Finally, the sun is out! However, my endocrinologist cancelled appointments yesterday and I’m running low on my diabetes meds. I just have to convince the pharmacist to extend the Rx for additional tablets. 😬

The annoying thing is, my blood sugar stayed constant even with the meds. So I must do more cardio exercises to burn calories. I admit I haven’t had any meaningful exercise since I came back from my doctors in June because I was too tired after work or the weather sucked.

My other blood chem was unremarkable except for my elevated white blood cells (but my red blood cells are fine). The hypochondriac that I am thought I have lymphoma. But I calmed down for a bit because I don’t have fevers and I’m not losing weight.

I just started to get paranoid ever since my sister and I attended a family function on my father’s side a few weeks ago. I learned that my uncle who used to live in San Francisco went home this year to get palliative care. He didn’t tell the family he has lymphoma (the same disease that my grandfather had) cancer of the bone marrow and now he has dementia. Then my only living aunt (youngest sibling of my father) clarified with us that my other aunt (my father’s eldest sibling) died of breast cancer and not of lymphoma.

That changes things. A lot.

Because my latest mammogram showed I have a cyst but it seemed benign because I told the sonologist that we don’t have a history of breast cancer, only lymphoma.

I have to go back to my gynecologist. I think she will tell me to have another scan in December.

My older sister was also panicking because her last mammogram showed a mass but it seemed like it was benign. But now that we now know breast cancer runs in the family, we need to be more vigilant. She has to go back to her doctor.

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Last night I cooked hot pot because I ran out of ideas. And it was stormy.

I’m also too lazy to cook tonight so we went out to eat. I didn’t want to go to a fastfood restaurant so we ended up here because there was parking.

I will take a 10-day leave on the week of my birthday so I can attend to my physical health (i.e. appointment with my gynecologist) and mental well-being.

The typhoon shifted southwards, making Metro Manila less of a direct hit while the center will miss my province. But of course the wind shear is still going to be there and the voluminous rainfall. Power will be gone probably for a few hours but it’s not going to be that destructive (keeping my fingers crossed).

Meanwhile, southern China is recovering from the most powerful typhoons on earth this year. Ragasa, (means “raging” or “sudden quickening of movement” in Tagalog) the name that the Philippines contributed to the international list of typhoons in Western North Pacific and South China Sea areas. Very apt name.

Considering the chances of landslides in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong province is lower compared to Taiwan and Philippines, I don’t think casualties would not be that high. However, damage to infrastructure could be worse.

I miss the full force news network of ABS-CBN because they had provincial bureaus that constantly keep news local and put the spotlight on disasters in the provinces. Only a handful of media outlets are reporting about northern Luzon, especially Batanes, which was in the eye of the typhoon, after Ragasa has passed. Northern Luzon is still without power and without the spotlight on them, the restoration will be slower. That’s how it is.

Because of the Manila-centric media landscape in the Philippines, news has been concentrating on Tropical Storm (less powerful than a typhoon) Opong, which will graze Metro Manila since it will cross Mindoro then on to northern Palawan. Very low reports on plea for relief and reconstruction in northern Luzon.

So why am I typing away at my keyboard this early? I need to work while there is power, plus I need to have my blood tests done after fasting for 9 hours. I will see my endocrinologist tomorrow.

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Today’s weather is deceptively fair that’s why I risked driving back to Ortigas after spending the night at home.

But I’m so effin’ late!

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My interview with one exec I chased was a dud. Good thing my ever-reliable government official gave me something to write about. So for the next couple of hours, I was just hunched over my laptop, trying to finish everything by 3 pm. I skipped the afternoon sessions because I no longer had the energy.

I jumped into the car so I can still catch the Pet Expo at the World Trade Center—because my cats are spoiled.

But it rained hard. The water along Edsa was already pooling so I was debating whether I should still go.

I ended up going because discounts are discounts.

And good thing I went. I met a representative from the Thai embassy and had a chat with him about what I was looking for—yes, this is for work. He then gave me a list of Thai pet food and supply companies. ❤️ He said the embassy will assist me in contacting them.

I had several buy one, get one offers for dry cat food and treats. I also was able to buy a cat carrier at a discount. Kimchi is so heavy that she broke that thing after arriving from the vet clinic.

Tomorrow I’ll just stay put because the typhoon will be whipping our asses off.

I’m back at Red Planet but in Ortigas. It rained hard late afternoon until evening so I just booked a room because I don’t want to drive for three hours only to wake up at 5 am again to be back here at 9 am tomorrow. I don’t have any energy left after interviewing three people and chased a foreign government official.

