2015 Yearender

Wow, I'm actually making a yearender post ON TIME! :P

This has been a great year, with its own ups and downs, all of which made they year so much more unique. :D

It has been a year of tremendous change for me, starting with my graduation from Internal Medicine, to passing the PSBIM, to starting first year anew as a fellow in subspecialty training. :)

Of course, there's also the small matter of finally finding my Other Half, which may have drastically changed my life forever. ;)

This has also been a year of loss, with an uncle passing away recently after a prolonged battle with cancer..

Before the post goes all over the place, I'd like to break everything down into little bite-sized chunks as I am apt to do...

- Fist of all, many thanks to the Great One upstairs who has always been there for me, my family, my friends, and pretty much everyone else in this world. We have to remember that it is only through Him and His holy will that everything  that is has come to pass.

- A big thank you to my wonderful folks and bro who were always there for me regardless of how stuff went. Thank you for putting up with me, being the rascal hat I am. :P I love you! :D

- I would also have to give thanks to my new mentors who teach us fellows day in and day out the nuances of the subspecialty we chose to pursue. Thank you for all the patience you show, and all the learnings we get from you.

- Also worthy of being mentioned here are my former bosses from the old hospital whom I see from time to time when they make their rounds. Its always nice to see a friendly face, or hear a friendly voice through the phone. :)

- Thank you to my new co-fellows at the hospital. We've had about less than a year to get to know each other, and the seniors are graduating in 3 months. Thank you for all that I've learned from all of you, whether it be senior or batchmate. For my batchmates, let's make our final year a memorable one! Good luck everyone!

- Special mention goes to our Chief Fellow. Thank you boss, for making us feel at home and comfortable in the new and sometimes daunting environment of a national specialty hospital. You've always acted so kindly towards us, and acts as a protective big brother who takes care of everyone. Good luck with your exams boss! Kayang-kaya mo yan!

- Thank you to the nursing and support staff at the new hospital. Thank you for making us feel welcome and for embracing us as a part of the family.  We doctors would not be able to do the things we do if you were not there beside us, accompanying us along the way

- To our patients, especially those in the service ward or OPD. Thank you for entrusting yourselves to our care. We learn much from you as we treat you and monitor your progress day by day. It warms my heart when we are able to send you home safe and sound, but we are also saddened for those who are unable to make it.

- Lastly, to my precious Other Half.. We've come such a long way already from our humble beginnings, and look where we stand now.. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would actually meet someone like you.. Yeah, in the past, to me you were just a concept, an abstract ideal which I thought would never come to pass.. But now here you are.. someone who gets me from even a very fundamental level.. :) Thank you for everything, and I'm looking forward to more great things to come :D

At the ER

It's time for another rotation at the Emergency Room, the rotation I like the least.. :( at least now the end seems to be in sight, with only roughly 20 ER duties to go before I will be totally rid of this forever..

It's really a struggle to get up and go to work day in and day out, especially if you feel that you've made some crappy life decisions along the way.. Makes me kinda wish I could turn back time and steer my life in a completely different direction.. Make no mistake, there have been blessings that came my way as well, but all the trauma and hardships I've been through seems to trump it all, and in the end there's just no contest..

I guess what I want to say is that I'm sick of having to worry about everything and that it would be nice to have nothing to worry about for a change...

Mortality and Morbidity

Amidst all the banter here at the office while waiting for the start of the conference, I'm able to sneak in a little time to type an entry..

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During Conference

Luckily the laptop is still open and I'm tucked away at the end of the table so I can keep on typing. Its a duty day again today.. At least I was able to squeeze in a little personal time yesterday before going home. :) I'm really grateful for the time well spent. Its amazing how much you can accomplish when everything is within arms' reach, so to speak. ;)

Gosh, thisis taking quite a while.. I hope OPD won't be too busy today. I'm feeling really sluggish enough as it is, and I still have quite a laundry list of things to do..

