wee hours of the night -- I awoke twice because Aidan was "sleep-crawling". He was half-asleep but he kept on moving, squirming, rotating, even climbing over me. It was as if he was trying to find a comfortable position. This unusual behavior happened twice.
10:00 am -- Aidan woke us up. He woke up happy and playful, which is a rare thing kasi usually paiyak sya pag gising. It was raining hard outside so Ivan and I thought na early morning palang, like mga 7am.
10:30 am -- I laid down the play mat for aidan so we can play on the floor. We ate breakfast while playing and watching tv. Breakfast was banana and kamote que, strawberry yogurt for aidan, egg and pork steak with fried rice.
11-11:30 am -- Ivan went outside to check the water level of Marikina river, which almost circumscribes Provident Villages. The water was up to the base of the dike but he already told us na impake na kami ng 2-3 days worth of clothing. We started packing. Inakyat pa namin yung ibang gamit and damit sa bed and taas ng cabinets. Thinking back, maybe we should have just left everything as is and left.
12-12:30? -- We rode the car and attempted to leave the village for higher ground. Ivan already called Celi and Tere so they can help us leave. However, due to the heavy rain, traffic, and flood, they were unable to reach us. We tried every possible exit but all streets were already flooded. So we went back to our house. We were thinking of just staying there until the rain/flood subsides. For some reason, Ivan decided that we should seek shelter in a neighbor's house with a 2nd floor just in case the flood becomes higher. He tried one house but was told we can't stay there so he tried another house. Mr. Reyes agreed to have us but since their house was being painted, we transferred to his daughter's house just beside theirs. At this point, Rose still wanted to go back to the house to transfer our wedding gifts from the floor to somewhere higher like on the cabinets, tables or beds. Both Ivan and I stopped her from doing so.
1:30 -- We were watching Transformers in Ate Dedeth's house when the water outside started to turn chocolate brown and the flow became stronger. We knew then that the river had overflowed. The water outside went from below the knee in depth to waist-deep. Our car, which Ivan parked in a relatively high level on the street was no longer there. We then started to bring some electronics up to the 2nd floor. I went upstairs with a sleeping Aidan in tow.
2:00 -- While I was upstairs calmly watching Aidan sleep, I was startled that the people downstairs suddenly started bringing things up. When I approached the stairs to have a look, I was alarmed that the water had already covered several steps. That was when we realized that we were in real trouble. The water was rapidly rising up the stairs. We started crying while frantically trying to prepare some things we needed. Rose and I pumped air into the kiddie salbabidas that we found.
2:30 -- The water reached roof level at the bungalow houses, which included our house. Our fear escalated when we saw our neighbors holding on for dear life. They just emerged from their house and were holding on to the door and windows. Ivan then started looking for and tying together cords, belts, sheets, or whatever he can use to throw to our neighbors. Aling Nita was shouting "Ivan tulong!" but we could not do anything to help them. Fortunately, Tito Bobby (from the house beside them) was in the roof tending to his dog. We frantically shouted his name, trying to ask for help for Aling Nita and her family. After several seconds or minutes which seemed like a lifetime, he saw them, went back inside and emerged with tied-up sheets. After some time, Aling Nita and company were safe. There was another guy in the lot in front of Ate Dedeth's house; he couldn't enter his house because he had no key, and he couldn't swim. He balanced himself on top of the wall and was waiting for the water to rise some more so that he can reach the second floor of their house. Fortunately, we were able to call the attention of the Santos's (the house across a vacant lot from them) so they helped him using tied-up blankets.
3-3:30 pm -- We started going up the ceiling. The initial plan was to climb up the roof using tied-up sheets. But we, especially Ivan, was hesitant. He suggested that we go up the ceiling instead, in the hopes that the water would not reach it anymore. This was a fortunate decision since the water did not reach higher; if we had climbed up to the roof, we would have gotten wet in the rains. The children might have gotten sick.
