"Ipo-ipo" Friday

It was a bright sunny day in Cagyan de Oro when God decided to—what the hey—give the city a good cleaning. And boy, what a wash we got last 31st of July. It was almost enough to take our minds off the whole Azkals versus Kuwait debacle, but not quite.

It’s funny how our idea of rain changes as we grow older. As kids, we jumped at the chance to run around in every downpour we got (not knowing throwing us out in the rain was our parents’ way of scrimping on the water bill without having to compromise bathing us). And then a few years later, we whipped out our brand new umbrellas and raincoats at the slightest drizzle to show off to our classmates at school.

Much, much later, here we are, old folks who more than likely grumble about the inconvenience that the rain causes us, and because bringing around umbrellas in our teeny tiny bags is not a feasible option, we shuffle through muddy streets, Tweeting angrily on our phones about how Paris Hilton never has to walk in the rain. Or how we’re not remotely emo enough for this.

We’ve grown up. It’s not fun anymore. Rain is bad. Rain is the kiss of death. Rain is going to ruin my epic awesome hairdo.

However, last Friday’s storm was nothing like a sentimental walk through the park with My Chemical Romance blaring through your earphones. If anything, it was a crazymad downpour that descended on us faster than you can say “Ipo-ipo”. Zero warning whatsoever, and poof, the StC is once again offering a rainy day bathroom special, there are leaks in the Aggies bridges, and there’s your typical crowd congestion at the school gates (at least, more than usual).

Of course, because getting wet can totally kill you, a lot of people were stranded in various odd places, and crankier than Scrooge with a sad bout of diarrhea on Christmas Day. Students and parents lining up at the Finance Office huddled together with their shoes wet under the Great Canvass of Protection, that later collapsed to the ground like this year’s chances of the Azkals making it to the World Cup. On top of that, the electricity died, rendering people’s priority numbers pretty much useless.

On the other side of the city, winds were strong enough to get people worrying about what locals term an “ipo-ipo”, which occured mostly in Balulang, and ironically enough, Iponan. Street litter, loose house parts, and my dog flew around like a Quidditch match minus the brooms. And oh, there’s a huge piece of sheet metal in my backyard, if anyone out there is missing a roof. Just, you know, if you happen to have noticed.

On Facebook and Twitter, posts ranged from “Hahaha. Rainy day” to “OMG, it’s the end of the world” to “My socks are squishy. Wurd”. And while all this was going on, sure, we turn to technology as the almighty safety blanket under which we can hide. Makes you wonder how many children around the city actually put down their Wiis and laptops and Blackberries and danced around in the rain.

Or at the very least, Tweeting that they wish they could. After all, when you think about it, #it’sjustwater. C