real work... clerkship

Me @ STUH-OPD
Sab & Jen
Jamie & Kat
Dra. Ong
Dra. & Ron

Jun - ambubagger
Jamie - korean (kunwari)
Our Senior and Junior Resident

Dr. Hendra and Dra. Ong

Edlyn, Sab and Mika

Jed, Sab, Gela, and Mika

err... clerkship?

Procedures I've...

Done successfully...
ABG - five times
Foley Cath - two times
Peritoneal Dialysis - two px

Attempted...
IV insertion - difficult for me sigh...
NGT

Attended...
Hemodynamic Studies (Cath Lab)
2D Echo with Doppler (2X)
IJ Cath Insertion
Hemodialysis - all i had to do was monitor the px hahaha
CVP Insertion
MRI
CT Guided Percutaneous Needle Biopsy (Anterior Mediastinal Mass)
Ultrasounds

The First Week in Hell

my first rotation in medical clerkship is in medicine. internal medicine has three status, pre, duty and from. duty means you are in the hospital from 7 am to 7 am the next day. pre and from stataus means you are in the hospital from 7 am to 5 pm. so if you're on duty, you stay in the hospital for a total of 36 hours, from 7 am to 5 pm the next day.

i was on pre-duty on my first day. luckily i wasn't assigned in the OPD. first day clerkship on a monday in OPD is the worst first day for a clerk. we mostly continued on carrying orders in the POS (Physician Order Sheet) in the charts and other instructions by the residents. the most difficult thing was probably adjusting to the numerous kind of paperwork and how they are called. for example, a single chart will contain these things that are my responsibilities: a master problem list, database, I/O chart, blue notes, laboratory worksheet, drug index. aside from these paperworks, we have to remember a LOT of doctors names, a LOT of kinds of requests and what kind of form to use, phone numbers in the intercon, places in the hospital, a lot of more shit, in short.

well, i kinda adjusted now, kind of hahahaha. i was on ER duty from yesterday am to today am and i think i like doing OPD the best, we have our own cubicle, our own electric fan (besides the aircon!) focused on us, unlike doing wardwork where the clerk's room is so hot and humid, everybody's in your way, and you mostly run, walk, talk, and play zombie most of the hours.

to be continued...

Judgement Day

tomorrow, i start medical clerkship. the best... or the worst part of my medical education. i intend to of course enjoy and learn during this one year in the hospital as the lowest form of animal. yesterday, we had our general orientation during the morning and our medicine (our first rotation) orientation in the afternoon. we were given a surprise quiz during our medicine orientation and people who failed will be given seven days worth of demerit. of course... i failed hahaha, i didn't even have to check, the quiz was enumeration-identification. well you win some, you lose some. i just hope they don't follow-up on their threats, hahahaha!

today, we recieved our endorsements from the outgoing clerks. i consider myself lucky getting only one patient. i just have to finish a lot of pending things and paperwork though.

i pray that tomorrow will be a happy day for all the incoming clerks

lz

a long lost friend

i was chatting with mama gwan earlier... sigh... miss those carefree college days... i'm sure she's doing great. i told her it'll be five years since we graduated next year, so we should organize a reunion before everybody disappears ^_^. it's nice to talk to someone close from the past. "pagbati sa iyo mama gwan!"

lz

La Naval de Manila Online

Don't forget to visit the La Naval de Manila Online Site!

[Link]

Mother Mary,

I thank you for your prayers

You have brought me to where I need to be

Please pray for me,

That I may always show compassion to my patients

That I don't forget that I share this world with your other children

That I owe your Son my life and

That I should always do everything for His glory.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval

Interecede for all of us incoming clerks that we may

go through our difficulties honoring your Son's name.

Amen.

Finally...

congratulations to mr. birkhead for winning the most coveted million-dollar-baby race. i hope this puts all this brouhaha about anne nicole smith and her baby to rest. i've had enough with anne nicole smith news!!!

My Lamitan Top-Five

in no particular order...

1. pañala - yum yum yum... fried muslim rice-cakes. i'm thinking of trying to replicate them because you can't buy them here in manila sigh...
2. fried talakitok - omg there's nothing better than fresh fish deep fried with delicious rice OMG!
3. auntie lita's caldereta - the BEST caldereta i've ever tasted. it'll be difficult to eat inferior ones now...
4. bulingan falls - very beautiful. it should be declared a world heritage site
5. the alipios of lamitan - very hospitable and warm ^_^

Highlights from Lamitan

more pictures from 'highlights' album >>

more pictures from our lamitan trip >>

lamitan, the cradle of my life

the prodigal son – palm sunday

arrived in zamboanga in one piece!

the trip from manila to zamboanga seemed faster than a trip from our house to baclaran. we squeezed our way into the crowded domestic aiport. it was palm sunday so a lot of people were trying to get home to their provinces or go to beaches and other local water holes. funny thing is, we were like going to disneyland, mom, ian and me were wearing green (a coincidence) and when auntie lita arrived to fetch us, she WAS wearing green too!

we were carrying a LOT of flowers for the carrozas for the good friday procession. my auntie lita’s side of the family owned the pieta and the santa cruz used in the traditional good friday procession. also with us were electric fans, sleeping bags, and tents to be used for my multitude of relatives. a little history: my auntie lita’s (our host) mother and my grandfather are brother and sister.

we arrived in zamboanga city just in time for breakfast. auntie munti, auntie lita’s sister served as a hearty breakfast in a covered table outside her house in zamboanga. we then proceeded to go around the city.

our first stop was fort pilar. we offered candles to the shrine there reputed to be miraculous. the story is that there was a flood so high but when the virgin went down from her pedestal and her feet touched the water, the water receded back to the sea.

trying out stuff at the barter

we then went to what they call “barter,” a place to shop for local goods for pasalubong. i bought sarongs for my classmates and my mom bought sarongs and malongs. being the philippines’ backdoor, we bought coffee, candies and other grocery items that had malaysian writings. they were cheaper than manila prices of course.

we went to a famous local restaurant “mano-mano” and ate “sinigang na blue marlin,” “ampalaya stir fry,” and a lauriat of “daing na bangus,” “dinuguan,” “calamares,” “lechon kawali,” plus a side dish of tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. WOW! is all i can say. i totally forgot about my hyperlipidemia hahaha.

we rode the mmmm i must say… “nice” boat/barge (it HAS seen better days) called "leonora". 3:00 p.m. from the port of zamboanga to lamitan. the trip took about 1.5 hours. the sea was calm, and i went outside to the rusted portside deck and took pictures of the boat, the sea, and some ships i saw.

after we arrived, we settled in our big room in my auntie lita's compound. we agreed we’d just share a big bedroom for the “chismis” sessions. our group included auntie lita (my dad’s cousin) and her daughter, jeng-jeng; uncle matt (another of my dad’s cousin) and his wife, auntie letty; my mom, my brother and me. i went around my aunt’s compound and took pictures of the chapel, the grotto, the pavilion (rented out for parties, weddings and stuff) the old restaurant, and the tennis court (used by local businessmen for free for their exercise, they have a bulletin board of their trinity tennis club there).

of course a vacation wouldn’t be complete without something nasty happening to me. i developed an allergic reaction to our dinner, tulingan. i must say I didn’t like being angelina jolie for the next several hours. my lips got so swollen, i could not breathe, i had rashes all over. it was lucky i felt it immediately and drank loratidine and salbutamol. i could not sleep until 3 a.m.

the first real day - monday

we woke up around 7. after breakfast, we got on the pickup and drove to palm beach. this beach and all the surrounding area used to be part of my auntie lita's side of the family's land. i took pictures of the nice beach but i didn’t get in the water. it was lucky we were the only visitors around.

i then accompanied my mom and aunt to fix my dad’s and his brothers’ birth certificates in the “municipio” (town hall) and then visited a few of my relatives. we had lunch back here in my aunt’s house and it’s after eating that i’ve been reflecting on the first two days here in southern philippines. (1213H)

(tuesday, 2208H) i remember sleeping through the rest of the afternoon yesterday (siesta). my aunt neneng and his husband uncle eddie arrived later in the afternoon with a franciscan brother and another companion from her church group. dinner was sumptuous, fried talakitok (loved this ^_^) and tinolang manok kept coming like a big deluge.

for the second night, i had difficulty sleeping. i could not breathe. my nose was congested and i twisted and turned until i don’t know what time (i didn’t bother to check this time).

no more room for more – tuesday

we woke up and had a very minimal breakfast because of our trojan feast last night. we waited for our “sundo” to go to my father’s town, “buahan.”

my dad's school

in buahan, i met a LOT of my relatives. it was funny. their houses were one after another on the single street. it seemed buahan=alipio land. most of my relatives in buahan are children of grandpa dulcessimo (aka. tata memong), my grandfather’s brother. this is the side of the family we most look alike. why? my grandmother and my grandfather’s brother’s wife are sisters. the same pool of genes running between us. i noticed it was funny, it seems my mole on the right cheek is a signature look among my relatives. most of us had moles, some exactly where mine is ^_^.

the land of the elementary school was donated by my ancestor don sergio santiago, my grandma’s father. my grandfather, alfonso sr. decided back in the 60’s to bring his entire family to manila (all his 11 children, my dad, alfonso jr. is smack middle). he gave up his share of land from his family and my grandma sold her land to one of my uncles. we lived in my grandpa’s compound in caloocan until I was 7 but it was just today i learned he studied in university of the philippines, he didn’t finished his engineering course though. everybody remembers tata ponching as the most religious man in the family. it was true. i remember his house (my dad built his house in caloocan with his bare hands, we shared the first floor with one of my dad’s sister and my grandpa and grandma lived upstairs) having a very big altar with a retablo of santos (more like santossssssssss). my mom always asked “di ba nagaaway ang mga santos sa dami?” (won’t the santos fight because they’re so many?).

it was graduation day so i took pictures of my nephew who had honors. after a lot of chismis and eating (we had to eat in every house we went to), we went to the beautiful calugusan beach and took some pictures.

after we returned to lamitan, we were “kidnapped” by my uncle roger (history: he’s one of the brother of my relatives in buahan. they’re 13 siblings plus more. and he’s one the richest people in lamitan hehehe - so he says [I believe him] – a very animated person) and had merienda of delicious pansit (one of my most favorite food) and more kwento (2229H).

amang’s stories – wednesday

our breakfast was eggs and fish this morning. i think about it now and i realize that since we’ve been here we’ve never repeated the kind of fish we’ve eaten. tulingan, talakitok, hapon-hapon, lapu-lapu, and cutot (and more).

after breakfast and more kwento, we were fetched by my uncle roger in his “pajero” (aka. tricycle hahaha) – (i digress you should see tricycles here in basilan, they’re big, 6 lean people can ride comfortably). he brought us to amang sylvio’s house. he’s one of my dad’s cousin too. he told me “he and my dad are “pinsang buong-buo” referring to being them cousins in both mother and father side (my story earlier about my lolos and lolas being siblings).

i took pictures of him in his backyard (in his pj’s). he told us he supplied all the wood used for the modern hotel being built by the local government. he has a lumber yard in his backyard and of course i have to boast again and say he’s one of the richest person here hahaha. the chopsticks we are using might be from the trees here because he supplies wood for chopsticks made in china. his eldest daughter has just passed the medical board exam and is in cebu doctors hospital for her residency.

uncle sylvio in his bacyard hammock under the mango tree

his most fascinating story was how he escaped his attempted kidnapping. he told us that when he was taken, he was praying that they be ambushed because he knows by god’s intercession he will not be hit by the crossfire. CAFGU indeed caught up with them and killed one of the kidnappers, he frightened the kidnappers by telling them it’s the marines (marines come in groups of 60s he says) even though he can recognize by the type of fire who were present. the kidnappers started to run for their lives and he ran in the scrubs of kamoteng kahoy. he said he ran fast and tried not to disturb the flora because the CAFGU might mistake him for as the rebels and gun him down.

he also told us that during the basilan siege, all his neighbors went to his house because he had his bodega made entirely of reinforced concrete (even the roof). he was cursing the heli-pilots because their helicopters were already raining their ammunition even when they were still a distance away from the fightscene (his house is near the crossing where the battle was taking place).

the paneling inside his house is impossible. a small house in manila made with the kind of work in his house will cost millions. his ceilings and walls are paneled with almasigan naturally colored with a deep red. his doors are of mahogany and langka.

