Bert Saenz, Qunitessential CB

Bert is known for his body-builder physique and quiet mien. Tall, dark (white?) and handsome up to the end, Bert is Batch63's quintessential CB. You will ask "what is CB?" Well, it's my lexicon for an impression that's a toss up between a Rhinestone Cowboy and a Conyo boy of Batch63. 

Bert is an outdoor man and fond of horses. With his denim pants and folded shirt sleeves, he is John Wayne Philippine style. In the city, he trades his horse for a motorcycle,. Having completed the "Ironman" circuit challenge more than once, he has shown his propensity with the racing bike and he is Peter Fonda naman. 

And Conyo boy? As you know, members of Batch63 are ethnically grouped into the Spanish, Chinese and the Pinoys. (There are some people though like Jackie and Steve who are confused over their classification). Those who speak Spanish like Bert are considered as Conyoboys. With traces of caucasian ancestry, Conyoboys grew up thinking Hollywood more than most.  For instance, one could be James Dean (Freddie Muniz), Or Elvis Presley (Tonichi Grey).  Or Marlon Brando (Doug Marcaida?).   with extended sideburns, cantilevered pompadour and put-on brooding looks, they seriously look the part!  Batch63's Conyoboys who shamelessly indulge in the good life (wine, women, song and cigarettes?) definitely include Bert Saenz.

It was fun while it lasted. Bert is a good man who has kind words for everyone and who supported Batch63 passionately.  Bert and I worked together on the 'Story of Us' book project of the batch (one year in the making) where Bert proved that he is one of the most reliable, fairest and honest man around. He is a good husband to Oying and who loves his children dearly. Thanks for all the shared experiences and the memories, my friend.

 Hasta la vista, amigo. 

Onimayo

Check out more photos.

Grand Kapihan at Italiannis / December 7, 2016

As usual, the pretty servers at Italliani's gave a performance for the birthday boys.  The details of the attendance are provided below by Grand Kapihan Guru Vince Misa.  

The photographers of the Batch did not come so please bear with my low tech photo effort.  

Onimayo

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Dec 7, 2016 
1. Lito Quiogue
2. Ed Lim
3. Joe Assad
4. Eboy Cosme

Dec 10, 2016 
6. Polding Arnaiz
7. Jackie Arellano
8. Manolo Relova
9. Joey Angeles
10. Oni Mayo
11. Steve Hontiveros
12. Ernest Cuyegkeng
13. Boy Carlos
14. Joey Ingles
15. Gabby Valdes
16. Boy Palanca
17. Bambi Goco
18. Mon Zaragosa
19. Vince Misa

Inspirit
1. Jimmie Gonzales - Dec 3
2. Stephen Ty - Dec 11


Guests 
1. Boy Cantada
2. Flor Gapas

Grand Kapihan at Italiannis / November 9, 2016

The November birthday celebrants are all smiles in the photo above.  The Batch63 guys present at the party are listed below; the celebrants are those  names with dates immediately after their names.  As you can see Polding has no business posing with the celebrants.

1. Gabby Valdes - Nov 7
2. Joey Estagle
3. Ed Lim
4. Vic Corpus
5. Gary Salcedo
6. Polding Arnaiz
7. Jimmy Estrella - Nov 26
8. Bambi Goco - Nov 15
9. Ed Oleta
10. Tony Estonina
11. Oni Mayo
12. Francis Horn
13. Arthur Antonino
14. Jackie Arellano
15. Eboy Cosme
16. Steve Hontiveros - Nov 21
17. Boy Carlos
18. Vince Misa
19.  Boy Palanca


Those who contributed to the party but did not attend were:

1. Gem Yabut - Nov 14
2. Douglas Marcaida


It was good to see Arthur Antonino hale and healthy again.  A guest who attended the birthday party was Boy Cantada (College 67).  Most of the photos were taken by Joey Estagle.  Of course, the whole affair was organized by the grand breakfast MAIN MAN . .  Vince Misa.

Check out more photos
by clicking link below

Grand Kapihan at Italiannis / October 5, 2016

The celebrants present were:  Boy Carlos; Francis Horn; Aderito Yujuico; Vic Corpus; Joey Estagle; Lito Domantay.  

Other celebrants not present are:  Manolo Relova and Mari Vargas.

The Batch 63 guys who attended were:  Boy Nazareno, Bambi Goco, Joey Angeles, Tito Lucero, Ed Lim, Onie Mayo, Gabby Valdes, Noli Perez, Benny Ang, Polding Arnaiz, Jackie Arellano, Tony Estonina, Ed Oleta, Steve Hontiveros, Boy Palanca, Quito Moras, Eboy Cosme.

Other guests were:  Boy Cantada (DLSC 67), Denis Lucero (son of Tito) and Flor Palad (widow of Wally).

Photos courtesy of:  Joey Estagle

Check out photos in close up
by clicking link below.

