My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: Memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary for StoryWorth Book

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary for StoryWorth Book

This is my response to the query on Memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary for the StoryWorth Book of Memories

Our Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration, 2007

Last December, 2007 we celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Boac Cathedral ( the same church where we were married in 1957) in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines.

Here are two photos during our wedding day, May 8, 1957 featuring the parents of the Bride and Groom and The Nieva and Jambalos Clan

Our Parents from L to R: Dr David J Katague, Elena Nieva Jambalos, Me, Macrine, Mama Pacing Balleza Katague and Papa Bernardo Jambalos, Jr. Photo in the Front Porch of the Jambalos Residence, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines, May 8, 1957.

The Nieva and Jambalos Clan Attending Our Wedding Day, May 8, 1957

Our actual 50th anniversary was on May 8, but we postponed the celebration for December, so most of our relatives outside the Philippines can attend.

All of our four children and three of our grandchildren, a son-in-law and two nieces from the United States were in attendance. In addition about 150 friends and relatives from Manila and Marinduque were also present. A friend from Vancouver, B.C., Canada also attended this memorable event.

The Bishop Blessings at the Boac Cathedral

The Bishop of Boac( Most Reverend Reynaldo Evangelista, D.D.) officiated the renewal of vows and mass. The Governor( Bong Carrion) and his wife with about 150 guests attended the reception held at our conference hall( Chateau Du Mer Conference Center) in Amoingon.
Entering the Reception Hall with 100 live butterflies to be release after the cake cutting and champagne toasting ceremony.

Governor Carrion(RIP) dancing with Macrine and me dancing with his wife (currently Mayor of Boac).

Incidentally, Ex-Governor Carrion is Macrine's first cousin on her maternal side of the family(The Nieva Clan). This is an obligatory dance for social etiquette in Marinduque.
Carenna wants her share of the wedding cake. After all she serenaded(New World) her Lolo and Lola. She deserves the cake.

The following is a write-up of Ditas, my youngest daughter, of her experiences during this momentous event in our life. She titled it " Survivor Philippines and my Parents Golden Wedding Anniversary. "

Resembling the journey survivor contestants make to get to their island, after 47 hours of travel -planes, trains, automobiles and a long ferry ride-- Carenna and I finally arrived on the peaceful island of Marinduque, staying at my parents winter home and resort. Here are the 12 items, we will always remember.

1. One Great performance- Carenna sings "New World" at the Anniversary reception
2. Two Happily married parents ( renewed vows after 50 years)
3. Three Hours of holding Carenna (50 lbs), sweating during midnight mass in an ancient (no A/C) cathedral built in 1660 with 1000+ mass attendees( imagine survivor LOG HOLD challenge)
4. Four Roasted Pigs -aka Lechon . Carenna got to meet the live pigs the day before they appeared at the party ( albeit with tan).
David Ernst after all of the four lechons are almost consumed.

5. Five guys eating balut- Ian, Dave, Alex, Dodie and David E had a Christmas day Balut eating contest-- yes that's the fertilized duck embryo boiled eggs that they eat in Survivor and Fear Factor TV shows
Balut and San Miguel beer. Where's number 5, David E ?
6. Six aquamarine bridesmaid dresses that did not fit
7. Seven words in tagalog that Carenna knows, ( Tabi po Nono', tubig, paroparo, salamat po, maganda and Kain na)
8. Eight bouts of prickly heat-poor Carenna
9. Nine hours of marathon shopping in Metro Manila with Cousin Cindy Nieva ( professional shopper)
10. Ten asthma attacks in Manila-not known for air quality
11. Eleven types of rice cakes ( 11 hour hangover for Ella)
12. Twelve of us crammed in a van during the round Marinduque Island Tour

Ditas is my youngest daughter. For her Professional Achievements visit her LinkedIn Site:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ditas-katague

This is Dinah's memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary

The David King Family at our Golden Wedding Anniversary

The following is from Dinah's Christmas Newsletter, describing the family's trip to the Philippines during our golden wedding anniversary celebrations as well as the current status of her children, Ian and Elaine as well as husband, David King.

I'm here again at my favorite time of the year. Besides good food, we all make an extra effort to remember those people who have touch our lives in a positive memorable ways this past year. This time of the year always give me a special glow inside that makes me grateful for all the blessings in my life. Now, allow me talk about my favorite subject. My family of course!

Our 2008 year, actually started in December, 2007. On the 20th of December, Lolo Katague's birthday, the King family boarded an airplane at the SFO International Airport headed to the Philippines, to spend 16 days experiencing the country of my parent's birth and to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary. I could spend pages describing what a wonderful experience this was for everyone, but then I would just bore you all. Meeting all the cousins, eating, drinking, dancing, joking, betting, taking risks, attending cock fights, picnic excursion, riding tricycles and jeepneys and even destroying the natural coral reefs by shooting firecrackers into the ocean, as well as swimming and snorkeling and experiencing a wonderful culture and family that has lived half a world away, makes me feel so blessed to have been able to share this experience with my children and husband.
A big "THANK YOU" to all the Nieva's and Jambalos side of the family for making us feel a part of your lives. We have all agreed to make the trip again in four years. Then, maybe this time, we can spend a month and get to know the Katague's side of the family.

