26 December

2 more nights and I'm 19. One step closer to being an independent adult. By independent, meaning closing off all contact with most of my relatives. Right. That'll happen. It's so like Christmas to make me wish I'm rich and do not have to live off my parents' income.

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I cooked our Noche Buena. Yey for me. Hopefully, by next year I'll learn how to cook rice properly. How was my cooking? Good. We didn't get food poisoning so I managed to kill the pathogenic bacteria. The chicken is one step closer to the taste of Max's roast chicken. The pasta is becoming tastier, thanks to the dried herbs. I still do not have the equipment to make dessert so we had to buy tiramisu from Red Ribbon.

The tiramisu is good but they should have a warning on it. I think they used a bit more alcohol than usual and I doubt it'll be good for the kiddies and the hypersensitive like me. Fortunately, I didn't experience any allergic reactions and my cousin is asthmatic so he wasn't able to eat any not because of the alcohol but due to the chocolate. My brother is another matter, but do I really care what happens to him? = p

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Saw a blog post on public health lectures conducted by UPCM students during their rotations. Ugh... that's one more thing I won't be looking forward to in med school(in UP). I wonder if those are really effective? One of the blog post seem to mention it's capabilities. A study is needed not just only to measure its effectiveness and learn about its real effect on patients but also to learn how to better conduct it.

I'm turning nineteen on Dec 28, that's about 5 days from now. Crap. Last year of being a teenager. I guess once I turn 20 I forfeit the right to make stupid and ignorant posts. I should also be more careful with my grammar. Then again, that is a good thing because I'll learn to be more responsible and be a better writer. And it'll help me gain skills that will really help in grad school and in my professional life. Why do I keep thinking about grad school when I haven't even gained my undergrad diploma yet? Not to mention, I need to attend med school first. Sigh... guess I'm just excited to apply the skills that I am(and will be) learning here in CPH.

Dec 18 - Lantern Parade
The day we've been preparing for the whole semester(We were a bunch of lazy people so we did end up cramming some of the stuff needed for the parade.). We were really excited and hoping that we'd win the first place for our lantern especially after the horrible lost of the previous batch. Actually, my only goal was to place higher than a certain college where most of my uh... friends who love to tease are.

I arrived and saw this weird black thing in front of our college building. Apparently that was supposed to be the stereoscope that will hold the lantern. I'm not the only one who was disappointed; one classmate remarked it looked like a giant faucet. Some even go as far as calling it a huge stapler. It's all right because hand washing is still related to public health.

That wasn't the only disappointment. The ribbon thing and the Filipino child thing I was working on the day before were not included in the final float. Talk about wasted effort, time and materials. The ribbon looked pretty but the child wasn't. We call it Tyanak.

The prejudging was scheduled at noon. We had to deliver our float to the PGH atrium. We cared feared so much for our float's stability that around 10 people accompanied it, me included. The start of the journey was fine but by the time we reached the College of Medicine area, we started becoming crazy.

The reason for the craziness(not the jumping, I couldn't find pics with the real crazy) are the banderitas. Some were really low that our float got stuck(sumabit). Every time this happens we started screaming loudly. Due to the screams and beauty of our lantern, we attracted attention from the med students lounging outside. One of my batchmates heard someone exclaim, "P*ta, ang ganda!"("Shit! That's beautiful.") Hearing that raised my spirit but I tried pushing it down and maintain a neutral not-expecting attitude.

After a longish journey, we finally arrived at PGH. Some confusion ensued and we learned that the prejudging would take place in the atrium and not at the parking lot. So our journey was lengthened a bit. Once we reached the PGH main entrance, we started becoming crazy again as the ceiling seems to low to accomodate our float but our fears were unfounded as the float fit exactly and all the parts survived the journey.

Having done our job, I left with a friend. We went to Robinson's to buy lunch and our gifts for our lucky person then we returned to Lara hall to prepare for the parade.

There was a 1pm call time. All the students from 1st to 4th year, the faculty and staff who will attend should be within Lara hall's vicinity by 1pm. But by 1pm, only our batch(3rd yr) and some sophomores were there. The faculty were having a Christmas party, the senior's and freshies' locations were unknown. Some of us feared that we(the ones there at that time) will be the only people participating in the parade.

Chaos and craziness follow and finally by departure time people started arriving and we breathed more easily.

At the PGH parking lot, merry making began.

The Parade.
I could not possibly use words to describe the parade. Suffice to say, it was full of thrills and extremely satisfying. There was one point when we had to try catching up to the college before us as we were lagging behind. We resorted to pushing the lantern through low banderitas, rough terrain and numerous turns. Some of us even have to run backwards to keep the float on the right track and the lantern hanging on. Too bad I do not have pictures of that(I was supposed to be the picture taker.)

Oh yeah... we WON!
Merriest Crowd...

Best Facade...

and best of all...
Best Lantern!

Note: Images from www.zachriel.multiply.com. I was not the one who captured this images as my camera died on me as the parade was about to start.

I've decided to make a more detailed account of what happened during the last few days instead of being such a lazy ass b*tch who just makes a list. Hopefully, it'll also be more interesting.

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December 14
Last day of classes. I left our house late but I still expected to arrive at UP at around 8:10. Unfortunately, the LRT experienced some technical issues so I ended up arriving at around 8:45. Not bad if my class was 8:30; it isn't. I heard later that our course coordinator said some choice words to the class due to the high number of latecomers. Good thing, he wasn't there any more when I arrived.

The lecture was boring not because the topic was(the immune system is such a fascinating thing) but because we already learned about it last semester in our other courses. Time which should have been spent on taking notes(which I already have thanks to our Microbiology course) was spent on debating whether our teacher is gay. He sounds and acts effeminately but has a weird gold ring on his left ring finger. Then again, some gay men are married.

Afternoon class was very brief. We only had a quiz. I sucked in that quiz. I committed a whole lot of rookie mistakes like not checking if the agar plate used is the correct kind. I didn't fail but I got a grade way below my expectations. So much for the chance to increase by grade in that subject.

Classes end and we go to work on our lantern. We desperately want to win the inter-college annual Lantern making contest. We only had a few more days before the deadline and the lantern still doesn't look like a lantern so we decided to "sleep over" and try to finish it. My classmates who lived nearby planned to sleep over for three nights, I lived further away and have very protective parents so I get to sleep over only for one night and this was the night. But instead of heading straight to the lantern, I had some prior appointments. As it was the last day of classes, my org decided to have our Christmas party on that date. It was fun and the old members came. Our group won the longest vertical line game. I'll try to get a picture of our winning line.

After the party, I returned to the lantern. I put myself on tahong duty. It was a really tedious task, involving lots of wood glue, patience and the skill to find the right piece that would fit. That's me in the blue jacket.



Three hours later and with the help of a few classmates, the arm was ready for the next step. This is my slightly demented at night classmate, Reg.



I was feeling sleepy but I don't want to sleep so I decided to do the next best thing.

No, I wasn't taking a nap under our lantern. I was trimming the excess parchment we've sewn into our lantern.

Anyway, it beats the shit out of the other remaining tasks which involved sticking unwieldy pieces of bamboo, which they are all doing.

And yes, that is a hair dryer.

But it think it was well worth their effort.


By morning, everyone awake was a bit crazy. One classmate cannot stop laughing while I become grumpier and grumpier by the minute(they have to understand, I haven't slept). Some started singing and I barely stop myself from hitting those noisy people. Besides, I was thinking about what to do with another essential part of the lantern.

Yes, it looks like crappy moss with paint on and no, that's not me in the picture.

At around 6am, I left and went home. Saturday was spent sleeping. I did go to SM North Edsa but I think I was still sleeping there. Proof: I bought Smokes and Mirrors in Fully Booked when I could buy the same thing for a lower price in National Bookstore.

