of zippers and typhoons

in countries which experiences pronounced cold and hot season, it is not uncommon for people to wear jackets during the cold ones. i happen to be in one of those countries and as a common man, i wore a jacket, a leather one. it gave me the warmth specially needed in an 11degree weather.

as we were walking to the station, i tried to open up the jacket and to my surprise (or rather to my expectations) the zipper wont budge. it was stuck. i kept on telling this to my coworker who i came with. as i was trying to open it, it only got tighter and closer to my neck. this time i got a little panicky. i know that trains are hot and jam-packed, good ingredients for me to sweat a lot and probably panic some more. while riding the train, i tried to open the damn zipper the whole time. and my coworker beside me was so indifferent (i don't know if she was thinking of something to the point that she wouldn't bother). i asked her to help me. and she did. it opened up a bit enough for me feel a bit better. and i was thankful. but it still wont open all the way she said. and then she returned to her indifferent state. it was frustrating really. somehow, i felt helpless and alone while walking to the office. i continually tried to unzip with my indifferent coworker beside me. so close yet so far, i knew then that i was alone and will suffer alone in this. i stayed stuck for 30mins or so. a simple word of encouragement would have been better but nopes. i couldn't blame her though for it was all my fault why i wore that damn jacket.

while i was in this helpless state, i couldn't help but wonder how the typhoon yolanda (haiyan) victims felt back home in the philippines. i'm not saying that this is even comparable to their sufferings, not at all. the difference is beyond compare. but here is my analogy.

when i got in that trouble, i wasn't expecting any help at first. but somehow it came to a point when the trouble was prolonged and i wished even for simple gestures of people around. that feeling when you are desperate but the people around just don't care or just chose to ignore your suffering is the worst feeling. now imagine the typhoon victims. probably at first, they were trying to stay strong and tried to solve their own misery. but as the days progressed on and the sufferings continued, i think most of them are at the point where even a simple help would mean a lot. of course, a bigger help would be better but at least don't be indifferent. the victims should feel that they are not alone in this trial, that this will come to pass, that we can do this together one way or another. the whole filipino people should at least care and show sympathy. the victims need hope, they need to feel cared for.i knew in the back of my head that for the worst, i could just cut out the zipper and sacrifice the jacket for me to get free. but these victims have no last alternative. how could they possibly get out of this situation with the least damage? it is virtually impossible... makes it even a stronger reason for all of us to extend help in any way we can. these victims will need years to rebuild (and recover) and they will need our support to do so. do not be idle and indifferent, HELP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN!!! i know that all of us will emerge stronger and fitter to face all battles ahead after all of this.

as for my minute battle, i ended up using soap from our office toilet before the zipper opened. my sufferings immediately vanished but a lesson is forever etched in my heart -- i choose to be a citizen of the world who cares for his fellowmen. somehow, people need simple tragedies of their own to learn life lessons. mine just happened to be with a zipper.

small quakes 6.9

it was a normal day for normal employees like me. i came to office a little past 8:30. late from my everyday morning dose of nihongo lessons. once again, we breathed in and out. and went on with the class. but just before noon came, something out of the ordinary happened. EARTHQUAKE!!!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... the building was still shaking. we went out of the room to meet our other colleagues also wondering what on earth is happening. my first instinct told me to find somewhere safe. and i saw the building pillar. i went near it and dragged a colleague with me only to find out that an a/c unit is directly above us. this place is surely not safe. and then the ground stopped shaking.

we quickly ran down the emergency exit. in no time from the 7th floor we reached the bottom only to find out that the door leading outside the building is locked. wow! this is the best feeling of my life. the threads of sanity i strongly held on slowly broke. why on earth is the emergency exit door locked? i didn't panic from the actual quake but a little claustrophobia got into me this time. we immediately alighted 2 floors back up and took another exit.

slowly, people got out of the building and stories of shock filled the air. everyone had a story to tell. and the worst part, phone lines broke. it only came back around 15 minutes later. i normally skip lunch but i took one this time thinking that a much needed energy would be helpful should there be an aftershock.

i was a little disappointed to hear no company official statement. other companies in that same building went home early than the usual. it was business as usual for ours. the earthquake was 6.9 with kilometers offshore negros as it's epicenter.

our japanese teacher then shared that during earthquakes, the first thing to do is to hide under the table and stay under until the quake stops. i immediately replied, there is only one table in our training room. surely, five people won't fit under it. and besides, cebu is not tokyo. in tokyo everything, buildings and people included, are earthquake proof. in cebu, we have no proof that buildings will remain standing after withstanding quakes. now we know it will but we didn't know before.

hours later, news of an impending tsunami came. the water in downtown area rose, they said. and this caused panic. just search for videos in youtube to find more. it must have been a carnival out there. but thinking back now, no one can blame these people. first, others haven't heard of the news of where the epicenter was. if they did, then mostly likely they would know that a tsunami in the city is impossible. second, this is the first big quake in cebu. most people don't even know what epicenter means. not knowing anything is scary and that makes one vulnerable to believe what others say. third, it was already a mob out there. when a huge number of people run towards you, won't you run with them as well? lastly, news of japan and new zealand is still quite fresh in the people's minds. you just can't blame them for acting that way. these made me conclude that cebu is not ready for earthquakes yet.

later around 6, as we were having a video conference with our japan counterparts, came a big aftershock. but i didn't even realize it until our boss himself alerted about it. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... our boss finally stopped the conference and told everyone to get out of the building. what a day it was. i went home with stories to share.

aftershocks still came days after but the trauma of the first is incomparable. i can't be more thankful that we were safe.

as the earth trembles 20110311

i was sitting patiently in the office and then a message came from our colleagues in japan, earthquake. oh well, japan is known for that. while i was there for 2 years, i must have experienced the most earthquake in my entire life.

but then new messages came, they went out of the buildings. it was that strong! we then started to call our other colleagues in tokyo, worried of their safety. no contact.

communication network is down but internet is fine, said our boss in japan. this was at around 2pm philippine time.

talked with other friends in japan making sure they are safe and getting news about the others, it was heart pounding. we finally received a call from 2 colleagues, they were both fine but the trauma is clear in their voices. stationed at the 6th floor, they immediately grabbed the helmets and ran down the stairwell. wall cracks becoming visible and ceiling paints raining down, it was like a movie. when they came back, all their things were tossed around, giant monitors down the floor. they recalled via phone giving us updates before they go home and end the working day abruptly.

baha sa dalan

alas otso beynte kwatro na

aw, nakaligo na man sad ko ba.

di na ko ganahan maligo usab oi!

busa ikaw uwan, hunungi na.

maghinay-hinay na lang sa ko

layo-layo pa bitaw ang oras no.

maghuwat lang sa ko na motuang-tuang

kay sa mabasa, magkasakit pa lang.

ug sa dihang nikusog man hinuon ug maayo

sure mo'ng uwan pa ni ug dili bagyo?

ang among balay mura na ug castilyo

gipalibutan ug tubig, lalom pa gyud kaayo.

akong mama naglibog ko'g nganong pwerting lingawa

wa ko nahimutang oi, ako gyung gipangutana.

ang dalan lagi daw sa atubangan, matud niya

murag sapa nga sulog pwerte pa gyung hugawa.

sa pagka alas onse y medya, hala sige larga.

niundang na ang uwan ug ang tubig ninghunas na,

akong sapatos dili na mulangoy parehas ganiha.

adto na gyud ko sa trabaho, sa taman makigchika.

hala! alas dose na lang wala pa ko kasakay da.

ang mga taxi na walay sakay asa na man kaha?

sa eskina sudlon, agi na kamo intawon

gikapoy na ko ug tindog, kapoy na ug huwat manong.

hay salamat ug nakasakay na ko finally.

nakalingkod na akong lubot, dukaon na ko ani.

bang! pagka traffic. kahinay sa dagan.

akong gihunahunang laag gamay, napapas, nahawan.

baha ngadto baha ngari, sure mong sugbo ni?

pagkatoytoy ba gud diay sa canal ani.

ang tax nakong gibayran ba, asa diay napunta?

hinaot unta dili ra sa mga politikanhong bulsa.

kinse, beynte, trenta minutos na...

pagkalayo pa sa padulngan, pagkadugay ba.

ikapila na nagheadbang akong ulo sa kaduka

kanusa man ni maabot oi? piskot na baha.

ang taxi kong gisakyan sa pagpatak nagsige lang

pwerte na ganing lapasa sa bayranang naandan.

hoi! pasutoya mi'g agi ang dalan hawani

basin sa kwarta ko sensilyo lang ang mahabilin niini.

maayo nalang tag30 pa ang akong nasakyan

naa ra ba toy plano na sa 40 patas-an.

asa ka na human sa usa ka oras na pagdagan

130 and nipatak ug akong nabayran.

pagkadimalas, pagkapait na lang.

nalate pa gyud ko sa giahak na uwan.

uwanon daw hasta summer ingon akong kauban

mag-andam na lang ko'g barko na sa baha masakyan.

on the great flood

it has been flooding back in the philippines lately. i've heard of it but never gave much attention, it has always flooded back home so nothing new with that. but i have never imagined that it could get this worse. i've seen videos of it and it has left me in awe.

imagine an underground passage filled with water... imagine vehicles overturned and tossed around by the rushing waters... imagine people stranded on top of their roofs for hours... it has reached this extent not to mention the hundreds of lives lost. i can't do anything but pray that it will end soon. i can't be any thankful that my family lives away from harm. i can't help but blame our poor drainage system and our people's lack of discipline. if garbage were disposed of properly, then there would be less things clogging up the sewers.

in times like this, i am overwhelmed by the amount of tweeter messages informing of ways to help. it is but amazing to see bayanihan* still existing in this modern age. on a personal note, i am also quite surprised by my colleagues here in japan asking if everything is fine back home. it is a surprise that even people i haven't talked with for a long time (read as usagi-chan) are also concerned. somehow, these draw a smile on my face.

after all of these, i just hope for a better day ahead.

picture taken in sarushima 20090913

*bayanihan refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. -wikipedia-