* 8.8 Earthquake struck Japan triggering a Tsunami Alert.
* Philippines - Hawaii - Australia - New Zealand - Taiwan - Indonesia were alarmed of the Tsunami late last night.
* The alert level(s) were lifted this early morning.
On a very personal note - it's not a surprise for us here in The Philippines. We get alarms like that all the time.
Some even WAIT for the huge wall of water at the beaches - while having a picnic, mind you.
We've had worse though - landslide/mudslide - yes, February 2006 - the one where the province was featured on CNN - FOX NEWS - BBC. (Lotsa army men that time - from the States!)
Personally - December 2008; I was reading while lying on my couch in my living room - because of a very strong wind which uprooted a tree - a HUGE BOULDER from the hill at the back of my house rolled and destroyed one the wall which leads to the living - where I was reading (Desperation by Stephen King)
I almost became pancake. The huge boulder - since it's HUGE - couldn't be moved. A lot of neighbors tried to roll it OUT of the living room - but the neighbors only got to move it a little.
As of present - it still IS outside my house
Sadly, because of (either) word-of-mouth (which spreads like wild forest fire) and/or (sometimes) the media (exaggerating things) = people get MORE alarmed and takes it very seriously.
How seriously? Going up to the mountains with their cattle - livestock - pig AND poultry seriously.
I live in small town which is in a province surrounded by the ocean - THE PACIFIC ocean. Regardless if this place is called a CITY now; it STILL is a town. It doesn't have a bookstore and/or a club or pub or bar even (unless of course it's a Friday) - and sadly, people here don't get to know much about what's going on with the world and/or HOW to deal with things like, yes, a Tsunami. We don't have emergency like 911. NO! But we get by.
Sometimes. At least.
The day-job has a lot of perks, regardless if it pays squat - working in a radio station - aside from of course getting all-access in every concert and/or gatherings; I get to hear a lot of complaints and yes, what happens to one part of the province and whatnots - like people going up the mountains.
As of the moment - the sun is shinning and yes, people are getting back to their usual activities, like fishing for example. And me - writing - happy that I didn't become flotsam and jetsam!
Salami
If this town had a Twitter account - the TOP trends would be:
- Tsunami
- Reproductive Health Bill
FACTS:
* The Reproductive Health Bill, popularly known as the RH Bill, is a Philippine bill aiming to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care.
* Filipino taxpayer and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as birth control pills (BCPs) and IUDs - as a way of controlling the population of the Philippines.
*The bill is highly controversial, with experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures both supporting and opposing it, often criticizing the government and each other in the process. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines threatened to excommunicate the President, Benigno Aquino III if he supported the bill.
THIS country - before it became one officially; Magellan came - did the first holy mass and brought Christianity to the land.
Separation between Church and State? BAH! We have that here - yes, BUT we kind of don't have that here. Unfortunately whatever the big holy men says - the big men in the high offices do so.
Right now, out on the field - there's a rally AGAINST the Reproductive Health Bill, and guess who's leading it? The BISHOP of the city/town himself.
In all honesty, This town OR even country - does NOT have sex education: NON WHATSOEVER.
The talk about sex - same sex relationships - someone sleeping around - someone kissing someone - someone holding hands even - is TABOO! I didn't even know what SEX is and what IT IS for til' sophomore year of high school. Swear!
Just like Hester Prynne = once you do things like the above-mentioned. You will be MARKED with the SCARLET LETTER!
The radio station in which I work is owned by The Bishop of this town - I am with him as his P.A. (It doesn't pay much - BUT, it at least pays taxes - I call it a HOBBY! I have the article writing which pays IN DOLLARS - thank you - for the OTHER stuff. And YES, I get to know the dirty stuff that goes in and out of the church.)
And we're doing a live-coverage about the rally AGAINST the Reproductive Health Bill.
Right now - on air - some guy is babbling on how EVIL contraceptives are. And how it'll KILL YOU. And how contraceptives are like NAILS inside of you.
Sure - we ALLLLLLLLL love to do IT bareback. Given, of course that person we're with is:
- the love of our life
- super hot - sizzling even
- hung like a bear
BUT it's NEVER wrong to be safe, right?
And what about IF you know someone who (sadly) is SICK (damn it) with the bad stuff one gets from sex?
WHAT if you know someone - or has a cousin even - who, at a very young age (full of life and has a LOT of ambitions) got pregnant?
In ALL my twenty-five years in THIS town or HELL country even - I haven't heard of anything made/suggested by the government - regardless if they're raging ass-hats at times - that hasn't been stomped by the church.
So - dear bishop and BOSS - I'm sorry. I know you probably haven't had your dick wet ever or if not - you nom-nomed one and you loved it.
I would like to support the Reproductive Health Bill; because I know I can and I have every right to and that YOUR TIME of ruling this country or ANY country being ruled by the church - is long time DEAD and GONE.
To at LEAST put a stopper in diseases - broken hearts - shattered dreams and the daily rising toll of abandoned loved ones.
