We are still making it through the rain

As the world (hopefully) knows, Manila and parts of Central and Northern Luzon were pounded by days of medium to heavy rains due to the southwest monsoons and that overstaying typhoon Gener which, as the joke went, was probably after a Philippine citizenship. It was like Ondoy Part Deux, except that instead of non-stop heavy rains in the morning, the rain was nice and steady and shitty days before. I was actually at work Monday night until the wee hours of Tuesday, and my colleagues and I bore witness to these rains all night. When I drove home I made it a point to avoid flood-prone areas in Mandaluyong and thankfully the route via the Rockwell-Mandaluyong bridge was quite peaceful. However, the next day, most of Manila was immersed in flood waters.

I still had cable when Ondoy hit and my area was lucky to have both electricity and cable working. I watched for days the rescues and the coverage, and since I was freelancing at that time I did manage to join relief efforts for a few days. This time, though, with no cable I only tracked the news via Twitter and snippets from YouTube. On Tuesday I realized I did not have food in the fridge so I braved the rains and the wind and made my way to the nearest fastfood and grocery to stock up. It felt silly. There I was, a little bit too cautious with a bit of rain shower on my umbrella, and there were people who were hungry and thirsty, most likely cold and stranded in the upper levels of their homes. Others were stuck on the roof. It's terrible.

The following clip is a BBC coverage of the rains and floods last week:

Not a nice sight to see, huh?

I was pretty glad how social media was utilized in sending immediate help to the people. Initiatives such as this online Google spreadsheet of relief centers make donating more convenient as private shops, offices, etc. and outreach agencies have become hubs for donations.

A screenshot of crowd-sourced directory of relief operations in Metro Manila. Check it here.

What also impressed me was another crowd-sourced efforts on rescue (thanks to those who started #RescuePH). By using Googledocs and thanks to Twitter, people can input information on those who need rescuing and their contact information. It's quite common that when certain people get in trouble, they start texting others thus spreading the word for such emergencies. See, in this connected world, people can still be online and mobile in the midst of disasters.

A screenshot of a RescuePH spreadsheet which was updated throughout the week.
A new or additional website has been put up.

Twitter and Facebook were burning as well, and international coverage was initially seen via tweets of Time and CNN. TLC or Travel and Living (cable) Channel in Southeast Asia also launched relief efforts to extend aid in the Philippines.

Well. These are just the news. Everyone is quite aware that people have been more vigilant compared to years ago; Ondoy was a tough lesson to all of us. But the problem really is the flooding. Dams, rivers, lakes or even ponds overflowed. The storm drainage system was already clogged up both with the rushing water and urban waste. Many people, unfortunately most of them are the urban poor, live in high-risk areas such as elevated "hills" and ranges, and riversides by way of shanty towns.

At the moment many people have come up with proposals. Paulo Alcazaren, who was actually a member of the panel during my thesis defense in UP, has been coming up with interesting sketches of elevated buildings or buildings on stilts, baranggay halls strapped with rescue boats and constructed with (in our dreams, yes) a helipad where a rescue helicopter is parked, and even a riverside design that relocates the settlers farther from the creeks. The DPWH --- albeit well-intended in thought --- made this mistake in expressing that they would "blast" informal settlers who live in the dangerous areas and waterways ---which Public Works Sec. Rogelio Singson immediately retracted after the unsurprising criticisms.

Of course, on the other end, criticisms rained. We are no stranger to people expressing views that Metro Manila sucks infrastructure-wise, that the city does not have the capacity to handle sufficiently the population (est 19 million this time, ladies and gentlemen), and so on, go on.

I do think that there are a couple of ways we can address the flooding problem not only in the Metro Manila but the rest of the country as well. Here are my humble thoughts.

1. Vast improvements of the infrastructures and utilities, and we need to unclog those waterways. This is already a given. But we need to come up with solutions based on the fact that Manila gets flooded easily not just because of problems with the drainage systems but also the fact that the water rises whether you have a good drainage system or not. Water volume is a problem. This is why one solution, I have to agree with Alcazaren, is that we need to elevate structures in flood-prone areas. However, I do think it's quite silly to elevate a road significantly whereas the houses that line it subsequently become lower, such as what they are doing now along Shaw Blvd between Acacia Lane and Nueve de Febrero. It's merely a displacement method, methinks.

