Thank you, SJS Community

Is there any superlative higher than MOSTEST FUNTASTIC? If there is, then THAT should be the description of our reunion event last Saturday night in Vegas,,,,,

We had GOOD TIME. That's for sure. We were united once more by that great force called High School. As for me, I giggled all throughout the fellowship with my gang of hungry for stories gfs. Ah, those pig-tails memories of Happy Feet, & first bfs, & the J-S prom that was missed (due to a firecracker incident @ the Rectory. Darn Rey & his band of Marijuana-crazed thugs,,,, & Darn them for making themselves missed by us last Saturday).

A litany of gratitude is now in place:

Shirley, thanks for offering us the comfort of your house,,,, You are the best hostess ever for allowing us to be the way we were in your home! Despite your seemingly domesticated nature in-the-now, you will still give me a good fight for the throneship of the Second Wind Ago-go Girl! Your spirit for fun (& your boobs) rock, girl!

Susan, thanks for being the life and the matriarch of the group, as you always are! Your snacks are the healthiest; your stories- the wackiest; your spirit of one-ness with everyone- awesome.

Iit, thanks for your usual lovely company & for the lunch treat yesterday, it was sweet of you. I shouldn't be surprised by your consistent sweetness, it was inherent,,,, You have the name Elizabeth for good reason. You are a queen, in fact- The Queen of Tea! Amen.

Alex, did you notice that even without us planning or talking about it, we end up sitting in one table- side-by-side? How cool is that. We are meant to be a pair in remembering our high school memories. No, no, you can't take that away from me,,,,

Amber & Offie, how do you mix both being hilarious & nice? Thanks for taking care of me, always,,,, (But this I want to say you, Offie~ Stop fantasizing that I will grab your husband from you, okay? I don't accept depreciated merchandise,,, and I can even speak on behalf of the Class of '80 women population,,, wahahaha,,,,)

Butch & Rose, you are the ultimate couple when it comes to the expression of godliness & love for each other! Thanks for the ride & for inspiring me with our shared stories on the drive back home,,,,

Emma, thanks for your warm company and your Frederick's tales! Your charming American twang titillates my ears.

Ron & Irma, you two glitter together with your remarkable pizzazz! How do you do that?

Annette & Chuck, you two look so adorable & elegant together,,,,, I am a fan,,, & Annette, if your husband has a brother, it's never too late to hook me up,,, hahahaha,,, kidding.

Beth & Ferdinand, you are so unassumingly perfect for each other,,,, How can you two be so quiet at one time then become the Dance-O-Rama king & queen the next? Your presence is soothing.

Amanda, your real name has a goddess ring to it & it is just right that we call you by this name- & not 'Mhandy.' That night you bloomed like a spring flower, with or without a man beside you,,,,

Anthony, I didn't have the opportunity of meeting & chatting with your lovely wife as it was a busy evening. But by the looks of you (you look sharp), I am sure that she is nice company.

Dahlia, By George! (Pun intended.) I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. That's 3 'hates', for 3 reasons: 1st, you managed to exude incredible poise & grace under pressure; 2nd, you are well-loved by your classmates & well-applauded by the rest of us, & 3rd, that night was your night- it was indeed, successful. Congratulations, once more.

As for me, I just had fun. And that was enough for me.

Jen Velarmino

Hollywood Tour

A video summary of our Hollywood tour of Jen with Hollywood sign and Lake. Followed by dinner at Barrio Fiesta with Rey, Mylene and her daughter. Finally we dropped by at Wild Card where our "pambansang kamao" Manny "pacman" Paquiao trained during his fights in the US.

A day in Jen's Visit: Los Angeles

This was written in December and was only posted later.

It is only a day in between after the Oceanside Reunion when the Los Angeles people of Batch 80 gave Jen a tour of the City. This was headed by Amber as he knows the City better than anybody (he needs to know shortcuts for there were a lot of women looking for him). It was monday when Mylene picked Jen up from Norhridge and gave her the 1st tour of the day. As usual, when women where together they end up at the MALL on this day happens to be Northridge Mall. They call me up and got ready too (i'm suppossed to be from duty that day). Amber passed by our house and pick me up with the women in tow at almost 4 pm. We were rushing because we need to be on the 1st part of the afternoon tour before the sun sets.

The 1st part of the 2nd tour of the day lead us to the Hollywood sign (the actual one, not the one at Universal). The road going to the sign was narrow and tight but Amber is very familiar with the place and knows every rock and turn of the road (there is woman involved again). He was able to drive his big truck with out hitting anything. When we reached the place we got our pictures taken. Since I forgot my camera tripod we beg somebody to take our pictures. We were enjoying our tour and talking out loud that some people who where filming at the area told us to be quiet (we do not know that there was filming going on). OK, so we left the area.

The 2nd part of the tour was still around Hollywood. We went to a place I never expect at Hollywood, Hollywood lake. I have been living in the area for the last 8 years and I never knew that there was a lake on top of Hollywood Hills. The place was nice and peaceful overlooking Hollywood area. On top of the vista and we got our pictures taken.

We went back to Mylenes' house and waited for Rey (he wanted to throw a dinner with the batch, in honor of Jen). We then went to Barrio Fiesta at Glendale and ate. During the dinner the stories were told over the meal and by 9:30 we decided to go home and be ready for another meeting the following day.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.

The holiday is named after two, among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine.
The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. A third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were excerpted by Bede and briefly expounded in Legenda Aurea. According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer

Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail. In an embellishment to The Golden Legend, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages. Some claim the first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer this may be the result of misinterpretation. Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make

This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381. (When they were married eight months later, he was 13 or 14, and she was 14

An alternative theory from Belarus states that the holiday originates from the story of Sain Valentine, who upon rejection by his mistress was so heartbroken that he took a knife to his chest and sent her his still-beating heart as a token of his undying love for her. Hence, heart-shaped cards are now sent as a tribute to his overwhelming passion and suffering.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester,
Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.

HAPPY VALENTINE