Archive for September, 2006

chorale

Friday, September 29th, 2006
yehey! we won! we won! uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh! *tint dances like emperor cuzzko in ‘the emperor’s new groove’* we won in the chorale competition during the medicine week! *cartwheels* whooooohoooooo !!!                                                                                          
wonderful! you have to have been there to understand. there Img_7824were only 17 of them who sang. we had only 2 tenors, 4 bases, 5 sopranos and 6 altos. then there’s me to conduct, and jehnez on the organ to accompany us. the first and third years were twice our number! we had very few practices and sometimes only four people will Img_7825show up! my classmates have never sang so beautifully in all our practices. laging may mali, out of tune ung iba, then you wouldn’t know they were singing a love song and a hopeful song by their faces. to look at them you’d think thereImg_7833 was a wake or something. but during the contest, wow! they surprised me and themselves even. as in! and they were smiling fit to break their faces. hay! katuwa. we sang ‘Paraiso’ and ‘Ikaw Lamang’ and i could just feel the songs. hay, i almost forgot to conduct in some parts sa ganda nila kumanta. amazing. sabi nga ng mga classmates ko… halos maiyak na daw sila while singing. hehe. really, it was beautiful. and we won! yey!!! thank you Lord!
                                                                                                                     
i was not supposed to be part of our chorale group this year because i didn’t want to sing those two songs. i intended to be part of the audience so i could just listen and enjoy the music. besides, i didn’t want to be bothered by practices and waking up early just to get to school for rehearsals. but, as luck would have it, our classmate who is really good in music, will be Img_7796leaving for the states and pursue her music career so we were left without a conductress. [btw, bianca, if you're reading this, si jehnez yun! isn't she great?! hehe.] so they asked me if i could conduct since they had no one else to ask. and since i’ve always wanted to conduct a choir but have never had the opportunity to do so, i said yes. so yun. hay, those two songs will forevermore be special to me. =) my first choir ever!
                                    classmates, congratulations! go dosk9s!!!!

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med week

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006

this week is our Medicine Week at school. you’d think that because we’re technically in a post-graduate course we won’t have anything remotely like the week-long celebrations of the undergraduates. well, you’d be wrong. this week we have so many different activities that you wouldn’t think we were would-be doctors. well, there’s the sports of course. we have softball, volleyball, basketball, football, swimming, chess, and even sepak takraw, among others. (thank goodness ung football na lng ung naiwan for this week because the rest of the games were held earlier than this week. we had it starting july pa ata.) then there’s what they call the LitMus events (literary and musical events) which includes the chorale competition, vocal solo and duet, classical solo, song composition, musical pantomime, lip synchronization, comedy skit, and others. grabe. i’ve never even encountered these events in my entire college life and here in this school, all of these are "kina-career"! talk about cultural differences!! i really don’t understand it. today, there was a mass, then an Agape Lunch where all of us in the college ate together. there was also the Quiz Bee and the Quiz Buzz. and there’s also this thing they call the sign in and sign out to check the attendance. grabe, major cultural differences talaga from UP and just imagine the culture shock and the adjustments us non-west grads had to make when we first got here (and even until now). kakaiba talaga. owel. just letting off steam. hay.

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first time

Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
                 i did my first ever rectal exam last friday!
i will never have another first rectal exam again. what a momentous occasion. well, for me at least! =) while doing it i thought, "i can’t believe i’m actually doing this." and close to that thought was, "this is something i want to do for as long as i can."  not just the rectal exam per se, of course, but the entirety of the doctor package… and then, i knew once again, that i am where i’m supposed to be. yehey, with the rectal exam aside, there’s only the bimanual exam to do! yebah!
                                                                                                                     
