A Tribute for Toby

I first met Tobias "Toby" Propalde, Jr. on November 6, 2007. My gradeschool-highschool friends had an impromptu adventure to Pagsanjan Falls then. Planned on All Saint's Day through SMS while I was in the cemetery, my friends and I met at Bay Church on November 6 morning. Unknowingly, one of my highschool friends, Nonoy, brought along with him 2 other friends he introduced as 'Marlow' and 'Toby'. Mar was Noy's ex-officemate at Smart Communication while Toby was Noy's housemate. Riding 2 cars in convoy, 7 of us (Vince, Chill, Noy, Toby, Mar, my husband Lem and I) headed to Cavinti, Laguna to start our journey.

I am the type who doesn't talk too much especially with new acquaintances. But with Toby, he was so kind, courteous and friendly that he usually start the conversation with his new friends. Toby calls me 'Ate Rons.' Admittedly, I am older than him by 6 years and it is really right for him to call me 'Ate.' With his 'Bisaya' intonation and childlike acts, he seem so humble, 'malambing' and open to admit to new acquaintances that he is afraid of heights. He seem to be out 'bunsoy' in the group. That was the time when we were queueing as we do the 'practice' for rapelling down to Pagsanjan Falls. He said it was his first time but he succesfully surpassed this trial.

The activity was full of fun and photos and all cherished that moment. Toby and I had a few exchange of SMS, as few chats in yahoo whenever we happen to catch each other online but never met again until 2 years after.

On July 2009, Chill and I planned another adventure to Caramoan Islands in Camarines Sur. We booked a flight for those who confirmed---again, the 6 of us: Chill, Vince, Noy, Mar, Lem and I. Another friend, Hazel, also planned to join until she cancelled the booking in October due to conflict in schedule. By that time, Toby also informed us that he wanted to join the trip. I was the one who personally booked his flight, using my credit card and voluntarily communicated with him the details through mobile phone because I wanted him to join that trip. I want him to experience what we will experience in Caramoan Islands.

After all the planning, November 20, 2009 came. Chill, Vince, Noy, Mar, Toby, Lem and I met at NAIA at 5am for our flight to Legaspi City. The trip was a very memorable and enjoyable one. With the refreshing sceneries and good friends with you, you will really appreciate the beauty of the place. We spent 3 days exploring Caramoan Islands and Legaspi until we travelled back to Manila on 22nd of November 2009 and parted ways from NAIA airport.

Again, I had a few, seldom chats and SMS's with Toby until I received a bad news in early May 2010 that Toby was confined at the Dr Victor Potenciano Hospital (formerly Polymedic). Chill and I hurriedly planned a visit for Toby. We individually went out of the office earlier than normal on May 5, 2010 to pay a visit for Toby.

We had mixed emotions when we saw Toby in the hospital bed. Toby was smiling and had a very positive disposition on his condition. At the same time he was very thankful that we took effort to visit him. Vince was also there through a phonecall and talked heart-to-heart with Toby. Mar and Noy had been there before. They were actually the ones who told us about the news.

Toby introduced Chill and I to his roommates, brother and girlfriend. He introduced us as the ones who were with him during his Pagsanjan and Caramoan trip. According to him, the Caramoan trip was his most memorable and most enjoyable trip and he was so proud to experience such adventures. He even boasted with his officemates our pictures during the trip.

After long chats, Chill led a prayer for him, all of us with tears, except Toby. We prayed for Toby's speedy recovery. After the prayer Toby asked us why everyone was crying. He told us that we should not cry because he will get well soon. Before we left, Toby asked for help from us--- any kind of support --- prayers, referrals, financial, emotional, etc. Before Chill and I left the hospital, Toby was full of hope. While on the bus on the way home, I sent SMS to my cousin who is a doctor and advised Toby on how to get benefits from PCSO.

After that, I occassionally sent Toby SMS to check his condition. I had few chats with him through yahoo. I heard good news from him that he was already released from the hospital, that he stays in Cavite, that he had already gone back to work, that he took alternative medications, etc. All the while, I thought everything was doing good. Not until end October 2010 when I heard from Chill that Toby was confined back to the hospital.

