Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sac, CA, USA! The Gerardo family wished you all had a Happy Christmas as we did and a more Blessed New Year 2013!

Our multi-located family gathered to celebrate Christmas together in SAC after four years – my hubby Gerry flew in from Pinas on Dec. 12 via Hawaiian Airlines after an overnight in Honolulu, while Sarah and son MAX flew in from New Jersey on Dec. 22.; Gerry and I then left for Pinas on Dec. 30, arriving 7:30p Dec. 31n, checked in at Sofitel Hotel for 2 days. We watched the New Year’s fireworks at the MOA, and observed all the traditional Pinas rituals, truly more fun!!!

As planned, our family reunion were meaningful and memorable with our closer bonding – Gerry and I completed the 9-days novena Masses before Christmas at St. Mel’s. Our daily Mass was always followed by eating out at restaurants, Latte treats, shopping, movies (Lincoln, Red Dawn), Pinoy stores, and more. When Sarah and Max arrived, we did more shopping at Galleria, Fry’s, family photo shots at home, JCP studio, also with Santa at the Mall; treasured moments with our grandson MAX who had grown so big, with good manners and outstanding sense of humor; the abundant food as Sean and Sarah indulged on their passions, exchanged gifts, went wine-tasting at Charles Spinetta Winery where Gerry bought a box of assorted wines; he played Santa to the hilt by being so generous; he made his children feel that they are truly a rich man’s kids – he, he, he!

One downside, however, was that we all got ‘sick’ at different stages, with colds – coughing and sneezing, Gerry and myself, maybe due to stress. The younger one had stronger resistance as they went ahead with their shopping, strolling in the park, eating out, and more bonding. Although I took antibiotics before flying to Pinas, I felt horrible during the flight. The festive surroundings at Sofitel with large crowd of Asian guests spending New Year in Pinas did not do much to comfort my condition – seemed that time just went fast. I kept recalling our family reunion at SAC and how the magical moments were planned, anticipated, happened, and then went by so fast. Thank God for the beautiful family moments together, something to remember and treasure!!!

 

When I was settled in my El Jardin condo, my recovery was very swift, thanks GOD! I am at home - the ambience on my 9J balcony, with fresh air, colorful environment, air-con off, fresh tropical fruits, sinigang seafoods were truly rejuvenating!

Attached are 4 photos with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sac, CA, USA! The month came with many festive celebrations – All Saints’ Day, Souls Day, Veterans’, Thanksgiving – so many Blessings to be thankful for; amid the rainy / cold weather – we truly appreciate them dear GOD!

On our Opus Dei Recollections / Reflections, Fr. Gerry and the Talk facilitators discussed on the topics: Christ the King, and always through Mother Mary; we always Thank you Lord! If we fall, we always begin again in our struggle for holiness. We must grow in our friendship with Him. Like soldiers engaged in a battle, am I truly fighting? While most are complacent, we should be loyal soldiers; speak up for our Christian values! Know who our enemies are – the Devil; know ourselves: know our strength, know our weaknesses / defects; in order to fight well! Win small battles, till the last; do examination of conscience daily:

·      What did I do wrong today?  I AM SORRY!

·      What did I do well today?  THANK YOU!

·      What can I do well tomorrow? GUIDE ME!

It is encouraged to do General and Particular examination daily; it is directed toward acquisition of virtues and rooting out our defects. Resolutions: We make few / specific resolutions and fulfill them with the help of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Through our Blessed Mother!

It is also advised to develop a Plan of Life: define Essentials, give priorities to activities - Pray, Be flexible, Advance the Norms, Be realistic – being a Woman in the middle of the World; Do what you can to Know, Love, and Serve God Better! Do always the Norms of Life: Cheerfulness, Hard Work, Order! 

With upcoming holidays, considering various family activities to attend, we have a break on our Catholic Lunch Club meetings, to be resumed on January 2013, at the Red Lion Hotel (formerly Westlake / Radisson Hotel).

Highlights for the month:

·      Due to the planned Christmas reunion of our multi-located family, we skipped our usual East Coast Thanksgiving holiday with Sarah and Max. Then storm Sandy happened, so a trip to NJ was impractical. By God’s grace, Sarah and Max were safe – their area did not lose electricity, just strong swaying by the wind felt at their home – they were able to offer refuge to friends take bath / meals; so blessed! I communicated continuously with family and friends over Thanksgiving.

