Day 2.

Photo taken from Facebook. Photo credits: Ensogo

Day 2 of non-stop rains here in Manila and here I am, writing about it. I am writing about it just now because I was sorta hoping that it will all end when I closed my eyes last night and we could just pretend that that was just some horrible nightmare but lo and behold, I woke up again to the soft drumming of the rain on my window.

Anyway, I was home yesterday - like any other day of the past (almost) 2 years - and I cannot be any more grateful. Almost 3 years ago, I was stuck somewhere in Makati when Ondoy struck. I was so uncomfortable and hungry and craving for cigarettes. Now, I am in the comforts of my home, sipping hot noodles and sleeping on a really cozy bed with my baby. I wouldn't trade all of that for anything. Not in this kind of situation.

I decided to enjoy the rainy day just like anyone else in Manila and took a day off from my work-from-home full-time gig to just lounge around...at first. Then my Twitter feed became flooded with messages about evacuation, rescue, relief operations and donations that I couldn't help but tear up a little bit. I knew how it felt like being out there, not knowing what I have to do, where to go and what to eat but what made me tear up more was the fact that I cannot do anything about it. I want to help in the relief operations in my previous schools but I cannot - for the life of me - leave our place. You see, I live in a place where water rises really fast and before you know it:

Mercedes Exec. Vill. guardhouse. Photo credits: Bong Tejada

I didn't expect for the rain to turn out this way, especially with the full knowledge that there's no typhoon anywhere near the Philippines.

Anyway, I cannot help by being part of a relief operation and I cannot even donate load to the volunteers because I don't have load myself. The best possible thing I thought of to help with this ordeal was to help spread awareness. I set my Twitter profile to public and retweeted almost all of the stuff that come up in my timeline: People in need of rescue, emergency hotline numbers, announcements, anything! I know the importance of awareness in all aspects of life and I knew that this will go a long way.

As I type this, I can see tweets about private companies and government agencies asking their employees to report for work today and I can't help but feel bad for them. The rain is still quite strong - this side of Manila, anyway - and most areas are still flooded. I want to tell those people who are complaining, though, that they shouldn't because they still have the option to stay home should their situation be dangerous or if they have the feeling that they might not be able to come home later in the day. I'm pretty sure their superiors will be able to understand this.

I can feel that today's going to be better than yesterday. I hear birds chirping and roosters cock-a-doodle-doo-ing when I woke up a while ago and that is always good news. Plus, the skies are much brighter now. The rain might still be falling but it can't rain forever. The sun is bound to come out one of these days. Nagpahinga lang yun kasi solid na init yung ibinigay niya nung summer.