SNOWVID

 Parental Advisory:  I am so mad right now that I cannot help but curse.  So if you think you will be offended, just skip to the other blogs where I sound more cordial.  

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The first fall of snow in years.  It looked pretty at first, but we did not see what was ahead of us.  

Well, that was a sh*t show.  

This warm-blooded mammal did not expect that the great Texas Winter Storm of 2021 would be life-changing.  I mean, come on, by birth I am Filipino, I don’t do good in cold weather, my patience to low temperatures is like me waiting in line to get an NBI clearance in the 90’s: a hairline away from wrangling the neck on anyone who cuts in line.  I was born in the tropics.   Snow is something pretty to look at in pictures, maybe, in real time for a couple of hours, then have my photo taken or do a snow angel video on Tiktok.  But that’s about it.  That is how much love I can extend to winter weather.  Anything related to snow for more than 24 hours, I hate.  Hate is a strong word but in this case, my feelings are way stronger.   Pardon the expletive Elsa, but snow can go f* itself.  It’s probably what most Texans, particularly Southern Texans, feel about your magical power now.  Our love for it stops on the song Let It Go.

You know how cold it became?  Let’s just say that my bedroom was colder than the fridge.  Oh, did I forget to mention that we did not have power for 36 hours?  Yes.  That’s how bad it was.  I don’t think the State was prepared for a winter storm of catastrophic proportions, otherwise, we could have survived this, which would have been a walk in the park for people in Chicago, or far-away Fargo.  We did not see it coming.  We knew it would be cold, but we did not expect it to be Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada-cold.  

It was so cold, I could have one of my tits pass off as a booger, flick it off my chest without having any sensation or any blood loss.  

It was so cold I had to wear three layers of clothing to bed, a robe, three comforters, and to top it off, a beanie and two gloves.  A beanie furchrissakes!  I only wear beanies outside a building and not when I am going into REM.  

It was so cold that the only thing separating me from hypothermia and insanity was the consolation that the next day would be 30 degrees.  That was like a seventy-degree difference on how much temperature I could tolerate on a normal basis. 

I am used to hardship.  But I am not used to cold.  

What’s funny was that I felt the problem was dealt like I was in a third world country.  At least, in the hometown I was born, when there would be an annual tradition of welcoming typhoons and flooding, we knew what was going to happen.  We were prepared.  It did not shatter us to the core.  But this one did.  Power supply was rationed.  It felt like the great depression.  This was followed by sporadic loss of water supply (fortunately, we did not suffer this).  I did fill up my bathtub with water just in case of possible unforeseen events.  A friend of mine who was not lucky as I was, gathered the snow in buckets and had it thawed over the stove, and used it for flushing the toilet.  Apparently, the mantra was: “if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down”.  You get the gist.  He was lucky he had gas.  If he had electric stove, the only option was to watch yourself slowly die in the bitter cold around an unflushed toilet.  

This was how cold it got outside.  

Seriously, whatever happened in the past week spoke volumes about the resiliency of the human spirit.  The main instinct was to survive. 

A friend’s neighbor lost their home to a fire, probably trying to stay warm by lighting candles.

A friend’s daughter suffered seizure due to severe cold.

A friend’s baby struggled staying warm because they were left cold in their homes without electricity, she felt helpless and powerless against Mother Nature.  

An apartment complex burned to the ground and left 50 families homeless because there was not enough water to put out the fire- water pipes busted while firemen had difficulty traveling icy highways.

Multiple animals from a shelter died due to hypothermia. 

Grocery stores are still empty (as of this writing).  At one point, we were limited to using a single basket to shop “essential” items to avoid hoarding.  

Gas pumps had lines and if lucky, you get to refill your tank.  

Then there was the drive into the snow.  You’d think its cute to see fluffy stuff in the air?  Wait till it freezes and makes hell out of your driving.  

Do you know how many times I have slipped from ice on the pavement?  Well, only once.  I was just being dramatic because I think everybody else had been at this point.  

Our hospital’s emergency room was flocked by people asking for oxygen because their homes did not have any power source.  

We had to deal with multiple trauma cases due to accidents and falls.  

We had to work.  Because we were needed.  

This was just a fraction of whatever happened throughout the State. I’m sure there are more stories out there how unfortunate this event turned out to be.  

A view from my work station.  This was not supposed to happen here in SA.  

