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Vellie Sandalo Dietrich Hall, my friend, is running as Mason District Supervisor at Fairfax County. This viable candidate is a Filipina American, so vibrant and energetic with a sincere passion to make a difference in the district where she resides. She is fearless because she is facing the incumbent District Supevisor who’s been holding the position for several terms now. Going around the district and involving herself in its various events and activities, she decided to run after making an assessment that her district needs fresh and more in-depth solutions to the problems and challenges the area and its constituents are facing. Her focus and main concern is the rising problems on crimes in the district. She is also looking into meeting the needs of the diverse constituents in her district and creating projects and programs for the youth.

Do we actually have a choice? Yes and no! Well, it depends on our status and situation in life – young, middle age, seniors, single, married, have children, type or kind of work, activities, etc…

Goals, responsibilities and commitment are reasons for shifting our pace to a high gear, thus, taking the fast lane. Later in life when things are accomplished already and activities become less crowded, the panic modes disappear. It is time to move to the slow lane.

Pete Roa, his wife, Boots Anson-Roa and children Leah, Joey, Chiqui and Ben were local residents from 1982 to 1993. Their home was in Mclean, Virginia where they resided for 11 years until they left for Manila in 1993 for good. However, two of their children stayed, Leah and Ben, the youngest. Boots was a diplomat at the Embassy of the Philippines and Pete managed the then plush Auberge’ Philippine restaurant at Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Many remember Pete as a TV host in Manila with Baby O’Brien, a TV Director and other directorship roles in the media prior to their arrival in the Nation’s Capital. Boots was a respected and well-known movie actress and TV personality in Manila. They also owned a steakhouse restaurant in Quezon City with Boots’ father, the former movie actor, the debonair Oscar Moreno, as a partner.

Summer turned out to be a busy break for me. A trip to New Jersey to meet with former classmates, then after a couple of weeks to L.A./Burbank, then to Manila, two weeks later, to Toronto. These are all brief visits spread through out the merry summer.

Ambassador Willy and Mrs. Linda Gaa recently invited my husband and I, together with a few others, to a small sit-down appreciation dinner at their lovely temporary home in Mclean. The Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. is being renovated which I understand will take about six months to finish. The official residence needed to be fixed because of its deteriorating condition.

The new residence was a wonderful temporary replacement to the official ambassador’s residence for hosting dinners and other diplomatic events. I personally admired how the pieces of furniture and accessories like paintings and vases were strategically appointed. It was an eclectic type of decorating, but mostly Asian pieces were seen which Madame Gaa told me came from the Asian countries where Ambassador Gaa was previously posted. Of course, the items that came from the Philippines were most outstanding. My favorite was the “nacar”- inlaid Narra chest. I had the impression that the house was done by a professional interior decorator, but no, it was all arranged by Mrs. Gaa herself. She had put together the beautiful pieces that she acquired from her husband’s previous diplomatic assignment to different countries including Australia. Her collection of Philippine coffee table books caught my eyes. They were books that showed the beauty of Philippine culture and heritage.

Sure, summer brings us warm and uncomfortable weather, but it gives us the best fruit and vegetable harvests - the sweetest watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple and mango. Tomatoes of different varieties and sizes are abundant and cheap. How I enjoy food shopping most especially at the fruit and vegetable sections. They are so appealing to the eyes with their vibrant colors. I would spend about three hours covering three grocery stores including an Asian food mart.

The first day was pleasant, cool and comfortable. As days progress in June, I begin to feel the heat. This is expected and I should not complain. Problem is I develop cold when I feel the heat and the symptoms are the same as in the winter. I really don’t understand this. But there’s one thing I am glad about – my pollen allergies are gone. I felt so miserable the whole month of May suffering from the Maple tree pollens.

It was a joyous event for the Filipino Americans on June 2, 2007 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C. Many attendees expressed their congratulations for a successful celebration of the Philippine Independence. They arrived in their formal evening attire looking special, blending in with the elegance of the ballroom. We received wonderful compliments on the exceptional gourmet menu that we selected, Crab Cake, Steak and Fish – the trio served on each plate. The guests enjoyed dancing with the lively music by D’Originals. It was an evening of pure enjoyment - fine dining and elegance of the ballroom, lively music, entertaining dance presentation, and a well prepared program.

The Gala Ball on June 2 at JW Marriott Hotel in Washington DC spearheads the month long Philippine Independence Day celebration. It will be an elegant evening of pure enjoyment with a gourmet dinner, powerful live band and a cultural show. The new Philippine Ambassador Willie C. Gaa will grace the event and deliver a brief message, the best opportunity for those who have not met him in person, yet. After her hectic schedule during the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II, Cristeta Pasia Comerford, the Filipino American White House Executive Chef, graciously accepted our invitation to be the keynote speaker. She is charming, smart with very pleasant demeanor.

What a timely occasion to write about my visit to my youngest daughter in Tampa. It was not really a fun visit. It was rather an emergency visit, but not a life threatening one. Three weeks ago, Rochela called and left a message in my answering machine with a calm voice, sounding like just saying hello – “Hi, Mommy! How are you? I just want to tell you that I had my annual check up and I want to update you and Dad about it. Everything was normal except that the x-ray showed abnormality in my cervix that has to be removed (saying with forced casualness). Please call me when you come home. Bye. Love you.”

I was in a formal wedding dinner a couple of months ago when the lady guest on my right asked me in a whisper which one was her bread plate, right or left? The waiter placed the basket of bread on the table near her plate but she did not make a move to get a piece from the basket. The others were looking at her waiting for her to pass the container around. Obviously she was not sure which plate to use. In the first place, she should have been seated on the right side of her husband. I whispered back to her with a short answer, "left" and nobody noticed it. Then, I engaged her in a light conversation to keep her at ease. I happen to have a soft heart to those in such a predicament. On two different occasions, my bread plate was taken by the person on my left and that resulted to a domino effect, the rest of us using the wrong bread plates.

I was one of the awardees. The Philippine American Foundation for Charities was very generous and lavish in calling the awardees, Dakila, a Filipino word for great. I thought that the name only referred to heroes and presidents. I have never considered myself great.

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each season represents a stage in the cycle of life: spring suggests youth; summer symbolizes young adulthood; autumn is middle age; and winter stands for maturity. I parallel the seasons to the developments in the stages of life. The weather change is predictable, but every period has its own character, wonder and challenges as our life is. We constantly create positive positions to negative situations to balance the "ups and downs" of life.

Life puts pressure on. If you're feeling more stressed than blessed lately, make a day-by-day plan to get more gratitude in your attitude. Start right now and by the end of the month, it’ll be the way you live everyday. A number of us have tried all kinds of de-stressing techniques like deep breathing, massage, relaxation or meditation. One of my instant or on the spot booster techniques is reading a favorite book, magazines or any reading material that interests me, giving my self a break from TV, radio, the news and the internet- all the stuff that overloads my brain and spirit. On the contrary, some others watch their favorite shows in the TV (including TFC Filipino programs) or surf the internet to get the soothing effect that they needed.

I am proud of this culture. No, I don’t mean the sandwich that we eat. This analogy describes us, Filipinos, in regards to being responsible for the well being of our old parents as we take care of our own children. We are sandwiched between two great responsibilities. The task is a lot easier in the Philippines where most households have katulong or kasama sa bahay . It is a way of life. But, here, as an observation and as some friends told me, it is a more challenging task. I did not experience it as I am ulila na for quite sometime now. My mother died at an early age of 56 years old many years ago in a vehicular accident in the Philippines and my father succumbed to death years after he migrated to Daly City, California.