Tuesday night
Hello, dear reader of mine! I'm sorry for not having posted anything insightful, relevant or revolutionary in the past few days. Or in the entire course of my life, for that matter. But anyway, that's because I've had neither the time nor energy to write a "real" post in a while. So here I am right now, hoping to change that. We got a lot of catching up to do.
There was a brownout in the dorm last night, at about eleven o'clock. It didn't seem like a big deal at that time because my laptop was fully charged, and so was my roommate Jean's, and so when we had them on, the light coming from the screens kept the room sufficiently lit (not that I don't have a flashlight). Also, the room was still pretty cool (literally, cool) because the aircon had been on full blast for over three hours until then.
But then Jean decided to turn in before me, and I couldn't go to sleep yet because I had a paper to finish, due 7:30 the next morning. So the room went a lot quieter (not that it was noisy to begin with) without our little chats, and darker, without the light from her laptop.
I always get nervous when I'm the last one to sleep in the room. I prefer going to sleep with a light still on, or with Jean still up, finishing some school work (happens a lot). Because at night, when it's all quiet and dark, I start to hear things. Strange noises, that seem to come from inside the room...
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not about to turn this one uncomfortable night I had into a full-fledged ghost story. If that's what you're here for, then prepare to be disappointed. May I instead direct you to this website, where I'm sure you will find terrors and frights aplenty. (You're supposed to click on the words "this website," because it's a hyperlink. It's just not obvious because of the font color. Yeah anyway.)
I wasn't kidding about those strange noises though. I could hear a rustling in the corner of the room, like something was moving, nay, scampering about. And don't you tell me it was probably just a mouse or a rat or a lizard, because I swear that in the one month and five days that I have been here, I haven't seen any of those creatures in here.
Well, not in my room, at least. The only animals I see around are these three cats. They wander the hallways from floor to floor, stalking unsuspecting girls, incessantly meowing at the dormers, asking for food. Jean used to have this bag of cat food she'd offer those little buggers, and because of that, everytime I open our door, I have to play patintero with this hungry cat that thinks we still have food. They wait outside people's doors, I tell you. They wait. And meow. And they wait. And they meow. And, they wait.
And they meow.
But hearing that the sound was coming from inside the room, and that it certainly wasn't a meow, I'm sure it couldn't have come from any of the three cats. At that hour of night, you can usually find them down in the lobby, sleeping with the guard. (If the cats are good for anything, it's keeping you company. I like having one purring and brushing up against my leg while I'm alone in the communal CR, brushing my teeth at night. It gets pretty creepy over there when you're alone. Ugh, all those mirrors...)
Half an hour into my paper, it wasn't so much the sound that was bothering me anymore. It was the call of nature. I needed to pee, but to do that, I'd have to walk down the very narrow, pitch-black hallway (there was no power, remember) and enclose myself in this small bathroom, leaving myself vulnerable to the white ladies and headless nuns that walk amongst us while I peed.
No, thank you. I like my nuns with their heads attatched.
After some minutes, I had mustered enough courage to go to the bathroom. But when I opened the door, I could see absolutely nothing of the hallway outside. The floor, the walls, the other rooms - nothing! Just complete darkness, staring me back in the face. I shut the door. Jeez, you'd think Dormitoryana would have the decency to at least install emergency lights that worked!
I imagined myself walking down that thing, armed with only a flashlight to guide me. Flashlights and dark rooms reminded me so much of those scenes in horror movies where everything is so quiet, and the main character (or maybe even just one of the supporting roles) is holding a flashlight and is frantically shining it everywhere. Seeing that there's nothing to be scared of, s/he relaxes, and so does the audience. But when s/he whips his head around to go back, he or she is immediately staring right into the face of this corpse/ghost/killer/headless nun, watching him or her with hollow, empty eyes (or, in the case of the headless nun, the stump of her neck with pieces of spine still sticking out). Cue scary music.
I decided I could hold it until the next day. It was already 12, and I'd have to be awake by 6 AM anyway. What's a couple of hours of discomfort compared to a lifetime of nun-induced nightmares?
And so, with the aid of a pack of Oreos and a tumbler of water (I don't know why I had to drink more water if I needed to pee so badly), I at last finished my paper. Now all that was left to do was shut down the laptop, clear my bed, and drift off to la la land.
