akala ko di ko na maiisip na mag-quit ng med school by LU5. ahaha. As if gagawin ko naman. Di na talaga end ang med school, means to some ends na siya.

Not in the mood to study. I just learned that we won't be presenting our Ther research in the RIDO student forum. I would be lying if I told you I wasn't shocked it didn't manage to go through. It's not the most perfect research in the world but I do think it was one of the best LU4 projects last year.

LU3: Snubbed by our department and awarded by RIDO and ISCOMS.
LU4: We were recognized by the department but snubbed by RIDO.

When will research misery end?

At the very least, there is the huge possibility that it will be published this November in the university journal. I just have to finish writing  editing the manuscript. On that note, I will finish it by Tuesday next week!

'Cause I went to Hong Kong...

Distracted by my blog stats. A significant number of my "audience" comes from Germany and France. Eh?

And one of the top search keywords for my blog: "mermaid figures." Eh???

I'm clearly having too much fun with the updated Blogger interface.

I don't want tomorrow's exam to be a repeat of my Cardio fiasco. But why am I not studying seriously?

Arrived from Hong Kong last night. Later, read a series of blog posts about a HK trip. Made me realize I should have taken more photos.

after doing some math, I realized I need to work extra-hard to pull my grades up to the level where I want it to be. Damn OB module.

"we are stardust... billion year old carbon."

Happy birthday Rizal!

The Joni Mitchell quote and Rizal may or may not be related.

Feeling ko nag-ti-thesis uli ako at mayroon akong apat na advisers. Nakakaloka. Kung pwede lang tigilan muna ang med school para matapos ang project na ito. Sana ma-award rin iyong isang project. At least may validation na naiintindihan naman ang aking pagsusulat.

So much to learn. Dapat maging productive uli ang next summer. Wag na siguro iyang away elective. Mas maraming learning sa pag-RA, may bayad pa.

And now off to editing our two papers for publication. Time to release my BS powers.

And apparently according a Singaporean med student I met yesterday, I have that smart look. He probably means the tired and wasting away look. Or maybe it's just my disproportionate (read = large) head.

Teka! Ang baba ng sweldo ko. Wala na kasunod? Dagdag naman diyan bilang mas marami naman akong ginawa compared sa kasabay ko.

Apparently, nakaka-demotivate talaga ang mababang sweldo lalo na kung ang habol mo sa trabaho ay ang pera at hindi ang experience.

A week left for vacation. I had a fun weekend. Starting with writing a proposal and submitting it to WHO and ending with taking a jab at windsurfing (another expensive hobby in the making?). Also, teaching kids in between. As the laptop is still in the shop, I'll just leave you with pictures of my weekend trip.

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.