Floods again!

Yesterday's rains were catastrophic. Reports stated that a week's rains fell over a period of 2 to 5 hours, depending on where you were in the Mega Manila area. The resulting floods provided misery to people in flood-prone areas as well as those who had to go through the floods on their commutes to their homes.

Flooded street in Gruar Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal

Flooded A. Bonifacio Avenue in Cainta, Rizal. This is the main avenue through the heart of Cainta.

Flooded streets in the Hunters ROTC area. These residential areas are prone to flooding and children commonly play in the floodwaters - certainly at risk from getting sick from whatever it is in the waters.

This is Ortigas Avenue Extension and on the way up to Antipolo. This area wasn't flooded before and residents attribute the floods to the high-rise residential buildings and commercial development in the area. That's actually a lot of run-off not absorbed by a drainage system that's supposed to have been constructed with the developments.

Is there an end to this flood problem? Are the solutions really being implemented or, as we've learned the past so many months, are we being taken for a ride by our so-called leaders and agencies that are supposed to address these problems. People are supposed to be tired of the resilience story being peddled by politicians but the clamor seems to be in social media only and the real people who are lobbying for solutions have to contend with trolls who are also peddling their own narrative for their masters.

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Pasalubong from Iceland - Lakkris

We found this pack deep inside our refrigerator. Apparently, this was a pasalubong from a friend of the wife who traveled to Iceland last summer break. This turned out to be a rather pleasant treat in the form of candy-covered chocolates that were like M&M's or Nips but better.

The image at the front of the pack shows something that looks like green grapes (muscat variety).

Each one was the size of an M&M or Nips

Nutrition information

The candy was crunchy and the chocolate was smooth. I would get a couple of packs or more if I see this on a supermarket or grocery store shelf. 

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My Wilson Pro Staff 5.2 tennis racket

Here are some photos of my Pro Staff racket including the case. This was my first own racket that I bought at a shop I found in Yokohama. This was was at the Marui Building adjacent to the Yokohama Station where my Japanese labmates pointed me to when I asked where I could buy a nice racket. I also got other items from that sports shop including tennis shoes (my first Nike pair), balls, shirts and shorts.

The blue color of the case has faded after 29 years but is still very much intact. The zipper and straps are in great condition.

The racket is intact with no damage to the frame and, surprisingly, the strings. The vibration dampener is also in great condition. I was thinking the rubber would have deteriorated (i.e., crumbled) but its as if it was bought and installed recently.

Stretch means this is a longer racket than the usual.

The Pro Staff was headlight, meaning the user had more control but have to generate the power for each hit. This one featured a Perimeter Weighting System that helps the user with stability, power and control.

Close up of the side of the racket frame

 

I will also share photos of my Sledge Hammer in a future post.

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