Blackout to Lighten Up

It's been two weeks since that horrible night of the flooding storm and almost a week since we got back from Hanoi. These past days back in Manila have been unsettling for me. I think I'm still getting over the experience and recovery has not been helped by the continuing images of suffering. A second storm hit the Philippines and stuck around for a number of days, though thankfully not in Manila. However, two days ago another part of the province was devastated by flooding and hundreds more people died in landslides. I've heard many personal stories as well. My Tagalog teacher was trapped out that same night we were and the next day ended up in hospital as he suffers from hypertension and had chest pains. Our driver, Lory, literally swam through flooded streets trying to get home - it took him 12 hours, arriving home at 2:00 a.m. and on the way he witnessed a mother and child being swept away, crying out for help. Another friend of my teacher who lives in Marikina, a particularly hard hit part of Metro Manila, was trapped on the roof of his house. His parents were swept away and both of their bodies were found later the following day. Some of my friends' maids have lost their homes and everything in them.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still in shelters with no immediate prospects of resettlement and large areas remain heavily flooded. The columnists are dusting off all manner of studies, some from decades ago, which warned of tragedy to come as a result of building in flood plains, improper drainage systems, effects of millions of squatters living by waterways, garbage clogging drains and esteros and so on. Lots of blame directed at the government and President Gloria which are wildly unpopular anyway. Blah blah blah. One spokesman from the Palace blamed it on "climate change" which is pretty infuriating. How about lack of urban planning + the biggest rainstorm in 40 years.

Oh, one piece of "good" news. The staff at the Shoe Museum in Marikina managed to move Imelda's shoes upstairs to safety.

Unfortunately the many small shoe factories in the city were not so lucky and most were wiped out in the flooding.

Add in the images of all the other countries affected these past couple of weeks - earthquakes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis. Plus throw in the bombings and war zone reports, mayhem and misery. Then, I hear that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize and I just shake my head. For what, getting elected? He at least has the good grace to say that he is surprised and humbled and doesn't feel he's deserved it. The talking heads are all over that one.

Enough already.

Only one thing to do. News Blackout.

Several years ago, when I took a bit of sabbatical to do another master's at Royal Roads, I had occasion to live by myself for four weeks in Victoria one summer while I did the residency. When I went out there I was feeling disturbed and burnt out from all the news - every morning I'd wake up to the 6:00 news on CBC radio and the very first thing that would seep into consciousness was the daily body count. Unhealthy. I decided that while I was away I would not listen to any news at all - no newspapers, no radio news, no television news, no news websites, nothing. It was great. I listened to a lot of music - found new music on the University of Victoria radio station, listened to oldies on a Seattle station that only broadcast about 2 minutes of news on the hour, which I just turned off. I did my school work, went for walks by the ocean, read and wrote. As it turned out, not only did I not watch any news, I didn't watch any television at all for four weeks.

It was wonderful. Total news blackout. I found I didn't miss it, didn't need it, didn't want it. The following summer when I went back for the second residency, I did it again.

So, I've decided that for the next three weeks as I'm on my own, I'm shutting it all off. I've discontinued my newspaper subscription and I will not tune in to the usual BBC and CNN broadcasts and will only read the blogs and websites I follow that have nothing to do with news. I've pulled out a bunch of music CD's I haven't listened to in awhile as well as a bunch of movie DVD's I've been meaning to watch. I'm looking forward to a news vacation and a bit of peace. I badly need to heal my rattled soul.

Email me if something happens I really need to know about.