Long cold shower

*NOTE: Was supposed to post this yesterday but something went wrong with either Blogger or my computer, though I reall think it was the former... I'll post something current later on..

MARCH 27, 2006
6:50 PM

It's over...

Took the Compre today.. bagsak.. 88/140... needed 91 to pass (we use base 65 at UST Med) sigh... 3 freakin' points... =(

For the non-UST Med people, the Compre is basically a yearly examination which encompasses EVERYTHING you've taken up for the past year. And it wasn't easier for us incoming clerks, since they even threw us questions from 1st and second year!!! Not that I'm complaining of course.. Those basic questions pulled my score up somewhat, and besides, we should've know those things already!! =P

The Compre has no bearing on the grades whatsoever if you fail. However, those that pass the Compre (at least 65%), get a +1 to their final grade in EVERY subject. If you're really bionic and manage to score at least 85%, you get a big +2!!!

It's really freakin' hot here, one of the hottest summers I have ever experienced.. and with that in mind, I decided to take a long cold shower, one I haven't had in a LONG time. It was refreshing to just stand there and turn the heater off and let the cold water run down... No hurry to study or get dressed for school, no thoughts of the homework you have to do, no worries about any forthcoming reports or exams, nothing... My mind has never felt so empty or relaxed in such a long while... =)

Now what the hell do I do tomorrow? =P

Benign at last!!!

I'm celebrating my 1st day of freedom in a looooooong time.. =P Ang sarap!!!

That being the case, I thought I'd be a great time to indulge in a little solitary malling.. It may seem a little weird or lonely to you, but I really enjoy my solo flights. =) Nobody to pressure you, tell you where to go or what to do, no one to argue with your choice of food, etc.. I enjoy the total freedom of being able to do what I want, when I want, without any time pressure. =) Had lunch at the fastfood area where I ate Double porkchops at Sizzling Zone. Yum! =)

As expected, spent most of my time in the bookstores prowling around for a good buy. Eventually, I was able to find the second Republic Commando book! Astig! =D With morale running high after that prize catch, I swept the entire mall floor by floor. My bro texted me and reminded me of something else that I was planning to do at the mall, and that was to buy a pair of beach shorts for the C5ers outing on Tuesday!! Man, I had a really tough time deciding what to buy. Many thanks to the staff at Bench Shangri-La for patiently putting up with my fickle-mindedness. =)

At the end of the long day, I planned on grabbing cup of joe at either Figaro or Starbucks. But the places were packed, and I guess I'd seem kinda pathetic drinking my coffee alone in the midst of the crowd. Besides, someone had to go home and cook the rice before everyone got back.. ;)

And speaking of which, here they are! =P

A sigh of relief

I failed the Ophtha exam... fell 3 points short...

Good thing I passed in the final grade.. =) Whew, that's a load off my mind..

Medicine na lang...

Had lunch with Ed, Pat, & Boom at the nearby Jolibee.. What a way to celebrate huh? Jolibee.. sheesh...

Fortunately, Paolo texted Boom and asked him to join the C1 people to go watch a movie, and Boom was kind enough to ask if I could tag along.. =) There were 5 of us (Me, Boom, Paolo, Dana, and Michelle) and we rode in Dana's car.

So off we went to SM San Lazaro to watch a movie.. I didn't really care what movie it'd be (as long as it ain't horror) 'coz I haven't really been to the movies in quite a while. We kinda felt like caged animals that were just let loose. These past two weeks were just pure hell, and we DESPERATELY needed a bit of R&R. =P

It was my lucky day, as Dana (being the one who declared the movie trip) chose the movie I had been hoping to watch when I saw it in the papers, and it was GLORY ROAD.

It's a true story about the Texas El Paso Miners (NCAA Division I Basketball team) back in the 1950s. Man, racism was really rampant those days, especially in them southern states. =P Basically, it revolved around the efforts of their coach (forgot the name) to put good players on his team (regardless of race) and win. To cut the story short, they came in as a totally unknown team which blew everyone away and eventually faced the Pat Reily(yes, THE Pat Reily of the NBA)-led Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA Championship.

It's an inspirational/feel-good movie for the basketball buff, but I guess it'd appeal to everyone as well. I give it a 5/5

Afterwards, we just kinda wandered around looking for a place to just sit back and chill out (preferably while munching something for merienda) until we eventually settled for GoNuts Donuts. Chatted there for some time while enjoying the great relief of having everything over with.

Went back to school with the guys while the girls went home. We found ourselves in front of the Ophtha board and that's where I saw that I had passed. =D

I say again, Medicine na lang...

Is it really over?....

I'm still in shock...

Just finished the Medicine grand finals... damn, they really saved the "best" for last...

120 items.. whew....

But it wasn't as hard as I feared it would be.. Looks like those guys in Medicine have hearts after all.. Or probably 'coz they don't want to wind up with an even smaller number of clerks come April... hehehe

I just hope I'll be one of those incoming clerks...

I still fear Medicine, given my lackluster performance during the shifting examinations, especially during the first shift... Damn, I really hope I'll make it..... Then I can take the game to a whole new level... I guess I'll just have to hope for the best and accept whatever God gives me...

I'm also a little worried about Ophtha... turns out I still needed 11 percent coming into the grand finals (20%) to pass..

It all seemed so ureal.. as I put my pencil down for the last time.. (like I said, I'm not really counting the compre) I stopped to savor the moment.. (hopefully, I passed so I won't have to go back on these statements) and I tried to look back at everything that I've been through these past 3 years.. but I thought better of it 'coz the prof might misinterpret my daydreaming as cheating. So I just passed my papers and here I am at the LRU. =)

I wanna go back to the beach...

