The Before & After of a Super Typhoon

Hello, fellow Hivers and happy holidays!

It’s been a month since my last post and I’m back with a difficult–and kinda sad–story to tell. I don’t usually force readers to read my entire long posts, but hopefully you stick with this one until the end.

If you’re a fellow reader or couch potato like me, you’ve probably encountered when a narrator describes an event–one that’s so major or so catastrophic–that it divides their life to a “before” and an “after”.

I never really understood that fully until Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) hit Cebu.

Now I–and countless others–definitely understand the imagery.

Fallen branches along R. Duterte St. in Banawa on December 17.

THE ‘BEFORE’

Thinking way far back is kinda hazy now, but I remember that I’ve been anxious the whole night of December 12th. Earlier that day, I got a message from our Human Resources Section that the schedule for my interview was on December 15th.

The interview was for a promotion I’m up for.

Anyway, I hate interviews with a passion. I’d rather undergo a whole day of written examination than be subjected to even just a few minutes of an interview.

I hate it so much that I thought of skipping the interview altogether. After all, deep down I felt that the promotion is a big leap and may not be for me. Another (bigger) reason is that December 15th is my first wedding anniversary with @thejoeprocess. I had to go to work that day but I was hoping I wouldn’t be stressed.

Hubby and me on our wedding day.

Cake slicing our autumn-inspired wedding cake.

Still, when the 15th came, I sucked it up and showed up for the interview out of respect for those who encouraged me. The panel interviewed me for almost an hour that day. I survived, but at one point in the interview, I ugly cried. It was so silly (one question got me emotional for some reason).

Looking back, though, it seemed like some kind of omen.

A random photo with my dear friend and coworker, Kara, at their office. After the super typhoon, all their documents have been drenched since the roof above our offices on the 6th floor were destroyed by the strong winds.

When I clocked off that day, I was so relieved to switch on to vacation mode. Joey also surprised me with a bouquet of sunflowers that immediately lifted my mood.

We were checked in at the Bai Hotel in Mandaue for our anniversary celebration and also for the upcoming wedding of @morenatravels.

The hotel was close to Fat Dois, Parkmall so we were finally able to eat there after wanting to for so long.

Sunflowers

Even if my hubby isn't that big of a fan of cheese, he still agreed to have our anniversary dinner here.

Cheesy shrimps (Chreemps) and mac and cheese with chicken (Mac and Chix).

The next morning, the wedding day itself, it occurred to me that there was actually a weather disturbance on the way.

People were already talking about it at the office days before, remarking that it has the possibility of being another super typhoon like Yolanda (Haiyan). But at the back of my mind and also due to my naiveté, I dismissed those claims as paranoia.

That morning of the 16th, even when the dark clouds rolled in and the wind howled an eerie whistle, the possibility of a super typhoon was nowhere near the top of my worries. Instead, I was concerned about a grocery run to get fresh fruit for the offertory and how to style my hair.

Breakfast time.

A doggo in Parkmall during our grocery run for fruit.

Prep time with hubby.

Even when the power went out at the church and the winds seemed angrier, cracking and dropping a major branch by the church window, I still thought of it as nothing but a panira ng moment (party pooper).

The church when the power went out.

Mama and Papa with the lovely bride @morenatravels

On the same church, a year and a day after our very own wedding.

Precious memories of the night @gwenfinity @morenatravels @sassycebuana @eeventuree @jongcl @gioxidearts @swaycanete @kcwonders

Even when the glass walls of the hotel shook and vibrated its resistance at the gale force winds, I was more concerned about changing to more comfortable shoes to enjoy the rest of the night.

So the wind howled and the party went on, and I was still cocooned in the idea that it was the worst that it could get because Yolanda was only eight years ago. Surely, we weren’t up for another super typhoon this soon, right?

Right?

I was so cockily sure.

Then someone yelled ’earthquake’!

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THE ‘AFTER’

Okay, so technically, it was “Manganaog na ta kay naglinog na!” (We need to go down because there’s an earthquake!)

