Saturday, April 25, 2009

Snickering Mother Nature

It's one of those Saturday bed weathers again. It's raining so hard that I had to increase the volume of the television. I'm watching Charmed reruns and it has resulted to a mime show. It's so dark that it makes me forget that I've already just woken up as I find myself slowly drifting into sleep. Although by this time, we don't have to think of any stupid excuses to skip work because for most of us, Saturday is a non-working day. Technically is the term. I have to do work on a Saturday, minimal work that is. I have to drive all the way to the office and do some minor work that requires 15 minutes of my time. I have remote access though, but it seems it's not working at this point. It's raining hard, it's a weekend and my remote access is not working therefore technically "skipping" work is a most probable option. The organization cannot demand this on me on these given circumstances.

Enough about work though. That is not the reason why I wrote in the first place. I wanted to write about my bewilderment of this gloomy weather in...APRIL! All these times I was preparing for a scorching summer where the asphalt roads would release steamed heat that makes you want to carry a water sprinkler and squirt water on the road and hear it fizzle. I was preparing for waking up in the mornings desperately needing a shower because I would find myself waking up on own pile of sweaty clothes. But for the past week, everything I expected turned out to be just a bunch of expectations.

When I was in Boracay, the argued summer capital of the Philippines, it was raining. The sea was not calm at all. There was wind and the aura was definitely gloomy. Instead of shake people were getting coffees. The strong heat of the sun that supposed to be the default weather was replaced with occasional drizzle, cloudy disposition and sometimes thunder. You think this is odd, imagine using an umbrella while walking in the shores of Boracay.

This is not a normal summer. If ever it would rain during summers it would only take a day at the most, and it's not in powerful intensity. Summer is expected to be dry and hot, permitting people to roam about. Storms and low pressure areas aren't expected to come up in the news. Normally weekends spent at home would be torture if you're not on airconditioning. I could understand most people's frustrations with this quasi weather though because summer is the actual time that groups plan for an event, get togethers or trips. Weekends of summers are definitely crucial as most grand plans take place at this time. But as I peek from my window, I wouldn't be surprised if most trips are canceled today. People would even be forced to impose some minor to major adjustments to their plans. Some might be cursing the weather right now.

All of the brewing animosity is understandable after all. It is not that people cannot live without the heat and sun, but it's that they hate their plans getting affected by not having the much needed heat and sun. No one ever prepared us to hear thunders and depend on rain schedules to plan for our summer vacations. Being a tropical country, this weather change is not very cooperative with the programmed mindset.

Naturally people started asking if summer has ended its streak, limiting its duration for only a month. The only popular and trusted weather forecasting body in the country still declared that we're still in the summer season no matter how it contradicts to what you see outside your windows. They declared this a couple of days ago. In the news, they mentioned that they were still expecting the dreaded summer heat to come back, but if the gloomy weather seems to transcend past a week to two weeks to a couple of random days, they would probably have to rule out that summer has indeed ended. In short, there goes your summer vacation. If you haven't begun yet, well plan early next year.

There was even a rumor that Cagayan experienced an "icy" weather during this season. Is this what they're telling us about the climate change? The product of men's gradual destruction of the environment? In fact, we shouldn't be surprised at all. Beneath the canceled trips lies a bigger picture. It's a small price to pay really for what we've actually done. If summer now is reduced to a month, who are we to complain to but amongst ourselves?

By this time, the rain has stopped and as I looked out again, the sun creeps in as if nothing happened.

It's weird, but I feel Mother Nature is snickering at us right now.

No comments: