Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! Merry Christmas and a more Blessed New Year 2009 to everyone; as we Praise and Thank God for His Love and Generosity during the year and ask for more Blessings for 2009 - Peace, Joy, Good Health, Love, Happiness – among others, provision for all our needs and the rest of the world, especially the children!

On our Catholic Breakfast Club meeting for December, the invited speaker was Mr. Tarek Saab, who spoke on ‘Gut Checking: young men confronting the Big issues like Love, Work and Manhood’, offering a fresh perspective on being a ‘twenty-something’ male and Catholic, in today’s world! A candidate on NBC’s The Apprentice 5, he is president of T. Saab Media, and founder of Lionheart Apparel, a men’s clothing line he launched after his TV debut. He has been named Kipling’s “Who’s Who among Executives and Business Executives for 2008. He is a popular Catholic speaker and author of ‘Gut Checking’ which I got a signed copy with dedication for my children Sean and Sarah. An insight as guide for young: Choose a ‘favorite saint’ to become a model for your life who will serve as your guide, like St. Augustine, St. Thomas, St. Theresa, and always think of death as the greatest equalizing factor to keep you grounded - for humility!

We celebrated a very meaningful and memorable Christmas season with much joy and happiness in the family as we were all together, after 3 years of being multi-located. My hubby Gerry joined us at home in Sacramento during the 1^st week, so we were able to complete the 9-days ‘Misa de Gallo‘ masses starting on Dec. 16, culminating with the Christmas evening Mass at St. Mel’s church. Our daughter Sarah and her 6-years old son Max, who are based in New Jersey, joined us Dec. 23 – Jan. 2. so we all enjoyed our magic moments together for the holidays – thanks be to God!

On Christmas day, we had lunch/dinner with my sister’s family at their residence in Roseville, with the traditional exchanging of gifts and updates on life events. The following days were spent on family bonding – driving around Sac area, shopping, eating out on various restaurants, keeping fit at our clubhouse – father/son bonding playing billiards, visiting/meeting up with friends, trips to Max’s ‘toy farm’, highlighted by studio sitting for family photos which will be coming out soon.

For our traditional family ‘last Saturday of the year-end diner at home’, we invited close family and friends as we served Filipno lechon, shrimp with quail eggs, dinuguan, sotanghon, lumpiang shanghai, sinigang, several salads and desserts, drinks, culminated with ‘magic sing’ concert by all attendees. Guests included my sister and hubby; Dr. Connie Fajardo (a surprise as she sang like an Opera singer) and hubby with their friend Sylvia, daughter and her son; Mert (my husband’s ship Radio Operator 30 years ago who is also residing in our Anatolia) and wife Dr. Edna with their daughter Carolyne; Russel and Tess; Sean’s friends: Red, Jason and Michelle. They enjoyed singing till 2:00 am. When the guests were leaving my hubby Gerry said he would go up to the bedroom to sleep. I reminded him that we still had a lot of work to do – fixing up all the food left, cleaning up and everything – the realities of American living, with no help to clean after you, so we all had a big laugh – reality check!!!

While we wanted to spend New Year’s day at home, we squeezed the Schroeder’s invitation to be at their home in Roseville due to Sarah’s limited time; we had good time on ‘magic sing’; we realized we were a karaoke family as Gerry always opened with his ’My Way’ , Sarah with her ‘Till I Met You’, Sean with his “Creep’, then with my ‘Dancing Queen’; likewise, Max always grabs the mike and joins his lolo in ‘My Way’.

Attached are photos of: 1) at home with our guests; 2)at my sister’s home ; and 3) with Sarah, Max and lechon. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. We thank God for a meaningful Christmas with the entire family in Sacramento. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! We praise and thank God for the wonderful blessings – safe travel to Pinas and back, reuniting with loved ones, cooler climate, campaign for election advocacies, wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving in Pinas, joyful anticipation of the Christmas season, among others!

On our Catholic Breakfast Club meeting for November, the invited speaker was Ms. Barbara Nicolosi, founding director of Act One Inc., which train youg people for careers as Hollywood writers and executives. She spoke on the topic ‘Why Hollywood Matters’ – the profound influence on the value formation of its wide audience, especially the children; thus, the need to be concerned on the types of movies being churned out from the industry which are composed mostly of pagans. She strongly admonished the audience to be actively vigilant and suggested ideas on ways to influence the industry: PRAY for the conversion of people in the industry, especially the activists like Sean Penn, Spielberg, etc. A former nun of St. Paul’s order for 9 years, Ms. Nicolosi is now working on the project on the Virgin Mary, ‘The Mother of the Christ’ set for release early 2010, so she asked for more prayers on the success of this project.

Dateline Pinas: I am in Pinas Nov 17- 30, 2008. I arrived via NW 27/001 in Manila at 11:00p. The 1^st two days was spent on pre-appointed meetings with clients, officers and staff in the Q.C. area. Thursday was my 1^st day at the office to update on office staff concerns and review of overall employee performance, then I had lunch with Ms. CORA I at D’Block SM North EDSA which we had to squeeze in since she was leaving for Bangladesh the following day to observe election activities there. She is a key officer of NAMFREL (the Pinas election watchdog) and seemed to have focused on her role as election professional being an expert on election matters, traveling around Asian countries on election time.

The following day Friday, I had more meetings and business updates and in the evening, we had dinner with Fr. Art, O.P., now having more responsibilities at U.S.T. – in the hospital, education, admin – doing oversight work, maximizing the learnings he got from his graduate studies at AIM. Saturday dinner was with my CFC couples – Gammy and Grace, Jack and Maritess at Abe’s (Trinoma, QC) enjoying family updates and life stories, Pinas politics and environment.

