Afterglows in the Sunset of Our Lives-An Update

Macrine ( my spouse of 56 years) and I retired in 2002. Our friends often asked us, if we have done anything after retirement that we can be proud of. Yes indeed, please read on..

Last April, I took a photograph of a sunset and its afterglow from the west balcony of our retirement home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines. Looking at the photo reminded me of both Macrine's and my professional life in the US.

Macrine retired as Manager, Quality Assurance Nurse from one of Maryland's Home Health Nursing Company. I retired from FDA as a Chemistry Team Leader in the Center of New Drugs, Silver Spring, MD. Both of us had satisfying careers( I had received several awards, letters of commendation and appreciation, and an EEO award). So when we retired in 2002, we often ask ourselves, if this is all that we can contribute to society and the community.

Seven years ago, Macrine received a letter of Appreciation and Thanks from Governor Carmencita Reyes because of her involvement in MI, Inc Medical Mission Of Love, 2006. Macrine was president and over-all chairperson of the medical mission in Marinduque that year. Here's an excerpt from C Reyes letter of Thanks.

Dear Mrs. Katague,

I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for all the assistances extended by MI, Inc. Your association is one of our full-time partners in the delivery of health services particularly in the conduct of medical/surgical missions which benefited hundreds of Marinduquenos. Thank you so much for the support and assistance extended to our administration and to the people of Marinduque. Mabuhay Kayo!

In 2008, Macrine and I received a Letter of Thanks and Appreciation from then Governor Antonio Carrion in our efforts to promote tourism in the island not only during Easter but also whole year round. The letter mentioned several of my blogs and articles that proclaimed my love for the province and encouraging other Balikbayans to build retirement homes in the island.

In 2009, my dream as a "citizen journalist" was attained when two of my articles was accepted for publication in HULIQ News. The first article was about Marinduque as the Ecotourism capital of the Philippines. The second was on the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong, Bataan.

Just recently three of my thousands of readers of my blogs commented: " I have been reading your various blogspots and websites for about one week now. They are all well written and great reading. What I have been reading and following intently in your blog is your life story, very interesting indeed. Please keep on writing and thanks for opening yourself up in your blogs."

A second reader also commented: I have been following your blog for quite sometime. I learned a lot about Marinduque and the Philippines. I specially enjoyed reading your childhood experiences during the Japanense-American War. Your contribution as an FDA employee to the burnt victims of the bombing in New York and the Pentagon is indeed commendable and worthy of an award. Keep writing !

A third reader wrote, I just came across your site while I was looking for background information regarding the Rigodon de Honor. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs and admire your dedication to keeping your blogs updated. Looks like retirement suits you! I am also a Filipino American who have dedicated the last 25 years in pursuit of improving the clinical trial enterprise. I just wanted to let you know that your stories inspired me to look into doing something similar. At age 56 and in the process of yet another reinvention of my professional and personal life,I found some wise pearls in your blogs. Thank you for sharing your stories with the world! Kind regards

Last but not least, a couple of days ago, I received an E-mail and a call from Melvin Rickarby of BBC Radio 4 ( Bristol) in the UK. He interviewed me regarding my article on Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. I am so flattered that he is reading my blogs. There is a possibility that our interview would be broadcasted in his radio program in UK- a documentary on Soul Music. As of today I have close to a million readers in my ten blogs from 174 countries.

Will there be more afterglows in the future? I hope so. I would like to hear that our oldest grandson ( now 22) got married and gave us a great grandchild( that my wife and I can pamper whenever we want to). In addition, we would like to hear the news that our youngest granddaughter( now 10) had graduated from college and that both my wife and myself are still healthy to attend her graduation.

Lastly, my wife and I thanks the Lord for the past, present and future afterglows in the sunset of our lives.

Supervisory Work versus Working Alone

In my 40 years of professional career as a Chemist here in the US, I have experienced working alone as well as supervising the work of others. I have worked in four private firms( for 28 years) and the Federal Government( for 12 years), specifically, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I enjoyed both types of job situation. I tell you why.

My first job was for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. The firm was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation a German conglomerate. My title was “Chemist” and I worked for the Analytical Chemistry Department. The department was composed of about 50 employees half of them were either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. It was a very challenging job, being my first.

I worked alone with six other bench chemist and we report to a supervisor. I worked in Chemagro for five years. The firm sponsored the change of my student visa to a permanent resident visa, so my family and I can reside in the US permanently. The firm treated their employees very well. On Christmas time, all of us received a 13-month salary bonus. The employees along with their immediate families were also treated to an extravagant Christmas Party in a downtown Kansas City hotel, complete with dancing and free drinks all night. I left Chemagro to move to the West Coast for a milder winter climate as well as a 20% raised in salary. My supervisor wanted to keep me, but the company was only willing to give me a 10% salary raise.

