Stupid! I lost the key to our locker in microbiology and biochemistry. Good thing that the lab tech has a spare key but I need to have it duplicated. It seems it's not a big problem but the key is a weird one and I do not think they make keys that are like it any more. Still, I could comfort myself with the fact that they'd probably stop using those locks if they do not know any one who could make a duplicate of it. Actually, there is a place, somewhere in Buendia. I do not know where exactly but what I do know is that Buendia is a big place. Hufff... I just hope I didn't really lose the key and it's just hiding somewhere in one of my classmates bags.

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I've just learned that there was a contest about the Filipino language. It said that the entries were supposed to be blog entries on the theme of Filipino Month(Buwan ng Wika). Well, the contest has ended and the winners will be announced next week. Too bad since I have so many things to say(rant...) about the Filipino language and the language situation, I think I have made a post about it in the past, I just don't know when and where it is(I'm too lazy to look for it).

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Somenone's been pestering me about my past crushes. Oh please! Like I'll ever tell! It's my BIG secret who those(plural?!) are. Besides, I've decided to not fall in love with anybody(as if I could stop that from happening... well, I could... I'd just have to surround myself with academics and friends... then again, I get a bit lonely sometimes...) and focus on my studies, I have yet to make a scientific breakthrough or uplift the lives of people in a certain community. Love can wait.

Ang ganda ng kantang Wag Ka Na Umiyak ng Sugarfree(well, the best pa rin ang Mariposa) at maganda rin ang music video pero may panira sa dulo. Smoking! Ano ba? Smoking? Paninigarilyo ba ang solusyon sa mga problema sa buhay? Tsk. Sinisisi ko ang direktor, marami namang pwedeng ibigay sa isang nalulungkot(kung ako tatanungin mas ok sa akin ang chocolate) pero bakit kailangan sigarilyo? Bakit kaya pumayag ang banda na ilagay ito? Siguro naninigarilyo sila pero kailangan ba nila ipalandakan at ipilit sa kanilang mga tagakinig(at taganood) na ayos lang ang manigarilyo lalo na kung ikaw ay nalulungkot? Siguro OA lang ako at ang pagbigay ng sigarilyo at isang paraan ng direktor ipakita ang pagusbong ng pagkakaibigan ng dalawang tauhan sa video PERO sana naman pinagiisipan ng mga bandang ito ang mga bagay na idinidikit sa kanilang pangalan. Para tuloy silang Foo Fighters, mga itinatanggi na HIV virus ang sanhi ng sakit na AIDS at sinuportahan pa ang isang may pagkabaliw(hindi naman siya baliw, matino naman ang kanyang isip) na babae at ang kanyang organisasyon. Ang yayabang pa nilang magkalat ng mga impormasyong hindi naman nila naiintindihan ni kaunti.

Balik sa paninigarilyo, kapansin-pansin na maraming palabas ang nagpapakita ng paninigarilyo pero hindi naman ang galit sa lahat ng mga iyon (minsan kailangan talaga na naninigarilyo ang isang tauhan) medyo galit lang pero may iilan na tama ang paggamit ng paninigarilyo at sa sugarfree video, pakiramdam ko mali talaga.

Naalala ko tuloy nung nakita kong ginagawang smoking area ang aming nirerenovate na student's lounge ng mga trabahador! Aba! Ano pakiramdam nila nasa Pilipinas sila? Bawal kaya manigarilyo sa campus; napaka-big deal kaya niyon kasi Health Science center ang aming unibersidad tapos binabastos-bastos mo lang! Kaya lang, ako naman tanga, hindi nagsumbong. Tsk tsk. Sa susunod talaga... At naalala ko tuloy iyong mga guwardiya ng MRT na naninigarilyo sa MRT station tapos nasa likod nila isang napakalaking sign na nagsasabing BAWAL MANIGARILYO SA LOOB NG TREN O ISTASYON. Sayang hindi ko nakuhanan ng litrato.

It's getting crazy in here. Our class schedules all jumbled up. I feel that this semester will be made one week longer. It's not that bad but it's weird when there comes a time(usually early to mid-October) the only students that seem to be stressing out in Manila are the students from UPM. On the plus side, our test for Anatomy and Physiology was postponed. Unfortunately, they're all dumped into next week. So for next week, Tuesday will be for Micro and Biostat, Wednesday for Anatomy and Thursday for Physiology, Friday will be free but we have a scheduled dance for that date. Ugh... And I have test tomorrow.

