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.

so I've been to places...

Blogger, how I missed you. Damn China with the blocking of social sites. Photos (shot with my not-so-new and much abused Tamron lens) are waiting to be edited, resized, uploaded and posted.

Will be leaving again for my immersion/field work. Still having troubling thoughts about how to approach the community. First things first though, establish community rapport.

In other news, half of my summer break is done, my junk from LU4 is still scattered throughout our house, I still won't be able to sleep on my bed due to the junk and my PC is still comatose. Laptop is becoming slow and threatening to break again. And a lot of plans are awaiting my attention. This running an organization is becoming really stressful.

Need to have my cellphone repaired. But money is going out for fun activities.

Shit. Di ata ako ma-C-CS this year. No...

But studying for compre kinda paid off. I'm in the top 3 scorers. O straight internship, you will be mine.

hahahahaha seriously? You want us to not tell you to be a bigot you bigot because it's always better allow bigots to be bigots. This is such a bigot comment, Bigot! It may be your right to have differing opinion but that doesn't include to right to incite violence and hatred towards certain people.

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Tamron still eludes me. I must scour the intertubes for a seller. Must have it before the Beijing trip.

And thus it ends giving way to another beginning.

Perspective...

Need to do well in compre tom because I want to go into straight internship. Good grades will also be a way to convince the dean to allow me to go to the JC.

And I really hate feeling stupid during exams.

Jerk. Never again.

Some people just do not know how to say things properly.

My summer's pretty much full now... but before I get to those I must deal with the things this week. And I still haven't found a patient to do a CEA. damn it! I have to visit DFCM soon.

Finished a pharma reviewer book... apparently that's possible. Of course, it's mostly shallow reading so it's not such an impressive feat.

almost done with LU 4.

Three exams. One patient interview. One big event and then off to vacation.

In the face of manga, two novels and the need to earn money, my resolve to use this weekend to study for the pharma-compre combo has been shattered. I sit at home watching as the wind blows away the fragments. I hope sanity returns soon to pick them up and put them together.

Patient encounters. As we were taking the history of our patient, she started talking about her feelings. Deep, pent up feelings and before I knew it, she was crying. Gah! In all the interviews we conducted during LU IV, there were only two times that the patient cried and on both occasions I was one of the lead interviewers. In this case, I was the only interviewer. Why?!

It's not that I don't like it. It's good that they are able to release their pent up emotions. It's good that even as a 2nd year student, I'm already able to help the patient. It's just that I'm not good with handling these situations. Fortunately, I had the CEA method and Psych 220 to fall back on. Though I saw that the patient had gained something from the catharsis, I still suck at the counseling and educating part. Especially, when I really don't have any control on her management nor can I give her money to solve her problems.

And my group mates finally saw some semblance of goodness residing in me.

What's happening in Japan is horrible.

And to think they are the one of the, if not the most, prepared to face these kinds of disasters. Then again, how can you prepare for an 8.9 earthquake? It makes disaster preparedness look like an exercise in futility. It's good to know though that most of the people I know from Japan are accounted for and are safe.

The call for prayers are mounting up and I''m finding it weird. And there was an insensitive comment over at the FF group. *sigh* At least, I haven't seen misguided comments  from religious wackos in the form of "the earthquake as a punishment for that heathen country that is Japan" or something to that effect.

The rapid response by the other nations is nice to hear but I've learned from a disaster management class that foreign aid, at least those in the form of human resources, should not be allowed into the disaster area until (at least) a quick survey and assessment has been conducted. Allowing them in would just lead to confusion and inefficiencies, I think this would be especially applicable to Japan which probably has a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan.

The nuclear plant situation makes me want to re-think my stand on nuclear power all together. It seems that Nature is telling us that we shouldn't mess with that because I can so totally overcome all your safety barriers.

On a lighter (slightly insensitive note), what will happen to the manga?

Had nothing to blog about for the past weeks.

Except for this thing... there's the draft actually but it's so full of angst I might not be publishing it at all.

Last two weeks of classes and off to death aka comprehensive and med jurisprudence exam combo.

As I plan my summer, I realize just how short it is. I don't even have enough time to get a decent job. At least my parents agreed to give me an interest free loan so I can purchase the lens I've been eye-ing for the longest time.

won the culture week photo contest! Yey for kumikitang kabuhayan!

but the feeling is dampened by the utterly stupid act in Ayala Alabang regarding condoms. And WTH! Why is there language like anti-conception in one of the republic acts. We have another EO 03 in our hands. It looks like the RH battle should be moving more into the grassroots level.

Night before the exam.

Of course, I just had my most benign weekend for this academic year. I'm looking forward to 1 week modules and weekends where I think of nothing but myself.

 

at the abandoned science museum

I think what the other block was saying is true. We are now at the benign part of LU IV. I spent the entire weekend not studying. We were also lucky victims of miscommunication between the LO and the resident monitor. Even though we had an early preceptorial and managing to look like idiots in front of a consultant again, we at least had the weekend free unlike our classmates who had to spend it doing ward work or wait for patient assignments.

Tomorrow will warrant a need to return to reality. I have to start recruiting patients for my group, take that photo and study (seriously) for neuro. I also need to stop falling asleep in class.

I have to study. However, I don't feel like it today. As I read the trans and try to commit the concepts to memory, I keep having this nagging feeling that what I'm doing is stupid. I know already what I would need to master the topic. I even had it laid out in my head what ideas to connect and what concepts I need to read up on or review to make the mesh tighter and stronger. But, I'm too lazy. Sht*t.

Thinking about what photo to enter and making up choreography is not helping. The artist is demanding some attention and the scientist is lazing around.

Dengue detector

One should really avoid extending your conclusions. I was kind of let down. Based on the article, it's just another way of monitoring platelet counts and not detecting the virus or antibodies to the virus. Actually, one shouldn't call it the dengue detector for it doesn't detect dengue. There are many illnesses that can lead to decreased platelet counts. But this application could have potential used in other thrombocytic conditions.

And the interview reveals their inadequate knowledge about the pathophysiology of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Dengue fever doesn't progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever. They are two separate disease entities. It's a good thing that they'd be working with doctors in developing their concept further.

Too bad the article was too vague on the mechanisms used to count the platelets. Then I'll know for certain how it "detects" dengue.