The 2^nd week was spent catching up on household matters – packing and moving essential things from our Fairview household to our El Jardin condo unit, especially my valuable collection of mini ships – I am always in a journey so my vessels take me from place to places. This is in preparation for our Fairview nest to be turned over to a potential buyer soon. Wednesday was spent visiting with Msgr. Fidelis Limcaco and his Emmanuel Servants seminarians at his convent, where we reiterated our monthly commitment of support to their studies. It was good to see that Monsi was still looking fine and healthy. On Thursday, I had lunch with my good friend and kumare Tess S. at the Via Mare (Trinoma) where we binged on all the native food they had from dinuguan, palabok, lumpia, salabat, puto maya with mangoes, with updates on many developments. We share similar experiences on relationships (children, husbands, work, friends, etc.) since our friendship spans 30 years since during our NPC days. It was nice to get in phone touch with classmate Sally V. and Dr. T. T. De Lara, due to time constraint face-to-face meeting was not feasible. The must do appointments of every Pinas visit were accomplished – dental check-up and my lawyer!

The culmination of my visit was Saturday pm for the wedding of my loyal assistant Jessica Antiquera and C/O Clark Cris Corpus at the San Felipe Church in Mandaluyong, with reception at the Phil. Stock Exchange Tektite Tower auditorium with 200 guests. Officiating priest was Fr. Bobot Clemen, parish priest of Lagro and a neighbor in Panglao, so he fetched us from our Fairview home and back with his car - also served as our driver. The entire wedding and reception was so impressive – well organized, ceremonies, the food, program, etc, - fabulous, as Filipinos can do! Both Gerry and I were principal sponsors, gave speeches – highlighting Jess’ excellent 11 years service with our company, while Clark also started as crew in our shipping where they met; we empathized and shared with heir happiness, achievement and success!.

Nov. 30: It’s wonderful to be back in Sacramento with it’s nice foggy weather – the flight back was smooth, we arrived 1 hour ahead of the scheduled 7:40a time so I had to wait for my Sean and Russel who came past 9:00a. I have to rest for several days to recuperate from severe cough and colds due to hectic activities in Pinas.

Attached are photos of: 1) at FSAC office with Agnes; 2) with CFC couples; and 3) at Jessica’s wedding. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. We look forward to Christmas with the entire family in Sacramento. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! We praise and thank God for the wonderful blessings of new season of hope – fall, cooler climate, campaign for election advocacies, joyful anticipation of travel to Pinas and Christmas season, among others!

The sudden change of weather with the fall season means cooler wind in the mornings, hence bringing out jackets and sweaters from the closet and changing to appropriate attire. On our Catholic Breakfast Club meeting, the invited speaker was Mr. Tom Peterson, president & founder of Catholics Coming Home.org, on the topic ‘Love Somebody to Heaven’. He is an award-winning advertising executive, regularly appearing on EWTN, who has been following his true vocation: to evangelize souls using the power of media, producing TV commercials like ‘my father, my hero’, ‘the movie’, etc. which encourages others to seek God’s plan for their lives, to help change our world for the better. Statistics show that of the 25% Catholics in America, only 1/3 are actually going to church, thus the need for programs to entice people to become active Catholics (returning/coming home); you can visit the website. During his presentation, he narrated how his efficient Filipina assistant Aurora Sarmiento served as effective sounding board giving final approval to their commercials; pointing out to me being the only Asian in the audience of 100. Naturally, I stood up as they applauded, and felt proud of our Filipino catholic faith/service which is globally recognized, for which I truly thank God always!

On Oct. 13, we (my Ate, her husband and I) participated in the festivities (recitation of the Rosary by schoolchildren offering flowers after each bead, candle-lit procession, then Benediction) in honor of our Lady of Fatima attended by the biggest crowd gathered at St. Mel’s church, organized by ever-active Pinoy Fr. George. Parishioners’ faith are really energized and inspired to serve in God’s church.

It’s almost election day and whatever the outcome, I can say that I made a stand on a vital issue on hand – campaigning for the ‘YES to Prop 8’ – to decide to restore traditional marriage to become permanent in CA; to favor NO means to allow for ‘gay marriage’. As part of our ‘Yes to Prop 8’ advocacy, my participation include sending out campaign materials, flyers and bumper stickers; phone call reminding, especially for prayers; distributing and putting up yard signs and flyers. The flyers came in 10 languages, one in Tagalog. Following is the flyer text in Pilipino:

􀀻 OO sa Proposisyon 8

Ito ang buong laman ng Proposisyon 8. Walang “fine print” o itinatagong kahulugan.

“Ang kasal sa pagitan ng isang lalake at isang babae ang tanging may bisa o kinikilala sa California.”

Ano ang kahulugan ng Proposisyon 8:

Ang “OO” na boto = ang kasal ay sa pagitan lamang ng lalake at ng babae

Ang “Hindi” na boto = ang kasal ng magkatulad na kasarian ay pinapayagan

OO ang iboto sa Proposisyon 8 sa November 4.

Paid for by ProtectMarriage.com – Yes on 8, a project of California Renewal. Major funding by Knights of Columbus, National Organization for Marriage California Committee and Focus on the Family.

BTW, the results of my annual medical screening and lab tests conducted this month all indicated ‘negative’ and ‘within normal limits’, which means I am successful in my health management program earning a remark of ‘excellent’ from my primary health care physician, thanks God!.