Tests... I seem to be talking about tests all of the time right now. Sorry. I have very few adventures(as if I have adventures...) these days since ALL of my time is spent on studying or taking a break(usually reading something else or sleeping or eating) from studying. No time to go outside then again I rarely do go out. I prefer the comfort of our couch from the thrills of the outdoors(urban or real). Heh!

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Sino kaya nakaisip na i-suspend ang classes ngayong araw na ito. Ang liwa-liwanag nga sa amin at wala pang baha. Tutal, hindi ko naman dapat gamitin na basehan ang aming lugar para gumawa ng mga konklusyon tungol sa panahon at kalagayan sa ibang bahagi ng NCR kasi kadalasan ay naliligtas ang lugar namin sa mga bagyo at baha. Matagal-tagal na nga nang huling nagka-blackout sa amin dahil sa bagyo o malakas na ulan. At hindi ko pa nararanasan na lumangoy sa baha o maglipat ng gamit dahil pinasok na kami ng baha(Kaya siguro ayaw ko lumipat ng bahay o kaya tumira sa Maynila, ew... baha... yuck!).

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Epal talaga ang mga politiko sinisisi ba naman ang PAG-ASA(meteorology center, hindi ang abstract na object o iyong ibong namatay na). Kailangan ba nila talaga ng gabay mula sa PAG-ASA para sa lahat ng gagawin nila? Helo! At hindi nila kailangan maging tama palagi! Hindi sila Diyos! Hindi sila Kalikasan! Hindi nila kaya utusan ang mga bagyo na lumitaw bigla! Kaya lang nila ay gumawa ng "educated guess." At least, sinabi nila(mga politiko) na baka kailangan nang palitan ng PAG-ASA ang kanilang mga gamit. Ewan ko kung kailangan nila, baka hindi, wala kasi akong balita tungkol sa kalagayan ng mga gamit sa PAG-ASA(pero pakiramdam ko medyo naghihirap na rin sila). Parang ewan nga lang sila kasi ininsulto muna nila ang mga taong nagtratrabaho sa PAG-ASA tapos tsaka sinabi na baka ang equipment ang may kasalanan.

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Ang racist talaga ng mga Pilipino. Tignan niyo na lang ang mga jokes ng Pinoy(iyong mga tipong may Pilipino, may Hapon at may Amerikano...). Iyon nga lang jokes lang iyon. Kaya lang parang pag ininsulto ang lahing Pilipino ang bilis natin magalit(joke man o seryoso tulad ng ginawa noon ni Jay Leno). Ano ba talaga? Huwag nga gawin sa iba ang ayaw mong gawin nila sa iyo eh.

That's it! I've wasted my youth(well, a good part of it).

Meet Eva Vartes. It's a bit long a little less than 20 minutes but I promise you will learn something. She could have done a better job(she keeps walking and saying um... and pausing and um...) but it's good enough to get the message across. Take note, she's only 17 in that video. I'm 18! What have I done with my life? Nothing! Nothing!

I blame the lack of opportunities here in the Philippines and my laziness and lack of initiative. But really, I shouldn't be too hard on myself since science is not about how young you start(or how long you've been working), it's not even about the greatest discoveries, it's on how good(reliable, repeatable, unbiased) your work is, even though you end up having proven the null hypothesis(no correlation). Still, I wish I had done/experienced some real research.

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Napanood ko kahapon iyong pelikulang Batad. Hindi ko natapos kasi may kailangan pa akong gawin pero gusto ko ang napanood ko. Sayang talaga at hindi ko natapos. Nakakaaliw pa naman. Uulitin naman siguro iyon sa Channel 5 o kapag swinerte, magkaka-commercial release pa(pirata kaya meron?).

Maganda ang isyu na tinalakay ng pelikula. Isa na ang Tradisyon o Pag-asenso? Ano nga ba ang dapat mangyari sa mga IP(tulad ng mga nakatira sa Batad, hindi ko alam kung Ifugao, Ibaloy o Kankanay sila eh) group sa Pilipinas? Hindi ba't dapat makapag-aral sila? Pero paano na ang kanilang mga tradisyon at kultura? Hindi ba't maaaring mawala ito lalo na't kung lahat sila ay titigil na sa kanilang tradisyonal na pamumuhay? Sa kaso nila, paano na ang mga rice terraces? Magagaya na ba sila sa Native Americans, magiging karaniwang tao o mananatiling nakaugat sa kanilang tradisyon? Pero, sino nga naman ang nagsabi na dapat mawala ang tradisyon kapag umasenso. Magulong usapan... hindi kasya sa post na ito. Kailangang mag-isip.