Easier said than done, of course. I didn't want to turn off the laptop, my solitary source of light (aside from my phone, which has that spooky flashlight effect that I so dread). So I whiled away a few more minutes on Facebook. Finally, sleep deprivation got the best of me. I bade goodnight to Lappy (yeah that's my laptop's name), and, at the shut-down screen, counted down the seconds 'til the lights on the screen went out.
"5..." I ran for my bed. "...4," Readied my pillows. "...3," Quickly dusted off the Oreo crumbs on the sheets. "...2," Curled up, hugged my pillow. "...1," Shut my eyes and prayed.
Darkness after that. The only light that entered the room came from the windows on one wall. Car lights from vehicles passing along B. Gonzales street cast strange shadows upon the metal bars of the windows, making the room seem like a prison, or a confessional... Or, maybe it was more like an altar... Which you can find in churches... Where you can find priests... Who are always, in forwarded text jokes, in relationships with nuns... Wait, nuns? OMG!!!! HEADLESS NUN!!!!!!!!!
Nawww, I'm kidding. There was no headless nun. There was no nun, period. And neither was I thinking that the room looked like a confessional. Psssh. That's just weird!
Now that it was dark, however, and I didn't have my paper to focus on, I could hear that strange rustling noise again. I probably shouldn't have made a big deal out of it, but it was just really bothering me. How would you like it if I snuck into your house and made rustling noises in the corner of your room, huh? How'd you like that? Yeahhh, not so tough are you now, punk?
Well anyway. One other thought that kept me up was the thought that a supernatural being would just suddenly pop up in front of my face and scream, just like in those prank links where you're just peacefully watching a video, and all is calm, and the volume on your speakers is on max when all of a sudden a ghost or something appears on screen and screams at you. Oh man, because of those, I can never fully enjoy the first few seconds of any video.
Just so you know, I didn't use to be this nervous back home. I guess I haven't fully adjusted to my dorm room yet, and all the rustles and strange shadows that come with it.
Anyway, I somehow managed to fall asleep. And even though it was about a hundred degrees (now I know what the Ateneo dormers feel like - no aircon at all!), I still had to bury my legs underneath my blanket. (In Manila, I developed this fear of strange creatures jumping out from below my bed and eating up my feet. I know. I'm currently in the process of deciding which mental hospital to commit myself into. Any recommendations?)
I woke up at 6 the next morning. Or rather, later that day. I had my bladder to thank for that. And I mean seriously, I was actually happy that I had held it in, because I needed so badly to wake up at 6. Classes started at 7:30. And even though I live right across Ateneo (well, Miriam College, technically) I still had to...
1. Take a bath, pick an outfit, pack my bag (This takes about 45 minutes.)
2. Walk to the Rizal Library. (5 mins.)
3. Have my paper printed at the Rizal Library. (7 mins.)
4. Walk to Bellarmine. (10 mins.)
5. Cram-read Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-tale Heart before the start of Lit class. (It's not long. 5 mins.)
Anyway, I was pretty excited when I finally got to leave the dorm. It was a cold, cold day, and it was raining lightly, and although the wind was threatening to snap my umbrella like a toothpick, I was bouncing with the anticipation of that day's English and Lit classes (yeah we only have English and Lit on Wednesdays - from 7:30 to 9:30. I LOVE WEDNESDAYS!!!). I had read four days ago the assigned essay, Susan Bordo's "Hunger as Idealogy," and I loved it so much because it was so relevant and relatable and current, so unlike the past essays we've been forced to read. I couldn't wait to discuss it in class.
First, of course, I needed to get things printed. I wasn't sure that the library was open so early, but when I saw that there were lights on, I took it as a sign that today was going to be my day. I went in and got so caught up trying to get the ID scanner at the entrance to read mine that I wasn't able to hear the guard telling me, "Sirado pa po." When I did, I felt stupid, thanked the man and left.
I didn't have any luck with the old Rizal Library either. Closed. Looked like I wasn't going to have any paper to turn in for Lit. I started my long walk to Bellarmine.
When I got there, I found my English and Lit classmate Gem waiting at the entrance. "Hi Gem!" I greeted her.
She looked at me and said slowly, "There's no class today."
And then I died.
The End.
. . .
Based on a true story.
There was a brownout in the dorm last night, at about eleven o'clock. It didn't seem like a big deal at that time because my laptop was fully charged, and so was my roommate Jean's, and so when we had them on, the light coming from the screens kept the room sufficiently lit (not that I don't have a flashlight). Also, the room was still pretty cool (literally, cool) because the aircon had been on full blast for over three hours until then.
