After Typhoon Glenda

Typhoon GLENDA (International Name: Rammasun) is now officially out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Thank goodness!

The eye of the typhoon didn't really passed through Metro Manila but nevertheless its brute strength was felt by Manila residents early Wednesday morning. The howling wind terrorized trees and houses followed by heavy rains.

Our residential unit has a faulty south-side window and when the rain started coming from that area, we had to barricade all seams and cracks with lots and lots of used clothing and rugs to prevent water from coming in. We did that for almost an hour until the rain stopped.

Electricity was down since Wednesday early morning til 9 in the evening.

According to news reports, about 20 people are confirmed dead (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) after Glenda and millions of people affected by the devastating winds and brownouts. On the positive side, almost all regions were prepared for the onslaught of Glenda. I heard also that Bicol region (where Glenda made landfall) has zero casualty. And that's great news!

Everything's back to normal in the city of Manila, however, the devastation brought by Typhoon Glenda was very much visible outside. Typhoon Glenda slaughtered mostly trees.

This big tree at Estero De Paco has been around for a very long time but it seems that it is no match to the awesome strength of Typhoon Glenda. You'll see similar incidence everywhere.

This used to be a tree house, now it's just half-a-treehouse. The upper part was completely destroyed. 

5 REASONS WHY I DIDN'T GO INSTAGRAM - ADDICT

First of all, I would like to say that INSTAGRAM is a really beautiful social networking app! It's the coolest and the fastest way to share photos and 15-second videos with friends online!

So why kill it?

Well, it's for personal reasons and circumstances might differ from other people, but it's my preference and here are five reasons why I didn't go as INSTA-addict like almost everyone else who has a smartphone.

1. I was already blogging even before Facebook and Twitter came into the online limelight. Both Twitter and Facebook can be considered as a micro-blogging site. INSTAGRAM can also be considered as a photo-heavy micro-blogging site. So you see, by engaging myself in these online apps I now have more ways to blog. These sites provide a faster way to share your thoughts, ideas and experiences - now almost everyone can have their very own micro blog. On the downside, these sites are only limited to few words and a photo per post which also in a way limits your stories. If you are a story-teller like me, this is kind of frustrating.
2. A friend once told me that he was staying away from Facebook because he already have too many friends and are trying hard to get rid some of them. Well of course, he has a Facebook now - who hasn't? Going back, if Facebook and Twitter are just mini-blogging tools and I am already writing my stuff on Wordpress and Blogspot - why am I still hanging on to these sites? The reason is plain and simple - they complement my blog. They help me get closer to my target readers. They help me connect with fellow bloggers. They help me get some fresh ideas that I can use on my blog. With INSTAGRAM, it's the other way around. You can't use it to promote your blog and you can't even upload a link on it. When you post a photo on INSTAGRAM, you can have people view it on Twitter, Facebook and even your own site - so in principle I am promoting my Instagram Account - but I don't blog on INSTAGRAM. I am a blogger not an IGers. I don't really see the point in using it. Some bloggers are however able to do both - I still don't see the point in that.
3. Another reason is that, in my point of view, anyone who has an iPhone or an Android Smartphone can actually post selfies and whatever photos they like on INSTAGRAM, put some hashtags, get friends who are also on INSTAGRAM to like it and TREND - If that's your kind of beef. But, not anyone can really own a blog - or at least have the time and devotion to maintain one. And that's my beef.
4. INSTAGRAM can be so demanding sometimes. I can't stress enough the importance or significance of capturing 'THE' moment, however, not all moments can be tagged as 'THE' moment. With INSTAGRAM, it seems that people are put into a lot of stress of instantly sharing almost every single moment of their lives. I know that times are changing, but still wouldn't it be nice to have a couple of your precious MOMENTS shared exclusively and with only the people that matters to you and not the whole God-damned planet? Or at least if you're going to share it to the world, wouldn't it be nicer if you get the whole story out so readers can connect with that special experience more and not only read a string of endless hashtags and emoticons?
5. Lastly, I want you to know that I didn't totally killed my INSTAGRAM account and like I said earlier it's a cool online sharing tool! I use it sparingly and only when needed like if an event or an activity warrants an IG share. I am more active on Twitter and Facebook but again I only use it as needed and sometimes when I just feel like using it (for no apparent reason). I guess the point is, technology, like everything else, should be mastered and used appropriately to our advantage and not US being slaves to its demands.

Sad to say, our passion for the latest in technology is leading us to a path where we are always in anticipation of what is coming out as the latest upgrades, trends and newest innovation. Not being able to enjoy fully what is currently on our hands until it's gone. We may admit it or not but as soon as people heard that an iPhone 5 is coming out, what's on everybody's mind is already an iPhone 6. That we, while taking a picture of a dish using INSTAGRAM are initially more concern of how it would look like after posting than how it tasted.

“Like a moth to a flame we become helpless to the beautiful ghosts that it sheds”