·      Serendipitously, my nephew Rigel, Mabel and their two kids (who are based in Arizona) came for Thanksgiving dinner; we had roast duck, lechon, ham, etc. (typical Pinoy fare). I put up our Christmas tree hastily for the occasion, so we had our pictorials amid a festive setting. Thanks for the surprise visit and wonderful bonding!

·      The tedious shopping on Black Friday – patience on the long queue / waiting. Although Sean wanted to go Thursday evening, I opted to wait; thus, after my committed St. Mel’s Adoration time, went to Sunrise Mall to join the eager crowd; just focused on the biggest reduction , like 50% to be worthwhile;

·      We watched the movies: Skyfall – usual suspense thriller starring Daniel Craig; and The Life of PI – wonderful story of Faith in God and Survival – so many wise life lessons, highlighting the voyage out of Manila. I highly recommend that all the staff and crew of Fairview Shipping watch this movie, in order to guide them along their journeys!

·      Read 2 inspiring books: Saint Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask and The Enduring Vision by Boyer, Clark, and others.

·      I watched Live over EWTN, the installation of 6new cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI, including our Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio ‘Chito’ Tagle, the youngest and considered a strong contender to the Papacy. 

 Attached are 3 photos with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sac, CA, USA! From the heat of summer and fall, comes the sudden cold of rainy season – with storms in the east, the presidential debates for the coming US elections; still counting all the wonderful blessings – Thanks GOD!

My regular Opus Dei monthly activities were highlighted with the moving talk by Sue Downs and Reflections, Benediction and Blessing/Penance by Fr. Gerry. I was inspired to pledge for the Chestnut Center for Ladies in the Bay Area. We are almost done with our monthly pledge commitment to our St. Mel’s Parish Center project for two years, thus time to start with another 2-years monthly commitment to my Opus Dei Group - God wills. As far  back in memory, vital to our family values are sharing our talents, time and treasure (more than tithing); thus, God is rewarding us thousand fold blessings!

I attended our catholic Lunch Club on October 19 at the newly re-named Red Lion Hotel (formerly Westlake / Radisson Hotel) where we had Fr. Andrew Johnson, Canon of the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulcher, as speaker on the topic “From Managing Return on Investments to Managing Return on Values”. In this difficult time, we are all called to stand up for our Catholic values every day. This is daunting – often we don’t see the likelihood of success. St. Thomas Moore said: ‘You may abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the wind. What you can’t turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can.’ Fr. Andrew is uniquely qualified to talk about challenges in the workplace, the secular, family and religious life since he experienced them all. He had a career in business, married with 6 children/ 11 grandkids, widowed, then became a priest at 69 years old. The kids call him Father Father. He is very active on promoting New Evangelization thru Communications / Media. Effective means are: Be Kind always – Evangelize by the way you act; Creativity – using God’s graces, gifts and skills; Practical Wisdom – use words of Encouragement, Inspiration, Canons of the Monks (Poverty, Obedience, Celibacy); He expounded on Kindness as the Love of God in our heart; act with open heart, mind, forgiveness; You have to love everyone; you don’t have to like them! 

With Mr. Yorozu’s promise of more vessels next year, our FSAC office is actively pursuing renewal of ISO-Japan certification soon. Thus, I was kept busy reviewing and editing the FSAC Manuals for Quality Systems Policies (130 pages) and Quality Procedures (155 pages); coordinating with the staff on responsibilities for implementation, monitoring and control.  These systems improvement requires decisive actions; which means to strike a balance between the ‘soft personal style’ of Pinas management vis-à-vis my studied MBO style of ‘goals/target orientation’ quality management, to the point of a ’Hitler’ tag, with Sean and Max as my ‘Gestapo and youth’. We gladly accept the tag with humor and as Sarah confirmed “nothing wrong, cause ‘magaling and effective si Hitler’!

In this regard, I quote Edmund Burke: ‘For evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. When bad men combine, the good must associate, else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.’

