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I am hooked to these shows on TV. I have to agree that TV is indeed and is still is in its Renaissance. Creative writing and story lines, riveting plot lines, sympathetic characters, unforgettable antagonists and just plain addictive. I still enjoy reruns of Friends Sex and the City, The O.C. and Popular and Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD but these are the new shows that's keeping me at home on the couch.

1. How I Met Your Mother
      
                                                  
 
The tag line says it all. This TV show uses flashbacks, wisecracks and a witty humor that is reminiscent of Friends. With newly invented terms like "suit up", "The Bro Code", "The Slap" and how the writers make a philosophical reference to the life out of all the mundane things, like missing a flight at the airport or breakdown of a beloved car, this gets my vote. Ted, main character narrates to his children how she met their mother, in which as of now whose identity is top secret. His friends include ladies man Barney, and Marshall and Lily, the eternal perfect sweet couple and Robin, current girlfriend who may or may not be the woman he ended up with. Several episodes later it was revealed that she did not bear Ted's kids. Who could she be?

2. The Amazing Race
        
It's already their 13th season since starting 7 years ago. Not as exciting as the previous seasons but I am hooked. I am rooting for the mother/son team of Toni and Dallas. I hope they make it through the Final 3 at least. As of now they are consistent with their finishes at the PitStop. Terence and Sarah is also an interesting team to watch but the rest are just a dime a dozen - same from previous seasons.

3. Brothers and Sisters


                               

The family dynamics are well portrayed by the brilliant acting of the ensemble. A family drama about grown up siblings and how they interact through problems and trials as they become adults. My favorite characters are Sarah, played by Rachel Griffiths, the eldest daughter and Tommy the sterile middle child. Sally Field's acting is brilliant as matriarch Nora.

4. Supernatural

                                

The adventures of the Winchester brothers are exciting as they battle all forms of demons. I have to catch up on Season 3 soon.

And the others... Just an average fan - if time allows it I stick to the channel:

30 Rock - Tina Fey can act and write both equally superb! Her wit soars!

The Barefoot Contessa on the Lifestyle Channel - for mouth watering supposedly easy to follow recipes... NOT!

Iisa Pa Lamang - typical Pinoy soap opera flair. I have to admit that in order for you to just watch and sit back you have to leave your brain in the toilet. Acting is above average but what gets me watching is bitchy and sarcastic lines that are now classic! Just to try to catch a couple of episodes to see what I mean.

Survivor Philippines - Over hyped but couldn't maintain the buzz. What turned me off was airing the episodes daily - degrading the franchise into just another teleserye on telebabad.

Amazing Race Asia 3 - Rooting for resident villains, Geoff and Tisha, models, the former was previously of the PowerBoys fame (remember the deodorant commercial way back in college?) and the latter a dethroned beauty queen due to citizenship duality. Oh well because they are from 'Pinas! Go go go! Sam and Vince are the more deserving winners IMO, the best buds from HongKong.

TV couldn't get any better than this!

New Things, New Stress

Four weeks of relaxed and fun yet a wonderful learning experience of OB-Gyne rotation ended last Friday. We had a written exam and a practical on aseptic technique I did really bad because I was first but hopefully I managed to make it. I never thought that I would personally enjoy this rotation because I hated reading "William's Obstetrics" so much to the point of motor mouth swearing. But because of a dedicated, helpful and patient resident-in-charge, it was beyond my expectations. The last four weeks have been awesome.

I had my first stress of this bimonthly today. I started a four week rotation in Ophthalmology today. I went from bored (I rarely do) to stressed and frustrated in a couple of minutes because of an uncooperative patient and the Ophtha resident blew up. But she kind of felt bad in the end though we look like asses in front of her. Now we just have to make a way of getting hold the of the patient for the history in order to have one to submit and a clean fresh start with today's fiasco on Friday. By the way Ophtha gives me the ultimate hemorrhage. Nose bleed and bleeding from all natural orifices! It intimidates me and I do not know a lot at all about visual acuity and tonometry. Get my point? The technical terms are too technical! It will take a while to decipher them for my sanity. I hope it gets better, I really do.

5 more weeks till the masquerade ball and crunch time is imminent. I have to say that we are already a month behind from the planning and preparations. The posters haven't been made and posted up yet. And about the hosting job I have no choice - hostage!

Music and Playlists

I am currently hung up on Secondhand Serenade's latest album titled A Twist in My Story. This time around he recorded the songs not only with an acoustic guitar but with a band - complete with drums, bass and keyboards. But he did not stray away from his usual style. The words still convey pain and emotions that hit straight to the core and the lyrics are thoughtful and a perfect play of words without turning into grilled cheese. It's the perfect mush with a little bit of healthy emo. No whining, just sincerity on falling in love and losing someone. This is highly recommended.