after we returned to our homebase, we celebrated auntie letty’s birthday with pichi-pichi, pansit (wow), and cake. mom and the others had ice cream when they went to another of my relatives when my brother and me fell asleep (hehehe siesta time!).

my brother ENJOYED dinner because it was the famous “curachas” on the plate. these are creatures half-crab half-lobster. they have trapezoidal shaped bodies (see picture) which looks like crabs and a lobster tail. i ate auntie lita’s arroz caldo (yum yum) because I was afraid of another and worse anaphylactic reaction sigh...

water from the gods – maundy thursday

today uncle roger fetched us and we went to “bulingan falls” and my uncle peping’s house with my “primos” (cousins). the falls is magnificent! it was a pity it wasn’t the rainy season so the water flow wasn’t that strong but it was still a sight to behold. the stones in the ravine looks like a stepladder similar to the hexagonal shape of the boulders in the giants’ causeway. the mayor developed the place for the enjoyment of the people for free. it has toilets (the runoff doesn’t go to the water) and picnic huts which can be used for free.

me and my look-alike cousin at bulingan falls ^_^

we visited my uncle peping’s coprahan and he showed me how the copra is harvested and made. he also had rubber trees and animals ^_^.

when we returned back to our headquarters, i saw that the santos were already garbed in their procession clothing and already in their carrozas. i overheard something new though (hahaha eavesdropping) my ancestor moved here from baliuag, bulacan in 1922 and they were only the 2nd Christian family here aside from the cuevas who were also non-natives though the family’s roots back from the ilocos region if i remember correctly. they always say that all alipios are relatives because the surname is not proliferate. completing my history, i remember that my grandma’s father is pure spanish, his name was Don Sergio Santiago (I referred to him earlier donating the land for the school), while her mother was visayan.

dinner tonight were leftover curacha, corn and crab(actually curacha) soup, fish(ask), bagoong gata and ginulay na ampalaya (2025H).

the passion of the Christ – good friday

(1330H) last night, mom and i slept earlier so we can take our turn during the late hours for the traditional “pasyon.” i woke up around 1 am and joined my mom, auntie neneng, uncle matt, and the manang (auntie neneng’s visitor). funny, everybody was trying to fight sleepiness. sometimes, the manang will suddenly hit coloratura notes (hahaha) and all we’d bolt awake. i went out for a while to go to the bathroom and when i returned they lost the tone and they had to ask me to remember what was the fast tone we were using earlier (hahaha).

we finished around 0900H and we had pandesal as breakfast while the other people started dressing up the carrozas for the afternoon procession. i started cooking ube (harvested from the backyard) around 1030H for the afternoon merienda. i had ian, my regular partner in cooking, help me in cooking. i asked for a raincheck in the procession because I was mixing the ube for three hours.

(1830H) i backed out on my raincheck and joined the procession, but i did not finish it. it seems the good friday procession is a “mini-reunion” i saw everyone we visited that was based here in lamitan. The family has 5 santos in all, my aunties lita, neneng, and munti owns the santa cruz and pieta; my auntie heling owns two, the nazareno and the stripping of Jesus Christ; and my auntie ditse owns the mater dolorosa. Saw my cousin who (a doctor her grandfather sixto and my grandfather are brothers) who owns farmacia basilan. After the procession, everyone went here to have biscuits and soda and of course, chismis!

When everyone left, people started coming back in trickles bringing some of the food for tomorrow’s grand reunion. A big group (my dad’s brothers and sisters) are still in tacloban because they decided to drive all the way here (roro) and has since broken down roadside three times (sigh… pobrecitos). But anyway, I’m sure tomorrow would still be a blast.

the children are our future – black saturday

everyone was busy when i woke up. mommy noring(my auntie lita's mayordoma) is busy leading everybody in the kitchen. mom was preparing her buko pandan.

i was asked to make the lettering for the backdrop because there was no streamer this reunion. the registration table was manned and people started coming.

first on the agenda… eating! after lunch of calderetang baka, 4 lechons(!!!), bistek chavacano, afritada, picadillo, dinuguan, and dessert of macaroni salad, buko pandan, halayang ube and leche flan, each part of the family was called to the front to be introduced to everybody. funny, all my dad’s brothers have not yet arrived because their auto broke down thrice already and they’re only still in leyte (they decided to use roro) and(!) when the sons of my grandpa was called we (me, my brother and my mom) were the only ones in front despite my dad’s 11 brothers (!) hahaha!