Attached are photos of: 1) myself with yard sign ‘Yes on 8’; 2) during my birthday; and 3) getting colder at home. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America – guidance for the elections. I will be in Pinas Nov. 16 – 30, 2008, so see you there. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! We thank God for the wonderful blessings – good health, peace, joy, wisdom, happiness, among others! The month was a series of celebrations for the gift of life.

First was the birthday of my daughter Sarah on Sept. 7 – offered special prayers for her; then followed by the birthday of our Mother Mary on Sept. 8, which was also the 29^th death anniversary of my father. 2^nd Wednesday of the month is our Catholic Breakfast Club meeting, where the speaker was the Dean of the University of Sacramento on the topic ‘Emotional Intelligence in the Global Workplace’. This group is actually the Catholic Professional and Business Breakfast Club (CPBBC) of Sacramento, which meets regularly on the 2^nd Wednesday of the month at the Hilton Hotel, starting with a Mass at 6:15 AM, followed by breakfast at 7:00, then a presentation by the invited speaker - all activities finishing by 8:30 am. My membership in this group is part of my life learning goal of maximizing information and culture, with the diverse topics / speakers, and community networking.

The following Friday, Sean’s high school classmate in Claret School, Red B. (who is entering the Nursing program at CSU Hayward-Oakland with a grade of 4.0 from a community college); driving his newly-acquired car, spent the week-end with us. We watched the 1^st day showing of the comedy ‘Burn after Reading’ starring Brad Pitt / George Clooney at Folsom, shopped at the outlet stores/ Naturalizer, then had dinner at Teriyaki station. I was impressed by the amazing talents of Pinoy youth as Red played ABBA music on our organ. Oh well, Sean and Red are among the Pinoy youths who are so blessed with talents and opportunities in their young lives and, I hope they realize and cultivate those blessings to help others. They played Rockband till the wee hours – it is good that our neighborhood tolerates such occasional noise, in the same manner that we tolerate their week-end party noises – mutual peaceful co-existence, leaving everybody happy!

On the 2^nd Saturday (which is my Opus Dei day), I was so glad that my sister-physician joined us for our Recollection, confession, talk, then Benediction. We intend to participate in the Retreat for OD members scheduled next year. OD attract new members by the friendships shown by its members and I hope to continue getting more. By noontime, we had buffet lunch, where Sean and Red joined us later. We enjoyed our chit-chat so much, unmindful of the time running, that we had to part just in time for us to attend our anticipated mass at 4:30 pm. My Ate and I discussed so many topics ranging from family issues, politics, life values, and many, many more.

Sept. 20 was a special day of Thanksgiving for the gift of wonderful life with God’s Blessings – balance, harmony, and the freedom to enjoy it all! I started the day with the 8:30a Mass at St. Mel’s (after the Mass, the Rosary was prayed led by Fr. McSweeney and Fr. George for some special intentions and Blessings), then spent an hour at the Adoration Chapel, went window shopping at the mall, had lunch with Sean at an Italian buffet, then back to St. Mel’s for our regular anticipated 4:30p Mass, receiving phone greetings in-between these activities. Later that evening, we were treated to Chinese dinner by my sister and her husband – quite a hectic and memorable birthday celebration! By the way, the night before, I also attended the birthday party dinner of Tess, our neighbor, where Sean also joined us, together with his Fil-Am schoolmates Aiza and Tom. It was a typical Pinoy party with lots of food and fun. Just imagine the additional calories taken in during this month of celebrations - I have to double my time at the gym since my body metabolism is such that I can gain 3 lbs easily in two days, but could lose 2 lbs in 1 month with much effort. Moreover, yesterday, I went for my semi-annual health medical exams, including blood, cervical/colon cancer screening tests. The OB-gyn initially said that everything appeared to be normal since results will come after 2 weeks yet. While I detest having to undergo the physical exams, as Sean said, it’s always good to know that one is in tip-top shape. Oh well, we should always be responsible for consequences of our actions!

Attached is photo of Sean and Red at home, Sarah and Max. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America – guidance for the elections. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! In Pinas, the BER months means the start of the Christmas season, so let me be the first to greet you Happy Christmas and a more Blessed year 2009 – which means we can start preparing to share more our love and blessings with our fellowmen, especially to the children!

As reward for constructing our website ‘Fairviewshipping.com’ and to maximize utilization of his PS3, Sean bought a ‘RockBand’ which kept us busy for our leisure time during the month, aside from watching the Olympics TV coverage. While he does mostly the drums, I alternate doing the guitar or vocals, as we participate in on-line band-playing, how amazing! Now, we share the same leisure time as 8-gold medalist Michael Phelps, who plays rock guitar on-line for his leisure – who knows we might be playing on-line with him in the future.

I had my periodic health maintenance check-up (blood tests and all) recently and I am happy to share that results showed, as confirmed

by my doctor – that my health maintenance program was ‘excellent’ – I got the good mix of exercise, diet and medication – achieved with a lot of discipline – hours in the gym daily, swimming, outdoor walks and enjoying the summer Pinas-like weather!

August was ‘re-connecting month’ as we had visits and get-togethers with various family members and friends. We gathered at the Divine Savior church for the 40-day death Mass of the brother (long-time mayor of Corella, Bohol) of my sister’s husband, after which we had lunch at Mizu Japanese buffet in Roseville. Later, my lawyer-niece Maria Daquipa, who is based in SANFO (she met us at the airport and brought us to Sacramento 3 years ago) joined us at home for more updates and pleasantries.

