while i'm typing this now, winds are howling like beasts outside. among all of the 2-story houses in our street, ours has the highest ceiling that's why we can really hear how ferocious the winds are (or is it the wind? so parang, the wind is howling like a beast? ewan.). hindi pa naman sound proof at shock proof ang windows namin, unlike "kris aquino's 51st floor condo unit". bwaha.
seriously, the events since monday kept me disheveled but apathetic. i am in denial. the tragedy that struck real, quezon is too close to home. for the longest time, Real remains quite unpopular among quezon province's towns. whenever i mention it, people would ask where it is. usually, the other part of quezon, the side near bicol, was what comes to mind first. it was sad to see that Real will be known and be put in the map because of the landslide tragedy. it's just so sad.
the ravaged town of Tignoan was where my mom grew up. fortunately, the now-known maragondon was where my lola chose to live until now (and even at the height of the storm refuses to go here in manila muna--pastar tlaga!! hehe!!), and it was the last place a vehicle can trek, and the rest would be a tedious walk for about 25 kilometers more, to reach Tignoan. my mom told me that landslides were commom occurrences there even before, the only difference was that a helluva more trees were still there, and that it was not a shocking case of super soil erosion. my mom is really affected because some of her friends, whom she has not seen for more than 2 decades, were being featured in the news, dead. i do not watch the news lately because i do not want to see what has happened in Tignoan. last i heard from my mom and uncle, the entire tignoan and its underlying barangays were wiped out, a lot of people were dead and still not found...i just can't bear to see it because it was not theplace i used to know. ganon siguro ako mag-cope sa devastation..by refusing to see what's happening.
more than four years ago, i went to Tignoan with my college friends for an anthropology project with the dumagats. Tignoan was already fluorishing then but still managed to keep the paradise-looking beaches and scenic views. that's how i would want to remember it na lang.
as of press time, my cousins in maragondon were texting me that many of the people they know (classmates, orgmates, acquaintances) wound up dead. but they were thankful, and so am i, because they were able to help those who have not been able to salvage anything. marami na raw sila naipamigay na damit at nagbagsak presyo na yung mga tinda sa grocery ng lola ko ..hehe. which is good. i thank God talaga na kami na lang yung tumutulong kesa kami ang tinutulungan. i believe, more than her shallow reasons, helping out is one, if not the only, reason why my lola decided to stay there. she could come here since monday pa to let things pass lang but she won't budge. siguro, she loved Real all these years, refusing to leave it for any place, why would she leave it now di ba?
as of now, i am praying na lang that yoyong will not be as destructive as predicted. if there is a great opportune time for PAGASA to fail with their predictions, it is now with this storm. classes are suspended at all levels na since 7 pm tonight...i am quite positive wala na rin ang offices tomorrow but i'm still hoping otherwise. aside from prayers, that's the best i can do to other people. eh ano ba naman kung pumasok ka...talaga namang may pasok kapag biyernes. just goes to show na may pasok bukas ibig sabihin, maayos ang panahon, bumagyo man the night before, it was not as destructive. man, this isn't the time to be selfish.
speaking of office, we were forced to leave by 3 pm, kasi nga daw babagsak yung bagyo ng 4 pm. wala rin naman...but I, among a few pthers, were on active watch. kasi i live near the embassy and there are instances na kailangan ng staff to attend to several concerns...like yung pag-help ng US govt, samin icocourse through yan, yung concerns ng amcits na may relatives na andito, etc etc etc. basta they will just call daw and a shuttle will pick me up...and take note, there is no time specified. kesehodang 1 am pag kailangang mag-shift, kasama ka sa pagpipilian. for my part, it would be so cool. pero i'm not hoping for it coz if it happens it spells more doom for other people badly hit by the storm. kaya may emergency staffing kasi something grave happened. so sana wag.
oh man, nagfufluctuate na ang power dito sa amin, baka sumabog na avr ko anytime. whew. let's just continue praying shall we?