sitting at the supreme council's table hahaha!

more embarrassing was when the formal meeting was called, the “elders” were called to man the “supreme court table” (hahaha) and since none of my uncles were present, i became one of the “elders” because of course my mom isn’t really part of the family. hahaha!

agenda of the meeting were the reunions, grand reunions, and the formal organization/foundation (and its projects) to be put up, the “alipio families of lamitan.” i find it very interesting that the family is concerned on propagating itself to bring together everyone to accomplish meaningful projects both for family members and in improving the community especially here in the “homebase” (basilan). i remember my promise to my dad’s elementary school in buahan to send books for their libraries, i’ll certainly follow through on that.

it’s now 1930H and mom, potsy, auntie letty, uncle matt, and me are now packing and preparing the stuff we’re bringing back to manila. pañala(muslim fried rice cake - they're absolutely yummy!), curacha, durian candies, and marang are our pasalubongs! i’m a little sad, we’re going home. i know that going back means starting the hardships of clerkship. i’ve done a lot of thinking while i’m here and i’ve surmised that i’m ready again to see the color of life (hahaha!). i now go back to living , loving, helping, and praying ^_^.

the trip home – easter sunday

after breakfast early in the morning, we went to the grotto for morning prayers and afterwards loaded the auto to go to the pantalan. we rode the roro vessel this time. we were with uncle sylvio’s two big trucks delivering wood to mainland mindanao (I’m not sure if this particular shipment’s for export). i talked with my cousins who were with us going back to zamboanga. auntie munti’s van was waiting for us to bring us to the zamboanga international airport for our trip back to manila. everybody’s been sooo kind (special mention to our host auntie lita auntie munti) and hospitable to us, and i thank them from the bottom of my heart. kuya lloyd, auntie letty and uncle matt’s son, fetched us from the airport and i’ve since rested… eaten pañala… eaten lunch… eaten dinner (hahaha)… and now concluding the story of my trip to the source of my life.

*n.b. – my grandfather’s siblings names are (in order of eldest to youngest): Hermogena Alipio-Arguelles de Lahom, Olimpia Alipio-Martinez de Lahom, Sixto Alipio de Lahom, Natividad Alipio-Martinez de Lahom (yes another pair of brothers marrying sisters again), Alfonso Alipio de Lahom “Tata Ponching” (my grandpa), Alejandro Alipio de Lahom (soldier, died single during WWII), Dulcesissimo Alipio de Lahom “Tata Memong,” Felix Alipio de Lahom “Tata Piling”, Benita Alipio de Lahom, and Jose Alipio de Lahom. Their Parents are Maria Lahom (from Baliuag, Bulacan) & Luis Alipio

The Gangplank

(march 26) i feel i'm about to jump over into the sea. clerkship is two weeks away. i just finished my 'supposedly' last exam today, the comprehensive exam and i was really surprised it was easier than how i imagined it to be. i said 'supposedly' because i'm not sure yet if i'm bound to take the remedials in neurology or pediatrics sigh... and i hope i get the plus from the compre exam.

i admit there have been when i've been lax on reviewing, moments of weakness... well more of weaknesesssseses hehehe. (...continued march 30) it's been four days. i passed neurology and pediatrics. i thank our lady of the most holy rosary la naval de manila for her intercession. and! and! i got a plus one in the comprehensive exam (a first).

it's sad that we may all not be able to go through clerkship together. lest, i shouldn't remove my focus on the task ahead, and that is... to pass the revalida and graduate. i've been convincing myself i'd be better in the clinics than when we were doing the academic part of medschool.

its been a year full hapiness, in my opnion, i've had the best group to spend it with: miong, kaye, verle, steff, ryan benedict, ron, aubrey, buboy, sandy, kim, jc, ryan edward, mina, and lester. well not all of us are true irreg-regs but we certainly do have fun.

i pray that the holy spirit guide as and open our hearts to the patients we are going to take care of. and i pray that God open our teachers' heart, the interns, residents, consultants, so that they may teach us how to be real and compassionate physicians.

La Naval de Manila Online

I've started a La Naval Blog as part of my celebration for the centennial of the cannonical coronation.

