INTERNET NEWSLETTER OF THE ALUMNI OF LANAO CHUNG HUA SCHOOL
Vol. II - No. 33, November 30, 1998, Iligan City, Philippines
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LCHS
alumna joins medical mission
By Teresita Racines (Batch '67)  |
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Robert Booc (Batch '84) is one of the speakers in a photography seminar scheduled on Nov. 28-29 at the PIA-Iligan Information Center near the Iligan city plaza. Sponsored by the Philippine Information Agency, the lectures will cover subjects like "The camera & film," "How to take good pictures," "Making the best out of your point & shoot camera," and "Basics of photojournalism & photo documentation." Booc is an award winning photographer and owner of Photo Art Center. The two other speakers are photojournalist Bobby Timonera and photographer Julius Vacalares. Seminar fee is P800, inclusive of three snacks, lunch for the first day, a roll of Kodak color film and processing, and certificate.
Yu
daughter hurdles CPA exams
By Igdono Caracho (Batch '66)
Ana Liezle A. Valencia, daughter of Victor "Siopao" Yu (Batch '68), passed the board exams for Certified Public Accountants given last Oct. 29. Ana Liezle is a graduate of the MSU-IIT. Another daughter, Angeline Valencia is a magna cum laude graduate in Mass Communications at Silliman University. She is now pursuing her career in journalism with the Negros Chronicle in Dumaguete City. Her elder brother, Albert Valencia, is a registered nurse. He graduated from the Iligan Medical Center in 1993 and is now a medical rep in Cebu City.
Alumni
News Tidbits
New Grandpa. Dr. Alex Rodriguez (Batch '65), is now a new grandpa. His daughter, Elizabeth Danzette Rodriguez Allbrandt, gave birth to a healthy 7.6-lbs. baby boy, christened Ryan Parker Rodriguez Allbrandt, last Nov. 20, at 5:12 p.m. Alex and his wife Elizabeth flew from their home base in Miramar, Florida, U.S.A. to Colorado Spring to assist and witness the birth of their grandson. Danzette is a graduating pre-Law student in Colorado Spring. She is married to U.S. Army Ranger 1st Lt. Roger Allbrandt.
Accounting Wiz. Another member of Batch '65, accounting wizard Alberto "Kilyong" Bernardo is now connected with the Shemberg Industries, Mandaue City, as an accountant. He was the third member of the high school triumvirate called the Alaber Brothers, along with Alex Rodriguez and Ernesto Yu.
Peter Back in Canada. Peter Dy (Batch '66), Spectrum correspondent, is back in Canada. He left Iligan about a week ago to join his family in Edmonton, Alberta. He is spending Christmas with his family. In the meantime, he will be reporting for the Spectrum from Canada, his home base.
Romancing
the park
Wed, 11 Nov 1998 21:24:54 +0800
Your piece romanticizing the old Iligan plaza was wonderfully written. It made me long for it in its old glory. I think the 1965 refurbishing of the plaza was a big mistake. Nevertheless, your article has given justice to the plaza for its service to the city in the past. Rightfully, you have bemedaled it with words where nobody can take away what it deserves. As an Iliganon, I say thank you.
Rene Tio (Batch '70), Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
fishers@cdo.weblinq.com
By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch
'65
If one really bothers to calculate the travel miles from Buffalo to Cebu and the exhaustive, idle hours one lingers in different airport terminals for connections and delays, the anguish just fans out like a raging forest fire and breeds a lurid vow of "never again!", like the huffing and puffing of a gravid patient in active labor at the critical peak of exploding her lungs out. No one with a healthy frame of mind dares to fasten his seat belt for a trip that amounts to eternity and massive doses of torture in a packed sardines-like compartment, chowing on rubberized meals and fruits that have seen better days. Nonetheless, I'm of a species who paints flowers and butterflies to pestering elements beyond my manipulation. Moreover, whining and grimacing are two action verbs that I wholly hate to inject into my facial muscles; these subtle streaks of discontented mood just implant devastating years to an anatomy that is already perforated with wrinkles, blotches and scars of the aging process.
How about the possibility of a terrorist hijack? Isn't that a lovely opportunity to take a forced detour into a country that you never consider visiting in your lifetime and be welcomed like a prominent dignitary by a swarm of journalists and an army of Swat teams? Furthermore, this can be the defining moment to become an instant CNN celebrity and decorated hero when these armed bandits grab my English tongue for negotiation deals and utilize my chubbiness as bulletproof vest for snipers (Boy, it pays to come in large and oblong shape!). How about a fatal plane crash? I could care less; the flying machine I'm in doesn't belong to me!
At any rate, I made it to Mactan airport, wide-eyed from all the brewed coffee refills and with paralyzed posterior from flight-mandated meditation, and ten pounds lighter from the microwaved gourmet cuisine fit for a King (Here, King, graze on your appetizers. Good dog). The cheering news is I tug along my inherent sensitivity to old-surroundings-revisited. You bet 'ya, your secured gates will be flooded with first impressions filtered from a transplanted Iliganon's truthful microscope if you reserve a copy of Spectrum (there's your free ad, An Lok) of the next succeeding editions.