Per appointment, my 35-yr old nephew Tony Daquipa (my sister’s son who is based in Oakland, CA), with wife Stephanie and 14-mos. old son Paolo, came to visit Aug. 29 at 3:30p. Serendipitously, my 37-yr old nephew Rigel (my brother’s nurse-son who is based in Arizona) also arrived 3 mins. later (the timing was unplanned – we were scheduled to have dinner with him somewhere in the evening; then he suddenly called to say that his group were looking at houses near our area, and since they were already in our neighborhood, he decided to come by earlier).
Thus, we had so much fun updating on our lives, over teramisu cake, coffee and fruits. It has been over 20 years since these cousins last saw each other, so just imagine the coincidence – enjoy the magic moments, another of God’s wonderful work in our lives’ puzzle! When the Daquipas left at 7:00p, Rigel treated us to dinner at Romano’s macaroni grill, after which we drove him to re-join his friends at Elk Grove. Their group of nurses are scouting around for hospitals/houses intending to move here in Sacramento, having learned that it is on the top 10 ‘nicest place to live in America’. Indeed, I affirm that where I live in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento is my ideal retirement place, after 3 years in residence.

That day was also Steph’s 34^th birthday so she was glad that we had cake, as we sang HB to her! Incidentally, she is just 9 days older than my daughter Sarah who is celebrating her 34^th on Sept. 7. Our best wishes – Good Health, Peace, Joy, Serenity, Love, Happiness always, among others, to you dear Sarah! Tony and I are also celebrating our birthdays this September. May God continuously bless us with His wonderful graces!

The air is filled with political issues since national election day is around the corner. For whatever its worth, I would go by the guidance of the morals set by the Christian standards on pro-life issues. I hope Catholics will adhere to these standards and vote accordingly.

Attached are photos: 1) with my niece Maria at our clubhouse; 2) at home with my nephews; 3) Sean on the drums in his Rock band. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America – guidance for the elections. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! June is the month dedicated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Fr George had been actively campaigning for the enthronement of His Image at the homes of parishioners. As a child, I recall going to homes in our parish participating in this enthronement rituals, my mother being the lifetime leader of the Sacred Heart movement.

On the 1^st week of July, I attended the NU seminar on ‘Best Practices on Teaching’ where experts shared new, innovative ideas meant to enhance the students' learning experience. In addition to lunch, refreshments, and new competencies gained, faculty attendees were given a $200 stipend for the day – call it the highest level of incentive/ motivation! Celebrated and watched fireworks on July 4 with the family of Marilou (from Dumaguete) and Joe Spade, very hospitable couple at their home, as shown in photo at their beautiful garden!

Part of my youthfulness is keeping in touch with the young, which I learned from Dr. De Lara who continues to enjoy teaching at Grad School to imbibe the energy of the students. In line with this, I joined Sean to watch the live concert of the top ten American Idols finalists at Arco Arena on July 9 where the energetic audience was treated to 3-1/2 hours show with more than 40 songs/dances, each finalist had 3 solos, the top 2 had 4 each and the rest group numbers – really got more than your money’s worth – fantastic show! With the crowd’s cheer, apparently they couldn’t get enough, especially from David Archuleta.

To be socially relevant, I attended the regular 2^nd Wednesday monthly meeting of the catholic breakfast club of Sacramento, a network catholic professionals where speakers present interesting topics over breakfast, after a Mass celebration at 6:15 AM. The venue is always at the Sacramento Hilton Hotel. Speaker for the month was Atty. Pugno, also St. Mel’s parishioner, discussing on the ‘catholic response to same sex marriage.’ I was also curious on the speaker since I plan to engage his services on estate planning, which I believe is an essential phase in American life.

Being an avid ABBA fan, Sean and I watched the movie version of the Broadway hit show (which I also watched in 2001) Mamma Mia on its 1^st showing day on July 18, which we thoroughly enjoyed, and afforded us to recall beautiful memories of the songs since the eighties. My attachment with ABBA had been 28-years long journey, having watched them perform live in Norway in 1981, and continue to be so, being handed down to new generations of ABBA fans. As shown in the photo, I have the original piano pieces of all their songs, have the CDs in my vehicles all these years, the ABBA CD always alternating with whoever is the current CD hit. Despite the two couples having divorced, they continue to be friends, and I am glad that all of them (ex-couples Anni-frid and Benny, Agnetha and Bjorn) attended the movie premiere in London. The movie cast finale reminded us of their ‘flashy spandex costumes’. I watched them perform Waterloo at the Eurovision81 and their live concert before they disbanded in 1981. I recall in 1982, my daughter Sarah performed ‘Thank You for the Music’ lead interpretation in their Dominican School choral contest and won for them 1^st prize. Now, my duet with Sean of ‘Thank You for the Music’ and ‘Dancing Queen’ during ‘magic sing’ sessions at Filipino parties always yield us a score of 100.

This month was my turn to host our Opus Dei Circle at home last July 24, to make good use of the summer weather while Sean is on vacation, and the attendance was so amazing. Promptly at 9:30 am, 6 ladies arrived with their 16 kids, led by Deidre with her 5 kids, Filipina Veronica with her five kids (while her youngest is just 5 months old, she is now pregnant for her 6^th, and her eldest is only 7yrs old). Brangelina is surely setting a trend for big dozen families. How wonderful!

While we had our circle discussion at home, Sean brought 12 kids to the playground keeping him busy looking after them, and by 11:30 they all returned smoothly to have some refreshments with the adults. As shown in the photo, we all had a good time at home!