All Saint's Day came and I spent the whole day in the cemetery celebrating my Dad's life. I had a long day then that I decided to take a leave on November 2. My vacation leave was so worthwhile. I cooked that day, I cleaned the house, fixed some stuff and decided to go online on Facebook at 5pm. To my surprise, I saw a very shocking photo in the newsfeed. I saw a picture of Toby with captions "In Loving Memory of Tobias 'Toby/Jojo" Propalde, Jr. August 17, 1983 - November 2, 2010". I was so shocked and clicked into the photo to see the link. It was his sister-in-law who posted it and the photo mentioned that Toby rested in peace at 10:15am. I almost cried. With teary eyes, I sent SMS to my friends who also knew Toby. All were shocked as well as they just got the news from me. Everyone was sad as we have lost a true friend who, at a very young age, acquired this illness that is almost uncurable!

To our dear TOBY, we will truly miss you. I am thankful that I had a chance to know you. Our 3 years of friendship seems to be a lifetime already! You are a very good man and you are loved. You will forever stay in our hearts! Be happy for you feel no more pain. May you enjoy eternal life with our Creator!

To the loving family left by Toby, our deepest condolences and sympathy for you. We will help you pray for Toby and may you continue to be strong in emotion and strong in faith. God bless you always!

---maron---

03november2010

22:44 hrs

Boracay April 2010

We have been planning to go to Boracay Island since 2009. We were supposed to go in July but there had been limiting factors like weather, schedule and budget. Our family had an international trip to Macau and Hongkong in March 2009. We cannot find a good schedule for July. School year has started and the kids can't easily go off from school. Moreover, July is rainy season and the weather will not be favorable for the photo sessions, our passion!

February 2010 came as we tried scouting the domestic airlines. There were lots of promotions but we also found difficulty booking our flights. After so many trials, calculations and finding the best-fit schedule, we finally booked our trip to Boracay on April 28 to May 1 with ZestAir Airlines. ...

Read more @ http://maronski-roundworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/boracay-april-10.html

I Wanna See You Soon

Today, I volunteered a Unilever-initiated Summer Camp for Resources for the Blind Incorporated (RBI). Vision-impaired children 9 to 13 years of age stayed at the Rizal Recreation Center near San Pablo City, Laguna from April 12 to 14 for fun and learning activities.

I was also happy that I learned new things today. I learned and experienced how to be a sighted guide. I learned the techniques and tried to make the blind children comfortable with me. I learned how to guide them eat their food, how to walk with them, how to guide them towards a chair and towards a dining table.

My heart was so touched seeing the blind children learn to be independent. They are used to not seeing things around them. They made bracelets and handicrafts, they eat by themselves and they know how to move around. Of course, more often they need a sighted guide but it was so amazing to observe these children learn be sensitive to their surroundings. They seem so happy despite the fact that they were not blessed with the sense of sight. They move and mingle with people normally.

At first, I remember my kids as I saw the blind children. Kaira and Keziah wear eyeglasses. Keziah had her eye surgery when was three years old. I just can't imagine if the pediatric opthalmologist did something wrong in that procedure making my kid vision-impaired! Thank God it did not happen four years ago during her operation. Their eyesights are actually improving as the years go by and I feel to lucky that they are not impaired.

It's quite difficult to lose eyesight. I really admired these kids that they learn to enjoy life even if theirs are not complete. I hope normal people will learn to appreciate God's gift, despite the material things lacking in their lives. Let's learn to be contented and be happy of what we have, as what the blind children do despite the fact that they cannot see God's creation around them.

-maron-
13april2010
21:56 hrs

Caramoan Adventure Nov'09

It was July 24, 2009 morning when my life-long friend, Chill, informed me that Cebu Pacific offers promo seats. Right there and then, we gathered and were able to confirm attendance of our adventure-mates through SMS and phone calls. On that very same day, 7 people were booked for Legaspi City---a very unpremeditated escapade! On that very same day, Chill, Rona, Lem, Vince, Hazel, Noy and Marlow were ready for Legaspi City!

See more @:
http://maronski-roundworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/caramoan-adventure-nov09.html

Happy reading! :)

Operation: Take Two!

I was excited when I went home last Friday night. My husband and I wanted to surprise our kids for we had just bought an 8-ft Christmas tree!



