UST Thomasian Expo

I have to be honest and say that I hardly participate in any of my former school's activities.  I don't attend reunions.  I don't attend get-togethers.  I don't attend anything! I think I'm a scrooge hahaha

But when I saw that UST was holding a Thomasian Expo at the SMX at the Mall of Asia in commemoration of it's upcoming 400th Anniversary in 2011, I just couldn't miss it.  I guess that one of the factors that made me want to go was because I will be seeing a friendly face there, Mina, a High School classmate and friend who I've gotten caught up with because of Facebook.  Her sister-in-law has a booth there and it was a good chance as any to see each other.  I was also wondering what other exhibits and booths were worth looking into, not just for me but also for my brother who was also from UST High School.  

GO USTE!

Taken at UST when Dana 2 years old

Though it was a 3-day event, I was only able to go on the last day because of our hectic October schedule (which also happens to be my birth month so Happy Birthday to me!).  We could only drop by after our trip to my Grandmother in Cavite where we brought her wheelchair which we got from our local government.  So hurrah for that too!

Anyway, so yeah, we saw Mina, had our fill of Vigan Empanada, bought a couple of pairs of shoes for the kids, a couple of cute hats, and basically just went around :) I wish I can tell you more but we arrived later than anticipated so there wasn't much to see at that point.



There were some photo ops outside the trade expo which we took advantage of :)

 After a tiring day, we found ourselves at Don Henrico's with the kids wearing their newly-bought, cute hats :)

Happy Birthday Tita Gigi!

Since both Patrick and I have lost our mothers, his to a brain aneurysm and mine to a car accident, we've kinda looked at Tita Gigi as our 2nd mother.  He has been friends with their family since he and Carlo (Tita Gigi's son) became best buds during their JASMS days.  It was funny too, that when I was introduced to their family, Lolo Tony immediately welcomed me into their clan because according to him, we were distinctly related (via the Paypons and the Escalantes of Calayan and Batanes).





So, on this special day, Tita Gigi was celebrating her 60th birthday and this was such a milestone in her life we didn't want to miss it.  The birthday celebration was a smash! It was like watching a live concert because Bito and Kalila (Tita Gigi's daughters) were singing the night away.  There were performances from Carlo and his friends (though I don't think Patrick did his part hahaha)  As you can see from the picture, Dylan was really impressed and wanted to sit in front, right where the action is.  Would you believe that he also wanted to sing by himself? hahaha


Dylan was also awestruck by the lechon (roasted pig).  I think this was the first time he saw lechon up close or if he's seen one he probably forgot about it. He actually can't stop talking about the pig getting cooked and the fact that there was a L'Amour (the orange fruit) in the pig's mouth.  He calls it L'Amour because of the Sesame Street Orange that sings the Aria "Carmen" which he's watching to avoid getting bored hahahaha

It was really such a great night to be with family and friends, great  food and great company!!



 Happy 60th Birthday Tita Gigi!!  We love you! :D





PS: Dana spent a lot of time playing with Kalila's daughter, Tamara, so she's mostly missing in the pictures :)