Ondoy Grad Pictorial

At the height of typhoon Ondoy last Saturday, I was in Makati, away from home because of a photo shoot. I was one of the first ones scheduled for our grad pictorial. It was raining really hard while I was on my way riding the MRT.
The wind was insane, something I probably haven't experienced before. I was to meet Weyn, Tal and Khai at Magallanes Station.

We were a few minutes late from our scheduled time. We weren't exactly sure how to get to the studio. We drove around the area until we saw the pink building.

We were there for half a day, seeing the heavy rains splashing right outside the window. I thought that it was just the usual rain, I wasn't really worried about not being able to get home.

I never went out of the studio for the whole duration of the pictorial and was oblivious of what was happening outside that room. Some of my classmates went outside the studio to look for some food. They told us that the basement of the building was flooded and even took a picture of it. I asked the staff if they have experienced a flood in that area and their answer was no. That day was the first time.

The studio was near (walking distance) the Magallanes Station but the staff told us that that part was flooded and we should ride the MRT at the Ayala Station. They told us that riding the train is the best way to get home and avoid getting stranded.

After leaving the studio, reality sank in. There was no electricity in the whole building. The studio was just using a generator so we could finish our photo shoot. I was not aware of the situation until we left.

Friends of mine have been texting me that their house were flooded and I was worried that our house was too.

We were walking around Greenbelt, still fully made-up but soaking wet, until we were at the Ayala station. The line at the ticket booth was crazy. About 200-300 people were in front of us. Some of us have lost patience and decided to ride the bus instead. I stood ground. I don't want to be stranded in EDSA. I knew that MRT was my fastest way to get home, with or without the crazy line. Fortunately, the line moved fast and as we boarded the train, there were still some empty seats available for us.

I could walk home from North Avenue station. Going home was an easy feat for me. But I was texting some of my friends, a lot of them have been stranded for a few hours. One of them even had to spend the night at an LRT station because he couldn't go out due to the flood. That friend was able to go home about more than 24 hours since I was home.

I just felt so lucky and blessed. I didn't experience being stranded and our house was fine. I have the greatest urge to help out and I did. I volunteered for a couple of days. Given a choice, I would've volunteered the whole week the school was off.

It was so heart-warming to see the Philippines being united. The apathetic suddenly found his voice. Everyone wants to help out.

I wish everyone would be like this everyday.

Posted by Patit at 3:14 AM Post a Comment 0Comments