27. Orgullo Mundo: Back from the Future

ORGULLO

M U N D O

January 9, 2006 -- ¡Hola! Bienvenido a 2006! It's been two weeks and we hope you all had a great vacation. We think it's fitting for our Issue#27 to go back in time and revisit some of our memorable Orgullo moments in 2005 before we head on to continue with the new year.

Back from the Future

10. Take a bow. Some members of Orgullo got their degree this year and a few even got cum laude honors, continuing the tradition of EL graduates. The commencement ceremony this year was behind schedule, and they did a telenovela moment where they give their inspiration a bouquet of flowers. Take a bow, Diday, Eky, Rio, Bingo, and Nancy.

9. Back to school. While the others have graduated already, some of us returned to school or continued their studies. Jiji is now enrolled in the MA Spanish program, Niña registered for MA Speech Communications and PLIDA for accreditation in Italian, and Mel F., Rona and Marc F. went on with their courses. Meanwhile, Don, who wanted to take up an MBA, is postponing his plans to take care of his dad and to get more experience in the hotel industry.

8. Winners' circle. Rona didn't even know she could do it, but after some convincing, she joined and won their school's Ms. Nursing pageant despite her tight schedule. Dimple, on the other hand, became a winner when she found happines in her job and it shows. She looked great when we saw her at the Thomson Christmas Ball where she stood out in her form-fitting red gown. She could have been Ms. Thomson Financial herself if there were such a contest. As we all know it, beauty and brains are a formidable combination, and in Orgulloland, we have a lot of that.

7. The year of living dangerously. This year, Rhoda's family saw another death. Allan got mugged and managed to come out alive and not lose even a single cent like the first time he was mugged in late 2003, although this time, he got a few bruises and needed to visit Makati Medical Center. Don has become more health conscious and watches his food intake more religiously now since his Dad got diagnosed with cancer. On a lighter note, Blossom finally got to try to live on her own without a roommate.

6. Food, festivities, ferrimagnetism. What? Well, food and festivities have always been a part of us, and the past year was no exception. Some of us visited and reunited at Cibo at the Shangri-la Plaza, Cheapsteak at the The Loop, Cravings at Galleria, Megastrip at Megamall, Ministop on Dian St., Oody's at Greenbelt 3, Pizza Hut Bistro at Gateway, Metrowalk in Ortigas Center, and of course, Italianni's at the Coliseum Circle. We even invaded the posh Thomson Financial Christmas Ball at the Makati Shangri-la where we ate some more. And during the wake at Rhoda's house, we took the time to be solemn and enjoy adobo in a benign fashion. What's the result of all of these gatherings? Ferrimagnetism. Okay, we're not actually neighboring atoms and ions that allign in a non-parallel manner when applied with a strong magnetizing field, but with Orgullo, we're kinda like that.

5. It's mabuhay miles! Aside from food, the Orgullo bunch has done some travelling, whether near or far, on their own or with friends and family. Ian went to Iraq to help dedicated soldiers, Niña visited Boracay and Singapore, Don went to Thailand and, like Mye and Nikki, checked out a few provincial locations, Allan got to Galera for the first time, Jiji returned from the US, Diday trooped to the Visayas, Blossom, who's hoping to go to Spain this year, hiked to Sagada with her gang, Jewel just flew to the States where she could meet up with Mel E, and Karina's doing the WOW Philippines bit because of her job with the NCCA.

4. Maximum wage. Generally speaking, EL graduates enjoy bigger pay and weird jobs and schedule, thus the above average salary. Last year, Jewel resigned from Thomson to transfer to the more prestigious World Bank with a 6-month contract. Blossom tried to get away from Thomson but was begged to stay, and in return got a raise. Allan also got a retroactive raise. Armis got a high-level certification at E-telecare which translates to an even higher pay. Diday had some problems with her first tries, but for over a month now she's with BPI to train and become an officer. Henz declined an offer to translate foreign-language adult movies and instead switched jobs and is now enjoying a much higher remuneration package. Irene also switched jobs. Eky's still busy working in Ortigas and like her, Niña stayed on with her current employer where she's been for over a year now, and Dimple has been with hers for over three years. Mye's got it down to being a supervisor. And Don changed departments and started working at the front desk of Pan-Pacific Hotel right after Christmas.

3. True Calling. Ian made it to be a very effective medic of the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. Marita's in the process of becoming a lawyer, Mel E.'s on her quest to becoming an educator in New York, Rona's graduating soon to become a nurse, and Bingo's an activist on TV. They got a call and they answered it.

2. Wishes came true. Niña and Don still may not be working for an international NGO, but they got a taste of their wish with Habitat for Humanity and other medical missions last year, plus he's working in the tourism industry. Jiji got to start on her MA, Armis got her Vicky Vios, Jewel got transferred to Washington, Henz found el amor de la vida, and Allan got a taste of broadcasting and got a new set of equipment last year to see the return of our expanding, evolving, beloved online community.

1. The Return of Orgullo! First, we saw the comeback of the Orgullo News Online with Issue #16 on October 13, 2005, and the continuation of our very own original trilogy, "The Legend of Sleepy Orgullo." We've had two special issues since then (#20 and #25) and for the first time ever, we now have our very own music collection, the dual-disc Orgullo: Latin Pop, with 25 songs inspired by each member of Orgullo, released during our Christmas dinner in honor of our 25th issue and our "musical background." And to celebrate el año nuevo, we welcome you to a redesign of our online newsletter, Orgullo Mundo.

Back to 2006

Rhoda, this is the sequel to our Very Special Blast from the Past (Issue#20) that we promised.

Don finally got his copy of the Orgullo: Latin Pop CD, and we're glad to inform you that this time we have the enhanced version. The first batch of CDs turned out all right, considering Allan had some last-minute technical glitches. This time, though, we were able to include the real Spanish versions of She Bangs and Ojos Asi (because we had the English versions of She Bangs and Ojos Asi (Eyes Like Yours) in the first batch). And we promise you, this is not the first and last Orgullo CD that we will release. Hint! Hint!

Our job this week is now done. Hope you enjoyed our new Orgullo Mundo. ¡'ta luego!

Coming Soon: The Chronicles of Orgullo: the Bacon, the Bitch, and the Barcode.