Four-day celebration

Last Monday signaled for us the beginning of our long Christmas season, with media starting to feature pre-Christmas features and sales.

Time has certainly moved so quickly for us, particularly for this Bystander whose calendar was overloaded with events. These I now continue to share with you about my “days of daze” in the last two weeks of August.

In my column Friday last week, I had already reported at length on our Zonta Club of Cebu I general membership meeting and noon luncheon on Thursday noon at the Cebu Country Club and the birthday greetings and gifts given to us five August birthday celebrants.

Thursday evening, August 21st, my fellow panelists in our second-week-of-the-month Women’s Kapihan radio program on Radio Station invited me to dinner at Flavors restaurant at Park Mall in Mandaue City hosted by Fina Tanchan and Tina Ebrada, and in attendance Celia Borromeo, Anita Sanchez, Nellie Chua, Mattie Baguia, Fe Visitacion, Chit Arcenas, and Pauline Deduque, and their outpouring of birthday gifts for me.

Friday, August 22nd, I spent at home relishing the camaraderie and generous gifts, thank you, from fellow Zontians at our general membership meeting the previous day, my Big Day; receiving a generous bag of fruits from our Girl Scouts Cebu Council; and long distance greetings from my children and their families: Amelia in Texas and Antonio in Califonia in the States, and Ramon in Canada.

Saturday, August 23rd, at an anticipated Mass I usually attend at the Paseo Arcenas, celebrated by our Banawa, Guadalupe parish priest Wendell Balbena, I received birthday greetings from Fr. Wendell, thank you.

After Mass, a good friend of many years, Rosita “Chit” Arcenas, drove us out in her car to what I thought might be a personal dinner date she had often gifted me with on my birthday. We went out to the Tsay Cheng Restaurant at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu on Archbishop Reyes Avenue.

When we entered, surprise! Everybody stood up at the two big round tables to sing me “Happy Birthday!” with the dinner party of luscious Chinese dishes that followed.

Thanks to hosts brother-in-law Macario Go’s daughters Stella & Rebecca Go Sarmenta with her husband Rainer and their children Mark & Anna. Guests were long-time Banawa neighbors Joel and Grace Ferreros before they moved out to Busay, long-time friend Josephine “Jo” Ocubillo, ‘Mare’ Alicia Rodriguez and her daughters, my daughter-in-law Becky and sisters Becky and Susan R. Fortich, Eileen Mangubat & Malu Apalisok of Cebu Daily News, nieces-in-law Imelda “Baby” Santos and Lourdes Cabatingan, long-time neighbor and friend Rosita “Chit” Arcenas, ‘Mare’ Rosario and two other lady companions, sister-in-law Flor Babiera, my brother-in-law Macario Go’s son Nicanor and wife Pet, and son Ramon of parent friends Carolina and Sevilla.

Thanks to artistic Anna Go for the beautifully decorated stage with a “Happy Birthday” tarpaulin background she designed, a pre-birthday video coverage, her brother Mark’s photo coverage, and Rainer’s over-all supervision of the event. And thanks for the entire event on flash drive which I have already received.

For this, my unusually extended four-day birthday observance this year that started last August 20th through the 23rd, capped the most overwhelming birthday I have ever had in my l-o-o-o-ng eventful and productive 92 years, thanks to God, and family, relatives, friends, and associates.
The following day, Sunday the 24th, I attended the 80th birthday celebration of Rosita “Rose” Rizada on the invitation of her grandchildren. It started at 3:30 PM at the Sinulog Grand Ballroom of the City Sports Club at the Cebu Business Park with Mass celebrated by Mons. Jose (still “Fr. Joe” to us) Tajanlangit. He was our first parish priest who started Our Lady of Two Hearts Parish in Banawa on its establishment after separating from the already large Guadalupe Parish.

At the reception with the theme “The Beauty of Life” that followed, tributes were made live (and recorded on video from the States) by her children and members and daughters Elise, Elriza, Eleanor, and Eileen, and son Giovanni, her children with the late Emiliano Rizada, a then top radio broadcast executive. CURTA (Cebu United Radio and Television Artis, Inc.) VP Nic Ampatin was awarded for his media and CURTA accomplishments and then advance birthday greetings then still in advance in August.

The program included a “Rizada Family Show with Love”, memorable Cebuano songs from CURTA radio performers, a video showing of CURTA members and accomplishments, a remarkable live performance by a 5-year-old boy, a “balak”, presentation by a dance troop, talks from Cordova Mayor Adelino “Adie” Sitoy and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, and a finale “Singkil” parody performance by Rizada daughter Eileen, and closing remarks from Rizada daughter Elise.

Dinner followed with everyone sharing with each other, memories and more. A little ballroom dancing for all concluded a most enjoyable and memorable occasion. Thank you, Rose, and may you have more future birthdays with family, colleagues and friends!

Until next week then, from this first of the pre-Christmas “-ber” months, may God bless you and your loved ones!