4:00 pm (Saturday) to 4:00 am (Sunday) -- We stayed in the dark and hot ceiling. Before nightfall of Saturday, Mang Mario had already removed the roof bolts so that we can easily escape to the roof in case the water goes up any further. We prayed with the kids so that the water levels would not go any higher. The rain outside was still strong, and I started thinking morbid thoughts -- what if the water suddenly rises? we would end up in a watery grave. (Ivan: I thought it would be ironic to drown considering my father was paranoid about floods, to the point of considering buying a canoe/raft/boat). Mr. Reyes, who was staying on their roof with other family members, reassured us that we would be able to go up to the roof as soon as the water level goes up any further. At some point, the rains weakened and stopped; this gave us hope that the waters would not rise.
3:00 am -- Ivan and Rose decided to come down to the second floor terrace in case rescue boats should pass by. By this time, the water had already receded, making toilet-flushing noises in the stairways. All the houses with people in them shone their flashlights hoping to get the attention of rescue teams. At one point Ivan gave up on signalling since it looked like we were all just signalling each other and no rescue was forthcoming.
4:00 am -- Ivan and Rose gave the all-clear. I was actually raring to go down because I was feeling cramped, hot, and I badly needed to pee. Everybody on the ceiling then went down to the second floor. The water level covered about half the first floor.
5:00 am -- There was smoke coming out of the riverside; the smoke was acrid and smelled like something burning. This was the weirdest thing because we didn't know what caused it. Maybe a factory released their polluting fumes?
6:00 am -- Sunrise. Water had already gone down. Some people were wading through waist-deep muck, searching for things (maybe some were looting?). Anyway, while waiting for cellphone signal to strengthen, Rose and Ivan decided to clean up some and assess the damage to the house. There was a red car (not ours) which had collided with the gate of the house, partially blocking the entrance. They couldn't get inside the house as everything was toppled over.
10:00 am -- Right around this time, the muck was about ankle-deep (or half knee-deep) in most places. Ivan decided that we should leave the village by walking. The process was a bit trial and error, as everyone we asked suggested we don't pass where they just did. Anyway, since the muck was mostly just ankle-deep, we decided to brave it through. We left the house, and we left the laptops with Ate Dedeth (with some reservations from Margaux because she had worked for a long time on one of her projects there). Since there was no way we could carry everything plus the laptops, we just decided to leave them and come back for them later. We also did not know how deep the water was in the other streets that we would pass so we decided that leaving the laptops behind would be the safest choice. There were also some people spreading rumors about another wave of dam releases by 3pm (unconfirmed, the army guys and policemen we asked did not know of it) which increased the urgency to leave. In hindsight, the rumors may have been spread by looters trying to get everybody to leave their houses. Only Ivan was prepared to walk as he had on rubber shoes; the rest had on slippers which made it difficult since the muck tended to suck the slippers. So in most parts, we had to stop to take them off; and put them on when there was danger of glass debris. It was the longest walk of my life. It was hot, I almost slipped at least three times while carrying Aidan, my arms and back were aching from Aidan's weight, the stones felt sharp under my bare feet, and I felt weak from thirst, hunger and lack of sleep. Celi called while we were walking (yey the signal's back) to inform us that they were coming for us. We passed by Bob (our car) about fifteen or so houses away; it was still parallel parked, and seemed only muddied up. Ivan parked just about two or three houses away before the floods.
11:00 am -- We met Ate Toffee and Kuya Tana at the village gate. We had not known they would be coming. It was fortunate that they were there because Margaux was already exhausted with carrying a dead-tired Aidan (he was really a deadweight, so Ivan had to carry him part of the way). Margaux was already feeling hungry and dehydrated (we had not eaten much during our stay at Hotel Kisame, since we were not sure how long the rations would be needed to last). Anyway, Ate Toffee and Kuya Tana helped to carry some of our stuff. They had drinking water (yey!). They told us Celi was also on the way in her car (Toffee and Tana could not bring in their car so they walked from Katipunan to Provident Village). At one point, we had thought maybe we had already passed by Celi; right around the Riverbanks area we saw her car, so she u-turned and we got in (Toffee and Tana still had to walk to their car in Katipunan; Philip later told us that they should have just ridden in the car trunk since it was only a small distance). Finally, we were rescued! We headed to Valle Verde 2 to the waiting arms of our families. On a side-note, we later on learned that Papa and Marc was also on their way to rescue us around this time (they were just late by a few minutes). Philip had even brought some stuff for us refugees.
