banner_flags.gif

Milestones
Alumni Gallery
MRHS QC Alumni Association
Class Notes
Class List
Directory
Archives
Alumni Ezine
Reunions and Events
Silver Jubilees
Alumni Links

 LET'S HAVE A VIRTUAL REUNION
by: Alice Gregorio Nicolas (8T1)
 
Nowadays, nothing is impossible. There's a research being conducted at present to see the possibility of calling anywhere in the world with no long distance charge except for an annual fee just like we do for our Pay-TV. Great! That would mean I can call my relatives and friends in Manila and not charged for any single cent. It is happening too early as I now pay only $6 from the previous months' $8 talking to my mum in the US for thirty minutes. And this downward trend in long distance calls complements the virtual reunion I'm saying.

I am smiling now. Just viewed "Milestones" web page and too excited to actually see its final look. Bonita is spending special hours to finalize everything and I'm happy that she's doing it for usfor free, a labor of love. She told me about her plan few weeks back, perhaps the reason why last night I dreamt about our Senior class. Bonita was offering us "kutsinta" and the rest of the class -Mylene, Victor, etc. and even my first love were there! I woke up, I think, blushing.

It has become a daily habit reading Bonita's e-mails and answering them gives me enough joy to actually end or start my day. I wonder you guys can likewise feel the happiness once we meet online!

Because of our geographical location, it seems impossible for us to meet in one place. Solution? Cyber-Reunion.  Our aim? "Find our classmates and let's have a virtual reunion." Bonita's email should be the starting point. So if you know the whereabouts of an MRHS grad, please try to pass his/her e-mail, residence address or phone number to Bonita and break the good news about the very young MRHS "Milestone" website. This is a virtual site where alumni can have a chance to share their adventures and rekindle the past.

A reunion should be a happy occasion because the word signifies an upbeat air when "renewing a union." We gather in one place and reminisce the good ol' days. It is restoring the affiliations we had when we were just innocent and carefree kids whose main concerns were to get good grades and perform well in school programs. But I am also aware that the word "reunion" gives a sad experience to some. Reunions these days are now shaded with a different tone as one seems to boast his or her achievements in life such as cars, houses, positions in the company, etc. Getting together should not come out as an exhibition of one's social status. I believe that this should not be the case. Because if reunions are celebrated that way then why not put up a gallery to showcase the material things we possess? There's nothing wrong to be proud of our achievements. Everybody wants to be successful in life and there's no denying that after success comes the rightful celebration. But if we meet and think that we're the "greatest", the "most successful", someone who did not fare well in life, career or personal wise, would feel alienated and left out. Just feel how dreadful it is to see a classmate slips out of our midst. The disappearance may
be for a while, but it may be. . . . forever.

This virtual reunion is meant to blur the unsightly aura of such a great event. We are here not to brag about our degrees, how fat our wallets/bank accounts are, how many cars we own, how many countries we visited, or how much we earned. Don't get us wrong. Feel free to say your position in the company or the degrees you earned or anything under the sun. This should not deter others who simply preferred to lead a simpler life. Some might just find staying at home with the kids a fulfilling task, others did not finish college for some very important reason, while some are currently jobless. Choices and events in life are not synonymous with success or achievements. We just want to know you again, know your whereabouts and be familiar with one another again. Period. Let us keep the communication wire open, and burning if possible! Let us use this awesome technology to have a reunion, seven days a week.

To keep the ball rolling, Bonita started searching the web and found Lando Ernacio's address who is now in Saudi Arabia. And remember our dear Alicia Olimberio? Well, she also got her sister's address and doing her best to contact her. We'll keep you updated.

Before leaving the country, I contacted Mylene Garcia- Kasilag. She's set up her own company and doing great. I was not able to say goodbye to her because we were in a hurry to leave PI. My youngest son, Jeremiah was, at that time, having bouts of asthma attacks leading to pneumonia. He simply needed a nice, clean weather so Australia is a good place for him.

Anyway, few years back I had a chance to talk to Miraja Maglaya who was even kind enough to visit me at home. She was leading a happy family life with growing kids. Sadly, we lost touch. The same with Aurora Rojo, who was then working in Manila Hotel. She was about to get married then and I wonder how many kids she has right now. I remember Rorie attending Mylene's wedding day. Also, when we were still singles, Nerissa Borromeo and I would meet in La Salle just talking and reminiscing our high school fun. We lost contact when she married and moved in Taguig. One day, I'll try to write her a letter as she left me their home address. And our singer in class Rosanna Rivera was my schoolmate in Lyceum. Someone mentioned that she's in the US or Canada, I'm not really sure. Victor Masongsong and the rest of the guys are still in Roxas District the last time I heard. He set up an engineering firm together with Brian Parado and some of their barkada. Speaking of Brian, Mylene would grin, I'm sure, if I mention the identity of our secret codes "Betty" and "Joan". Seven or eight years ago a reunion was held in Brian's house in Roxas District. I was not able to attend the reunion. I hope Mylene could tell us stories about that reunion, and perhaps since she still lives in Roxas can serve as the class' contact person. Those were bits of stories I can share and heaven knows how I wanted to see all of you when I was living in General Lim Street. Every time I crossed the street and see the Roxas jeep, I would search for familiar faces but to no avail.

Nearly 20 years of not seeing each other is something! Time flies and everything has changed! I'm pretty sure that we've grown (some horizontal, I should say), became wiser, and are enjoying our lives at present. Let us not allow another 20 years to pass nor waste time contacting each other. Really, the best stage of our education is high school. When we graduated, Sharon Cuneta's "High School Life" was the popular song: "Bakit ba kung graduation day ay luluha kang talaga" Let us then rekindle our past by laughing at our stories, together we savour the joy of the present, and perhaps hand in hand walk into the future. We hope to hear from you SOON!

This article is Copyright © 1999 Alice Gregorio-Nicolas. (August 18, 1999, Victoria, AUSTRALIA). All rights reserved.