When we reached home, Kaira was so excited to put up the tree. However, Keziah welcomed us with the wound on her sole. She told me in details the story of how she got the more-than-a- centimeter wound.



According to her, she was playing with her Ate Kei outside the gate that Friday morning. They were chasing each other when she stopped running and told her Ate that she's giving up because she is full. Probably they have just eaten breakfast then. She told me she felt something under her sole. When she walked towards the bench to check what’s under it, she saw blood on her right slippers. Her Ate Kei called up their Ate Arcie and they helped Keziah go back to the house. Her Ate Arcie cleaned the wound and put Betadine solution on it. As what Keziah told me, she still managed to go to school with her shoes on that afternoon. She told me that there was no pain with her shoes on. She seems to be fine that Friday night but since she looked so sleepy, I sent her to bed and asked Kaira to help me spread the leaves of the Christmas tree.



On Saturday morning Keziah woke me up, crying and almost crawling on the floor . She was suffering from severe pain. I decided to bring her to the emergency room. Luckily, her dad went half day in the office. But this time, he needs to be absent the whole day for he must join us to the hospital. I cannot manage to carry Keziah by myself. She can't walk at all.



Upon having the agreement with Lem, I helped Keziah took a bath. I suddenly felt that her body temperature started to rise. After rinsing her, I took a bath. When I came back to the room to dress up, Keziah was lying on the bed. She was complaining that her upper right leg was in pain- - - lymph nodes! I knew it! I can see that she really can’t bear the pain anymore so we proceeded to the hospital afterwards.

When we reached the Perpertual Help Las Pinas emergency room, many doctors---residents, pediatricians, surgeons, assistants---nurses, and even medical students checked Keziah's condition. People kept on coming from time to time asking the same questions over and over again---what happened, when that happened, what medications I gave, how did she feel, did she have fever--- and I kept on declaring the same story everytime a new person asked about it. I think more than 15 people examined her!



After more than an hour of staying in the ER, the nurse who attended to her most of the time (because it seemed that more than 1 nurse attended to her) mentioned that Keziah needs to be admitted to the hospital. The doctors said that an intravenous antibiotic was needed to fight the infection.



We stayed for more than half day in the ER. We're still on queue for the private room when our 'real' Pediatrician, Dr. Viola, came. He examined Keziah's wound and told me that he needs to have a surgeon check the wound further. A foot x-ray may be required to check if foreign bodies were left inside but a better way to check presence of a foreign body is through exploring the wound with forceps. I asked him if the procedure will be done with anaesthesia. He told me it depends on what the surgeon will say. He explained that the sole has higher pain tolerance so an anaesthesia may not be needed but it will depend on the evaluation of the surgeon. After the detailed explanation, Dr Viola left and we were finally accommodated in the private room at half past 5pm. A foot x-ray was done on that Saturday night.



On Sunday morning, it was only Kaira and me looking after Keziah. I woke up early to take a bath, fed the two kids, freshen up Keziah with a wet towel, changed her clothes, guided Kaira while she took a bath, then left for a while to buy my breakfast and buy other necessary things. When I came back, the 2 kids told me that a doctor came---one who was old and had white hair. I kept on thinking who it was. They told me it was not Dr. Viola. Later on, the nurse-on-duty came and told me that the surgeon already scheduled Keziah in the operating room on Monday at 8am. Just then, I realized that the doctor who came while I was out was Dr. Fernandez, the surgeon. Unfortunately, I was not able to talk to him.



After sometime, Dr. Viola paid a visit again. He told me that the wound exploration procedure will be done on Monday but he needs to have Keziah’s lungs x-rayed, as a prerequisite for the general anaesthesia. That same afternoon, Keziah was fetched by a nurse with wheel chair to bring her to the radiology room for the chest x-ray. Later on, an anaesthesiologist came to visit Keziah in her room. She explained to me the prodecure and what we need to do prior to the surgery, particularly the fasting. I was already familiar with the procedure as this is Keziah’s second time for a general anaesthesia.



I woke up early today, Monday morning. As early as 6 am, I was already taking a bath as Keziah will be fetched by 7am. I took a quick breakfast of banana and bread, changed Keziah’s clothes and waited for the nurse to lead us going to the Operating Room.