2. We badly need to decentralize and create economic and social opportunities outside Metro Manila. Yes, I am going to say it: there're too many people in this city which was probably not built to handle a population of almost twenty million. For instance: I kinda have this theory that the Mezza Residences could add to the flooding problem in Sta. Mesa/Quezon City borders: the construction of those condominium towers will add to the sewerage capacity requirements of the area. Of course, an increase in population in a certain area means more waste. It DOES NOT HELP that there's a creek nearby that is supposed to serve as an immediate waterway. This also goes to those condo developments along Taft Avenue beside De la Salle University.

There has to be a consensus that urban planning and development should not be self-serving and inclined to the whims of the capital- and political-driven individuals/groups/ventures. I mean, seriously, how effective has been these developments' environmental impact assessments? Current and realistic flooding situation and flooding potential should be factored in in these tests and standards.

3. Rescue and relief have been so far, well, improved. But we do need a more organized system, especially in areas that normally do not receive help (or are hard to access). I have to applaud though the immediate rescue efforts of agencies and many NGO, outreach and private groups. PAGASA might not be the most "high-tech" weather bureau yet, but they walk with us through all these. Bravo also to those who are helping the relief efforts, from the donors to the volunteers to the relief centers, and various initiatives like the One Nation for the Sanitation initiative of the UP Red Cross Youth (yay!) and their partners. You can visit the UP RCY website for information and donation.




However, this is a SHAME:






Why why why do you have to put your faces everywhere?!!!
Are relief efforts opportunities to edge your campaign? And to think you likely used public money to buy these goods.

THESE ARE NOT YOUR PERSONAL NOR POLITICAL DONATIONS. THESE GOODS RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO THE PEOPLE. IT IS YOUR JOB TO HELP.

Gosh, and you have the nerve to name the donated rice after you.

My gulay.




4. Last but not the least... let's face it, it is, in essence, an ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM. We do need to plant more trees and adapt more, to use the term, "green" systems and lifestyles. Lessen the "development" by way of more responsible and strategic planning, design, and construction.

Right now, it is apparent, that everything should be with respect to the environment. The urban jungle, in order to survive, has to be green. We have to re-check the "old ways": we live in new times, the old way of looking at things may be destructive now. Do not just uproot or cut down trees just so you can cement your garden or front lawn. It's a small solution but it can go a long way.

And now, we still have rains. A typhoon is passing in the north which is sucking more southwest monsoons. Thankfully, the rains haven't been that hard but the winds have been insane. I haven't seen the sun since its brief appearance last Saturday. These are crazy times.

We have to be friendly to the environment. We do not really own these lands because, just so you know, Mother Nature can easily wash us away. This is just a mere nudge.

The Smashing Pumpkins and Oceania in Manila

This week has been exhausting.

I looked forward to this week as a surreal dive, a moment of drowning in magnificent music:  The Smashing Pumpkins, Snow Patrol and Tears for Fears all in one week, this particular week in August. Weeks before the event, however, I knew that I could not watch the August 9 performance of Snow Patrol as work would supposedly call that night. I had to accept it (although I admit I was kinda scheming a way to at least make it to Araneta Center from Newport in Pasay --- dream on). The Smashing Pumpkins ticket came as a blessing: it would be on Tuesday, August 7, and I have blocked off everything. I can say the same for fans who have been waiting for the Pumpkins to make it to the Philippine shores.

But nature had something else in mind.

Monday night and early Tuesday morning the rains fell. I was actually in the office at around 2AM Tuesday morning, in preparation of the Thursday event. We watched as the rains continued, not stopping, sometimes bursting into huge, pounding drops and then suddenly switching to a drizzle that lightly touched the pavements. Who knew that the rains would continue, in this consistent pace, for hours? I woke up Tuesday reminiscent of that Saturday morning when Ondoy hit: about half of Greater Manila was underwater. People were on roofs, houses were being washed away. And to think that wasn't even a storm.