you could call me crazy or courageous for volunteering. i don’t really know. perhaps it’s both. we went to the wards last friday to observe how to perform a rectal exam. we asked for it because we all knew the theories about it but we’ve had no experience, as a patient or as a doctor, and we had so many questions. and syempre, theory is no substitute for experience. i mean, the textbook tells us to feel inside, for whatever there is to feel — for hemorrhoids, masses, and whatnot, but they don’t tell us how we’d recognize them when we encountered them. the doctors won’t tell. they won’t answer any of our questions or even if they do, we’re never satisfied with what they give us. so they just say: "just do it." o diba, nike endorsers pa ang mga mokong. so all of us were kinda engot and afraid to perform the rectal exam, which is understandable, as it is quite a very intimate and shall i say, embarrassing procedure to perform. and our undergrad courses have not prepared us for anything like this naman. just imagine poking your entire index finger into the hole in the butt of another person and feeling around… wouldn’t that make you feel scared? or embarrassed? or inadequate? well, perhaps not unless you were some pervert or something diba?!                                                                                                         
so anyway, i volunteered because i wanted to know. our doctor tutor held up the other remaining glove after he demonstrated how to perform the procedure. i know each of us cringed and inched back a little as he issued his invitation (which sounded so much like a dare). we all knew it was inevitable that we were to perform one sooner or later, but we all thought we’d rather have it later than now. but then, i don’t know, i guess i’ve had it with others thinking that we’re not good enough students because we have the PBL curriculum, or that i just can’t keep quiet about things i feel strongly about, or that i just couldn’t believe nobody was volunteering for something i know everybody wants to do anyway, or i thought it was so much better to do it with a doctor teaching me what to do than doing it by myself, or it could even be that i am just so contrary…. perhaps all of it even. hehe. so just before the doctor put the glove away and ended the teaching session, i raised my hand to volunteer, much to the surprise of my classmates…. and myself. (kase naman i felt the desire to vomit as our doctor first inserted his finger during the demo and again when he withdrew it. so i thought i wouldn’t dare do it anytime soon.) well, i guess something in me has learned to face her fears and apprehensions and to do what needs doing even though it costs me much in terms of energy, emotions, and face… and i guess i’ve learned the saying ‘opportunity comes just once’ very well. after all, diba karen, ang motto natin is CARPE DIEM/NOCTEM! haha, there was no turning back.
                                                                                                                           
thankfully, it wasn’t as dreadful or embarrassing as i imagined it to be. it was really comforting to do my first ever exam with a doctor there to guide me. at least i know if i ever do something wrong, someone’s there to correct it. thank goodness i’m so contrary! hehe. i’m glad i did it then.
                                                                                                                     
i know i need more practice with it though. so… ahem, any volunteers? =)

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what’s in a name?

Monday, September 18th, 2006

T Tame
A Ambivalent
T Terrific
I Insane
N Neglected
T Timeless

J Joyous
A Appreciative
C Controversial
I Intelligent
N Normal
T Temperamental
H Healthy

L Loud
O Outrageous
I Intelligent
S Sexy

i got this at crazyprofile.com wahahaha!!! hilarious! i couldn’t help it. i was so amused i couldn’t stop at just one. what a laugh!!!

i must agree wholeheartedly with the ‘insane’, ‘loud’, ‘joyous’, ‘outrageous’, ‘temperamental’ and ‘intelligent’ parts. hahaha!!! i knew it!

but i don’t get the ‘neglected’ and ‘ambivalent’… ano daw? and ‘normal’? me? i thought they said i was insane?! wahahaha!

kayo, what’s in your name? try it!

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birthday parties

Monday, September 18th, 2006
happy birthdays! =) i just love birthdays. they never fail to get a smile out of me. my favorite season of all of course is Christmas, which is also a birthday. then my birthday comes in close second, after which, the birthdays of my family members and then my friends’. bukas, hmm… actually today na pala, tatay is celebrating his 61st birthday! wheeeee!!!! i’ll call him in the morning. =)
                                                                                                                            
