ondoy

what a saturday to remember. no, it wasn't about a good gimik with friends or a nice movie. it was all about rains and flood.

ondoy brought a whole september month's supply of rain in just five hours to the whole metropolis, central luzon, southern tagalog and bicol region. the result... floods all over luzon, particularly in low-lying areas like camanava and southern metro manila. the worst hit however, was the marikina, pasig and cainta, where massive floodwaters submerged almost 95% of the areas.

in makati, where floods are already expected, sudden rise in floodwaters caused an almost complete halt in business activities. (thanks to aby for these pics!) even ayala area was flooded but the san antonio village was turned into a venice-like canal/ river system. i woke up at around 9:30 am to see waters already creeping in banuyo street. i went back to bed and decided to take a shower at around 10:30. after getting done, the flood was already knee-deep and the bldg admin staff were in a state of panic. apparently, the floodwaters already reached the building's circuit breaker and electricity needed to be cut off. ayun. after another 20 minutes, the water was already waist-deep. from 12 noon to 6 pm, floodwaters were only 2 1/2 steps from reaching the condo's floor level. this would've been a bigger disaster for me, as i stay at the building's first floor. thankfully, the rain subsided a bit towards the early evening. good thing that i had rice and canned goods, as i only had 80 pesos. i even used 40 pesos for e-load, so that left me with only 40 pesos for the rest of the day. there was no way of getting out of san antonio village, so tenants had to share food and supplies. some of them already had a mini-party outside my door, drinking and singing, so as to while away time and forget that their cars were completely submerged in the condo's basement parking. at around 10 pm, power was finally back. but cable was still affected so news were virtually nil. going online was the only way, as text messages were delayed.

in novaliches, floodwaters entered our house, waist-deep, while in the streets, it was up to chest level. this was the very first time that our home was flooded. i was born there, but we haven't experienced any flood ever. the sudden burst of water from la mesa, angat and ipo dams caused the tullahan rivers and other tributaries to overflow and flood half of our barangay. good thing that we have a second floor, so my folks can get to a higher level. but of course, the rise of the floodwaters were so sudden that they were not able to save most of the appliances and furnishings, both in the living room and kitchen. haaayyy. most of our neighbors evacuated to the covered court.

i only had 40 pesos but luckily, i had enough smart bro load to go online, even for an hour and a half as my batt was running out. from facebook posts and breaking news from inquirer.net, disasters like this is really an equalizer, even richer income levels were heavily affected such as celebs, politicos and those living in exclusive villages like corinthian gardens. not that i rejoice in what has happened, but this only shows that we have to be prepared and accept that fact that no one's invulnerable to nature's wrath. these days, even areas that are previously not flood-prone, can easily be submerged and swamped suddenly.

i really do hope and pray that we won't have to experience another ondoy anytime soon. better, not anymore in this lifetime.

pac-mom

the woman of the hour. ang bagong kinahuhumalingan ng kalalakihan! hehehehe!

flushing

i just had to re-post this ode to 2009 US open. read on!

Flushing Memories
by Highpockets

I have to confess I’ve been feeling befuddled;
My synapses aren’t firing; my mind is all muddled.
I want to say something; I want to be clear,
But all I can think of is “Yikes, what a year!”

I’ve considered retiring and then coming back
With my mind sharp and fresh and my mojo intact,
But I can’t give up, though I’m feeling uneasy,
So here is my poem and it will be cheesy:

I’ll remember this Open for a girl full of heart,
Who ambushed three Russians, showing grit from the start.
I’ll remember this Open for it gave tennis a spot
In the twenty-four hour, news-cycle plot.

I’ll remember this Open for a mom with a smile,
A steely resolve and a beautiful child.
I’ll remember this Open for Earley’s tough job,
And Federer’s tweener to Djokovic’s lob.

I’ll remember this Open for a buff, shirtless Spaniard,
Whose fan was ejected by a dude with a lanyard.
I’ll remember this Open for a tirade gone viral,
A champion’s rage and a media spiral.

I’ll remember this Open for Americans winning,
Until the fourth round; then they started the thinning,
I’ll remember this Open for Robin’s resilience;
He stood up to Roger and challenged his brilliance.

I’ll remember this Open for Gonzo’s deflation,
And Murray succumbing to stress and frustration.
I’ll remember this Open for foot faults and fuming,
Glorious weather and clouds ever looming.

I’ll remember this Open for Novak’s redemption,
J-Mac on Ashe, and NASCAR’s preemption.
I’ll remember this Open for an Argentine star,
Whose speech in his tongue was eclipsed by a car.

I’ll remember this Open for that dark day of gloom,
When everyone mourned, play would not resume.
I’ll remember this Open for Del Potro’s tears,
He slew two great dragons,impressing his peers.

