Naughty or Nice, Martinians Unite for the 2nd Time!

Back in the 70s, there was this school that stood proud among the other schools in Pasig. It was a school where public transportation was scarce and at the same time, it sits right on top of a plateau. It overviews the entire valley or as we call it, the industrial city of Pasig. It was St. Martin Technical Institute.  The school where the term discrimination was never heard of.
It was a tough school. There was a time when a Martinian is in a mall or shopping complex, everyone will know about it. Schools like Lourdes, PCC, Ateneo, La Salle would unite against a Martinian, but won't dare touch one if they know there are several scattered all over the place. They know that the students of St. Martin are united by brand, that the brotherhood and sisterhood that each one has. They're protective of each other. So in cases where something goes wrong and you're up against one Martinian look again. They're everywhere!

The same is true in the professional world.When you know you're dealing with a person from St. Martin, they'll listen only to a fellow Martinian. They're born stubborn and with a strong disposition in life.You have to be tough in school because that's the atmosphere we have. The bathrooms explode with locally timed firecrackers that everyone in school knows how to make. Water bombs and pranks are very common, and everyone is proud to say that we survived them all. The school accepted any student in need of education. The students that other schools won't give a chance will have a second home in St. Martin and they are welcomed well as a brother. All this changed when the government bought the school and improved the grounds. They converted the place as a government institution for higher education and kept the facade of the buildings and how each room looks like. The big trees that grew there survided, I'm not quite sure about the berry tree that we love climbing. When the school closed, everyone was taken by surprise. In just one click the old school is gone...
After several years, the Martinians got together again. This time, one by one, we regrouped ourselves in Facebook and became one big organization again. Thanks to Willie Robles and all the efforts of our fellow brothers who are not living abroad. Then later, they organized a reunion and it was attended properly and because of time constraints, there were familiar faces that didn't make it. As a result, a 2nd Grand reunion was organized. This time in the old home. In the same grounds that we all grew up in. At first we thought it was impossible. But Martinians will make things happen. Months and months of planning paid off. Everything was set for a grand assembly.

Wow! you should see the place. The familiar faces all started coming between 2 to 4. Early dinner was set and a program was all arranged. Every year level was represented. Everyone talked about their personal adventures and misadventures as a student of this great school. The plus factor was having some pioneer teachers around like Miss Empe and Mr. Calacal. They brighten up the evening. Each student had their chance to thank the old teachers for their efforts to teach us. We didn't understand it at first but eventually we later found out that their efforts on us was worthwhile. Each Martinian in that party became somebody. No matter how big or how small each one's accomplishment was, it doesn't matter. A Martinian's virtue is being resourceful. We produce when there's nothing and we survive the changing times. To all my brothers and sisters in St. Martin Technical Institute, I love you all and may the spirit of St. Martin be with you always and forever!

A Nice Way To Earn $500!

Well, here is something interesting that I'd like to share to everyone. Right now, I'm working as a writer and one of my assignments is to look for stories related to gold. The fun part is that the only gold I know about are the ones we see in Ongpin. So what I did, I made some surfing along the web and guess what I found? Here it is. A set of antique golden false teeth that's in a fine estate liquidation site.
The fun part is this. The people who have them don't even know the story behind this false teeth. Probably the last one who turn it over never noted down the story behind it. As a result, they held a contest for anyone who will give to them an idea regarding who owns this teeth. If you can present proof and accurate details about it, then you win $500! It's that simple. They're pretty sure that someone will have a story to tell about the.
Well the site also anticipated some funny stories that will come their way. As a result, they held another contest. You can go for the consolation prizes of $300, $200 and $100 by giving to them a funny possible story about the golden false teeth. Well, I tried to give them one, and they replied by saying that they enjoyed the Cinderella angle I gave them. He-he-he. It was really fun writing about it. If you're interested, just follow the link and do your own share. The prestige of winning is always there. At the same time, I hope they pay through PayPal...

Thanks for the Visit!

It's been more than a month now when we were visited by two lovely women. My aunt Bing and Menchu. They are the sisters of my mother who currently live in the US. They announced their arrival way ahead and everyone was very excited to have them around again.
My cousin Joel was in charge of their pick up. They arrived from the airport and was brought to another cousin's home in Marikina. The home of my cousin Ramon Buenavista. They stayed there during their entire stay in Manila. Too bad, when they initially planned for the trip, they were thinking of being around for my  aunt Pat's birthday. Unfortunately, my aunt passed away last December. But they still pushed through with their trip, rain or shine.
We greeted them with warm embraces. I was so surprised to see my Aunt Bing! I almost cried when I saw her. She looks exactly like my Aunt Baby who passed away a year before. She gained a few pounds last time I saw her and to my surprise, they're exact replicas! Well, they came form the same mother...
We had some local dishes that they've haven't had for a long time, the famous "Pinakbet" was served by my cousins courtesy of Randy, who was in-charge of the cooking. We also had the time to bond. We haven't seen each other for quite some time, so it was a chance for us to have a few chit-chat with each other.
A few weeks after their arrival, they visited my father and had a look at his condition. The entire gang was together again and we had a chance to drink with uncle Joe, the only living brother of my mom. We talked about the good old days and how simple life was then.

Their bon voyage party was held at my cousin Bubut Nadal's place. Earlier that last week, we had a christening party then the big feast was celebrated. The party coincided with my aunt Pat's 40 days. So we gathered again for a feast and munched our way to artery bursting goodies.
It's been a few weeks now since they've left. They earlier announced that this will probably be their last trip to the Philippines because they're too old to travel in the future. We will always remember that wonderful moment they spent with us and we hope that another gathering like this will come our way to strengthen the bond that we all have as a family. Aunt Bing and Aunt Menchu, thank you for spending time with all of us here in Manila. We love you very much!