British visa

I got a call from UPS letting me know to expect mail today. I mailed my visa application last Thursday after getting my biometric finger scans and digital photograph at the local application support center. I'm on my anesthesia rotation right now so I'm typically done for the day before noon. So I went home and waited for the UPS man.

Everytime I go home, I feel that I should really move back. Despite the house's rundownness and clutter, there's still a serenity to the house.

[Loud knock at the door.]

UPS man: UPS!

[I opened the door.]

UPS man: I need your signature here.

[I signed for the envelope.]

UPS man: The bank behind you just got robbed yesterday.

[I just withdrew some money there last Monday].

Me: (rolling my eyes) That's why I don't live here anymore.
I just came back to wait for the mail.

UPS man: I can't blame you.


Sometimes I think about what lead people to commit crime. It's sometimes easy to blame them if you assume that they have addictions and need to support these addictions. Some for sure are on the lazy side. What if they are trying to work but just can't make ends meet? What's their hurdle for not getting a better-paying job? How do I see myself in the future making an impact in education promotion, job creation, and community revitalization? Certainly, the impact will not be made by fleeing the 'hood.

March pictures

the view from my bedroom



one snowy morning


piqua, oh GWS: first Holy Supper


birthday pictures




celebrating match day with my roommate at the jazz kitchen





this afternoon with pabu

the list

so i started carrying my list of procedures i still need to do. today i wanted to get signed off on starting an IV. but my patient was post-chemo so my resident spared him the torture of me trying to stick him. but i did get signed off on a rectal exam. the attending was no less than my favorite GI doc :).

Pogi points

Ate Bebe called me today. She was wanting to confirm my London itinerary. She also happily shared that she is getting married soon! She just started dating the guy in December but they are really wanting to be married as soon as possible. Granted that she has known the guy since way back her college years, I still asked her if she's sure. She said that once you know, you just know. Isn't that terribly romantic? :) I told her that maybe she should schedule the wedding in December since PB and I will also be in the Philippines then. But no can do. They want to get married pronto! The best part is that he's also Iglesia. He automatically gets extra "pogi points" for that ;).

match day

i know that daddy is tired of the "free food" post so i'm writing again for him :).
but before i leave the subject of food, let me talk about my food cravings. last night, i craved for tira misu cheesecake so i bought a whole cake! i'm still working on it, i have only eaten about 3/4 of the cake. earlier today, i had a craving for lechon kawali so i drove to the filipino carinderia and got myself a pound. since i was already there, i also got an order of caldereta. yum!

thursday was match day for my roommate. match day is the day when the seniors find out where they will be doing their residency. she will be going to memphis. it was a bit of surprise for her but she's happy nonetheless.

last night, i tried to play matchmaker. i have a couple of single friends who i thought might be a good fit for each other. so we went to see the colin farrell movie, in bruges. it's hard to tell if it was indeed a match. but at the very least, both of them have gained a friend. i'm planning a bowling outing for them. i guess some matches simmer for a time. others are more you're-perfect-for-me,-i-can't-wait-to-marry-you kind even only after a few months. i think though that both are equally romantic :).

free food

i love free food. our head deacon celebrated his birthday today at a buffet restaurant called "the journey". (it's interesting that in our culture the birthday celebrant pays for the bill. for non-filipinos here, the birthday celebrant usually gets the free meal). i've heard so much about their food but when i finally ate there, i wasn't all that impressed. that's the second time this week that i have not been impressed by restaurant food. last friday, i went to a spanish restaurant and tried dishes that have filipino counterparts: paella and embutido. i like our version better. i miss the days when i was just living on a $1.06/day for food. everything was just so tasty :). what did i get for $1.06? 2 apple pies!

for dinner, karla invited me over at her place just across the street from my apartment. (i will actually be subletting her place next). her mom visited and brought filipino food. we had pancit, longanisa and kalabasa! i also raided her bookshelf. i got a couple of surgery books, a book about the history of france and a book about a brahmin's son and his search for happiness and meaning of life.

her sister is also here for spring break. she relayed the news that johnny depp is shooting a movie here in indiana. i thought he was so cute in chocolat. of course, i had to google what kind of role he might be playing. it looks like he is playing a bank robber in the '30s, john dillinger who was actually born in indianapolis. i believe the man is buried in the cemetery not too far from my house. i haven't had a chance to visit the cemetery but they have tours to highlight famous people buried there. but anyways, i'm skipping school this friday to go to chicago to get my visa for france so i might try to stop by where johnny depp was seen. i didn't think he was cute before. it's funny how your definition of "cute" changes over time ;).

death

o Father, may You love me,
and count me reconciled,
forever thinking of me
as your devoted child.
and death is but a slumber,
sweet rest when all is done
awakened by the wonder
of Your returning Son...

