;))

how darkly hilarious is it that my blithe description of the week after the relaxing holiday as a deluge came true. i always call the week a deluge since there's nothing peaceful about metro manila except on sundays and holidays just like the holy week. yet last april 22 came a greater deluge at 5.11pm in the form of a 5.7 (some say 6.1) magnitude earthquake which rattled some provinces in luzon, metro manila included.

much like the 1990 earthquake which will forever be etched in my memory, the quake 2 weeks ago had its scary moments as well. all the while the earth shook, i was on the 22nd floor with a couple of other office mates huddled under our respective tables. one was calling out for Jesus repeatedly while the other one spat out the same curse word over and over. as for me i stayed silent but imagining the worst, like how would it feel like should our building collapse and i prayed to God that if it would happen, it would be quick and painless.

of course we were all safe, thank goodness. yet the deluge was not over since almost everyone was raring to go home. the trains weren't 't running yet again, thus all the buses were full and more crowds filled the sidewalks of edsa on both sides waiting patiently for whatever ride that was available.

waiting wasn't an option for me, nor is getting squished in a bus along with the masses. no, siree. traffic was practically at a standstill as well, so the next best (and pathetic) option was to walk. yup, i walked the length of edsa from the entrance of dasma village up to robinson's galleria along with a lot of people who made the same decision. it took me about two hours, the same length of time if i took the bus on a normal, traffic jam-filled day.

it was not a pleasant walk along edsa, which is much like walking along any other place in the metro that's not ayala, ortigas, bgc, eastwood, and the like. there are the uneven sidewalks, potholes, choking smoke galore from all the vehicles; damp, smelly corners, you name it, everything's there. but it was either that or endure a sardine-like bus ride i had no patience for at the moment. halfway through my journey i was already tiring and was convinced that i've worn holes through the soles of my ballet flats, since i could practically feel the uneven cement under my feet.

but safely get home i did, and that's all that matters. the soles of my flats were intact, too. after that day, however, i wore more functional shoes to work in case something like this happens again.

i hope i won't ever use them for that kind of purpose though.