Ever heard of fatigue? Or prioritization? I have.

The freaking amoeba won't let me enjoy my sembreak. It's a good thing I have groupmates who are really bored at home. If this is how PhD students feel like, at least the one stuck in "wet" laboratories... no thanks! I'd rather not let my happiness be dependent on the growth of cells that I'm planning to kill anyway.

still have no job. I really want to have some sort-of stable income so I could save up for camera equipment, Christmas-related expenses and summer trips.

you sure know how to push people to fatigue. you seem to forget we have other things to do. things we already committed ourselves into months ago. *sigh* fine, I'll find some way to do it.

Finished The Gathering Storm.

Brandon Sarandon brought to the table what we found lacking with Robert Jordan: fast pacing.
Reading this one wasn't too much of a chore unlike the 3 books prior to this one where you find yourself groaning at a new plot twist or sidetrack to a main story branch. I did find myself wondering what is happening in the other branches. I'm really excited to read the Moiraine-Thom-Mat branch in the next books. And I'm very happy that Rand finally gets over his emo/steel/cuendillar phase.

I wish someone will give me the next book for my birthday. =)

Now to look for booksale copies of Asimov's Foundation novels.

Typical.

My last sembreak for the rest of my life will not be spent lounging at home. Instead, it'll be on research, stressful org stuff and some money-making in between.

We shouldn't stoop down to their level. They keep using simple cause and effect models. Epidemiology taught us there are other models. The web and the lever are good ones I think.

And their overpopulation articles are such good demonstrations of straw men and red herrings.

But you are.

 

One last stretch before the much awaited sembreak.

Gah...

As I am studying for my exam this Wednesday, I end up procrastinating.

Hence,


Abortion does not cause depression or low self-esteem in adolescents

and

Moving closer to outdoor recreation not a recipe for being more physically active

Of course these are US data and I would like to see how it is here in the Philippines. No doubt the culture of religious oppression and guilt would play a role. For the second link, I think this helps argue for a more walker friendly city.

Pictures from a museum visit in Indonesia. Only now have I found the time to upload photos. =|

My desktop PC is crashing. My younger brother tells me we need to reformat. Looks like I'm gonna spend my weekend backing up my files.

I'm more stress about the fact that I don't have an installer for Stata 11. I'm such a nerd.

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I'm very close to giving up on Pulmo. My brain wants to vomit.

I have a new steth. See the navy blue (looks black from the picture) with my old gray one. Actually, the gray one is not mine, it's my grandfather's.

Will be going to Bambang later. I hope some shops are open so I can buy a new steth. I do not want to resort to borrowing the consultant's stethoscope again during the practical exam because my steth can not pick up the faint sounds.

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Only one month left. I'm so excited to work on some other stuff including our therapeutics research.

It hurts when you're doing a nice thing for someone and that person tells you to go to hell.

Now, I get an idea of how our OB coordinator feels.

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It's hard to be a leader of a group of people who feels like they're entitled to have special treatment just because they want to do something else. Reality check. Everyone wants to do something else. Everyone needs to be somewhere else. If you really want, I could just remove you from the list of those who worked in the research project. If you really need to go somewhere else, explain first before leaving and approach me asap to learn what you missed and what you need to do to make up for it.

And it's really hard to lead if people don't respect you. I guess they should just form their own group if they don't want to attend meetings. I've been relatively lenient because we are med students and presumably, mature individuals, but they're really forcing me to be a b*tch.

It has been a whirlwind week of ACTION. It started with a late lunch with the Japanese participants followed by a crazy Monday concerning a hotel, a hostage situation and disgruntled classmate, a few days of being a host (a GRO if you will), studying for a Repro exam and topped off with a night at Villa Escudero and leaving my beloved camera at the bus.

I'm glad with the past week (removing the hostage fiasco that is) and though it left me failing to meet several deadlines, I did make some new friends who I hope I'll be able to keep in touch with.

And I'm seeing how a few days of being together can already foster tolerance of other people and their cultures.

It's only been a month and I think I have accomplished more that what I had done last year. What a crazy month August has been. Though we won't have foreigners this September, there will still be lots of events to organize. Another good things is that I can almost smell sem break. Which means, rest, rest and preparing for EAMSC!

I can't believe I'm still awake to study for an exam. So this is how LUIV turns out if you try to have extra-curricular activities. Curse you med school!

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You've heard about the bus, right?

So abortion has come up again in the consciousness of Philippine media. In one story, a counselor for women who attempted abortion explained that abortion should not happen because the woman will feel extreme guilt regarding the act. Immediately, a question popped in my head, why should she feel guilty about it? Guilt occurs when you commit an act the society deems as unethical. (And the flood gates open for the ethics of abortion.)
But it is sad that our society is a blaming society. One in which women who commit abortion are shunned when them getting pregnant and subsequently getting an abortion is not her entire fault. I am curious as to what methods do these counseling centers use to convince women to keep their pregnancy. I glean from the story that it uses a more religious approach of labels, blaming and fear rather than a more neutral non-blaming laying it all on the table.

Actually, it is weird to use the word counseling when you only offer one viable option. You're not counseling, you're brainwashing.

Am I seriously arguing for abortion? I don't know. Just rambling. I just can't get over the fact that legalizing abortion would make the number go down. And even better, would ensure that women would not die due to back alley procedures ranging from overdoses of Cytotec or pushing a wire up her vagina.

Meeting people from other countries is fun. Too bad it costs an arm and a limb and a whole lot of work to attend those conferences.

I still have a backlog of photos to edit and upload though.

And I have to learn a bit of Chinese for the next conference.