the whip of Ondoy

The sun is shining again. But it’s not shining on the same ground anymore. Coz this ground is a mess, in ruins from the damage wrought by the worst typhoon to hit Philippines in 40 years, typhoon “Ondoy”.

All the images, footages, stories circulating around the media and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, Tumblr are really heartbreaking. All the properties we worked hard for, swept away by the ignorant flood water. But more than the properties, it’s really the lives lost that pierce my heart so much. In the news they reported 7 kids (related as cousins) died together because of the flood. Their bodies were soaked in mud. It made me cry, thinking about their future that can never be fulfilled now, because they were gone too soon. And there are still more.

I felt like a part of me was swept away too when I saw these:

more here. Wah, USTe.

Backtrack:

I was on my way to the office that Saturday (September 26) when early in the morning the rain fell so ragingly. I didn’t make it pass the underpass going to Intramuros because the corner of N. Almeda Lopez was already flooded. I rode a pedicab and tried with all my mighty charm to haggle the fee. Kuya Pedicab was charging me with P40. Too bad I didn’t remember then that when Mu and I went to Seamen’s Hospital (which is just a few steps away from Manila Bulletin) we got a good deal in paying only P40 for the two of us - from Central Terminal station! Nevertheless, in the end he gave in and we met halfway - P35.

In the evening Mu picked me up from the office. Her lower extremities were wet. She told me the area near SM Manila was a like a sea with all these violent waves. The flood was waist-deep. Good thing she brought some clothes. They were meant for me but I told her she needed to change more than I do. So she did. I’m almost in tears listening to what she had gone through, I didn’t want her to get hurt or anything, but I’m just really thankful that she fetched me and we went through it together. Thank you Mu.

We rode the pedicab that Mu rode going to the office. She made a deal with young Kuya Pedicab that he would take us to Carriedo station since traversing to Central Station would be like swimming. He pedaled and pedaled inside Intramuros and there was nothing but darkness and sound of moving water. For that moment I felt as if the world stood still and time held its breath, save for us who were struggling towards our destination. I’ve never seen Manila as quiet, as haunting and as desolate as I did that Saturday evening. I think I only saw a single jeepney, and then some ten people walking along the bridge. 

Mu and I are really grateful for young Kuya Pedicab. He was really nice and did his best - even to the point of lifting his tricycle from one side of the road to next in order to take us to Carriedo. I felt really blessed meeting a person such as him coz it’s rare to find such genuine people who truly care. Along with our payment I also gave him Skyflakes (yes I still do bring snacks at work, you know my metabolism LOL). I hope that helped ease his hunger and exhaustion.

Thank God the flood subsided in Monumento, and thank God that the flood inside our house subsided too (not outside, though. It was only the next morning when it did). Some of our things got wet, and some of them are still in the drying stage. Thank God too, because my friends and acquaintances are safe with their families. 

Came Sunday I took a pedicab from Carriedo to Intramuros because Central Station is still flooded. I even saw a taxi nearing submergence and a bus half-submerged in water. When I went home in the afternoon I had to stand on the seat of the pedicab I rode that will merely take me on the other side (Ate Pedicab removed the cover of her pedicab so I was able stand erect - except I think I was still Kampanerang Kuba LOL). I was like in a motorcade/parade of a festival of flood. 

I decided to ride a jeepney so I could check out the condition of other parts of Manila. Recto was like a sea, too. And kids enjoyed themselves as if it was a resort swimming pool. They didn’t care even though they had wounds on their knees.

Other parts of Metro Manila and beyond are still flooded. There are still thousands of evacuees. But we are Filipinos and Filipinos are resilient. I believe that as long as we’ll help each other in any way we can, big or small, it will make a difference as we rise from this fall. Let’s help each other.

Check out these valuable links to know how you can do your share:

Bianca Gonzales’ Blog (she compiled everything! Super indeed!)

Philippine Red Cross: Ways to Donate

Ondoy on Facebuko: Drop Off Points Map

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE WHATEVER YOU CAN DO! EVEN A LITTLE HELP WILL GO A LONG, LONG WAY! *rock* New days are ahead and we can rebuild what was destroyed.

7 things

No, it’s not “your eyes, your smiles, your old Levi’s”, and “when we kissed I’m hypnotized”.  LOL.These are the 7 things evolving inside my head like celestial bodies. And don’t worry (oh well if you are), Miley Cyrus is not one of them. Haha.

