STORMSTRUCK!!!: Shriek, scream, survive!

The Punisher

2006-10-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

author: Sean Gotidoc

It was Wednesday night, everything was fine, everything was in order, the stars were in position and they were twinkling as they do every night. My pillows are as cozy as I ever want them to be, then I fell asleep, a very deep and comfortable sleep. Then I heard a banging sound at first, I thought it was something in my dream but after sometime, the banging started to disturb my sleep. I woke up annoyed and saw that the window in my room was very wet and foggy. The banging started again, even stronger than before and then i knew that the banging came from my window. Strong winds plus large amount of water hit my window. Its a big fat typhoon. Maybe that's why PAGASA declared that we will have no classes that day. For the first time, PAGASA was right! Because in the past few months, PAGASA declared no classes but there was no typhoon or strong rain just droplets of water haha! Now I went downstairs and then the wind blew very strong, I even felt it inside our house. I ate my "brunch”, and then i went back to my room. As i watched the storm from my window, I noticed that our terrace was full of water and under our terrace is our kitchen. I went downstairs and checked our kitchen, and I saw that there was a leak in the screen ceiling above our shoe cabinet. As the terrace got filled with more water, the leak get stronger and stronger until my mom and I helped to prevent the leak from over flowing our kitchen. Then my dad and our maid got home and our maid emptied the terrace. Thank God its over... After the storm another problem hits us. Electricity and water were nowhere to be found. It was very hard! so hard! NO TV, NO COMPUTER, NO SHOWER, AND NO FLUSH (toilet). We went out of our house in belair and went to our house in cabuyao just to take a freaking bath. On the way we saw so many trees lying around and destroyed billboards. Gosh it was a total disaster. Maybe nature is planning for revenge in our world. We polluted mother earth. We made power plants, destroyed mountains just to get what we wanted. I hope this opens the eyes of the Filipinos. I hope they realize what they did to our home and I hope they will do something about it.

Eye on the Storm: Milenyo

2006-10-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

author: John Patrick Hernandez

I woke up this morning, expecting a storm because many of my friends texted me that there will be no classes today. At first, I thought that the storm will probably only be fairly strong, like most of the storms that passed this area in the past. Also, because it only rained and there was no wind the night before. As such, I thought that today would be the perfect opportunity to just laze about or finish my journals while the rain and wind won’t affect me outside. I remember the last time a major storm hit our area. It was probably last year or a few months ago. During that time, we weren’t on the central path of the storm so even if signal no. 3 was declared in our area, it wasn’t too severe; there was a lot of heavy rain and dark clouds, yet the wind was not extremely strong…

I woke up at around 8 am to discover that the rain had grown a lot denser and the wind a lot stronger… At around 9 am, after I finished the 1^st paragraph of this journal, the power suddenly went out. The wind grew stronger at intervals so we hurriedly closed almost all the windows in the house because the rain was getting through. Closing the windows wasn’t enough, because the wind was already so strong, we had to lock it as well. This was probably the first time that almost all the windows were closed and LOCKED on account of a storm. Also, the rain kept seeping through the bay window in the living room, so we had to wipe the floor at intervals. I also took out all the lamps and flashlights from the storage room, just in case the black-out lasted until the evening. I watched the storm’s effect from the master’s bedroom window while reading “The Count of Monte Cristo”… This particular storm, “Milenyo” (announced by the AM radio stations), is probably the worst so far that hit our area. Never before had I seen our neighbor’s Sampaloc tree bend at such a high angle. After a few minutes, it finally fell and blocked a portion of the road. An hour after that, two big branches from our own tree fell off. One fell on the road in front of our porch…where our van was parked a few minutes before… The other one fell on the roof of our porch, slightly bending the roof and the gutter… As of the moment, we could do nothing, so we just let things be until the storm finally calmed down. My dad came back to our house a few minutes after he just left for work. He said he turned back because he saw a tree flying along the road and because of the heavy rain that limited his visibility to only about 20 ft. Under such conditions, it would be dangerous to drive. Many cars also turned back when they reached Paseo…