My batchmate is inviting me to go out with them tommorrow. Though I'm grateful for the invite, I would very much rather go straight home to my bed to rest. And who know, there might be another oppotunity to have a little private time again. :)

I love sleep. Aside from the obvious benefit of allowing you to rest your aching body, it also affords a brief getaway from everything else, a special time away from all the hustle and bustle of the routine of daily life. :P

Pacquiao? Wag na lang

I don't have much time, so for this entry I will be brief and concise.. and a bit angry as well..

I don't like Manny Pacquiao anymore. He was so much better as a boxing champion and nothing else. The fact that he dabbled in politics, and even had the nerve to enter professional basketball just because of who he was sickens me to the core.. And now he wants to run for a seat in the Senate, Philippine goverment being a big joke by itself already. The sad part is, the stupid voting masses will definitely vote for him just because of his godawful popularity, never mind that he was only present at congress for four days during his entire tenure. He's making a joke out of everything he tries to get himself into. The sad thing about this is that he's acting like everything is all right. I have the greatest respect for the hardworking simple people of this country, but Pacquiao being in the position he's in, should stop being so childish and simple-minded and realize that this is something that he is not meant to do.. Such an arrogant, simple-minded fool! I have said that people deserve the leaders they choose. If everything goes to shit, I don't think I wanna stay here anymore.. since I did not choose that man to lead me.. People may laugh about how adorably stupid he may act, and the masses would embrace him for that because he is "one of them".. Kaya hindi umuusad ang Pilipinas eh.. The people who don't have any idea how to vote correctly are the ones with the greatest voting power just because of sheer numbers. 

Making the most of it..

Wow, my third entry in a day.. This has got to be some kind of record for me.. I guess that's what happens when you're looking for any sort of catharsis to make you feel better about a lot of things that you've kept bottled up for some time..

Hmm.. I've been thinking of writing a book for the longest time. Not a story, because I've tried that but failed miserably given my nature to summarize things. :P Maybe an autobiography of sorts.. I won't be posting anything here, although admittedly some of the content may seem familiar to the readers (?) of this blog. Yeah.. I could make it chapter by chapter, then figure out the chronology when everything is written and done. :D

Solitude

Sunday duties suck, but if there's one consolation, it's the fact that the hospital is more or less empty the entire day, and that means you end up with a relatively quiet hospital.

Other people would be uncomfortable with the silence, I however, tend to bask in it. I even try to make my footsteps as light as possible when walking through the corridors so as not to disturb the beautiful void which pervades the hospital environs..

I understand people completely when they talk about running off to a weekend getaway to the beach or some hillside cabin so as to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. While the youger set would probably just use these getaways to make more noise such as beach parties in boracay, we of the *sigh* older generation would tend to shy away from all the frivolousness and just find a quiet nook to be alone with out thoughts or cuddle up with someone we love. ;)

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Was able to spend a bit of much-needed quality time with brother over the weekend break, which consisted mostly of NBA 2K sessions, as well as introducing him to a new anime. :D This was capped off with a relatively simple ChickenJoy lunch before we went on our respective activities for the day. We first thought of going out, but were too lazy to really get moving and just opted for delivery. Hehe.

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Ugh, I'm gonna be at the ER again this November.. then again in February, for hopefully the final time.. :P Its no secret that I really loathe the ER.. But I guess these last 20 duties are something I have to go through before I'm really rid of the ER forever.. As second year I may be expected to cover the firsties from time to time, but the fact that you're no longer organic there will be a load off my mind..

Ward calls! Gotta go!

The sad thing about having an awesome day..

..is that the following normal day is guaranteed to suck even more. :( That's the way life balances itself out I guess.. Sigh..This becomes even more pronounced when you are still a doctor in training, following a schedule which required you to regularly go on grueling duties which saps both your energy and happiness.. A sad reality which we have to face day in and day out. I really ca't wait for training to end..

Still, I enjoyed yesterday though, no matter how brief it was.. :)