The wrath of Ketsana

Typhoons and monsoon rains are a normal occurrence in the Philippines around this time of year. I'm no stranger to this. It was something we've learned to live with, seeing trees get uprooted, roof covers blown away and entire cities knee-high underwater. I remember wading through a sea of water to get to the college campus at Intramuros and only the VW Beetles float and survived those floods. But that was nothing compared to the disaster typhoon Ketsana (locally named Ondoy) caused this Saturday.

Winds up to 65 mph and heavy downpour believed to have left twice as much rainfall as fell on Louisiana during hurricane Katrina, hit the area. Ketsana drenched major parts of the metropolitan Manila and wrought havoc that so many lives were lost and homes swept away in the deluge.

Rivers swell forcing dams to release water and consequently causing flash flooding in the low lying areas. As expected, the government authorities were blamed for the delay in the rescue efforts and the lack of preparedness. Among the many people marooned by the flash floods were my family members - the daughters of my brother Rene and the entire family of my sister Clarita, both own homes in the city of Marikina which literally drowned.

As the water quickly rose to the ceiling of their houses, my nieces and my sister had to climb up to the roofs to escape drowning. And then they clustered with 20 other people at their neighbor's roof deck for over 12 hours under the rain waiting to be rescued or for the water to recede. In the early morning they were able to move to safer grounds where they sought temporary residence until they will be able to return to their respective homes. That will not be for some time since none of their belongings can be salvaged and will most likely need to rebuild their houses. We are just so grateful that they are alive but what a traumatic experience that must be.

Entire families were displaced while some did not even make it. Questions are now asked, was it an act of God or failure of mankind? Global warming, clogged drainage systems, lack of disaster planning are named as only some of the causes of the devastation.

Signs that the climate has changed drastically are felt worldwide. We have experienced the coolest summer and the warmest winter ever in the US. Drought, wildfires and natural disasters have left catastrophic effects in many parts of the world and while enough has been said and written about environmental protection, forest preservation and the likes, what are we doing about it? Isn't it about time we do our part in order to save this planet?

Let's think about this and seriously. Before it's too late.

It ain't easy going green

Leave it to me to embark on a project with very little planning. My unstoppable urge to replace my wood floors with bamboo got me working like a hamster on a wheel for a few days. Prepping a.k.a. moving everything out of the way, was no easy feat for an old lady like me, but being on a poor man's budget, I convinced myself that I could manage. For three days, I was carting and hauling stuff into the garage. My bedroom looked like a dumpster filled with books and chairs. Except with the piano, I had little help lifting and gliding furniture from the living room, no surprise I ended up with a few scratches and black and blues.

It wasn't totally just my desire to do something good for the planet which drove me to this madness. For such a long time, I've thought of replacing my old worn out wood flooring (my mother will disagree with that), so I said why not go green while I'm at it.

After hearing so much about how bamboo floors look great, I requested a few samples from my contractor. Choosing between the vertical and horizontal cut, and picking the color of the unstained plank wasn't so easy. Remember I have to live with this hopefully for another couple of decades. My choice was the pale yellow vertical cut showing the nodes in their natural pattern.

It's a beautiful thing. It took three workers two days to install the floors - nailed-down, no glue and another couple of days to clean up. I feel like I have twice as much space as I had before, the place now looks like a piano studio, or a loft or a bowling alley. But I'm loving it! I like a lot of room.

Apart from being eco-friendly, it is easy to maintain. Aaahh.. walking barefoot indoors never felt so clean and good. Unless you are allergic to grass, since bamboo is actually hollow grass and not wood at all, bamboo is the way to go. It is considered one of the most renewable sources of timber as it grows very rapidly. After cutting the plant, it is able to regenerate and grow as fast as several feet a day which is the down side when growing the ornamental species in your backyard. Watch out, unless carefully contained, bamboo can be intrusive and will take over the entire yard in no time.

Just like Kermit who embraced his greenness, my story had a happy ending. I love Bein' Green.
"It's beautiful and it's what I want to be".

The last hurrah

To ease the pain of saying goodbye to the last warmer days of summer, this Labor Day weekend the grills were fired and the sails went up at the Meadow Lake once again. The nearby Billie Jean King National Tennis Center hosting the US Open is packed at this time, with Clijsters and Federer among the favorites. One can almost hear the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium but with the prohibitive cost of tickets I'd rather be at the boathouse and watch a show for free.

Sailing is like a love affair for my dear friends who are crazed about the sport. Given their competetive nature, this may be their last chance to show off their nautical skills and beat the heck out of Herman or Sandy, the yeller. I watched from the deck sitting on a moist Adirondack chair and what a show it was. The course was outlined, the horn sounded and the red flag went up. But hey, where is everyone going? Where are they steering towards? No amount of waving could get them started at the right course, Herman was screaming on top of his lungs and ended up on a chase boat directing the sailors to the red or blue buoy. The scene came close to a bunch of babies on walkers rolling in all sorts of directions. Are they color blind or was it the wind or lack thereof to blame? It was hilarious but it didn't matter, the race was just for fun or so I thought. Who cares, everyone had a good time.

I ended up helping out fix lunch and watching Sandy pack boxes and boxes of TASCA belongings to get ready for the move. The boathouse which TASCA shares with the Hong Kong Dragon Racers was originally built for the 1939 World's Fair. It houses TASCA's small fleet of 14-foot sailboats. The brick building, one of two surviving structures of the 1939 fair, is set for major renovations, a much needed makeover since it is old and in disrepair. The building may reopen after two years.

So for now, goodbye to the wood-burning stove, the rickety dock, the murky lake , the squirrels and the cats. Goodbye to the "valley of the ashes".