I maybe complaining a lot.  But in a disaster, I don’t think there is a difference between a first world and a struggling country.  We are all the same human beings dealing with different battles.  It just so happens that this time around, on this side of the globe, we dealt with this icy beast. 

I’ve been stuck in a super typhoon, stranded in flash floods, encountered volcanic eruptions and caught in the middle of earthquakes.  I was used to it.  I grew up with it.  But this was a different monster.  I was not ready.  We were not ready.  

I think this is the way the world is telling us to let go of material things.  In the past year, everything that has happened made me realize that worldly possessions are not essential and we can survive with just the basic things.  Essential has been a significant world lately.  It gives you a perspective between what is needed and what is wanted.  Not that I do not enjoy things that I want, believe me I still have the urge to buy unnecessary toys if I see them online, but when you go into survival mode, the first instinct is not to put on your Balenciaga shirt but rather have something to eat.  Food.  Water. Clothing.  Or in COVID speak, air.  Living is more important than bragging what I have.  That is most essential.  

Damn. COVID hit, then this.  I was trying so hard not to vent about the freakin’ pandemic but this one tops the cake.  SNOWVID, my co-workers called it.  I felt like I aged ten times in the past year alone.  

Well this storm had put my priorities me back into a different perspective.  We got stripped off energy- no power nor heat for 36 hours, then isolated us from everyone else by eliminating cell service- you couldn’t make a phone call, send a text, or watch/listen to any news on social media or TV.  How I wished I had a transistor radio listening to DZRH 24/7 while the tireless reporters gave me updates on how much snow would fall overnight.  But then again, DZRH is not used to reporting snow, only of floods and rats swimming in it.  

Without power or water, I navigated in the dark, only assisted by a flashlight or candles spread throughout my home.  If I had emergency lights, it would have not lasted long because it needed charging.  

We cooked dinner in the dark, ate in the dark, and bonded in the dark.  Back in the Philippines, when we were kids, I enjoyed these few times when we would be in complete blackness.  On normal days, we would have been glued to the TV watching corny sitcoms (isdatchu Okay Ka Fairy Ko?) but with power interruptions, we would just be in our common bedroom talking, making fun of each other, playing with shadows against the candlelight.  I missed those moments with my brothers and sister.  It took us away from TV and nature made us sit and enjoy each other’s company.  During the storm, that’s what happened.  We talked about people and lives back home in the Philippines.  It was a cathartic experience being in the dark and cold, reduced to primitiveness.  

A photo of the frozen fountain outside my work taken by my friend

One friend actually quipped on power outage: “Now I have to reset the timers in my digital clocks”.   To which I replied, “I’m sorry but now I have to boil water because I don’t want E. Coli in my system”.  

Then another one would text: “Let’s set up a Zoom meeting so I can present you my new business venture.” (I smelled multilevel marketing being shoved into my nostrils), to which I replied, “Today is not a good time, I’m busy trying not to catch pneumonia here”.  I could have sealed the conversation by saying: “No, I am not interested.”  Which is usually the case.  I am not a businessman, that is why I am a PT.  If I wanted more money, I could have done so many things in the past that could have made me rich.  But where I am now, I am happy.  I do not need any stress in my life.  And since the world made me see the essential things during these trying times, it’s easier for me “to accept the things I cannot change.  Although I still needed to work on the courage to change things that I can and for sure, the wisdom to know the difference”.  

 

 And you know what, in times like these, all of us got stronger and we rallied together.  Everyone was checking on each other if they needed something, or if we arrived home safely (signal permitting).  There were those who offered rides to work, or do our laundry, or volunteered their own bathroom for a shower.  Someone brought me a liner for my tub to fill up water, someone gave my mom chicharones because she loved to snack on it, someone made chili and fed everybody at work, someone checked on me if I’m okay after my stumble in the snow.  

Those little things were big middle finger signs we gave to the crappy weather.  Signs of kindness and caring and taking care of each other.  

Now, the sun is up.  It’s 40 degrees outside and we celebrate that temperature.  Even if it’s still cold, we’ll take it.  We will bask in it.  

In the meantime, let me thaw my frozen ass off and blast this winter storm into kingdom come so I can get back to my usual sh*t, where in this state of Texas it’s always warm, muggy and with an overall attitude of “I don’t give a f*ck”.  

February 18, 2021