The storm condition only went from bad to worse when the wind became a lot stronger at around 11 am. The rain was so heavy that I could not even see the road beyond our garden, in which the pots were now being turned over and the lawn was being flooded… Eventually though, the storm ended at around 12n-1pm. The wind died down and so did the rain. The only “calamity” left to us was that there was no power yet; water wasn’t a problem because our village doesn’t seem to run out just yet… For the next hours and up to the next day, there wasn’t any sign of a new storm; only slight rain and gentle breeze. When I woke up on Friday, I was disappointed that the power had not yet come back. Friday was a perfectly sunny day, although a bit overcast… That’s why I thought that school would be open today. However, with the effects of the storm that just passed, I reconsidered; that maybe school would be closed because some/many students won’t be able to go to school because of the road blockades caused by felled trees, small billboards, huge billboards, turned over cars (?!?!), fallen roofs, damaged power cables, floods, landslides, labanderos and labanderas, children swimming in flood water, grown-ups wading in flood water, etc,etc,etc… It was also a hell of a lot difficult to get any news. Texting won’t work because apart from the fact that some of the Globe (and Smart and Sun) sites/towers were severely damaged, battery power for the cell phone was hard to come by (Luckily though, we have a generator at home, which we turn on from 5-930pm, so battery power was not that hard to come by for me…). I also couldn’t call on DLS-C itself because the phone line, although still functioning, wasn’t able to make calls outside of the 54/laguna area… Without a radio, the only news I got was from word of mouth from the neighbors…which was somewhat unreliable – different people, different news.

Still, I had already made up my mind not to go to class. Apart from my “hangover” from the storm and the fact that we still had A LOT to cleanup at home, my primary reason was because a huge fallen tree had blocked the road leading to Laguna Boulevard from Westgrove. As such, the morning was spent in cleaning the house and the road in front of the house and the balcony full of leaves and pieces of the trees’ wood. Considering we were situated in a corner lot, cleaning was not an easy task. We also had to clean the gutters, the drains and most especially the road which was so messed up. Still, we were rather fortunate that the village gardeners (?) already removed the huge branches that fell from our tree… The rest of the day was spent in waiting for the power to come back, trying to contact my “power-less” friends in and finishing the novel I was reading – The Count of Monte Cristo… Eventually, power returned to our area during the early Saturday morning…which was fortunate because I had to finish my journals and I longed to play PS2 again… Things only went back to full operation in our house during Sunday – power ON, water ON, cable TV ON, internet ON, phone ON, signal ON…

However bad my situation looked like (you be the judge…), it was somewhat nothing compared to what some of my fellow students experienced during the storm. Some of them had to go out into the street during the Storm’s forte to secure soon-to-fall trees while wading in knee to waist-deep water, fighting against the extremely strong wind and exceedingly dense rain and dodging falling electricity poles, power lines and other flying debris (i.e. illustration boards (?!), small billboards, open umbrellas, etc…). We were also fortunate that we had 0 casualties and only slight property damage (bent gutter). One of my friends had a HUGE dent in his car’s roof and the others had to deal with flood water that entered their homes. Still, perhaps the most unfortunate I have heard of is from my friend in Bel-Air, who told me that her father’s hardware shop in Cabuyao had to suffer a 15000 Php loss after some of the materials were rendered useless by the heavy rain… Although some had the benefit of a generator such as me, others were not so fortunate, and thus had to endure a very dark night and a hot day that followed afterwards. None of the power lines in our area were damaged so power came to us rather soon if compared to some, who are, until now, still waiting for the power to come back in there area. I also consider myself extremely fortunate for the fact that we had a reliable water supply, thus capable of taking a bath and enjoying the benefits of a running faucet. Others had to “pump” their water in various containers and had to buy their drinking water from the nearby shops and malls. What is rather annoying for their part is that the cost of water suddenly jumped by 300-800(?!?!)% (i.e. water delivery – 130Php before the storm, - 860Php during and aftermath of the storm)… Such was the case of some rather unfortunate people during Milenyo…

In a way, the people around me affected by this storm (including myself), are somewhat given an “awakening” of how severe a storm can get… Most, such as me, have never before experienced such a terrible storm in their life. Never before did they experience loss of power for a long period and probably the need to “pump” for their water supply… It seems that we have become too comfortable with my life and the conveniences that modern technology have offered to me on a silver platter. In a flash, the storm robbed us of most of these conveniences through the loss of power it created. Apart from the loss of conveniences that made us “realize” how dependent we are on technology, (for me,), “Milenyo” also made us understand that signal #2 and #3 level storms were not too be underestimated. Watching great storm disasters like that of the past years and that of Katrina had not affected me at all. Sure, it made me pity the victims of such tragedies, yet I am not able to sympathize with the horrible experience they had for I had yet to experience such a great storm. Indeed, it makes one be aware of how destructive a storm can truly get more than words, pictures, news or video clips could ever show. “The burned hand learns best the lesson of fire…” – Gandalf the Grey, Lord of the Rings.

