My stand on vaccination

I'll keep this short and simple, because I really don't have the time right now, and making lengthy arguments just for the sake thereof never got nobody anywhere anyway..

It's just sad to see all these people (In supposedly "progressive"America at that) taking a hard line stance against vaccination, citing various principles like "freedom of choice" and whatnot..

I'm a physician, so I guess my stand would be pretty obvious.

Personally, I think they already have too much freedom on their hands, that's why they come up with mind-numbingly radical ideas such as this.. and the sad thing is, they furiously cling to their beliefs like someone insulted them to their very core..

The world has become such a hostile place.. Sigh.. -_-

Ten Minutes

Yup, ten minutes. That's the amount of time I've decided to set for myself to write down this blog entry.

For the record, it just turned 5:55PM here on my computer, so I'll just work with that.

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Christmas and New Year's has gone by with barely a snippet from my blog, which is unusual considering my annual retrospectives and my need to let off steam every once in a while..

Well, here I am, at home again, unemployed, but with more direction in my life as compared to the situations I found myself in the past.

The aforementioned transition went by as smoothly as possible (in my opinion), and now the juniors have finally stepped up to the plate to claim their place as the captains for 2015.. I'm so proud..

Wow, 5 minutes already? maybe I should make this 15 minutes.. anyway..

It's actually been quite busy these past few weeks. I'm presently (finally) studying for the diplomate examinations, which in hindsight should have been started a few months earlier, but what the heck..

At least I was able to accomplish stuff during the past weeks, like secure my clearances from the hospital and city hall (local government kasi eh), got my diplomas, and paid for the examination. AS expected, I will hunker down for the remaining days, hoping to cram 3 years' worth of knowledge into my little brain in the hopes of passing the exam..

Oh, not to mention all the little trips to be interspersed in between, like a few trips back to the hospital to secure recommendation letters from the consultants for my fellowship applications, and to secure the final clearance as well..

Oops! Times up!

Feels a little different..

It's now the penultimate month before the end of my term as a medical resident. As things begin to wind down, the last-minute "pahabol" work seems to wind up even more as we scramble to finish the necessary requirements for promotion and graduation.

An all-too-familiar feeling pervades the atmosphere at the office, with the residents wheeling and dealing with their in-out schedules and planning for the Christmas party where we have the "initiation" performance of the incoming first year MRODs, as well as the sendoff for the outgoing seniors.

It feels a little different this time around because, after 3 long and tiring years, it is now OUR turn to be sent off back into the world, to either pursue further training in our chosen subspecialty, or to carve out a name for ourselves as we begin our private practice as a general internist. Of course, this must be taken with a grain of salt, as the beginning of success depends on our performance in the forsthcoming PSBIM examinations, which fortunately for us, has ben moved a couple of months from January to March. This would hopefully provide us seniors with ample (?) time to hit the books and study our brains out in a last desperate attempt to prove that we actually learned something from 3 years of "service" interspersed with training.

Three years... Has it been that long already?.. I know this is already a cliche, but it seems only yesterday when I got word from TMC Neuro that I was not accepted as a part of their staff.. It was a major gamble that I had lost big time, when I opted to turn my back on a reputable school-based Neurology program due to personal reasons and tried my luck closer to home at TMC.. My luck finally ran out, and I was drifting aimlessly about, wallowing in self-pity.. I really thought that was it, that I had no more future since I had already squandered a pair of perfectly good chances in well-established programs that had already accepted me as one of their own..

Fast forward a couple of week, and here I was at the doors of the hospital, making a last-ditch attempt to salvage what had seemed like a promising medical career when I had first graduated. They say that beggars can't be choosers, so I grudgingly took what was given to me, knowing that I had blown what could have been a lifelong dream come true.. Little did I know that third time was the charm, and that I would finally find a home as part of an Internal Medicine program of a little known local government hospital. :)

I shall forgo the telling of my evolution as a resident here since that is a long-winded story for another time.

Relatively Happy

Just saw her a while ago, briefly, but I'll take it.

I guess I can go to sleep now.. :)

But I won't, because of stuff to do.