My second industrial job was in the Agricultural Research Division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. My job title was “Research Chemist” and again I worked alone with five other chemist reporting to a supervisor who then reported to the head of the Analytical Department. My specific job was again developing analytical methods for detecting pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked for Shell Development for five years until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business and closed their research facility affecting the job of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with Stauffer Chemical Company, Agricultural Research Division in Richmond, California. My job title was “Senior Research Chemist”. Again I worked alone doing the same project as my previous industrial jobs. I worked for 12years at Stauffer Chemicals with outstanding performance evaluation every year. I reached the position of Principal Research Chemist, the highest position attainable in the company without supervisory duties.

One day my supervisor called and informed me that my job has been terminated and I have one day to vacate the facility. It was the most shocking experience in my life. My feeling of anger, sadness and humiliation had been unforgettable. This incident was the lowest point in my professional career.

Fortunately, due to my networking abilities, I found another job just 4 weeks after my termination from the company. My job was in the same field as my expertise- Analytical Method Development for the Detection of Pesticide Residues in Food, Plants and Animal Tissues.

A friend from church hired me as a “Senior Research Chemist” and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. My new employer ( Chevron Chemical Company) was also in Richmond, CA so I did not have to relocate my family. This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of others. I worked for Chevron Company four and a half years, until the company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas. By this time after experiencing three lay offs working for a private company, I vowed that I will never worked for a private company.

My new goal 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 hired by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA)as a “Review Chemist” in the Fall of 1990. In 1994, I was promoted to “Expert Research Chemist” with a Government Service(GS)-14 rating. My expertise was on Antimalarial and Anti-parasitic drug products.

I worked alone doing Chemistry and Manufacturing reviews of all new drug anti-infective drug products submissions (NDA and IND) from pharmaceutical firms submitted to FDA.

As a reviewer, I have the privilege of working 2 days per week at home. I enjoyed this independence so much that I refused a promotion to team leader once. To be a team leader, you will not be able to work at home. You will be required to attend meetings both in-house and with representatives of Pharmaceutical firms every week. In addition you need to supervise six or more chemistry reviewers. However, the second time another opportunity arise, my co-reviewers and supervisor insisted I should apply since I am the best qualified. I did and in 1997, I became a Chemistry Team Leader. As far as I knew, I was the first Filipino-American to attained this position in the history of FDA.

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 also my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group.

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.” The award was the result of my hiring the first Black-American chemist in the Division.

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 is nothing wrong with working alone, if you enjoyed your job. It is even better if you like your immediate supervisor. Working alone develops your skill in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the monetary rewards is much lower than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the works of others is not easy. However, it develops your skill to be more people-oriented and the monetary rewards are great. It is more stressful, more work and responsibility than working alone. But a supervisory job give more personal growth and satisfaction from my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and the most rewarding experience in my life.

Eleven Years after Retirement-Am I still Happy?

Next Month will be my 11th year after retirement. As of today, I am still very happy and felt accomplished, I will tell you why.

About eleven years ago today, I retired from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Before my retirement I was a Chemistry Team Leader for the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs in Silver Spring, Maryland. I considered this job an important venue to contribute my talents and skills to all US consumers and also to all citizens of the world who had purchased anti-infective drug products approved by FDA.

A couple of months after my retirement, I felt useless and missed my co-workers. I also missed the challenge of using my brain in my daily activities as team leader and managing the work of six other FDA employees. This feeling of boredom was slightly alleviated when my wife and I started babysitting for our youngest grand daughter.

Two months after my retirement, a bright idea came to rescue my feeling of inadequacy and uselessness. Why not convert our retirement beach house in the Philippines into a small business-an exclusive beach resort. But, how will I advertised for clients? I decided to create/design a web site. I have no knowledge of creating a web site, but by trial and error, I was able to construct a website, www.chateaudumer.com. I also created another site and I named it http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

My second activity was to promote the island of Marinduque, Philippines (where our retirement home is located ) as a world tourist destination not only during Holy week but also whole year round. This was achieved via my other two blogs http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com and http://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot,com). As a result of this endeavor, I received a letter of Appreciation and Commendation from the Governor of the Province in 2003.

My third activity was to continue in full time mood my volunteer work as a participant/organizer during Marinduque International, Inc medical and dental mission to the province of Marinduque. Along with my spouse, Macrine Nieva Jambalos, we have dedicated our time, resources and hearts to alleviate the medical needs of the poor and needy in the island since our retirement . We have participated to this humanitarian project four times since 2002. I plan again in participating to the next medical mission in Marinduque scheduled for January, 2014.