Humans are such ironic creatures. Most of the time, as history has proven time and time again, humans only learn from their mistakes. Looking around the path of destruction of the storm, only then can one realize imminent dangers that one has turned a blind eye to for so long. Along EDSA and other major city, people have been “awakened” to the grave danger of over-populated billboards. For their areas, severe damage had been caused to property as well as to power lines because of falling billboard ads... In fact, the law had turned its back on the matter for such a long time that 97% (!!!) of billboards in EDSA are illegal and have not passed structural inspection. It is during these realizations of grave errors that humans tend to think of “what ifs” in the past. After all, what if something had been done about this impending problem before the storm had struck? To think that if the law had been implemented in a stricter manner, more than 90% of the billboards would probably not even exist in EDSA, thus probably dramatically lessening the amount of damage and casualties in that area… More often that not, when humans act on a problem, it is often too late. Thus, we realize that history has repeated itself once again…

In this modern age, we have a lot of devices to determine if there is an upcoming natural disaster. However, these devices are somewhat in accurate. In a sense, it makes volcano analysis look as if it was based on Tarot Cards… In a show I watched in Discovery and National Geographic Channel, there was a documentary about the uncanny abilities of animals to sense upcoming natural disasters. During the tsunami and earthquake calamities that plagued South-East Asia, research and eyewitness accounts have proven that animals near the vicinity of the “danger zone” have showed signs of tense and awareness of an impending disaster, thus prompting them to try and run away. In fact, natural calamity statistics have shown that the animals have an extremely low fatality rate in such circumstances… Also, before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Ancient Greece, the Greek philosopher, Pliny, recorded that he saw a large number of rats running away from the city for no apparent reason – 2-3 hours later, Vesuvius erupted violently, killing and burying an entire city with ash, hot rock and lava. What science cannot explain, perhaps mankind can put to use. Natural calamities are highly unpredictable; “Milenyo” is not the first and is certainly not the last. Others may come in other forms (i.e. Thunderstorms, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, etc.). Perhaps, man may utilize the animal’s ability to apparently sense incoming disasters and make immediate counter-measures when necessary. It’s a vague theory as of the moment, yet if more focus and work is placed on it, perhaps it may be used to save lives in the future…

“No one knows the day nor the hour…when the Son of Man will come for the harvest of mankind” – St. John, The Bible

"Destruct and Construct: What Milenyo could really do to us"

2006-10-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

author: Cedric Viguilla

It was Thursday morning, the 28th of September. I remembered that we would be going to the barangays during the allotted NSTP period. As I sat up to gather my things, I noticed the strange darkness enveloping outside. I left my things unpacked, turned my cellular phone on, and went to the dining room to find out what was happening. Eventually, it turned out that the classes were suspended, just like what classmate told me the night before. I checked my phone once more for upcoming calls and messages, and was surprised to see a lot of messages emanating the same theme.

Later that morning, after I finished cooking my breakfast, the power was gone. Soon, the water supply followed. I felt a pound of frustration hit me as I took my morning meal in the darkness of the dining room. Water started dripping on the corners of the house. Right outside, the heavy rain continued its downpour. I concluded that the weather wasn’t as ordinary as the bad weathers that we encountered before.

People around me began to hurry and walk from here and there, busying themselves with all the necessary preparations for the wrath of nature. Other problems began to integrate in our minds: food and water shortage, mosquitoes, and even cockroaches, as if plagues were coming down to us from all directions; and just like plagues, they vanished within a number of days.

After recovering from all the “sufferings” and returning to my senses, somehow I learned that the era of tribulations wasn’t completely destructive after all. I enjoy many small things worth mentioning: the lulling tunes played by my father and his guitar as he sang his old favorite songs, a lot of “dinners by candlelight” which I considered very ironic at a stormy weather, a good number of laugh trips upon seeing very unusual things such as a pile of mud within the premises of SM Sta. Rosa, and more. I marveled at these wondrous thoughts just like remembering some memorable scenes from a movie. Thus, I can safely say that the storm “Milenyo” could have given anyone a wake-up call: one should just be keen enough to notice and hear it.

As for the other people around me, I am not certain yet of the behavior they had. According to the newspapers, only an estimated eighty (80) percent recovered its electric power source after the typhoon, leaving the remaining twenty percent still in the dark. This includes a number of my classmates and friends who are still “suffering” the inconveniences brought by the weather disturbance. The least I can do is lend a helping hand, which up to now is questionable for I don’t know how, yet.

Finally, I realized a basic truth in life that the importance of something is only realized when that something is gone. How I became resourceful during these times made me value the importance of things around me.

Journal Entry #7: Jackfruit Tree

2006-10-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

author: Jefrey R. Valencia

(*note: i liked this journal entry so much that i asked Jefrey if its okay to post it on the blog, even if its supposed to be confidential. im glad he obliged.)

Finally! The storm has passed. I went out of our house and looked at my surroundings, squared my shoulders, and prepare myself for the task at hand. There was destruction everywhere but nothing stands out more than the fallen tree in the middle of our garden. Upon closer inspection it was our massive 15 ft jackfruit tree lying at its side. I was shocked how such a formidable tree fell, but my question was quickly answered when I saw its roots torn from the ground. I felt cold in my heart as the feeling of disappointment and sadness swept over me. I felt this way because this tree has served us well this past two years. It bore a lot of fruits and it provided it shaded a lot of our pets. So it really pains me how such a mighty tree fell, the sad part was how it fell without giving an inch to the wind.

Now I am given the dirty task of removing this once noble tree. “Is this how we are? We use things and get rid of it once they become useless to us.” I said to myself. However, in the world of man it has always been people first above anything else. I was given a long bladed tool for the task but for the tree it is nothing more but a weapon that will be used to chop him to pieces. I held the grip of the blade tight in my right hand and made a deep breath as I slowly raised it over my head. There was momentary silence as I was looking at the tree; suddenly I stuck with all my might. I heard the snapping noises as the blade went though the smaller branches and a loud “Thud!” when the blade buried itself in an inch of the trees flesh. White liquid spurted out from the wound I inflicted; it was white with glue like consistency. “So this is how a tree bleeds.” I said to my self. With one swing I cut a big swathe out of the trees branches and I came to a realization that the blade I was using was sharp, however, I know that it will not make much of a difference as other parts of the tree are massive measuring about eight inches in width. With that in mind I sure hope it is true that plants do not feel pain.

After seven hours of continuous labor with a few food breaks here and there I was left with nothing more but the torn up branches of this once magnificent tree. Thinking about it now I realized how even the strongest of us for one reason or another will someday fall. That one day my parents, friends and even I will find ourselves lying down waiting for our own end to come. If ever that that faithful day finally comes my only hope is that someone will feel the same disappointment and sadness I felt looking down at the fallen jackfruit tree.

The Winds of Change

2006-10-06T01:58:00.000-07:00

author: Dominic A. Banguis

t all began with a single text message. It was an ordinary night like any other as my girlfriend Maricar, read the text message from my cellular phone announcing the suspension of classes the following day, I did not pay much attention to it. I just thought that it was the first time that De La Salle Canlubang suspended a class due to an oncoming typhoon. I stayed up late into the wee hours of the morning thinking that I can wake up a little late and take it easy for the rest of the day. As tiredness finally settled in, I laid in my bed and closed my eyes with enthusiasm that I can rest longer the next day, little did I know of the coming event the that would change not only my life, but for a lot of Filipinos.

As I woke up the next day, I knew that there was something different. The electricity was out and my room was very dark. From my bedroom window, I could see that the wind was very strong and the sky was very dark. The trees in front of my window were swaying from side to side. I could also hear my dad downstairs instructing the maids to close all the windows and secure all the doors. As I approached my dad, he told me that the typhoon was a strong one and opted to stay at home for safety.

I still had the impression that it maybe just another “typical” typhoon of rains and wind, so I decided to fetch Maricar so that we can make use of the free time for sports, movies and similar activities. As we went out to get breakfast at McDonald’s, we were surprised and shocked to see a lot of old and big trees along the main road to have fallen.

As we stayed in line at the drive thru lane, the rain started to pour heavily and the wind was definitely stronger this time, even the pick up truck that I was driving was shaking due to the strong wind. On our way back to our house, it was terrible; I could not see a single thing.

If there was a single moment during the storm that I will always remember, it was the time when the storm subsided for a while, and everybody thought that the worse was over. Cars started to move around the village, there were even people walking in the street taking pictures of the trees. My dad decided to go out and get lunch at McDonald’s. As we drove up to the place, there was a long line of cars. We waited and waited for hours, and the line was not moving. We started to notice that the rain started to pour again, and the wind was picking up speed.

I remember having a quick glance at my rearview mirror to check the car behind us. I didn’t really notice anything other than a big green thing blocking my view, suddenly I realized that a tree crashed behind us and onto the car’s windshield. I started to honk the horn to attract attention to get some help. I tried to get out of the vehicle to help, but the moment I opened my door, a huge gust of wind slammed me back in. My dad, sensing that I was planning to go out, told me that I should stay inside the vehicle for protection. We were all shocked at that moment because a few seconds ago, we were in the same place and it could have been us that was hit by the tree.

I sometimes believe that things happen for a reason, may it be good or bad. But it is not karma, but a sense of believing that someone up in the heavens may be sending a message.

