First and foremost, I hope and pray that you, your family are doing alright coping with the recent calamity in the PI. My prayers are with the rest of the countrymen. Over here in Michigan, prayers, masses and donations are being offered on behalf of the victims. We also have relatives affected by the typhoons. The Filipino damayan spirit is alive and well as even in this tight economic times people are still pinching in whatever they can.

Why should we leave Work and go Home on time

Mr. Narayana Murthy, Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, is known not just for building the biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity. He founded Infosys in

Ola Mabanta-de la Fuente invited friends, family and classmates for her Golden Birthday at Holiday Inn on August 8, 2009. It was at 6:00 pm at the Acacia-Mahogany Function Rooms at Holiday Inn Clark. Attire was formal.

It was a successful and fun party she had. Here is her account.

"Oh boy what a birthday party ! Melasing ko keng tula at saya !
Of course there were friends who supported me. The party started with a big bang  a dance number from me and Marco ! Marco carrying  one single rose with all the chreography , habol habol nya ako , snob and then boogie , cross step and shuffle.  Complete with fog lights before the dance to the music of 'love you today than yesterday '. THAT DANCE  was  an ice breaker and the guests had loosen up. i can see Nene my sister in law and some relatives laugh their hearts out when they saw Marco doing the boogie etc.

Then there was  this avp i made specially for the event ' entitled pretty woman" from memories of childhood  until 5o years old ! a song was rendered by cute Bjao a son of my friend 'fly me to the moon ' !  followed by Marina's song 'Iingatan ka .'  There were 50 well wishers who made their short but meaningful speeches. Gosh I was in near tears when they spoke only good words for me (of course ).

My mommy greeted me but with a  word welcome hahaha, nag-practice pa naman kami ng sasabihin nalimutan nya !

The most applauded was my speech i guess where i went stammering with my signature ala german style talking ! I could not wear my eyeglasses kaya i read my speech , i said page 2  AND page 3 complete with period and everything.
There was a tear jerker also when i saw mommy's eyes,staring at me with  pride and joy. And i thank the Lord  that she s still around to witness my 5oth bday! Thanks to a lot of people , friend, etc. most especially Marco  who is my major sponsor by the way ! hahaha
There were 248 guest total. I realized the people i have touched  (naks ). Also the most if not the "mostest" special number was the fashion show conceptualized by Tina Pineda my events coordinator,  12 women of substance paraded  dressed to the nines with their matching jewelries ( of course my  creations ). Women who were my friends, valued clients, and some relatives. Line dancing, ballroom dancing, cake ceremony. I was so happy that we slept at 4 am in the morning.I realized that  neither time nor distance made a difference in building a relationship called friendship.

Food was superb also. My goodness I could go on and on and on, but right now i am still in euphoria, i havent been sleeping for the last 2 days na !

Some say they had  an impromptu entertainment from me ! hahaha
we miss you guys from the USA- my friends,but surely you made my birthday really great i felt  so special that night !
By the way if you have time please log in the face book ! there s an article written by norman songco also my friend from guagua, thanks  for that beautiful life GOd gave me ! regards and i misss you all  mwah!"

Note: Ola is sharing her pictures during her golden year celebration soon. Meantime, she is sharing some of her grade school photos. Here are kiddie pictures of Nerissa, Grace, Perla, Larry Audie, Liza, Reuben,Josie, Rommel, Aurora, Dory................. Click for More

Monument in Israel Honors Filipinos  For Saving 1,200 Jews from Holocaust

By Volt Contreras

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines - Before Schindler's List, there was another document -the Philippine visa that saved hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust.

Mekipamiesta la San Antonio di Ola. Oreni ding pictures da

Rosario "Rose" Guevarra works at PNB Manila she says, " I am now working as Senior Manager for PNB General Insurers Co., Inc.,  a general insurer that is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippine National Bank.  I have four (4) kids but unfortunately I have been separated from my husband for 8 years already. The three (3) are holders of college degree and my youngest is a third year HS student of Manila Central University (MCU)."

Rose is sharing some of her 2009 summer photos during her Nasugbu, Batangas weekend. Click here for the photos.