  Other highlights for the month:

·         Sean acted as baptismal sponsor to Tom’s niece Sophia, which required him to get a Certification from our parish priest that he is an active / practicing Catholic, had received the Sacraments, and qualified to be a baptismal sponsor. I believe we must implement this requirement in Pinas; let us not assume that everyone is qualified / responsible to be a godparent.

·         Watched the movies: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – starring Emma Watson, Taken 2 – Liam Neeson, Here Comes the Boom – Kevin James, Salma and Charice, and Pitch Perfect – Anna Kendricks: all memorable, moving and funny films, experienced at The Palladio – El Dorado, always followed by lunch at Japanese Blue Nami, then shopping at Folsom outlets;

·         Read 2 inspiring books: The Wisdom of the Saints – an Anthology by Jill Adels and First Comes Love by Dr. Scott Hahn.

 Attached are 3 photos with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sac, CA, USA! The month was full of celebrations: gifts of life, good health, pleasant surprises, and wonderful blessings – Thanks GOD!

With the resumption of school, our Bible study group also resumed its activities with its launching on Sept. 13, ‘Movie and Desert Night’ at the new St. Mel’s parish center, showing ‘Introduction to the Bible’, attended by all participants – so enlightening! Our Tuesday Bible Study group of 22 is in the midst of 1 Corinthians.

I attended our catholic Lunch Club on September 21 at the Westlake Hotel with my friend Joanne where we had  Benjamin Glenn - Lawyer, as speaker on the topic “My Catholic Windshield is bigger than my southern Baptist rearview Mirror”. He was born “within sight of the buckle of Bible Belt” in Midland, Texas and grew up as a Southern Baptist. Now, one of Silicon Valley’s top intellectual property attorneys, Benjamin shared how history continues to draw him into the Catholic Church. He told anecdotes of biblical personalities, blended history, scripture and humor together to inspire others to fund joy in daily, personal faith formation, like David, Jonah, Elijah. He also offered practical tips for making the most of the upcoming Year of Faith, which starts on October 12.

 

Sept. 7 was the birthday of my daughter Sarah, and I offered Mass at St. Mel’s followed by my committed time at Adoration, then Sean and I had lunch at Elephant Bar, after we greeted Sarah by phone; we learned she had her own celebration! In the afternoon, I visited Carolina (originally from Brazil who married a Filipino) at Elk Grove who just delivered her son Paulo; she was experiencing difficult times in her life and I was glad to extend timely support, kindness and love! I also attended Paulo’s baptism at St. Stephen the 1^st Martyr Church on Sept. 15.

 

On Sept. 20, I started the day with Mass at St. Mel’s, followed by brunch with some friends, after an hour at Adoration chapel. I intended to read books and let the rest of the day pass quietly. However, at 4:00pm, Sean surprised me when he passed by to deliver a basket of edible fruits and balloons – truly unexpected! The best gift we had was the firming up of plans for our multi-located family to spend Christmas here in SAC – God wills! This means flights had been arranged: for Sarah and Max (from / to New Jersey), for Gerry (from / to Manila). By the way, as previously planned, Gerry and I will be flying together on Dec. 30 for Manila, via Hawaiian Airlines – God wills!

Other highlights for the month:

·      Other celebrations: Birthday of Mama Mary: the ultimate Virgo! Likewise birthdays of Admiral Tomas Cloma – Sept. 18; Lyrio, Don Davies, Lori, Tess, and other friends.

·      Sean’s  move to Field Area Audit brought new excitements to his career, as he is fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a ‘policeman’ - implementing laws. I recall, during his prep school graduation at 3 yrs old, on stage he said: ‘I am Sean Gerardo, when I grow up; I want to be a policeman!’ I was wondering then, why not ‘become a doctor, lawyer, or teacher . . the usual, conventional. . .’ Over the years, life went on, but Sean harbored the feelings of being a law enforcer, like when he sees drivers violating traffic rules, he would comment, ‘sarap hulihin’. In his position now, he goes with SWAT teams on car, with overhead helicopter, going after erring employers circumventing the law on red flag. I look forward to his nightly reports on exciting experiences he had for the day; While there are business owners who are resistant and difficult to deal with, on the opposite extreme are employers who are readily compliant, like when a businessman handed over a USD 200 million check to him as settlement (this happened on my birthday) – what a performance accomplishment!

