the storm and my little adventure

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed
in knowing themselves - in finding themselves."
--André Gide

haha. i'm so proud of myself. i braved the storm! i braved the storm!

i went out alone while milenyo (international name: xangsane) was raging and saw with my own two eyes how big, big branches cracked off and fell to the ground and how a lot of them effectively blocked the campus roads. i went out and experienced the fury of the winds that successfully uprooted many big, big trees which had no choice but to kiss the earth after losing their hold on the ground which had nourished them for so long.

i had my umbrella with me the whole time that i was out (about two hours) but judging at how drenched i was by the time i got back to the comforts of my dorm, my five-fold umbrella was good as useless. the winds directed the rains and the leaves in all directions, so no matter how i positioned my umbrella, the waterdrops got to me... and blurred my vision. right there and then i toyed with the idea of having my eyeglasses fitted with miniature windshield wipers.

i found it difficult to walk the short distance between the shopping center and my dorm... the winds were too strong and branches were falling all over. the perils of third-world living got represented by the sight of electrical cables too exposed to the falling branches! fortunately, none of them wires got cut while i was making my way to safety. la la la... lucky!

while i was temporarily taking shelter under a waiting shed, a strong gust of wind came by and almost knocked me and the other fellas around me down. that made us share nervous laughter.

"welcome to survivor philippines!" i heard one guy say in a mocking manner. seconds after, the wind caught his umbrella and he had no choice but to battle for control. it was in vain -- his umbrella ended up resembling a mangled satellite dish! call me bad, but that sight amused me. hell has no fury like a woman scorned? maybe hell has no fury like an underestimated storm.

too bad i did not have a high-end digital camera with me... even if i was clearly aware of the dangers, i was tempted to take pictures and document what i was seeing and experiencing. good thing i did not give in to that temptation -- i did not have the means to.

too many green leaves scattered on the ground. howling wind. heavy rain. cracking and falling branches (big, big branches). uprooted trees (small and big, big trees)... natural chaos. i thought i'd only get to read it in magazines and books and see it in mayhem movies. i never thought i'd experience it first-hand.

i found it thrilling to be out there and really experiencing the storm. (a different kind of trip, i must say!) at one point, i was tempted to try playing in that rain (okay, storm!) and just be unmindful of what others will say... but, of course, i thought better and focused on returning to my dorm in one piece. i had no wish to be mistaken for a complete lunatic!

don't worry, i won't do it again. i got scared, too, you know. once is enough.

uh, maybe.


the calm after the storm...
p.s. we have been forced to go back to stone age living -- electricity has not yet been restored to the campus. from the grapevine, we heard that the outage might last 'til sunday. uh oh. i don't wanna go through another boring and very dark night.