all fired up
It was around 3pm yesterday when I heard screaming outside the house. At first I thought it was the crazy neighbors again, trying to kill each other. The screaming continued and I noticed that I was hearing predominantly kids' voices. So, I thought it was the neighborhood kids running in the rain, playing tag or something. I was busy checking my email so I didn't bother looking out the window to check what the kids were up to. It wasn't until our maid came running up the stairs screaming, "Nasusunog yung kapitbahay!" that I finally knew what was really going on.
Shock...
Then more shock. I willed myself to run out to the terrace and see which house was on fire. The big smoke three houses away couldn't have stated it more obviously. The firetrucks started arriving. First there were two small ones, which weren't very reassuring at all. But, last count totalled 15. Wow. I thank the volunteer and local government fire fighters for responding in droves.
You know, it's times like these that will show you where your priorities lie. What would be the first thing you'll save from the house if you were to evacuate? Though this was the second scare we've had (the first time was new year's eve), I can't say that I've gotten used to it or that I've earned the composure or calm state of mind needed in such crisis situations. My head was in a daze! I didn't know what to save first. It's funny how I still managed to disconnect the modem and shut down the computer like I had all the time in the world. Then I said to myself, "Are you crazy?! There's a fire three houses away and you're worried about your fuckin' hard disk?!" It takes forever to shut down XP so, at that point, I decided to just switch the damn AVR off. I then looked around the room. "What to get first, what to get first?" I kept repeating in my head. I saw 500 bucks lying in one of the shelves. I snatched it and put it in my pocket. I was thinking, worse comes to worst, it can get me a couple of shirts. Duh. What logical reasoning.
Then shoes. I figured I needed to put on shoes. If I were to be running around, I needed reliable footwear. I was looking for my trusty old cross-trainers. Since we did some spring cleaning last week, things got rearranged. Realizing that I was wasting valuable time looking, I ended up wearing my Vans Compel Tones. For a second I was contemplating on wearing my skate-highs but that would've taken more time to wear and at that moment, time was of the essence. I looked at all the stuff we have in the room. It was overwhelming thinking of what to get first. Then I spotted the guitars. They would have to come with me. I picked up my bass and my hubby's guitar and ran downstairs to the garage. I laid them there. I rushed back to the room and my eyes landed on the CPU. Files, I thought. Important files are in the computer. I unplugged everything and carried the CPU to the garage. On my third trip, I was carrying a backpack with legal documents, bank records, wallets, cell phone, jewelry box, and cameras. I passed by the DVD player on my way out of the room and I thought, "Hmm, I can still carry some, what the heck." The player cost us a couple of thousand so might as well save it. It's not cumbersome, anyway. So I picked up the player. By the fourth trip I was carrying three bags full of CDs. I didn't bother clearing out the CD rack completely. I left the bottom shelves untouched. And it was only later that I realized what I left out was my friggin' Elvis Costello collection! Good thing the worst didn't happen! Argh, stupid me! :P Then I suddenly remembered our wedding pictures! My mind was a blank. I was going, "Where did I put those?" CDs! I suddenly remembered we have digital copies on CD. I got all the CDs near the computer and stuffed it inside one of the bags I was carrying. I thought the bags were going to give. They were stuffed to bursting with CDs!
And in between those trips, we carried our pet rabbits (Vanity and Cotton), adopted kittens, and housecat out to the garage as well. It was amazing how they were all very cooperative (i.e., no squirming, scratching, biting, and whatnot) when we carried them to their cage; as if they sensed that something was amiss. Maybe they, too, were scared.
So, we were on standby in the garage, ready to flee with our most prized possessions should the fire get out of hand. Luckily, we were spared. The fire was contained, and in less than an hour, was completely out. Thank God there were no casualties. That was the most important thing. Though I'm pretty sure that until now some people are still cursing fate and questioning their god why this had to happen. Like they say, "Manakawan ka na ng sampung beses, huwag ka lang masunugan."
Relief came with exhaustion. The adrenalin rush started to wear off and I suddenly felt very tired. Trying not panic must've have sucked my energy dry. We looked at all the stuff lying in the garage. Just the thought of hauling them back was exhausting. And with the adrenalin levels normalized, everything was twice as heavy. Haha.
Now, what did this crisis say about my priorities? Let me summarize the things I "saved" in chronological order:
1. Money (and that's just 'cause I happened to see it lying around)
2. Shoes
3. Guitars
4. CPU
5. Legal docs, bank book, wallets, cell phone, jewelry, cameras
6. CDs
7. CDs
8. And more CDs
9. Wedding photos
What I decided to leave behind (and was oh-so-stupid of me to have
done so):
1. My Elvis Costello CD Collection
2. 20K worth of mint-on-card toys
3. Our book and comic collection (the first fire scare they were the first we stuffed in bags)
4. Clothes (I didn't get any article of clothing, whatsoever. Not even underwear. I figured the P500 I snatched was going to cover a few pieces of clothing. Hilarious!)
So, what do my priorities say about me? I don't even want to think about it. I told my hubby that we should make a list of the things, prioritized according to importance, we should take with us in case of fire. That would definitely save us time and make evacuation organized and orderly. If we can't take everything with us, then at least we're ensured that we're leaving with the most important things.
posted by haiku @ 7:20 AM
2 Comments:
Off the top of my head, this things I would rush to save if god forbid there was a fire in my house are:
1) My Computer
2) My papers and documentation (passport, bankbook, cedulla, wallet, etc etc)
3) My guitars & other musical equipment
4) My 'rock star' boots
5) My Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream recipe book (bible ko 'toh!)
6) Indigo Girls CDs
I think I'd have to leave my books and comics because if I had to start choosing which of them to brin, I'd probably still be in the house as it burned to a crisp.
Pero I would absolutely FREAK if something were ever to happen to my PC! I mean, that's about 4 years of collected porn--este, **WORK** I've got stored in there! (hehehe....)
IAN...LOL! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :) I do agree with you that the computer is one of the things you should save--well, at least your hard disk. :p
LEROY BROWN...yeah, we're fortunate that the fire was contained. You're lucky yourself! :) Fires are very nerve-wracking. How's the pup? :D
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