Tunay ngang nagsilbing hudyat ng painbagong buhay ang paglipat namin dito sa Laguna ng aking pamilya noong Linggo ng Pagkabuhay. (Mahirap magsulat ng deretsong Tagalog, kung kaya’t…) If before I was being teased of living way too down south (because I lived at the edge of Metro Manila literally), imagine the irony now that I actually live in the province. Coming home all the way from Katipunan Avenue every week would seem like a recurring puke-trigging road trip to some. In my case, the one to two-and-a-half drive is just like any other. Occasional butt-pains are felt ever so often from heavy traffic, yes. But running on several highways on one single journey, so to speak, has become a routinary gas-burning episode of my life.

I never really felt the probinsya-vibe until I found out that neither Smart, Globe, nor PLDT, could provide our house (which is located at the far side of the village) with much-needed internet. Shit, no YM, no X-ing, no life? Thoughts of not being able to check my mail for replies from Europe, making chichi while chatting until 3am, downloading new songs and videos, or checking Multiply for incriminating pictures bothered me for days. DSL was fun and fast and fitting, but due to unwanted circumstances, I had to say goodbye to it and bear with 14.2 kbps dial-up internet in the dorm and costly Katipunan and Paseo internet cafes. Left with no choice, I got used to it and eventually learned to appreciate having to go back to the bygone Friendster-less days. I started reading, writing, and playing the piano again. I cleaned my room twice over, and even more fulfilling was being able to jog as the sun rose and set. Things I never had the time or effort to do back in “the metro” suddenly became part of my daily routine – and everything was great.

That was until summer said byebye and dark clouds started appearing.

I’ve always been a lover of rain. Call me narrow-minded for not minding how it causes flooding, traffic, and interruption in other people’s lives, but I’ve always liked the feeling of crisp air and the sight of trickling rain drops. I like how I can be safely snug on my bed, with my blanket over me, and just listen to the beating of the rainwater. But recently, I’ve been struggling to hold on to that liking for heavy downpours because of the unusual aftermath we experience here in Santa Rosa.

Once the sky starts clearing up and the drizzle stops, what-seems-like drunken frogs start singing (if you can call it that). Sure, Ive heard how normal frogs sound, but here, they noise is far from the ordinary Kokak! Either they sound like little cows mooing or rubber duckies being stepped on, I don’t know. And sure, it’s good to be close to nature every once in a while, but I think this is just far too funny to be considered good ecology.

If you think loud and high Kermits are annoying enough, just wait until you see how were swarmed by gamo-gamos. We actually have instant insect-killing gadgets at home – from repellant candles to tennis-like electrocuters to bug-zappers. But somehow, the flying lesser butterflies manage to get inside the house and adore the bright lights. Were left with no choice but to turn off most of the lights at night and pray that they don’t take revenge on us for massacreing their relatives and friends. Our floors have to be constantly sweeped for twitching wings too. In fact, while Im typing this now, a single pesky gamo-gamo is trying to spy on my personal blog because of the brightness of the laptop. Shoo!

Of course, there’s a tad bit of exaggeration in my frog and gamo-gamo dilemmas. It’s really not as bad as it sounds because they only happen after the rain and theyre more bearable than bad karaoke singers and outrageous bus drivers. But still, dealing with frogs and gamo-gamos is funny, annoying, and weird all at the same time. I don’t think I can really put up with it the long run, but for now I guess all I can do is try to get used to it. I am an animal of a higher phylum, gifted with reason and intelligence unlike any other. Im sure I can outwit those amphibians and insects.

Right?