PARAPRAXES

Thursday, March 20, 2008

baccalaureate mass

universitas sancti thomae

facultas medicinae et chirurgiae

batch 2008

chris, verle, kaye & steff

ust quadricentennial logo

passing out of the portal of the old university
symbolic of how rizal and the other great thomasians passed through it

doctors at last!

congratualtions tribong irregreg!

more pictures here >>

photo credit : steff

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Lofoten Headland’s next-door neighbour is the Maelstrom – Moskstraumen – renowned as one of the world’s strongest tidal currents in open waters. It flows between the island of Moskenesøya in the north, and some islets just north of the uninhabited island of Mosken in the south. The strait is about 4-5 kilometres across and 40-60 metres deep, and is considerably shallower than the surrounding sea. The tide fills up the Vestfjord twice a day, and the difference in height between high and low tides can be up to 4 metres. Midway between high and low tide, the current changes direction, and this is when the whirlpools begin to appear, with speeds of up to 6 knots.

Nothing else in Lofoten has been so prolifically described – and exaggerated upon – in so many languages. In 1539, Olaus Magnus’ "Carta Marina" was published – complete with an illustration of a terrifying Maelstrom. In 1555, his work on the Nordic people’s history came out in Rome. The Maelstrom is here described as an ocean vortex that runs up and down the sea every day, devouring great ships and spewing them up again! In 1591 the district bailiff wrote, " ... When the Maelstrom is at its peak, then you can see the sky and the sun through the waves and breakers, because they roll in as high as mountains." Similar impassioned descriptions of the Maelstrom can also be found in later accounts. The Norwegian clergyman and poet Petter Dass, the American author Edgar Allan Poe and the French author Jules Verne, are all in the same league. These authors describe the furious force of the Maelstrom, and Jules Verne also describes it as the world’s most dangerous stretch of sea. They write of a current that howls, that rumbles like a buffalo herd on the prairie, that drags ships under, smashing them to smithereens against the sea bed. They describe great whales bellowing as they submit to the Maelstrom’s vortices, while on land, the houses shudder at their foundations! The inhabitants of the outer coast villages of Hell and Refsvika lived nearest to the Maelstrom. They were annoyed at these exaggerations. They themselves had first and foremost treated the forces of the Maelstrom with respect – adapting their work and travels to it in a natural manner. Yet even so, it took its toll among the inhabitants.

Its ferocity was indeed a powerful experience. From the land, it was exciting and entertaining to watch, and the locals gladly climbed a fair way up the mountainsides to get a better view of it.

Today they say, "The Maelstrom, ah yes, that was our television when we were kids." Despite all the delirious descriptions of "the Great Maelstrom," the people of the outer coast regarded it as a gold mine – full of shoals of shiny fish.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

august rush

incredible movie. it's about an orphan with a heavenly musical gift. his parents, a young irish rockstar and a julliard cellist met and shared a single night of love. they were separated by circumstances and the mommy thought she had lost her baby. 11 years later, the boy came looking for them... the best part, hearing the musical numbers.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

plog no. 5

yes! ready for valentines!

sigh... this is the OPD in my dreams... empty

heavenly light shine upon empty OPD seats

my tribe! miko, maylynn and me!

valentine's day at moa

moa

kinilaw na tanigue

sisig

self portrait

qwerty, the typewritter is a medical clerk's friend

ysabel nurse's station

ysabel, leigh, mark in the neurology ampitheatre

Monday, March 03, 2008

M.D.

woohoooo! i passed my grand oral revalida!

maraming salamat sa lahat ng dasal niyo

thank you Jesus!

thank you Mama Mary for your intercession!

mabuhay ang virgen ng santo rosario la naval de manila!

chris alipio, m.d.

sarap pakinggan hay....

Sunday, February 10, 2008

plog no. 4

melmar sleeping in heavenly peace

i love symmetry, well almost

squeezing together in the most unstable folding bed

effigies

lesbian lovers hahaha

ysabel intently studying for the revalida (kunwari)

ma'am candice's neck veins

ehem ehem

me with mommy wilma during her cranial ct-scan

my team-mates outside

kaye "studying"

kaye studying

-lz

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

A PRAYER ON ASH WEDNESDAY

Lord, it feels like we are embarking on a Lenten journey together, you and I. The beautiful words in the today's prayer talk about the "quiet remembrance of our need for redemption." That feels like what I am looking for - or what you are looking for in me. I want to remember how much I need you in my life and how much my life needs redemption. I want to remember it clearly and in the background of my day today and all through Lent. On this special day, Ash Wednesday, may my small sacrifices in fasting be a way to clear away the clutter in my life to see you more clearly. May my longing for meat and other food, help me to focus my life today more outside myself. Let me be aware of those who are in so much more suffering than I am and may I be aware of them as the brothers and sisters you have placed in my life. Lord, I know there is darkness within me and around me. Bless these days with your Word. Let your Light shine in the darkness. Help me long for that Light until we celebrate it at the Vigil six weeks from now. And most of all Lord, help me to honor this day with the ashes on my forehead. They help me remember where I have come from and where I am going. May I acknowledge to you my sins and my deep need for your loving forgiveness and grace. I pray that this Lenten season will make me so much more aware of how much I need your healing in my life.