Grand Kapihan at Italiannis

Pamela's Debut

Per Gabby, the affair last Sunday was 'Pamela's Debut'. Actually it's an advance birthday get-together for Pam as well as a soft, soft opening for AMINSANA - Pam's new event venue project. AMINSANA's design layout and landscaping plan is almost a split image of Gabby's other fabulous hideaway located in Tagaytay. According to Gabby he prefers to keep that first building private. Naturally! 

AMINSANA is located in Amadeo Cavite, a town with Tagaytay's cool climate. The lunch party guests consisted of Pam's Panlilio brood (one of her siblings is her partner in this venture), Pam's St. Theresa classmates and other friends of the family. The food was sumptuous and presented in typical Pam style - continental, gourmet pinoy and lots of healthy greens! The fruity ice cream desert was irresistible. When I asked the server whether it was the famous Selecta brand, he glared at me and said: Sir, this is home made! 

Batch63's small Monday Kapihan group attended the affair. Oni and Bili arrived around noon and thought they were late for the event. As it turned out Manolo and Coco, Lito and Nene and the trio of Polding, son Anton and Ed Lim arrived much later. The bunch actually arrived earlier in Tagaytay but instead of going straight to the venue, they impulsively just had to 'sip coffee' first in other known places in Tagaytay. 

With their wives there, Batch63 was untypically well-behaved. Conversation with the other guests involved politics, old times and economic matters and was a welcome change from Batch63's inane and capricious Kapihan conversations.. After everything, the drive back to Manila started at around 4PM. Compared to the trip going to Amadeo, it was a longer trip back. Late afternoon is the time when all the Tagaytay vacationeers for the weekend head back to the salt mines in Manila. 

It's all worth it though. In behalf of Batch63 Italiani's Kapihan group, advance happy birthday, dear Pam and thanks Gabby for another successful party. Sa mauulit. May your AMINSANA project be successful!  

Onimayo

See slide show for more photos.

Manolo Cristobal RIP

Manolo Cristobal is a Batch63 original. We knew him well from grade school. A few days ago, he succumbed to pneumonia. He is interred in the Perpetual Help University chapel and will be buried on Wednesday. He is survived by his wife and 5 daughters. The cute little girl in the photo is Ana, Manolo's youngest. 

Ed Oleta and wife Chit are neighbors to Manolo in the residential area of the large Perpetual Help University complex in Binan Laguna. They live there since Manolo and Chit's family own the university (with its many branches particularly in South Luzon). Ed who is battling the big C himself was surprised about what happened to Manolo. Clearly, August is not a good month for Ed and Manolo. Ed himself also had pneumonia at the same time as Manolo. But he was able to recover. Manolo did not. 

Admittedly, Manolo Cristobal is more of a loner and was not regular in attending Batch63 affairs. But the times that he did, he was a Batch63 jolly good fellow who appreciated the Batch's repetitive jokes. Goodbye friend. We will miss you and think of you. Condolence to the Cristobal family. 

Onimayo

See slide show for more photos.

Supporting the Team

They did it again. On a Wednesday afternoon, Six Batch63 guys headed for the Flying V Arena in San Juan to cheer for DLSU's Lady Spikers (matched up that day against the strong NU volleyball team). 

The guys actually met at the Grand Kapihan event in Italliani's earlier. After only a few hours break, four of the guys regrouped in Makati at 2PM so that they can go together to the Arena. The guys were Gabby Valdes, Manolo Relova, Oni Mayo and adopted Batch63 member Raffy Yupangco. The other Batch63 guys who went directly to the Arena were Steve Hontiveros and Ed Lim. 

As before the group had patron seats right behind the media panel and the players bench. The match was exciting and which had the group on the edge of their seats many times. NU's statuesque star is national player Jaja Santiago (6-4?) who led NU's fightback in the second set of the match. In the end, the Lady Spikers were too consistent and who prevailed in 4 sets. 

The crowd was full of energy and was mostly a La Salle crowd, (See Video). A three year old chubby tot attired in green T-shirt in the crowd was passionately shouting her lungs out. (See video).  She drew laughter from all those nearby as she shrieked "Ate Ara! Ate Ara!" every time DLSU star Ara Galang figured in the scene. Soon, even Manny R was heard yelling vigorously "Ate Ara, Ate Ara!" 

After the match, the four guys from Makati were so hungry that they decided to treat themselves to Chinese at the Fort. At the gourmet Crystal Jade restaurant, the guys started off their dinner with the popular Siao Long Pao (dimsum with integral soup). For the main orders, Raffy's suggested his tried and tested formula:  a combination of 3 viand types; a vegetable dish; a soup bowl; and dessert.  This combination is para hindi daw bitin. That seems to work. 

As usual - before leaving the table - the guys subjected the maitre d to her choice of politico for the coming polls. This time it was Bongbong that the lady likes. Another day, another interaction with good friends;  another menu, another set of corny jokes; another venue, another place for wishful thinking;  (By wishful thinking, please observe the attached photos - did you notice that there are more photos of sweet young things than the match action itself?)  Life is full and good. 

Hasta, 

Onimayo

Click link below for the photo album of the event.  The other two are the videos as mentioned above.