But of all of my memories, the one that won’t wane
Are those two beams of light through that curtain of rain.

kimmies

it's the year of the kimmies! yes, eugene domingo's kimmy dora and the new grandslam winning mom, kim clijsters.

sept. 5, zel, cathy, mylene and i went to see kimmy dora. the movie did not disappoint. a good mix of slapstick comedy and deadpan humor was fused together to tell the story of twins kimmy and dora. what really carried this movie was eugene domingo's sheer talent - the plot itself has been used many times over and is too shallow, while the movie also failed in some technical aspects, especially when kimmy and dora were singin' in the rain. it was a showcase of how talented eugene is, way better than those comediennes she used to be a sidekick of. she easily shifts to kimmy and dora and the scene where dora pretended to be kimmy was the highlight! when asked by her dad: "anak, nagda-drugs ka ba?". dora answered: "i'll look into it. i'll get back to you on that. i'll give you an update." she definitely can carry a film all by herself, even without those cameos from other celebrities like regine velasquez, who by the way did the worst one in the movie! hilarious quotes were all over, one of my faves was this:

“Elena! Kunin mo ang cheque book ko at bilhin mo ‘yang bus sa labas.”

i wonder what kind of smorgasbord is in store for the next installment of this. obviously, they'll make a franchise out of this.




on the other hand, the belgian kimmie, kim clijsters, stormed through the US open draw and won her second US open title over caroline wozniacki. kim was given a wildcard coz she's not ranked yet, playing just two tournaments after a two year break to start a family. she lost to dinara safina and jelena jankovic in her first two tourneys in cincinatti and toronto. new moms rarely make any big impact on the women's tour after giving birth, with evonne goolagong as the last mother to win a grand slam title in 1980. kim defeated viktoriya kutuzova, no. 14 marion bartoli, kirsten flipkens, no. 3 venus williams, no. 18 li na, no. 2 serena williams and no. 9 wozniacki. she was tested by bartoli and of course, venus gave her a tough time as well. the match with serena was the highlight 'though, as the american completely lost her cool, getting a penalty on match point. of course, that is not to say that kim did not win the match entirely. according to tennis pundits, kim outplayed serena for majority of the match, shot for shot and power for power. against a defensive-minded wozniacki, kim was initially rattled, but ultimately won over the dane's patient play and the windy conditions.

kim's now ranked no. 19! she'll play a limited schedule but i hope to see her in big tournaments. it would really be wonderful if she can join the elite 8 women field in this year's season ending tournament in doha. she won the season ender twice, so she can definitely bang away with another title.

rascals

glad that i pushed myself out from the comfort of my bed to head out and see some movies at this year's cinema europa. since i woke up at past 10 am already, i missed rec, the spanish horror suspense film, scheduled for 12 noon screening. when i got to shangri-la cineplex, hordes of people have already lined up for the next film, rascals on the road or Mein Name ist Eugen. but due to power of pila i learned from UP, i got a ticket!

i enjoyed the film. it's all about the adventures of four swiss kids - eugen, wrigley, baschteli and eddie, who all set out from bern to meet fritzli buhler in zurich, with a 300-year old map of the treasures of lake titicaca in hand. told from eugen's point of view, the movie's all about kids' adventures and how things seemed simple and reachable when you're young. i think all kids at one point in our lives, felt the urge to leave home and do a stokwa, either due to whimsical desires, far-fetched ideas or just the thought of freeing ourselves from our parents 'laws'. it's the cinematic effect of having kids fend for themselves and succeeding in the process that influences such thoughts i think ,coz in reality, it'd be hard to survive on your own.

the movie was entertaining as all small details were fleshed out as part of the whole adventure, including the boat that destroyed the 3 floors of eugen's and wrigley's flats; eugen and wrigley ending up joining the summer camp; the 'kidnapping of baschteli; biking and camping across switzerland and reaching zurich; wrigley's discovery of young love; the boys' realization that they need each other's company and their bond as a whole. it's quirky presentation made it enjoyable and interesting, even saying that the movie has ended already, when in fact it still has around 10 minutes to show that kathrin went to bern to see wrigley.

shove

foot fault, then 2 break points = 2 match points for kim clijsters. next thing we knew, serena lost the match because of verbal abuse of a linesperson.

“I swear to God I’m… going to take this… ball and shove it down your… throat, you hear that? I swear to God,” Williams told the line-judge.

it's not nice seeing a hotly contested match end that way. of course, it's better to see a winner from the one with match point or end the match with an error after a good rally.

anyway, i still got the better result - kim clijsters in another US open final. i hope that she beats zel's chubita wozniacki. she deserves more than 1 slam to her name. go kim!

kiss

Q. What did you think when the man came out of the stands and came up to you?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, for me it wasn't the problem. The guy was really nice (laughter.)

Q. Did he say anything?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes. He was a great fan. He said, I love you, and he kiss me. (laughter.)

Q. Was he speaking Spanish?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, in English, but I understand that. (laughter.)

sparrow

this short film reminded of my super kulit lola. during the last few years of her life, she had minor dementia so she was always repeating each question many times. she forgets almost everything, even her last meal, to the point of accusing the capri folks that they don't let her eat! i miss her.

aberration

every champion is an aberration, a truth proven by both roger federer and rafael nadal.

- steve tignor.