milenyo's mischief

UPLB was a wreck. Thanks to the typhoon Milenyo. Classes have been called off for one week for the reconstruction process to take place. I can vividly remember the aftermath of the typhoon to Los Banos.

It was Thursday morning when I woke up to the harsh sounds of the blistering wind. I knew that classes had been cancelled the night before but then, I did not really get why since the weather was still uh, friendly. Talk about strong winds. The experience was really as real as it got. The jalousies were shaking and it was really scary. We were living on the third floor, but our room experience flood, nevertheless. There was no electricity, and not water. We were like stranded victims. Actually, we were. All we could do was sleep. Now, that is one thing which I had problems with because there was no electricity. Horrendous. Lucky for Anton, he has deep-sleep-whatever-the-temperature-there-be genes in his body. That guy could sleep through anything. The tempest brewed about until two in the afternoon. After that, we went down to the canteen for some food. God, dear God. Only a few of the twenty or so canteens in Raymundo was open, and food was really scarce. Ihaw Express! Ellen's! Komeshi! Munchkins! ADEL'S! Where are you now! The floor on the canteen was flooded and the winds were still up heaving through the thick glass walls. I barely managed to eat. Everything just came all too soon. Got to meet up with France, and he said that Dancel was a mess. Belmore was too. Actually, almost all of the apartments in LB were (except for the uber first-class Westbrook with matching generator pa).

After we ate, Anton and I bought some food, staple food, downstairs and decided that it was the time to give Melai a visit. It was a windy journey, and not to mention, uh, floody? We saw the aftermath. It was drastic. I think that LB was one of the hardest hit areas since the storm centered on Laguna, Quezon, and Bicol right? So anyways, we went to Mix Match and waited for Melai to come down and when she did, we went back to Belmore to prepare for our what would be dramatic trip down UPLB lane.

When we got back, we saw Aaron and Rev and decided that all of us go together and see what was left of UPLB. I could not help but get teary eyed at the sight. The trees fell, the roads were blocked, the big, sturdy more-or-less 60 year-old Acacia tree which welcomes visitors one and all to the University took its final bow. The hanging bridge was no more as it collapsed into the river. The RIVER! God, the crystal clear waters suddenly turned to mocha. The posts fell, there was flood everywhere, the fences broke. It was such a horrifying experience, but whatever happened, I still remained a proud UPian. I love this school, and I will never forsake it. :)

We picked up Joana at the Men's Dorm at decided to grab a bite to whatever restaurant was open. Bad idea. We walked for about two kilometers to no avail. Everything was closed. It seemed like a haunted town. Only Doner's was open. But the food was quite pricy. So we ended up yet again at Raymundo. Joana bid us farewell that day because she was picked up by her parents. So the rest of us had to spend another night in heat. Thankfully, the laptop still had battery and I was able to watch White Oleander. Such a beautiful story. The following morning, the rest of us remaining ate breakfast at what's-it-called-again? Haha. I forgot. Then we went back to our unit to play cards. Haha. That was the most fun I had in weeks! 1-2-3 pass!!! Aaron and I were always the ones getting pulverized. CHEATERS! Haha. After that, we sang our hearts out with the songhits Rev brought way back. We were like, so cracked. Then we ate Lanzones to our hearts' content. Little did we know what would happen in the afternoon. We got picked up at around 1pm and instead of going home directly, we had…… *drumroll* a ROADTRIP! Haha. San Pablo! We went picking for Lanzones and Rambutan at ate and ate and ate and ate and ate. Then, finally, we were homebound.

That was when I found out that classes were suspended for one week. Thankfully, I will finally have time, though it still remained to be insufficient, to do my projects. Psy1. Eng2. Fil20. On the other hand, the following weeks will be hell. Long Tests. Long Tests. Long Tests. Good thing I do not have any finals, for if I ever did have, I’d surely go crazy. :)

Now, it is back to LB once again. LB Friends! Miss you! Can't wait to see you! Whoopee!!