Unang beses ko mag-turo kahapon. Hindi naman sa totoong klase, limang tao lang naman ang tinuruan ko. Tungkol sa Chem ang aking tinuro, ang pinaka-ayaw ko pa ang topic: Thermodynamics. Napatunayan ko pa lalo na upang malaman mo kung gaano ka kagaling sa isang bagay, dapat subukan mo itong ituro sa ibang tao.

Kumusta naman? Maayos naman. Naliwanagan naman ata sila tungkol sa kanilang inaaral. Tinanong pa ako kung pwede raw akong pumalit sa teacher nila. Aw... shucks... willikers... Na-plattned naman ako. At, malaki-laki rin ang bayad sa akin. Hehe, pwedeng-pwede na gawing raket ito!

Pero next time aayusin ko na talaga, tsaka nakalimutan ko sagutin iyong tanong ng isa kong tinuturuan sa 1st batch(dalawang batch ang tinuruan ko). Natulog naman siya sa akin kaya ayos lang. Hindi ko naman kasalanan na makatulog siya; lima na lang sila tapos natulog pa siya. Tsk tsk... any way. Ayos naman. Kaya lang, babay Sabado na ata ito.

Ano ang nangyari sa aking unang "sweldo"? Pinambili ko nang Havianas para kay Madie! Ang aking birthday at going-away gift para sa kanya. Ayos lang naman na naubos ito kasi madali ko namang mababawi iyong nawala sa susunod ko na sesyon.

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Parang gusto ko panoorin ang Avenue Q kaya lang wala akong libreng oras. Malapit na matapos ang sem at naiipon na ang mga gawain. Naglalabasan na nga muli ang mga exam eh pero ang pinakaproblema ko lang ngayon ay kung paano ko papalitan ang nawala naming susi ng locker sa micro lab. Kailangan i-interrogate pa si Mang Lab tech kung saan talaga napapa-duplicate ang susi na iyon.

Denialists... They come in many forms: HIV-AIDS deniers, Global Warming deniers, Germ Theory deniers, Gravity deniers, Evolution deniers(usu called I[ntelligent]D[esign]iots or Creationists), name any scientific concept and you'll find one who doubts its validity.

It's a wonder why, despite overwhelming contrary evidence, that they manage to hold on to their beliefs. I blame the neglect of history. These denialists usually claim that this certain study done before gave results that are contrary to mainstream belief or that in the past, this theory was believed to be true and the reason we don't consider it now is because of politics. They also believe in things that were already disproved and seem to be really ignorant about the fact that is was disproved already. Atleast, nobody denies that we have hearts...

I think if they just studied their history and read about all those experiments that scientists performed to prove or disprove something, maybe, they'll be a bit more quiet. IF they really read about how scientists(especially during the late 1800's and early 1900's) are trying very hard to not lose face and gain eternal glory just to prove their hypothesis and how heated these series of debates and experiments became, they'd probably understand why the scientific method works and why we have these facts and scientific truths. Maybe they'll even pick up why they are wrong in believing these forgotten theories and realize that politics played a very small role in science.

Then again, a huge part is their distrust of people or at least those in/with power or the knowledge. Not that it's such a bad thing, many important scientific discoveries were made due to this distrust(Galileo for instance) but it distrust can only be up to a certain degree. Distrust of something many have proved to be true and trustworthy without explaining why you distrust it(like those who distrust the scientific method) is crazy. Many of these denialists like to think themselves as those who branch off from the thought of the mainstream, as a certain kind of noble rebel and probably aspire to be the next Galileo, unfortunately, most of them are just full of hot air and are miseducated about the things they "rebel" against.

Nawawala na ang aking barbero. Naaasar ako sa gupit ko. Ginawa ba naman akong HS student uli? Tsk tsk... Sumpa ata talagang maging maliit at payat sa mundong ito. At least napigilian ko siya gawing "white-side wall" ang gupit. Kaya lang dahil atat siyang matapos nasagad na niya ang razor sa aking anit kaya ayun, mukha na naman akong kabute: Ahit ang gilid tapos may masa ng buhok sa tuktok. Hmp!

Kunwari na lang new punk ang trip ko. Bala na, buhok lang iyan, tutubo rin. Nakakaasar nga lang dahil ang pangit ng gupit pero babalik pa rin ako doon. As if naman may choice ako; dun lang ang mura sa amin na malapit. Karamihan kasi parlour shop, wala naman akong galit sa mga parlour shop(o sa mga bading) pero ang mahal kasi ng singil nila at hindi ko gusto ang gupit nila. Kasi naman lumayas-layas pa ang dati kong barbero na may fungal infection sa braso(so talagang, napansin ko iyon!)! Hay... lalo akong nagmukhang mataray at parang humababa lalo ang mukha ko.