Pero tungkol talaga ito sa sapatos. Hindi! Seryoso! Kailangan ko makita ang huling bahagi, makahanap nga ng pirata... joke! ng legal na kopya.

Another day wasted...
Instead of studying(which I seem to be doing all the time nowadays), I spent the whole day playing Lineage II. I blame the heavy rains caused by Chedeng and Dodong. If it weren't for the suspension of classes last Wednesday and Thursday, I wouldn't have installed L2 in my PC. And if I didn't have L2 in my PC, I wouldn't be able to play whenever I feel to do so. I really should stop playing and should refrain from it for this week but I'll probably give in and play... I hope open beta ends soon...

More complaints: If classes weren't suspended, I wouldn't have such a heavy workload for this week. If classes weren't suspended, the biochem exam would have been over. Then again, I wasn't totally prepared for the test so I guess I should be happy about it. And all this suspended classes really wrecked our class schedules(and our org schedules).

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I saw this Global Warming ad in MTV. Stupid really! Full of false information(GW is caused by water vapor...yadda...yadda...we can't do anything about it... it is a part of a natural cycle...blah blah). They even used children to spread the word. If I were someone who is confused about Global Warming(which I slightly am but enough to know that it is real and is most probably caused by us humans), he or she would become even more confused. Tsk. Even their solutions are stupid. Recycling? Sure it'll help but saving electricity would be better. Playing outdoor games rather than computer games would be better. Still, they had some things right like those about the Hummer and other big vehicles. Then again, maybe they like to show(via this ad) how confused the topic of GW is and how it affects even the children. I dunno... if it is about how we should care more about the Earth and how GW is a threat, the message didn't reach me.

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Fun link... a bit long but it's really good:
http://celobox.googlepages.com/god.html

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Ang saya noong nakaraang Wednesday. Malakas ang ulan pero may test kami kaya kailangan pumasok. Go! Sumabay pa ako sa kapatid ko para maaga ako sa PH at makapag-aral pa. Sa LRT, imbes na matulog ay nagbasa ako hanggang sa may Tayuman nang biglang hinabol na ako ng antok. Babay aral! Heheh.

Pedro Gil. Baba ng LRT. Baba sa hagdanan. Inaantok pa ako pero pagdating ko sa baba...wah! Nasa Manila pa ba ako? Ang baha! Ang baha! Ang ihi! Ang baha! Napatigil pa ako. Paano naman ako papasok nito eh hindi pa ako nakakatungtong ng UP eh hindi na ako mukhang estudyante. Sa huli sabi ko na lang, "Ah basta! May tsinelas akong baon." Naghubad ako ng sapatos at sinuot si Hawianas(remember?). Tinupi ko ang aking pantalon(wala rin kwenta kasi nahuhulog bawat hakbang ko), nilabas ang payong at binuksan. Habang hawak ko sa isang kamay ko ang sapatos, sa isa ng payong at nakaipit sa aking braso ang aking libro(mga kalahating-dangkal lang naman ang kapal niyon), ako'y naglakad na papuntang CPH. Sabihin na lang natin na puti pa naman ang uniform ko pagdating ko sa CPH. Nakakaaliw sa bandang Taft, para kang nasa beach, may alon pa bawat daan ng sasakyan.

Sa CPH, walang tao maliban sa staff(guard, janitor). Diretso agad ako sa CR at hinugasan ang aking paa. Lahat ata ng ihi ng mga tao, hayop at kung anu pang nabubuhay sa mga kanal ng Taft at P.Gil ay nadikit sa paa ko. Kadiri! Wala akong sabon kaya dinaan ko na lang sa alkohol(buti na lang ang boy scout ko nung araw na iyon). Paglabas ko, naupo ako at nagsimula na mag-aral. Kaya lang medyo na-di-disturb ako sa aking pantalon. Naalala ko na may dala akong training attire(tennis/short shorts). Bahay na ito! T-shirt, shorts at tsinelas. Kung may dumating na mga prof(at may dumating nga), napaisip sila siguro kung bakit may batang nawawala sa CPH. Heheheh.

Syempre, nasayang lang ang pagpasok ko ng maaga(at paglusong sa baha) dahil na-suspend nga ang klase at ang aming exam.

I think I will take a break from studying after I receive my BSPH. I think it will help me get excited for medical school because right now, I'm getting annoyed at how my classes are going. It's not the subject or the instructor's problem, it's just me. I'm getting tired and I feel my mind is wandering too much that it hinders my learning.

SO what will I do during that one year break? I don't know. I'm looking for summer learning programs(abroad), internship/externship programs or something where I'll be studying but not in the usual lecture-test method. Unfortunately, my search has produced no suitable programs. I guess I could apply as a research assistant in NIH or beg to be a part-time TA or RA in CPH.

