PEDRING TO REMEMBER :">

I've always loved rainy days. As I've always said, those are the days when our house becomes home in the presence of [and the interaction among] our family members. Not that I'm making fun of the horrors this particular weather system brings. I never enjoy the long hours of black outs and the flood waters that usually get inside our house. I'm just soooo glad that we get to seize the chance to be more than physically together for a moment.

When I was younger, when cousins were still around, us kids used to bathe or go biking or simply play outside under the heavily pouring rain. And since I'm asthmatic, there was this neighbor of ours who had consistently suggested to my grandma to let me stay out in the rain until my lips are super pale and I'm shivering with cold. I'm supposed to be cured after doing that...Anyway, at least i didn't die of pneumonia.

Back in my HS days, my Kuya (older brother) and I would play chess during times like this. Or if I''m too pissed off with his 'cheating' strategy, I'd just settle with a scrabble game with Tita Dehl.

Two years ago, during the tropical storm Ondoy, we all just stayed indoors watching the news and praying for the people who were badly affected. Our family got its fair share of damage as well. However, we've no right to weep as hard as Ondoy's other victims for we're somehow fortunate compared to them.

Today, trusting my knowledge about meteorology (which I don't have any), I could say that typhoon Pedring is almost 4x more dangerous than Ondoy--even more scarier than Milenio. I'm not sure about the amount of rainfall; but certainly this typhoon's diameter is bigger. Moreover, its winds are stronger.

So, even if my school only suspended the day's classes from 7am-1pm (and my class starts at 1pm), I did  not go anywhere. I'd hanged around and had a good laugh over my brother's dumb deeds, my mom's hilarious gestures and my father's jokes (according to him, "half meant") about his siblings.

After lunch, we're all seated at our sala to watch our neighborhood being washed away. Dudi, one of my brothers, would say something like: " flying twigs/tables/roofs, for the win!!" After a few, my mom tried to organize a contest with such weird mechanics: "Kanta kayo, 5 pesos each song?" (Sing, I'll pay you 5 bucks for each song?) I made a face, but then I thought 'hey, I could really use some game right now.' I gave it a shot, although some moments later, I abandoned the prize up for grabs to my brothers.

My favorite part was when Dudi sang "The Lazy Song," mom's favorite. She would sing along, but only to the parts she knew--those " no no no no no no no oohhh.." and "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah eeehhh..." There were those songs too, that Jeboi sang, when she'd interrupt with a different lyrics. :))

Then there goes Papa remembering his childhood. He said that creepy stuffs usually happens in our house on rainy days. And that his siblings would react weird to the cold weather. "Nung bata pa kami, tuwing umuulan hindi naliligo si Tito *insert my uncle's name here* mo!" (When we were younger, your uncle *____* won't bathe!) I only have 2 uncles, so...

My Kuya just slept the whole day, missing Tita Dehl's constant "Aaaaahhhh!!! 'Yung tsinelas ko nililipad!" (Aaaaahhhh! The wind is taking my slippers!) and "Aaaaaahh!! Ipis!!!" (Aaaaaahhhh!! Cockroach!).