This picture has nothing to do with earthquakes. But see the name Richter there. Ah, yes, now connect that with measuring earthquake magnitude scale and you get the connection with the next paragraph.
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The earthquake yesterday late morning that occurred in Sumatra, Indonesia was slightly felt here in Singapore. I was working with clients at the 30th floor in one of the high-rise office buildings of Raffles Place when the tremors struck. The floor shuffled a bit. Both me and the receptionist thought we were having sudden bouts of vertigo. Others abruptly stood from their chairs and exclaimed "Did you feel that earthquake?". Everyone seems to be having mixed feelings of anxiety, fear, and a bit of excitement in their expression and voices.
I called up a co-worker back at Tampines, and they too felt the tremors (Tampines is almost at the north-east part of Singapore while we're situated at the southern area). I should not be surprised, since this nation is so small (island wide) that any tremors coming from neighboring nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia will be felt strongly. Dear God, I'm thinking what would happen to us if tsunamis would be triggered and head towards the shore lines of this island.
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While riding a taxi cab, I could faintly hear the music that my taxi driver is listening to. It's a song of April Boy Regino, Paano Ang Puso Ko (rough translation, How About My Heart?). How? How-wah (or how the locals would say in their lingo).
April Boy Regino, or simply known as April Boy, is one of those popular Filipino singers of the mid-90's whose songs catered more to the classified citizens C,D,and E (or the poor people who comprise the majority of the Philippines). His songs are marked corny, without class, or simply baduy by the affluent or elite class yet exalted by the poor masses. He's known as the idol ng bayan (idol of the country) then.
Anyway, while inside the cab, I couldn't resist but sing along to the lyrics of the song, unmindful whether my driver will be bothered or not. I don't dig his music, even when I was still in my country, yet I think the strong longing and intense yearning for my motherland, culture and friendly people have been triggered by that music that I came out of my shell of adaptation in a foreign country. I wanted at that time to enjoy being a Filipino, which I could not deny. And besides, I wanted to free my tongue from English and begin to speak again my mother language.
..Nasaan ka man ngayon
Mag-ingat ka sana
'Yan ang tanging dasal
Ng pusong nag-iisa...
2 comments:
i still distinctly remember july 16 1996 earthquake in baguio which can be felt all the way down in manila. i was a freshman. i was at the library and when it started. the shelves were all falling. i ran downstairs and i could see cracks apearing on the walls along the stairs of the library. it took me while to find my way back home from school. because the lights were out. traffic was terrible. people were all out on the streets. like me confused about what does a person need to do in a situation like that ..
also earthquakes are caused by either tectonic plates and volcanic eruptions. likewise with tsunamis. long gone are the days when mankind thought these natural phenomena were brought by invisible deities living above the clouds. or not ..
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