I am lucky to live in an elevated area although the rest of the city I live in were submerged. I spent the morning online, picking up on the news. Afterwards, I noticed that the rain started to seep into my apartment via the windows, and and I went on a freakish spree, snatching up rugs and a bucket, discovering a nearly-decomposed cockroach behind the door in the process. But that episode seems like a "first world problem", considering what's happening to the rest of the country, huh.

Of course I had to check if the Smashing Pumpkins would continue their show Tuesday night. And of course, they had to postpone and sent nice words to the victims of the tragedy.

They're awesome. Really.

***

Wednesday afternoon, after work had set us free due to the rains (again) and as we set off for Araneta Center, my sister and I discussed the set list whilst listening to Oceania. I'd only listened to Oceania maybe a couple of times; actually, I had only let it play in the background. I didn't have the time to focus on the album in manner of me, fifteen years (eek) ago, singing along to Tori Amos' Girls for Pele in the middle of the night whilst grasping the album's in-lay lyrics card.

Based on what I heard, I liked Oceania. There were beats that reminded me of Siamese Twins. But I didn't really know what to expect from the Smashing Pumpkins, especially as this was their first time to ever perform here, after about two decades and a few reformations.

I have to say it would be dangerous for me to have high expectations because the last SP album I bought was Adore and I loved it a lot. But I knew, despite these years of absence, that I would have that kind of expectation, to be swept away by this specific angst that is distinct from what they produced in that era also known as "Seattle" (yes, I believe in music terms, when you hear "Seattle" it deserves a rightful, genre-ish definition).

Besides, my first web-based email address had the local client "pumpkingirl". Seriously.

***

The Smashing Pumpkins performs
the Oceania set in Manila.

The Smashing Pumpkins started their set with songs from Oceania. The huge floating globe suspended above the stage served as the screen where different dreamy visuals were projected: images relevant to the Oceania art work to those Victorian-like art the Pumpkins used during their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness days (more particularly via the music video "Tonight, Tonight"). The set was straightforward: Billy Corgan, in all his height and impressive built, sang in his unique voice; bassist Nicole Fiorentino looked cute and sweet as she kicked-ass with her bass; guitarist Jeff Schroeder seemed the shy type as he made those riffs; and drummer Mike Byrne hit it like it was Jimmy Chamberlin sitting behind the drum set.

You don't do the mosh pit with Oceania. You can't even bob your head, not really. You sit back, eyes open, staring at the globe. That album is a trip, a journey. It's the kind of song the couple in the video "Tonight, Tonight" might be playing as they shot into space. The songs take you to a different place: sometimes somewhere unfamiliar, sometimes it takes you to the past in the form of those familiar undertones from Siamese Dreams and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

Oceania is but the sum of The Smashing Pumpkins all these years.

***

Eventually it got really rocking and the crowd went wild. Every time the guys started the familiar riffs: "Today", "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero"... people went crazy. I almost lost my voice shouting the shouting parts in "x.y.u.":


I know where I can't know
I bleed for me and mine
RAT TAT TAT TAT
KA BOOM BOOM
NOW TAKE THAT 
AND SOME GOOD OLE BLISS
CAUSE I'M A SISTER
AND I'M A MOTHERFUCK!!!!

Whew.

It was amazing. Really.

The Smashing Pumpkins' entire set lasted for almost three hours, with about five songs for their encore. I was on my feet the entire time. I danced and my abs danced as well. My throat hurt. My hands were up in the air. I jumped in my wedges. My hair was everywhere.

It was such an epic night.

***

I almost cried, hoping I could hear "Rocket", "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" and --- most especially --- "Mayonnaise", a song that would send me weeping. But I wasn't teary-eyed because it was, well, bitin. Through their songs, old and new, I witnessed the band's evolution, and mine as well. Those years when they were starting and so sure, from Gish to Siamese Dreams to Pisces Iscariot to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness... to their loss as seen in the depressing but very substantial Adore... to the break starting in  Machina to Zeitgeist and so on. And now this.

Fool enough to almost be it

Cool enough to not quite see it 

Old enough to always feel this 

Always old, I'll always feel this

No more promise, no more sorrow

No longer will I follow

- "Mayonaise"

And I couldn't help comparing the years I started listening to them in my early teens that were starting and so sure, and then my  twenties that were adventuresome and hazy and unsure. And now this.

