Cagayan de Oro is hosting this year’s 3rd Mindanao Blogger’s Summit.  Spearheaded by ChiQ Montes and the CDO Bloggers, this event will surely be a success.  If you are an active blogger in Mindanao, please don’t be so quick to say no!  You can still register and join the Summit on October 24, 2009, at Pearlmont Inn, LimKetKai Drive, Cagayan de Oro.

This year’s Summit will be emceed by Migs Hipolito.  Famous local blogger, Blogie Robillo as well as Avel Manansala, Aileen Apolo and Lyle Santos will all have their 30 minute to discuss their niche and blogging expertise.  They will also share their knowledge in earning money online and how to gain more traffic to their sites.

I know the venue is not that great, and it is NOT Mallberry Suites, but lets take– its  Pearlmont!  Its inexpensive and location wise, it is convenient.  So will I be attending the summit?  I have never attended any bloggers summit before, but suffice to say I am tempted… lets just see, aye?

It was a day I will remember for the rest of my life. I woke up with a wet floor. I went to the kitchen and found my floor was flooded with 2 inch water. I was shocked to discover that the flood water has gone inside the third room of the house. I quickly ran outside to check and found that the rain that started at dawn has not stopped. Since the kitchen was wet, I quickly boiled some eggs for the children since I did not want them to go outside of the room because the kitchen and dining area was wet with rain water. That was at 6am.

Thirty minutes after, I walked out of the house and went three houses down and bought some canned goods from my friend’s sari-sari store. I found the husband of my neighbor cleaning out the canal outside of our houses. He asked me if water has gone inside my house, and I said yes. He told me his wife is coming over to help me. An hour after, Mylene, my neighbor’s wife came in and told me she’s going to help me. Apparently, it has been 4 years since the last flash flood in the area. This small information dismayed me since the likelihood of recurrence is definitely higher. Mylene and her daughter lifted my double bed and elevated it on the single wooden bed in my second room as they fear my bed will get soaked in the flood water. Since my second room has 2 single wooden beds, my console table from Mandaue Foam was raised on top of the bed and important books were moved on top of it.

At 8am, the water has reached my ankles and I called my sister in law in the city to arrange a vehicle for us. She quickly responded that the rains in Cagayan de Oro was also very strong. I called my aunt who lives a few meters away from us and she said the water is building up in her place and she said she is busy clearing up their things from the 1st floor and Basement to bring on the 2nd floor. She asked me if my things were raised already and I said yes. She told me to stand by and wait for the weather to improve.

At 10, the water has climbed to my calf. I started to worry so I texted my husband and told him we were in a flash flood and we are going to move to higher grounds. I did not get any response from him.

At 10:30am, my neighbor Emma and her husband came and told me to move to their house– they have a second floor. I told her to take the my older children first and I want to wait in the house and see what happens. At this point the water inside my house has reached my knees. I quickly packed clothes for myself and the children and took my important documents like passbooks, passports with me. Some of my important documents were bagged up and we lifted them and putted them on the highest part of our heaviest cabinet in the room.

11am. I sighed and decided to leave my house for higher grounds. My PC, printers and other important items in the house were all moved on top of the dining table. My sofa was also raised. This was also the time when my fridge fell and floated on the flood water… Emma, grabbed my Whirlpool fridge and with sheer power, she lifted and dragged it to the corner of the dining area and used my dining table to pin the fridge on the corner.

The sight outside was unbearable. The water has almost reached my waist. I walked through the muddy flood water with Ia on my hip. I couldn’t find my slipper inside my already flooded house and decided to walk through the water barefooted. The men in my street were busy carrying their belongings to higher ground. TVs, washing machines and the like. Some were carrying their children and some were busy taking their cows from the field to safety. I walked to Emma’s house which was only three houses away from mine and I saw their vehicle in flood water.

My children and some of the neighbors children were inside Emma’s house. As children, they did not understand the seriousness of the situation and they were playing around the flood water. I told my children to get off the water and I cringed and almost cried just thinking about the bacteria, and other nasty stuff in the water.

At 2pm, Emma and her husband decided to return to my house for my PC and printer. At this point the water inside my house has almost reached the dining table. The rain has not stopped at this point and I told them not to worry about the other things anymore. The important thing is the fact that the children and I are safe.