But then Jean decided to turn in before me, and I couldn't go to sleep yet because I had a paper to finish, due 7:30 the next morning. So the room went a lot quieter (not that it was noisy to begin with) without our little chats, and darker, without the light from her laptop.
I always get nervous when I'm the last one to sleep in the room. I prefer going to sleep with a light still on, or with Jean still up, finishing some school work (happens a lot). Because at night, when it's all quiet and dark, I start to hear things. Strange noises, that seem to come from inside the room...
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not about to turn this one uncomfortable night I had into a full-fledged ghost story. If that's what you're here for, then prepare to be disappointed. May I instead direct you to this website, where I'm sure you will find terrors and frights aplenty. (You're supposed to click on the words "this website," because it's a hyperlink. It's just not obvious because of the font color. Yeah anyway.)
I wasn't kidding about those strange noises though. I could hear a rustling in the corner of the room, like something was moving, nay, scampering about. And don't you tell me it was probably just a mouse or a rat or a lizard, because I swear that in the one month and five days that I have been here, I haven't seen any of those creatures in here.
Well, not in my room, at least. The only animals I see around are these three cats. They wander the hallways from floor to floor, stalking unsuspecting girls, incessantly meowing at the dormers, asking for food. Jean used to have this bag of cat food she'd offer those little buggers, and because of that, everytime I open our door, I have to play patintero with this hungry cat that thinks we still have food. They wait outside people's doors, I tell you. They wait. And meow. And they wait. And they meow. And, they wait.
And they meow.
One of the three monsters that haunt Dormitoryana. See the evil glint in his/her eyes?
But hearing that the sound was coming from inside the room, and that it certainly wasn't a meow, I'm sure it couldn't have come from any of the three cats. At that hour of night, you can usually find them down in the lobby, sleeping with the guard. (If the cats are good for anything, it's keeping you company. I like having one purring and brushing up against my leg while I'm alone in the communal CR, brushing my teeth at night. It gets pretty creepy over there when you're alone. Ugh, all those mirrors...)
Half an hour into my paper, it wasn't so much the sound that was bothering me anymore. It was the call of nature. I needed to pee, but to do that, I'd have to walk down the very narrow, pitch-black hallway (there was no power, remember) and enclose myself in this small bathroom, leaving myself vulnerable to the white ladies and headless nuns that walk amongst us while I peed.
No, thank you. I like my nuns with their heads attatched.
After some minutes, I had mustered enough courage to go to the bathroom. But when I opened the door, I could see absolutely nothing of the hallway outside. The floor, the walls, the other rooms - nothing! Just complete darkness, staring me back in the face. I shut the door. Jeez, you'd think Dormitoryana would have the decency to at least install emergency lights that worked!
I imagined myself walking down that thing, armed with only a flashlight to guide me. Flashlights and dark rooms reminded me so much of those scenes in horror movies where everything is so quiet, and the main character (or maybe even just one of the supporting roles) is holding a flashlight and is frantically shining it everywhere. Seeing that there's nothing to be scared of, s/he relaxes, and so does the audience. But when s/he whips his head around to go back, he or she is immediately staring right into the face of this corpse/ghost/killer/headless nun, watching him or her with hollow, empty eyes (or, in the case of the headless nun, the stump of her neck with pieces of spine still sticking out). Cue scary music.
I decided I could hold it until the next day. It was already 12, and I'd have to be awake by 6 AM anyway. What's a couple of hours of discomfort compared to a lifetime of nun-induced nightmares?
And so, with the aid of a pack of Oreos and a tumbler of water (I don't know why I had to drink more water if I needed to pee so badly), I at last finished my paper. Now all that was left to do was shut down the laptop, clear my bed, and drift off to la la land.
Easier said than done, of course. I didn't want to turn off the laptop, my solitary source of light (aside from my phone, which has that spooky flashlight effect that I so dread). So I whiled away a few more minutes on Facebook. Finally, sleep deprivation got the best of me. I bade goodnight to Lappy (yeah that's my laptop's name), and, at the shut-down screen, counted down the seconds 'til the lights on the screen went out.
"5..." I ran for my bed. "...4," Readied my pillows. "...3," Quickly dusted off the Oreo crumbs on the sheets. "...2," Curled up, hugged my pillow. "...1," Shut my eyes and prayed.
