RELIEF FOR BICOL

I have been under the weather, so to speak, for the past several days that I never really had the chance to keep myself up-to-date on news. It was like, news was dealt with in an in-passing mode. So imagine my shock when my high school classmates and a few bloggers I regularly read, clued me in on the devastation in Bicol, particularly in Daraga, Albay [where I was born and lived until graduating from high school] wrought by typhoon Durian (local code name: Reming), Durian/Reming was not only a Category 5 typhoon, it also brought down mudflows (lahar) from our beautiful Mt. Mayon.

Looking at the photos and imagining the accounts shared by my classmates, I am becoming emotional as I am writing this.

I vowed to my classmate/bestfriend Thiele [in an email] that as soon as I land in Manila for my Christmas break, I will get together with her immediately to see how I can share in her (and my high school classmates) efforts to bring relief to Bicol, specially to our high school (Aquinas University Legazpi).

Check out blog "Our Awesome Planet" at http://anton.blogs.com/ and http://www.rambocam.com/ for photos of the devastation, among other issues.

Anton also recommends using http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp200624.html for weather updates. He claims it is more accurate than PAGASA.

My classmates also mentioned http://www.bicolrelief.org/ in the event you wish to donate to the relief efforts. God bless my classmates in the USA for doing their bit.