Attached are photos: 1) with the American Idols in concert, David Archuleta on the piano; 2) with my ABBA songbook; 3) at home with the OD Circle kids; 4) at their awesome garden on July 4. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

For info on business opportunities in the Philippines visit us at: http://www.fairviewshipping.com

Much love and Best Regards!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! June is the month dedicated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Fr George had been actively campaigning for the enthronement of His Image at the homes of parishioners. As a child, I recall going to homes in our parish participating in this enthronement rituals, my mother being the lifetime leader of the Sacred Heart movement.

Sean did it again! This time he brought home a Play Station 3 as runner-up in the Math quiz held at CA State U Sac (CSUS) on June 26. Weeks earlier, his former Math professor at American River College (ARC) Ms. Julie called to ask him to tutor her ARC students to prepare them for the annual Math competition. So last Thursday, he went to the venue at CSUS intending to provide moral support to ARC contestants. Since it was open to students with valid IDs, CSUS teachers prodded him to join the contest instead thus becoming part of 100 contestants. After the knock-out rounds and 6 hours later, he was left standing with a Chinese Eng’g senior from UC Davis, yielding to him due to exhaustion. Anyway, the top 2 (both of them) got similar prizes – a PS 3. So, Sean’s habit of techno-gadget collection through Math quiz triumphs goes on! Although Ms. Julie was visibly elated by Sean’s achievement, she jokingly expressed regret that she called him, considering that none of her ARC students made it to the final 10. Congratulations Sean, we are truly proud of you, keep going on and up!

Last June 1, we watched the world-renowned Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC) in their concert at the St. Joseph Parish in nearby Lincoln county, as part of their US-12-cities tour. LCC is composed of schoolchildren ages 9 to 13 (12 girls & 7 boys) from the town of Loboc, Bohol, who blossomed into one of the most outstanding choirs in the Philippines with their falsetto angelic voices. LCC is a 3-time National Champion of the Music Competitions for Young Artists in RP, won the 6th International Folksongs Festival in Europe held in Barcelona, Spain, won the Gold Medal in the Choir youth category in the Netherlands. The LCC held very successful concerts in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland, and their U.S. tour is sponsored by the Tourism Dept. Its concert repertoire is a combination of classical, folk, modern, and children’s songs. Being a Bohol child myself, I am proud of them and truly enjoyed the well-attended concert of my kababayans, highlighted by many standing ovations by the appreciative audience!

Middle of the month we joined the rest of Anatolia neighbors having outdoor block parties celebrating the City’s 5th anniversary with a kick-off party at our Anatolia Park.(with hotdogs/ chips/ drinks, music). The month-long celebration will be culminated on July 1 at the Rancho Cordova City Hall with free food, festivities, live music, dancing & family fun (5-9 pm).

In search for more knowledge, Sean and I attended a seminar conducted by the Trump Institute (of the successful Donald Trump business empire). Thus, we are now part of the Trump system, learning the big real-estate industry. Since I am not keen on the marketing aspect of the business, I will try to focus on the Tax Lien Investing side, which I plan to pursue as part of my long-term journey in America (enjoying the best of both worlds). The goal would entail attendance to further days of workshop/training in the coming months. With Sean in his senior year in Accounting, slowly building up his competencies and confidence, with my guidance and with God’s blessings - will keep us in the right track! We met a Filipino young couple Tess and Russel (also neighbors in Anatolia) who are aggressively into real-estate; thus we are learning with them the nuances of Limited Liability Comp (LLC /LLP). Truly, learning is a continuous process and there is opportunity in a down market!


Attached are photos: 1) the Loboc Children’s choir; 2) with them after the concert; 3) with Sean’s new PS 3; 4) at our park during the anniversary. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! Traditionally, May is celebrated in Pinas with Flores de Mayo honoring our Blessed Mother Mary with flower offerings, so too here in CA.

On May 12 at 7:00pm, the eve of our Lady of Fatima feast, our St. Mel’s church (under Fr. George’s leadership), held the Crowning of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a beautiful life-statue carved in Portugal. The activities, attended by huge crowd consisted of: recitation of the joyful mysteries (before each decade groups of offerors brought flowers o the image), followed by the crowning, then candle-lit procession with the image on a caroza, amid meaningful singing, culminated by an out-door Benediction and agape. The entire proceedings were so moving and successful – another feather and appreciation for Fr. George active service to the community, of course with the laity’s participation – all touched by the Holy Spirit!

Then on May 24 at 10:00am, on invitation by the Dominican Sisters headed by Sr. Maximilian Marie, O.P., Sean and I attended the Consecration of their Spiritus Sanctus Academy to the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) located in Granite Bay, CA. The rites started with a Marian procession, celebration of the Holy Mass by Bishop William Weigand of the diocese of Sacramento, the crowning of the image of BVM, culminated by socials/lunch. The event was truly blessed with the outpouring of rain during the outdoor Mass which did not dampen the spirits of the attendees. In humor, Bishop Weigand incorporated the rain blessings in his homily, summarizing that no matter how intricate are man’s plans, God’s Will always prevails. We needed the rain which did not come during the entire spring season in order to prevent brush fires, which had started in the Tahoe area weeks ago. During the socials we conversed with some guests: Sister Assunta, O.P., Mother Superior of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist Order who came all the way from Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Dominican brothers from St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland (where Fr. Ed stayed), and others who we saw during the March for Life in San Francisco. We shared table with a Korean brother who invited Sean to spend a discovery vocation week-end with them in SFO.

