Locked N' Loaded

Yesterday I was anticipating for that dreadful storm Peping to hit Manila. Even though in the office we all came in full force, we were mindful about the rain and the weather updates since we all know there's a heavy typhoon looming the Philippine Territory. But as early as 3 pm yesterday, corporations started to send their employees home and naturally most of us panicked because of too much information. There were scary text circulations and frightening net images freely accessible. With the effects of Ondoy still fresh, most people panicked to park their cars somewhere safe, rushed to the nearest grocery shops and quickly went home to attend to the house. While going home, SKYWAY was jammed, good thing Mitch and I refueled ourselves back in Makati. I also heard groceries were quickly losing stocks. I think the grocery operators must be very happy with our panic-buying business and take note Christmas is just around the corner. Yesterday, we were all in a race against PEPING. Another battle that our poor country has yet to withstand.

When I got home, my mother bought take-out while my father, one of those panic buyers, bought groceries. My aunt went home early with some fruits, bread and cooked food while I picked up pizza. Our kitchen was busy that night with too much food and we slightly forgot we were supposed to be preparing for a storm.

We prepared candles, checked our house and made sure our cars were parked in a safe place considering all angles. Knowing that it's a strong typhoon, we prepared to endure brownouts and internet disconnection, so we all charged our phones, saved some numbers and did all the things that we had to do online like book tickets, update our Facebook accounts and play our favorite games. My sister had a DVD marathon as we all did our usual things silently, preparing for the inevitable.

But except for a few drizzle, the storm didn't come.

I woke up this morning with the usual gloom painted outside my window and was most certain that the storm didn't battle Manila. It changed its course and moved to Cagayan, where I hope the residents are already geared up and loaded. it might be our prayers or a natural weather change, but it's always good to know that we did every preparation in the book.

Funny that most of us became paranoid, following every precautionary detail to a tee, only to find out that we wouldn't use it after all. Some would call us overreacting, others would call us paranoid while others would call it preparedness. I don't know what you'd call it, but the important thing is we were not hit, Ondoy victims can now breathe, and we would know what to do once a typhoon hits us for the nth time. Paranoid or not, at least we are safe.