The destruction caused by Milenyo was unbelievable. I have never seen so much devastation right where I live especially in my community. Trees blocking the road, power lines dangling like vines in the streets, and cars crushed by the fallen trees. I used to think that these kinds of things can and will never happen to me or to the people close to me. We should all be thankful for the blessings that we all have. It maybe the wake-up call for everyone. Praise God that we are blessed to be alive.

The Storm That Said: "Wake Up!"

2006-10-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

author: Jinn Guerrero

It was a cold and murderous day as I awoke to the sound of the shrieking winds and thunderous rattling of roofs. What a day it
was! Classes were cancelled, streets flooded, and everything was thrown into chaos. The storm was strong, in fact, strong enough to
easily uproot large population of trees and tear-open houses. It was such a terrible sight. I was left at home to watch how nature took
back everything she gave. After a few hours of chaotic rampage made by the storm, everything went still and quiet. The environment calmed
down as the storm's eye made its way stealthily across the wasted flora and fauna. Everyone in our neighborhood started to clean up the
mess the storm made. I was shocked as the winds once again stirred and blew, stronger than the first. This time, roofs did fly high;
trees were once again being taken down like dirt. The wind was relentless as it took down anything that stood its way. Our house
provided shelter as the storm pounded on the roof. Another more hours passed and the storm subsided, leaving only a trail of broken trees
and roofless houses.

Though the storm itself was over, the crisis was not. Electricity was out, the water supply was also out, and everyone was
left with their own resourcefulness. Indeed, no television, no computer, no nothing was very boring, it practically withered me
away. However, hope was remaining in my heart as my neighbors started calling out each other to help one another. I felt rather strong and
energy somewhat flowed through me once again as I started to work my way to the water supply or what I personally call poso, and filled
the water drum at our house. As for the night, I went out to buy candles so that at least, my family and I would not have to endure a
dark and silent night. This went on for three days. Last Sunday, electricity was restored, and everything was almost back to normal,
except that our neighborhood and the rest of the Southern tagalong region's tree population was lessened, structures needed repairs, and
human lives that were lost and will never be returned.

The storm itself was quite destructive and meaningless. However, it did something good to us Filipinos. It somehow awoke most
of us, if not all. It somehow said "wake up!" in a discreet manner. Especially for me, I saw how the storm somehow managed to awaken the
unity and perseverance among us in my neighborhood. To me, it literally woke me up on its onset. However, it awoken me in a deeper
sense that I saw how unity and perseverance pays off. I experienced what most of us needs to experience, especially the government.
Today, the Filipino people need unity and perseverance to overcome our trials. The storm was a wake-up call for us to start taking steps
to unify ourselves and stop our selfish desires.

The storm was strong and everyone would agree to that. However, because it brought destruction among our nation, and brought
hardships, we were able to once again unite to help one another. We once again saw that we cannot live alone, and that we belong to a
larger group of people who needs each other to survive. This is especially true to the people involved in the government. Instead of
trying to oust each other, they must unite to help save the people of this nation. Instead of trying to make useless things, they must
impose laws concerning billboards and electrical posts to avoid anymore accidents. The storm merely was an instrument to open this
nation's eyes to the reality that we must be united, that in unity, we can easily overcome any problems.

The storm, Milenyo, somehow said wake up to each and every one of us. I bet that if this storm hadn't occurred, these ignorant
politicians and law makers would never knew how much damage billboards can cause, how fatal it is to build electrical lines near
trees, and how important it is for them to stop bickering at each other and start helping one another. Had this storm not come,
Filipino people would never have known the importance of unity and camaraderie among us. Milenyo is destructive, however it paved a road
for us to improve ourselves and remember the importance of one another, especially during these hard times. Nature somehow did its
part. Now, it all depends on how we will act as a nation. –Jinn-

Yin and Yang of Storms

2006-10-05T00:47:00.000-07:00

author: Miguel Amistoso

It is said that hurricanes, only bring destruction and despair to mankind. Truly it is believed as such due to its nature to lay waste to anything within its path. Most people lose their homes (especially the unprivileged citizens), businesses are disrupted, certain places turn into a wasteland, and many other catastrophes. With results like this it is human nature to have a mindset of storms being lets say “evil” and only having a malevolent purpose. Like in Ancient times storms are believed to be methods of how the gods place their judgments upon mankind. Yet in the latter years people learned that storms are merely natural patterns formed by nature itself. Then some opinions changed yet more remain against its good side.

YES!!!! Like it or not there is such a thing a balance. I guess this quote naturally applies in all aspects of life here on earth and that includes storms. Like the symbol of yin and yang that primarily represents balance it has several interpretations. It could be the black side representing evil and white representing good, or the saying “where there is light there is shadow”, Yin and Yang are interdependent meaning one cannot exist without the other, “Part of Yin is Yang and part of Yang is Yin”, and so many more theories can be made on this symbol. I certainly believe storms do have that same concept as well.