1. For the past few blog entries I seemed to skip, unintentionally though, writing about the matters of the heart. But I realized that it would be more “valuable” if I spew it out into the virtual world. I know I can just be anybody out here who rides the “needless self-promotion” bandwagon, but it would be nice to put that ride to good use. Here I go:

When we’re at the peak of our feelings, we always think that forever is forever, and that healing seems far-fetched. I myself went through that phase and that phase is not all sugar. But for this matter, time is my friend, because time gently and gradually hushed the angry waves  of my heart. “Now” is all that we really have, because tomorrow it will never be the same. We won’t always feel the way we do. Realizing this has both become boon and bane for me. Boon because, of course, there is nowhere else to go but forward. Nothing else to do if you did what you got to. Just as what I have tweeted:

And it’s hard to go on when you don’t want to, right?  The most difficult enemy is the self, and the free will that resists. On the other hand, my “artistic” side finds it bane because there are songs which I have yet to write, songs which I feel indebted to write and which I believe will help me free everything. But it’s difficult when you’re not in the same state as when the idea stroke. Creatively you’re there, but emotionally you’re detached. I’m still trying to reconcile both areas. I have to! Sayang naman kasi yung ideas. Hehe.

2. I’ve had some “chance encounters” [insert *evil grin* here] in the past few weeks, and they’ve been renting quite a space in my mind for some time now. Cheesy as it sounds, it makes me wonder what if I got to know more of these people, more than a brief exchange of looks and smiles, or a few hours of non-stop conversation, and not merely be passers-by? Maybe that curiousity, that mystery, is what keeps me into thoughts of it. 

3. On one of our breakfast talks, my Pupi told me (well this is the paraphrased version LOL): “You don’t have to make us proud. Ang importante yung mag-enjoy ka at maging happy ka”. I held a lump in my throat for a long while. These simple words are what I will hold on to.

4.  “Playful banter about pranks or petty crimes committed in school or at work,including youthful escapades, may accidentally be read by the staff of the company you have applied for a job. It is prudent to bear in mind that once a message or photo is uploaded in the Internet, that material can be read, not only by its intended receiver, but by anyone who has access to a computer.”

-  Raul J. Palabrica, “Social Networking Risks”

My eyes grew wide while reading this article. It reminded me of a playful/naughty remark I told my friends on one of our virtual hangout places not long ago, but in no ill intention whatsoever to whom I “attributed” it.  Wahwahwah. Oh please don’t sue me. I have come in peace. *beautiful eyes*

5.  I really really really wish (to the nth power) to the heavens above that in the very near future I’d be able to attend a Songwriting workshop somewhere. I’m more than willing to work my butt off to earn money for it. Oh please, Bro.

6.  These little moments, simple moments I get to spend time with Mu and Pu are just so precious to me. I cherish everything, all the laughter, the jokes, the pranks, the intellectual debates, the heart-to-heart talks, that day when we watched Up. I cherish that day, Pupi’s birthday, when he sang me a song called “Just You” (”with a big brown eyes she came my wayyyyyy…”) and just a while ago when our karaoke-ing (here goes my penchant for inventing words) neighbors sang Michael Buble’s “Sway”, we danced even though we both have left feet. Haha. These sweet moments really mean a lot to me.

7.  A new beginning is coming. I can sniff its aroma like fresh grass and fully-grown flowers in the field. So help me Bro.

The Power Couple

I waited with caffeine-stricken mind and palpitating heart (LOL, I drank coffee around 7 in the evening) for 10:45 PM last night to catch “The Last Journey of Ninoy”. It’s a documentary produced by the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation and Unitel Productions. For someone like me who’s a Post-EDSA baby, I needed some outside boost so that I wouldn’t droop while watching such a relevant and historical production that would give me a better insight on how to better appreciate my freedom as a Filipino.

 Ninoy Aquino, I believe, was marked with an important mission before he came to Earth (and specifically, to the islands of the Philippines). His character, his passion, and his determination just came serendipitously together in order to make a hero out of him. How intense he was during that speech when he was asserting his convictions about Marcos’ desire to save the democracy but by imposing his iron hand he killed it. 

“What can one man do? I have no money, I have no army. I only have my indomitable spirit.”

But he wasn’t just one man, he’s THE man. His mind was set to set the country free, and his faith, though tested countless of times, was unwavering. I was especially touched with his incarceration in Nueva Ecija. When he didn’t have anything with him and he shared that during those hard times he would fiddle his fingers, walk from side to side in his 4×5 room, count seconds to minutes to hours until he would fall asleep.  With that he knew what loneliness means. Oh man, the tears in my eyes were just flooding. More so when Cory and her children went there for a visit and they couldn’t really hold each other because a chicken wire stood between them. Wahwahwah. 

