Chapter 1: Reality Tour of Los Angeles
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| The beautiful family of Karen Jaceldo-Siegl picked me up at the airport and took me sight-seeing for the afternoon... |
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| Santa Monica Beach. It was a little too cold for me. |
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| I hooked up with Oliver, who was living in Koreatown, Los Angeles at the time. He took me on the "Oliver Reality Tour." |
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| Outside of Oliver's apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles, waiting for my taxi cab to the airport. |
Chapter 2: Wave's World
My 5-year-old nephew Alon opened his first solo photo exhibit a few days before I arrived in Manila in the ground floor conference room of Legaspi Tower, featuring photos he took starting at three years old. (Photos below were taken by Alon, his dad Howie, or myself.)
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| Scenes from the opening reception of Wave's World, which also doubled as Alon's birthday party. I missed it by a couple of days. |
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| Alon was very excited to show me his exhibit. I was honored and proud of him. As a photographer, I was quite impressed by his work and his eye. |
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| Our cousin Rommel came and checked out Wave's World. |
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| Proud parents of the artist... |
Following are a few of the shots Alon included in Wave's World.
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| One of Alon's favorite subjects for his photography work was his dad, seen above working the study of their 16th floor condo in Legaspi Tower. |
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| I remember this photo from last year. Alon took this shot with my camera on the beach in Calatagan, Batangas. To this day, it remains one of my favorite Alon Severino photographs. |
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| Alon is an avid swimmer. So he became very adept with his dad's new underwater camera. |
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| Alon's self-portrait, taken long before "selfies" were a fad. |
Chapter 3: Hanging Out with the Severino-David Family in Barangay Nangkaan, Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas
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My brother-in-law Medel had just passed away due to a mysterious illness, survived by my sister Gina and their five children, including Zai, born five months after Medel's death.
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| Barangay Nangkaan in Mataas na Kahoy is a peaceful rural mountainside town overlooking Taal Lake. |
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| JJ and Angel, the two oldest of Gina's kids, are conscientious hard-working students. I walked them to school at Bayorbor Elementary up the hill. |
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| Anton and Ana are still in pre-school. |
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| Their teacher Ms. Gorospe (no relation as far as we know) was very fond of Anton and Ana. |
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| Alon and Howie picked me up. I would be back in Nangkaan later to conduct some soccer training with the JJ, Angel, Anton, and their friends in the neighborhood. |
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| A pitstop at Jollybee on the way back to Manila. |
Chapter 4: Checking Out a Unit for Sale in Legaspi Tower
Chapter 5: Hanging Out with the Gorospe Family
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| Auntie Lita and first cousin John Paul... |
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| With first cousin Rommel (center)... |
Chapter 6: Checking on Our Family's Property in Marimar Village, Parañaque
Chapter 7: Bonding with the Severinos of Malate
Chapter 8: Batangas - From Virgin Beach to Lipa City
Chapter 9: Batangas - Mataas na Kahoy, Part 2
