looks just like the sun today

Sunday, January 11, 2009

.

I want to be a runner.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

is this really what I want to do?

January 5:
I took a jeepney ride, two bus rides and a taxi to get to "work". I saw over a dozen patients in the few hours I was at the clinic. I kept asking myself is this what I really want to do?

Realization 1 - It turns out that sometimes responding when patients flirt with you actually makes for a more productive consult. It probably makes your patient's day also.

January 6:
I was staying at an uncle's place so I spent the whole morning playing with my 4-year old cousin. She was so lithe and tiny, like a graceful ballerina or an agile gymnast. It was a wonder to watch her tumble around, dance on tiptoe, do cartwheels, then swing around a bar.

I was such a klutz compared to her horsing around the treadmill and falling down. I have an abrasion on my left knee to show for it.

January 7:
Clinic duty again. 26 patients plus a couple of follow-ups. It's funny because today I actually enjoyed being there. I enjoyed spending time with my patients, it makes me feel I actually made a difference.

Which reminds me, the best times are when a patient asks for your card and clinic sched because they want to make sure that when they come back you're the one who gets to see them again. I almost felt sad when I had to reply I was just relieving for a fellow doctor for a couple of days and won't be back in the clinic again.

Realization 2 - Good doctor-patient rapport does go a long way. It sure made my day.

Now imagine the high I felt when as an intern a patient asked about the consultation hours at my clinic. How do you say Ma'am, I just see patients here at the OPD under the supervision of a resident since I'm only an intern politely and without causing embarrassment?

All in all, it was a good day.

Labels: MD

Monday, January 5, 2009

going home

After spending half of my life away from home living in dorms/apartments for school or for work I am back at home.

I finally finished moving all my stuff from my apartment to my grandmother's house. My contract ended (after being extended). I feel sad. Like it's somehow a defeat. Like this going home somehow signifies a loss of independence.

Whatever. Life goes on.

Labels: whatever

Sunday, January 4, 2009

skin

If skin tone equates to calories burned I should have lost more than 2 pounds already. Obviously it does not.

Today I noticed that I'm almost two shades darker from playing ball under the sun. Shirt lines around the neck and the sleeves are already visible.

I love my brown skin.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

moving forward in 2009

2008 was the year I slacked. Big time.

A venture which was supposed to be a lateral move proved to be a step back.

My midyear indecision has caused me too much embarrassment on one end and almost a year's delay in personal and professional growth on the other end.

I did build new partnerships, new relationships. I did rebuild old friendships. But I still made the mistake of looking up to the wrong people. I made the mistake of putting value on something that was almost worthless.

This year, there is no room for mistake.

This year, I am moving forward.

This year, I am actually going to work hard. And with working hard I vow to play even harder.

It begins today.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008 books

Last year, with the all the toxicities of hospital work, I must have read only a dozen books. This year I decided to take the 50-book challenge. I ended up reading 65 books (and still counting), not my all time high but still a lot compared to last year. I think I have to up the ante for next year.

Books I've read in 2008 (faves for the year in bold).
1. For One More Day - Mitch Albom
2. The Key - Junichiro Tanizaki
3. Final Epidemic - Earl Merkel
4. Love, Etc - Julian Barnes
5. The Europeans - Henry James
6. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - Haruki Murakami
7. The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
8. Burning Bright - John Steinbeck
9. In Praise of Shadows - Junichiro Tanizaki
10. Vita Brevis - Jostein Gaarder
11. 1984 - George Orwell
12. Factotum - Charles Bukowski
13. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
14. The Relation of My Imprisonment - Russell Banks
15. Knots - R. D. Laing
16. The Blue Girl - Charles De Lint
17. I'm A Stranger Here Myself - Bill Bryson
18. Diary Of A Bad Year - J. M. Coetzee
19. Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto
20. New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction From Japan - (ed) Helen Mitsios
21. The Wanting Seed - Anthony Burgess
22. After Dark - Haruki Murakami
23. A Verse To Beasts - Nick Bantock
24. A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
25. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
26. The Meaning Of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist - Richard Feynman
27. The Wolves in the Walls - Neil Gaiman
28. Reasons to Live - Amy Hempel
29. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
30. Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah - Carlo Vergara
31. New Spring: The Novel - Robert Jordan
32. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
33. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle
34. Take the Cannoli - Sarah Vowell
35. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson
36. The Brooklyn Follies - Paul Auster
37. The Life of a Cell - Lewis Thomas
38. Tears of a Giraffe - Alexander McCall Smith
39. Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
40. Blind Submission - Debra Ginsberg
41. Drawn and Quarterly Showcase Three
42. Next - Michael Crichton
43. Goodbye Lemon - Adam Davies
44. Short Cuts - Raymond Carver
45. The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac
46. Drinking, Smoking and Screwing - (ed) Sara Nickles
47. Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story - Tony and Maureen Wheeler
48. Apathy and Other Small Victories - Paul Nielan
49. The Men Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks
50. Animal Farm - George Orwell
51. The Kindness of Strangers - Mike McIntyre
52. Hardboiled and Hard Luck - Banana Yoshimoto
53. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown - Charles M. Schulz
54. The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland
55. The Painted Word - Tom Wolfe
56. The Coma - Alex Garland
57. The Neon Bible - John Kennedy Toole
58. Tales of My Melancholy Whores - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
59. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
60. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! - Jon Scieszka
61. The PowerBook - Jeanette Winterson
62. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection - Michael Chabon
63. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie
64. Side Effects - Woody Allen
65. The Camera My Mother Gave Me - Susannah Kaysen

Currently Reading:
Seeing - Jose Saramago
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Labels: books

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

holiday rundown

This December, I have been doing a lot of walking. With all the pounds I still seem to be gaining this holiday season despite the increase in activity I have been thinking of ways to make a healthy comeback.

I started with making Christmas resolutions. I can't seem to stick with my New Year's resolutions, maybe resolutions made on Christmas will.

December 24 - after learning about Kimiko Date's comeback and watching a few matches on youtube, I started making plans.

December 25 - Christmas day saw me playing basketball, something I haven't done in over a year. I was expecting to get sore muscles the next day but I was still pretty okay.

December 26 - I begged for new running shoes from family so I can take up running again. At the mall, the running shoes in stock were not suited for someone flat-footed like me. It was a bummer. On top of that I had to go back to QC afterwards. The 2 1/2-hour bus ride I usually take back to the metro stretched to 4 hours because of all the traffic.

December 27 - Back in QC I had to wake up at 5 in the morning to get to work. It was a slow day, from 7 am to 12 noon I only had to see 6 patients. In contrast to working in government-run hospitals and health centers I had the luxury to spend as much time as I wanted with my patients in the HMO clinic. It was such a breath of fresh air. Sadly, I didn't get my paycheck.

December 28 - I got lucky and was finally able to get new running shoes.

December 29 - I'm sticking to my Christmas resolution. I was not able to run but I was able to play ball for about an hour. It felt good to be sweating again.

December 30 - Family reunion. As the designated "babysitter" I was on my feet the whole time running after my two-year old cousins. Salad made from fresh produce from the farm was as good as ever. The freshly-brewed coffee was even better.

Now I wonder what's in store for the last day of the year? If I can't run, I'll definitely do some walking.

Happy Holidays everyone!!!