Last night the winds were brutal. It felt like we had a typhoon but it was just the monsoon rains being pulled by super Typhoon Ragasa. Power was cut so I got to test my giant battery pack.

After an hour or two, the power was back.

I guess it was just a dry run because another typhoon is coming. This time it will hit us squarely. It will barrel straight to us.

It’s not a joke. Those who deny climate change should be thrown into the eye of Typhoon Ragasa.

I was sooooo exhausted yesterday. We woke up at 5 am and left at 6:30-ish. I wanted to park at Manila Hotel but all the roads were closed so I had no choice but to park at the closest street I could do street parking. And prayed no one will carnap or scratch it. It was around Anda Circle near the Port Area, which was my old haunt as my former newspaper’s old office was located there. I think that building was already demolished because it was ancient.

Because I drank coffee—a diuretic—after I had my diabetic med in the morning, I was already doing the pee pee dance when we got out of the car. I had to endure the long walk because the nearest toilet was in Manila Cathedral inside Intramuros. After that business was taken care of, we proceeded to walk along A. Bonifacio when I discovered I left my phone in my car. I knew Twin I already wanted to kill me but we had to go back for it for safety/survival reasons.

The sun was already high and it seems like the typhoon has yet to make its presence felt.

We hopped from one place to another, chanting with the crowd. We are angry. We are disgusted.

My sis-in-law and my nephews were making their way into Luneta from her home church along Taft Ave. I doubted if we were going to find each other among 80,000+ crowd but they did!

In between squeezing through crowds and chanting, shouting, singing and all that, we had to take breaks and find benches to breathe and be away from the sun. They announced that by 2 pm they will go to Mendiola, traditionally the place where student rallies are held because it is right in the middle of the university belt and is near Malacañang.

During the protests against Joseph Estrada in 2000-2001, I rallied with students and faculty there. I slept on Legarda Street with just newspapers or a placard on my back. There was one time I was with my mom and my socio civic org brothers and sisters at Mendiola. We really didn’t care if violence would erupt. At that time I was a fresh graduate and working as a research assistant so I was still feeling a little bit invincible. These series of protests culminated at Edsa in January 2001 and the uprising was dubbed as Edsa Dos, because this was the second time we ousted a sitting president, after 1986 when we got rid of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. My whole family was there but we were in separate groups. My older sister was with her workmates, my brother was I don’t know where, my mom was I think with other faculty members, and my younger sister was with her friends. I can’t remember who I was with because I think I was solo with a bunch of students from my university. It was only my father at home because he was already sick at that time.

Anyway, I digress.

When they organizers said they would be transferring to Mendiola, I knew we had to leave. Marcos would try to crush the students or the DDS may do something stupid like destablize a peaceful rally that would force the government to declare martial law and then Marcos would be ousted and have Sara Duterte as president—which has been their gameplan all along.

We walked back to the car, about 2 km from where we were. When Twin I got inside our airconditioned car, that’s when it hit me that I was almost going to have a heat stroke. No wonder I was non-stop chugging water but the headache didn’t dissipate. I think we were just there sitting inside the car for 30 mins to wait for the headache to go away after taking paracetamol.

Twin I was disappointed because she wanted to join them in Mendiola. I told her, “Girl, I’m a veteran of street protests and Mendiola is where things go wrong. I won’t take that chance with you.”

Since all roads were closed, Waze directed us to take Del Pan bridge to get to… Right smack in the middle of U-belt. While we were driving parallel to Pasig River (Escolta, I think), we saw the student protesters crossing Jones Bridge. I had a fear that we could get trapped there or by some miracle, our lane would be free.

I took a chance.

And it was a great chance to be with the rally without having to march with them to Mendiola.

It was a peaceful rally ruined by thugs later that afternoon until evening. Rioters threw Molotov bombs near Mendiola, at the foot of Ayala bridge.

Some reporters said these rogue rioters were the masked entities that came from Liwasang Bonifacio who were identified as DDS. It looked like destabilizers. It is yet unsure if they are connected to the thugs that destroyed the lobby and looted Sogo Hotel along Recto Ave.

They are clearly not associated with the peaceful protesters from Luneta.

There were a lot of fear-mongers online, saying 30 students from UST and other universities were killed/shot/arrested. Legit media said nothing like that happened.

The online trolls are sowing confusion. Duterte is behind all this.