This is probably the most boring Christmas ever. However, I am taking boring over last years’ ugliest Christmas experience…

Amywhooo, its 10pm here in rural Mindanao, and its quiet around my neighborhood. There were some fire crackers poppin here and there, but its not much ruckus unlike Manila or some urban area. The children are fitfully asleep and I am here reading my RSS feeds and I had a few Duh moments.

First Honor– A man from Bedford Mass., almost burned his house down after he tired to use a blowtorch to melt the ice on his porch. Duh! Damage? $30,000.

Second Honor– Another man jumped into polar bear’s cage in Berlin. The zoo officials managed to keep the animal from the man by distructing him wuth a leg of beef. Duh! According to Yahoo, the man was– lonely. Duh!

Anyway, so much for Christmas…

I am thankful for a number of things this year.

I am thankful that all my children are healthy. Though we had our numerous bouts of asthma attacks, nothing serious had happened. I have been very vigilant about our health and I am happy that we are all doing great, heath-wise. I am thankful that my youngest Ia, is strong and has grown so fast. She can now walk and talk. Apart from that, she continues to thrive beautifully.

I am thankful for my children, especially my oldest, who has helped me through tough times. She has been my friend when I needed one the most. She has been the most understanding and thoughtful. I am thankful that my daughters are doing well in school. My eldest is challenged everyday with her Filipino subject, but surprisingly, she is thriving and absorbing a new language and even speaking it.

I am thankful for my relatives here in rural Mindanao. My aunt and uncle has given me the opportunity to start anew here and they have provided initially for our move and now we are doing well on our own. I am thankful for their generosity, understanding and love.

I am thankful to my neighbors, who welcomed me and watches over our rented home, including my children whenever they are outside of the house. I am thankful for their willingness to help all the time. Thank you all for your thoughtfulness.

I am thankful for my only sister Amy for all the help and although we have not spend long hours in the phone like we used to, I can feel her support and willingness to help despite the distance. I love you Che.

I am thankful for my friends, Cherryl and Karen. They have been me when I needed someone to lean to. Thank you for carrying me through those really tough times. Thank you for loving my children and helping me through all these years. I love you both always.

I am thankful for my brothers who has helped me with their presence. I am amazed on how much your mere presence helped me through our transition here in rural Mindanao. Thank you for your honesty, loyalty and comfort.

I am thankful to my sister in laws who unselfishly help me whenever I needed help with shopping, watching over the children, etc. Thank you to Luchie for giving us her time and driving me and my children around the city.

Thank you to my husband who has allowed us peace (because we have not heard from him) and though he has not given us any financial support, I am thankful that he seem to have moved on and let us go. I am thankful that I am finally beginning to heal inside out and beginning to forgive myself for letting go of a 7 year marriage.

I am thankful that I have been blessed with a strong will and body and I am able to move on alone and managed to bring our lives together here in rural Mindanao. The Greater Force has certainly taken care of us…

I am thankful for the strength that I manage to renew and recharge each night when I go to sleep. I am thankful that as I fall asleep, I am recharged anew and ready to tackle each task with a gusto. I am happy to have such lovely children who smiles at me every time they come home from school. I am happy to be here with them, and knowing that everything that I do, I do it for them.

What else are you thankful for?

I am busy with the preparation for my mothers’s 1st year death anniversary. Being the only person her in the country with the exception of my father– who is otherwise preoccupied, I am expected to do the logistics and what not.

Aside from the task of preparing for the anniversary, my son is celebrating his 3rd birthday on my Mom’s anniversary too. Think about hitting two birds with one stone… The finale of my mom’s 9 day novena will be celebrated with a simple meal for all the prayergoers. I am still playing around the menu and since I have no idea about the turnaround of people for this event, I am swinging it and serving things simple.

The birthday of my son will be simple too. It would be his first birthday here in rural Mindanao, and having tons of blood relatives, the turnaround for this birthday is extimated at around 50. I am thinking of simple Pinoy fare as well.

Lastly, whew, I am busy with my other blogs. As you all know, I am still contributing to Pinoy Travel Blog and Pinoy Urban Blog. And I am still looking for a host for my new blog– Frugal Pinoy. Would it be refreshing to read about how now a single mother is doing with the economic and financial effects of the Asian Crisis and separation? Well, I am looking for a great and reliable hosting service for Frugal Pinoy. Any suggestions?