The above pic came from the website of La Luz Resort there in Batangas.. went there with the family during the last sem break... ganda dun! White sands, clear water, corals, fishes, the works!!! Malayo lang nga... Check them out at www.laluzresort.com

Gotta go. I'll see if anyone wants to eat out.. =P

Isa na lang....

Naknamput@! Isang test na lang!!!!

Man, I am just so TIRED na... pero one last thing stands in my way...

I'm not counting the compre, 'coz it's basically a no-bearing exam, and besides, how the heck do you study for a 100-point exam which covers all the topics from all the subjects for the past year???? =P

Konti na lang...

Tatlo na lang...

Whew! That went well...

Just finished the Surgery grand finals.. wasn't realily that hard.. may mahirap, may inulit, may kayang hulaan..
=P

Tapos I heard news daw na the Medicine finals is only worth 10%... sana totoo. =D

Man, there's really a dearth of people here at the LRU.. talagang sineseryoso yung finals ah. hehehe. Why am I here? Naghihintay ako ng samplex for Pedia. Eh since maaga ako natapos, I thought I'd do something cathartic while I wait for my "less-decisive" classmates finish their examinations. =D

It's about quarter to four.. I'd better get going.

Four down...

... and four to go...

We're currently in the midst of Grand Finals week, and all the medical students are having the time of their lives trying to cram an entire year's worth of readings into a single night.. night after night.... Go help us... =P

*I pity the freshmen.. this must be such a great shock to them... hehehe

So far, this is what I've been through...

Mon - Psychiatry
Tue - Gynecology, Legal Med/Med Juris, and Radiology

And these are the ones that lie ahead...

Wed - Surgery
Thu - Pediatrics, Ophthalmology
Fri - MEDICINE

I really dread Med.. (hey, that rhymes!!) Mahirap talaga kung tagilid ang grade, and the last exam is worth 20% of your grade for the entire freakin' year!!!!

The show must go on, and the fight continues... Aral lang ng aral!!!!

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Was supposed to go apartment-hunting with a friend this afternoon after pedia surgery but thought better of it.. Call me weird, but I suddenly had this awful premonition that something bad is gonna happen if we went ahead with our plan...So here I am blogging away instead in the relative safety of the LRU.

I'm currently playing a Flash-driven online RPG called Adventure Quest. Simple gamelay with anime-ish graphics. Check it out here http://www.battleon.com

Darn, they're gonna close early today. Oh well...

Dakilang utusan: the future clerk

Even my brother likes the LRU.. and he's never even set foot in this place...

He sent me a buncha stuff that he got from the computers at school through email and wants me to download them for him.. so here I am... (grumble grumble... utos ng utos... grumble grumble..)

Broadband internet is so cool... :D

I'm contemplating renting an apartment for clerkship.. I hear that the schedule is gonna be a killer, and confounding that is the fact that we're gonna be a smaller batch of clerks compared to batches before..

More work for us... whoop-dee-do!.. :P

One word would be inadequate to sum up what I'm feeling right now as we draw ever closer to our next goal.. It's a whole buncha mixed emotions.. One one hand, I'm feeling relieved that I'm almost done with this part of my education, since it won't be as academic as before.. but then again, I'm apprehensive 'coz of the following:

1) I feel that I 'm inadequately prepared to be a clerk (just take a look at my grades)
2) the reported workload is a killer
3) there's a whole lot more responsibility involved (we're dealing with human lives here!!)
4) ... let's just say that I'm having second thoughts about certain people around me...

1-3 don't really bother me that much.. its the fourth item that could spoil everything.. Oh well, that's life I guess..

You really can't choose the people around you... I'll just try to make the most of everything.. Basta I'll do what's expected of me, but don't expect me to be amiable... I'm sick of people shutting me up whenever I have something to say or being ignored if I have an idea different from what the general public has.. (which more often than not turns out to be the right thing to do).. I'm really sick of being pushed aside... especially when I just act in good faith.. walang malisya.. nakakasawa na talaga eh... If you don't want me nice, then I hope you'll like me when I'm really nasty...

Good luck na lang sa clerkship

Chill out..

Brr... it's cold...

The air conditioning here at the LRU is really doing its job.. But then again, this place is kinda empty at this time hence, less warm bodies that generate heat..

It's the weekend again!! Man, I'm so wasted... Must be all the fatigue of 3rd year creeping up on me...

Almost a clerk.. man I never thought I'd see the day... Grabe, it's been such a long and hard road... Sana makapasa...

Just got my lab results which are part of the pre-clerkship physical.. It seems like only yesterday when I first excused myself from the OPD lab to get my requirements together as an incoming freshman... Nakakaloko pala talaga when you look back where it all began...

Incredible... I still can't really believe that I've already made it this far...

Tomorrow, a new day begins....taking me one step further down the path called "Medicine"...

Being benign

I'm back in school.

We had the day off yesterday 'coz of some problem with national stability or something like that. An entire brigade of Marines holed up there in Fort Bonifacio were up in arms in support of their commandant who was apparently relieved for no good reason..

The political turmoil here in the Philippines is nearing its breaking point. I've tried to keep abreast with the news, but I guess too much is happening too fast, especially during Friday (?) where the country was put under a state of national emergency. This resulted in classes being suspended, but we still had a quiz in Medicine anyway before leaving for home.. Sabagay, 'tis a far better thing to have that exam when we did than to let it be set back until all the backlog would eventually catch up to us..

Is it just me, or is Pau Gasol looking more like a Grizzly every day?..

Guess he took his role to heart a little too much.. It must be the beard pare... hehehe...

Nakakagago... I'm not used to being this benign... Walang test mamaya.. walang test bukas... and baka pati sa Thursday wala din... hay... ang sarap! :D Maybe it's 'coz all the major paperworks are done, and we're just counting down the days 'til the start of clerkship...

I hope everyone will make it.. including me...