pero bago ang birthday ni tatay, dito naman sa med, i have three classmates who recently celebrated their birthdays and i was able to attend the "parties" of two of them. sarrrraaappp!!!!
Jmandtintang isang nagbirthday ay si original crush jm. hehe. 22 na siya. wahaha, matanda na si pareng crush. (sayang at harrassed siya dito sa pix. owel. sige lang, katatapos lng kase ng softball nyan at natalo kami. hehe.) dahil sabi nya last year na this year na lang siya magpapakain ay hindi na talaga namin pinalampas ang pagkakataon. so nung nag-aya siya na lumabas para kumain dahil birthday niya ay sumama tlga ako. kumain kami sa Buto’t Balat. at kami ay kumain ng pork sisig, kinilaw, shrimps, squid, soup, at crispy talong. at may pahabol pang chopsuey! saraaap! busog grabe. at may ice tea pa pala. salamat jm! sana nga e matupad na ang pangarap mo at ang birthday wish mo! wahahahahaahahaha! ~_^ pwede! natuwa lng ako nang nag-pray si jm bago kami kumain ng kanyang birthday dinner. nagpasalamat siya kay Lord dahil pinag-aral siya ng parents nya dito sa iloilo at kami ay nakilala nya at naging mga kaibigan at kasama sa birthday nya. o diba, nakakatuwa nga naman. ang drama ng lolo mo! pero salamat talaga jm! coach forever ka pa rin namin at original crush ng bayan. hehe. pagpalain ka nawa. =)
                                                                                                                        
at ang isa pang nag-birthday na classmate e si magaling na classmate crush na si yohan. at sa bahay naman nila kami nagpunta at buti naman at Yohahanapilit siyang magluto para sa amin. hehe. hindi, alam naman namin na kaligayahan nyang paglutuan kami ng masasarap na pagkain. the cooking master boy yun e. ang pagkain naman dun sa kanila ay crabs, burger steak with mushrooms at cookies and cream ice cream! yey. masarap din! yehey! nung sunday night ay pumunta na rin kami sa kanila para i-greet sya ng happy birthday. at dahil pareho lang kami ng street, e dala namin ang buong banda! hehe. ako sa kahon, at si yanyan sa gitara. at buti naman at pinakain din kami ng ice cream nung gabing yon. hehe. hindi namin natanong si yohan kung ano ang birthday wish nya.. 23 na nga pla siya… at siya ang pinaka-tapon namin -er- i meant top one. siya ang favorite kong guy classmate (at si better half nya na si diose ang fave girl classmate ko) dahil sa madaming maliliit na dahilan na sa akin lng may sense. hehe. katuwa. pagpapala din nawa. =)

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biliary atresia

Thursday, September 14th, 2006
life is so precious. that is something i am reminded of everyday… at meron nanamang reminder saken kanina as we went to the hospital to visit our patient.
                                                                                                                              
ang bago naming patient is R.D., male, 2 months old. he had diarrhea, with yellowish-greenish stools according to his mother at seven days prior to admission. there were no associated signs and symptoms. at four days prior to admission, his diarrhea stopped and he started to become yellow. during his stay at another hospital, he was given amoxicillin for antibiotics for a week and he was referred to the present hospital for observation and management for biliary atresia.                                                                                                                   
according sa wikipedia: in babies with biliary atresia, bile flow from the liver to the gallbladder is blocked. This can lead to liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver, which, if not treated, will eventually be fatal.

Newborns with this condition may appear normal at birth but jaundice develops by the 2nd or 3rd week of life. The infant may gain weight normally for the 1st month, then weight loss and irritability develop, accompanied by increasing levels of jaundice. It is not known why the biliary system fails to develop normally.

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh…… hindi nakakatuwa. nakakaawa sila.. ang cute cute pa naman nung baby. you can see that he is wanted and loved by the family. ang mas nakakaawa pa e hindi sinasabihan nung mga doctors ung nanay kung ano meaning ng biliary atresia. e malay ba nya kung ano yun. wala tuloy siyang idea kung ano nangyayari sa anak nya at kung bakit pa sila nasa hospital ngayon. grabe tlga…….. nakakainis din dahil ang health care natin dito sa pilipinas ay sobrang hindi maganda para sa mga poor. hindi tlga sila naaasikaso masyado at kawawa lng tlga sila….. waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh……….

sa nabasa ko, ang biliary atresia ay isang rare na disease….. kawawa naman si baby…. siya pa ang nakakuha ng rare na sakit…. ang management para dito ay operation lang…. liver transplant na ang pinaka-makakapagbigay ng magandang kinabukasan sa kanya….. Lord, kayo po ang humawak kay baby R.D. at sa pamilya nya. pero Lord, kung gusto nyo naman po, alam kong pwede nyong pagalingin si baby R.D. buksan nyo po ang mga bile ducts nya at hayaan nyo pong pumunta na sa intestines nya ang bile na ginagawa ng liver nya…. pagalingin nyo po sya Lord, if this is your will, we ask this in Your Name. Amen.