By Leonardo
"Eddie" Tan, Batch '66
August 29 was our last day in Virginia. The kids went with Josephine for her company's picnic in the park while the rest followed Janet to one of the huge shopping malls of District of Columbia. By this time, we had impressed our hosts with our passion for shopping as proven earlier at Potomac Mills when we stopped only after the place was about to close late into the night. I was just relaxing while the others were in frantic mode of last minute shopping in this part of the world. I did not find any toothpick with chicken this time but I noticed that lots of jobs seemed to be available as most of the shops were running ads for more staff. I started noticing this when I first arrived in Orlando more than 2 weeks ago. People here have jobs and the economy was on high gear. After a few hours in the mall, I was relieved to find my wife empty handed. It was only during our walk back to the car park when Uncle Denny noticed a leather backpack that was a real bargain. At last my wife found a souvenir from DC and she was happy.
It was time to leave Virginia after our 5-day stay with an overnight crossing to Beckley, West Virginia. Although my relationship with our hosts is only by affinity, I somehow felt very sad about our departure. I last saw my mahjong mate and karaoke singing uncles with kind and gracious aunts plus the wonderful and lovely cousins so many years ago. Yet for the last few days since our reunion in Miami, we shared lots of fun and many happy moments together. Surely, I would be missing them. And of course Aunt Monina's cooking. I just didn't know when we shall meet again. We were invited to come back next year. I automatically asked: "Is there another wedding?"
Our Air Canada flight bound for Toronto, Ontario, Canada left Ronald Reagan National Airport a few minutes past 7 that evening. It was just a very small aircraft that I thought it was a bigger version of a Lear jet. I counted just about 20 passengers and we were already 8 in our group. It was the last shuttle service for that day. A drink, a small pack of pretzel plus a glorious sunset were all we got. The flight was supposed to take about 80 minutes but it was extended for another quarter of an hour. As our plane was approaching Toronto airport for landing, I could see the runway within less than 30 meters down below when suddenly the pilot had to abort it. As a result, we had to circle around the vast city of Toronto a few more times with all the magnificent view of those millions of sparkling lights. We had reached another country. Again we had to pass through immigrations and customs. It is quite easy now to travel with Australian passports. US and Canada no longer require a visa from us. They now call it electronic visa. Another wonder of computer age. We were met by our Toronto host - another cousin Josephine, this time from my wife's mother side. With her was her young Aunt Tessie who happens to be my "sister," fraternity-wise. It was around midnight when we arrived at Josie's newly bought place in Thornhill after we had a wonderful dinner at a congee house full of new migrants from Hong Kong. And this was Canada, eh!
By Aurora H. Tansiokhian, M.D.,
Batch '58
Nov. 25, 1998
Tomorrow, the last Thursday of November, people who live in the USA
will celebrate the oldest American tradition, Thanksgiving. It is
the time when most families gather to share copious amounts of food with
turkey as the main entree. More Americans travel for the Thanksgiving
holiday than for any other holiday.
In 1789, the first president of the US, George Washington, issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November a holiday of "thanksgiving and praise." Every president since then has proclaimed the holiday.
According to O. Henry, it is the one day that is purely American. Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is a secular holiday that can be honored by all Americans, regardless of religious beliefs.
This uniquely American holiday commemorates the harvest celebration held by the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Thankful to be alive after a perilous journey on the Mayflower from England in 1620, they invited the Native Americans (Indians) for dinner to give thanks for the harvest. They feasted for 3 days with 90 Indians and their chief, Massasoit. Food included wild turkey, venison, waterfowl and fish. Without the generosity and the help of the Native Americans who had taught them to fish, hunt and plant corn, fewer Pilgrims would have survived the harsh winter of 1620-21.
Dick Conant wrote about a 5 year old boy who when asked by an announcer during half time at a football game, "What is Thanksgiving?", excitedly replied, "Thanksgiving is when the Pilgrims came to Indians neighborhood and said, "I LIKE YOUR HOUSE - MOVE!!!"
What does Thanksgiving mean to me? It means a day off work to do what I do every day, which is to give thanks. I give thanks for everything I have become and for finding my own rhythm in life. I give thanks for the courage I had been given to do what I thought was right. I give thanks for a supportive family and for children who continue to reach for the stars. I give thanks for food on the table and for good health and for the privilege of being American.
By
Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69
A homecoming is defined by Mr. Webster as "the return of a group of people on a special occasion to a place formerly frequented." Indeed, it is one happy occasion when we get the chance to be back to our hometown to reunite with people who had once upon a time been part of our life, to savor and visit places, reliving the past, when the world was simpler in more ways than one.
When I was still a resident of Iligan, as a student of LCHS, I always looked up to those alumni-friends who were then pursuing college in Cebu or Manila. Deep in me, I had that "wishing upon a star" feeling of one day being an alumnus myself, pursuing college outside Iligan, and coming home for the holidays. That dream finally came when I took up Pre-Med in Silliman University in the early 70s. Each time the semestral or Christmas or summer vacation came, I was filled with so much excitement packing up my things, singing to the tune of "Homeward Bound" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane", to be back to a place where I spent 17 years of my life - from birth to high school.
