can't-find-the-right-adjective weekend

i just cant find the proper description for the weekend that i had.
i know i'm more fortunate than most people.
but i just feel like sharing the experience.
cause yes, they really do happen.


FRIDAY
i decided to stay at my cousin's house last friday night in pasig.
there would be a birthday celebration for our 5 year old cousin by saturday.
i figured that ortigas extension is nearer taytay rizal than boni.
had bonding moments with ate erik <3

SATURDAY
ate erik and tita nol went out of the house at around 8:30 am for ate erik's class.
woke up at around 11:30 am.
my cousin told me that "ate baka pumasok ung tubig sa bahay"
started piling up things.
at around 12 nn the water started coming in.
everything was so fast.
we were so busy preventing everything from getting wet
the water was rising really fast.
ankle - knees - waist
sort of panicking cause everything started floating.
we decided to go out of the house and started getting as much things as we can.
the water was already chest level when we were about to go out.
frooogs. cockroaches. creepy insects. i hate. and they were swimming with us.
the water was up to my neck when we were on the street to go to the neighbor's 2nd floor.
tiptoed.
good thing there were good neighbors, kuyas, who helped us.
it was really hard to swim while pushing a big plastic container with random things and charchar - their puppy.
contacted my mom, tita, cousins.
we were fine - ytle, me, ate joy and the puppy.

worried because the water kept rising.
and if the water level did not stop from rising
we'd be forced to go up to the roof.
prayed really hard.
until i fell asleep.

the people at the house told me the other day that they were hearing screams from people.
there were people stranded on their roofs screaming "tulong".
i guess i was too tired.

SUNDAY
whole day of waiting.
and worrying about other people.
good thing the neighbors were really good people.
very nice people.
seeing helicopters every now and then.
and rubber boats helping people they know.
no battery. no signal.
can't really do anything.
water was still very high.
lampas tao pa din.
there were some who started riding their refrigerators.
you can hear people from the nearby multipurpose hall screaming.
especially when helicopters come.
one particular person made me smile,
cause we heard him chant:

"think positib. wag kang aayaw"

several times.
and it was just a nice thing to hear during that times.

still no signal and no battery. we really have no choice.
we just have to save food for we dont know how long we'd have to stay stranded.
and we were 4 households in that 2nd floor area.


MONDAY
woke up at around 6am
heard car horns and shouting
immediate thought: "ytle! schoolbus mo?? bakit may school? HUH??"
was relieved to see cousins and tita.
the water was just knee-deep.
drive to tiendesitas where my parents would fetch me was filled with stories.
it's time to go home.


and so we were stranded for 2 days and 2 nights.
was "rescued" at around 6am this morning by our cousins and tita.
home by 8:30.

it was such an experience.
i don't know if im really a flood-prone kind of person.
that i always end up being stranded in a place because of high levels of water.
(first time: stranded in Calapan City for two days(?) cant go home to Roxas because of flood)
or maybe He is trying to teach me something.

i learned a lot in the 2-day experience.
people ask me if the experience was traumatic.
and i just laughed at them.
maybe it was.
or maybe i was not really taking things that way.

my main issue was the fear i felt when i saw the frogs and cockroaches floating/swimming with us. or the what if there are snakes or other freaky creatures underneath this brown water thought.

the sight was really depressing.
pictures or videos wouldnt suffice.
you cannot do anything yet you see everything - literally everything that someone you love invested going to waste. just like that.
maybe we lack presence of mind. or maybe we were really just not prepared.
either case, my tita and my cousins lost a lot.
and it's really heartbreaking.

i also think it's silly that some of my loveones think
that i was given a second chance in life.
i never thought that i'd die that time.
though now that i think about it,
there could be a lot of times that we could have not survived.
but we did.

and maybe they were really just worried since we lost contact since saturday night.
and i can't blame them for thinking sad things with all the sad news.
i thank everyone for the concern especially from our families and dear friends.
i feel so overwhelmed hearing their side of the story.
i feel so loved. hehe:P

thinking back.. these are what i see my experience to be.

it was one of the longest bonding moments that my cousin, ytle and i had.
we talked. and we practically talked about everything.
we slept cause there's really nothing left to do.
we shared food cause we should share.
and we had to suffer each other's smell cause we were practically together for that period.

it was definitely a learning experience.
and i know that now i have to re-evaluate things and relationships in my life.
i just hope that im not yet too late.
ytle and i joked that the experience was like a retreat.
and i was given the chance to think things through.

and maybe this experience is His way
to rebuild ties once again.
cause after all, we're a family.
and we'd always be.
forever. <3

and this experience for everyone?
i really don't know.
all i know is that
He has His reasons.
be it a personal reason for each individual
or a reason for the whole community or the whole country
I am sure that He knows what He is doing.
and we should always just have faith.

now we're okay.
and it's time to pray for those who need prayers the most.