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waiting

Saturday, September 9th, 2006
kahapon, tahimik akong nag-aaral sa may harap ng silid-aralan namin nang tinabihan ako ng magaling kong classmate na ang pangalan ay yohan. at ganito ang takbo ng pag-uusap namin:                                                                                                    
tint: ayokong nagluluto…
yo: masarap ka naman magluto ah (pertaining to the carbonara i made last year)
tint: basta, ayoko magluto. sabi ko nga, mag-aasawa na lng ako ng marunong magluto para di na ko kelangan magluto!
yo: ikaw? mag-aasawa? nako. mukhang malabo ata yon a.
tint: ang yabang mo!
yo: ilang taon ka na nga tint? 23? at wala ka pa ring boyfriend? at di ka pa nagkaka-boyfriend kahit kelan! nako, pano ka pa makakapag-asawa nyan!
tint: ang yabang mo talaga!
yo: naghihintay ka sa true love no? true love, true love, di totoo yan!
tint: <tumawa lng, la ko masabi e>
yo: pano ka ba naman magkaka-boyfriend nyan e di nga kita nakikita na may nilalapitang lalake dito. wala ka namang pinapa-artehan.
tint: <tumawa ulit>                                                                                          
at mahaba pa ang usap-usapan namin habang inaaral ang tamang paraan ng paggagamot ng appendicitis. oo nga pla, ang lahat ng mga katagang iyan ay nasambit sa tono na pasigaw at sa tagalog na pilit na pilit (bisaya kase si yohan, hehe! *sheepish grin* bahala siya, blog ko to, di nya ko pwede awayin!)
                                                                                                                      
napaisip lang ako habang nag-uusap kami at hanggang sa ako ay umuwi… "Ganon!" hehe. peace yo. (hindi nya naman mababasa tong blog na to ever e.) anyway, wala lng, thinking back on that conversation makes me laugh ang yet somehow makes me wonder and reflect as well. bakit? kelan? di nga ba? so many questions crowd into my mind now but all these are answerable only by the One who created me like this. and everytime i talk to him about it, his answer is a clear WAIT. and so i wait. there’s no point in rushing this after all. besides, i still have a lot of growing up and maturing and getting-to-know-God to do. and not to mention medical school.                                                                                    
di naman ako nagmamadali. it doesn’t mean din naman na ayoko. siguro it’s more of i know it’s not yet time……………. so when? well, that is the big question that can only be answered when it comes. and until then, i wait.

Posted in ~ moments ~ | 3 Comments »

roommates

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
heto ang ilang mga litrato ng mga naging ka-kwarto ko so far… =)   wala pa kong picture ng iba…sila mara, vel and phine, si mama pao, chinchin and jhone, hena, si nang jimjim, si lorah at loris.                                                                                                
Nong_at_akosi manong jd… roommate ko nung high school ako, pinaka-asar na roommate. hehe, pero mabait naman yan si manong. masaya kasama sa room, nagsasalita at nag-aaction pag tulog.
                                                                                                                     
Recognitionsi manong jaja. ang pinaka-absentee kong roommate. and swapping partner sa room. lagi kong inaagaw ung bed nya, at sa bed ko na lng siya natutulog. so ang nangyari e natutulog ako sa room nya pero sa room ko ako nagbibihis. hehe.
Dscf1455
                                                         si ate kc. ang transient kong roommate. pareho kaming majority floor leader nun. hehe. salamat sa ka-ochan at sa mga tinuro mo.                                                                           
                                                                                     
Img_4341 si nang bjo. hay! ang pinaka-hindi wholesome na roommate ko. nyahahaha!                                                                                                       
Only_childsi Tatay at Nanay ay naging roommate ko rin nung first year college ako. nyahaha. isang dulo ako ng room, sa isang kanto naman sila.                                                                                                
                                                                                           Karenatako
si karen. ang pinaka-talentado kong roommate. da best roommate. ako one-woman fan club nya.

