“long live the imagination! liberty! love! poetry!” – the republic of dreams by g. garfield crimmins
It’s late Friday afternoon, my brain is already on weekend mode, so I just took this photo of my desk in its current state. Note the presence of two food items. One I’m eating, the other an unintentional decor. Can you guess which is which? Haha! Ok, ok, that fruit will be eaten soon, I promise. Happy weekend, everyone!
My new online desktop toy. 
I love this! Another time-waster, haha! I downloaded it to use for work – really! But of course I had to test it on my accounts first. 
Seriously now, I’m going to add our brand’s Twitter and Facebook accounts as soon as we get them in shape.
For those still not aware of what TweetDeck is, check out their website.
Typhoon, flood, exploding transformers and sub-stations, ergo, blackouts… Disaster seems to be raining down Eastern Metro Manila!
Just as we’re picking up the pieces from Typhoon Ondoy’s onslaught, us residents of Marikina, Pasig, and Rizal are now facing several days’ worth of long power interruptions. First, it was due to a transformer that exploded in Tanay. Then it was compounded by the explosions of three sub-stations! We just got our electricity back last Thursday night, and barely a week after, we’re facing darkness again. All we want is for life to get back to normal as quickly as possible since it’s the best way to recovery. This recent round of disasters is making it difficult for us to go back to the comfort zone of our routines.
Sorry, I’m just whiny today. These recent events are really stretching my nerves to the limit. It’s heartbreaking enough to see what has happened to my beautiful city over and over again as I travel to and from work every day.
More than ever, I am reminded of the importance of faith. We just have to believe that this too shall pass, and that something REALLY good is waiting for us after everything we’ve experienced. We are not given trials that we cannot bear.
And now it’s our brothers in Northern and Central Luzon that are experiencing what happened in Manila two weeks ago. I really believe that one disaster after another could only lead to something exceptionally good. Can’t wait to see what it is!
Goldilocks popcorn for breakfast. Will now get off Twitter to get some work done. Have a nice stormy day!
9:54 AM Sep 26th from web@cezhernandez Not yet flooded, thank God. But the water’s just a few meters na lang from the chapel. If it reaches there we’re flooded na.1:34 PM Sep 26th from web in reply to cezhernandez@cezhernandez How are you doing? Stay safe.1:35 PM Sep 26th from web in reply to cezhernandezMarikina flood report: Just a few meters and water fr Mrkna river will already reach Sta. Elena chapel. Some residents already evacuating1:52 PM Sep 26th from web water already on our street. logging off now . 2:10 PM Sep 26th from web
That was my series of tweets before the first time floodwaters ever reached our street and our home. How fast things could go from wonderfully mundane to the worst day of our neighborhood. Water eventually reached waist-deep inside our house and almost chest-level on the street.
We were having some work done on our house so we had two carpenters with us that afternoon – Bambam and the aptly-named Joseph. What a blessing those two men were. Kudos to them for still reporting for work in spite of the storm. Without them, we would have lost a lot more than just a few desks. They hoisted the refrigerator and the gas stove onto heavy tables to minimize submersion in the floodwater. They also took care of the furniture and all the other appliances.
Here was the order in which I brought stuff up to the second floor: our dog; the storage bin filled with my favorite books and lots of new books; my Mac; food (including cooking ingredients), water, dishrack, and other necessities. Our maid was very efficient in using big palangganas and boxes to haul other stuff. I was actually surprised that almost no books got wet, except for a few that were accidentally dropped in our hurry to bring them upstairs. My dad was great in pulling out drawers to save the items inside and at the same time use them to haul more things. So now we have more drawers than desks, haha!
By 3.30 pm, with the water already thigh-deep and power already out, we finally went up and began the vigil at the top of the stairs, waiting to see how the flood would rise. We nervously watched as the water covered step after step, finally topping the 5th of our 14-step staircase, before eventually subsiding by midnight.
We were also nervous while waiting out the flood because of the thought of how bad the situation could be for other people in other more flood-prone places if we had been flooded that deep! We have NEVER been flooded before, so we were already imagining the worst.