I was with Keziah up to the OR, until she felt asleep. I was in full OR attire, felt like I am a nurse-on-duty! :) However, with matching headcap, I felt I was in gateway plant doing Dressings production trials! Hehe!



As mentioned earlier, this was the second time for Keziah’s general anaesthesia. The first time was 3 years ago when she had an eye operation. I cried a lot then, as I saw my 3-year-old girl suddenly became unconscious on my shoulders. This first time was more traumatic for me. She was so afraid that time that I needed to carry her on my shoulders while anaesthesia flowed to her dextrose. I felt her body became heavy as she became unconscious and I feel like laying a dead person on the bed. And imagine, it was my child! :)



This time, I was already prepared and never dropped a single tear! J The second time made me become ‘used to it’! Besides, Keziah became unconscious on the bed, not on my shoulders, and I only observed her slowly closing her eyes until she became unconscious. The anaesthesiologist asked me to leave when Keziah was totally unconscious.



I waited for Keziah in the companions’ lounge of the operating room. I have no watch but I looked at my mobile phone which is 45 minutes advance. It was 9:18 am. I was expecting that the procedure will take around and hour but after roughly 15 minutes, one of the resident doctors told me that it was done! I was so surprised how fast the minor surgery was! A few minutes later the surgeon came to the lounge and told me that he found a 0.2cm black foreign matter inside the wound. It was a good decision that the procedure was done because if not, the foreign body will stay inside the flesh, the infection will flourish and inflammation will not subside. The surgeon left and I waited for the crews to call me up and look after Keziah in the recovery room.


I stayed for long hours beside her, inside the recovery room. While waiting for her to wake up, I sent SMS to officemates---talking about work and issues at work. I called up the PeopleLink to inquire about my questionable Philhealth benefit. I sent SMS to Lem to request for Philhealth documents from his employer and I did this blog with my mobile phone! While blogging. I waited for almost 2 hours when the nurse told me to try to wake her up so that we could proceed to our room. As I looked at my child’s closed eyes, I tried talking to her, asking her if she still feels sleep. Slowly, she opened her eyes and tried to observe everything around her. She seemed to be so curious and was wondering where she was. Thank God she was perfectly ok! After consciously resting for a few minutes, we were sent back to our room.



Right now, Keziah is recovering, watching her favorite cartoon programs but still looks groggy with ther anaesthesia she received. She actually is waiting for Mommy E. to come, whom she persuaded to come. My mom told me that she cannot pay a visit because she needs to attend to things in the office but when she talked to Keziah, she said she’s coming!



Thank God all is well now. Keziah had her second operation but everything is doing ok. Tomorrow, the surgeon will re-dress her wound and use a washable one. At last, we’ll be discharged by tomorrow!



My dear family and friends, thanks for all the prayers!




-maron-
26october2009
15:26 hrs

Learning to be Rude

Because Philippines was expecting a super typhoon Pepeng, the morning was so gloomy today. Besides, I woke up having difficulties in breathing. I am having asthma attack since yesterday and yet I needed to go to the office to have my things cleaned up, after typhoon Ondoy almost destroyed Manila. Though my airtube is constricted, I forced myself to stand up, take a bath, get dressed and eat breakfast. My husband prepared my asthma apparatuses, thus I easily had my nebule doses before I left for the office.

Seeing the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy in the office was such a disaster! The carpet had been removed and we were stepping on plain, wet and sticky concrete. Though the main door and emergency exit door was left opened for proper ventilation, there was still a strong fishy, stinky odor in the entire room. Water, around 2-3 inches high, was inside my drawer. All my documents filed in the lowest level of the drawer were wet and stinky.

All were busy drying, scrubbing, sanitizing, sorting and organizing each's files---others for drying and keeping while others are put straight to the "confidential docs for shredding" bags. The team shared a Chowking lunch and most left at around 2pm, rushing home to avoid the possible early attack of another super typhoon Pepeng. Having no choice, I needed to stay for the 2:30pm telecon for Project New World.