If I'm not listening to Secondhand Serenade, I am reconnecting with the 80's by listening to REO Speedwagon's The Hits album and Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits, released last 1998 and 2001 respectively. Better late than never. REO Speedwagon writes perfect power ballads mostly about unrequited love minus the screeching and these songs have well written lyrics and belting at the appropriate times. Jon Bon Jovi's charm and appeal help Bon Jovi achieved millions of record sales way back in the days but it's just part of his talents, and man, he can belt out! Bon Jovi is one of those bands in the Philippines with a mass appeal. Just try riding a bus to the North or South of the city, chances are you'll hear most of their hit songs during the 3 - 4 hour drive. Bon Jovi is a little more hardcore compared to REO Speedwagon but they write mostly about love and leaving. Anyways both of these bands contribution to the music world are favorite karaoke hits of mine - drunk or sober.

After all the drama and controversies from the past year including a divorce, custody battles, drug rehab and addiction, meltdowns and various encounters with the paparazzi, Britney Spears is releasing a new album this December. Britney is making a perfect start of her comeback by looking hot during the VMAs and winning not one but three after 16 unsuccessful nominations and after that horrendous and pudgy opening performance last year. Proof that the girl is oozing with appeal and her fans are behind her through thick and thin. "Blackout" just released about a year ago was met with positive reviews by most critics. It's the only album of her not to debut at number one but the content is way above average compared to her previous efforts. I didn't think she promoted it well because of her dramas but it did good enough. I am looking forward to hearing her new album and how she has evolved as a singer and songwriter after the storm. Will she debut at number 1?

David Cook is also releasing his debut album by next month, as Entertainment Weekly reports it is still untitled. I am excited to hear his original compositions and at the same time I am feeling the pressure for Cook. As the first rocker winner of American Idol, all eyes are into him if he can surpass record sales of previous winners, get critical acclaim and from rock fans and critics and equal his creativity and credibility as an artist in comparison to his stint as a contestant. Will he exceed Daughtry's success by beating him in both record sales and respect from the rock community?

Download list: Boyce Avenue, The Academy is.., Joshua Radin

Time Flies, Just so You Know

Exams and Unreasonably long chapters (as if, the school didn't know, there just not doing anything about it. Training and that's the life of medical student, they would just say...)
I'm overwhelmed. This is my third week of school already and all I can say is the exams are really frustrating so far. Okay I know I've had worse. The questions of Pedia tests are straightforward. It's in the book and its not compared to others where you have to comprehend. It's there in the book! The only problem is the coverage is a mile long! I mean, how can you expect to read and retain? I think I am almost getting the hang of studying for the exams! Well see next week.

Double Treat
What an action packed day today was, during OB duty! We had a Cesarean Section and a few minutes later witnessed a normal delivery without any lacerations! We were supposed to have our practical but they had to do Cesarean because the baby was a face presentation and his face was swollen. Instead he was a breech presentation! (the butt instead of the head was approaching the opening of the vaginal canal). What a surprise indeed, as the anesthesiologist said, "that's the thrill of surgery!" After that we then proceeded to the delivery room to witness one of the most shortest and flawless deliveries I had the chance of witnessing so far. The perineum survived without a single tear! Both mothers gave birth to adorable baby boys. Today was a very fulfilling day indeed and it saddens us, which I never thought would happen, that we have 9 days left in our OB rotation. It's so fast! We were learning a lot of things and all good things do come to an end! Let's just see how we will fare with Ophtha!

7 weeks to go...
The preparation of the masquerade ball this December is a little bit behind. I say maybe by two weeks so to say. In the time frame, we are suppose to be putting up pictures, giving the tickets and hyping up the publicity for the party. Instead this week, the pictorials for the posters and tickets have yet to be done and we are still trying to bid on two hotels for the venue. But finally after two months of agonizing my already tortured soul, the program is 95% finalized. The committees were also revamped! Instead of forcing people to be assigned in a certain field, people now have the liberty to choose. I'm still head of the program committee but I am now heading participative and willing to work classmates instead of those half-hearted, whiny, and most of all complainers! Those I referred to and they who shall not be named have all flocked and migrated to the decoration committee! Ha! I am still worried that I might be de facto host of the program since there are no other persons confident enough to do it. I am not saying that I can't do it but it just takes to much time, effort and a very makapal na mukha! I can't bear the embarrassment!

Things to be done:
Role Play for Community Medicine, Talk Show Presentation on Bioethics about Stem Cell Research, Tabulate Data for Research, and of course study for next Monday's exam. Thank heavens I'm done with Case Conference and rotations of IM and Pedia in the Clinics which demands too much time!