Link to La Naval de Manila Online

sweet silver birthday

happy birthday princess high priestess!!! ^_^ i get it you're currently not happy with your day, but i suppose it'll turn around soon enough ^_^ have a good one!

love,
popsy

p.s. i hope we can all finally get together sometime soon before i start with clerkship

almost there...

clerkship, just a few more weeks... we've all waited an extended time for this, to prove ourselves. this thing's constantly in my mind now and i'd just have to unload. i've been thinking how long i'll last before a patient dies on me (hope not), when i'll recieve my first scolding, or when i'll have my first fight with a co-clerk because of exhaustion. well i'm not looking forward to all of that but i think it happens to every medical clerk. from my conversations with our former classmates, here are a few interesting things (not necessarily in a good way) about clerkship :

1. clerkship is literally being a clerk. paperwork. paperwork. paperwork
2. you have to buy a sleeping bag. there's not enough sleeping provisions to go around though i think we would be rarely getting any sleep. but i suppose as we adapt we'll learn how to sneak some zzz's hehehe
3. you have to learn the art of "DA"
4. you have to learn the art of "shopping"

more to come as i remember them... hehehe

my love is evergreen

my week's top five XVIII *revived

since it's only on saturdays i can really post something, bear with the sudden vomiting of posts hehehe. my week's top five, revived:

1. pesto - can't get enough of the bottled cheap pest, i eat it almost every other day!
2. peanut butter - kim, me-an, verle, my, and surprisingly... candice's(!) ambrosia, we should create a peanut butter fan club!
3. ma-ling - mmm mmm mmm a living-alone-guy's best friend ^_^ thanks again steff
4. java chip venti (starbucks) - remembered a lot of my neurology last thursday night for the second shifting exam thanks to steff, verle and biel
5. my house - it's not perfect, but i really appreciate it

happy bday emong

jerome's birthday a1 & steff

his townhouse, dos castillas, manila

for a friend *wink ^_^

better than scrubs

i don't want to forget this HAHAHAHA

story : Patient is post op mitral valve replacement ready to be discharged... doctor asks his students to get a history and physical exam but can't look at the patient's chart and has to ask him the course in the wards (or what he can remember of it) and consider the patient seeing them the first time at that time
doctor : what is the complete cardiac diagnosis?
student : ah.... doctor the patient doesn't have a problem anymore
doctor : what!? give a complete cardiac diagnosis!

(nyaaaah what the !? as my friend said the patient could be NYHA class 0-0!? duh! is this doctor stupid or stupid?)

doctor : what did you hear in you physical exam was there a murmur or an abnormal finding?
student : no doctor, we just heard the artifical valve's clicking
doctor : what!? this slip of paper says this patient has mitral valve regurg, you should hear a murmur go back to the patient!!!
students : eh doctor the patient is already post op! she had it replaced.

my goooooooooooodnesssss...

clicky tops and twisty bottoms

how do we want to learn? do we want others forcing us to do some things or do we want to do things our own way and not drag everyone with each step? as i observe, there were us, the irregregs who did things a certain way and the others. i cannot say that we (the irregregs) had the best of ways in everything, well, considering what happened to us anyway. but shouldn't have that given us things that we have learned from our experience?

it hasn't only been once that we have tried to give well-meant advice and got ignored... only to turn out that we were right, and still not get acknowledged. sigh... well, now i can see how a parent feels. i can see clerkship will be ONE BIG TERRIBLE HEADACHE looking after own assess and now we have to look after them too...

Il Divo on Babs

...This adventurous attitude they [Il Divo] showed was imbibed from working with Barbra Streisand who asked them to participate in her tour. David [Miller, the American divo] saysIl Divo and Barbra spoke nil about personal stuff during rehearsals and even their sit down dinner to discuss their numbers. All dialouge was about work, work and yet again, work. "Barbra is a very emotional persona. We learned just from how her mind works and how she sings live that she essays a song differently every time. As opposed to opera singing that's regimented in technique--almost to the point of leaving out the humanity factor--the music Barbra does gives her license to give a new show every time she steps on stage no matter if it's the nth installment of the tour. She's master at improvisation. For her, time--whether hers or her audience--is too precious to be wasted on redundancy,' says David."

from the Manila Bulletin, January 28, 2007, p. L4.