Pero medyo nag-o-oa lang ako, maayos naman itsura niya kapag mamasa-masa ang buhok ko problema lang hindi ako nag-ge-gel(isang luhong sumisira ng maraming gubat) at lalong hindi ako magpupunta sa CR para basain ang buhok ko oras na matuyo ito(sayang ang tubig!)! Tsaka at least, kakaiba ang gupit ko(mabuti ba iyon?).

You Are 96% Feminist

You are a total feminist. This doesn't mean you're a man hater (in fact, you may be a man). You just think that men and women should be treated equally. It's a simple idea but is somehow too complicated for the world to put into action.

Are You a Feminist?

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What do you do when you feel like you're outgrowing your old friends? Do you become some kind of preacher and tell them that the things they believe in are wrong? How can you teach something to them without losing their friendship? I guess, if the thing to be learned is easy, it's okay but what if it is something more serious? And what do you do if they think you're just joking? Example, I always say to my friends that in the LRT(anywhere and in any situation actually) there are only two kinds of passengers(people) able and unable(elderly, disabled, pregnant and, obviously sick) but they seem to think I'm just joking and seem to think I'm going bonkers again.

Related to this, I hate that the LRT management allows female passengers have first dibs on seats(of an empty train). It'd be alright if they have stored value tickets but no, even those who buy single ride tickets can avail of this advantage. As if they pay double the amount we pay! And the argument that female have a disadvantage because they're physically weaker than males is just wrong. I'm physically weaker than most males(due to my small build) but I manage to get a seat most of the time, it's not brawn, it's brains!

Then again most male passengers have the wrong attitude also. They give their seats to female passengers for no apparent reason except maybe chivalry. Pfft! I actually took advantage of this. Last night, I was riding the LRT with a female friend. She gets off at Doroteo Jose Station. One station before that(Carriedo), a seat became available. Usually, I'd take the seat(since my friend is getting off anyway) but a man was standing in front of it and seems to be offering it to my friend. Cunningly, I let her have the seat to avoid any conflict(hey, I'll even appear like a gentleman, hah!). At the next station, she stands up and I take the seat before the man recovers his senses(and inside, I was laughing). A previous incident with the same female friend is even funnier. A man offered his seat(he stood up) to my friend. Instead of sitting down, she gave it to me and I took it(she's getting off at the next station). We ended up clutching our stomachs and biting our lips. We couldn't bear to look at the man's face, I just sensed that he moved to another part of the train, far away from the two of us. Hah!

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...

Tao: Anong year mo na?
Ako: Third year na po.
Tao: Ano course mo?
Ako: Public Health po
Tao: Ah... Public Ad... so pagkatapos mo iyan mag-lo-law ka?
Ako: Hindi po public ad, Public HEALTH.
Tao: Ah... so pagkatapos mo iyan mag-me-med ka?
Ako: Um... opo.

Sige na... hindi mo na alam kung ano ang Public Health. Kasi naman eh napaka-low profile ng degree program ko. Ayan tuloy hindi alam ng tao kung ano ba ang inaaral namin. Siguro mabuti na rin iyon para masiguro namin na ang tanging nasa field ay ang mga desidong isulong ang mga layunin ng Public Health pero parang ang kaawa-awa naman namin 50 lang kaming BS Public Health at mga 200 lang ang grad students, eh ilan na ba ang tao sa Pilipinas? Paano naman namin magagawa ng maayos ang(magiging) trabaho namin eh ang walang pake alam ata kahit ang mga health professionals(tulad ng mga nars at doktor) sa Public Health? O baka nag-i-ilusyon lang ako.

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Dapat tigilan na ng DOH ang pagsuporta sa STAR margarine. Alam naman nila siguro ang mga health risks ng pagkaing may trans-fat eh(malamang, trabaho kaya nila iyon). Isa nga ako sa mga nabiktima ng margarine craze noong bata ako. Wala naman siguro masyadong malaking effect iyon sa akin kasi hindi naman ako na-adik sa margarine pero paano na ang ibang tao? Mahirap na nga sa Pilipinas, ang dami na ngang nagkalat na infectious diseases, kung anu-anong parasites at mga pulmo-respiratory diseases dadagdagan mo pa ng Cardiovascular diseases? Paano na ang mga Pilipino?

Siguro, ang bilang pampalubag loob, iisipin ko na lang na ka-kaunti lang ang may kayang bumili ng margarine dahil kailangan pa nila bumili ng ibang pagkain. Pero parang mapupunta naman ako sa ibang problema, noodles. Noodles! Noodles! Adik ako sa noodles pero nabasa ko na ayos lang kumain niyon basta may pagitan na tatlong araw para naman maalis ng katawan mo ang ilang undigestable na components nito. Karamihan ata ng mahihirap ito ang pagkain kapag kinakapos at malamang hindi na nila iintayin pa ang tatlong araw kasi gutom na nga sila. Hinde pwede ito!