December 16
I returned to UP to find out that nobody is left in our workroom. The lantern looks more complete.(Pictures taken on the night of Dec 15, I couldn't find a picture without people in it.)




As I don't know what to do next, I just left. I ate lunch at Jollibee and attempted to steal a fork for our Chris Cringle. I was about to succeed but this lady stood behind me and I couldn't bear to do it so I left the freakin' fork.

I text messaged my classmate and she said that I should do the tahong thing again on the other side of the star. Fine... so I returned and worked on it alone. Alone... alone... Just as I was about to go crazy, a classmate came to help me out. And soon enough, others arrived as well. Night came quickly and I've decided to try asking my parents if I could stay over to work on the lantern. They didn't let me. Oh well, there were only a few things left to do regarding it anyway and we finally decided how to make that crappy green thing above look more acceptable.

My classmates have found out my agnostic and slightly atheistic beliefs(I go to mass because I am forced by my parents). They seem to be really affected by it. Sample reactions:
"Nye, I'm Agnostic too."
"It seems it's true that as a person becomes smarter they become less religious."
"Really!"
"I'll be praying for you! Lord heal our land..."

The last one came from a really childish classmate and he did sing the next sentence. I was busy that time so I told him that it wasn't his mission in life to "save me." He must've thought I was joking because he merely made his singing louder.

In a batch full of very devout believers(mostly, Christians) and a college where the Dean's inauguration ceremony was preceded by a Catholic High Mass, I'm really out of place. At times when religion is discussed, I usually feel compelled to defend my beliefs and "religious stance" but I usually just shut up until a question is directed at me. It's not that I do not think I could defend myself, it's just that I feel that my explanations will fall on deaf ears or worse, I might cause their "conversion." Not that the converting/leaving their religion is such a bad thing, I just don't want to be responsible for their decision. Yes. That does sound stupid. I think it's because I hate playing the role of a teacher with my friends in fields where I know I do not have sufficient information like in religion(I haven't even completed the Bible). And I fear that their parents will go after me once they learn their child's conversion.

Well, I think the worst thing to happen is to lose their friendship. I value friendship above my own comforts and desires most of the time. So much so that I tend to shut up if casual talk goes into talks about sensitive topics like religion, contraceptives, sex education and human sexuality(You won't believe how homophobic, or at the very most, homo-INtolerant my batch mates are!).

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Last test of the year tomorrow. Wait... I have two quizzes on Friday. Nye... those two don't count. = p

My grandfather has learned of my plan to take a one-year break before going to med school. As expected, he isn't such a big fan of my idea. It is a good thing that I have a good boy rep in my family such that the talk didn't need to go to raised voices or threats. Unfortunately, due to my good boy rep the only thing I managed to do was keep quiet and say "opo" occasionally. Then again, it might be a good thing because he thinks I will go straight to med school. Na-ah. I'll only go straight to med school if I don't encounter job opportunities especially if it is in NIH, FNRI or Trop Med. I shouldn't worry much because I still have one year to search for those opportunities and, hopefully, one of my teachers in CPH will know about a program or something that I could join. And when the time comes that they learn about my real plans, I hope they accept it and trust that I will still go to med(unlike my aunt) and understand that I have my own reasons for doing those things(mainly, because I fear that I'll burn out or worse, get bored in Med especially after experiencing how classes are conducted by UPCM teachers).

Trillanes... Makes me remember a saying in Dune: Power attracts the corruptible.

Putek!

Unang pagsusulit na namin sa 152(Med and PH microbiology) bukas!

Ano nga ba namang buhay ito?!

