Worrying Husband - 09272009/1105H

It's 1105H, 09272009. Our cellphone batteries are dead; those that have charges cannot get signal from the provider. Only Smart has a signal. The last conversation our nanny had with Kristine was a 3 hours ago (and I was out observing our surroundings). According to the nanny, there was no indication that Tin is coming home. She did inform Tin that Caitlin's milk was running out fast.

I am worried that she might try to force her way home without considering the risks. I know she's much safer in the hospital than in the road. Besides, our place is still flooded - almost waist-deep. But the place near the second guard house must have higher water level than ours since it looks like the lowest area in our compound.

Before we had Caitlin, Tin could easily decide on tight situation. But when she became a mom, most of the time she would lose composure if Caitlin is involved. This is well understood from my side. And this is what I am worried about since she might panic and forget that there are several adults at home to take care of Caitlin.

I just hope that she gets home safe if ever she decides to.

1652H,
There's no sign of Kristine. The maids were not able to charge their phone outside, so there's no way we can contact her. I just hope she stayed in the hospital instead of trying to come home. I will know by tomorrow when I get to the office.

1716H
The maids told us that they had to walk to Ortigas bridge to find infant milk for my daughter. That's approx. 3 kilometers away from Cambridge. According to them, the country's President and Bayani Fernando were in the vicinity managing the disaster. A lot of people were crying while they were passing by.

This makes me more worried. Kristine might have forced her way in but got caught somewhere between UDMC and Cainta. My wife is not familiar with alternate routes going to our place. I just really hope that she's back in the hospital safe.

This is the only time that I resent her job that, I feel, doesn't see natural calamities as an valid reason not to report to the hospital.  Well, she had to report 2 weeks after our daughter was born due to similar practices in their department - she went through the knife and not via a natural birth process. I am sure this won't be the last of it.

Well, this is what I signed for...

Typhoon Journal - 09272009

0636H
Caitlin woke up before we did. When I woke up, she was just rolling all around, I guess, waiting for us to wake up. When I sat down, she started calling my name and her tita (Lea).

Last night, every now and then I would check the water level. But around 9pm, the water level stabilized; my reference point was the plant infront of the building on the opposite side.

Our main challenge is that all of us don't have enough battery charge and only Smart has signal; Globe's is completely out of service (their cellsite might be the one just outside our compound - it's power supply is completely submerged last night.


0751H
I just got back from checking the status of my car - based on my estimate, the water might have reached the engine but not the computer box; if this is not the case, I am sure that the flooring is all wet. The car park is relatively higher than where our unit is standing. Furthermore, the fence in the parking space was washed out.

I also took some pictures. I spent around 45 minutes talking to the same person I met last night. Apparently, he's quite experienced about this situation; he grew up in Quezon, specifically Pollillo Is.

I also checked the other side of the compound, now I could see the roof of the Alto that I was checking yesterday - the roof is barely visible under the water.

One scene is the garbage (originally thrown in a water pit just outside our compound) surrounding the house, trying to get in, just like in TV about Manila's garbage problem.

I am sure the developer didn't anticipate this situation. I mean their power generator stopped earlier yesterday due to the rising water level. Oh well, this is a problem of yesteryears, I would say and it can happen again.

I pity those that are in the ground floor units. One resident told us this morning that there are only 2 of them, both ladies. They were only able to carry legal documents, otherwise, the rest were left to nature.

Time to save some water, I am not sure when the power will be back. The water may not recede until end of the day, looking at the progress. Besides, our building seems to be the lowest point of the compound and the power lines are buried on the ground.


0945H
People were shouting outside claiming that the sighted snake near the fence has been caught. From what we heard downstairs, there 2 sightings - 1 near our building (we are near the fence) and near the club house.


These people are personnel from the admin, trying to enjoy whatever is there around them. Not noticing that the water is highly polluted. This is just infront of the clubhouse.

I went out again to check the water level in the parking space, it is receding on a slow pace. But the flooring of the 626 is a bit above the water level; but I am sure inside the car is flooded. The CRVs and the other non-American SUVs were no match for the flood! But that gave me more reason that if ever I purchase a SUV, the clearance should be increased (my 626 has extra clearance due to higher humps and deeper potholes in where I lived before).


Figure 3. The black car (Mazda 626, 1994 Model), partly covered
by the crane, is my car. You can see that the water reached the
flooring level.


