arrggghh i had to rewrite this whole thing, patapos na ko nang biglang nag blue screen of death ang aking OS. oh Windows, you are such a crap!!! :D
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very rarely do i post on my blog site now but i felt compelled to do so because of an important thing that happened in my life six days ago. a dreadful day which i am thankful for. you might pick up something valuable as i did so please read on..
for me, zen is to have long vacations whenever time permits or at least leave the fast-paced city life once in 3 months. having been to Cebu and Bohol last July, Boracay on September, i (together with my officemates) decided to check out Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin island down south last week (November 23 - 27). except for Don who hails from CDO, Rona whose mom is from Camiguin and sir Bong who's been to the island, the rest of us (12 peeps) are first timers so that makes the trip even more exciting. straight from our night shift sched, we headed to our early morning flight to CDO which was fairly smooth and as we touched down we met Rona's mother shortly then headed straight to the island. after almost 5 hours of travel, a sumptous brunch was awaiting at Rona's house. one whole lechong baboy! a dip in a cold spring after that and we're off to Mantigue island for an overnight stay. i'd say the first day and night was fun-filled and nothing but worry-free adventures.
no one had the slightest idea that November 24, 2006 had something different in store for us. more "adventures"? for lack of better terms maybe, but i'd say it's more of a lesson. a lifetime lesson. the day started normal with coffee and chitchats about what happened the previous night. i literally toured the island with Iya and took pictures of the sunrise and the local folks who gathered seaweeds at dawntime. at around 7:30AM we headed back to Camiguin aboard two motorboats. the moment i stepped on the boat and waves started to have its presence felt i know we're in for a scary ride. imagine this, we're headed northward and the wind was eastward which caused the waves to hit us on the left side. i sat at the front middle portion of the boat and instructed the others to balance our weight against the tide. believe me thrice our boat almost turned over and twice the front portion dipped into the sea water. in anticipation of the worse thing to happen, i just prayed and requested one thing, "Lord, wag naman po dito sa dagat..." after almost 40 minutes of that scary ride we reached Camiguin and boy was i glad it's over. as we headed back to Rona's house the fear subsided and everybody was energetic once again. nalunod na naman kami sa kasiyahan. little did we know that someone up there is reminding us to take life at a slower pace. wag padalos dalos at hinay hinay lang kumbaga. after our brunch the next destination was White island but we decided to stop by Katibawasan falls since it's within our way naman. aboard a multicab (combination of a bigger tricycle and a smaller jeepney) we headed to the falls and since it's up on a mountain most of the way was uphill. at some point of the journey i know na hindi talaga kaya ng sasakyan namin considering 13 kami lahat including the driver. my bestfriend Rona and i were seated at the front. barely one kilometer to our destination we had to pass by a very steep uphill road and off we went, however midway di na kinaya ng engine and we stalled. everyone was about to go out of the vehicle but then the handbreak snapped and the scary downhill started (at paatras pa kami). despite being so nervous our driver tried to maneuver the multicab to have at least a lesser impact but it was futile since uncontrollable na talaga. what scared me most was when i looked out of the window (remember i was seated at the front) and my eyes caught the sight of the cliff at the right side. i thought, "this could be it..." presence of mind na lang siguro, my left hand held on sa pinto then yung kanang kamay ko tinukod ko sa bandang bubungan ng sasakyan. i felt Rona held on at my left and everybody braced for impact. we were very close to have fallen in the cliff (twice ata) buti na lang nakabig ng drayber ang manibela. mabilis ang mga pangyayari. four to six seconds and then bang... the multicab crashed onto its right side and thankfully everyone got out without any major injuries. sir Bong, Aller, ma'am Velle, sir Don, Katz and i had cuts and bruises on our limbs but it was Tuni whom everyone was really concerned with. besides the bruises on his arm and back i think his head hit the pavement which caused him to unconciously lose his memory for a bit. good thing is that results were negative and nothing serious had happened. eventually we spent the rest of the day at the Camiguin General Hospital and had our itinerant vacation cancelled. the next day we headed back to CDO with nothing but gratitude to God, memories of Camiguin island and yes, the promise of returning to conquer the island once again, God willing :)
so why am i still thankful despite what happened? firstly because i was given another chance to continue on with this life. as my ym status reads, this time music is much sweeter, colors more vivid and life more beautiful. secondly, i came to realize that no matter how we try to control our time the Supreme Being up there is still the director, which i should be reminded of always.
accounting what happened sure ain't easy especially that the people involved are all dear to you. i do hope as well that together we can get over what happened.. more than my deep wounds, swollen cheek and scars i think the bond that had us together during that incident will be treasured for the rest of my life. all 12 of us have a special bond now since together we were able to have almost died and together we have survived..
let me end my post with a prayer, if you may..
Lord i thank you personally for this wonderful chance which i know i'm not worthy of. i'm grateful that no one was hurt badly. i pray that the scars would remind me to trust you always and will serve as a gentle reminder that you are in control of everything including our lives; where we will go, how we will live and when we will see you. please guide us always and may we serve this chance you've given for your great purpose. in Christ's name that i pray. Amen..