Upon returning to the Unites States, I was greeted with the fact that my contract work was not going to be renewed, because my employer had been laying off people since September. This was not unexpected and it gives me time to look for another job.

By the time you get this letter, I will have entered my second art show and sale. I have actually sold pieces of my pottery, so to be able to make this hobby a saleable endeavor is exciting.

Note: Dinah is my oldest daughter. She was born in Chicago, Illinois. She obtained her BA degree from Sacramento State University and Masters Certificate in Paralegal Studies at St. Mary College in Moraga, California. She was formerly married to David King, a former classmate. They have two children, Ian, 30 and Elaine, 28, both college graduates. For more of her professional achievements visit her Linkedin site:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinah-katague-cams-832ab67

Here's Dodie Memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary

Here's Dodie's description of his trip to attend our Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration in Boac, Marinduque. Dodie ( Diosdado) is our oldest son. Unfortunately, none of his family were able to attend.

"Last Christmas and New Years (2007-2008), I spent the holidays away from my wife and children. I was in the Philippines with my parents, brother, and sisters celebrating my parent 50th wedding anniversary. I had a great time visiting the country of my birth, but missed my family, who stayed home. I know it would be an adventure with or without them.

And what an adventure it was! Just getting to the small island of Marinduque from Manila after a 16 hour plane ride took another 8 hours via a van on a two lane road dodging cars, jeepneys, motorized tricycles and livestock to get to the ferry port. We missed the ferry by 15 minutes and had to wait another 4 hours on the dock. The 3-hour ferry trip was crowded because of the Christmas holidays and there were no seats in the passenger section so we slept in the van in the cargo hold for most of the sea-faring trip. Fortunately, I did not get sea sick.

We arrived at my parents house around midnight-24 hours after boarding the plane. But that was the worst part of the journey and I kept thinking that I was glad that my family was not with me because they would have complained the entire time and there was nothing I could do about it. I took in all the bad and the good things that happened, and I had the experience of a lifetime.

Chateau Du Mer Main House-My Parents Winter Residence

What I discovered about my parents surprised me. They were raised closer to the land than I ever know. Just imagine going back to visit your relatives on the farm back in Iowa that's how I felt. Except my parents were rural folks in the tropics. Still, they have a retirement home on a few acres right on the beach,a housekeeper, cook, driver and gardeners, so it was a very comfortable vacation once we arrived.

My parents renewed their wedding vows in the same historic church(the Boac Cathedral built in 1756) they were married in 1957. We wore traditional Filipino clothes( barong tagalog for men) and my brother and sisters were all part of the ceremony. I saw some American tourists peaking into the church and taking pictures of us and I remember thinking, "Those tourists are going to show pictures of me to their friends thinking they got a snapshot of the Filipino culture when all they really got was a picture of some overweight short guy from California". From Dodie (Diosdado) Katague, newsletter, 2007-2008

Note: Dodie, my oldest son was born in the Philippines, but immigrated to US when he was only 18 months old. He has a law degree from UC Davis and now a successful prosecuting attorney in Northern California. He early retired last year to devote more time writing his second novel. He is married to his former classmate, Ruth Carver, also a lawyer and they have 3 children, Philip, Alix and Marina. This trip was his first trip back to the island. Here's a short biography of Dodie as the author of Cloyne Court.

Dodie Katague lived at Cloyne Court Coop from 1977-79 while he attended the University of California, Berkeley. he graduated in 1981 with a degree in Geography. He graduated from the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law in 1985. Since then, he is a prosecutor in Martinez, California. Dodie is working on his second novel, "Rock Star Planet", a Young Adult science fiction adventure. He is waiting to retire to finish his third novel, "Devil Mountain DA", a fictional account of life in a dysfunctional district attorney's office.

David is single and currently works for the Federal Government (TSA) in Sacramento. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from UC Davis and a Masters of Science degree in Public Management and Policy with concentration on Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University. He used to work for the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) in Washington DC during the Clinton and Gore Administration. During the time of his employment with OMB we received annual Christmas cards from the White House as well as special invitations to special events such as the Easter Egg Hunting in the lawn of the White House and Parties for OMB employees. David E is learning how to speak Tagalog. During our 50th wedding anniversary party in 2007, he addressed the guests in Tagalog and made a good impression. His Tagalog is improving but still has the American accent. Macrine and I are proud of his desire to learn the language of his ancestry. Without David's help, we will never be able to enjoy staying in our island paradise in the Philippines for as long as we desire. Today, David E is keeping me company after Macrine's passed away last year. (8/2020).

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Memories of Our Golden Wedding Anniversary for StoryWorth Book

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