~ milenyo ~

I am writing this from the comforts of a hotel room somewhere here in Makati. After two grueling days in the heat, dark, cold food, lukewarm water, noisy highway & neighbors, inefficient condo guards, low batt mobile phone, dead landline and the uneasy feeling, thanks to my mom I can get some good sleep and warm meals - at least for tonight. I just hope that electricity will be back in our place tomorrow, as mentioned in the news.

As many of you experienced or heard (depends on which part of the globe you are in), the Philippines was visited by one of the strongest typhoons in 11 years! Strong rain and winds are usual occurrences here in Pinas, but this one was so unique. It really battered Metro Manila, crippling the central business district of the country.

Luckily, DepEd made a good decision by calling off Thursday classes by announcing it Wednesday night. Unfortunately for some corporate slaves, they have to endure swaying buildings, torturous commute and dilly-dallying management who cannot decide when to call off work (usually, it happens when almost all employees are already in the workplace and would have a harder time going home!).

I am jumping sequences of events but I hope you get my drift...

To continue... I woke up Thursday morning with no electricity. My cousin texted me not to go out anymore as she knew that I was scheduled to do some bank errands. After briefly talking with JL and Jenjen over the phone (good for them that they left for NY a day early, ahead of Milenyo!), I looked through my window and was surprised to see wind and rain starting to build up. At around 1130am, the wind changed direction and furious Milenyo arrived! I saw through the window strong winds hurling debris, branches, rooftops and orange cones. Vehicles in the skyway where either stopping or backing up with no definite direction to go. I was almost anticipating seeing cars being carried by the wind (I guess I watch too much tv...). I felt I was in the middle of the typhoon's eye that I backed out and closed the blinds, fearing that some things might be hurled towards me. Another cause of worry was that Daddy was unreachable. He went to work early in the morning but with the sudden downpour, all roads where almost closed or unpassable. Amidst poor phone signal, I managed to contact him and learn that he was taking shelter somewhere waiting for the rain to stop before continuing his drive home. I think it was almost 6pm when he managed to get home.

I texted some friends, wishing that they were somewhere safe and warm. Some answered that they were still in the office (safer than to be in the streets) while the others were in the comforts of their homes. Fortunately, all family and friends are safe. And Milenyo, like he arrived, suddenly has passed.

Towards evening, I found myself alone in the dark. The condo suddenly felt so lonely especially that a day before, it was a chaos having my siblings with me. Nothing else to do and with a fervent hope that electricity comes back to normal, I forced myself to sleep. It was not a good one. I woke up from time to time to check my surroundings (I had to leave open the windows just to let some air in) and to fan myself.

The next morning, it seems that nothing happened. It was not sunny but there was no rain. I got dressed so that I can do my bank errands. That was when I saw personally the evidences of the previous day. Debris and uprooted trees were all over the streets. The nearby mall's facade was "shredded" in pieces. Some banks were offline, while others were closed. Blackout still crippled the Metro. Noontime, I desperately needed to recharge my phone's batt so I went to a nearby coffeeshop that was operational because of a genset. I guess others have the same thoughts so there were no available sockets left. Making a wild guess, I went to school. The hallway was dark but it was open...and there were several outlets free!! I plugged and waited for the charging to finish while trying to start my term paper due this coming week. After four hours, school was closing for the day so I had to pack up and go home. I decided to pass by the nearby mall to connect to the internet (wifi, school's connection was not working) to send some work emails, but the coffeeshop was still crowded. So, I just decided to get some food to cover lunch and dinner, and went home. Again, I found myself in the dark. It was another loooong night...

This morning, I was looking forward to my morning class. By 7am, I was already prepared to go to school - hot breakfast, airconditioned rooms, outlets to recharge phone and laptop. But I know that I cannot bear another dark and warm night at home. After getting the go signal from Mommy, during class breaks, I called several inns and hotels but all were fully booked. I was starting to lose hope, especially after checking in with the condo's lobby guard about the power status. No definite time of electricity resumption and no hotel room. After class and after lunch with a classmate, one of my events' contacts texted me that she reserved a room for me but I have to guarantee it asap. After a call, I was all set to go home to get my stuff. I still checked again with the guard but all they can offer me was their standard answer of "no advise from Meralco yet." So, with my school stuff and change of clothes, I left the condo. And so, the beginning of this entry...

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The typhoon gave me some sad realities...well, I guess that's my luck for now. I don't blame anybody nor have any grudges (heartaches, maybe). I'll be fine.

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Again, thanks, Mommy...thanks for making me feel "at home."