OUR DREAM ABOUT RECONNECTING PEOPLE
And the story about how this all began

It has been a long-time dream of our batchmate 99er, Rayman Abiva, to put up a batch Website.  However, he didn’t know where to start and how to go about it. And it was during one of their beer-drinking sessions that he presented the idea to our batch SSC President, Tennesee Iris Carayo.  Iris, no doubt, has all the passion, talent, guts, and connections needed to bring this concept into fruition, but she doesn’t have the one very essential thing to execute it: time. She knows that putting up a Website and forming a committee to take care of its different aspects – from Website design and development, to writing and editing the articles, to informing every one in the batch about it – needs utmost dedication, hard work and commitment.  And that is why the concept had to take a backseat for quite some time.

Then one lazy Monday afternoon, Iris, Christine Dequito, and I decided for a

Virgen de Regla Parish Church

spontaneous eating extravaganza at – where else? — Senyang’s famous “lumpia house.” After the gluttonous gastronomic meal of our ever-favorite lumpia, we had a stroll along memory lane.  We traced the once-familiar route from Senyang’s, to SACS elementary school, Virgen dela Regla Parish Church and Convent, the calachuchi lover’s lane (which used to be everybody’s meeting place for all things school and non-school related activities), SACS high school, and the city market. On our way to the newly erected “shopping centers,” we also met our former Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Vasquez, and had a little chit chat.  With all the nostalgia brought about by these things, Iris shared with me Rayman’s plan.

To cut the story short, Iris thought of me as a perfect editor-in-chief, because she knows I have enough time in my hands, enough time to devote to a worthy cause such as this Website.  There was no room for second thoughts.  I, right there and then, got excited to embark on this so-called

St Alphonsus de Liguori

journey of overseeing the creation of this site. Needless to say, I didn’t want to waste more time; I gladly and whole-heartedly accepted Iris’ appointment of me as the editor-in-chief, and, minutes after, “called” for our very first staff meeting with Rayman online.

I am not a good writer. I am an accountant by profession, yet a BPO girl by choice.  But I have the drive, the time and the passion to see the realization of this dream: the dream of reconnecting people who walked the same corridors, attended the same flag ceremonies, learned from the same teachers, and marched on the same stage on March 18, 1999, as I have.

A decade has passed since we left the Alphonsian gates.  I would love to reminisce those carefree and seemingly innocent years with you. It took us more than 10 years to have this Website, and we need all your help to sustain it.  Our vision is to bring together the hundreds of sacs99ers – from all over Lapu-Lapu, all over the Philippines, and even all over the world. We aim to uncover the many promising talents that were perhaps not discovered or were neglected ten years ago. I know that it is impossible for

2009 LapuLapu City Fiesta - taken at John Benjie Abing's residence

the majority of us to meet physically and attend a grand reunion, what with our separate lives and different responsibilities. But through this Website, we can still be one in spirit.  We can still reconnect with each other and see how much we have grown through the years.  Through this Website, we can go beyond those stereotypes and biases that was perhaps what kept us out of each other’s reach.  Through this Website, let’s get branded as SACS 99ers, nothing else.

Welcome to www.sacs99ers.com

- nalz