The telecon lasted for about an hour. Right after the telecon, I collected the files I hung which I tried to dry, then hurriedly went off to free myself from Pepeng. Rushing home, I took the LRT until Buendia station and rode a bus bound to Las Pinas---my usual route when I'm in a rush.

It was a normal 'way home' for me. Getting off from the train, I rushed down the train station stairs, turned right to get on a bus waiting for passengers. I normally don't choose seats in buses. I am not choosy with the location, whether it's on the front area, middle area or rear area of the bus. I don't choose seatmates. As long as he/she does not look suspicious, I sit with him/her. What I am after is the convenience where I can easily pass by and get off, especially when I bring along with me much luggages, like a while ago. I had my laptop and other personal things inside my back pack, plus I have another shoulder bag where I put things I needed to bring home and dry in my house. So this time, the most convenient seat was beside a sleeping man on the two-seat row, in the middle portion of the bus.

The man was not too young and not too old---maybe between 25-30 years old (?) He looks ordinary but not suspicious at all. He was not so tall, maybe around 5'4" - 5'5", dressed in a polo shirt, jeans and holds a plastic envelop with documents on his hand. Someone who looks like a job seeker but not too neat-looking at all. I never paid attention at him. First, because he was sleeping. Second, I have no other intention for him as long as I needed to be seated in a convenient seat. Third, I am so tired carrying all my things with me and what I only had in mind is to be home soon!

Trying to make myself confortable in my seat, I transferred by backpack from may back to my lap and secured my should bag on my lap as well. I reached for my mobile phone to slip in my stored value train ticket inside my mobile phone case. It is where I put the ticket so that I do not forget it whenever I change bags. After that, I tried to send SMS to my husband to inform him where I was. However, I received an SMS from a colleague, replied to her first before I sent SMS to my husband. After sending the text message, I reached for my coin purse to get money for the bus fare and then my phone rang. Another colleague was calling asking me how many people from my department is coming on Monday for the resumption of regular business hours. I talked to her but then I referred her to my boss for he is in a better position to answer her questions. After the conversation, I again sent an SMS to give the caller my boss' mobile phone number. The bus conductor then came, asked my destination and then I paid for the ticket, not realizing that somebody was observing my acts. Upon settling myself with all the things I did while inside the bus, I was surprised when the man suddenly talked to me, "Miss pwidi bang nakipagkilala?"

I was really shocked! We were already in Libertad then. All the while I thought he was sleeping. I never looked at him at all. I never noticed him and I never paid attention to him. To my combined shock and annoyance, my defense mechanism was to become snobbish to him. And so I just shook my head to reject his offer. I never looked at him nor even turned my head to the right to talk with him. I was very frugal with my words but he continued the conversation, "Bakit? May asawa ka na ba?" Snobbishly, I nodded to confirm as I tried to show off the wedding ring on my finger. I tried to look for another seat but there was no other space available.

This time, we were in Baclaran. Since I need to reply to an SMS from a colleague, I can't help but share with her that I was annoyed with my bus seatmate. After seeing my confirmation about my marriage status, the man never stopped. He continued to ask, "Taga-Las Pinas ka?" This time, I was disgusted. If only there is another seat I can take, I would have transferred. I did not answer his question but replied to him rudely, "Baket?" And then he said, "Taga-Las Pinas din kasi ako."

In my mind, I was thinking, "And so?! Who cares if you're from Las Pinas?!" I didn't reply then nor showed any acknowledgement to stop the conversation but when we reached Coastal Mall, he again uttered, "Miss, pwidi bang makuha ang number mo." All he received was a big shaking of the head from me! I was so exasperated then! I continued to ignore him, send SMS to my husband, tried to call him up as we decided to meet in SM Center, along with the kids, to do our Pepeng-preparation activities. Later on, I noticed that the man was sleeping. I was thankful and relieved.

After passing through the Coastal toll gate, slow movement of the traffic happened just before we reached the end of the express way. Unfortunately, the heavy traffic jam made more chance for the man to continue his rude acts. While the bus was situated under the Zapote flyover, waiting in the long and slow queue of vehicles, the man suddenly talked again, "Miss, pwidi bang makuha number mo?" Annoyed but trying to be polite this time, I gave him shake of the head. I was about to give him the number of my husband, or the number of my friend, or any other dummy number but I thought that it would not help at all. He even might think that I am willing to accept his offer if I gave him a number and so I just rejected.

