It was around 8:30 A.M. of 27 September 2011 when I received a call from the Managing Partner of the Firm that they are suspending work due to Typhoon Pedring. Such decision was reached after work for government employees was suspend due to the storm signal. While I could see the strong rain plus the strong winds, I did not know that it as that serious. This was because we have no electricity at that time; ergo, no TV or AM radio.
Despite the discouragement from my parents, I still decided to brave the rain and to go to work to finish some paper works and to get my files for the hearing the next day. My sister KA went with me and with us are the netbook, iPad, iPhone, cellphones, camera, and video for charging.
I stopped by Shell gas station to fill my tank and while waiting for my card, the glass window of the cashier suddenly fell because of the strong wind.
Good thing my car was not hit by the broken glass, there is a good distance of about a meter and a a half. On our way to Ortigas, we saw this MMDA truck ready to do some clearing and cleaning!
We saw lots of trees and broken branches that fell on the road, but we weren't able to take pictures.
My sister and I stayed at the office for a good three hours and we again braved the rain. We were already scared of being trapped somewhere especially when we weren't able to reach the mobile numbers of our family and househelpers. We also noticed that our cellphone signals were down.
We passed by our usual route and we saw the big tree in the center island occupying four lanes of the road. We had to pass by the easement of the establishments just to be able to pass. The poor tree, we have been seeing this tree for decades now.
It was a relief when we got home. It feels good to be with our family, there is a sense of security especially that you know everyone is safe.
Since we have nothing else to do, I and the kids played and snuggled in bed. At first, K1 was enjoying the dim light dinner and shadow puppets but later on, he and K2 got irritated. They are not used to not having a light, music, and artificial air from the aircon or the fan. I had to fan them all night.
I learned a lot from this experience. In the middle of our sleep, I saw the tea light candle above with a huge flame the size of a saucer, with its glass broken. Good thing nothing was damaged. I didn't expect it to set fire as big as that!
Electricity was restored after thirty-two hours!
Next time, I will be more ready. Oh, and I think I will be scouting for a transistor radio, a rechargeable light, fan, and a bigger flashlight than what I am using.
I am glad and thankful we are all safe!
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