We eventually settled down and began to think of the next hours. Dinner was the priority. We had some cooked rice and raw lumpiang shanghai, with cooking oil and frying pan, but no stove to cook it in. I even made the desperate suggestion of putting the pan over a lighted candle. Then we remembered that our next-door neighbor’s living quarters are all on the second floor as their first floor serves only as a garage. Our helper climbed out our window, walked on the roof over the first floor of both houses, and knocked on our neighbor’s window to ask if she could cook our food on their stove. To her surprise, she found a number of other people inside – our neighbor took in some residents who live much closer to the river and whose houses were almost totally submerged.
The evening passed uneventfully after that, and the flood eventually subsided by midnight. It was probably the worst 9 hours of our lives. But still, it was nothing compared to what many others went through – are still going through as I write this.
We’re ok – after the first floor of our house (in Marikina) got flooded, waist-deep. Will post in detail (including some photos) in the next few days. Still no power. I’m at the office now to charge cellphone battery and use the Internet – and get some work done as well. Will go home in a while to pass by the grocery. Very few stores are open in our area. We really need help with the garbage situation! I’ll update again tomorrow.
I’m currently a neglectful blogger. My blogging time has been eaten up by other things – such as new online drug Twitter and a steadily growing pile of unread books – not counting Tin’s library, which I will soon raid. Add to that the undue stress at work. Let’s just say that someone forgot the “design” half of the job title. And it’s the more crucial half! I hope to get my blogging rhythm back soon. I really need that, the way things are going. I’m just glad that other areas of offline life are going well.
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In other news…I’m getting the new iPod Nano as a just-because present from my cousin! Her parents are coming over from New York in October, and they’re bringing it with them. The video cam, voice recorder and FM radio totally sold me on it. It’s now a perfect travel must-have.
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The cousin mentioned above also told me an endearing story about our nephew. Jollibee New York opened several months ago, and is still getting long lines until now. Our nephew was born here, but moved to the States when he was about 10 years old. He now goes to Cornell University. On his Winter break, he, along with his Pinoy Cornell friends and his brother, stood in line for 2 1/2 hours in freezing temperature just to get their Jollibee fix! This is an endearing story for me because my nephew is such a, in colloquial terms, “conyo” kid. I never imagined that he would fall in line that long for a Jollibee meal. It’s really nice to know that he still has that kind of Filipino-ness.
My cousin, on the other hand, still couldn’t find the patience for the long lines in spite of her endless craving for sweet spaghetti. This is the cousin who asked for sugar and added it to her spaghetti while dining in a five-star hotel. How the waiters were horrified, haha! However, she wrote something in her email that really made me laugh: ”Pero pag may Max’s Fried Chicken na dito, makiki-pila na din ako!!!” I could sooo imagine her making a beeline for it first thing in the morning.
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Well, that takes care of this week’s blogging. Hope to be back sooner than I’ve been doing so these past few months.
Your “fiance” already gave way. Please just shut up now. Tsk tsk tsk. People will now be wary everytime you “help” them. You may just throw it in their faces, just like you did with Sen. Pangilinan, whose only crime was to respectfully disagree with Mar on some issues.
To paraphrase a line from The Parent Trap: ”You want to know the difference between you and Mar? He has class and you don’t.”
Do your own big sacrifice. Back out of your wedding. But we’re just asking too much of you, aren’t we?
In the weeks after President Cory Aquino’s funeral, I found myself searching for yellow ribbons still tied around posts all over the city. It was a tiny, if not superficial, way of reassuring myself that the reawakened spirit of EDSA is staying longer.
And now Mar Roxas gave way for the possibility of Noynoy running for president. I was still a bit ambivalent about it, but the recent words and actions of other opposition wanna-bes canned it. The biggest let-down was Chiz Escudero. According to his Twitter page: ”What I said was ALL OF US, including noy, should be willing to step aside bcoz no one person or party has a monopoly of good intentions.” Hmm…if all of you would step aside, who would then step up? And then, shortly after, he said that he’s not backing down from running for maybe even the presidency. I’m sick and tired of everyone saying that they’re willing to step aside for the good of the country. Just do it!!! Or just don’t say anything at all.