Nakakatawa kasi parang wala ka na talagang pwedeng kainin o inumin na ligtas sa mga microbyo at mga bulate pero ayos lang kasi ang galing-galing naman ng katawan(at ng mga kaibigang mikrobyo) natin makipaglaban sa kanila... ay sa bulate pala hindi. = p

I just had a fight with my mother. Well, it's not so much a fight as she was the only one who blew her head off. In the end, I was the one who had to say sorry. I hate apologizing when I know I am the one who is right. Maybe, I shouldn't have said that last thing but that was also her chance to accept that she was wrong and end the argument. But I did end up apologizing to her, partly because I still live under her roof and plan to do so for many more years to come and mostly, because she is my mother who still can't accept that her child has managed to show her one of her flaws. In addition to this, she still can't accept that I have already learned many of the things that she wants me to learn from her. Hay...

Nearing the end of our fight, she implied that she's afraid that when we grow up we're just going to dump her and mistreat her. That's not going to happen unless this one big thing turns to a mess. Any way, barring any major disagreements, I'll probably not be able to leave my parents. Relatives? maybe. Brother? Why not? With my career plans, I'll probably won't be able to support them or take them to big trips and vacations or hold big parties for them but I won't leave them. They're my parents. As much as it sounds illogical, irrational and stupid. That's the argument I'm using. Hm...

Unfortunately, my mother seems to have this idea that once I become a doctor, I'll go to the specialist route(ex. cardiothoracic surgeon specializing on post-op care) and end up becoming rich. Nyeh! I won't become those (mostly) overpaid people. I hate it that a patient have to pay tons of doctors who in the end just gave her a referral and not a proper diagnosis(and treatment or management plan). Herbert(Frank not Brian) is slightly right to dislike specialists. I want to become a MD(probably a Family doctor) and a DrPH and a researcher and a professor. Those are not exactly the most lucrative careers available to a person who is going to have higher education. I don't even know how I'm going to support my future child/-ren and my mother have to learn to accept this. I guess they deserve big trips, vacations and parties especially my mother because she is a self-made woman and a person who managed to harness her resources to gain wealth but I won't be able to provide those for them. Then again, maybe I will become rich.

Tapos na ang unang linggo ng pangalawang sem pero pakiramdam ko isang buwan na ang nagdaan Gusto ko na ata mag-sem break uli lalo na nang hindi ko naman nasulit ang sem break ko. Hindi tulad ng CAS kung saan hindi nagpapakita ang mga prof at instructor sa unang linggo, sa CPH unang araw lecture agad. Ano ba naman iyan?! At dahil nakita ko na ang mga schedule ng exams, activities at class lectures, na-to-toxic na ako. Idagdag mo pa ang lantern parade at ang sayaw manila. Buhay talaga...

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Nasasabik na ako dahil mag-lalaro(nyek! mag-e-eksamin) na kami ng tae. Kaninong tae? Uhm... sa akin. Sana lang wala akong makitang bulate.

Great! I have a cold(sipon). It started with a slightly annoying sore throat, progressed to a very painful one then some random bouts of heavy mucus secretions then finally a full blown cold with a matching headache. Thank the heavens(Did I just say that?) for Strepsils, Suka+Tubig+Asin gargle and Cynosal(my preferred drug for colds and headaches). I also had a slight fever before the final stage. Hopefully, it'll only last for a few days but knowing my lousy(but not compromised) immune system, it'll probably end next week.

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I've just learned that Book3 of Avatar: The Legend of Aang can now be viewed. Yey! I've just seen the first episode, it seems it's going to be a darker moodier final season.

Day 2 and 3... day 2 morning spent on the sea(in a boat, of course) and on the beach, afternoon for sleep and night for swimming and more sleep. day3 morning, we went to the airport and flew to home.

Me and my Dad(It's morning; I'm still grumpy.)


Different shots of the sea(and sky) from the boat. Notice the beautiful cloud formations and, on the last two, some dolphins.











A starfish, unfortunately, it's not orange so it can't be called Patrick.





Random self pics, enjoy(?)

















On the boat with my family



Dinner


The end of Day 2

Day 3

At the hotel


At the airport

All the Pictures, Thanks for to Sony Cybershot.