Camp Blackout

Xangsane, upon first hearing, sounded as delicate as a warm cup of jasmine tea. 'What a pretty name for a typhoon', I thought, as I chanced upon it first on CNN weather report, that stated it was somewhere off the Philippine Islands, and expected to hit land in 72 hours. I gave no second thought to it because what are typhoons but normal occurences here, around this time. So when the typhoon finally hit (locally known by the manly name of Milenyo), it took me unawares, I was out of home, and it was truly something fierce.

Being a true storm lover, I never thought I'd live to see the one that would make me wish I was home or in a safer place. The view from where I happened to be, at the 2-hour height of the battering storm, was a picture of wind and chaos, that chillingly became a cacophony of intense wuthering, disturbing metal sounds, with the zzzzztt and orange spark of a live wire broken loose from an electric post out in the corner. Tree parts, glass shards, and loose galvanized iron sheets from a nearby parking area melded into a boiling whirlpool soup that was poised for a wild trajectory that could have hit anything and anyone within distance. Apparently this was the way in all areas of Metro Manila around that time, where not a few billboards collapsed (in mangled wrecks of steel) on major thoroughfares. It was very scary.


I finally got home when the storm let up and there began the unspeakable curse of powerlessness, disconnectedness (from all manner of media and communication), and my gretest fear of all -- three restless daughters.

Looking back on 5 days of those, I honestly could not glean anything more clearly now than the very essential comforts of light, regulated temperature, even the noise of home entertainment (that I sometimes often find reason to complain about), these things that separate us from the dark ages that we tend to forget about as they fade into the background of everyday living. And us, having this sense of entitlement for being able to afford these basics, sometimes forget how the poor are bereft of these things everyday.

We could have, but decided against riding it out in a hotel, which proved to be a wise move in favor of our credit cards. Instead we read our books, drove around, visited family, and camped out in the living room at night, my husband, children and I. Illuminated by tens (probably hundreds in the course of 5 days) of candles, we tried to stay a little less warm with futile fanning and whatever ice cubes we had left out of the meagre supplies we were able to get from the groceries (which were incidentally powerless and sold out on ice, batteries and candles all the time) to cool our water. The spectre of debris to be cleared up all around was daunting. And then, a daughter who was sick with high fever for days added more on top of the sorry situation. And amazingly, we failed to be miserable.

I was just recently out of a massive blackout, 5-days without light, regulated temperature, and the noisy accompaniment of home entertainment. Incidentally, it was the best way to clear out the fridge, more than half of the contents of which had to go in the garbage. It was awfully quiet, and the only sounds that filled were the ones that we made. Our voices, the laughter, in the absence of the whirr of electrical appliances. And in the darkness of that, I actually saw the light. Why? Because in the absence of all things, the silence didn't kill us. In fact, it was a great family outing, a bonding time, and beats an all-expense paid vacation anytime.




Filed Under: Mementoes

Tags: billboards, blackout, Milenyo, Philippines, Xangsane