At the start of May, my aerobics/yoga instructor Eli asked two of his loyal students to assist him in a big (over 40 students with average age of 50 years) class he was handling at the CA Family Health & Fitness Center (20 minutes drive from our Anatolia), and I readily said ‘yes’. So I spend 3 hours a week teaching aerobics/yoga to senior citizens, which is consistent with my passion. What’s funny is Eli thinks I am on my early 40s, he calls me ‘dynamo’ whatever he means, it gives me a nice feeling – seems something to do with energy! As S. Covey says in his’7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ - ‘exercise for self-renewal’, so keeping fit is my priority and this is another opportunity for diversification/expansion of services, he-he-he. Well, I am on my way to utilizing some 20% of my life potentials! I find our regular “20-20-20 (consisting of 20 minutes. cardio, 20 mins. resistance, 20 mins. stretching) training” highly effective. While waiting at the lobby before class starts, it’s gratifying to hear feedback from participants how their backs, or legs, or arms have improved and aches/pains removed; spreading the good news so participants have increased, assuring Eli of job security.

Joining the rest of America in honoring the war veterans on Memorial Day, we spent the day at Old Sacramento (with its rich old world gold rush ambience) where veterans and families celebrated the annual Jazz Festival with various bands, all around a fiesta atmosphere. We enjoyed hanging out near the stage with a band of teen-agers playing and singing jazz music of the sixties - their energy was so amazing!

Attached are photos: 1) with Sr. Maximilian Marie & Sr. Assunta, O.P.s, during the consecration event; 2) with the image of our Lady of Fatima; 3) with Sean at Old Sac on Memorial Day. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! The transitional spring month of April brought about dramatic changes from the cool months of winter to the warmer months of summer, with all the flowers abloom, with mixed feelings of looking forward in Faith, Hope and Love!

On the 2nd week of April, our multi-located family (husband Gerry in Pinas, daughter Sarah in New Jersey, us in CA) experienced some trials which needed remedial measures. The major one involved Gerry’s interpersonal issues with some office staff. It reached a point where our children advised me to rush home to resolve matters. Having previous commitments here, I pleaded with Gerry and he acceded for us to wait, and give him a week to simmer down. Then I totally immersed on spiritual activities like Masses and Meditation, Scripture study (our month topic ‘Reflections on the Mysteries of the Rosary’ just culminated today with a group lunch at the parish hall). I also followed closely the EWTN coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s Papal Visit to the U.S.A. (where Filipinos participated actively) and prayed hard for special blessings.

After 2 weeks of continuous prayers, mortifications, sleepless nights, and complete surrender to His Will, the issues in Pinas were settled, and everybody seems at peace now, thank God! During crisis when things get out of hand, let God take control and issues will be resolved smoothly. Taking drastic actions, like going home to Pinas immediately, would have derailed set plans and schedule. Instead of moving swiftly, I prayed for discernment and guidance, surrendering everything to God. He led me to focus on spiritual activities, allowed things to simmer down and problems resolved easily, God is truly great!

Our spiritual blessings were highlighted by the week-end visit (April 26-27) of Fr. Ed Nantes, O.P., in our home here in Sacramento. Fr. Ed (my classmate in U.S.T. - Ph.D.) is the Philippine Dominican Provincial who is on sabbatical leave and on studies since January 2008 in Berkeley, CA. Sean and I fetched him from Oakland Saturday morning. After having lunch, we visited the Sacramento Blessed Sacrament Cathedral (where a wedding was on-going), then to the State Capitol grounds. On Saturdays, the Capitol is open for guided visits, so we were fortunate to join the 3:00 pm last group, received briefings on CA history and the workings of American democracy, direct observations on the session halls and offices of the Legislative and Executive branches of government, the dioramas and many others.

Later that evening, we were joined for dinner at home by Fr. George Snyder, the Pinoy priest of our St. Mel’s church. Obviously, the younger 8-month priest had a lot to learn from Fr. Ed’s 27 years experience in the ministry, so he asked Fr. Ed to con-celebrate at his 7:30 am. Sunday Mass. Fr. Ed delivered a touching message of Hope to the people, especially to the elderly, which I am sure, was deeply appreciated. After Mass, we all had breakfast with the 3 Irish priests at their rectory. I felt so blessed to get a glimpse of the inner sanctum of our parish. Then we visited the Regina Coeli convent of the Dominican sisters in Rocklin, which is situated on a 120-acre property with a lake, donated by a wealthy benefactor, for them to build a school. What a big potential, I hope Pinas Dominicans could get involved here!

After having lunch at ‘hometown buffet’ and talking on the phone with my daughter Sarah - by 4:00 pm, it was time to bring Fr. Ed back to Oakland, then back to Sacramento for us - a little sad for such wonderful ‘hello and goodbye’ week-end! What is amazing of the visit was the perfect timing and impact on our lives – so meaningful and memorable; Thanks so much Fr. Ed for your time, especially my opportunity to share and unburden my trials and small triumphs – how blessed I am to have you as classmate for life!

By the way, the next station of Fr. Ed’s life journey starting in July, will be in Indonesia where he will join 2 priests educated by Pinas Dominicans, to put up a school and strengthen Catholicism in that country. The time frame for his stay there is indefinite. This is another lesson on the missionary/pilgrim outlook – ‘detachment, letting go, and moving on’.