Figure 6. This was taken in the next day. But the highest water level I've seen, it reached the spokes of the spare tire.
The good thing is that it's sunny.

I also saw 2 people wading in the water (nearby the construction site); while a flow of, most probably, fuel or oil (if I am wrong, I am sure it's not water since it reflects rainbow color agains the sun light) from their right side crossing the stream. One of them, a lady looks like a mestiza, sporting a contemporary designed sunglasses with a leather-like lady bag (and she was wearing a pair shorts) leisurely wade on the water and seemed to be talking to her companion. In my perspective, she's a candidate for an infection or allergy of some sort since it was the second time i've seen her wading.

And this is why I discouraged the maid to go out for a cellphone recharge (all of our phones are dead, just enough time to inform Kristine that everything is alright except for Caitlin's milk that is running low).

The nanny decided to delute Caitlin's milk - it worked. But it's just a matter of time that the milk runs out completely. Hopefully, by then the water has receded enough for us not to get wet. I am planning that when the water level reaches knee-deep (relative to the road level infront of our building and not on the sidewalk level), I will check my car if it starts (I hope so since my worst experience with flood was when we were almost floating near the Kalentong area and waves from the trucks would push us to the gutter).

I am surprised how people (most probably haven't seen devastation from typhoon first hand) reacted. But then again, I lived thru hundreds of typhoons in our province. But one thing that I noticed today, everyone is smiling at me when we meet somewhere in the building - normally, ma at pa kami dito. The condo personnel who collects garbage every morning still did their chores and greeted me "good morning".

Behind the chaos, order are still being observed by some.


1649H
Lea cooked the remaining pancake powder. Caitlin had peanuts for snacks. I had to take the saucer full of peanuts away from her since she wouldn't stop.

I checked the car 30 minutes ago (the water is knee-deep when I went to the parking space), aside from the soaked interior, the engine started just fine. I waited for 3 minutes before I turned it off. But the interior is full of mud! I guess it's time for a full detailing service that I've been planning for the last 2 years.

The ground floor is all messed up with mud everywhere. It will take a day to fully clean the ground floor, not counting those that are damaged by the water in each unit.
The maid just came back from the market - they can't find milk from what I heard from the distance. They are just talking with my sister sharing their experience. I am not sure if Lactum would work with Caitlin.

We are also running out utility water. Our drinking supply is still enough until tomorrow or after.

If the situation doesn't get better tomorrow, I will bring my kid to Sun Valley and report to the office afterwards.


Figure 5. Here's the water level around 9pm on September 26. This is infront of our loft.

Note: For more pictures of the event, you can visit this public site.

Typhoon Journal - 09262009/1943H

I just got back from outside our unit - the water level is still rising fast! Some of the unit owners from the ground floor are all over the staircase with their appliances or whatever they can save from the rising water level.

I checked the situation of the parking lot, the plate numbers of the cars can still be seen from the 4th floor. What caught my attention was the MB200 parked on the opposite row of where my car is parked on; I estimate that the water level is almost the same level of the flooring. I met one of the residents and we started talking of the nearby areas - we shared the same conclusion that the water must be coming from the mountains nearby (you can see the Antipolo area still lighted).

He also told me that some residents who have their parking slots infront of the building parked their car near the main entrance of the compound. However, the guy that I talked to wasn't able to start his car and decided to leave it to nature. I left with a heavy heart, I am not confident that my car would be lucky not to go under the water. I am still hoping thought that the engine won't go under (I don't care about the car interior), especially the computer box.

One CRV parked near the construction site is half-submerged with the water level reaching its spare tire at the back. How bad, the water level infront of the club house was already chest deep when I got there.

I checked again the other side of our building where the last time I saw an Isuzu Alto, I could still see the roof. Now it's gone! I compared it with some reference points, like the jeepney on another corner, it's sure is gone down under!

I pity those residents who evac from their ground floor units. I am pretty sure they bought their units thinking that it can be a better life for them. But here they are, staying on the stair case waiting for the weather to get better. It could happen to us also.

The last time I checked the water level infront of our building (before I got in our unit), it's approx. 4 feet from the road level. I almost panicked because I thought it was the 2nd level of the ground-floor unit; I realized I got down 1 level lower than ours. Whew!

When I got back, Caitlin has her normal tantrum when she's not staying on an airconditioned room. Luckily, my sister has all the patience in the world to put up with her.