So this I have to say. It was a given that the Oceania Manila leg was an incredible success. But on a personal note, this is what I have to say to The Smashing Pumpkins after all these years:

Look how much we have grown.

Oh, Go Multiply Thyselves!

I am going to tell this story which I experienced about two Christmases ago.

I decided to attend the Midnight Mass one Christmas Eve. I went alone; the rest of my family stayed at home, or one of my sisters probably went to the earlier mass in another church, my mother was cooking, or my other siblings were probably getting drunk and partying somewhere. See, I am not really the kind who likes going to mass, but I still do (sometimes); I have to admit though that there are times I like going to church more when there's not much happening, just to sit inside and absorb the calmness. And religiosity is not, well, forced in our family: there are times we find ourselves going to church together, there are times we go our separate ways, and above all that, there are times I don't give a feck. See, faith is very personal to us... as individuals.

Anyway.

So I went to this church in another village. It was my first time to go there; looking back, I think this itch in me to attend the Midnight Mass that night was some kind of, quite ironically, divine intervention. The mass started: the priest went about the usual rituals. And then, came the homily.

I was expecting something meaningful that night; heck, Christmas Day would be a couple of hours away. I was expecting something along the lines of hope and joy, about the coming of Christ, about the cycle of life, that usual drift about birth and family and tradition. Well, I am not exactly the Mary Poppins kind, but I didn't really mind listening to these kinds of things with the spirit of Christmas upon you, ya know?

Then the priest started talking about his visit to the bookstore.

He said he was aghast to see books that had titles like, "Is there a God?" or "The Atheist's Manual" or "The God Particle"... and all those books that make you think. See, his argument wasn't out of offense; it wasn't because there were publications that dare to explore God's existence (or non-existence, whatever). He was disgusted that people now have access to these thoughts, thoughts that challenge Christianity, thoughts that are outside what he believes what the world should be.

And then he said, "I am glad that Filipinos are not a reading race".

True story.

Yes, the RH Bill can be a moral issue and I think the bill is also beyond the issue of choice. It is setting a framework of what the country is going to be like in the years to come. It is going to be a source of corruption, some say. Others express that it is another means to control the population. For some, it is a Pandora's Box that encourages people to do the sexy dance in manner of Saturday Night Live's "Dick in a Box"... and you know what comes next, winkwink.

I've read the debates: pro and anti, morality, allocation of resources, opportunities for corruption, the health of women, the importance of responsible parenting. It's tiring because let's face it: nobody really knows what's right or wrong. I agree that we should control the population and that we need to be progressive in these modern realities... but can we trust us, uh, "non-reading" Filipinos in the hands of --- gasp --- worldly knowledge that may --- gasp --- contest what is supposed to be Christian wisdom?

But my stand really is based on this memory, that particular Christmas Eve inside a Catholic Church that was supposed to be jinggly-janggling as Santa Claus made his way around the world. When the priest started praising us Filipinos for being ignorant, that we didn't like to read, and that we are not supposed to know certain things and that we should rely on the Church what we need to know, I did what I had to do.

I walked out of his fucking mass.

And now I leave you with "Dick in a Box"... just in case you're curious and want to step outside the box. Heh.

The Architecture of Living Alone

As I made my way home the other night, I started making decisions what to have for dinner. I started last week with a small can of corned tuna, straight from a can, and a packet of crackers. Although I could easily pop another can and rip another packet, I went to a fruit stall instead, purchased two ripe mangoes, and then finished it off with Skyflakes whilst standing by the kitchen counter. Now that was an episode called dinner.

I am the Master of My Laundry.

Those years I lived with family was a delight but I would hear a scolding, even in my twenties, if I did not eat dinner at a proper time. Although I would bark back with "(I'll have dinner) LATER!", I was expected to join the nightly, albeit small, gathering around the dinner table, not because they were desperately seeking my company but rather they were desperately wanting to clean up and wash the dishes ASAP, before the Koreanovelas begin. Skipping dinner was not an option.