Watching the whole film reinforced in me the idea that in achieving your heart’s greatest desire, a lot of sacrifices would definitely have to be made, and a lot of hardships will have to be gone through. And I remembered what one of the priests said (I forgot his name, my memory gap bad) during Cory’s necrological service that those who are gifts from God shall suffer. Suffering, then is an essential element in the fulfillment of a particular purpose.

Cory and Ninoy’s love for each other is just so amazing it makes me cry. Much more than their love for the country, I can’t help but admire how strong their love for each other was and how they brought the best in each other,  how they kept their faith in God and in each other, as what Cory has shared in her final interview. Amazing Power Couple who became important catalysts for People Power. 

Ninoy’s final words in the film, which are actually part of his tear-jerking and riveting love letter for Cory, just tore me, but hopefully in a good way.

“I’ll try to call you tonight if the authorities will allow me. Otherwise just remember me in your dreams.”

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. True love. True love. True love. Lucky are those who get to know True Love and get to Save the World (or a Country, at least) at the same time.

And with all the cheesiness aside, I’m just so proud as a Filipino, sharing this race with two of the greatest Filipinos that ever lived.

Photo credit: Tribute to Ninoy

florilegium

In my (desperate) attempt to come up with an (original) title which could sum up all the things I want to talk about in this entry (reminiscent of my previous one with an association to a frantic rifle), I scoured my mind for words other than “hodgepodge”, “miscellaneous”, “halo-halo” and “chopsuey”. Unsatisfied, I typed in the Google Search Toolbar “define: miscellany”. That’s where I found an interesting word which became the title of this entry. Geez, such a long story. Haha. Interesting as I’ve said, “florilegium” means:

an anthology of short literary pieces and poems and ballads etc.

Weee, I learned something today. Albeit it doesn’t exactly mean “miscellaneous” or “various” things. Hehe.

BULILIT, BULILIT

* Yesterday I had another sweet and naughty encounter with a kid. It happened in one of the waiting areas of the hospital Mu, Pu and I went to. To kill time I played Sudoku and I didn’t expect anything “childish” to happen. Haha, Then on our right we saw this little girl holding a piece of biscuit and looking at us. She was smiling. So we smiled back. No I grinned back. She seemed to cheered extra up and began playing around like hiding from behind the seat and went “Bulaga!” on us everytime. We’d laugh and she did too. I don’t know how many kinds of faces I made just by playing with her.  Haha. On several ocassions she would reach her biscuit out to us, as if offering. Then we’d stretch our hands out as if begging for her saliva-filled crackers. Then she retreated and put the entire piece of biscuit on her mouth. The people near us seemed to notice and perhaps made an entertainment out of our scene. Haha. The little girl’s guardians didn’t seem to mind much, they were fine with it and let her play along.

When she went down her seat and walked around, she on many times almost went to where we were but would always retreat back. Maybe she’s shy? Pupi said, “Nagsisiste eh”. He suggested we give her some candies. So Mume took out our candy bag (Friends you know how this looks like *winkadoodle*). I got the last piece of my Sugus strawberry candy, and two Lipps candies - Mango and Tamarind and handed it to Pupi. He stretched his right arm out to her. “Wag niyo siyang tingnan para hindi mahiya.”  She just almost always gave in but always ran back to her guardians. When it was our time to go, Pupi simply gave it to her. Then I said, “Babay” with the biggest grin I could muster.

WAZSOUP?

* Also from yesterday, for lunch we tried this small restaurant near the hospital, called “Country Chicken”. I was craving for Chinese food and it was the nearest answer to my palette and tummy. It was our first time there, so I decided to try their “Chicken Special” with Yang Chow Fried Rice. Pupi ordered that too, except that his is just plain rice. And as for Mu, she simply wanted the regular chicken coz she thought she won’t be able to finish the whole thing. Haha. We also ordered some “Nido Soup” to make our meal more complete and engaging. Yeahbah!

While sipping my soup I realized something. Soup is my comfort food. And I think that Soup is a nurturing food. A Ratatouille moment hit me and I recalled when I was little when I got sick Pupi will make me some soup or some gruel and it never fails to make me feel better.  Sunny days, rainy days, windy days, a soup would make me a happy Wengky.

WAY BACK INTO LOVE… FOR PET SOCIETY

* After my friend Adie convinced me how fun the all-new fishing activity in Pet Society, I decided to visit my pet Wenggoy Jr. after eons of leaving him with 0% happiness, 0% hygiene and 0% health. And then all my love for taking care of a virtual pet in the tradition of Neopets are all coming back to me now. New items woke up the “inner decorator” in me so I get to have a virtual kind of mental exercise through decorating my pet’s house. I still have a long way of earning gold coins to go. Haha. Then last night Wenggoy Jr. entered the Cash Shop only to find the items I kind of “envisioned” to be on the house’s facade:

   The Plate Armour Decor, Magic Stone Decor and Stone Shield Decor are wanteddddddddddd! Reminds me of King Arthur. The orange royal bed would also be love, but there’s a danger that Wenggoy would blend with the color coz he’s yellow/orange! LOL!