Syempre lahat ng problemang nabanggit ko problemang nauugat sa Public Health. Mukhang tatanda at mamatay nga ako ng maaga. Joke lang! Magiging mahaba ang buhay ko.

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yey! I got my copy 10 minutes earlier than expected. The book store was supposed to open by 7 am but they didn't, they were open by 6:45am! Yey! I didn't start reading there anyway. I started reading at around 7:30am and finished at around 3:15pm. It was good. The Mugglenet people did a very good job predicting some of the things that would appear in this book like the psyche of Snape and the plans of Dumbledore but the novel contains much more that I didn't encounter in the essays that I have read and I do not think any thought of it. Any way, I was not entirely happy with the romantic pairings at the end and JKR forgot to mention Luna in the last chapter. Maybe we could ask her to post the story of Luna in her website or blog.

As for my future reading material, I just hope the last Wheel of Time book gets finished before Robert Jordan dies. In the mean time, I'll be sinking my nose into my textbooks. This sem has really been harsh on my reading time.

I want it to be Saturday tomorrow. The primary reason would be it is because Saturday is the release date of HP 7: HP and the Deathly Hallows(yeah!). Other reasons are three things that are going to happen on Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow: 1st test in Microbiology Friday: Handog sa Freshie + another dance immediately after. Both very important performances and I'm still not confident we'd do it as properly as we could and should. Still, I must fight and move forward! I can do this! We can do this! Aja!

Please beware of Tam Mateo, ND(not doctor) and his proposed "cures" for diseases.

I know if his curse oops... cures don't work, then why does the ABS-CBN let him talk to the public in many of their shows? Well, I don't know exactly but you might notice that many of their sponsors are Alternative Medicine/Food Supplement companies. Anyway, please beware of him. Do not trust his medical and scientific claims. They are mostly lies or half-truths.

RBC's don't produce the ATP supply of the whole body(each cell usually produces ATP for its own use). Enzymes from veggies are mostly enzymes for veggies not for humans. And they most probably end up as amino acids(the building blocks of enzymes) and not absorbed as the the intact veggie enzymes. A vegan diet would probably help your bowel movement(all those fiber) but it is not a cure for any disease much less breast cancer. Cancer is not a disease that can be cured by strengthening the immune system(except maybe Cervical, I'm not sure). Tumors are cells of your own body therefore the WBC's wouldn't destroy them because they recognize them a as part of your own body. Fine, follow the fucking diet regimen but do not stop taking the chemo.

I first encountered him on the radio. He was in a show with a licensed MD. The MD was stupid, really! I think her license should be revoked and she be forced to take basic biology again. And he, he was just unbearable. True, most of his cures will probably be harmless but he seems to like saying to people to stop using conventional(proven) cures like chemo for cancer and instead use his naturopathic herbs. Then, I saw him again this morning on Salamat Dok. I feared for the worst since he was talking about Breast Cancer cures. HE had the audacity to say that his all-veggie diet can cure breast cancer. Shame on ABS for not researching properly! A simple google search on naturopathy will lead them to quackwatch and other sites that will provide them sufficient knowledge on the quackery that is naturopathy.

Okay. I sucked at my physio exam. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't have spent the exam time doodling. Yes! I actually spent exam time doodling. Heck! I couldn't answer some of those questions even if I think until my brain explodes. In any case, I would try to perform better at the others tests at least I now know that many of the questions they ask are trivial in nature. I know I should have mastered anatomy before studying physiology(and it cost me at least two questions) but why should I remember the surface area of the lungs? Why? Why? Shouldn't they have asked more questions about the control and process of respiration, digestion and circulation? Why! Still, I have 2 exams(I think) to look forward to and I could always take the final exam to try to increase my grade. I know grades aren't that important but I want to go to med school and grad school and good grades is a must to get into those schools.

I guess, I should just comfort myself with the fact that physio is only 2.5 units and I could still focus more on anatomy, biostatistics and microbiology. Well, we had the 1st exam in biostat and next week, we'll have the other two. I should try to do really well on those two subjects. Besides, I want to do well since it would test my mastery over those subjects. And mastery is important.

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HP movie is out and I haven't seen it. Maybe next week after I'm not so busy. I know I will probably hate it but I saw one clip and it seems to be more promising than the other previous movies. I hope I wouldn't be too disappointed. HP4 movie still seems to be the worst since the only scene I remember clearly is the entrance of the Beauxbatons students with the blue uniforms and "ah..." dance. I still hate the director for putting a sexist twist on that with Beauxbatons being an all-(pretty)girls school and Durmstrang an all-(jock)boys school. They weren't!