Please click the link for more photos.

http://s1222.photobucket.com/user/leonmayo1/slideshow/Supporting%20the%20Team

At the Games

The Monday Kapihan group had been planning it for more than a week now. Finally, it culminated in last Saturday's trip to MOA (Mall of Asia) for the group. It was the UAAP ladies volleyball game between DLSU and UE. 

Gabby spearheaded the outing by acquiring 10 patron tickets to the game (c/o Ed Lim). The guys who came wore Green attire and were Gabby, Gary, Polding, Manny R, Raffy Y and Onie. At the MOA stadium, Boy Charles, Steve and Ed L joined the group. A surprise Batch63 guy who was at the stadium was Joey Campos. Joey was however wearing blue. As we know Joey transferred to Ateneo for College. (Joey actually came for the next game which was Ateneo vs. Adamson.) 

For most of the guys, it was their first time to either watch a DLSU ladies volleyball game or even going to MOA. The day started off for the group with a lunch at Manila Polo's Last Chukker resto. From there, they proceeded to the stadium at MOA. the guys were seated at courtside where they had a good view of all the long-legged Volleybelles and the attractive TV newscasters. 

During the game, Polding, Boy and Gary spent their energy and time waving and banging inflatable pom poms (distributed by the La Salle side) at every game point. La Salle won in straight sets which is what Batch63 wanted to see. (It didn't matter that UE is the cellar dweller among the teams). 

After the game, the Batch63 guys went for a brief stroll around MOA. And then it was merienda time again at a branch of Cafe Adriatico there. Overall, it was a fulfilling day specially with the presence of the Batch63 wits. From Manny, we learned that if you want to regrow diminishing hair, go and get chemotherapy; from Boy, we learned that Centrum multi-vitamins (the new kind in the USA) make a good sexual stimulant; from Onie we learned that if you want some kind of equity in the home, have a den TV and remote control alternative to what your better half dominates now; from the waitresses at Cafe Adriatico, we understand that Duterte will make a good president for change. 

Then it was dusk and the Batch was low batt from all the excitement. They will need to recharge so that they can come to the Monday Kapihan at Italliani's again on Monday. Once more, thanks to Gabby for the tickets; to Gary for the ride; to Raffy for the chicheria; and to everyone for the good company. 

For those who miss this fun trip, I recommend that you regualrly join the Monday Kapihan so that you will be abreast of developments next time. 

Hasta. 

Onimayo


See slide show for more photos.

Grand Kapihan @ Greenbelt Makati

Manila Polo’s Cameron Forbes – the traditional venue for Batch63’s Grand Kapihan - is closed for renovation. Hence, the January Kapihan was forced to look for an alternate place. The new venue selected was Italianni’s in Greenbelt 2. 

A few months ago, a hardy group of Batch63 guys discovered Italianni’s and have been regularly patronizing the resto since. Aside from the good breakfast menu, Italianni’s offers a special promotional discount (as much as 60%) every Monday. The restaurant’s refreshing, ever smiling young waitresses is another incentive for the Batch's "Distinguished Old Men" and of course another matter altogether. 

The January birthday boys who hosted the breakfast celebration for Batch63 were: Tony Estonina, Ed Oleta, Mandy Ilustre and Onie Mayo. There was good turn out at the breakfast - check out the Grand Kapihan attendees in the slide show below. Interesting sidelights during the event include Quito’s suddenly blackened hair (whatever’s left of it). This vanity was reportedly inspired by a '30 something' whom Quito was pressured to admit he knew. Another sight was Joey Ingles who came with a '20 something' to help him distribute his sample products. We heard that bachelor Joey’s elixir business is doing well and he now has several nubile female sales person employees. 

Expect the disrespectful Batch63 to indulge in macabre humor. Everyone was amused at the ensuing conversation between Ed Oleta, Manny Relova and Gabby Valdes. Ed started it by saying that his birthday is not only this one time this month but is actually everyday. Ed is in remission for Stage 4 Big C and so he declared that everyday is actually a new leash on life for him.

Listening to Ed, the combative Manny R was not to be outdone. He said that Ed does not have monopoly of the Stage 4 Big C syndrome. (As we know Manny goes twice a year to San Francisco for his regular treatment). Manny would not stop at that.  He suddenly turned on a hapless Gabby sitting across him at the table. He said that despite having everything in life, Gabby does not have what he has - the Big C! In the Batch’s skewed way of thinking, Stage 4 Big C syndrome has become a matter of bragging rights! 

Again, thanks to Joey Estagle for the photos in this Blog. Until the next Grand Kapihan then in March (which will likely be in Polo Club once again) let’s await Vince Misa’s usual notice. 

Bye bye. 

Onimayo 

PSst: Those who enjoyed at Italianni’s, you are invited to join the Batch63 Italianni’s Kapihan group . This small group who discusses and solves the problems of the world every Monday morning is usually composed of Poldy Arnaiz, Manny Relova, Ed Salcedo, Lito Quiogue, Jackie Arellano, Gabby Valdes, Ed Lim, Onie Mayo and Raffy Yupangco.

See slide show for more photos.