This Viking ship would also be an excellent display. Oh man. Can it not be purchased with real moneyyyyyy?

But too bad, I would need real money via credit card to purchase those items. I wonder how and why Playfish came up with that idea. It’s just weird to purchase, in dollars take note, virtual items when you could just buy something else, something tangible and useful in real life! There was a suggestion I read on a Pet Society fan blog site about having instead a conversion system. Like for instance, 1000 gold coins equals 1 Playfish coin! Sounds more applicable to me.

bang bang bang!

I’m gonna hit this blog post like a restless rifle and list down these random and not-so random thoughts in my mind recently:

* It’s my first time to buy my own copy of TIME Magazine. I got the August 17, 2009 issue a while ago with Cory Aquino on the cover (Yipee! Yipee!). I can imagine this as an important memorabilia for me, like hanging on my wall or something (huwhattt?). Whoops, I initially thought though that everything in there is about her, but the special report is only composed of three articles. I’m excited to read them as well as the other stuff in it. Wee squeezing some reading.

* Now I’ve realized why I’m still here, and why I didn’t chose the path I was confronted of taking before. I’d rather be here doing my best to realize my dreams day by day even little by little, than be somewhere else just because. And God knows how very much thankful I am being here. The pleasure of doing Nothing, is the pleasure of doing Everything.

* Learning a skill is one of the most challenging (I don’t wanna say “difficult” - my bias for words and how can they impact the person saying them) forms of learning, because it is not just acquiring “technical” knowlege about it but also developing the discipline in order to do it well and long. I am still, very much, a very novice novice. Haha. But I’m working on ittttttttt!

* In connection in above’s last word, another ArchuInfluence (as in Archuleta influence): If you see and/or follow his Twitter page, you’d notice his penchant for repeating letters, like, “Meet me in St. Louiiis Louiis meet me at the faiiir. Haha. That’s where we are today” and “It’s enough, to make kings and vagabonds, believe the very beeeesstt“. Recently I noticed myself doing the same thing. Not just because I love the person who does it, but I have fun doing that toooooooooo. It gives this impression that you really feel strongly for what you are saying or you want to hold it a bit longer. Naks.

* There is something, like a catchy pop song (yes Lady Gaga?) that you can’t and in some way admitedly or not, keeps on playing in your head. You battle it out like a broken record - stop. play. stop. play. You want it to stop because you don’t feel right getting on with it. But another part of you want to keep playing it because it feels good inside, tickles those parts that you thought are numb. Result: a confusing case of LSS.

* That issue involving Willie Revillame and his “uncalled for” comment during the simulcast airing of Wowowee and Cory Aquino’s funeral: I think I understand what he was trying to say, something like “mahirap magpasaya ng mga tao kung nakikita ko na sa labas ay nagluluksa dahil sa pagkamatay ni Cory. Nagluluksa rin ako para sa kanya pero may trabaho akong magpasaya ng tao kahit na may bigat sa loob ko”. But the thing is, the way he said it appeared arrogant. Perhaps the tone of his voice and the rise of his temper were attributed to his staff but then it was heard all over national and global TV. It was bad publicity for him but I think to suspend him indefinitely as a host in the noontime show would be a demerit to the whole program. He is the man of Wowowee. He is sorry and he is forgiven by the Aquinos. That should be a lesson for him to be more responsible in his words and actions from now on.

* Have you seen the latest advertisements of Papa Ketchup? Story 1 is set in a classroom and the teacher is lecturing/writing something on the board, while the students have their books on their desk. Everytime the teacher turns her back and writes, the students put down their books and eat their was-it-chicken-? meal with Papa Ketchup. Story 2 is set in a music rehearsal or class where three students have a practice of do-re-mi with their instructor on piano. The teacher got angry and reprimanded them “From the top!!!!!!!” because the third kid is not singing. Why? Because he is eating his friggin’ chicken with Papa Ketchup! Just my two cents, this is a bad ad. It doesn’t teach kids the proper values they should live by - the value of respect and behaving accordingly in class. I hope something is done regarding this. Or am I the only one noticing? Geez, this reminds me of our thesis and the Lucky Me “Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga” advocacy. Ayiheee, school.