Weather remains bad for almost a week already but so far Santa Claus has braved heavy rains and strong winds, unload some toy cars, and a dominoes set. Marcus must have been that nice.
Marcus used Sketch to achieve this.
***
The rain let up somehow to let my father-in-law celebrate his 80th birthday today and every family member was there except for a few. Marcus too hasn’t dropped by lately due to wheelchair access concerns but come rain or shine we committed to being there. Good job to everyone who made it happen.
***
Mood: 2/10 Honks! (It’s starting to rain again but we’re warm and cozy at home.)
Typhoon Glenda (international name Rammasun) gave us a taste of what it’s like to be in the middle of a strong typhoon. Measured by PAGASA to have winds of 120-150 kilometers per hour, thus the signal number three warning in CALABARZON area, it has reminded us to take such weather disturbance seriously.
In my three years of driving to Nuvali, this is the very first time I felt so much danger. I have driven a lot of times through strong rain but Glenda’s fury topped everything else so far. Thanks but no thanks to its combination of hours of heavy downpour and gusty winds, it blew away roofs, shattered windows, and uprooted trees regardless of size. And I almost became a victim.
Planning to let the storm pass I settled in our company’s sleeping quarters only to be awakened by a security guard who asked me to move my car ASAP. True enough, rushing to where I parked I saw that a couple of guards where already holding on to a tree that’s threatening to smash my car any moment. I was actually lucky as two other cars few meters away from mine got hit already. I owe those guards big time.
Having nowhere to transfer—the rain have slowed down that morning but the wind remained strong, so strong that it shook the car hard—I decided to head home. It was a very bad decision.
Picture by Jim Labuga.
Just meters after driving away, the wrath of the typhoon became more apparent. What used to be a serene area, Nuvali has become a war zone. I pushed my luck, nevertheless, by weaving in and out of toppled trees and even braving a foot-deep flood that stretches for several meters. I had to check the door sides while slowing making my way out of it to see if water is already seeping in.
I got past the Paseo intersection flood with the car still running perfectly although I was only able to drive barely two kilometers more. I got into a dead end of trees totally blocking my way so I conceded and turned back to the office to wait further.
It was past 10 a.m. when I got out of the office after I got a text from a colleague that they were able to pass through another route. I took the detour but I still have to maneuver cautiously with few other motorists between tree branches that could either scratch or dent our cars anytime we lose our focus. I reached home before lunch time thankful that wifey and kid were ok.
***
Power supply at home returned after 24 hours while Nuvali’s was fixed two days after the storm. During these days, the surrounding area have been dark and noisy due to the generators. I got back to parking at the same spot, this time with only a few surviving trees. At least when the next storm comes, hopefully none anymore, I only have the lamp posts to worry about.
***
Mood: 2/10 Honks! (The plan today is to let Marcus step out of the house. He’s been in since cancellation of classes last Monday.)
This must be the worst leak I can recall. Since yesterday afternoon rain continues to pour hard and our roof is taking a beating. If I recall it right, this is the most number of leaks we have seen since we lived in this house. Other than our kitchen’s ceiling where water has been seeping through mysteriously for years already, the drippity drop—thank you Dr. Seuss for the adjective—found its way in more location of our humble place.
Thanks but no thanks to the torrential rain courtesy of typhoon Maring as last night we have to deal with a bad leak on top of our bed. It continued on that it left me and wifey no choice but to wake Marcus up just so we can move the bed away from the spot where water has invaded our comfy sleeping area. Despite the early morning chaos, it’s a consolation that Marcus finds excitement in helping us move things such as his books, stuffed toys, and pillows, while I suppress so much frustration over our predicament. It took him a while to go back to sleep with me telling stories just to steer his attention away from the dripping ceiling.
As of this morning, we have water scoops, basins, and rags in three other places of the house and with rain still pouring, we might need to empty them soon or later. Ti abi.
***
Beside stray cats, I have been a regular visitor of our roof. But the furry felines go there to play and bum around while me, to figure out the sources of the unexplainable leak. In fact, two weeks ago I was there. I hammered loose nails and patched suspected holes. And last night, I learned that I need to be there again.
My handy helper attempting to join me on top of our roof.
***
For the 2nd Monday in a row, Marcus’ school suspended classes along with other schools as ordered by Cavite governor, Jonvic Remulla. In the past years, there have been proposals from lawmakers and concerned parties about changing the start of school year from June to September to avoid students incurring absences just because of the rainy months. It was a plan I used to believe will work.
The weather, however, has become more unpredictable and I now think that it would take more than just following the same time kids in the US go back to school to properly address the issue of attendance during bleak weather conditions. Education authorities must sit down and get their heads together to integrate in the curriculum contingency measures such as utilizing the internet and social media to compensate anything the students miss whenever classes are suspended.
It’s been cold for days, literally, and the frigid temperature has brought some changes in my routines other than the mandatory blanket curl that made me look like a huge fetus for several early mornings already.
Yesterday, I had to don three layers of clothing on my way to work. Being on a motorcycle may be beginning to be a fun ride but the biting cold makes it necessary to add just another layer so that I don’t get stiff nipples. I’m now even considering riding gloves not for looks but rather for the insulation that it could provide. I just can’t imagine myself riding a motorcycle somewhere in Europe. Back there, I’m quite sure that Vespas are not among their favorite transport options right now.
Blogging has to be rescheduled as well. I now prefer sleeping earlier as the cold early evenings seem to suggest nothing but to hit the sack — that is, after everything about the baby has been taken care of. I now blog whenever I get up sometime between midnight to early morning which is at the very least an hour ahead of my wake up alarm. I find the cold and calm morning more conducive to write.