life in manila

i now have a few things on my mind since i've gotten >7 of sleep, threshold for creativeness and optimum functioning (based entirely on my own opinion).

first, i remember the reprimand we got from RVG, all points well taken. i felt embarassed about myself (though i passed the exam) because here i am, now getting all my 'requests' so i can study better and yet im doing 'just ok.' the truth is i've never been the one to exert 100% effort, i don't know why. i'm happier with minimal effort with acceptable results. what can i do? i'd have better than average grades but i'd be bitting everyones heels all the time? i don't want (nobody wants) to see that patootie. well, i think from what i've learned from RVG, i'd better start not thinking about my comfort level but how i can do this effort thing for my mom and dad. they worked their ass off for me, so i better perform.

living in manila's a blast! i don't have all the ammenities of my house but i'm near everything i can't believe it. the best thing though is waking 6 am when i've been up till 3 am reading (i'm speaking as if i'm enjoying doing it hahaha i do not!). the other day i saw my first cockroach (hahahaha) in my apartment, i'm not sure if that's whether i'm starting to be a slob or if it's a foreign visitor. i do hope it's the latter, but i certainly did gave what it deserved. i'm surprised im more responsible cleaning my house in sampaloc than at home, maybe because it's "my own" place.

i finished the first of a series of sketches i'm planning to hang on my wall since they're barren except for my calendar, i have not even hanged the mirror i brought from the house. i hope i can make a watercolor if i find the time so i can a little bit of color in there. i'll post the sketch i did here soon enough. it's based on notre dame in paris, but it's not an exact copy.

steff gave me a lot of ma ling hahaha really nice ^_^ and i coerced verle into giving up her blue half liter pitcher HAHAHAHA. sigh... i gotta accept it, i'm enjoying time away from home.

Streisand 2006 Tour: Cover Art

nice. they made her look thinner than she is. she's not fat but she's not this thin too. i can't wait to get my hands on this album! ^_^

MV Doulos

MV Doulos aka. The Floating Bookstore

Manila International South Harbor

we spent our post-prelims free time onboard MV Doulos and feasted our eyes on books we really wanted to buy ^_^ well, we were broke so we just drooled over the numerous books, cheap i may add that we wanted to buy (p.s. drooled literally since we wanted a lot of cookbooks) hehehe

more pictures here >>

Candice's Surprise Birthday Party

our classmate tish set-up a surprise birthday party for candice, another classmate of ours. the whole class was invited and we went to see the beautiful one roxas triangle where kris aquino owns a unit. w-o-w really nice place ^_^ verle wasn't present, her bag got slashed in quiapo the day before so she was still sulking. she got over it pretty quickly though, i heard she was in embassy while we were wondering how sad she might be while enjoying the party hehehe, anyway her pops got her a more expensive phone ^_^

jc, steff, me, nina, sandy, kim, ron

helen, kim, nina, sandy, me, candice, tish, steff, christian, pat

helen, nina, kim, sandy, me, steff

more pictures here >>

My "Apartment Warming"

kaye told me she'd be cooking something up for the irregregs so i thought i'd take advantage and set-up my apartment warming with it. i served pesto and hotdogs, the others brought spaghetti and siomai and kayes goodies? cheescake and crema de fruta! i felt relieved we fit inside my apartment hehehe

ron, steff, verle, aubrey, kim, kaye, me
sandy, me-an, nina

more pictures here >>

pictures from last year

section a 2008 christmas party
alumisin residence, tierra pura, quezon city

(l-r) kim, verle, niña, ron, chris & steff

the irregreg christmas lunch get-together
'wok with me' dapitan

ust paskuhan 2006

chris & sandy

our clerk friends, tin & tin, ivy, and aids joined us

(top l-r) aids, tin, verle, tin, ivy, steff
(bottom l-r) sandy, me-an, chris

in the medicine building lobby

kim, steff, verle, chris & sandy

ust paskuhan 2006

My Exodus

it's neat living a few steps away from your school. i can go back to eat lunch or if i forgot something. but the best thing is that i can sleep just a little bit more, and it makes all the difference ^_^. a lot of exams next week, and i don't have a lot in my mind that i can post. well maybe except that i've seen the third season of house m.d. and im loving the storyline in the new season. just great.