My Hell Days: Day 1 - Drowned Makati
I had the worst luck mid August.
The floods came and drowned Makati city like there was no tomorrow, last August 15, Wednesday. After office, I went on my usual route to fetch Che from her office in Manila. The route usually goes from Pasong Tamo, then to Buendia, Yakal Street, Buendia again, then Roxas Blvd. As I was making my way to Yakal Street, the yellow police (i.e. Makati Police who wore yellow uniforms) stopped all vehicles from entering Yakal street, because the end of street was flooded waist high. So, I had to push forward on along Pasong Tamo and then turned to Kamagong Street. Traffic was terrible but that was the only other route that I know (besides going back to Buendia Avenue itself, although earlier, when I crossed, all the vehicles are stuck. I intended to go from Kamagong Street all the way to the end, crossing the Zobel-Roxas, then from there, to Osmeña Hi-Way.
It was only then, through the radio, that I learned that the most flooded area WAS the Kamagong-Zobel-Roxas area approaching Osmeña hiway. I can't turn back because the cars have already piled up. That one-way street already became a two-way street -- cars who reached the flooded area turned back the same way -- much to the chagrin of everyone, now stuck there.
The flooded Zobel-Roxas area is only a very short one -- not even a 100 meters. People there used this "opportunity" to make up some cash; one of them approached me with a proposal: while the engine is off, they will push the car until I reach the high ground, just before the stop light for some cash. Not wanting to go back and waste more gas, I went for it. While sitting idly and comfortably on my seat, a group of 6 guys pushed the car all the way through. I thought I saw from my rear-view mirror that one of them slipped and plunged head first to the flood. Eww! That's when I remembered about leprospyrosis.
Anyway, I was glad enough to give them a hundred pesos. It's better than going back the entire length of the Kamagong Street, which was now in a freakin' deadlock.
Ah well... Come to think of it, this is not really that bad compared to what happened the next day. Being pushed through the flood is not half bad anyway.
My Hell Days: Day 2 part 1- Bus Crash
I wasn't really feeling well this day, Augusut 16, Thursday. Too bad, I got involved in this...
After taking my wife to her office, I then went my usual route going home and rest. I was along Casino Street in Makati and intended to turn right to the outermost lane of the Osmeña hiway. The highway was clear and I wasn't really in that kind of a hurry so I was driving really slow. As rotten luck would have it, as I was entering Osmena highway from Casino Street, a speeding bus hit my the car, destroying the the left-fender, left headlight, left signal light, and front bumper. The bus was driving so fast that one of his passengers almost went through the righthand-side of the windshield.
Based from the sketch of the inspector later on, one would automatically assume that I was at fault, the bus having the right of way and such. My dad and sister thinks so. Maybe I was, I don't know. I never imagined that entering a street at a very slow speed would get me into this much trouble. Made me wonder... Does that mean that any speeding vehicle may never be at fault as long as he got the onto right position after the impact??? One of the police officers in that area (Makati Police Station 5 happens to be in Casino Street corner Osmena Highway) told me that it's not my fault and that the bus was was too fast considering that he is approaching an intersection -- whatever your name is, sir, thank you very much for taking my side! He's the only person who believed that it was not fault. Anyway, he advised me that I should be sticking to the inspector kissing his ass or something just like what the bus driver is doing; otherwise, I might get turned and put the blame on me.
Anyway, much later after going to the Makati Police Traffic Office (near Makati City Hall), thanks to the comprehensive insurance that I fully paid last month, we (myself with my dad and sister to the rescue!) went to Citimotors Makati to file a claim, and have the car assessed and fixed. I submitted the police report about a week later -- hah! The police report says I'm not at fault! It didn't say that it was the bus driver's fault, but at this point I don't care about him -- as long as I'm out of the woods and that I'm not at fault, that's fine with me.
Wasted a lot of time, without getting anything done. That's my biggest regret here.
I had the worst luck mid August.
The floods came and drowned Makati city like there was no tomorrow, last August 15, Wednesday. After office, I went on my usual route to fetch Che from her office in Manila. The route usually goes from Pasong Tamo, then to Buendia, Yakal Street, Buendia again, then Roxas Blvd. As I was making my way to Yakal Street, the yellow police (i.e. Makati Police who wore yellow uniforms) stopped all vehicles from entering Yakal street, because the end of street was flooded waist high. So, I had to push forward on along Pasong Tamo and then turned to Kamagong Street. Traffic was terrible but that was the only other route that I know (besides going back to Buendia Avenue itself, although earlier, when I crossed, all the vehicles are stuck. I intended to go from Kamagong Street all the way to the end, crossing the Zobel-Roxas, then from there, to Osmeña Hi-Way.
