SMC CORPORATE ACCOUNTING REUNION (MARCH 2, 2013)

Yesterday, March 2, 2013, was another red-letter day for our closely-knit SMC Corporate (Head Office) Accounting family. It was our much anticipated annual reunion held at the Blackwood Bistro situated at The Venice Piazza in Mckinley Hill, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

In attendance were a great majority of our alumni who responded to our invitation, plus the presence of former colleagues from other Departments within the Comptrollership Division, such as Property, Insurance, Budget, etc.

The occasion was also graced by the timely homecoming of "balikbayan" friends (Baby Perete, Cenz Alminiana, Girlie Florin, and Manny Senoran). We entice our colleagues residing in other parts of the globe, to schedule their visit preferably during the first quarter of the year (as we normally hold our reunion around that time) so you can join in the fun.

It was time to rekindle the ties that commenced within the confines of the second floor of our former SMC building in Ayala, and lives on to this very day. What a delight to be in the company of friends whom we regard as our "extended family". Seeing familiar faces brought back a link to the past, a tinge of nostalgia and so many gratifying memories about the good old Ayala days. Everyone was busy reliving our glorious past, while at the same time regaling one another on activities and life after retirement.

There was a point of observation however, which I found rather amusing. Whereas the usual topic of conversations back then centered mostly on closing activities, bowling tournaments and the like, now it deals with senior citizen benefits and SSS pension.

The passing of time seemed to favor us though. Everyone still looked pretty much the same after all these years. Traces of extended waistlines, receding hairlines and a few excess pounds (pun intended) were temporarily dumped into oblivion.

A slideshow presentation featuring a succession of photos from Ayala to Ortigas served as one of the highlights of our reunion. Some snapshots in black and white revealed how vintage some of these photographs were. Fragments of the past brought about a mixture of emotions, joy in reliving the precious moments, but at the same time sad knowing we could never bring them back. Wouldn't it be great if there is a button that we could just press anytime to access a time capsule that could bring us back to the past?

Inspirational messages sprinkled with a bit of humor were shared by Messrs. Paco de Liano, Ber Navarro, Ferdie Constantino and Ms. Vicci Tomas and Amor Iliscupidez. First time attendees also gave us a glimpse of their personal experiences.

It was a wonderful and well-spent afternoon, albeit in the midst of the revelry, we can not help but miss our departed colleagues and longed for their company. Cognizant of the fact that time is an integral factor, we encourage everyone to attend and appreciate occasions like these while we still can, because for all we know, the next time around some of us may no longer be here.

In behalf of my tireless fellow coordinators, Glacie Atencio and Bogs Hermogenes, and our special guest coordinator Baby Perete, we would like to thank everyone for gracing the occasion and making our reunion not only possible, but successful as well. We appreciate your having to throw all your cares to the wind and sacrifice what normally would have been a regular "family day" just so you could share the afternoon with us. Special thanks also goes to Philip Albert Felix for creating the SMC Finance Alumni group on Facebook, Philip Bautista for the slide show presentation and Vicci Tomas for the tokens.

Above all, our deepest gratitude to those who generously doled out from their pockets to augment our funds for the defrayal of expenses. I would rather refrain from naming them individually, because I don't want to offend anyone in case a name or two escapes my memory at the moment. Rest assured however that we kept track of these kind-heart-ed souls.  

We look forward to seeing you all again, with God's grace, next year.

Until then, let us keep SMC Corporate Accounting's spirit alive.

Cheers and God Bless.