Still, working hard with a smile is better than without. ;)

Duty Post

It's 8:19 PM, and I'm STARVING... :(

On duty again at the hospital. I'm sitting here typing away since I have a bit of downtime in the midst of making a research presentation from scratch to be presented in 2 days' time.. Sometimes the ridiculousness of the situations I often find myself in just boggles the mind.

I had the pleasure of enjoying a Sunday off yesterday. It was a day well-spent with the family. Just a simple lunch out at someplace different, with a bit of retail therapy at the end of the day.

After mass, we had a chat with one of the community elders who knew me and my folks since I was a small kid. She was an Obstetrician by training, but never really got to practice her profession since her husband was well-off enough for her to just be a woman of the house (well, at least, that's as far as I remember..) She's still surprisingly sharp for and aged auntie though. :P

After the usual exchange of pleasantries that go with not having seen someone for quite some time, she shifted to that oh-so-familiar topic that single people of my age dread.. Surprisingly, she wasn't really pushing me to go out with anyone or set me up with this or that girl, In fact, she told me to just hold off for the meantime, since everything would just flow naturally given the facts that I'm a guy, and that I'm a physician as well. She said that I should just bide my time and not be in any rush to get married anytime soon. That conversation was a welcome respite as compared to all those conversations with all those other well-meaning mothers who just can't seem to keep away from the role of playing matchmaker. :P

This got me thinking though.. I definitely am not getting any younger. The only meaningful relationship I once had which lasted around 9 years is in shambles, and it kind of left me hesitant to try again.. Sure, there was this one girl, but that didn't really work out that well now, did it?

I don't know if I now find myself in a state of relationship phobia, My buddies are always excited to introduce all these girls to me (partly because they want to live vicariously through me since they're all married already), but I tend to brush off the opportunities because "it doesn't feel right".. :(

Quick Hits

I rarely have time to myself these days, and today is no exception.

I still feel the need to write though, so here goes..

• Kudos to the NU Bulldogs for finally taking home the UAAP Men's Basketball crown after 60 years!

• Pacquiao is now playing in the PBA as a "playing coach" for his own team??? Is nothing sacred anymore?.. :(

• Is it just me, or are those UV Express drivers really just assholes? Especially those who drive vans along the North Avenue area..

• Too bad Gilas never made it past the Elims in the FIBA Worlds, and didn't take home the crown in the Asian Games. However, they were able to get people to start believing again, and that's the more important thing..

• I finally got that weight bench I've had my eye on for the past year or so. :) Thanks for the great discount!

• Saw a great piece of Audio by Bose. Expensive though, but the sound quality is just superb..

• Its almost November.. I can't believe that the three years are almost over...

• The RITE Exams have come and gone.. leaving me more anxious for the actual exams this coming March..

• My friends say that I should just let go, and move on.. Easier said than done...

There, a few quick hits for the night!

Tambakan

Uso na pala ang tambakan ngayon..

I just recently watched a replay of the World Cup semifinal match between hometown favorite Brazil going up against the ruthlessly efficient German team. According to the match report I read, it was a total rout, with Brazil bowing out of the tournament in the worst possible way, losing 1-7. This left the Brazilian home crowd anguished and in tears. Brazil is a football-crazy nation, and their projected chance of winning the cup this year was really good, so this was an epic letdown for them.

Anyway, since I knew what to expect, I just watched to see how Germany pulled it off, or  how Brazil let it slip away..

It was a massacre.. 5 goals in 26 minutes of play? Seriously? Man... :(

People who know me well know that I'm not really a big football man, but I felt really bad when I watched that.. It seemed so surreal.. In fact, I guess it was the most downright depressing thing I have ever witnessed in sports.. :(

UAAP Season 77 is finally underway, and the opening matches were, uh, somewhat disappointing.. 3 out of the four opening games were total blowouts.. I thought this was going to be a competitive year, with almost all the teams on equal footing? And UST lost badly as well.. Hay naku..

In other sports news unrelated to blowouts, the NBA player movement has begun. This year's crop of free agents appears very deep, which includes Miami's Big Three, and Carmelo Anthony. The biggest news I was able to get a hold of thus far is that LeBron James will now be coming home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This has the shapings of a great team in the years to come, with James returning home to a team being built around last year's first pick Kyrie Irving.