·      Watched the movies The Life of Timothy Green and Hope Springs: moving and funny Movies experienced at Palladio – El Dorado, are always followed by lunch at Japanese Blue Nami, then shopping at Folsom outlets;

·      Read 2 inspiring books: You set my Spirit Free by David Hazard (given by Joanne W.), and Catechism on the Real Presence by Fr. John Hardon.

 Attached are 4 photos with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sac, CA, USA! We are in the midst of summer heat, experiencing 3-digits by 2pm; the wonderful part is that early mornings and evenings are cool and breezy in our Sac area!

Watching summer Olympic Games occupied my time during the first half of the month, especially volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, track and field - trying hard to emulate the abs/bodies of those gorgeous ladies, nice role models! Watching their fit physique strengthened my resolve to do more in exercises and diet.  Definitely, cheering all the time for Team USA!

I resumed my monthly attendance to our catholic Lunch Club on August 17 at the Westlake Hotel with Bishop Jaime Soto as speaker on the topic “Reflections on Vatican II: Dignitatis Humanae (DH)”. Starting on Oct. 12, 2012, being declared the year of Faith, we are called on to exercise our religious freedom. DH asserted the rights of persons and communities to social and civil freedoms on religious matters; especially on current challenges to religious liberties. Bishop Soto reminded that after 50 years  of VaticanII (1962), we must review, read, understand better to serve the dignity of human person; civil society should protect itself against threats to religious liberty. The Truth is God revealed Himself through His son Jesus to be united with mankind, through the Holy Eucharist. We are therefore responsible to witness, worship, express the Freedom to know, love, and serve God!

I brought my BMW for maintenance/checkup; the service assistant went over it comprehensively, advised to leave it for thorough evaluation. With my extended warranty contract, I was given a replacement vehicle for the duration of my car’s absence, which lasted 7 days. My car was returned in great shape, good as new. I was so blessed that day that the Service Manager himself, Alan Carr, attended to me. I enjoyed all the amenities and convenience; he not only provided customer satisfaction, but truly delightful. My overall rating for the service was excellent – outstanding!

Other highlights for the month:

·      With our new grill, we had barbeque at home with my various month-long marinated stuff: beef steak, chicken thighs, pork chops, fish belly, hotdogs; enjoyed and shared with friends: Mert and Dr. Edna, Rich and Yollie with kids Ross and Ryan. We also had dinner at Elephant Bar with Fr. George and Joanne;  

·      Sean moved over to his new higher position at EDD Power Inn on August 12; so came the farewell/welcome lunches and parties. His Pinoy group had potluck dinner at home on Aug. 16 with lots of food: barbecue chicken, pancit, steamed fish, lamb chops, veggies. I prepared salad mac, another pancit, desert, rice, and drinks; followed by the ever-present karaoke singing. Seemed that all enjoyed the party, attended by Rose and Don, Amy and Lee, Gerry, Bernardo, Aquiles, Indian guy who got promoted too, Becky, and Levy;

·      Watched the movie Bourne Legacy which was filmed partly in Pinas, featuring the breathtaking motorcycle chase scenes of Jeremy Renner and Rachel Wiecz, beautiful Palawan, and some funny dialogues in Pilipino, typical of Bourne films using local dialects;

·       Read 2 version books on the Saints by Pope Benedict XVI: Doctors of the Church and    Church Fathers. I focused on St. Augustine as tribute on his Feast on August 28 who is our Panglao, Bohol big fiesta patron saint; then St Thomas Aquinas, and all the other saints;

I join the Pinoy nation in grieving the loss of DILG chief Jesse Robredo. I had the chance to meet him sometime in 1995 when I handled a training class for NPC personnel on Occupational Safety and Health Standards held at the Lake Buhi Hydro Plant in Naga, then we went around the Bicol area, Legaspi and Tiwi. He was then Naga City Mayor; since then I followed his career and amazed by his accomplishments and determination. I was his fan since then - my prayers for him.

 Attached are 4 photos with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG