pepeng experience

there will always be that one occurrence that will forever change one's perspective in life. i should know... i just had mine last week. the pepeng experience(i would have called it by another name so you would have to blame it on PAG-ASA)

i have always hated typhoons. i hate it when it rains so hard that it makes me remember my tears will never fill a river. i hate it when the wind gets extra strong that it makes me forget that we live in a home with concrete walls. i hate it when it gets so chilly that it reminds me of the fact that the right side of my bed is vacant. and i hate it most especially when the electricity suddenly goes out when all i want to do is blog, catch my favorite show on tv, and make some hot choco(fine, this i can do even without electricity). yup... i am a city boy and i can be that shallow.

friday. strong winds and heavy rains have finally taken its toll. for the first time in our more than fourteen years of residence in our subdivision, flood reached our home.we were quick to move as we have heard of frightening stories about flood rising in a blink of an eye(i could be exaggerating. but still, at a fast rate). by noon, first floor was flooded, electricity was gone and we were stuck upstairs with minimum food and the rest of our drinking water. it was horrible. i was restless. there was nothing to do. i started reading but then night came so that was a bust. it's official, pepeng s*cks!

saturday. it was more frustrating for me that day 'cause it was my birthday. yup, you guessed it. no fancy dinner, no expensive gifts, no big time blowout. instead, we shared noodles and packed some clothes to give to those who have suffered much more than we have. we are doing something noble and yet all i can think of was how unfair it is for me to see my family getting all busy to prepare for other people when they don't even have a second to give me a quick peck on the cheek and... hey, don't give me that look. i'm all up for charity but it's my birthday. i'm allowed to be a little unreasonable right?

sunday. i've reached my tipping point. all clothes were packed, all books have been read, all food have been eaten, i can't go out and my phone's out of order. i'm miserable. and i smell... not the kind of smell that we call "man stink" that we use to disgust our sisters with, but the kind that would send off even the smelliest dog. i was going nuts so i decided i to stay in bed... trying to avoid doing nasty things(*wink*) and i tried to sleep off all of my frustrations. then i woke up. surprise, surprise!

monday. i woke up with a smile on my face. i can't believe that the sight of light from that energy-saving lightbulb could give me so much joy. i got up and did the first thing i thought of, i took a dump. a big massive dump. finally, i got my life back. all is fair again. i switched the tv on, only to be surprised with how "fair" lost its meaning.

fair would have been people having enough food to eat while waiting to be rescued. fair would have been having enough boats to save more people and reduce casualties. fair would have been having more people concerned for the victims than their political gains. fair would have been... then i realized, that's just it. it's always "would have been," it was never "is." i feel like fair never even existed and i have never felt so useless and dumb.

i thought of my pepeng experience and i realized i was looking at it the wrong way. i frowned at the fact that my phone was dead when i should be thankful of the personal talks i had with my family. i was sad that i wasn't able to watch my shows when i should be happy that i finally finished reading my books. i was ungreatful of those noodles for my birthday when i should be glad i had something to eat with my family. i was pissed with my temporarily disturbed life when i should celebrate the fact that i am alive. now i've realized, positive things are seen by people who seek to see the good even in the bad.

i don't want to expound on my new found out-look in life because i don't want to be one of those people who i used to hate. i don't want to turn into one of those know-it-all authors who writes self-help books. i'm not oprah! got to stop this now before i turn into dr. phil. thank God electricity's back!