A Son's Quest

by Marlon Viloria

It was almost two years ago when I conceptualised the idea of writing a novel. One day, my elder daughter Valerie and I were walking, on our way to school of my younger daughter Jessica when I mentioned to her that I was thinking of writing a novel. Valerie seemed to have liked the idea and she encouraged me to do so. From then on, it never left my mind.

Rewinding a few months’ back, I was working away from home at the time and I was getting fed up travelling back and forth to Germany. The company I was working with as a consultant offered me an extension of my contract for another year but I already knew I could no longer accept it. Although the job itself was interesting and challenging, the travelling part every weekend was taking its toll and becoming unbearable. It was becoming a torture both physically and mentally, aggravated much further when flight was delayed due to a number of reasons, thus diminishing the joy of looking forward to seeing my family again. Believe me, I have experienced them all.

A poetic sigh

by Marlon Viloria

The image is a poem written by my 8-year old nephew that won him a poetry competition at his school, which also formed the basis of this essay. Yes I got that right, an 8 years old kid with a budding creativity in English literature, beating his peers fairly and squarely. In addition to this developing skill, his good grasp of mathematics is also now evident, as well as a promising pianist in the making. In a manner of speaking, he has an all-round ability in academic and extra curricular activities, including sports and if I may also add, keen interest in playing electronic games like Xbox, Nintendo, etc. just like any other kid (or adult) who enjoys such kind of entertainment too.

Valerie's Graduation

by Marlon Viloria

The big day was looming and with the anticipated arrival of my mother-in-law to join us in celebration, it became more real than apparent that it was going to be an extra special day. With the usual razzmatazz filling up the air and further aggravated (or adding more hype) by my wife’s preoccupation of what everyone has to wear on the occasion, it was bound to be a day full of excitement, of lasting memories, a day of utmost importance to the family. This was of course the day when our daughter Valerie was going to graduate from university, the London School of Economics, on 11 July 2012.

My wife and I have not felt pride of such magnitude until this day when Valerie walked up to the stage in recognition to her academic achievements, gaining a joint-degree in Mathematics and Economics with Honours at this prestigious institution. Descriptions of words such as ‘pride’, ‘proud’ or ‘joy’ were less meaningful until this time when it became personal to us, when such accolades afforded to our child seemed to flow freely and directly into every cell of our bodies too, presumably triggering some chemical reactions in our brains thereby producing serotonin levels of exponential proportions…so to speak!

Renee Montemayor

by Rosalie Pichay Viloria-Montemayor

We are blessed to have very talented children, all three of our children have shown strong interest in the performing arts.

Our firstborn, Renee, was the first to get into show business and encouraged her siblings to do the same.  We are very proud of her many achievements in her chosen field.

You can read about Renee's previous works in her official website.

Renee was also featured in Munting Nayon 4 years ago.

The Knot Film

by Rosalie Pichay Viloria-Montemayor

My daughter Rhoda Montemayor, a professional actress here in the UK, is part of this British film to be released in October by Universal.  At this point, it's not sure yet if it will be released outside of the UK.

Rhoda with The Knot ladies and gents

You can see more of Rhoda's other previous projects here.

Rhoda was also featured in the Munting Nayon website 4 years ago.