i am always moved when we sing this hymn. we admit our frailties. we beg that our repentant prayers be heard as we lay bare our hearts. despite our unworthiness, we have the sure faith that God will always wait for us to draw near to Him.

i found out from pb that one of the ministers i know just passed away yesterday. he was battling cancer. while i was visiting the redwood city congregation last december, the brethren were amazed that he had enough strength to go up the tribuna during the worship service and lead a prayer. he used to be our district minister when i was in philadelphia. a decade ago, he was a youthful, charismatic minister. the person i saw last december was just a shadow of him. but for us, death is just a slumber..

my day

the alarm clock rang at 3:45 AM. i stayed in bed until 4 AM. i took a shower, ran to the hospital, and got there by 4:45 AM. as the lowly med students on our team, our main job is to start a note and record the vital signs for the patients in our service. by 6:00 AM, we start rounding with our residents and fellow. by 7:30 AM, we are in the operating room. this morning, i got to see ureter/kidney stones removed and kidney stents placed. we also have this robot that helps with the removal of the prostate and other minimally invasive surgery. i got to maneuver the robot today. i thought that was super-cool!

then off to lunch. i usually have lunch in the cafeteria and i often bump into classmates who are in other rotations. we chat about the specialties we are considering and our schedules for our 4th year. in the afternoon, i got to participate in removing part of a kidney. the patient has kidney cancer so we took out the affected part. my job was mostly to retract tissue and cut sutures (and also pretend that i know my anatomy ;)). on other days, i also suction, zap tissue, and close the skin either by suturing or placing staples. i can't say that i love the OR but it has definitely grown on me.

we got done with the last surgery by 5:00 p.m. i had dinner plans at 6:00 PM so i ran home, while calling friends to confirm that we are still pushing through. i took a shower and waited for a friend to pick me up. we also picked up a friend and met another at the restaurant. we had dinner and talked about interesting stories from our rotations. again we talked about specialty choices and our schedules for the 4th year. we try to keep up with our ritual of regular get-togethers. it gets harder as we get busier doing different things. but it always feels great to catch up and stay connected.

i'm home now, getting ready for bed and will be sleeping soon.
i have to be at the hospital by 4:45 again tomorrow. so that's a glimpse of my day. good night!

accidental invite

as i was rushing to go to church this evening. i suddenly blurted out to my roommate, "hey, wanna come to my church sometime." i don't know what made it easier. maybe because, i already told her for sure that i'm moving to the next place when my month is up. i pretty much come in with a mindset that i am only staying for a month. it's still sad halfway through the month when i realize that just when i am starting to connect with the roommate, it's about the time to move again. this time i will soon be leaving not only a roommate but also a pet. it's always nice to come home with pabu waiting by the door. i never thought i would like a dog licking my face :).

but anyways, my roommate said that she will come to church with me! yay for me having the courage to invite.

may movies

i got to thinking about movies. here's a couple of my must-see movies this may:
indiana jones and sex and the city.

somebody was telling us the other day that he used to coach kid's baseball. on his team was the son of mr. and mrs. green. they named their son, forrest. he felt bad shouting during the game, "run forrest, run!". :) i wonder if he has a brother named hunter...

does anyone have strong objections if i named my son - indiana cruz (something-something, insert father's name here)? and no, i will not have a daughter named carrie. carrie cruz something-something sounds too much like a coin flip :).

dirty dancing

patrick swayze has cancer :(.
II-dahlia ('89-'90)performed a dance at the front lobby based on the movie. i remember wearing a pink balloon skirt. i can't remember who my partner was.
i didn't see the movie until much later. baby, the female lead was planning on going to mount holyoke and joining the peace corps. her real name in the movie is frances. she was named after frances perkins who attended mount holyoke and who was the first woman to hold a cabinet position. incidentally, the current secretary of labor, elaine chao, is also a mount holyoke alum. i just thought i'd share some college trivia :).

elusive faces

there are some faces that i find hard to remember. i worked with a couple of residents today in the OR. i knew i was going to forget their faces. i tried my best to "memorize" their faces. since they were wearing masks for the most part, i even tried to focus on their hair, their built and even their bellies. it was useless.

later in the day, i saw a friend who just finished the same rotation. as he was explaining stuff to me, he noticed a resident who just sat next to us. he told him that he was giving me some tips. after my friend left, i then asked the resident if he's on the service i'm on. he said, yes. i then asked him, what his name is. and of course, he was the resident i worked with earlier in the day. i was so embarrassed.

so now i'm looking intently at their department photo. i probably still won't recognize my residents tomorrow. but at least, i'm trying :).