What Typhoon Juaning Left Behind

Another strong typhoon hit Albay last week. The typhoon named Juaning left the province devastated once again. Guinobatan, Ligao, and Polangui were hit the hardest. The streets were flooded once again; the water reached almost to the knees in some locations while other had higher water levels.

I went home last weekend and I saw for myself the damage that Juaning brought to my hometown. The road in Maipon was impassable again. I wasn't able to see the place but according to my mother and bro, the sand brought by the flood was so high that it was really impossible to drive through. It's been a week now so perhaps the local government of Guinobatan had the problem fixed already. I wasn't able to take pictures of the site, which is too bad.

Ligao Bridge

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon we went on a drive to Ligao for an errand (I'm going to tell you more about this errand in my next post; maybe tomorrow). My brother, sis-in-law and I went to the Ligao bridge because I wanted to take some pictures of the damaged bridge there. Buses, jeepneys and private vehicles won't be able to make a shortcut to Tabaco via this bridge because it's totally damaged! The foundations are totally exposed now and if another strong flood comes along,  think it would collapse totally. Hope they get this fixed soon too!

Ligao Bridge

Ligao Bridge's exposed foundation

Another Year Added To My Life

Well, the 22nd of June is over, which means I’m really one year older. So how do I feel about being at this age? Frankly, I feel older too, though I don’t look it haha. It’s but natural I guess. No one goes through life unscathed as they say and these experiences can make one feel and even look older than his years. But I’m thankful that even though life hasn’t been that good to me lately, it doesn’t show that much on my face. (that said with a smug look;))

Anyway, I had a very nice time at home. Saw my family, my nieces who are really getting bigger each time I see them. We had a nice celebration on Sunday. By we I mean my cousins Yagz, Gold, and I. Although none of our birthdays fall on the 21st of June, we decided to hold our bit of get together that day. There was great food and what we love most - videoke!:D We sang our hearts out til late at night.

See some pics of how I spent this year's birthday.

Counting the Hours

I'm counting the hours. Five hours more to go and I'll be heading back to where I belong, Frankly, I really miss home, my bed, and all my creature comforts when I'm there. Need I mention the fresh air? the morning sunlight streaming through my window when I open my eyes? It's been 2 months since I last saw my family. I don't know but this time it feels like it's been forever. I miss my nieces.

One of them, Thea, has started school last Monday. Time really flies so fast. She used to be just this tiny baby I could carry in my arms, but now she's a young lady already.
The other one, Gale, I think she'd be naughtier now too. Well, I'm counting the hours that I could be with them again.

And I can't wait for the get-together we're going to have on Sunday. It's going to be our birthdays again. Three of us will be celebrating - Yagz, Gold, and I. It's going to be a busy weekend for me. But I have to say, this is one busy time I'm so looking forward to. :)

Just A Recap

I was able to go home on the last weekend of September. After work that Friday, I immediately proceeded to Cubao where my friend, Mandy, was waiting for me. I decided to just take the ordinary bus for my trip. It was my first time to take the ordinary bus so, I asked my friend to help me choose which one would be most secure. We had a hard time choosing because most of the seats at the front were already occupied. I definitely did not want to sit at the back, not only is it uncomfortable, it's also not safe since most of the people sitting there were males. Finally, we settled on the Elavil bus. It's a good thing too because my seat mate was a female. It was hard to sleep during the trip, but I was also able to nap every now and then. I noticed that ordinary buses had so many stopovers, but despite that we were able to reach Guinobatan pretty early.

It felt good to be home. I missed our house, my room, my bed. And it was good to see my Ma, my siblings and their families. I planned on taking them out for lunch in Legazpi on Sunday, but my Ma said it would just be better if we buy stuff and cook them at home. So, that's what we did. We ate outside the house during lunch, under the Bignay tree with fresh air around us. Too bad I did not take pictures of that day...

During my visit there I had some time to rummage through my things, throw out what I did n't need anymore and kept those that had so much sentimental value to me. I tried looking for the notebook that contained poetry pieces but I couldn't find it. Then I remembered, I lent it to my neice, Apol. I just texted her and told her to make she does't lose it.

Time flew so fast, ad then it was again time to come back here in Manila. I took the plane. By the way, it was my first plane ride. Since it was my first time to ride in the skies, I took pictures of the clouds that were close enough to touch. It's wonderful to be up there, looking down on all creation. But not all sights were good to eyes. When we were near Manila already, the view changed. Instead of green meadows, all I could see were buildings stuck so close together...

Here are some pictures of my plane ride and other views from the top.