The rain is also getting stronger...


The Suzuki Alto (far right) will be totally under water before the sun sets.


This scene is quite familiar around Saturday afternoon. On the far left of the picture shows (albeit vaguely) the roofs of the submerged houses. In the evening of the 26th9, the roof the jeep (on the lower right) can be barely seen.

Typhoon Journal - 09262009/1830H

I still have 3 hours and 20 minutes in my laptop battery, but otherwise, the whole residential compound is out of power since an hour ago.

Since this early morning, the rain is non-stop. The rain was pretty bad with strong winds, especially this morning. Now, it's just drizzling but the water in the compound is still rising. The last time I checked (luckily, I bought new batteries for the flashlight) 10 minutes ago, it's getting worse and it's getting inside the main entrance of the building infront of us.

This morning, I decided to bring my wife to Eastwood; from there, she can take a cab. It was raining hard; and it was one of the rarest moment that I had to set my wiper speed to the maximum. I only found out later when I got back that Manila was under Typhoon Signal No. 1 based on the feedback of the maids who bought came from the Taytay Market. I took it as "one of those days".

Figure 1 - The encircled portion is the water level around 930am.

After lunch, I took a nap and when I woke up I checked the window (out of habit). There it was, the water level was almost knee deep. I thought, "it's not that bad". Then after 30 minutes or so, I checked again, the level was rising. My kid saw it, too, and she went to her cabinet to look for her swimsuit (it took my sister a few minutes to calm Caitlin down when she was told that she couldn't swim in the water).

Figure 2. This was taken at 356PM. The sidewalks are covered by water.

Around 4pm, I decided to check the status of my own car (can be seen from the end of the building), it was okay. The parking space wasn't flooded, and the rising water was still outside the perimiter of the parking space. I checked again 30 minutes after, 1/4 of the parking space (near the main entrance) was already flooded. By this time, I decided to check the other side of the compound - there it was, the water level was chest-deep. One car was under and the roof can be seen. I could see people transferring TV from one house to another. Lea, the nanny and Caitlin joined me after I told them about it. I took some pictures. On the far left (near the riverside), I saw that several houses were already under and only roofs can be seen.

My thought was, the water came from the mountains. And since subdivisions are popping out like daisies, I suspect that natural tributaries have been buried without any alternative route for water to flow to the river (in this case, it goes to Laguna de Bay).

















Figure 4. This is infront of the club house. Those 3 cars have a single owner. From what I gathered, the owner rented 4 business areas to get 4 parking spaces (1 car is missing).


This is the first time I've seen a flashflood. I grew up in the province wherein typhoon is a part of our lives. But I've never seen such flood before (but in this place, I won't be surprised that it's a normal occurence).

Tin also sent me SMS informing me that, around early afternoon, Santolan was flooded and rubber boats were being deployed. Oh, it took her 5 hours to get to the hospital; the cab she took conked out somewhere near the TB Center. So she ended up taking a pedicab. By the time she came to the hospital, she was soaking wet since the pedicab has a lower clearance.

As of this writing, Sun and Globe signals were spotty. Globe signal was spotty early on (I already complained this in the office admin) today, I wasn't surprised.

I still have 2 hours and 50 minutes in my laptop. I will file another entry later tonight.

Figure 4. This is the cluster infront of the club house.

Note: For more pictures of the event, you can visit this public site.

Caitlin's Vocabularies

Here are some Caitlin's vocabularies and phrases (and how she says them):


Airplane - "ipis"
Apple - "apot"
Ate - "atee"
Babay - "babatch"
Banana - "bata" or "batata"
Barney (from a kids' TV series of the same title) - "ba-ty"
Bubbles - "batus"
Cinderella - "pila"
Cockroach/Ipis - "ipis"
Elephant - "epa'tatat"
Fish - "pish"
Get - "git"

Good night - "goodnatch"

Hat - "at"
Help - "eelp"
HOt - "at"

Horse - "oos"

I love you - "bakukuh"

Itay - "itat"

Jaq (from the 1950 Walt Disney Cinderella character) - "kakak"

Lola - "owa" or "wa"

Mary Poppins (from the movie of the same title) - "pa-tis"

Nanay - "nanan"

Nemo (from the main character of "Finding Nemo" movie) - "mono"

No - "nooooh"

No more - "monon"

Opo - "opu"

Please - "pis"

Popcorn - "pakmh"

Shoes - "toosh"

Tatay - "tatat"

Thank you - "takmh"

Umbrella - "pila"
Yes - "yis"
Yoghurt - "otat"


For the rest that she can't say properly, she simply says "umh". How's that for effective communication??


Note: My wife who didn't need to report to the office for 3 months, had enough time to learn Caitlin's own language. Thus, she's currently the family's interpreter. Now I understand why those who are close to their kids would develop a second language in the process. Me - Caitlin adjusts and she just shows me what she wants to have or do.

Caitlin is Growing Up

Just look at her now with the chair that I bought even before she was born.

With the picture above, she deliberately posed for the camera. And lately, this is becoming a habit.

I think she is watching video on her mom's laptop when this picture was taken.

Family Affair - Sta. Cruz Speaking Engagement

On September 5, I delivered a workshop to SELCHA, a catholic ministry under Sta. Cruz Parish.

The participants came from all walks of life, including senior citizens. At first it was intimidating, considering that fact that most of the participants have more wisdom than I have.

This didn't start this month, it all went back as 5 years ago before Tito Arnel left for Canada. I was just starting my management career then. We were discussing the possibility of delivering social-changing topics (he did it a couple of times when he was assigned in Bicol). Both of us shared nationalistic principles, and we just like to discuss such possibilities over a couple of San Miguel Draft pitchers in Shakey's (most of the time in Malate branch, facing the old Aristocrat resto) and a basket of fried chicken. I guess it starts with possibilities and belief that it can be done...

Earlier this year, we discussed about running a public workshop for their parishioner, which I was very open to. However, due to some changes on priorities he asked me if I could deliver a workshop for the local catholic ministry; wherein, some members are familiar to me since I would drive my uncle around, visiting her former parishioners. And I am glad to meet them again.

Two weeks before the said workshop, I reviewed the result of their own workshop and realized that they are facing the same issues what a normal organization will face - growth pains. I realized that whatever we deliver in our own corporate organization, would also help them. It all starts with self-mastery.

I had to adjust my approach, e.g. I shouldn't be technical in nature, have to adapt to their salutations ("sister", "brother"), pray when the church bells rang at exactly lunch time, etc. But their energy amazed me and it was contagious! I shared with them the Left-Hand Column, VDM and the Levels of Perspective. And they raised the same challenges that I also raised when first time I heard these stuff from our founder.

One thing that caught my mind when trying to review my notes the night before, I realized that church organization and the BPO industry, are on the same industry - service industry. And when I was sharing my thought to them, I told them that the difference is that we are in customer-service industry, catholic or christian organizations are servicing the souls. Some got my point and gave me a smile.

I introduced them to World-Cafe, especially in getting feedback from large no. of people. I also introduced them to the Check-In. There such high number of similarities in feedback that I was able to gain my trainer-confidence; I was really expecting the worst that somebody might disagree with the principle (I mean, how do you disagree with a person who walked in this world for the last 60 years, while I am still trying to prove myself??).

On the last part, Visual-Deployment Matrix, I wasn't able to have them do their organization's VDM. However, we discussed some situations and how VDM can help them. Most of the questions were about expectations settings, effective communication and the likes.

During my last leg of my presentation, I was already short of breath for some reason. I was a bit dizzy and one participant offered me a bottle of water, to my relief.

Every question they raised and I tried to answer, I would ask confirmation if I was able to answer it. Luckily, I was able to. I also felt the energy that they showed; I just felt passionate when delivering the workshop (afterwards, I felt that my knees are going to fall apart).

It was ironical because I still remember Tito Arnel challenging me to find his bag of coins when I would visit them during summer when I was still a kid. But now, it's totally different. Must be part of growing old....

The best part of the workshop, it was a family affair - I brought Kristine and Caitlin with me. Caitlin was relatively behaved, except for the fact that it was a bit warm inside the room - but when she's out, she liked to run after the cats. I was also very proud that I was able to introduce Kristine around (I realized how long it was the last time I saw some of those familiar people, I was stillsingle then when they last met me!). During breaktime, Kristine would give me some pointers as well (apparently, most of my examples at the very beginning were all about from corporate experiences).
I still have another session to run... And I am looking forward to it... And even if it won't push through, I am still glad that I was able to have such experience. It was totally different!