Showgirl Hostess (ako yun); paningit Escareal rep, Chiqui & our
entertainer, Mae na lang ang missing coz THu/28Nov pa ang dating.
SIN CITY THANKSGIVING
REUNION
Bagsak si Maisa, our
Sous Chef when we got home coz she was running on Eastern Time but not Erika, who
was bursting still w/ energy that she started to prep 1/3 of our dinner before
calling it a day! I'm amazed at her culinary skills, half of which I can't even
master kaya nga like I told my Mom:
Mom: "But,
Darling, you invited all these girls, you can't even cook?"
Ann: "Ma, kaya so
sila i-ninvite coz da deal was I'll host, they'll cook kaya I imported my chefs
from da East (Maisa) & West (Erika) coast.
Bilib si Mader &
Pader ko coz they were wondering how I'll pull off Tksgiving Dinner eh last
year silang gumawa! Anyway, all day long was spent leisurely chatting,
prepping, cooking: Erika/Maisa moved easily sa kitchen & na-memorize na
nila ang laman ng cabinets/drawers/pantry ko more than me. I made last minute
trips to the store to buy stuff pati 2doz Krispy Kreme w/c Maisa was curious
about -- she finished 1doz daw accgg to Erika! At 200 calories apiece, no
wonder sugar-high sya at nabihisan ng garlic gown yung Broiled Salmon at
Mushroom Chicken. The whole house reeked of garlic, no aswang would dare enter.
The Boyz went to the Casino to place their Sports Bets for the Football game
leaving us girls alone w/c was fine.
Finally, time to pick
up Chiqui-tita Banana sa MGM. Muntik ko nang i-laglag sa 215 Freeway coz di ako
dinalhan ng Tong na Pastillas de Leche!Ms Batch '79, may utang ka pa 'kin, okay?
It was easy to spot her coz tandaan ko lang ang mukha ni Sunny so off we went
to the airport na to pick up Mae & her kids. Last arrival na 'to & I
was praying na wag ma-delay coz everyone else came on time & we weren't
eating till Mae was w/ us. God is good & we made it so tawag sa bahay si
Mae to Erika:
Mae: "Oy Inday,
parating na kami ni M'am Ann. Initin mo na yung pagkain."
Erika: "Mga
bwisit...tapos na kaming kumain....#*$!!!@!"
With Mae Cendana and special guest
Chiqui Escareal-Go, SPCM HS'79 Batch Chair. She was in town to witness her
hubby receive an international marketing award.
We all had fun: Maisa
decorated the food so well. Erika outdid herself cooking, broiling. Both of
them would make Ms Aguila so proud of herself at how much she taught them well,
di ba gehls? Naaah! ang sabay nilang reply dahil after Ms Aguila daw sila
talagang natuto. Ungrateful talaga. If not for the 2 of you, Pollo Loco ang
dinner natin! Eto ang menu: Misua Soup, Embutido, Tony Diestro Ribs (laglag sa
bones, man), Shrimp Linguini Creamy Pasta, Broiled Salmon w/ Garlic, Baked
Mushroom Chicken, Lumpia Shanghai, Fabulous Potato Salad, Tossed Green Salad,
Ambrosia Salad, Steamed Rice. What a great feast this was. NOtice no turkey?
Well, concession was it was TUrkey Embutido. Sa mga di nakakaalam, Ann &
TUrkey are not prens! That birdie forced me to stop my van when it decided to
cross back n forth several times, undecided w/c way to go since sa gitna sya.
In frustration I honked while contemplating running him over while his cowl of
a neckline was shaking. Eh si birdie went to da driver's front tire &
started to make tuka-tuka da gulong! Omaygad...scared naman ako bumaba at
hahabulin ako for sure at wat if magtawag pa sya ng tropa! So soon as coast was
clear, I made like crazy sabay sigaw back to him (rolled down my window),
"Humanda ka, nanganganib ka next Tksgiving!"
PINK & J. LO SING
Apart from being da
dishwasher (nagdala ng 2pairs kitchen gloves), dahil yung lang daw ang laging
pinagagawa ni Ms Aguila sa kanya, Mae sang for us after dinner. As usual, the
boys left for the Strip so all da girls were left behind & this was when we
opened the wine bottles that Brenda & Maisa brought. Mae sang songs by Pink
& J. Lo w/ mini-choreography pa, possibly her songs for the San Beda Xmas
Party this December. Pink's song stuck to my head until now & I've a hard
time getting it out, "I'm coming down coz we gotta get this party started...!"
Bwiset. At least yung "Waiting for Tonite" eh I can block out but,
man, still in my head pa din si Pink. Took a mini-film footage of the food,
dinner & Mae's singing for us, copies of which I'll mail later to those who
came to the reunion for the memories.
THE ROCK CONCERT ATBP
Friday after
Tksgiving, Maisa, Mae & Ann had Spa Day appointments. Sleep in late si
Erika naman w/c she deserved. As usual, tinawagan ni Mae ulit si Erika to tell
her we were on da way home and for her to make Sinangag, heat the Ribs, ekekek
dahil mga gutom na sina M'am Ann, Maisa at Mae! Warning: graphic words next.
"Eh, M'am, tapos na kami... $#@% na lang ang pakakain sa inyo!!!"
With Ann's hubby Jes, Erika's Tony and
their son Louie.
After gorging
ourselves w/ leftovers, I set up my massage table once more for Erika. I'd
previously worked on Brenda's spine for 1 hour as she had a back injury.
Kunwari "shy" pa kuno si Erika dahil hiya daw sya maghubad coz I'll
see all her taba. Haay, nako, kadaming objections w/c I overuled & finally
had her on da table. So eto, I did a hot stone massage on her w/c had her
drooling later to da point na naghubad din ang aking Exec Chef sa sarap! Later
worked on Tony's back, Maisa's Hand/Feet for awhile. Mae had her turn just
before she left. When Jes saw the Hot Stones were used again, sabi nya,
"Hmmmmp, nag-Rock Concert na naman kayo!"
SEAFOOD DINNER FINALE
& GOODBYES
Ann's Jam and Nikko, Erika's Louie,
Mae's JR and Dae David.
Hirit ng prime rib at
seafood buffet dinner si Mae. So last evening namin, we did this & she
managed to eat 3platefuls of crablegs, 1 plate of primerib atbp, 1plate of diff
ulam & finally desert. How she devoured this sa liit nya, ewan ko but I was
done w/ 2plates & desert. We had our late evening get-together w/ Brenda 1
last time as they were both flying out Monday morning na. We all kissed, hugged
each other for the longest time, everytime someone would leave. Took lotsa
pictures of each other, 1 w/ the girls & their kids sa stairs w/c I hope
will turn out well. Our children all get along well, having strong musical
inclinations as a bond apart from their mothers who of course were HS
classmates. Sabi nga ni Jes I should write a book about this & I'm inclined
to agree w/ him, the subject of which I've brought up w/ the girls so they know
that this may be in the making. Something to look forward to in our coming
twilight years, di ba? Dearest girlfriends, I'm so humbled by all of you: your
talents, your goodness, your wonderful golden hearts that so willingly share. Already
& still I miss all of you & there's an ache in my heart at the same
time a great joy at seeing all of you. I just love you all & thank you for
coming to share this holiday with us. See you all same time next year!
Love always,
Ann, Jes, Jam &
Nikolai
(Photos courtesy of Ann Arellano.
Thanks!)
Back to www.Paulinians.com .
Latest page update: 12.13.2003
Saint Paul College of Manila High
School Class of 1975 Foundation Inc. All rights reserved. © 1999-2002.