Whatever else I may have thought of Mar and his infomercials and that Korina thing, I deeply admire the man for what he did. No matter how some quarters dismiss it as strategy, there was still a great amount of sincerity behind it. I’m actually liking the words and actions of the other members of the opposition. Aside from the amusement value, I think it will eventually turn out to be good for Noynoy and Mar, as long as those two stay on the right track. I just hope Noynoy doesn’t overdo the “following in my parents’ footsteps” thing. Oh, and Kris, you’re not going to be the First Lady – remember that.
On the lighter side naman…
A couple of weeks ago, I joined my friend Tin at Eastwood to watch a Bamboo gig. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to one, so I jumped at the chance when Tin mentioned it to me. There are very few Pinoy bands that I like, and Bamboo is one of them. I like both Bamboo the band and Bamboo the artist since his Rivermaya days. So I was happy when they opened with Hinahanap-Hanap Kita and Kisapmata. I’ve missed those songs! Rivermaya and E-heads songs are an indelible part of the soundtrack of my college years.
I also like that the band is blessed with the twin yumminess of Bamboo and Ira Cruz, hehehe. Friends have been asking me for a celebrity look-alike of The Enigma so they could have a picture of him in their minds, and the best I could give them before was Diego Bunuel of Don’t Tell My Mother. I keep forgetting about Ira! There were a lot more people on his side of the stage, so it was difficult to get a good picture of him. I had this one opportunity, when he was smiling in my direction, but this guy in front of me suddenly raised his camera too and totally blocked my shot. Ayayay, moment gone! Bading siguro, hahaha!
Moonlight, Bamboo, outdoor dinner and good coffee with great friend, and rain right after the show = perfect after-office evening!
To all motorists driving in the vicinity of Santolan Road/Project 4/Cubao, beware of the driver of said jeepney. Give him a wide berth on the road. This morning, he figured in an altercation (a mild term, considering what happened) with our shuttle driver over an almost-accident. It happened very near the intersection of 15th Ave. (I think) and Santolan Road, close to a Camp Aguinaldo gate.
It was a red light and traffic was quite heavy. The jeepney driver got off and walked up to our driver to challenge him to a fistfight. When our driver wouldn’t get out, he went back to his jeepney and got a metal tube that’s about a foot-and-a-half long to use as a weapon. Our driver was also a hot-head himself and was reaching for something in the glove compartment. The two lady passengers in front “hugged” him to prevent him from getting out of the vehicle. We were all pleading with him to just let it go for the sake of his passengers.
Meanwhile, the jeepney driver was like a madman outside, going around our shuttle, screaming and waving his weapon threateningly. When our driver didn’t get out, he hit the front of the vehicle, creating a dent and partially breaking the lower part of the windshield. He went back to his jeepney when the light turned green, but he lightly hit our shuttle’s bumper before speeding away, turning left to continue his route. Our driver chased him, instead of turning right to EDSA. We all told him to let us off first if he plans to chase the jeepney driver. Eventually, he was convinced to cool down and just report the incident. After all, as we told him, he has a shuttle full of witnesses, all of whom noted down the jeepney’s plate number. No one was able to take photos though. I guess we were all scared of the maniacal jeepney driver.
And the other sad thing? Uzis who couldn’t even be bothered to get the attention of the 2 MMDA personnel situated at the corner just a few meters away. There was even one guy who was smiling excitedly like he was just watching a minor ruckus, instead of a potentially dangerous and violent situation. Worse, those MMDA personnel suddenly turned blind and deaf during the incident. I know they’re not the police, but still, shouldn’t it be part of their job to address traffic incidents in the absence of traffic police?
We reported the incident to them after our driver gave up the chase. We all couldn’t believe that they didn’t notice anything that happened given their proximity. I only saw the last name of one of the MMDA personnel – Custodio Jr.
We eventually reached Makati without further incident. As we got off the shuttle, some passengers wished our driver good luck in pursuing his complaint.
Let’s always remind ourselves and one another to keep cool on the road. Better to lose an argument or suffer a little material damage than to risk our lives and the lives of other people.
