Ravages.

In North America, weather is a daily staple of conversation. It is actually an opening line, a tail-end to a hello or to a good morning. In elevators, strangers stare at the buttons or announce, "it's gonna be below zero today or the high would be 27 today."

I never thought I'd be so engrossed in Philippine weather; this particular visit to P.I. has been marked by weather upheavals.

There was Ondoy and the Manila floods, then Pepeng who came, left and made a comeback, dumping more rain and flooding several Northern and Central Luzon provinces.

There are still evacuation centres full to the brim and begging for more relief goods. There are several towns and cities still flooded to the core.

In malls, Christmas trees and carols have already flooded the stores and the air waves, yet some towns expect their flood waters to recede only by December.

I've never had this weather issues happened before in my life. For this Manila visit, I was anticipating glorious sun, silvery moon, starry nights, and a friendly universe. I actually dreamt I was taken by a giant coffee mug into Manila and was greeted by a goddess.

I am like the weather anchor and other newscasters - repeating the news item, focusing on the ravages brought about by the weather disaster - hoping this blast would instill recall and remind you to take a look back. And realize you probably missed the gist of the story.