It was only then, through the radio, that I learned that the most flooded area WAS the Kamagong-Zobel-Roxas area approaching Osmeña hiway. I can't turn back because the cars have already piled up. That one-way street already became a two-way street -- cars who reached the flooded area turned back the same way -- much to the chagrin of everyone, now stuck there.
The flooded Zobel-Roxas area is only a very short one -- not even a 100 meters. People there used this "opportunity" to make up some cash; one of them approached me with a proposal: while the engine is off, they will push the car until I reach the high ground, just before the stop light for some cash. Not wanting to go back and waste more gas, I went for it. While sitting idly and comfortably on my seat, a group of 6 guys pushed the car all the way through. I thought I saw from my rear-view mirror that one of them slipped and plunged head first to the flood. Eww! That's when I remembered about leprospyrosis.
Anyway, I was glad enough to give them a hundred pesos. It's better than going back the entire length of the Kamagong Street, which was now in a freakin' deadlock.
Ah well... Come to think of it, this is not really that bad compared to what happened the next day. Being pushed through the flood is not half bad anyway.
My Hell Days: Day 2 part 1- Bus Crash
I wasn't really feeling well this day, Augusut 16, Thursday. Too bad, I got involved in this...
After taking my wife to her office, I then went my usual route going home and rest. I was along Casino Street in Makati and intended to turn right to the outermost lane of the Osmeña hiway. The highway was clear and I wasn't really in that kind of a hurry so I was driving really slow. As rotten luck would have it, as I was entering Osmena highway from Casino Street, a speeding bus hit my the car, destroying the the left-fender, left headlight, left signal light, and front bumper. The bus was driving so fast that one of his passengers almost went through the righthand-side of the windshield.
Based from the sketch of the inspector later on, one would automatically assume that I was at fault, the bus having the right of way and such. My dad and sister thinks so. Maybe I was, I don't know. I never imagined that entering a street at a very slow speed would get me into this much trouble. Made me wonder... Does that mean that any speeding vehicle may never be at fault as long as he got the onto right position after the impact??? One of the police officers in that area (Makati Police Station 5 happens to be in Casino Street corner Osmena Highway) told me that it's not my fault and that the bus was was too fast considering that he is approaching an intersection -- whatever your name is, sir, thank you very much for taking my side! He's the only person who believed that it was not fault. Anyway, he advised me that I should be sticking to the inspector kissing his ass or something just like what the bus driver is doing; otherwise, I might get turned and put the blame on me.
Anyway, much later after going to the Makati Police Traffic Office (near Makati City Hall), thanks to the comprehensive insurance that I fully paid last month, we (myself with my dad and sister to the rescue!) went to Citimotors Makati to file a claim, and have the car assessed and fixed. I submitted the police report about a week later -- hah! The police report says I'm not at fault! It didn't say that it was the bus driver's fault, but at this point I don't care about him -- as long as I'm out of the woods and that I'm not at fault, that's fine with me.
Wasted a lot of time, without getting anything done. That's my biggest regret here.
My Hell Days: Day 2 part 2 - Jessie's Babies No More
That same bus crash day, I later found out that Jessie miscarriaged. See Che's blog http://moncheri28.blogspot.com for more on this...
You can see that she's very, very sad and depressed -- she won't let anyone touch or even look at her babies. Too bad.
Anyway, good thing is, after about a week or so, she's back to being Jessie the Jumpin' Dog! She's back to her old jumping antics and she also has her huge -- and I am HUUUUGE -- appetite.
That same bus crash day, I later found out that Jessie miscarriaged. See Che's blog http://moncheri28.blogspot.com for more on this...
You can see that she's very, very sad and depressed -- she won't let anyone touch or even look at her babies. Too bad.
Anyway, good thing is, after about a week or so, she's back to being Jessie the Jumpin' Dog! She's back to her old jumping antics and she also has her huge -- and I am HUUUUGE -- appetite.
My Hell Days: Day 3 - Tasks and floods
This day, August 17, Friday, I had a lot of tasks to do, which is not bad at all --- if only it didn't rain that hard again!
Mid-morning, after taking Che to the office, I went straight to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have my passport renewed. Had a hard time finding a parking slot -- found one in Cuneta Astrodome, about a block away. As if the rain wasn't enough, I had to deal with this guy who pulled me just before I got to the entrance. He's one of those fixers out there who forcibly took me to one of the stalls outside of the DFA to give me my application form, take my picture, etc. I got interested with the fact that many people are there, so I went along with it. In one of the stalls, someone gave me an application form which is free (fine). Then the photographer on that stall said that they will take two pictures of me: one with a blue background, the other with a white background. When someone would that they already have pictures with white background, they would argue that in the new process, they needed two sets of pictures -- one with blue, the other white background. Then after that, they asked to pay up around php200. By this time, I had turned and ran to the DFA gate. no way I'm giving them money for something that I don't need!
I can't help but smirk at the, uhm, how do I say this? I can't help but smirk at this lucrative business, this con and it's happening at the outside walls of the DFA compound! Geez!
Anyway, just to remind everyone, there are several things that needs to be pointed out:
- fill up the application form before you go to DFA; it's free and can be downloaded
- bring three passport-sized pictures with WHITE background
- read the requirements in the application form; bring whatever is stated there (photocopy of some pages of the old passport is always required for renewals)
- you only need to pay either php500 (6-day processing) or php750 (2-day processing); no more, no less
Unless the requirements have been changed, you should only bring the above and end up paying only 500 or 750. That's it. If you already have all of the above handy, it should not take more than 1 hour. I finished the above in about 30 minutes :)
After DFA, I had to go to Makati Police Traffic to get the Police Report. Since it was Friday, getting there was a pain. When I got there, I found out that the inspector could not get on the PC because they had no electricity (huh?). He said I should come back later that day around 1:30 PM. Argh, now that's a waste of gas!
Then, I got a call from Che, saying that I should have Jessie x-rayed to make sure that if there are still puppies (possibly dead ones) inside her or not. So I went straight home, took Jessie to the only veterinary clinic I know along Sucat Road, Carlos Veterinary Clinic, and had her examined.. Too bad there were no more puppies left.
Anyway, after the examination, that's when it really, really, REALLY rained hard. How hard? Well, Sucat Road in the Fourth Estate area was totally submerged... The good thing is that Manila Memorial Park opened up their backgate which opened up on the other side of the flooded area. So there I went my way home, but -- since parts of Metro Manila were submerged -- I saw that the road leading up to our house was also, uhm, drowning. Hehe. I had to drop by my dad's house and leave Jessie there.
After that I decided to cancel all my other tasks and just fetch Che from the office. It was past 2:00 PM anyway and with the traffic, I won't get around much. At first I thought of going back for the Police Report but, knowing that it's a Friday, I decided to stay away from Makati. I later learned that all government personnel were told to go home because of the floods, so I guess that would include the police personnel doing deskjobs, so it's a good move not to go there.
By the time I got to Che's office, it was past 3:00 PM -- by this time, it was announced that everyone could go home. But not Che. No no no no... Hehehe. Just kidding. She was asked to stay and she had a long talk with her boss. I can't say what they talked about and I'm not taking it against her -- it's business-related talk so I know that it had to be done and that it had to be done soon. They talked for hours.
By 4PM, I then remembered that I still haven't eaten anything yet for that day. I just dropped by to the nearest 7-11 and Mercury Drug (both along Padre Faura street in Manila) and ate Nova and dried mangoes, forgot the brand -- hey, it's been a while since I've eaten dried mangoes, okay? So, anyway. Yup, that's all I ate. No rice for that day so far! :-)
I can't use my phone's radio because it's low bat (hehe you know, WAN BARS LEP NA LANG AKO EH, hehehe). So I had no form of entertainment except eating Nova and the dried mangoes. Ugh! Well, I did try to walk back and forth between Mercury Drug and 7-11, but that could "entertain" me for only so long. Not sure what I did that, though. I think I must have dozed off in the car.
Anyway, Che was finally done by around 6PM. It took us another couple of hours before finally getting home. Well, I can't remember much what happened that day. I guess everything's a blur when you're wasted. hehe.
This day, August 17, Friday, I had a lot of tasks to do, which is not bad at all --- if only it didn't rain that hard again!
Mid-morning, after taking Che to the office, I went straight to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have my passport renewed. Had a hard time finding a parking slot -- found one in Cuneta Astrodome, about a block away. As if the rain wasn't enough, I had to deal with this guy who pulled me just before I got to the entrance. He's one of those fixers out there who forcibly took me to one of the stalls outside of the DFA to give me my application form, take my picture, etc. I got interested with the fact that many people are there, so I went along with it. In one of the stalls, someone gave me an application form which is free (fine). Then the photographer on that stall said that they will take two pictures of me: one with a blue background, the other with a white background. When someone would that they already have pictures with white background, they would argue that in the new process, they needed two sets of pictures -- one with blue, the other white background. Then after that, they asked to pay up around php200. By this time, I had turned and ran to the DFA gate. no way I'm giving them money for something that I don't need!
