A Brand New (but still dark and gloomy) Day

Wala ng ulan.  Pahupa na ang baha.  Good thing that we were safe naman but this calamity is too costly for others.  There are a lot of damaged crops and properties after the swollen Pampanga River inundated almost a quarter of the city.  Hay, mamamahal na naman ang kangkong at pechay.  Paano na staple food ko?Hinahanap ko na ang rainbow pagkatapos ng baha.  

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The Fierceness of the Falcon

I received a call from my mom at around 3:00 PM and she was asking me to come home immediately.  Bumabaha na raw kila Mang Caloy.  Epekto na yata iyan ng bagyong Falcon.

Told her the streets were already flooded when I left at around 9AM.  Pero sabi niya bumili muna ako ng bigas bago umuwi.  Bago mag 4PM nasa tricycle na ako pauwi.  Paglagpas ng Central Terminal, nakita ko na lubog na ang Amihan, yung squatter colony sa ibaba ng tulay.

Ah, baha nga.

No choice ako kundi bumaba ng sasakyan.  Kahit malapit ako dun sa kanto ng nagtitinda ng tilapia, di na ako puwede dumaan dun.

Saw one guy wading through water at hanggang bewang na niya dun.  Mas mababa kasi ang lugar na iyon, uneven ang terrain.  So I decided to walk towards Villa Ofelia, unfortunately, malakas ang agos at hanggang tuhod na ang tubig.

Too bad I was scared to take some pics.  Baka mahulog cellphone ko sa baha, sayang lang.  Anyway, nakauwi rin ako sa bahay; at ngayon yung nilakaran ko na hanggang tuhod kanina, lagpas bewang na ngayon.

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Life Can Be Happy…

We were living ordinary lives.  A father of 3, an ex OFW, a 24/7 mom, a med-tech, a banker, a happy-go-lucky-devil-may-care dad and a woman torn between families and personal struggles.  

Until one day we were all piled up at the back of the white L300 chasing the years that went by, trying our best to reconnect with the past and establish broken links of our lives.  A few weeks later we were relieved that our reunion was over.

And we thought that was the end of it.

Pagkatapos ng Brigada Eskwela, ng pag-aayos ng mga waiting shed, interview sa TV at kung anu-ano pa, it was then that we realized that things won’t be the same again.  Diversity interlocked our thoughts, friendship bloomed and then we were inseperable.

A few days ago, while we were trying to locate Maricar’s house, I told Robin: ‘dati reunion lang inaayos natin, ngayon buhay na ng ibang tao’.  To the extent that Rhodelia, Ellen and Marie were discussing to a shocked mom of 7 the ugly truth (and facts) of poverty, RH Bill and Fire Prevention.

Now the question is, is the way we’re living affecting others?

I guess so.  Several wall posts ignited the compassion and humility of others.  Funds were raised, ideas were shared, past lives were squealed and secrets were revealed.  Suddenly, almost everybody signified their intention to help, to create change, to reach out and to be of service to others.  We’ve seen the goodness in others… we’ve read so many comments that manifested our humane characteristics, that reflected our ideals and “nagpakita ng kahinaan natin bilang tao” while we are addressing issues like poverty.

Sa tagal nating nanahimik bilang isang batch, parang ngayon lang natin na napag isa ang ating mga isip at damdamin.

I guess by doing this, we are now doing God a favor – we are now hearing and taking action on other people’s prayers and wishes and dreams.

Life can be happy – and thank you sa lahat na pinili na maging ganito ang batch natin. 

“Every little move we make which is negative or positive will at some point affect our life and the lives of others. We are connected and should keep that in mind when making choices.”

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