I'm wet....ooooh...

Last Tuesday was the start of a very new, very real, reality show aptly called Philippines' Next Strong Rainstorm. And I was one of the thousands of unfortunate judges.

It's around 7:30 PM and I just got off at the GMA-Kamuning MRT Station when rain started to pour down. Being a person who loves rain, and because I am so hungry that time, I decided to collide head-on with the rain which developed into a very strong storm. I opened my blue (or is it violet? never mind...) umbrella with bear prints that made me 10 years younger and pushed through the rain. A few steps made me realize that I am crazy. From a few feet from the MRT station, I was already drenched and felt my wet pants clinging into my skin. "Ano pa ba magagawa ko, eh nakapaglakad na ako.", I said to myself. One step at a time, and I will be able to ride a jeepney.

I did get to ride a jeep the moment I got to East Avenue. I was so wet, but the lady who sat beside me didn't seem to bother because she felt the wrath of the storm also and was also wet. What if I waited for the storm to subside? It would surely take an hour of wait. So I think I made a good decision. Being wet with rain but going home early and taking a shower after and eating dinner? Deal!

It was already flooding on Ybardolaza St. which is normally flood free. This storm is really strong, the canals and esteros are on shock and were unable to contain the rising water. And I started cursing people who throw garbage in the streets and not in trash cans. They should emulate me, the proud follower of a very famous saying: "Maliit na basura, ibulsa muna."

I got off the jeep and thought that our street might not be flooded because there's an uphill climb to our house. But lo and behold, a half-an-inch thick of water gushed downwards like a waterfall. I still continued to climb up risking of flood water to get into my shoes. I'm only a street away, what the heck? Laban!

My shoes did get wet, inside and out. I hate that icky feeling of water filling your shoes every time you take a step. This happened to me a lot of times, most of them in high school. "I just want to get home..." is always my excuse if I am close to giving up after deciding to face the floods and storm. And that is still my excuse that day.

Then something happened. A few steps from our house, lightning struck followed by a very loud thunder. VERY, VERY LOUD! Not just a "nagbobowling si San Pedro sa kalangitan" loud, but a "nagpaputok ng shotgun si San Pedro" loud. That instant, the nearby cars activated their alarms and lights from the houses went out. One of my scariest moments right there, my friends. I panicked. I didn't care of the ankle high flood that developed on our street. I am going to remove my shoes and walk barefoot, but I didn't continue removing it because I can't risk myself getting leptospirosis by cutting my foot with a shard of glass and getting rat pee into the wound. I walked hurriedly to our gate. "I just want to go home...".

I arrived with only a small portion of my body dry, mostly the part inside my underwear. Went to shower, ate and a few minutes electricity came back. I maanged to watch TV and relaxed. Then I slept early.

I love adventures, and even the thing I wrote above is an adventure for me. I like the excitement, the adrenaline rush, the "What could happen next?" feeling. Taking a storm head-on is an adventure? Ang weird ko noh?