and how can i forget you

scooby, the wonder dog in our dorm. he's a snobbish dog who runs after all the non-dormers. he was the only dog i liked coz the first time he saw me, he didn't scare me out. i guess he knew what a future dormer will look and smell like.




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paalam at maraming salamat

yes. the time has come for me to leave the place that provided me comfort and solace. i could recall how sad and hurt i was from all the things that had happened before the last year ended and during the first few months of this year in addition to the dissatisfaction i got from my so called job and catatonic/ sedentary lifestyle. one day came that i finally said to myself "enough." i looked for a job, then the next day the chief of clinics called me up and told me ill be starting after three days. fast and crazy as it may seem but i knew that was 'it'. no turning back.



it was the first week of march and the summer's heat was just setting in. the hospital is an hour ride from the pier to the hospital. as i see the place, i realized what i have been asking was given to me... to be in a far away island and enjoy the rush of the ocean. truly, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find.

my stay there though brief gave me a lot of good memories. i have also met a lot of good people, and gained friends. i am also grateful given the chance to practice my profession there. i have learned a lot from two great consultants who were my mentors in internal medicine (i was resident in charge of the department of internal medicine during my stay there) and all the other consultants. they have always been there for us. i must say, going there is one of the best decisions i have made. it was nice going out of one's comfort zone. challenging one's self and knowing what you are made of is already a reward in itself.

now the time has come to move on. i had to give up my job there because i will be needing time to study for the exams and for the residency training itself. i wont go jobless though. i have already accepted to be a regular physician in a health insurance clinic just near my place (that was my other job in between my duties down south). it doesn't pay much but it's so benign and conducive for studying. that is already fair enough for me.

i will miss my friends though, especially my two roommates.




...and also our dorm we fondly call our little house





i will also miss our pleasure trips we do on our free days.



and the cheap but cute clothes in the town. the place has no department stores and no malls but some of the clothes we've found were treasures!




i wore this today in the clinic and matched it with my celine wedges. i bought the dress for only a hundred and seventy bucks. that's mamburao fashion at its finest. haha.

i will miss you, mamburao!





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ang init sa tuguegarao!

i was late. i thought i was going to be here 3 months ago but for some unexpected and not so good turn of events, i was not able to fulfill my promise until much later.

mom, who also promised to visit Our Lady in Piat, was reluctant to go but after what had happened to me when i returned from mindoro (i had an encounter with mandurukot/hold-uppers. they were about 4-5 men), i took it as a sign that we should go and do it also as a sign of gratitude for keeping me safe and unharmed. i was very lucky indeed because my whole salary was with me at that time and my lumix too.

so mom, brother and me went there on a saturday to catch the sunday mass. mom wanted that we leave in the morning so we can enjoy the view. it's my first time to go to that side of the north and all i can say is, anlayo nya huh. i can reach ilocos norte in 10 hours but it took us 12 hours to reach cagayan valley even on a deluxe bus. but the view was also great. it's really a thrill going up north.

the view from nueva vizcaya

welcome to isabela province

all these i took while the bus was moving. lucky me i was able to take these shots. thanks to lumix too.

it's a wonderful feeling having knelt before Our Lady. the time i spent with her in the basilica was brief but worthwhile. i would have loved to stay a little longer but the weather was just too hot for me to endure. our little boy, mat, was not able to take it too. he got sick and so we left right after the mass. but it's ok. i know it wont be the last time i will visit her. i just hope when i come back it will be at the time of the cold season so i can go around and visit the callao caves as well.




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HP currently reads

my new found friend on the other part of the globe recommended that i read one of his favorite books entitled The Master and Margherita. i immediately searched for it in the net and learned that the english translation used my name. i got so intrigued thus i promised myself and my new found friend to look for the book the following day which i did. as i read the first page of the book, i was amused to learn that Bulgakov was a doctor. i hope ill be able to turn more leaves before my new found friend goes online and checked on my reading. LOL.




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bongga!

wow sa june 3 na. im so excited.




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so...

when i get back to manila i'll have another aquino and binay in higher office. it just saddens me how pinoys choose their leaders. the result of the count showed that most choose emotion and popularity (revilla and estrada topping the senatorial race, hello!!! estrada 2nd in the presidential race, ano yan di na natuto) over credibility and track record and so the result, we allowed good things slip through our hands.

im not for gibo but if i have a second choice for president, i'll choose him. i am just moved by one supporter who wrote:

WE MISSED THE FLIGHT
but he gave us hope

the country needs strong leaders if we wanted to uplift our status from being third world. someone who believes in the potential of filipinos and who can mobilize society. i prayed hard for Gordon to win. and if not him, gibo will do.

though both of my favorites didn't make it, i like the way they accepted their defeat. they have shown how noble and fine they are and that's what real men do.

now i pray that the new leaders will serve our country well.





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to my dear old friend

What about now?