So, due to the heavy rains of typhoon Ondoy and the release of water from dams without due warning, we lost our house and most of our stuff -- and we were one of the really lucky ones. We had not totally lost everything that we had, we are fortunate enough to have very supportive and loving family and friends, and most importantly we are all alive. Our beloved Aidan, for whom Ivan and I feared the most, is still the happy (sometimes moody) and healthy baby boy that he is. We could not ask for anything more. i saw this article in BabyCenter. nakakatuwa kasi i realized that i'm really a mommy now. sobrang nakaka-relate ako dto... :) What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.
1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
And from our readers...
1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom
2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous
3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte
4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom
5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne
6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye
7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous
8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda
9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom
10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom
11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom
12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara
13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey
14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom
15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom 16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona 17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara  last tuesday i made my first big foul-up as a mommy. aidan was happy and content looking at the world around him, occasionally smiling, gurgling, and "talking" to us (or to himself). ivan and i were happily watching him, conversing, watching tv, resting after a long day at work. i suddenly had the compulsion to trim aidan's fingernails. i usually do this once a week when aidan is either sleeping or breastfeeding or both. but tuesday night was different. i attempted to cut his nails while he was awake, even after ivan warned me not to (i should have listened, hon). i realize now that it was a big no-no, especially when the baby is quite active. i got as far as five fingernails. at the fifth nail (his thumbnail), i had quite a difficulty positioning the clipper and when i thought i finally had it, SNIP... a second passed before i realized that i not only trimmed nail but a portion of his flesh as well (the realization came with the gushing of blood... well maybe not "gushing", but still..). OUCH! it seemed that the bleeding wouldn't stop. for such a small thumb, aidan had a lot of blood coming out. i was almost in the verge of tears when the bleeding wouldn't stop and aidan was crying. i have to say however that aidan was quite a brave little trooper. he only cried slightly at the first realization of pain and perhaps because we were fussing over his finger. he immediately calmed down and became content again when i fed him. when he's old enough to understand, i'll show him the photo of his first "battle scar" and all the "battle scars" he'll accumulate over the next few years... for now, i've learned my lesson and never again will i attempt to cut the nails of a baby that is not blissfully sleeping.
(the day after this incident, ivan and i bought band-aids and gauze tape. this was after we patched-up aidan's booboo using a cotton ball and scotch tape. hehe.)  Here is a photograph of our cute little baby at 9 weeks, taken on May 10, 2008. When we visited my OB that day, she tried to listen to our baby's heartbeat for the first time. It took a few seconds/minutes but we finally heard it. I wasn't satisfied though with merely hearing the sound. I wanted to see him/her (I think Ivan did too)! So there we were, waiting for our turn (the list was so long that we still had time to have my urinalysis and eat lunch).
And then finally, it was our turn. The experience was sooo worth the wait. After a few minutes of measuring, the sonologist finally showed the screen to me and Ivan. I don't know if it was the hormones, or I'm just being my normal weepy self, but when I saw the image I couldn't help but get teary-eyed. It was the first instance that I realized that I was indeed a mommy. And what a coincidence, the following day was mother's day! :) at a very early hour on friday (hey, it was 5am. i should still be happily dreaming at that time), i came home to my beloved pinas from the beautiful city of kuala lumpur malaysia. it was a worthwhile 6-day trip, and it was enjoyable despite the fact that i went there all by myself. when i was about to leave for malaysia, i was worried about getting lost or coming upon an accident. yes, how paranoid of me. you can't blame me though. it was my first ever trip outside of the philippines and i was going there alone, with no familiar soul to welcome me. but now i'm back safely, with all my stuff (and a bit more... hehe), and with more memories and friends to cherish.