Darkness after that. The only light that entered the room came from the windows on one wall. Car lights from vehicles passing along B. Gonzales street cast strange shadows upon the metal bars of the windows, making the room seem like a prison, or a confessional... Or, maybe it was more like an altar... Which you can find in churches... Where you can find priests... Who are always, in forwarded text jokes, in relationships with nuns... Wait, nuns? OMG!!!! HEADLESS NUN!!!!!!!!!
Nawww, I'm kidding. There was no headless nun. There was no nun, period. And neither was I thinking that the room looked like a confessional. Psssh. That's just weird!
Now that it was dark, however, and I didn't have my paper to focus on, I could hear that strange rustling noise again. I probably shouldn't have made a big deal out of it, but it was just really bothering me. How would you like it if I snuck into your house and made rustling noises in the corner of your room, huh? How'd you like that? Yeahhh, not so tough are you now, punk?
Well anyway. One other thought that kept me up was the thought that a supernatural being would just suddenly pop up in front of my face and scream, just like in those prank links where you're just peacefully watching a video, and all is calm, and the volume on your speakers is on max when all of a sudden a ghost or something appears on screen and screams at you. Oh man, because of those, I can never fully enjoy the first few seconds of any video.
Just so you know, I didn't use to be this nervous back home. I guess I haven't fully adjusted to my dorm room yet, and all the rustles and strange shadows that come with it.
Anyway, I somehow managed to fall asleep. And even though it was about a hundred degrees (now I know what the Ateneo dormers feel like - no aircon at all!), I still had to bury my legs underneath my blanket. (In Manila, I developed this fear of strange creatures jumping out from below my bed and eating up my feet. I know. I'm currently in the process of deciding which mental hospital to commit myself into. Any recommendations?)
I woke up at 6 the next morning. Or rather, later that day. I had my bladder to thank for that. And I mean seriously, I was actually happy that I had held it in, because I needed so badly to wake up at 6. Classes started at 7:30. And even though I live right across Ateneo (well, Miriam College, technically) I still had to...
1. Take a bath, pick an outfit, pack my bag (This takes about 45 minutes.)
2. Walk to the Rizal Library. (5 mins.)
3. Have my paper printed at the Rizal Library. (7 mins.)
4. Walk to Bellarmine. (10 mins.)
5. Cram-read Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-tale Heart before the start of Lit class. (It's not long. 5 mins.)
Anyway, I was pretty excited when I finally got to leave the dorm. It was a cold, cold day, and it was raining lightly, and although the wind was threatening to snap my umbrella like a toothpick, I was bouncing with the anticipation of that day's English and Lit classes (yeah we only have English and Lit on Wednesdays - from 7:30 to 9:30. I LOVE WEDNESDAYS!!!). I had read four days ago the assigned essay, Susan Bordo's "Hunger as Idealogy," and I loved it so much because it was so relevant and relatable and current, so unlike the past essays we've been forced to read. I couldn't wait to discuss it in class.
First, of course, I needed to get things printed. I wasn't sure that the library was open so early, but when I saw that there were lights on, I took it as a sign that today was going to be my day. I went in and got so caught up trying to get the ID scanner at the entrance to read mine that I wasn't able to hear the guard telling me, "Sirado pa po." When I did, I felt stupid, thanked the man and left.
I didn't have any luck with the old Rizal Library either. Closed. Looked like I wasn't going to have any paper to turn in for Lit. I started my long walk to Bellarmine.
When I got there, I found my English and Lit classmate Gem waiting at the entrance. "Hi Gem!" I greeted her.
She looked at me and said slowly, "There's no class today."
And then I died.
The End.
. . .
So THAT'S why there weren't any people!
when are you going to write another blog post? You not going to tell us what happened that day?
ReplyDeletehahaha! nice one. i was worried when i heard the news that blackouts had occurred.
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha.... that's what happens when you get up so early... hehehe
ReplyDeleteHahaha! I am amused by your blog, but not the holding the pee part. Would you consider using an anerola?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: Well, nothing much happened that day! Haha. But, if you really must know, then all righty.
ReplyDeleteDad: Awww. Dormitoryana has its own generator daw, but I guess it sort of failed! :(
Joseph: Yeah I know :))
Mom: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Not with Jean in the room! Hahaha!
Hello Aimee!
ReplyDeleteScary nga yung cat! Lagi niya ko hinahabol. Daaaang :))
Hey Nika! Glad to see you've got your own blog! Epic!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah. It's EVERYWHERE o___o
HAHAHAHA :)))
ReplyDeleteA blog with two entries. Faiiiil :P