Additionally, all the actors(male and female, in case you'd be confused) were too pretty. Hermione was to be geeky looking and look stunning(not that Emma is stunning) only on the Yule Ball. Exceptions include Rubeus who I find to be satisfactory, Malfoy who is a bit too ugly and Sirius who was disappointing at best. JK wrote that Sirius is a handsome man, even after escaping jail. When I saw him, I went! WTF? Who put a Pirate(of the Carribean) in here and its not even Johnny Depp. And after seeing the posters of HP5, I judged that cleaned up Sirius is still too ugly.

Oh yeah and the ending of HP3 was crap. Much of the story revolved around the Firebolt broom stick and they fucked it up big time with that one.

Sleep is such a nice thing. I know scientists are learning that it is possible that we really do not need the recommended 8 hours every night but I still think(and findings agree) that people perform better when they get their complete sleep(which depending on the individual can be range from 6 to 10 hours a night). Naps are very very helpful for most. For me, I find the best time to take naps is in the afternoon. Taking naps in between writing papers at night do not help much.

I guess I need to show some evidence. Take Marion Bartoli. Who? Well, she's only one of the finalists in the Women's Wimbledon 07. She was a set down(in a best out of 3 match) during the her quarterfinal match against Krajicek. She was playing poorly then the rain came. After the delay, she returned to court and dispatched of Krajicek with minimal fuss. In her after-game interview, she explained
“I was short of sleep so I slept for an hour during the rain delay. After that I was feeling much better so it was good for me to have rain today."
Wow! And that's just with a nap. With the complete sleep she had last night(and some very good tennis), she managed to defeat Henin(world no.1) and reach the finals. Okay! So it's an anecdote, so suit me! = )

But really,if all of us just get enough sleep every night(or day) and sacrificing our night habits(surfing the web, clubbing, drinking) the world'll be a slightly better place to live in.

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Speaking of sleep. It seems my attempts at trying to control my Dreams is working. Just kidding! In our microbio class, I was trying very hard not to fall asleep but the prof is just so boring so I failed. Every time I close my eyes I zoom right into dream mode but I quickly realize that it's a dream and I wake up. This repeats about 50 times. Every time I close my eyes, I fall asleep and dream for a second then I wake up. I do not know if those are really dreams but it somehow always ends with some loud noise like someone shouting or an object falling. I guess, I should be happy those ended like that because if it didn't I had probably fallen asleep in class.

And just this afternoon, this happened. I took a nap(after reading my microbio book). I set my alarm to 1:40. I fall asleep. Soon enough I started dreaming. It was a nice dream. It was like a movie, with a great plot and many many characters. It was really nice and enjoyable. It was nearing the climax(I don't now why I knew it was nearing the climax) when the alarm went off. Blast it! So I reached for the alarm and turned it off. I thought may be I should wake and stand up now since my dream is probably gone but I didn't. I went back to sleep and somehow I managed to continue my dream and find out the ending. Unfortunately, I forgot what it was about. I think there was a dragon in it and we were in this big house but I can't remember clearly. Any way. Maybe I should really try working on remembering those dreams so I can put the good ones in here.

I'm so drained... I feel a cold coming up. = (

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Rain hasn't come yet. I want it to rain. I know it'll be really hard to keep my uniform clean when it rains and the streets become flooded but I still want for the rain to come. Besides, those poor farmers who cannot afford irrigation need the rain and the Angat Dam seems to be near-critical water level again. Coincidentally, the last place where they want rain is very wet right now. Where? Wimbledon of course! The tournament's schedule(pronounced: schedyul not skedyul) is whacked and the top players are relegated to smaller courts rather than on Court 1 or on Center Court.

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Those blasted trainees! They didn't come to practice even though I told them to come! Blast it! They better be prepared for Tuesday. *evil grin*

Fuck! It's only 9 and I really want to sleep already. Maybe I should, I have a nasty test coming up next week.

Guess what! I probably had a twin. He(or maybe, she) vanished in the womb(either I ate him/her or my mother did... okay! so ate may not be the most appropriate word).

Just learned about Vanishing Twin syndrome from the In the Womb documentary by NGC. They said left-handed people are probably the surviving members of once twins. It's all related about how twins are sometimes mirror images of each other(ex. one is left-handed while the other is right-handed). I wouldn't be able to confirm it right now(maybe in the future) because my mother did not undergo the normal laboratory and scanning tests while I was inside her. Something about how she and her doctor believes the scanning device could harm me(the embryo/fetus/baby).
It is seems possible that the surviving "twin" could be the right-handed one but according to their logic, left-handed are more probable to have vanished twins because the human species seem to be more(selectively?) right-handed(more right-handed people than left-handed ones and more left-handed people than twins). However, modern research does not support the (very old, 1928)hypothesis. I guess NGC should have read more or if they did should have mentioned that the hypothesis is still a hypothesis and one that is probably wrong.

Still, I wonder what would it be like if I had a twin. We'd probably end up killing each other... well... maybe not.