Unfortunately, it took around 30 minutes more for us to travel from Zapote to SM Center, just near the Las Pinas Municipal Hall. There was a very heavy traffic and as the destination took longer to be reached, the more I was annoyed by the acts done by that man.

RFC Mall came and he did his third attempt. "Miss! Miss!" he said. I pretended not to hear him but then he talked louder. "Miss! Miss!" I slightly turned my head to him and when he saw that I responded, he again told me, "Pwidi ba makuha number mo?" To my annoyance, I gave him a big shake of the head, stood up and transferred to another seat nearer to the front. Luckily, there was a vacant seat there and it is easier for me to get off the bus in that area. Since I was about to alight the bus, I really needed to go nearer the door.

Just before getting off the bus and sitting on the new slot where I transferred, lots of things came into my mind. Why did the man act like that? Is he insane? Is he a swindler or a pick-pocketer? What if he becomes my stalker? Though firm with what I did, I honestly have fears that that man had a bad intention on me.

I was so conscious and cautious when I alighted the bus. I walked fast and kept on looking at my back to check if the man followed me. When I saw my husband waiting for me in front of BDO, I was relieved. I told him the experience I had in the bus and was very curious about it.

Having this experience, I am still asking myself if I did the right thing. Showing rude acts is not me but given the relentless questioning of the man, I think it's the only way to deal with him. I just hope that there will be no bad karma for me.

-maron-

02-03october2009

21:24 - 00:55 hrs

.

Traumatic First Time - Sept 26, 2009

Coming from an offset vacation leave last September 25 and looking forward for a relaxed weekend, I stayed up late online in FB that Friday night. I was waiting for my husband to wake up for his 3am call time in the office. I slept afterwards when he left and I woke up late the following Saturday morning.

I remembered my husband saying before he slept that Friday night, that a typhoon is coming. I did not pay serious attention to him as what came to my mind is, "It's just a typhoon! It's normal!"

But the rain woke me up that Saturday morning of September 26. It was just a normal rain. There was no strong wind so there was nothing to worry about. It doesn't seem like a typhoon at all. It rained for almost an hour but I was not alarmed. Later on, I noticed that water down south of the street where our home is started to rise. Still, I was not alarmed because that area of the street is really prone to flooding. A 5-minute rain will make that area a shallow swimming pool. So flooding in our street is really normal for me.

However, hours passed by and the rain did not stop. Flood came rising to the street in front of our house. An hour later, the water rose to our carport. This time, I was apprehensive, as more rain will make the flood rise up to our home. I called up my 2 kids to come upstairs for us to pray together. We prayed for the rain to stop so that the flood will not worsen. We prayed for our safety, their dad's safety, safety of our friends and relatives in LB and safety of the people affected by the typhoon.

By that time, my husband was not yet home then. He said he can't get out of the office due to heavy rain and flood. Still, the rain did not stop. I was very observant and getting ready on up to what extent the flood will rise. Normal flooding in our area was up to a quarter of our carport only. But this time, the flood occupied about half of the area. By that time, my husband called up, using a colleague's mobile phone, and he told me that he was trapped in Evangelista Street due to heavy traffic and flood. He reminded me to turn of the power source main switch, just in case flood goes inside the house. Hours passed by and the rain has not stopped yet. The flood water came almost near our front door. I noticed that the cars parked in front of the the nearby townhouse was already halfway submerged with water.

I started transferring our things from the ground floor to the second floor then--- all the photo albums and magazines, the kids toys, the throw pillows, the picture frames, the kids' school bags, the water dispenser, the rice dispenser... things got heavier and heavier. The television, DVD player and component was placed high enough not to be reached by possible flood. But my God! I was not able to lift the refrigerator! I only had my house help ready assist me. And so I left the refrigerator downstairs. After a few minutes, water was inside our house!

In less than an hour, the flood water came up to half of the lower leg. I sneaked from the window to check our neighbors, water already came inside the car.

The two kids were not so worried as they still enjoyed playing with the water. But I made sure they rinsed off well after.