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chaotic world ni tint

Monday, September 4th, 2006
::disclaimer::
this new post was made by a true procrastinator in the hopes of delaying the inevitable… standard disclaimers apply. haha! you have been warned……..                                                                                                             
tidyness has never been my strong point. i look at my bed now and guess what shares space with me? no less than five hardbound textbooks, another paper bound textbook of anatomy on top of the pile, two bibles (one large, one small), two hardbound small journals of my life, my school bag with my stet and sphygmomanometer peeping out, another bag, two big pillows, seven stuffed toys, my laptop, case ng eyeglasses ko, a plastic full of my clothes from the laundry woman, Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery, a Guide to Narnia and the Fellowship of the Ring (for leisurely reading). with all these things you’d doubtless wonder how i sleep. syempre, nakapikit pa rin! =)                                                                                                 
there is a square table beside my bed where i usually place the laptop. it is also cluttered with my things now. on top is my KC manual, various papers, my watch, a stack of cds, a box of crayons, several personal implements like powder, leave-on conditioner and hand sanitizer, a number of clips and hair abubots, my sunglasses, a ballpen, a pencil, two wallets, two necklaces and my jewelry case.                                                                                                            
but i still find order in all these chaos. move one object and i’ll be sure to know what’s missing. i remember all the times that nanay cleaned my room and di ko na tuloy makita kung saan ung mga kelangan ko na gamit! haha. <karen, remember our bed sa apartment dati? may gulay!>                                                                                                         
yeah, i know…. it’s still no excuse. sige lng. i clean up naman when the mood strikes me. which is, well, not that often. *sheepish grin*                                                                                                               
oh no…. wala na kong masulat…. back to work……………………………………. nooooooooooooooooooooooo………………………………………..

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oil spill

Friday, September 1st, 2006
it’s raining again right now. after a week of sun, we get the rain again. i can’t help but think about what’s happening at the oil spill site off Guimaras and along the coasts of Guimaras and Negros everytime it rains. the biologist in me is really agitated over the catastrophic effects of the oil spill to the biodiversity in the area. imagine the square meters of mangrove areas, tons of seaweeds and kilometers of coastlines that were and will be destroyed. not to mention all the fishes, corals, turtles, and all the other marine life that have and could die. these are all irreplaceable! it will take years and years and years to bring it back to its former state. perhaps never, even… arrrgggghhh!!!! i still cannot believe that this happened and that i have never even been to Taklong Marine Sanctuary! and now i no longer have the chance to appreciate the wonders of nature and the handiwork of God there. waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! this biologist is really screaming for justice! OA na kung OA, la kung pake, nakakainis naman talga!
the doctor in me is worried about the health effects that this oil spill could and have caused. so many people have been exposed to the noxious volatile elements in the oil and none of these are beneficial to the health. skin exposure, ingestion, and inhalation of these oil chemicals will surely affect the health of the people in the communities affected as well as of the helpers. the humanitarian in me is aghast at Petron’s callousness in this matter. how could they wash their hands from this? how could they not give boots and gloves at the start of the clean-up? how could the Petron people sleep at night knowing that they put the lives of so many people and animals at stake! the researcher in me is aware that this calamity has opened up myriad possibilities for research. i can almost hear the bio, stat, med, psych, public health, socio, and even law students (and all others) and research advisers clapping their hands with glee because of the possible research problems that the oil spill created. this will take care of the theses and special problems for years to come. haha. kailinit. the human ecologist in me cannot imagine how the people in the area could have their lives back. how are they going to come out on top of this grim situation? how can we help them? how can we help the internally displaced people?
the economist in me is worrying about how this will affect the economy and the livelihood of the fisherfolk there. what will happen to our seaweed trade? what will happen to the families of the fisherfolk?
the patriotic side of me is bothered about how this could affect the tourist trade in Guimaras, Negros and Iloilo. the Philippines is so beautiful and i want the whole world to be able to see the Philippines and all the wonders and secrets she possesses. I want foreigners to be awed at the biodiversity in our country. paano na lng itong spot na ito dito sa Western Visayas? sino na lng ang pupunta sa mga beach na maitim na dahil sa oil? paano na?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgggghhh…. this is really so frustrating.
paano? bakit? paano ulit? kelan? sino? paano na? waaaaahhh… nakakaiyak na lng.

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