Ondoy Turns One!

On September 26, 2010, the tragedy that was Ondoy will turn one year old. It's been a year now already, but the memories of that day are still as fresh as can be every time they replay in my mind. Do you remember where you were that day? I was in UST, watching the clouds turn from white to gray to black, and praying the rain would let up just a bit so that I could go home. But no, I spent the  night un the university because the flood water rose unbelievably fast (so that by noon, it was already knee high, and at five in the afternoon, it was chest-level).

That is my most memorable experience of my alma matter. Funny thing is, despite this ugly encounter, I still am with the university, and every moment I spend there makes me feel more attached and affectionate for it. I guess it takes more than just rains and thunderstorms to get me out of the university, or it out of my system -- because I like being in it the way I like eating vanilla ice cream every time I am happy, sad, stressed, relaxed, optimistic, hopeless...

There are just some things we will never forget, and there are some images attached to this things that we don't forget. Do you realize the beauty and power of our language? Through it, we are able to connect things together and commit them to our memory. Our language helps us express what we want to say, how we feel. In contrast, it also allows us to conceal what we want to keep others from knowing. We can get creative when we want to say something, and the use of imagery in our language often allows us to be succinct.

Your next blog activity will let me see you in a different light. You are to give the "About the Authors" page a fresh feel, as you will write a poem about yourself, using a particular symbol or image that will persist in the whole poem. Apply your own techniques, use Filipino or English -- just make sure that the image you use is relevant to your poem as a description of yourself and the theme of your group blog. The poem has to be 3-5 stanzas long only, with a maximum of four lines each. This is an individual activity and the number of poems your blog site must have is equal to the number of members in your group. I will expect these blogs by September 24, 8pm.

I am looking forward to seeing another creative side of you through your poems. :) Ja!