i arrived at KL at 4am of saturday. i realized that i had no ringgits with me. *panic mode*. so while toting all my luggage, i went off to look for a money changer. great, i then felt more secure with some usable money in my wallet. task #2: look for a way to get to the hotel. i was planning to take a cab to the hotel but when i saw the prices i immediately changed my mind and went for the bus instead. 70-90 ringgits (13.3 PHP = 1 RM) for a single cab! after repeatedly asking the people at the booth whether the bus will take me directly to the hotel, i then paid for a bus ticket (which was only 15 RM) and went outside to board. the nice bus people got my huge luggage and placed it inside the baggage compartment at the left side of the bus while my "smart" self walked over to the right side of the bus thinking that that's where the door was. after embarassing myself in front of the bus people, i realized that their door was at the exact spot where i was previously standing on (i was in malaysia, a right-hand drive country. harhar.). so anyway, after an hour, i arrived safely at the hotel and slept peacefully...
i woke up at around 2pm that same day, looked for a map (maps and travel brochures can be found wherever you go in malaysia. great tourism tactic.), and walked to the nearest mall. not knowing where to eat, i found the safest food place to be - mcdonalds! since i didn't want to be too safe, i ordered the spicy chicken sandwich (which we don't have here in the philippines and which tasted great by the way). yum yum! monday and tuesday was spent in the ACRS conference. i made my first ever malaysian friends on monday lunch. since there were no other pinoys in the conference and it was my first time attending, i was not familiar with anyone. so when lunch came, i didn't know anyone i can sit with so i went to look for an empty seat in a table with friendly faces. luckily, i found one and there were my newfound friends - yanti, salina, fazilah, sham and -- (i'm sooo sorry, i forgot his name!). the three girls were about my age (24-25 years old). the funny thing was, they were sort of fans of the show "pangako sayo"! so when they learned that i was from the philippines, that was the first thing that they said. we then chatted about our countries and exchanged some local translations of english terms.
the following day (tuesday), i was scheduled to present my paper. i was supposed to be the fourth presentor, but the first three didn't arrive so i became the first. yey, more time for me! thank God my talk went smoothly! during the afternoon sessions, me and my malaysian friends were so bored that they decided to bring me to petaling street (malaysia's chinatown). salina bought a cute little souvenir for me (how sweet of her!). i bought another souvenir and lots of coffee. hehe. the next day was a day which i allotted solely for tours. i booked 3 types of tours - the gardens/parks tour, the kl city tour, and the eye on malaysia tour. the 200+ ringgit fee for the three tours was really worth it! had a fabulous (but very tiring) time going to beautiful and interesting places in the city. (will be posting pictures soon!). i skipped lunch that day and charged my camera battery instead (priorities!). thursday came and it was my last day in KL. i packed my luggage in the morning since i had to check out at noon. thankfully, my bag had enough space for all my newly-acquired stuff. i left my luggage in the hotel and went to the conference for lunch. after lunch, we went to the mall across the street. i bought some accessories (i couldn't help myself!). fazilah bought a beautiful scarf for me. i promised to send them a picture of myself while wearing the scarf over my head. the end of the day came and it was time for us to say our goodbyes. they drove me to the hotel, which was only two blocks away. sham, the one who was driving, volunteered to fetch me from the hotel at 8:45pm and bring me to the bus station (KL Sentral). in KL, you can't get a bus from just anywhere (not like here in manila). they have what the call the KL Sentral, which was the converging point of all public transportation (bus, train, etc.). that may be the reason why traffic in KL is not as bad as the traffic in manila. while waiting for sham to fetch me, i went to the mall again to have a final look around and get some dinner. since i was trying to be adventurous, i decided to try the nasi lemak. i found one in the food court. unfortunately, it didn't taste too good (maybe because it was in the foodcourt.). it was just rice (i didn't really taste the coconut milk), cucumber slices, peanuts with dilis, and two types of chili sauce. but, my gosh, one of the chili sauces was REALLY HOT! i tried taming the heat with the rice and the sugar cane juice but to no avail. it was quite an experience though. the next time i go to KL, yanti promised to let me taste her mom's cooking. can't wait for that time to come (authentic malaysian cooking! yum!).
i will always cherish my memories of KL and the friends i made there. hopefully, that won't be my last visit to malaysia. i haven't even had the chance to truly enjoy the signature dishes and (ahem) really, really shop. hehe! mark my words, I SHALL RETURN! ;)
how time flies! i've realized that we've been planning this wedding for 6 months now. only four months to finalize everything (not to mention, save up for all the future bills!). whew! but i'm really happy (ecstatic, really) about how everything's falling into place. i can't fully express how excited i am about the beach-inspired reception theme. especially now that kaye has already emailed me the menu she customized for our theme, together with some ideas. i'm really glad that i was able to get suppliers who seem to be at the same wavelength as i am regarding my concept for the reception. both kaye cunanan (our caterer) and karla magbanua (our cake artist) are very creative and open-minded. when i told them that i wanted a beach-inspired wedding, they too got excited about the idea. early this week, i finally got to talk again with michelle lim, our gown designer. thankfully, she managed to come up with last-minute twists to make the entourage gowns somehow fit with the beach-inspired theme. with them and all the other special people as my 'dream team', i'm confident that our wedding is in good hands. we're just looking for one last person to add to our team -- an on-the-day coordinator. this again is another crucial part in the preparations. it will be a shame if all the hardwork and creativity of the other suppliers will be wasted just because we got a sub-par/ineffective coordinator. so now i'm getting quite picky in this aspect. hopefully, we can get a coordinator whom we can trust during one the upcoming bridal fairs.
at the moment, aside from the otd coordinator, we only need to decide on our honeymoon destination, hotel for preparations, tokens for principal sponsors and entourage, and shoes (i need to find the perfect shoes!). but of course, a lot more planning with our dream team still needs to be done. four more months 'til the big day. we're still on track, i think (thanks to all of you! you know who you are...). ;)
(FYI, this was my most recent blog entry in our wedsite: http://ivanmargaux.weddingannouncer.com)
I've just realized that it's October. How fast time flies... By October 31, I would have already officially left UP (have I mentioned this already?). I will really miss all my friends/co-workers in the Department, but I know that we will still be seeing each other soon (February's a sure thing!).
Teaching in UP has been an honor for me, and a great learning experience. But I feel that I need to learn some more, to see what it feels like outside my comfort zone (my second home). I won't be going far though. The corporate setting is just way too "far" for me (I don't feel like I'm the type). I've decided that I want to be somewhere where I can practice the field I love the most (Remote Sensing) and use that knowledge in helping protect the environment in some way (yes, I'm an environmentalist in my own little way). A great opportunity to work in an NGO I was quite familiar with presented itself not too long ago, just as I was starting to think about my future career move. I saw this as an act of fate, and so now I'm writing this blog.
The end of the month will signal the end of one career that has been dear to me (it was also my first full time job). But I know that it will also be the start of new possibilites, new friendships, new experiences. So to those whom I will be leaving for the meantime, adios! It was a real pleasure working with you. Till next time! :) 
My Lakbayan grade is C! How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan! Created by Eugene Villar. 
You are The Star Hope, expectation, Bright promises. The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one. What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out. It's Weng's birthday today! Wala nang tanungan kung ilang taon na! Hehe. Happy birthday Weng! We love you!!! Mwah! Mwah! Hope you have the best day ever!  Don't worry, pag uwi mo dito ice-celebrate natin lahat ng birthdays mo na na-miss namin! Be prepared! Haha! | |
