friday night

I went out again the next day, Friday. This time, I was with my girlfriends. We were supposed to have dinner only but plans always go awry. We ended up eating at the mall's foodcourt and out to a bar for drinks. I didn't drink beer this time, just good old Cali Ice. This is one of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks ever.

We had a good time at the bar, eating pica-pica and laughing out loud. We even chanced upon a college classmate and caught up with her too. One of girlfriends is a new mother and does not want to leave her baby for long. We broke up at around 9pm--yes, that early! But it was just in perfect timing because right before we went home, earthquake struck. It was mild, hardly even felt but it was long, about a minute or so. When I got in the house, I asked my mom but she didn't really feel it and so did my dad. My brother texted if I felt the earthquake and if I was home because he was out too. The earthquake was really miles from our city but still it scared some of the residents here.

It was nice being with my girlfriends again. We've sort of made a pact to meet at least once a month. In a couple of week's they'll be here in the house for the baby's birthday bash.

missing you

i haven't been spending much time with the bf these past few days. earlier, he was preoccupied because he needed money for the checks he issued. he had to do some preparations for clients that were coming in during the week. by wednesday, he had to drive television crews to the earthquake stricken areas. up to now, he is still on duty. he is doing it becasuse he actually wants to and partly because there are no more available drivers. i hate it! i'm not used to spending much time away from him, especially on out of town trips. i am supposed to be with him during this time. hahaha! i sound like a petulant high school student. but really, i hate the feeling.

anyway, yesterday i drove 183 kilometers just to spend time with him. imagine that! and i went there alone. that took me fours hours of driving back and forth. the first hour going there was easy, the second hour, i was feeling tired. on the way home, i was exhausted. as luck would have it, it rained when i was about 35 kilometers from home. i hate driving in the rain and i hate driving at night. but i had no choice. ahh.. the things you do for love.

when i got there, i saw different types of people. there were rescue groups, various television crews, locals, MMDA personnel and tourists taking pictures. i belong to the latter because i didn't do anything useful. = )

i was supposed to stay only for on hour but the bf had to leave and get food from the hotel restaurant that provided for their meals. i decided on a whim to join him. big mistake because it took us two hours to get back. i ended up leaving for home at about 7.30 already and two hours on the road meant i'd be home by 9.30. unfortunately, the rain made me go even slower and i got home at around 9.50pm. i was so tired by then and i still had work to finish. but i was really so sleepy so i stopped working and slept instead. i ended up waking early this morning to finish my tasks.

now the bf is back to the location again and i haven't even seem him yet. i doubt i'll be seeing him tomorrow as well. hopefully the contract will finished tomorrow or monday. if not, it will be a lonely valentine's day for me this year.

**the pictures show the bridge that got badly damaged by the earthquake. it's actually quite a steep drop and you need to use makeshift ladders to cross. the bf stays here the whole day and night until news broadcast is over. luckily (or unluckily), business is slow so he has the time to do this.
the pictures of two feet are ours. our sanuk sandals were bought at the same time but his has faded already. he says mine still look like new. the bf wears a jade ring for luck in business. that ring is huge!

it's better to give

last night, my girlfriend texted and asked for relief goods for her aunts and cousins who were affected by the earthquake. i am at the point in my life where every centavo counts. i am sort of struggling financially right now. but i replied that i couldn't give cash, i would just give in kind. i was internally debating because i still have several obligations to fulfill but i realized that my problems were trivial compared to the victims.

as luck would have it, the bf gave me money today. he was able to collect payment and it was deposited in my account. i had to deposit the money to his account in another bank since he had to go out of town on business. he shared some of his earnings with me, for which i am really grateful for. i was able to purchase noodles, sardines, soap and milk. i took it to my girlfriend's house and she even asked me to go with them to the town. my gf said i bought too much and i jokingly retorted that i would take some back with me.

i am quite happy to have shared some of my blessings. i know it's merely a fraction of what they need but at least i was able to give. it's so much better to be the giver than to be the recipient.

earthquake!

photo by dyingforchocoloates.blogpsot.com

at around 11:52 this morning, we experienced an 6.8 magnitude earthquake. it was scary! the last earthquake i felt was way back august (i'm not really sure) last year but it was mild. it came at around 5am and i was wondering why my bed was shaking. mind you, i have a huge bed. but the earthquake today was really strong.

i was sitting in the dining room working. this is my preferred "office" because the Internet connection is excellent in this area. it didn't start out as strong. we live along the side of the road and i thought there must be a huge truck that is going to pass by. however, the truck never passed instead, the ground shook. right then and there, i knew it was an earthquake. it grew stronger. our chandelier shook, my mom's jars were precariously shaking and i was afraid a vase of flowers was going to fall down. worse, the baby was in the bedroom with the yaya. i was paralyzed and couldn't move. i only shouted that the baby was in the bedroom but there was nothing i could. it lasted for about 30 seconds but it was the longest 30 seconds of my life.

the aftershock came about 25 minutes after but it was milder already. classes and work was cancelled for the afternoon. my brother also said most of the stores and malls in the city were closed and people were afraid of a tsunami hitting. but so far, all is well. in the northern area of the province, apparently some bridges were destroyed but so far no life has been lost as of this time.

God is still good.