This just might be one of the jinxiest and scariest days of my life. But well, what matters most is that I survived the day!

It all started this morning when I started feeling nervous about my mineral makeover session tomorrow ( Saturday ). It’s my usual feeling prior to events such as these, as I seek reassurance from my mom that I’d do great and all, and I thought that it was just a normal feeling. I didn’t feel like packing stuff so I resolved to cram tonight.
But then, right after lunch, my forever YM chatmate Roanne pasted the news about some blast that occured in Glorietta, as she knew I was going to hold my event there. At first, I laughed it off, thinking that it was just a bomb scare - you know, the usual scares, that go away in a day, and business as usual the following day. When I opened the URL, I was shocked. 3 were killed.

The updates that followed really scared me - first, it was an LPG leak, then it caused some cracks on the floor , but what shocked me most, and told me that the event was going to be postponed , for sure, was when i saw the pictures. The bombing was definitely no laughing matter, and the damages were severe. It was like hell gone loose.

At first, before I saw the pictures, I already started to text , email, and contact my attendees to be that the event would have to be postponed for safety reasons, and I was disappointed because I have practiced all week on my eye makeup techniques, and made a miracle by making sure shipments arrive just in time for the event. In other words, I really prepared for it and I was really upset for over an hour because my makeover session would be postponed. I felt that today was such an unlucky day, I was unbelievably jinxed, and it added more to the injury when the shipping company called and said that the plane that should have brought my stuff arrived empty - oh great. My life is just so darn perfect.

But when the moment I saw the pictures - it made me forget all about my selfishness and my focus geared towards my loved ones - my Uncle R, who was supervising the newly opened Landmark carpark, and my close friend and future neighbor S , who was working at Powermac. Uncle R is my dad’s youngest brother, and always runs around Makati - and frequents Greenbelt, Glorietta, Landmark and Ansons because of his job. It took us four hours to contact him and I kept on texting him if he was alright because we were so worried about him. Finally, my dad was able to contact him and to our relief, he was alright.

With regards to S, she was messaging me over at Yahoo Chat, and I was away when she typed in the message. When I got back and checked the news, I immediately typed in to ask if she was alright - and no reply. I was about to send her an sms, but then she messaged me first regarding the bombing. I was so relieved, and jumping with joy that my achie was alright! Tonight, we were talking, and she shared to me her experience as she was just near when the blast happened. She told me it was a blessing in disguise that she got tired of eating at Chef d Angelo because her officemates wanted to eat there, and they moved elsewhere ( further ) because of her whim. Chef d Angelo is in the vicinity of Glorietta 2, wherein the bombing happened.

Here’s her experience that she shared with me ( and allowed me to post about it )

sophie: ACHIE NAWORRY AKO!
Achie S: hehehe
sophie: BUTI OK KA DYAN
Achie S: hay
Achie S: oo nga e
Achie S: grabe tlga
sophie: san ka ba ?
Achie S: sobrang unforgettable day of my life
Achie S: NASA SPAGHETTI FACTORY, TABI NG YELLOW CAB!
Achie S: e nung una kakain dapat kami sa chef d angelo
Achie S: sabi ko lang na sawa nako dun kaya lumipat kami
Achie S: e ung chef d angelo pagliko mo dun g2 na e…
sophie: oh my god nasira yung chef?
sophie: oo alam ko yung chef
sophie: wahh
Achie S: di ko alam…
sophie: dun sa may g2 yon e
Achie S: pero malapit na ung sa g2 e
sophie: as in g2 talaga!!!
sophie: dun sa may tokyo tokyo
Achie S: so malamang worse ang impact dun kesa spaghetti factory
sophie: sa spag factory may impact ba?
Achie S: e naramdaman tlga namin ung pagsabog
Achie S: tumalon plate namin e…
sophie: omigod
sophie: tapos?
Achie S: tapos biglang nakita namin andaming tumatakbo na tao tapos nagsisigawan
Achie S: kala namin parang may nangholdup tapos tumatakbo ung mga tao para kumawala
Achie S: Hay I’m soooo tired…
Achie S: uy don’t push thru with your event na ha…
sophie: wala na postponed na
sophie: sirado na ata g4 e
Achie S: yap…
sophie: oh well
Achie S: hay
Achie S: ayoko na tlgang makaexperience ulit ng ganun
Achie S: it’s like you’re trapped in a nightmare tapos you can’t wake up
sophie: wahhh
sophie: oo nga
sophie: tinawagan mo na si boyf?
Achie S: tinext nya ako
sophie: hay buti nalang tlga
Achie S: ey i’ll go ahead na ha…
Achie S: napagod ako with all the stress
Achie S: seryoso sumakit ulo ko..
Achie S: haha
sophie: okay
sophie: pahinga ka na achie
sophie: nastress ka na sobra sa pangyayare e
sophie: ni pm kita !
sophie: pero umalis ka na ata for lunch non
Achie S: we wre there na that time
Achie S: patapos na kami ng lunch when we felt the explosion
sophie: wahh
sophie: MATULOG KA NA!
Achie S: aright
Achie S: good night soph
Achie S: I’m going to thank God today I’m alive

A shortcut version that she had posted that she made me read as well,

I was there when it happened. We were eating sa spaghetti factory. Thank God I insisted on eating there, sa Chef D’Angelo kasi kami dapat. Chef is really near the bombsite, and based on the tremor and the blast that we felt and heard, malakas talaga. People were panicking and there were people running everywhere.

Nung una kala namin may nangholdup in one of the stores there, so we were really scared and we wanted to run but di rin namin alam kung san kami pupunta. And the F***king waiters in spaghetti factory naman, ayaw kaming palabasin kasi di pa kami nagbabayad daw. E kanina pa namin hinihingi ung bill ang tagal tagal. Thrust my calling card at him and told him to bill us there na lang. We literally cried in relief when we got to our Greenbelt store.

Ayala asked us to close the store na rin for the day.

Thank God we weren’t at the bombsite. Thank God we didn’t get into a stampede. Thank God nothing happened to me and our branch manager.

Oh my goodness. People in their homes or who survived this incident should thank God that they are alive. I also thank God that the explosion happened before my event - I could have panicked like hell, if ever - alot of people have been telling me that. I feel very very sad for the victims of this act of ill intention to destabilize our government, or whatever means these people want to achieve.

I’ll be praying my thanks to the Lord, for sure.

Sigh, yes, it’s best to sleep to take all the fear, despair, disappointment, and jinx away.

Tomorrow’s another day.