Rejoicing in Pacland

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Yesterday Sunday, people came to 7th Note to view the Pacman-Cotto fight on PPV. From Batch63, Joey Estagle, Gary Salcedo, Vince Misa, Lito Quiogue, Oni Mayo and of course Lito Domantay came to enjoy the show. It is much more fun to cheer for the Pacman together with La Salle friends. Including Butch Valdes (DLSHS64) who shared our table, the guys swapped interesting theories regarding the odds and the risks for Pacman before the start of the fight.

By the time you read this, everyone knows the amazing result of the fight. Pacman has become an immortal of the boxing world with his unique record of 7 world titles. Pinoys went crazy! From the time the national anthem was sung (in a surprised trio rendition), to each punch during the fight, to the stoppage in the final round, Pinoys old and young, rich and poor, man or woman or child shamelessly applauded and cheered the Pacman. Fr. Sionnott, the kidnapped priest in Mindanao was released on Saturday. In his interview after the release he said that the kidnappers really wanted to watch the fight. To do that, they needed to leave the jungle and go to town.

Pacquiao and Batch63 have parallels, you know. Pacquiao was once asked by CNN if the report that he likes to fool around is true. With a grin, he answered on air, “I’m just a man!” Now, that sounded like something a Batch63 guy would say.
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Dance All Birthday Night Long

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The much awaited 64th birthday bash of Gabby Valdes finally happened . . and Batch63 was more than alive again! On the evening of November 7, the various Batch63 characters (the dirty dozen / the fanatics, golfers / tennisters, motorists / bikers, etc.) made their way to Gabby’s digs in Forbes to share his special day with him.

Thirty three of the guys came that night. For the record, these were: Dendi Abdon, Babes Alvarez (with Ellen) , Art Alvendia (with Angel), Ben Ang (with Lilia), Joey Angeles, Jack Arellano (with Marilou), Polding Arnaiz, Mon Arnaiz (with Maribel), Joe Assad (with Pati), Boy Carlos, George Cunanan (with Maricel), Bobit Damian, Lito Domantay, Joey Estagle (with Tess), Jim Estrella, Bambi Goco (with Kang), Jim Gonzalez, Francis Horn, Mandi Ilustre, Joey Ingles, Tito Lucero, Doug Marcaida, Oni Mayo (with Bili), Vince Misa (with Jane), Quito Moras (with Karen), Boy Palanca (with Norma), Lito Quiogue (with Nene), Bert Saenz, Gari Salcedo, Richard Tilman (with partner), Chito de Vera, Rafi Villareal, and Aderito Yujuico.

Gabby and his wife Pam really made the night worthwhile for everyone. The eats included a whole calf a-roasting on the lawn and free-flowing drinks for all persuasions. The main event kicked in after the dinner and which was the DJ with his music that was carefully selected for the hot Seniors that night. After a while, most everyone was rockin’ and a-rollin’ and twistin’ and struttin’ on the terrace floor. Aside from the uninhibited Batch63, other hot guests were Valdes and Panlilio children, relations and family friends. In particular, Pam’s high school friends (from St. Theresa’s) showed that they were a match for the Batch63 showboats.

As usual for this Blog, I would like to cite the rare birds of the Batch who showed up for the party. These are elusive guys Mandi Ilustre, Dendi Abdon, Bobit Damian, Jim Estrella, and Tito Lucero. And then there’s Richard Tilman. After living in the US, Richard has decided to come home. It was also good to see Doug Marcaida hale and hearty despite the loss of a few pounds. As we know Doug got sick during the Ondoy floods and had to be administered some serious medical procedure (dialysis) these past weeks. I’m sharing some photos of the event for the group in this Blog. There is however a lot more party photos thanks to Joey Estagle who showed up my simple Canon automatic with his monster professional camera that he used indiscriminately and with abandon. I believe the pictures are in his Facebook album.

At the Kapihan today, I heard from Gabby that some of the guys stayed on up to 3AM that night! The DJ had already left but some Batch63 clearly continued to enjoy each other even if they had to do it sprawled on the various sofa sets in Gabby’s living room. Frankly, I conjecture that all the lounging around was the inability to stand up probably due to the effects of being over-familiar with Mr. Johnny Walker and his ilk. Definitely it was an enjoyable evening and so in behalf of the Batch63, here’s a toast for a long life for the birthday boy. Happy Birthday, Gabs at sa mau-ulit!