I can't help but smirk at the, uhm, how do I say this? I can't help but smirk at this lucrative business, this con and it's happening at the outside walls of the DFA compound! Geez!
Anyway, just to remind everyone, there are several things that needs to be pointed out:
- fill up the application form before you go to DFA; it's free and can be downloaded
- bring three passport-sized pictures with WHITE background
- read the requirements in the application form; bring whatever is stated there (photocopy of some pages of the old passport is always required for renewals)
- you only need to pay either php500 (6-day processing) or php750 (2-day processing); no more, no less
Unless the requirements have been changed, you should only bring the above and end up paying only 500 or 750. That's it. If you already have all of the above handy, it should not take more than 1 hour. I finished the above in about 30 minutes :)
After DFA, I had to go to Makati Police Traffic to get the Police Report. Since it was Friday, getting there was a pain. When I got there, I found out that the inspector could not get on the PC because they had no electricity (huh?). He said I should come back later that day around 1:30 PM. Argh, now that's a waste of gas!
Then, I got a call from Che, saying that I should have Jessie x-rayed to make sure that if there are still puppies (possibly dead ones) inside her or not. So I went straight home, took Jessie to the only veterinary clinic I know along Sucat Road, Carlos Veterinary Clinic, and had her examined.. Too bad there were no more puppies left.
Anyway, after the examination, that's when it really, really, REALLY rained hard. How hard? Well, Sucat Road in the Fourth Estate area was totally submerged... The good thing is that Manila Memorial Park opened up their backgate which opened up on the other side of the flooded area. So there I went my way home, but -- since parts of Metro Manila were submerged -- I saw that the road leading up to our house was also, uhm, drowning. Hehe. I had to drop by my dad's house and leave Jessie there.
After that I decided to cancel all my other tasks and just fetch Che from the office. It was past 2:00 PM anyway and with the traffic, I won't get around much. At first I thought of going back for the Police Report but, knowing that it's a Friday, I decided to stay away from Makati. I later learned that all government personnel were told to go home because of the floods, so I guess that would include the police personnel doing deskjobs, so it's a good move not to go there.
By the time I got to Che's office, it was past 3:00 PM -- by this time, it was announced that everyone could go home. But not Che. No no no no... Hehehe. Just kidding. She was asked to stay and she had a long talk with her boss. I can't say what they talked about and I'm not taking it against her -- it's business-related talk so I know that it had to be done and that it had to be done soon. They talked for hours.
By 4PM, I then remembered that I still haven't eaten anything yet for that day. I just dropped by to the nearest 7-11 and Mercury Drug (both along Padre Faura street in Manila) and ate Nova and dried mangoes, forgot the brand -- hey, it's been a while since I've eaten dried mangoes, okay? So, anyway. Yup, that's all I ate. No rice for that day so far! :-)
I can't use my phone's radio because it's low bat (hehe you know, WAN BARS LEP NA LANG AKO EH, hehehe). So I had no form of entertainment except eating Nova and the dried mangoes. Ugh! Well, I did try to walk back and forth between Mercury Drug and 7-11, but that could "entertain" me for only so long. Not sure what I did that, though. I think I must have dozed off in the car.
Anyway, Che was finally done by around 6PM. It took us another couple of hours before finally getting home. Well, I can't remember much what happened that day. I guess everything's a blur when you're wasted. hehe.
Hmmmm... Come to think of it, these days really weren't that bad --- except the bus crash day, of course. Things could have gotten worse in many ways, but it didn't. Many events could have gotten worse and I've learned a lot.
So there.
The ever-optimistic me trying to rationalize the events and looking at the brighter side of things. Looking not at how bad it was but at how it did not get worse. Looking at what I've learned and experienced rather than what I've lost. Perception is reality. I choose this way of looking at things. Hmm... the world ain't that bad at all!
So there.
The ever-optimistic me trying to rationalize the events and looking at the brighter side of things. Looking not at how bad it was but at how it did not get worse. Looking at what I've learned and experienced rather than what I've lost. Perception is reality. I choose this way of looking at things. Hmm... the world ain't that bad at all!