I didn’t think it was an earthquake. The floor vibrated and shook, sure, but I thought of it as an effect of what was happening to the glass walls.

But when someone yells and voices out a fear of yours, you can’t help but stand to attention and follow the crowd out.

At this point I was already feeling hysterical and for the first time in days, I took the super typhoon warning seriously. It was already here.

Thankfully, before panic took over, staff of Bai Hotel intercepted us and told us to go back to the function hall. It wasn’t an earthquake. The safest place for us to be was far from the glass windows and the function hall sheltered us from those.

So back we went.

It was such a shame because the bride was absolutely stunning and the newlyweds deserved for it to be a magical night–but the spark was no longer in people’s moods.

We were seated at our tables and the host kept droning on about trying to take our mind off what was happening outside by paying attention to the screen.

He kept telling us to ‘calm down’ and ‘relax’ which to be honest, was doing the opposite. Seriously, sir?! Read the room.

Before I lost my cool, the hotel staff told us that we would be relocated to an inner function room where we could wait out the storm. We weren’t allowed to go back to our rooms, for our own safety.

We waited for hours in that space and we simmered in our worries.

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The light of day the next morning illuminated what the super typhoon left in its wake.

Photos of some of Odette's impact

The weather was finally calm when we woke, but our worries took over.

The networks were already down and we didn’t know the condition of our home.

The night before, the group chat with our neighbors revealed that some windows broke under the force of the winds and some roofs were peeled from the buildings.

Uncertain of what awaited us at home, hubby and I decided to book one more night at Bai just in case. We knew there was no water and power, and if there were any damage, at least we would have shelter for the night.

A dark Cebu.

Upon returning home, we were relieved to discover that our glass windows were intact and there wasn't any water damage inside. News from my parents’ and ate @gwenfinity’s houses which were both in Minglanilla was also positive. Despite the destruction in the area, both homes were spared.

But we couldn’t bask in our happiness fully because the home of my in-laws–my husband's childhood home–was damaged. The strong winds peeled the roof leaving everything inside unprotected from the rain. Their rooms, their stuff, and all the things they cared about were now soaked.

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Let’s backtrack a little bit to the previous night. When the monster winds roared and nature was showcasing just how helpless we all are from it, I still found it in me to be grateful.

There we were, so scared, but we were together. Imagine those who were away from loved ones that night–the worry they must have felt when they could no longer contact each other.

There we were, agonizing over whether our homes and our things at our hotel room would be destroyed, but we were sheltered. Imagine the fear of our neighbors who were at their very homes thinking that they were protected too, only for their roofs to blow away above them leaving them exposed to Odette's fury.

There we were rattled, but alive. And isn’t that the most important thing?

At the time, I thought that asking for any more than that was just ungrateful. Our spared lives are the gift.

But going back to that moment, standing at the second floor of my in-laws’ home with the sky visible, it was a struggle not to ask for more. Sure, at the end of the day, things are just things. But these things become more than that when they are laced with values that come attached to them: the hard work, the effort, the memories..

Papa Wilson built the house with his hard work and together with Mama Girlette, they made it a home that raised my husband, my siblings-in-law, and even my nieces to the people they are today. Every item in that home has a history, has its meaning.

As of this writing, Cebuanos–our families included–still struggle from the lack of power and clean water supply. Our struggles may be downplayed in the media or twisted in the name of politics to make some personalities appear “competent”, but the truth is this: THE SUFFERING CONTINUES.

I am able to post this because I work at a hospital, and thankfully hospitals are part of the establishments prioritized in energization. When I go home later, I will need to clock off early to beat the dark and to be able to have dinner with my husband while there is still light out. My husband will need to rush home to be able to catch the schedule of rationed water and stock for tomorrow’s supply (if it doesn’t run out yet before he gets there).

This is the ‘after’ and this cycle of struggles will continue until basic necessities are restored.

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If it isn’t a bother, please reblog this post and share. It would mean a lot. Thank you and stay safe.