Ok let’s start with what the mainstream usually thinks of storms that is Yin which is the darker element; it is sad, passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night. As explained above, most believe that storms come to rain death to living creatures as well as cause natural calamity such as land erosions, and such.

But lets look at the opposite that is Yang, which is the brighter element; it is happy, active, light, masculine, upward seeking and corresponds to the day. Storms don’t happen everyday. Some people have already believed even in ancient times that it is judgment to those who serve no decent purpose in life. In my personal opinion it does apply because technology has already reigned over majority of mankind’s natural life. Human’s used to be able live without relying much of technological appliances but today some people can no longer even see their purpose once technology is stripped from them. I guess I can say “storms that knock off their electrical powers should put them back on their feet”.

Madness

2006-10-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

author: Therese Dehesa

Imagine being caught in the eye of the storm, stranded with no source of food or running water, no electricity and no means of communication or contact with the outside world for one whole day. I guess you would also consider it as one of the longest days you’ll ever have the misfortune of experiencing. I would know, because I went through it myself just last Thursday, September 28 when Typhoon Milenyo hit our country. I found myself stuck in the dormitory with nothing to eat and nowhere to go, worried sick over my loved ones who I couldn’t even talk to or text since all our cell phones were dead.

To distract ourselves from the pangs of hunger in our stomach and to relieve ourselves from the boredom resulting from the lack of electricity (therefore loss of the computer, television and ultimately our mobile phones when the battery runs out and we can’t charge it anymore) as well as the concern that kept on growing at the back of our minds, my fellow dorm mates and I shared stories and sang songs to pass the time. The power shortage gave us the opportunity to realize that there are better alternatives to our modern choices.

Instead of impersonal text messaging, we actually had conversations with each other; we exchanged our usual habit of online chatting with real life bonding and we prayed as a community, perhaps even as a second family because we were not tempted to spend what little time we had for quality time in front of the television. Once these substitutes were dissolved or became out of the question, we began to acknowledge the importance, the need for genuine company and camaraderie which is simply irreplaceable.

The loss of electricity is not just a chance for us to strengthen the bond that we have with those around us, it is also somewhat of a humbling experience. When everything that we want is at the tips of our fingertips, we somehow feel high and mighty and we don’t recognize how absolutely lucky we are to have everything readily available at a convenient distance when we need it but when we see how helpless we are against whatever higher forces there are, God, Mother Nature or what have you, we are pushed off our pedestal and forced to get down on our knees and ask for redemption or for safety. I guess some might even go so far as to consider it a wake up call.

The literal meaning or connotation of that term is a deliberate message to rouse someone from sleep, slumber or another state of unconsciousness. For example, a long suffering mother gives her child a wake up call in the morning when the latter is reluctant to get up for school. I can see the similarity of this feat or action to how the higher forces heightened our sense of awareness in the midst of the storm, how they got our attention and forced us to rub the sleep of our eyes so we can look around and see how much we have taken our lives and the lives of those around you for granted and how much damage we have caused our environment.

I realized that the higher forces need not resort to drastic or desperate measures such as storms to make us appreciate everything that we have. We should always stop and smell the roses before the floods sweep them away so when it happens, we can deal better because we know that there are more important things left to be valued, like the music in the laughter of those we love and the priceless contentment that we are filled with in their presence.

"Stormstruck"

2006-10-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

author: Chez Mercado

Fear mixed with terror: that's how exactly what I felt for the past two days during the ruthless strike of the typhoon "Milenyo". As I heard extreme wind blowing outside my tranquil room, I quickly got up from where I was lying to check what's been happening outside, and to my surprise, trees wrecked halfway by intense breeze were what I saw. And with my own eyes, I actually witness how the roof of the house next to ours were ripped out of the house itself. The next thing I knew is that I was sitting right next to the edge of my bed catching my breath and I can felt my heart beat pretty fast. After several minutes, I still couldn't take that incident off my mind, it gives me creeps even just upon hearing the sound of the wind outside. I just knelt down and prayed to God for the safety of those who are close to me and also to everyone whom are badly affected by the said typhoon.