I heard from the news that this cold season may be until another month more or so. This means that I’d have to get used seeing our thermometer stuck at 22 degrees Celsius or less. This means more alarms to be snoozed. And every time I wake up, this means that that I’d be wondering for a few more weeks how much it would take me to install that water heater in the shower. Tiabi.
“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction…” – Bad Religion
Who can accept that one way or another Hollywood has made an impact in their lives? I for one am raising both hands. Don’t get me wrong, but needless to say I have neither been near Hollywood nor ever have seen in person even one Oscar’s nominee or awardee. I’m not even an actor material (reminds me to check heritage.com). As much as I’d like to, I was never that close.
Just like everyone else I get my daily dose of it out of the boob tube if not from the giant silver screen. And as far as I can recall I’ve been watching a bit of it almost every day even since I was kid. Heck, that may even be the reason I started telling fabricated stories when I was yet in grade school. Just like any kid does. Remarkably better than an embedded chip, Hollywood movies or TV shows really know how to find their place in our mind, stay there for good and eventually affecting our daily lives – whether we like it or not.
Moreover, with the steady influx of technological advancement that is getting affordable or at least accessible to the masses (at a rate that’s quicker than most people can get their salary increases) blurs the line between real and reel life every time. From cable TV, the internet, mobile TV, virtual reality and my favorite high definition audio, one’s senses and imagination get treated better than it was before. Each sensory experience is getting more surreal and usually it feels so satisfying that oftentimes creating a make believe environment just like in the movies is as easy as closing one’s eyes.
Not trying to sound psychotic or one who has taken a good dose of hallucinogens and brandishing the peace sign, I love to entertain myself by superimposing some sort of Hollywood-ish flavor into my reality as often as I please.
Like a couple of weeks ago until today, the weather has been harsh in our part of the globe. Mornings would usually come with bright orange dawn and would continue to become a very sunny, warm and humid noontime. In a matter of minutes though, as if on cue, AND as if a scene coming right out of Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds, the sky would be overcast and the dreaded lightning flashes streak across the black backdrop. What follows next is a thunder roaring like something out of an Armageddon setting. During these times, I can beat Dash’s speed ten times. Trust me.
To keep reality in check, I always appreciate the presence of shows such as my favorite Mythbusters and when I get the chance or when my remote fingers stray away, I like watching Nat Geo’s WhatHappens If? and Mad Labs. These are shows which remind me that Hollywood will never be equal to reality (at least for now). It reminds me that cars falling off the cliff won’t normally explode, a piercing bullet in a gas tank doesn’t mean an instant kaboom, sticking a knife on a ship’s sail won’t cushion or slow down your fall and many more fallacies being obviously exposed that every time I get to watch a movie makes me a bad viewer–just waiting for mistakes to happen.
But my love-hate relationship with the weather always fascinates me that I can easily relate either a blue sky day or a cumulus laden heaven from a scene out of the movie world. For example, waking up this afternoon I saw that my wife eagerly waited to show me an animation of the typhoon Fengshen (local name, Frank). Although this typhoon is nowhere near a super storm, the rotating mass at the center which covers a great part of Luzon switched my neurons into role-playing time. I immediately heard a clapper sounding inside my head and saw a camera crane panning from behind me to my left showing just the glowing monitor which became a perfect backlight to emphasize my profile. If I could have lifted the mouse anywhere near my mouth and pretend it’s a transmitter’s mouthpiece, I could have uttered the words, “Andrea Gail…there’s a storm coming your way.”
What the Frank!
As much as I find reality annoying and most of the days it is just tempting to surrender myself to our coach, grab one tube of Pringles, a bottle of ice cold beer complemented by a good DVD movie and an ever sympathetic wife just by my side, having a grasp of the concrete life along with its demanding goals remains a test of our true character. A character that plays its part unconditionally even without the luxury that its reel counterpart enjoys but with the assurance that every well-played part in the real world will have its real rewards and hopefully will have its own happy finale. But then again, I’d appreciate it a lot if our lives can readily have an alternate ending. Tiabi.
Credits: Images from Wunderground.com
***
It appears like the cancellation of our Ilocos trip which was supposed to happen next week is a blessing in disguise. From wunderground.com, it shows that typhoon Frank seems to be planning to go along with our road trip. Hahaha. The price we have to pay for celebrating our wedding anniversary every June.
The anticipation of storm Mitag affected this week’s day-off. I got more bored, got lazier and missed the company of my wife more. To compensate for all the negativity and longing, I got out of my normal routine and tried to look for something worthwhile doing.
That’s when I met someone I haven’t seen for a long time, and if I remember it right, I haven’t touched her for years. Well the time and opportunity was perfect–-my wife was out, I was alone. And with the eagerness to deviate from something so predictable, I picked her up in excitement. She’s still got the curves and she turned hot so easily. Great, just my type.
Being separated for quite a while, we got some getting-to-know-each-other moment but fair enough we got along pretty well soon. As I lay my hands on her, she responded immediately and did what was expected of her. Hana is her name and we miss each other a lot.
We did it three times in a row and the last one was the best. I was getting the hang of it already but then my “session” with Hana has to end.
Time flies so fast that I didn’t notice that all three shirts are done. And our Hanabishi flatiron has to end its job.
***
Blame it on the rain as they say. In this case, on the storm that gladly didn’t pass through our place. It is nerve-wracking to wait for the 100kph storm, but looking at the bright side I get to notice Hana who has been collecting dust right under our computer. I just don’t know if when I’ll see her again, but it seems that we’ll be frequenting to see each other as I just realized that I love the sight of a well-ironed shirt. Tiabi.
Marcus Can Blog 