taking time to remember and be grateful

in 2006, when typhoon milenyo hit the philippines, i was renting an apartment with some friends in quezon city and was working in taguig. i remember taking a cab (in qc) to work (in taguig) and the cab i was in was almost hit by a tree along katipunan. the tree along the sidewalk was uprooted and landed on the road right after my cab passed. scary, but what my family back home in cavite experienced much worse. i remember being so worried as our phone was out of reach but at the same time appeasing myself, reminding myself that our town never gets flooded and it might just be areas near rivers that were affected.. i was watching the news and it was declared that my hometown was already declared under state of calamity and news of people dying was being shown all over. when i finally got home to our province, it was a shock to see that there were watermarks on the walls in our house. the flood was almost waist-high and our PC, and other electronics were all in the backyard: no longer of any use to us. electricity was out. landlines not working. heck, even water supply was not available. turns out that people were so unprepared for the flood. it has never happened and so they were not expecting it. unfortunately, a nearby dam almost overflowed and the gates to it were opened, thus a fast flood was unleashed, totaling most of the area's properties.

up until june of this year, i was renting a house in pasig, near ever gotesco and the cainta boundary and was working in mandaluyong. i'm currently taking a break from working and have been staying in cavite since then. when the rain poured harder, we took all electronics and other important stuff up to our bedrooms, which were a bit higher than the rest of the house. after we have taken all our stuff to safety, we went to the main road, waiting for news. it was kind of a hold-your-breath moment. any inkling that the dam was gonna overflow would have sent us all running back to our houses and make sure none of our stuff gets harmed by the flood. fortunately, before the dam reached its limits, the rain let down. it was as if a collective sigh could be heard all over. the crowd by the main road got thinner and thinner as time passed by until ultimately, the rain stopped. earlier today, i've been watching the news and found out that marikina-cainta-antipolo-pasig-taguig area was hit the hardest. and that they were using ever gotesco as a place to give out relief goods to people. and they were showing video footage of areas including de castro subdivision, with houses that would need boats to get to. ever gotesco was actually within walking distance from the place i used to stay in. and that place was in de castro subdivision.

i guess i can say that i'm lucky. and it makes me feel overwhelmed and grateful and sad at the same time. and frustrated upon reading comments that the media is simply hyping up the events, showing the worst of the typhoon's effects and that people they know living in the philippines told them that it wasn't as bad as media makes it up to be. it's frustrating because it IS that bad. they were probably speaking to those who don't live in the affected areas. or because of the fact that filipinos are typically optimistic in nature. that though tragedies hits our lives, we still put on a brave and happy face for all to see. but what you see on the news IS real. and it may even be worse in places that media couldn't reach.

i feel for all those affected by the typhoon. what our family experienced with milenyo wasn't anywhere near what they are experiencing right now. some have lost all their furniture and would have to start from scratch in rebuilding their homes. but sadder is the fact that other's loss isn't simply material things. some have lost family.

so join me and hundreds of thousands of filipinos in praying that the typhoons which may be hitting the country this week would not be as bad as this as well as for the recovery of those affected by Ondoy.

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