AN EPIC STORM.

I knew it. I shouldn't have come. What I came for wasn't there anyway :))

It was a gloomy Saturday, the Family Day. The skies were dark and it seems to me that they were crying, it was raining. Just the night before, PAGASA announced that a terrible typhoon will hit Metro Manila the next day, Saturday. But it was still not definite that time how strong the typhoon would be. But certainly, it is still a typhoon. And we all know how disastrous typhoons could be. They are merciless, lashing their winds on innocent people. But are they really innocent? That question lingered on my mind that fateful afternoon. It was just then that I realized how hard it is to have evacuation centers as homes. I mean, for REAL evacuees. But for us, we only got a taste of it. Was it hard? Not really. I admit, despite knowing that some of us in there are actually wondering if their homes are still standing, I was just enjoying the ride. It was the experience that counts for me.

I woke up 5am. It took me an hour to decide what will I wear. I want to wear a 3/4 shorts and slippers. There was a feeling that I need to wear those. For what reason? That time, I didn't know yet. But a something's telling me to wear those, something low-maintenance . I opted to wear a simple shirt and pants plus sandals. My instinct was right. I was just so wrong to wear my skinny pants. It felt so cold after getting wet :)) Going to school, I saw how high the flood was already. It was almost near the bridge itself. But I did not mind. I mean, it always happens. LOL! I arrived in school around 8am and my mother plus siblings arrived half an hour later. When I arrived, I first saw Ja with her "cous". Well, I didn't know him. Ma-O-OP lang ako :P HAHA! During the duration of the program, IT WAS HEAVILY RAINING. I also got some news that Araneta was already impassable at 9:00am.

*Texting Loren.
Loren: Nagalit na si papa. Di kame makadaan sa Araneta.
Ako: WEH? As in di na madadaanan?
Loren: Oo. Baha na nga.
Ako: Gaad. Sana pala di na ako tumuloy.
WALA RIN NAMAN PALA AKONG PINUNTA :|

Right then, I already knew we will not make it home. We were meant to stay in school, overnight. It was really a FAMILY day, we bonded, a lot.

*Sr. Minda, talking to my sister. Around 7pm.
Sr. Minda: O, di ba? Family Day talaga. Bonding na bonding tayo.
Camille: Family day ba 'to? Halloween kaya! Nakakatakot dito.
Kapal eh! HAHAHAHA!

Despite the rain, the priest managed to finish his mass. And the show went on. LOL! Actually, I did not notice the program. Not until, it was our time to present our dance number. A jazz dance. Vanity by Lady Gaga. Do you know what? We danced on the flooded floors of the covered court! Like, it was already ankle-high. LOOOOL! Before the program ended, the WHOLE covered court was already in water. We stayed in the lobby, waiting for the water to subside. But no, the raining won't stop. We stayed in classrooms but life there was too vanilla, too plain. I wanted to go out, I want to do something adventurous. Something like, playing in the rain >:D Childish? Yeah. I miss being a kid. I AM A KID AT 3> *grins* But kids don't play alone, do they? I got a playmate! :)) JAJAJA! HAHAHA! Nakahanap din ng isa pang isip-bata =)) Actually, I first thought if I am ready to unleash my inner childishness. I mean, I am in school and it feels awkward for me to act like that in a place such as the school. But anyway, andun na yun eh. I CAN FEEL IT! =)) And so, nagpaa kame. LOOOL! BAREFEET. Kase si jaja ehh. Dare daw. Cross the court from the corridors to the AVR with your bare feet :)) Sabay kame. Kaya there! I ran and walked from the corridors to the canteen :D first time! It's not that bad ah. What's bad is nahuli ako. At pinagalitan ng nanay ko :)) Pero it's just fine, I also enjoyed it. Btw, I enjoyed the walking, not the scolding :)) I would be such a bad child if I enjoyed getting into the nerves of my mother. LOOOL! Napaka-inggrata ko naman nun! XD After awhile, we got bored. We talked and talked, especially about kapal. Ang kapal kase ng mukha! FEELER. PSH. It irritates me a lot when people assume na sila na daw yun. LOOOL! Anlande-lande. Lalo na pag FLIRT pa. May partner na nga, di pa rin makuntento. Friendly daw. Gawin ba namang pedophile si Jaja? Andame kaya nadadamay sa kalandian nya! People think the other way around. What they perceive is that kapal is the one being sought after. Habulin? HINDI RIN. NEVER. HAHAHA! Wait, alam kong di nyo kilala si kapal kaya wag na rin :)) Anyway, Jaja left and we, the stranded ones, were instructed to stay in the classroom, and there, we prayed the rosary. Kimberly was already crying, she received a text that the flood reached their ceiling. Even Yukiko. Both of them live in Villa Espanya, a subdivision adjacent to a river. They were hopeless. They don't even know if they have a house after the disaster.

*Me and Yukiko, passing time by making our Eco assignment. Around 5pm
Jjem: Czarr, sa bahay mo na yan gawin. Di ka makakagawa dito.
Ako: Ano baaa. Di ko alam kung may bahay pa ako na uuwian eh!
Kimberly: Yun yon eh!

At around 4pm, everyone already knew that we were doomed. Sr. Minda ordered sardines and some rice. That was an eye-opener. Sir Lobos ordered the tumbling mats from the MPH to be brought down. I also heard some teachers say that we should already buy some extra shirts and slippers from the sewing room. It dawn to us that everyone is trapped and no one outside knew we were there. We had a dinner over candlelight.

*While eating
Jjem: Unforgettable 'to.
Denise: Onga!
Ako: Yeah! Dinner over candlelight
How romatic no? =))

The menu? Sardines and rice :D HAHA! Ayos lang naman. Masarap din. After dinner, we headed to our rooms. Actually, we were assigned to the guest room, near the LE lab but going there was so scary. It was dark. You have to pass the lobby and the corridors. Too far. So, I pursuaded my mother to stay in the classrooms, where there are many people. We are isolated in the guest room you see. Before sleeping, we had a pictorial :D I'll upload it later :) when Denise goes OL. By 10pm, we were already sleeping. Lying on the tumbling mats, we were arranged side by side. From left to right: Denise, Me, Jirah, Jesuel, a second year student with glasses (I dunno her name XD) and Paula. We woke up at the same time, 12am. Then slept again. Woke up again at 1am. We went to the CR in groups :)) So scary. We couldn't sleep any longer so we just sat down outisde. Kami-kame lang.

*Y!M conversation
Ako: lumabas kame
Jaja: sino ba si kame?
Ako: kame!
Jaja: Lahaaat? XD
Ako: si jesuel? di ko alam spelling ng pangalan nya ehh. basta anak ni sir zamora; jirah, 2nd year; paula, anak ni ms. montilla; May isa pang second year eh, di ko alam pangalan nya; ako; denise. halos lahat sila 2nd yeaar
Jaja: oh tapos?
Ako: tapos si gumogda
Kilala nyo na kung sino si kame? XD

If it wasn't for this overnight camping, I wouldn't know them better :D And I wouldn't know that Jesuel* is Sir Zamora's daughter. Honestly, she looked a bit like my older sister. I'll upload a pic of them two some time and judge it yourselves ;) And Jirah, she looked a LOT like my groupmate during the sci-math race last year. But she said, hindi siya yun. Anyway, we, kame, played spin the bottle. Playing it, we noticed at times that it would hit the same direction for a couple of time. We dunno if it's of pure coincidence or paranormal intervention. LOL!

SCARY MOMENTSSSS:
1. We were playing spin the bottle, before Denise came, I was seated in the rearmost part. I felt a very peculiar cold beside me. Too cold. I ask them, "Super lamig. Di ba kayo nilalamigan?" And they all replied that it was just fine, not too cold. I told them, "Sobrang lamig ng katabi ko." Later on, Denise came and took a seat beside me, she was wearing a jacket. She told me that it was so cold. But I already felt fine that time. She was about to get up when we all heard something from the lobby. "AWOOO!" It sounded like a girl, a bit mature. Upon hearing that, we scampered our way inside our room. JP was left outside. Our conscience hit us.

2. Inside our room, we were seeing shadows in the tunnel. We were quite unsure if they were teachers or what.

3. Before sleeping, we heard cats fighting outisde. It's not quite paranormal but still, it's scary.


4. I was in the guest room, I am about to go outside when I saw someone. She was wearing a nun's uniform and was illuminated by a candle. I was flabbergasted for awhile. I couldn't speak nor move. Then she faced me! Si Sr. Minda lang pala! Josko! Natigilan pa ako. She told me, "Oh? Ba't ka tulala dyan?" =)) The best talaga! XD



5. We were taking pictures and posing. (I'll post it later on) When Denise got up, again, (She was adjacent to me) may kumalabit sa akin. I dunno who. I asked Denise if she was the one who did that. She said she wasn't. The other person next to me that time was asleep :|

6. While lying on the tumbling mats, Denise was on my left side and Jirah was on my left. Suddenly, a cold gush of wind passed on our (Jirah and I) feet. It was like for a millisecond? I think. And the others, Denise and Jesuel, who were beside the two of us, didn't feel anything

At around 4am, I got sleepy again. I woke up 6am. They said, the flood already subsided. We were to go home. When my mother saw Jan Wray's mom (they live near us), pinag-impake na agad ako! Gusto na umuwi! LOOOL! But I still don't want to go home :)) Masyado na daw ako nag-e-enjoy, ayaw pa umuwi =))

During the whole jeepney ride, all that I could see was litters and garbage all over! You could still see how high the flood became, it was seen in tall buildings. The black mud was ankle-high! I also saw two buses that were stranded. The blue bridge used in cleaning the river was already on the road itself! Before it was in the river. Stranded students from DLS were also starting to go home but they can't find any jeepney. All were full.

When I got home, I was REALLY, REALLY thankful. But, my sister, that time, was still stranded in UE :( I later learned that they had an electricity supply and a Jollibee spaghetti and chicken joy meal donated by Lucio Tan. It's not fair! We had sardines and no electricity! WTF? But it was a good thing that she got home safe.

Oh wait. I want to dedicate this post to everyone, especially Jaja. Alam kong nagsisisi ka kase di ka nagpastranded. LOOOL! Okay lang yan :))

Lovelots,