After rinsing off, Kaira was so worried about Clifford, our pet dog. This dog left our home when the water was up to our carport but he has not returned yet at late afternoon.

Meanwhile, there was no electric power. There was no water from the faucet but I was always ready for it. I always have 2 big pails and 1 big drum of reserve water for emergency purposes.

It was so difficult to move around a flooded house. It's like living in a swamp wherein you need to step on muddy water everywhere you need to go. We all took a bath with our feet submerged under flooded water. It seems not 100% clean at all!

When I had already cleaned myself up, here comes Kaira shouting, "Mommy, si Clifford!" as she saw the dog swimming towards our gate. Clifford normally can squeeze his body off to enter the closed gate. This time, since half of the gate was submerged with water and he was so tired of swimming around 50 meters far to get to our house, he had no enough energy to go through the closed gate. He clung his front feet into the railings of the gate instead and tried to catch his breath. Pitying the dog, I went out to the gate, submerging myself up to the hips, and opened the gate for him. I watched him hurriedly swam towards the door and when he finally had his feet on the floor, I saw the poor dog panting. Touched by what I saw, I led him inside the house and fed him. It's nice to save the dog but I suddenly realized that I was wet with flood water and I needed to clean myself up again! :(

When I went inside the house, it was an entire mess! Garbage was everywhere! The things in the house that I ignored to transfer upstairs were floating...plastic jars, glass jars, cleaning materials, etc. But despite the mess, I reserved our center table for Shadow, our Rottweiler, for his bed and our sofa to the two other "askal" pet dogs we have. Bearing everything, we managed to deal with the flood. We ate dinner upstairs at 5:30 pm and I asked the kids to sleep after washing up.

Not used to sleeping that early, we played shadow-making from the candle light which served as our illumination. We then had story telling until the kids fell asleep. In between, I exchanged SMS to friends who were also affected by the typhoon---some stranded, some were safe back home, some telling stories about their experiences with the flood but there was no sign of my husband. Thinking that he had empty mobile phone battery, I just sent him an SMS not to force himself to go home and just stay in one place where he could safely stay and rest until the flood subsides.

Thank God, the rain did not worsen that night. We all had good sleep despite the terribly messy bedroom we had.

Morning came and the water inside the house subsided. All it left was mud, garbage and picture I can really call a "hurricane"! My househelp and I started cleaning up when my husband came. He had his own story of his experience and he struggled on the road with typhoon Ondoy.

We cleaned the house the whole day---an unscheduled, mandatory general cleaning happened. More than the general cleaning, my husband replaced all sockets submerged in the flood water for safety purposes. When all were settled and when we safely turned on the television upstairs, that was only the time I realized that we were much, much more lucky than those people living in Marikina area. News from all local television channels showed footages of how our countrymen struggled with typhoon Ondoy. Many people died. Many people were homeless. Many people were hungry, wet and feeling cold. Many people stayed on the roofs of their houses. Many people tried to survive using improvised boats of empty mineral water container. Many people tried to make a way over Meralco cables---that's how high the flood was! Cars were floating and bumped onto each other. Many people were missing. But on the contrary, it was a good news to see on television that more and more people start volunteering to help and rescue the victims. Many people are trying to gather donations for them.

Meanwhile I consistently received SMS from our IT Heldesk informing us that our Unilever office was affected by typhoon Ondoy. The office and factory area were totally submerged. Office files, furnitures, lab equipments, and even our server were totally wet. Colleagues who when to work overtime that Saturday were also trapped inside the building but the Management were responsible enough to take care of their needs.

Typhoon Ondoy was really remarkable! The street where our house was located is flood-prone but we never experienced flood inside the house in the past 5 years! This was a traumatic first time for me. I just hope and pray that there will never be a typhoon worse than Ondoy! But still, I feel blessed that all of us, our friends and relatives, were safe and surpassed the typhoon, except for my one colleague whose house was totally submerged under the Ondoy flood. Much support from our team was given to him and his family but still, we are thankful that all his family members were safe. And another good news?! ... My refrigerator which was submerged in water for almost 8 hours is still working! :)

Dear God, please don't let this happen again. Please hear our prayers!

-maron-

28-29september2009

23:34 - 01:55

Please click link to view video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfWip_PY5Ag