A series of unfortunate events, 1

All I wanted to do this weekend was to sit back, relax, and enjoy a movie—or two. I was the only person in my circle of friends who hadn’t seen In My Life yet and I’d been hearing rave reviews about Kimmy Dora. Unfortunately, work and family responsibilities had taken most of my free time. Last weekend was supposed to be my “me” time. But Mother Nature had other plans and none of them involved my going out.

I woke up late Saturday morning and, as is my usually routine, I quickly opened my computer to check my social networking accounts over coffee. I already knew it had been raining all morning, because my bed is beside a window and my mother, who is in Bohol, had been texting us about the rain in her region and asking us if we were okay and both had, at some points, interrupted my sleep.

I first got an idea of how this typhoon was different when one of my Plurk friends, who is based abroad, wrote, “Increasingly worried about the flash floods in Manila.” Soon, fellow Plurkers followed suit, “So-and-so stranded in her office. Has anyone been able to contact her?” “Stranded in jeepney. Flood 7 feet high in some parts.” “Worried about my family in Marikina, water has covered the first floor.”

You see, Plurk is more for chika than it is news. For that, you turn to Twitter. And I was going to—after I plurked, “What is going on? Have to look outside.” I did, and I promptly noticed that the only damage was on a young guava tree my mother had planted, which lay half-bent, perhaps because the rain had softened the soil. Fortunately, my village is not in a low area. We only get flooded—which is rare—when the sewers are clogged with garbage.

On Twitter, where I follow news personalities and the like, I got wind of more news about Typhoon Ondoy and the havoc it was wreaking on some areas of Metro Manila. The University of the East hospital was under two floors of water, cars were being washed away like debris, and people were climbing up their roofs, forced to leave everything behind.

On Facebook, it was another story. I’d say, Facebook is like Plurk and Twitter combined: friends and friends of friends posted news and the like; pertinent information about rescue (phone numbers, email addresses, survival tips); Google spreadsheets of people waiting to be rescued, people who were missing, and people who had been rescued; and, most importantly, tips on how to help.

 None of these were for the victims—obviously, they already had no Internet connection, to say the least. All these were for the people who were going to help. The day hadn’t even ended, and we were still in the midst of tragedy, and already people were thinking of ways to assist the victims. Thank God for technology, really. And thank God, many Filipinos are computer literate for our need to always be connected with loved ones—in the least expensive way.

In the light of this tragedy, there was a scattering of insensitivity. But now is not the time for that. As one of my friends on Facebook posted, “Now is a good time to be a Filipino.” Yes, be a Filipino. Be.  

Here is one way you can help without having to go anywhere. Donate to the Philippine Red Cross: Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart). Smart accepts P10, P25, P50 and P100. Globe accepts up to a maximum of P300.

Email your comments to [email protected] or text them to (63)917-9164421. You can also visit my personal blog at http://althearicardo.blogspot.com.