Looking forward to Fitness Day tomorrow - we're playing badminton!

Run, Swim, Deliver, Gloves and Fitness

Being assigned in OB-Gyne right now has made me appreciate it a little bit more. I really hated OB during first semester. I don't get much how and the management is really all mixed up in my brain. What I love about this rotation though, is the gentle yet supportive residents who are willing to teach us. From the 8 days or so, I did Internal Exam, Fundic Height, Fetal Heart Tone, Labor Watch, Gowning and Gloving without pressure and not by constantly being in tiptoes as if it was like walking on eggshells. Relax and calm. I am kind of anticipating my first delivery. It is exhilirating I surprisingly admit but messy and scary at the same time.

Today, after hospital duty, my groupmates from OB-Gyne had our Fitness Day. We agreed a week ago that today we all would exercise - jog, swim, dance just for fun and to have a different kind of trip instead of just spending early offs sleeping. It almost didn't push through since it rained when we were about to go, but I insisted we go. I did TaeBo indoors since it was the only thing we can do. I did it with Leslie and Mae for 30 minutes. Ryan and Ann did laps in the pool in the rain! Then after our TaeBo stint the rain stopped and I was able to jog 3 rounds! Mae then tried Bellydancing and she loved it! Next Tuesday we will be playing badminton to promote fitness and the rest of the girls will be Belly Dancing. I'm loving getting a good sweat at least once a week. Thursdays I do HipHop abs at home. I am actually reducing my rice intake to half and the rest in moderation. My classmates are horrified of the thought and they think I have anorexia or body dysmorphia. Hahaha maybe sometimes I think I am a little fat. I am just preventing abdominal obesity and yes being fit makes me happy!

Monday Nights and TV

I learned to appreciate the value of Monday nights during med school. Mondays are the most dreaded days of the week. It's still basically the same for a medical student like me. I guess you can call it "Manic Monday" still as The Bangles sang during the 80's. I don't get enough sleep on Sunday nights. I barely sleep on Sunday nights preparing for a 50 item exam with a coverage of usually a 100 pages with font size 8.

Last year, we go out on Monday nights. Wear our hottest new clothes as if we were teen stars of this decade. Eat, shop, karaoke, drink and even party after a sleepless night of no fun and cramming. Medical students like us reinvented Mondays. During second year, Monday was the night to paint the quiet and sleepy town red!

However this year, due to an increase demand of effort and workload at school a.k.a. even harder exams, more challenging discussions and junior clerkship at the hospital, we get off at Mondays at around 7 pm if you finish your history or progress notes early then off you go. If not, then there you'll stay. So in summary, I am usually in Dead Man Walking mode during Mondays, that when I get home as much as I love to go out and unwind, I end up staying in by sleeping realizing that my body needs rest to recuperate from the day's beating. Also I find it a little late and short malling at around 8 pm, when closing time is at 9. Conclusion: Not a good time to shop when under time pressure. And I am resigned from drinking alcohol to shake off the frustration from the exam. I am recently in economic recession too! My savings are depleted and I got to recover it before December due to mostly senseless spluring and impulsive consumer qualities. Because of that, this semester I turn to TV! Yesterday I watched TV from 7:30 till 11:00 pm!

Monday nights probably have the best schedule in my opinion! It is really hard to keep track the shows. I usually start off with reruns of Friends in Starworld at 7:30. By eight I usually scan the Discovery Channel for interesting documentaries. Last night I caught an interesting feature on the same channel about the History of South Korean Cinema. It was a learning experience. If nothing catches my interest, I watch I Love Betty La Fea, MYX or MTV for the latest videos or HBO. Then at 9 p.m. I alternate between The Amazing Race US (13th Season already!) and Fight Quest on the Discovery Channel. It's a show about learning martial arts from different countries like Kali, Pencak Silat and Taekwondo among others. Really got me hooked! I never knew Martial Arts could be this exciting! At 10:00 pm it depends so I usually watch House on AXN, Brothers and Sisters on Studio 23, Don't tell my mother on Nat Geo, it's a travel show on the world's wartorn or dangerous places like North Korea and Palestine where people rarely go or anything on TV 5. Then if I find the episode of Sex and the City funny, I change the channel to Velvet on 10:30. And if I'm not yet subdued by 11:00 I tune in to MYX while waiting for Backtrax at 11:30. I love it when they play videos from the 90's or during high school. Right now, music from the early college years around early millennium is already on that show's playlist!

If I could only watch this amount of TV during the rest of the week, I'll be less cranky! But somehow that is wishful thinking. It's either watch TV or fail med school! Yikes!