Attached are photos courtesy of Fr. Ed: a) with him at the Capitol grounds; b) with Fr. George at our clubhouse; and 3) dinner at home. Let us continue to pray for our country and people and for America at this difficult time of recession. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! Hope we all spent Holy Week reflecting on God’s Goodness, Mercy, and Love, through Jesus’ Passion, Death and glorious Resurrection! March 25 was my son’s coming into full adulthood – 21 years – Happy Birthday Sean!

I cherish the times spent teaching in Pinas at the PUP Graduate School since 1997 (when I had my Ph. D.), as it allowed me to share, not only my competencies, but personal values as well, to my students. I devoted my Saturdays in school (12:00 – 9:00pm) including the summer terms, waived my social life, teaching Projects Development and Management, Production Management, Management Science, among others. Students were mostly supervisors working in government agencies (DPWH, NIA, MWSS, LRT, MMDA, CB, etc.) on their way to managerial promotions. Aside from the lessons, I always share the ‘key success factors’ from ‘The Millionaire Mind’: Integrity (honesty in everything we do), Personal Discipline (self-control), Social Skills (getting along well with people), Hard Work (more than most others), and Supportive Family. I believe that my sharing raised their awareness and values/conscience, then somehow minimized the ‘corruptive influence of the environment in handling public works projects’. Interacting with students afforded me joyful satisfaction and meaningful purpose in life!

Thus, it was a positive ‘de javu’ experience when I conducted the MNS205 – Quantitative Methods for Business class this month for the government employees of the City of Roseville, at the City Training Center. The City arranged with NU for ‘higher education’ of their employees at their site, for Master degree in Public Administration. My students are engineers of Public Works, auditors/accountants of County offices, technicians at Rocklin County, etc. I am highly inspired to do my best in teaching. Among 15 students are two Jackson – Ross and Norine. Curiously, I asked Ross whether they are related and he replied: “She is my mother’. He’s an engineer at Public Works while Norine is auditor at Placer County. Norine grinned ear to ear when I commented: ‘I thought you were siblings or husband/wife. What amazing circumstance – that they are in the journey for higher education together – mother and son! My findings: The mother is doing better than the son. This may be attributed to various factors: she is more mature, more confident, more focused – at over 50 years, she has more relaxed life; while the son in his thirties, has to balance life responsibilities – career, husband, father – so he has more pressure/ stress.

In the class too, is a Pinay (Michelle Balonso-Rinne) who finished high school at Holy Family School in Q.C. (back of Claret School where my Sean graduated) and we lived in the same neighborhood at UP Diliman, where we stayed in our condo for six years. Another lady, a procurement officer at Rocklin County, is married to a Filipino (Nunez- she says he is very good). MNS 205 is a pre-requisite for higher MNS 407- Management Science, which they are scheduled to take later this year, and for which I was already appointed to handle too.

On my 1st year teaching at PUP, Dr. Rodolfo de Lara asked me to teach half of his big class (for Ph.D. students) – Strategic Management/Business Policy and Decision-Making - handled by experienced professors. It was real challenge for me, but I was honored by his trust and willing to learn, so I accepted his offer. Whatever teaching subjects they gave, I accepted heartily. It was a similar situation early in my career, when Dean Matias Arreola (of MLQ University) took me as Faculty, while I was his student in M.S. Mathematics course. Dean Arreola (top Pinas Mathematician - author of many books) assigned me to handle Differential/Integral Calculus, Differential Equations, and other CE subjects, in addition to giving me the responsibility to assign teaching loads to professors in the Mathematics and Civil Eng departments. He became our wedding sponsor and eventually, recommended me to work at the National Power Corporation, where I spent 20 years. Likewise, in 1975, Dean Francisco Reyes of UST Engineering took me in as Faculty; then also, as Faculty of FEU Engineering. Even as a student, I started teaching Catechism in Kamuning, QC with the UST Legion of Mary/Pax Romana; started professional teaching at PMI Colleges where I met my husband in 1972. Even then, I was into Linear/Simplex Programming, which I still enjoy doing, but with more complex real-world applications. 36 years later, I conclude teaching - this time to Americans – is my vocation/passion! The bonus is – being paid at what I love doing best. Lesson: Never shirk from challenges, these are learning opportunities meant to prepare you for higher life roles. I will always be grateful to my mentors and pray for them!

Attached are current photos: Sean at 21, and at home. Let us continue to pray for our country and people, and in America at this difficult time of recession, where many are losing homes and employment. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless us all!!!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! Thank God the longer days of spring are here as we bid adieu to the cold long nights of February, the shortest month of the year (even longer leap year), then preparing for the Lenten season – starting with Ash Wednesday, Abstinence Fridays - Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection!

I am following closely the happenings in Pinas – senate hearings, demos/rallies, testimonies of witnesses. I am happy and proud that the key witness Jun Lozada, a co-alumni from UST Engineering (he is ECE 1984), is consistent with our Thomasian philosophy of seeking the TRUTH always! Gerry and I agree with his statements about the ‘middle class being insulated from corruption and problems as they have the option to leave the country if they cannot stomach anymore’, and that OFWs are the ‘exhaust valve’ so the country is not exploding, despite massive corruption in high places. We see that in our Pinas business which serve as a conduit of foreign exchange influx, our little share in sustaining the country’s economy. Yes, remittances by OFWs are truly the backbone of the economy, what keeps our country afloat! However, the reason for my stay here is partly due to my personal bad experiences of criminality and corruption in Pinas. I am just so blessed to have this option to enjoy the best of both worlds, but now Gerry advised me to just stay put here, although I plan to return to Pinas by September to attend to important functions / obligations. Hopefully by then, the political storm in Pinas will be settled.