What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
What about now?

i can't find words to say goodbye coz there's this thought lingering on my mind. i know you won't read this but i still want to post it here anyway... salamat, this song was made coz i can't find the words...




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the old dream still lives on

last night, i was chatting with a new found friend. we were talking about the status he posted in FB.

B: i wanted to live in the province, magkaroon ng isang farm. dun nalang ako kesa dito sa manila. congested. gusto ko lang naman simpleng buhay.
Me: if you want a simple life, you have to have a lot of money. ironic but true... or else wala na mangyayari sa buhay mo kundi kakaisip kung san mo kukunin ang pera pambayad ng kung ano- ano sa buhay, like kuryente, tubig...
B: tama ka... ikaw gano ka simpleng buhay ang gusto mo?
Me: i want to become a plain housewife

that came out spontaneously. i was surprised as he was. i didnt know my old dream (as in nung nagdadalaga pa ko nito) is still there. pero as i have said, to want a simple life means you need to have money in your pocket. hindi totoong hindi kelangan ng pera pag gusto ng simpleng buhay. that's something i learned as i get older. and so, i realized, if i wanted to become a housewife, i should marry a good provider. naku mahirap ata yun. asked if i'll stop practicing, i said i wont. i still want to work because i want to help people. pero sana yung hindi na yung kumita ng pera para mabuhay yung pamilya ko. i wish my will be husband can provide for our family's needs and whatever i earn will be for my family's luxury. hay, sarap mangarap. wish ko lang someday (soon?) magkatotoo.




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pictures galore

these were my favorites from the photos i took on the events i have attended the past weeks.

she's my new inaanak, the granddaughter of our driver who's like a part of our family. i was a sponsor/photographer of her christening. most of my shots we're ummm... haha. well i was not yet accustomed (and still!) with the buttons of my new toy. im glad there's photoshop hehe.

seated in front were our 'teachers' in the seminar. 'father,' as joy, ed and i fondly called him, gave the 'thank you speech' in our graduation day. yes, may graduation kami at with matching tugtog pa yun ng graduation march huh. father is a co- alumni of mine (and joy too) who chose to work in his province as a health officer.

these twins are probably my apo sa pinsan. cute ng get up nila. para silang mirror image haha!





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home at last

ever since i got home, i have never get to spend the whole day at home. i did clinics monday to friday and been busy with my clan's reunion which happened yesterday. i also get to attend a seminar for three days. no, i am not complaining. in fact, i feel so blessed. aside from my work down south, i got another one near home.i would really wanted to spend my time at home reading while i am here but i realized it's a blessing in disguise having that day job in the clinic coz i am able to read more than i will ever get to do at home coz temptations at home are everywhere and simply hard to resist. LOL

i love attending seminars and conferences. maybe that's how my nostalgia for school manifests. i get to know a lot of great people and most especially i get more inspired being a physician. plus, the luxury of being in a hotel and getting to visit the metro in a way more than the ordinary is something too. LOL. this time, the community i serve down south picked me to attend the seminar in bayview hotel along roxas blvd. i stayed there for one night instead of three coz i didn't know all the attendees get to have accommodation for free. well there's nothing about the hotel to rave about. their interiors is not at par with the others along that street and food was so- so. but since it's free, i was glad to stay there and escape a grueling two hours in traffic and heat from commuting. heehee. im happy that the department of health put money on making their delegates at least comfortable and even went as far as bringing about ten handsome electronic microscopes with them for visuals. and that, they all did without any help from med reps. good job, DOH!


its also nice to know that a lot of physicians are practicing in the province and serving in government hospitals. they are also more approachable and kalog unlike the stereotype clinicians and government workers i have known haha. i guess it goes to show how satisfied and happy they are with their jobs. sabi nga sa sm supermarket, "happy to serve!" with matching clap pa yun hehe. i wish more doctors will be like them. on the side, i haven't been in robinson's place for a long while and i was amazed how huge the mall is now. we ate dinner there and i got tired walking along its long and endless hallways. geez, i wished i had a lot of moolahs with me to buy some pretty stuffs i have seen in some of the windows.

the last few days were the busiest. parang gusto kong hatiin ang katawan ko sa pag attend ng seminar at pag asikaso ng reunion. kami kase ang host this year. hindi biro mag organize ng isang reunion para sa isang malaking angkan, huh. pero masaya naman dahil maayos namin nairaos ang reunion. naging photographer din ako for a day. sa tingin ko din, nag enjoy silang lahat dahil hindi sila umalis agad at tinapos nila ang program. it's a very successful party indeed! congratulations to us, hehe.

today, it's a sunday and i am so glad to spend the whole day at home... at last! manonood sana ako ng movie kaso naisip ko, bukas na lang. holiday naman bukas e. sa ngayon, happy ako na manood lang ng tv, mag ayos ng mga anik- anik sa kwarto ko, mag internet ng one to sawa at syempre makipaglaro sa aking pamangkin. hay, sarap!




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