Saw Third World Happy and a bunch of shorts from ANC's Kinse.

Different sizes of canvass, so how do I fill mine up? And will I ever feel like Juan Luna when he won the Spoliarium? At the very least, get the chance to achieve that feeling? Damn movie. Had me thinking and reflecting again.

As I surfed the net, I saw this entry of a management graduate talking about how he'd probably attend Harvard grad school or maybe London or some other foreign school. I envy those rich kids. They get to go to whatever school they want to go to without the need to think about finances. Made me realize an undergraduate US degree means you are probably from a damn rich family, whether you are smart is a different matter. Or as a proud UP student would surmise, baka kasi di pumasa sa UPCAT.

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work is becoming more interesting now and holy shite! I have to finish writing those papers. Two weeks of vacation left.

A UP education is not taken to ensure success in life, it's there to mold you to the type of person the country needs you to be.

Although the University will no doubt equip you with tools that will help you succeed in the field of study you are in.

Not in the mood to do any thing requiring mental work. damn it. can't be. I don't have a zombie mode.

let's get distracted with mind reading cat ears!

very unproductive day at the office. I'm kind of feeling like I'm just mooching off the department's electricity. I actually managed to finish book 3 of Song of Ice and Fire because of all the down time we have. And it's not like I didn't try to be productive. I am so ahead of the paperwork right now. I have the tool, consent letter, kit and presentation slides on hand. I just need a go signal from those people! Gah those physicians and their freaking societies! meet with us dammit! let's get this study rolling! If we manage to send out the protocols before school starts, I wouldn't feel guilty receiving my pay.

in other news, I get some time to do the paperwork for other stuff I need to work on like the immersion report and that reflection that remains a blank sheet staring at my face.

Research here in the Philippines seems so different from what I read in the blogs from US researchers. I don't feel too happy about the prospect of being an RA for around 2 years after I graduate but I do need experience before I commit myself to getting a Masters or, if I'm crazy, a PhD. Maybe it's because RA positions do not seem to need that much of dedication and can be just temp jobs for many MD not wanting to go straight into residency. I guess I have to just show it to those people.

Attended a lecture by Dr Ian Frazer this morning. During the lecture, my friend and classmate was asking me about where HPV can also go and cause cancers. I've heard about how it is related to oral and anal CA but wasn't sure if it was already conclusive. Well, Dr Frazer helped and said that it is already proven. And browsing through wiki, I saw that the HPV vaccine was recently approved by the US FDA for use against anal CA. Interesting... I wonder if the government would ever have a vaccination program for anal HPV infection which you get from having anal intercourse. I think it'll be a long time before they'll do that. They already have a hard time enacting a law that would serve the needs of half of the population ie the women since some people do not want their taxes being spent on contraceptives and sex ed. HPV vaccine for men will benefit the MSM and gay population more than the straight population and I find it difficult for those same people who oppose a certain bill to swallow the fact that the money they give to government will be spent on vaccines to protect the sinners from disease they think the sinners deserve (as if they they want these people to experience hell here on earth or fear that the gays wouldn't go to hell since hell probably doesn't exist in the  first place).

If you just use arguments based on rights and health, we wouldn't have this conundrum. Why can't people just let others live? Their salvation isn't even at stake.

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The google doodle is wickedly brilliant today!

was googling something and my old entries came up. I'm not such a bad writer. Talkative but not bad. Or maybe I'm just biased.

We're playing the waiting game at work this week. I hate this waiting, following-up and waiting. I really hope we can finish the protocol and pre-testing before classes start.

Laptop is ill at the moment so no new pictures. Haven't even finished the davao batch.

Apparently doctors are very much like med students. They work a lot, cram too much stuff into their schedule, juggle multiple projects, have two or three meetings within the same time period, get distracted easily and gossip a lot during breaks. Only difference is they get to travel to many places while med students are stuck inside whether it be the classroom, the laboratory or the hospital.

And being assistants for multiple bosses, all on flexitime is not fun. I'm still kind of lost in what we'll be doing next week.

And I'm having the block right now. Can't freaking finish a 350 word reflection on the field work we just conducted. damn.

See? Messy and complex.

okay, that's one less mystery in the world. Not that I was seriously considering devoting my life to malaria laboratory research. Public health and social science research is way more fun. Granted it gets tedious and repetitive but the complexity and the messiness is really attractive.