Last but not least I started writing and blogging. I found this activity relaxing and enjoyable. I had my first article, Marinduque-Ecotourism Capital of the Philippines published in 2009 by www.huliq.com, making me a citizen journalist. This was followed by my two other articles on US National Parks and Monuments and The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant revival in the Philippines. I had also written numerous articles for ViewsHound, now a defunct writing site that was based in UK.

Today, I am also writing for Publish US ( http://pu.blish.us), a writing site based in the US and I also have a page on www.squidoo.com.

May I reiterate that the joy one gets from retirement is very specific. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate retirement. They missed their coworkers and interaction at work. Others with no children or grandchildren spend their free time on traveling, turning their hobbies into small business or more community involvement. Those that retire and hate it are believed to die earlier than those who enjoy their retirement years.

I suggest you plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.

A Medical Device for the Treatment of Hypertension

I have hypertension. I am taking a combination of drugs currently to control my blood pressure. Thus, any new development on the treatment of this malady really interest me. The latest development on the cure of hypertension is not a new drug but a medical device. Continue reading if you or your relatives have high blood pressure, especially if your blood pressure is not effectively controlled by medications.

Last month an article by Jo Wiley was published at www.express.co.uk discussing a simple operation that effectively cure high blood pressure of several British patients. It involves a minimally invasive, catheter-based procedure without the need for a general anaesthetic. The procedure places a small device known as a Rox Coupler to divert blood from an artery to a vein in the upper thigh. This breakthrough treatment could save thousands of lives each year after the trials showed a substantial and ­permanent reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in drugs needed.

The article reported that cardiologists in London and Eastbourne carried out the first half-hour operations using the keyhole process. They reported the results as “exciting” after patients experienced an immediate reduction in extremely high blood pressure.

Dr Neil Sulke, a cardiologist at Eastbourne General Hospital, said: “This operation holds the promise of a meaningful long-term reduction of high blood pressure in patients whose blood pressure isn’t controlled by their ­medication.”

The article stated that the tests are aimed at significantly improving blood pressure levels in patients who have failed to get their blood pressure under control despite taking three or more drugs. The trial was conducted at The London Chest Hospital by Barts Health NHS Trust.

This is indeed good news for all the millions who are suffering of hypertension. I hope that this device will be approved soon. In the meantime, if you are hypertensive continue your medications and practice a lifestyle of exercise and good diet to live longer and prevent a heart attack or a kidney disease.

Enjoying the Fruits in My Neighbor's Orchard

My Mango Tree at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

This morning, when I woke up, I saw a tray of fresh fruits in our kitchen. I realized then that my wife and I are lucky to have an abundance of fresh fruits that we did not have to buy. How in the heck did this happen?. Let me explain.

Our next door neighbor who is a widow and also our casino buddy, has an orchard in her backyard. She has almost all kinds of fruit trees both in her back, side and even in her front yard. Since she is alone in her 4-bedroom house, she just can not consumed all the fruits that she harvests every spring, summer and Fall.

Recently she gave us Japanese pears, plums, grapes, apples, figs, prunes and peaches. Last month we enjoyed the blueberries and raspberries from her garden. She has lemons, oranges, cherries and kumquats in her garden also. There is no grass in her ½ acre of yard, but only ground covers and fruit trees. The fruit orchard was the project of her late husband.

Speaking of gardening, my fruit orchard in Marinduque has also a varieties of tropical fruits. I have papayas ( several varieties), mangoes ( THREE varieties), avocados, bananas (several varieties), star apples, guayabanos and Cashews trees. I have also guavas, rambutans, santol, duhats, jackfruits and lanzones fruit trees. I have also planted several varieties of citrus trees, pomelo, kalamansi, native oranges and lemon trees. My durian fruit trees( two) was a victim of Typhoon, Reming, a couple of years ago.

I hope you have an enjoyable summer. Keep cool in this 3-digit temperatures here in Northern California and the rest of USA. Oh, before I forget eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to stay young and healthy!

My Fourteen Favorite One-Liners

Let me start the month of June with a smile on your Face. Here are my 14 favorite one-liners? I hope this will make your day!

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer.

3. We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.

4. Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake a whole relationship.

5. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

6. If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

7. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

8. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

9. Children: You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up.

10. Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

11. My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.

12. Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand. (Bridge players, this one is for you).

13. The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

14. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't

Do you have a one-liner to share? Which of the above is your favorite? Source: www.onelinerz.net