May 1, 2000
Dear Orland,
Thanks again! Salamat sa invitation, though we don't have yet a final itinerary. We are indeed planning to drive from New York...see somebody in New Jersey...see Niagara Falls and..then off to Toronto..but Joey is having second thoughts about driving..so we?ll see by the end of this week..
Gosh! We don't have a new family picture. Now you see it's getting more and more difficult to keep these teenagers at home even for a few minutes to take a family picture!! What I have now are separate pics ...just the two kids and then ...Joey and myself.. I can send them from home as jpeg file.
Now about the info: I went to the Philippine Women's University - Conrado Benitez Institute for Business Education and luckily got my degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Accounting, and with a little bit of luck again... graduated Cum Laude ....hmmm!.don't ask me how it happened! That was in 1980.. and towards the end of the same year...got a job with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Internal Audit Unit / Disbursement Unit... got married in 1981...at the same time reviewing for the CPA board exams at CPAR...luckily passed it again in 1982 ..now I?m not going to say I topped the board exams (I'll be humble this time...)...Leah Beatrice was born on January 26, 1982... Then, I was transferred to the Accounting Department as Junior Accounts Examiner ('82-'83) ..then...as Senior Accounts Examiner ('83-'84)..Jose Carlo Leandro was born on February 15, 1984.. Back to work.. I then moved on to the position of Head, Bookkeeping Unit asSenior Accounts Examiner..that was until July 1986..
From 1984 to 86, I got several offers to be assigned to several Diplomatic posts abroad as Finance Officer and Attache; ...first to the Philippine Embassy in Kobe, Japan..(for some reasons, I was not able to go..)..then they were preparing me to go to the Philippine Embassy, Wellington, New Zealand..(I did not go as the FO at the time requested for extension..)It was almost final that I go to the Philippine Embassy in Vatican. I had to turn it down in the end as I'm not a Catholic and it will be very difficult for me to attend those diplomatic/religious ceremonies. An assignment order (already signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, VP Laurel) came out in April 1986 as FO/Attache to the Philippine Embassy, Rome. We were then all prepared to go to Rome and yet ..that was changed a month later because they needed a man for the job as he will also be a Protocol Officer at the same time. Well! a month later in July, I finally got in my hands the final one as Finance Officer/ Attache at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva. I finally left with Joey, the 2 kids, and my aunt on August 5, 1986. My father had to go a month before to look for a place for us to stay.
The term of office was 8 years but I got fed up with the responsibilities. I didn't see my kids anymore. Theyre still in bed when we leave in the morning and already asleep when we get home. Joey had to go with me as well to those endless diplomatic functions and wait ages for me when I had to work really really late especially during Cory Aquino's Presidential visit to Switzerland in 1988! Yup! I was so fed up I decided to resign in July 1992 with an idea to get a "mindless" job anywhere... but stay in Switzerland as Joey already has a good job with a private company, FIlinter SA in Geneva; and the kids are French-speaking and decided to continue with the Swiss school system. Well...for some reasons...I was not able to get any job with less responsibilities (I said I'm just going to apply at a music shop and sell musical instruments and CDs. My dream for sometime was to be a sound engineer or to have any music-related career of some kind. Imagine? That was quite far-off from where I am! I decided instead to be an environmentalist ..ha...ha...and joined the United Nations Environment Programme - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (UNEP-CITES) in August 1992..still landing in Finance and Administration... Finally settled down here I guess...am enjoying it as I could now go home at 4:30 and still have time to have a drink or two with Joey along the lake in Nyon..haaaah..By the way, Joey is now working in our town with Mercedes Benz. It's quite cool, going to work just 2 mins. away from home. The only thing I'm not so keen about in my job is travelling to Africa. I have been to Kenya several times for annual closing of books of accounts, trainings, and conferences..and also to Harare, Zimbabwe as well..for conferences.. I enjoyed the "safari" bit though. I got to see so many animals I have never seen before or have seen only in zoos!! I also went to Surabaya, Indonesia and Fort Lauderdale in Florida for the CITES conferences..and those I enjoyed of course.
Okay, told you my whole life story...want more ??? or perhaps some infos about ivory trade - elephants...tigers... black rhinos..sturgeons.?? those are all we talk about in the office....hi..hi.... Ah...before I forget..perhaps you would also be interested to know my passion(??) and don?t be surprised...I love to go to rock concerts like Scorpions, Kiss, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, some mellow ones too like Bryan Adams, and my all-time favorite, Bon Jovi...so have those "hard rock" pieces available as well when we have these reunions.. (naaw..just kidding!!!)....hi..hi...hi...you just need "some" infos and I gave you ALL the infos..forgive me...I just went on and on with endless blah..blah...blah.., isn't it?? Sorry again..Orland..till next time..
Have a very nice week! Best regards,
Noemi
hi to whole family..take care...ciao