Now, as I am about to mark this week my fourth year of living alone, I have started to reflect if it has been worth it: from the expenses to those bouts of loneliness that resulted to a growing number of imaginary friends (kidding). But then, to counter these supposed downsides, I can always cite Demi Moore's character's insights in St. Elmo's Fire, about getting up in the middle of the night to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and that is the best PB&J sandwich she's ever had because she made that sandwich from the ingredients found in her refrigerator, which is in her kitchen, which is in her apartment.

I came across this study by Eric Klinenberg on the single-living population in the United States; features have appeared in the New York Times and The Smithsonian, among others. Basically, the study points out that the growing number of people living alone can be also attributed to the evolution of the household, and of course, the eventual realization that living alone does not equate to being alone. Klinenberg also mentions that the feasibility and the appeal of living alone is due to the fact that we are now a society set against hyperconnectivity. How can you be alone if you're connected even while mobile? You can have almost everything with just a click away: information, connection, company... and even relationships.

In an interview with The Smithsonian, Klinenberg also mentions other drivers in addition to communication; these are the rise of women in the labor force which gives them more opportunities and capabilities to go solo; urbanization, which can be seen in the rise of "convenient" real estate and the development of urban nodes which make living alone more social than isolated; and lastly, longevity, which underlines the fact that the life span has been extending thus there are instances wherein people age alone.

When I was looking for an apartment I made it a point that the space I would move in to can contain what defines my lifestyle. I had a set of requirements; my spatial priorities in addition to the basics were as follows: a space for my work desk and a space for my bookshelf. I loved to cook, hence a kitchen with sufficient cooking area was required, and I loved to watch TV, hence an area where I can place a 27inch'er would be needed. But then, space was not enough and a rental had its limits. I took up painting at some point and ended up making small paintings that I could only prop against the wall on top of my bookshelf. I had a lot of stuff hence, I am the kind who needs storage.

Oh schnapped! Photo by Mirro Macatangay.

But then there are habits, of course, and then there are preferences which go way beyond the physical space that I occupy. When I studied architecture in college, I was a sucker for programming. I liked to imagine the life of the occupants which kinda explains why I was hooked playing god on The Sims. For years my life fits comfortably in what Klinenberg enumerated: I am an example of those drivers. I am a woman of the labor force, I have lived the life of a telecommuter before it was cool (oh, how hipster, haha!), I have occupied my time staying in coffee shops, watching movies in the theaters, and wining and dining with friends. I would drive to Fort Bonifacio during those days it was not yet a construction hell to jog around midnight, and I would meet with friends whenever just to hang out. Oh yes, those times when you just want to drink in your pajamas without judgment? Well, there you go.

What's interesting is that urbanites are starting to shape what the architecture of the city should be. Manila may pale in comparison to Western cities but with the continuous waves of the graveyard working class, thanks to the ever-thriving BPOs, the city and its architecture is being designed by new generations and the social realities they live in. I grew up in the age of Sex and the City and Bridget Jones, and I won't be surprised that women of my generation, once they are able, will push for getting their own personal corners in the city which they can call their very own, with thoughts of Carrie Bradshaw's closet and Bridget Jones's bookshelves that hold publications along the lines of Why Men Marry Bitches (not me, wahahaha!).

So what is the architecture of living alone? Is form and function enough? I remember reading a publication on the architecture of hyperreality and in a way, this is also something to consider --- say, this desire to live alone may be a mere imitation of the lives of Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones, or say, for this generation, that girl from Fifty Shades of Grey (eeek). Hmm. But then, this goes way beyond that: for those of us who want to emphasize spatial privacy in this age of connection and mobility, what defines our space and structure will always be related to our physical and online networks.

At the end of the day, we are still creatures who like to connect and to communicate, to reach out to a greater world even if we just view it through screens or through smart phones in the comforts of our fifteen square meter bedroom. And when we really come down to it, this definition of space and privacy and personalization... it's like making our own little world where we plot where we eat, how we eat, what time we eat. Living alone is a process of circumscribing our own reality by means personal structures. And with such function, the form must be something that has to be connected to the rest, like a planet orbiting yet connecting to the rest of the universe.