ruminations on glorietta

knee-jerk
What the hell...?!
The latest on the Glorietta blast as of this writing

jolt
I could have easily been there. The past few days, I've been joining my officemates for lunch at Glorietta more often. Someone I know could have been there.

thanksgiving
A moment of prayer for the deceased and the injured and their families. A lifetime of thanksgiving that for a myriad of reasons, we were not there. Thanksgiving that Y and M were on leave and therefore there were less reasons to go out, that C was swamped so she could not go to Glorietta to pick out a Halloween costume for her kid, that the officemates (especially one pregnant one) who did go for lunch were able to get out safely. Thankful that the SO works all the way in Cavite (although he was totally oblivious until I called him).

despondence
Maleen and I were jointly hit with a wave of melancholy while talking about Glorietta. We've shared a number of coffee nights in the Starbucks that was destroyed by the blast, strolled along the corridors of Glorietta 2 on countless occasions. The Glorietta mall is one of my
favorite places, sometimes a haven, and it pained me to see the destruction wrought there.

perspective
Blasts also rocked Benazir Bhutto's parade in Karachi, Pakistan. More than 130 were reportedly killed. I'm not saying we shouldn't be shocked, but still I feel a bit blessed to not be living in that part of the world. Despite talks that this could be part of a plan to start on martial law, or to destabilize the government--our people have been resilient, and somehow, the Filipino people always pull through.

As I told my friends before I left the office yesterday, we have to be thankful and at the same time we have to treat life the way it should be--as something precious that can be snatched up at any moment. Best live it, then, with purpose, with dignity, with compassion, with love. I can't say that I am ready to die tomorrow because I have so much that I want to accomplish, but I do hope that if God has an early and sudden parting planned for me, I should leave happy.

life goes on
The Glider are meeting later, but at Serendra. Most of the other parts of Glorietta are open again, but I don't know when I can go. Tomorrow, grocery shopping will be done at Cash and Carry, because I'm not sure about the situation at Landmark. Life goes on, but with a sense of thanksgiving, a desire to seek purpose, and a whole lot of love.
Last Song Syndrome :Ooh Child - Beth Orton