Probably, this is a warning from God. It's an indication that it's now time to conserve and care for our nature. It's like God wants us to realize that he has given us an environment to take care of and to help us in our daily lives, but let's not abuse nature's help to us. For example, cutting down trees, it will be fine if we cut down trees but the thing is, we have to plant another one to replace the one's that are been busted down. Upon observing things, I noticed that places that are badly stricken by the typhoon have one thing in common, they lack of trees. If only there are no shortage of trees then probably floods are controlled and everything will be in order. Surely, God doesn't want us to suffer that's why he let this kind of calamity happen to us so that we'll know how much we should appreciate nature and be thankful to God for he let us have a green and fresh environment to sip air from. He's not really asking something too much in return, just taking care of what he was given is enough for him. We should love nature because without it, there will be shortage of food and of course, carbon dioxide for us to breath.

Now, it's clear that without nature, this world will just be a barren and dry land. And that's what God wants us to realize. From now on, I think we should start planting trees again so that if one of these times another typhoon as strong as this one or even much stronger than this happen to hit us again, then we would be ready to face it because of the trees we planted. And for sure if that happens, God will reward us something in return for taking good care of nature he provide for every individual in this world.

Milenyo, the Unforgiving Typhoon

2006-10-04T01:22:00.000-07:00

author: John Serrano

Typhoons; who hasn’t been through one? We all know how devastating these wraths of nature can be at times. Because of these, many properties and even innocent lives have been lost. Typhoons usually consist of strong winds and endless bullets of rain. Even the strongest of dams have been broken by the floods brought about by typhoons. Just last week the Philippines witnessed how merciless a typhoon can be. The recent typhoon, Milenyo, caused a state of calamity in many areas including Laguna. Many houses, telephone wires, and other structures were devastated by the end of the week. In fact, most provincial areas in the Philippines remain in darkness without electricity or water. Most phone lines remain down and unusable while others will take more than two weeks to repair.

Behind all this chaos were the lives of those who endured these hardships. I, for one, have much to say about the few days that went past. Quite frankly, the storm was perhaps the most horrific one I have ever seen. Debris was flying all over the place and trees were coming down fast. The wind slowly tore apart the roofs of my neighbors’ houses and the ceilings in my house were leaking badly. I could still remember how many buckets and pails I had to place all over the house just to prevent the house from overflowing with water. To make things worse, there was no electricity or water. My family and I were kept in the dark for almost three days and the only water we had was the water my dad had to get from a far-away well. I found it very difficult to sleep through those nights, and I went through each one thinking that the next day would be better. In the end, my hope was what kept me going and it turned out that everything was going to be alright. Eventually, our subdivision regained electricity and its water supply, and my life finally turned back to normal again.

Although the typhoon made my life a living hell, it did help me realize a couple of things. To me, it was pretty much one loud wake up call, and you could even say it was a giant front jab to the face. It helped me open my eyes to how unprepared we can be sometimes, especially in terrible times like these. I also came to learn that no matter how bad the situation may be, we should always keep our hopes up and hope for the best. We should always remain optimistic regardless of how things may look and never give up hope. Aside from this, I also learned the hard way that we should always prepare for the worst. Someone once said,” If anything can go wrong it will”, and that is why it never hurts to take precautions. Lastly, the thing that hit me the most is that we should always value our lives and life live as if we were to die tomorrow. When I recently watched the news, I saw how many people perished as a result of this typhoon. It helped me realized just how much we should value our lives, and just how devastating it can be to lose someone you love so much. Through it all, the typhoon taught me one important lesson: never forget to tell the people you love how much you love them because you never know if you’ll still have that chance tomorrow.

Even though it was a wake up call for me, not all people I talked to felt the same way. In the sense of realization, others didn’t really see it as a wake up call since they didn’t learn anything at all. Others saw how dangerous typhoons can be while others had silly realizations such as billboards can kill, or staying at home during a brownout sucks. Yet, some did share insights similar to mine. Some said that they saw just how unprepared businesses and ordinary people are nowadays. Such was witnessed with many people flocking to groceries stocking up on water and canned goods. Other shops were forced to close as a result of depleted stocks or no electricity. Aside from that, there were also some who realized how important life is, and that we should value every second of it.

In retrospect, the typhoon wasn’t all that bad for me. I may have had to go through a lot of hardships but at least I learned a lot about life and a lot about myself, as well. Those three wretched days of gloomy darkness and almost intolerable heat will forever remain embedded in my memory for I am sure to keep looking back on this ordeal for the rest of my life.

Storm Bound

2006-10-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

author: Jefrey Valencia

Imagine yourself in a house hold engulfed in chaos. The plants that decorated its surroundings being torn limb from limb. The animals under its care are being drenched by the soaking rain. The sound of its occupants screaming at the top of their lungs while being overpowered by the howling wind is all you can hear.
Now imagine yourself as a boy, who is both deaf and blind to his surroundings. A boy whose only concern is winning a war waged in a fantasy world. Sitting in a comfortable chair while in front of his sister’s laptop, totally oblivious to anything except the battery life of the device he is currently using and the sound of his mobile phone.
That was what my life was like at the time the storm of the millennium was raging. Coincidentally a lot of people shared the same experience. As most of them were also stormbound and unable to leave their houses but at the same time completely helpless against the forces of nature. Instead they read, wrote, and even some of them played in the rain to alleviate the boredom they felt. So it seems everyone felt the same way that day, helpless and bored all at the same time.