In my 46 years, I had the occasion of experiencing several homecomings, all of which spelled a certain kind of high, knowing that I would be reunited with former classmates and barkadas, being together again, just like the good old days. There were happy homecomings, just as there were sad ones. Two of the sad ones were in 1993 when I attended the wake of my uncle Cresing, and in 1997 for the wake of my best friend, Jimmy Ling. The rest were happy occasions of reunions unlimited.
Tomorrow, December 1, my elder brother, Ernesto (or Dodong or Tat Kwan), will be home to Cebu for their Silver Jubilee celebration at the Cebu Institute of Medicine. He graduated from his M.D., in 1973, the same year that I graduated from my Pre-Med. This will be his 3rd homecoming. The first was in 1986 (after 11 long years in the U.S.), the second was in 1993 (7 years from the first), and this is his third (5 years from the second).
Dodong is 3 years older than me. He ranks number 3 among the five siblings in the family. He graduated high school from LCHS in 1965 when I was in grade six. He went to Silliman University for his Pre-Med (1965-1969), then to the Cebu Institute of Medicine for his M.D. (1969-1973). He left for the U.S.A. in 1975 and since then has been a resident of Buffalo, New York, after 2 years' stint in Roanoke, Virginia. He is married to his classmate, Dr. Verna Yap-Yu, and they have three grown up sons: Dominic Ernst (22), Sean Oliver (20), and Christopher Ian (l8).
Ernie will be in the Philippines until December 17. He will lecture on "Spinal Anesthesia: Old Myths, New Tales" as part of the CIM 41st Founders' Day Celebration and the Silver Jubilee of CIM Class 1973.
With him away from Philippine shores for so long, I wonder how he would feel staying in our country once again. What with the warm weather, the pollution, traffic congestion, environment, the big mails, etc.? But one thing is for sure, he will be in for some excitement and fun as he renews ties with classmates, friends, and family in this once in a lifetime celebration of their Silver Jubilee.
Every homecoming is an exciting experience sans the long travel hours of which he is a lousy traveler as he gets airsick easily or experiences jet lag. We thank Ernie for this rare chance for him to be home for this special occasion which I'm sure will send some nostalgic undertones as he looks back during his sunset years ahead, of life's beautiful moments unparalleled. May you have a safe and sound trip. God bless. Mabuhay and welcome home, brother!
U.S. Immigration: Good News for Nurses
Alfred Lai II, RN
Batch 1989
At last, after 2 years of waiting, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) finally published the interim regulations implementing the certification requirements for nurses. Soon, nurses in the U.S. will be able to complete the processing for their green cards through adjustment of status (interview for a green card in the U.S., if the nurse is already inside the U.S.). Nurses outside the U.S. will be able to be scheduled for interviews at the U.S. Embassies worldwide.
The regulations apply only to nurses (including Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses and Registered Nurses) and to Occupational Therapists. It does not apply to any other health care occupations (e.g. physical therapy, speech language pathology, medical technology, medical technician, and physician's assistant). The cases of aliens working in these other health-care occupations will continue to be held in abeyance, pending promulgation of final regulations by INS.
Commission on Graduate of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) has been granted
temporary authorization to issue certificates to aliens coming to the United
States on a permanent basis, to work in the field of nursing. The VISASCREEN
certificate must contain certain information, including, but not limited
to, verification that the alien's education, training, license, and experience
are: (a) authentic and unencumbered; (b) comparable with that required
for an American health-care worker of the same type; (c) meet all applicable
statutory and regulatory requirements for admission into the United States
as a nurse; and (d) verification that the alien has passed a test predicting
success on the occupation's licensing or certification examination (i.e.
passed the State Board or CGFNS exams). The certificate must be valid at
the time the nurse applies for an immigrant visa at the embassy and seeks
admission, or at the time of adjustment of status to that of a permanent
resident (green card holder). (Continued next issue)
"Viagra" has become a hot word, thanks to the media. But in fairness to the drug, there has been a lot of misconceptions about it. Viagra does not make a person a sex maniac, rather it is prescribed to men with erectile dysfunction. But some men tend to use it otherwise.
I do not claim to be an expert on Viagra. What I know about it is derived from a lecture by an expert, Dr. Benjamin Mendoza, during our 10th PAFP mid-year convention in Bacolod City last September. Viagra is the brand name of Sildenafic Citrate. Its action is to increase the relaxation of the penile cavernous corpura (the main substance of the penis). The relaxation of the corpura allows the blood to pool within the penis, causing the penis to erect. Now, this occurs to men with erectile dysfunction (impotence). But to men with good erectile function, the common presumption is that Viagra will cause a stronger and a more prolonged erection.
Viagra is taken only as needed, that is about one (1) hour before intercourse. It has temporary side effects supposedly. But this does not apply to men who over use it, I suppose. Dr. Mendoza also emphasized that Viagra without arousal is nothing, even if taken a handful (which may only increase the side effects). Viagra plus arousal is erection.