I could get a job. I don't know if QCSHS still accept teachers that do not have a BSSEd. If they do, that'll be something I'd like to do.

I'll definitely take the board exam. I will definitely take a 1 week vacation somewhere away from home(Europe?).

I guess if I want to do something productive for that year, I could ask my professors(or relatives) if they know some programs that I could apply to.

BUT I really shouldn't worry about it too much since I still have about 2 academic years before I graduate AND I could still change my mind and go to med school.

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It seems I was wrong when I said RBC's don't produce ATP. They do. Apparently, the reason of the RBC's real death(not the one resulting from nucleus expulsion) is the loss of their ability to produce ATP. They do not have mitochondria but their cell membrane and cellular enzymes still produce ATP. Read physio books for more details.

BUT, NOT-doctor Tam Mateo is still a quack. And I still wouldn't trust him for medical and scientific advice since he is still wrong when he said RBC's are the one that produce the ATP for the body. RBC's couldn't possibly supply all the ATP needed for biochemical processes. The ATP they produce is for maintaining their structural integrity and plays a part in their transport functions.

Another entity becomes part of my blacklisted pseudoscience health practitioners, this time it's not just one person but an organization: PITAHC or Philippines Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care. They seem harmless and many of their advice ARE harmless and some are quite helpful(three of the 10 featured herbs were proven to be effective in curing certain diseases) BUT they are a anti-vaccination group and currently recruiting an army of ND's(not doctors) and OD's(oo! hindi doktor) to initiate the "Natural Method of Treating Disease" takeover program.

Also, they spout the nonsense about natural products are better at curing disease just because they're NATURAL. ugh! An atom is an atom and an drug extracted from a plant is as effective as the same drug synthesized from the lab. Unless of course, the extraction procedure was not completely effective in purification which caused a helpful substance to be extracted also(note: usually the contaminants[those that should have been removed in the purification process] are toxic and not very helpful).

Grabe ang ulan kanina nung pauwi na ako. Bigla ba namang bumuhos ng kanda lakas-lakas! Sa ikli ng lalakarin ko papuntang LRT station, nagawa pa niyang gumawa ng baha sa Pedro Gil. Hindi pa naman super baha pero sapat na para mabasa ang loob ng aking sapatos. Kadiri! Napabili tuloy ako bigla ng Hawianas(pekeng Haviannas; mas matigas ng onte kaysa sa isa pang peke, Havannas).

Sana lang hindi ako nangangamoy sa LRT kanina. Hindi ko naman naamoy kung mabaho ako pero siguro iyong may mga sensitibong ilong naamoy ang aking kinakalat. Heh! Ikaw kaya subukan mong magalakad buong araw, magsayaw tapos ilublob ang paa sa baha ng Pedro Gil.

Ayun. Ayos lang naman na nabasa ang paa ko kanina. Hindi ko lang matanggap na nabasa lahat ng laman ng bag ko. Eh ang tanging laman ng bag ko ay mga photox; puro mga papel! Kaya ngayon nakalatag sila sa may sala namin para matuyo sila. Dahil nabasa sila, hindi ako tuloy makapag-aral ng biochem. Pati nga iyong isang libro ko hindi pinatawad ng ulan eh. Biruin mo mas matanda pa sa akin at glossy paper, nabasa ba naman!

Pero sige, ayos lang naman ang ulan. Dapat na matigil na ang dry spell. Wish ko nga lang sa may bandang North ang ulan hindi sa may South.

Okay. So, I'm now an unofficial member(I haven't paid the membership fee of $79) of the International High IQ Society. Not that I'm very proud of it. How can you be very proud of something you were probably born with?(Man, that is so Aiel.) Besides, IQ can be so overrated and I think luck played a huge part in some of the tests. I doubt that the reason I qualified is solely because of me having an above average IQ; I think it was because I know many problem solving strategies.

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Our 1st exam for Biochem Lab was postponed. It was because pGMA made yesterday a special holiday. It was good because I haven't studied enough yet. Unfortunately, the test was moved on Aug 15, the day of our 2nd Anatomy exam. Anatomy is an okay subject but the 1st test was hard and studying for it is very tiresome as the reference book seem to cast a sleeping spell on those who want to read it. I guess the best thing to do is to start studying. Actually, I am going to study after blogging but not anatomy or biochem but microbiology; I find that subject more interesting than the other two.

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Two more holidays this month. Yey! Both on Mondays. I wonder what would happen to our Anatomy and Physiology schedules...