Well! For me it shows how really small we are in this world we live in. From this experience I saw how far we are from the technologically savvy race we believe we are. That from all the knowledge we claim to have we still fall victim to the power of nature. Come to think of it this experience shows our mortality as well. That with one misstep or freak accident our life could end. How life is so short and how we take it for granted. Have you ever wondered what were the last thoughts of those fell that day were? Were they happy or sad that day? If they were given another chance would they want to know how they will be taken from this world? These are the thoughts spinning at my mind right now.

Well! This will be the final time I would take any storm for granted. This is because I would really hate it if I would be ever caught unprepared for such a calamity ever again. From now on I will stock up on necessities like batteries, candles, water, food, and if my budget would allow it I would buy myself a generator. Though I am not a professional engineer, in my opinion, billboards should remove from our streets and residential areas as they have proven to be a health hazard. Finally life is short and fickle, so keep safe and enjoy life to the fullest.

[the photo below is satellite shot of the typhoon Milenyo as it hit the Philippine area last Nov. 28,, 2006. Milenyo hit NCR and neighboring provinces with the velocity of 130kph.--dianne s.)

A Day With Milenyo

2006-10-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Author: Chrysoberyl Lim Dacuno

The evening of September 27, I received a text message from a classmate stating that classes had to be postponed for the next day. I was doing my Intrcom project at that time and receiving a message like that gave me so much relief. I was startled by the news that a huge storm was coming to hit Luzon. In fact, I had no idea about it until my mom called and told us. I woke up the next day only to find out that the power was gone. We thought it would not last long but it was off for about two days and thank God we still had water. The storm was really bad the rest of the day. Some of our window screens got broken and two of our trees in the garden fell down. My little sister got really scared that she thought the typhoon was the next hurricane Katrina. I assured her that it wasn't going to be and told her to pray so the heavy rain and wind would go away. The whole day was pretty boring and it was the first time I slept very early after so many years. It felt great.

The next day I was so anxious to hear news about the typhoon but I had to wait till Saturday. The first time I went out I was astounded to see how Milenyo caused such great chaos. I was tremendously shocked to see so many uprooted trees on the road and even roofless homes. It felt like it was my very first time witnessing such a terrible destruction that I couldn't help but wonder if Milenyo was a result of God's wrath. Somehow I feel that it is a wake-up call to all of us. A warning that change has to occur before it's too late and that something great has to be done either within ourselves or to the things around us. Others may see it as a usual occurence since our country is hit by tons of typhoons every year that we become so used to it. They may go on with life and not realizing what might have caused it. Sure, Milenyo was a natural disaster yet the aftermath wouldn't be that bad if we cared for our environment. Or it could be that it occured because the world is becoming too worldly. Whatever it might be, it should still affect us in a way that will cause our eyes to open, ears to listen and hearts to be sensitive on what is going on around us.

It was very devastating and still is to know that a lot of people have lost their homes, properties, families and even their lives. It is natural to experience such a calamity but if we can do something to prevent it from happening again or help our nation to solve this problem, then why not do it. I realized that everything that we possess in this world can be gone in just a second and that any time anything can happen to us. I think that what matters now is that we, who have been fortunate, should feel grateful that we have been spared and that we all should treat every single day as an awesome opportunity for us to do something great to others and to this world that we live in.

Ang Bagsik ni Milenyo

2006-10-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

The title above was suggested by one of my students in English One, Eryl. Though it wasnt chosen as the main blog title, i thought it was cute so im using it for this introductory posting. What you are about to read here are essays from my students in English One (2nd term 2006-2007), here in De La Salle-Canlubang. When classes resumed on October 2, 2006, everyone was just bursting with stories about the supertyphoon that just blew our minds away (literally, for some!). Everone was:

"Whoa, miss, natanggal yung bubong ng kapitbahay namin..."
"A branch fell on our car and wrecked it..."
"Hanggang bewang yung baha sa bayan..."
"Badtrip brownout, walang tubig, ang hirap maligo..."
"I took a shower in MacDonalds!"

Hence, this blog.

Members of the class, non-members, random surfers and mouse-potatoes, feel free to comment, contribute and send your own Milenyo experiences. Photos, videos and links are most welcome, too.