On Feb 11, the feast of our Lady of Lourdes, our St. Mel’s parish celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of our perpetual Adoration Chapel. The festivities were highlighted with a candle-light procession (what an awesome sight!) around the church vicinity attended by the Bishop, many priests and religious and huge crowd, capped with agape reception – all organized by Pinoy Fr. George. People here are so impressed and happy with his energetic skills! For my part, I am now listed in the schedule of committed time adorers in the Chapel (my response to God’s call for service); likewise, our weekly Scripture study group just finished St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians 1&2. On our last day, the group had lunch at the home of our leader Claude, who prepared the food by himself, living alone in a senior citizen neighborhood. I am deeply touched by all the experiences (kindness, generosity, love, etc.) encountered in various aspects of my journey here. I feel God is truly leading my way!

We do need to offer more prayers for our country and people at this critical times, and I am glad to accommodate all the prayer requests of family and friends due to my longer and focused prayer time. I am happy to share some good news: Elsa Arbilo, my inaanak (baptism and wedding) for whom I went home to Bohol, Pinas last June 9, 2007, is expecting to deliver her honeymoon baby by March (what a blessing!); Dachi Santiago (my baptismal inaanak, also UST-Med grad), son of close friends-architects Chito and Tess Santiago just passed his Physician Licensure exam given this February. Congratulations to Elsa and husband Jasper (they are based in New York), and to Dachi and his proud parents! By the way, Dachi’s sister Kim (a dentist board topnotcher) is also migrating to Australia soon – to become another part of the ‘OFW exhaust valve generation’.

I am looking forward to my next teaching assignment this March 4 – 29, MNS 205 Quantitative Methods for Business, which will be held offsite at Roseville Electric Comp. Students are engineers and technicians of the company, and what a coincidence that I had my 20-years career with our National Power Corp. in Pinas! Thus, I hope to be at ‘home and enthusiastic’, providing solutions to application problems relevant to the energy sector.

Attached are Valentine photos with Sean at home, and Sarah's family Christmas picture. Let us continue to pray for our country and people - Peace and Joy to You. God Bless us all!!!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

Pleasant Greetings to everyone! Wishing you a very Happy Valentines day with your loved ones; especially to my family – my hubby Gerry in Pinas who is looking forward to watch a Connie Francis concert at Araneta (he already got the best patron seat ticket), to Sarah and her family, and to Sean (who just started his spring term, focused on Accounting major subjects), as we continue to pray and thank God for His Love, Mercy and Generosity, among many others!


On the 1st week of January, we experienced a strong winter storm which rendered power failure to the Sacramento region (in our area, on Jan 4, we lost power from 9:00am-2:00pm). That day Fr. Victor (from Pinas) also came to deliver the package (2 paintings, 2008 Meralco diary, calendar, other goodies) sent by my hubby. Despite the strong winds, rain and power outage, we enjoyed lunch at home with our 3 visitors, especially the stories and updates on Bohol/ Pinas happenings.

We also received the holiday package from my daughter Sarah, containing among others, 2 shirts with the photo of our apo Max embossed, emblazoned with the words ‘I love you Lolo / Lola’, more photos, some more gifts for all of us. Max looks so handsome, as Sarh would always say, ‘Move over Keanu Reeves’, mas quapo pa talaga si Max! Thanks so much Sarah for your thoughtfulness and Love! On Jan. 19, we (Sean, Cora and I) joined our parish delegation (2 busloads) to the ‘Walk for Life’ in San Francisco. We had Fr. George S. (the Pinoy priest who had his birthday that day) in the bus with us, who started with a Mass before leaving Sacramento, led the Rosary on the way like a pilgrimage trip, complete with singing. We joined the crowd of over 25,000, listened to pro-life speeches, walked more than 2 miles with banners on hand. Parallel to our procession, separated from our group by a phalanx of uniformed policemen, there were the noisy minority mixture of anti-group (pro-choice, gay and other colorful persons with their own placards expressing various sentiments). It was a peaceful demonstration of democratic freedom of expressions of opposing opinions by two distinct groups, which is so rare in Pinas. The Walk (11:00 AM – 3:30 PM) ended peacefully as we went back to our bus designated parking, passing over the scenic Golden Gate bridge, then back to Sac by 6:30PM. It was our 1st experience of social activism in America – such amazing democracy!


Benchmarks for Quality of Life! At year 1982 level when I was in Norway, these were some benchmarks for Quality of Lfe: In Scandinavia, the number of toilets/water closet per household, was 2.2 +; the Budget for Defense was less than 1% of total (the lower the better, practically zero crime rate); all basic utilities (like water, power, phone) are available, even if your next door neighbor is 20 kilometers away); electricity cost was less than 10 cents per kwh (in Norway – cheapest in the world - energy source is 99.95% hydropower, with its high head dams and fjords; so that their North Sea oil production is mainly for export); power failure is almost nil. If power outage occurs more than 3 minutes, the power company pays industrial users for their losses. There is system redundancy such that when a line goes out, a backup line takes over, thus power outage is minimized. (This standard is unimaginable in Pinas with its long brownouts.) With the recent power outage experience in America this winter time, I conclude that Nordel countries –Scandinavia is interconnected by a single power grid called Nordel – have much higher quality of life than most countries!

Photos attached are: A) with Fr. Victor and company at home on Jan 4; B) at Walk for Life in San Francisco; 3) Max at 5 yrs. Let us continue to pray for our country and people - Peace and Joy to You. God Bless us all!!!