Summer of 2010

This is so far the only year where I get to do this retrospective post in which I did it on the same year on the actual day summer ended. Well technically I am no longer a student so first day of classes does not affect me now at all. I'm just posting this today since this is the first day of classes of most students here in the city and the rest of the country as well. So today officially summer ends. But the weather is still humid but its improving. I admit though I detest the start of the rainy season, I conclude that we need rain - to replenish those empty dams as source of hydraulic power.

Well to sum up this summer: the end of medical school. Anyways here are the memories for this summer.

Best Place Visited: Camiguin. What a wonderful island. Paradise with a laid back feel. Beaches, history, culture, waterfalls, hot springs, cold springs and majestic volcanoes it's all there in the second smallest Philippine province. I'm definitely coming back.

Best New Discovery, Rediscovered: Starbucks at Northwing SM for the fast WI.FI and for having plenty of wall sockets for charging laptops after an hour.

Highlight: Graduating from Medical School

Most Memorable Day: April 1 ,2010. The feeling of elation when internship ended!

Best Movie Watched: Tie between "Invictus" and "Up in the Air". Honorable Mention: "The Baader Meinhof Komplex"

Guilty Pleasure: Watching the Vampire Diaries and binge eating.

Best Book Read: Tie between South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson. And two honorable mentions: Three Weeks with my Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger.

Most worth it Purchase: The Seven Narnia books by C.S. Lewis for only 385 php.

Song of the Summer: Nothing On You by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars. As soon as I heard this song in Camiguin over that weekend I know this it! Catchy with a summer cool vibe that promotes chillaxin.

Best New Discovery, Gastronomic Delight: Halo-Halo from Razon's. Perfectly chilled ice, balanced sweetness with three unique ingredients - bananas, macapuno and leche flan - even more perfect after a hot humid day.

Feeling of the Summer: Accomplishment and moving on.

Best Fashion Accesory: Sanuk shoes for walking comfy and avoiding dust in between your toes

Special Mention: This summer has been the hottest ever and I was trying to spend of the time in air conditioned areas!

Till next summer.

High School Never Ends

Yeah of course it ended at around nine years ago. But high school culture continues to dictate the way we live in a sort of bizarre, inexplicable way. Kind of.

Well I got to thinking while driving back to Cebu City after a weekend getaway at a high school friend's farm and then frolic on the beach with grilling on Sunday on one of the towns on the North of Cebu. It was a at least a two to three hour drive. It was an awesome weekend by the way. Booze, pig outs, karaoke and good ol' Filipino hospitality. Most of all it was the ultimate catch up weekend. It was intimate but loud - since there were lots of laughter and the talking was non-stop. Nadia, Reggie and I have not seen each other for almost two years. Not counting those mini-reunions every Christmas season since the atmosphere during those gatherings does not really promote a chance of a heart to heart, mostly it's chit-chat and mingling with each other.

The topic was mostly about high school. You see though the three of us each belonged to a respective clique, we managed to become really close friends for we were united with one thing - gossip. Yeah. If we had the BlackBerries back then we would have given Gossip Girl if she ever existed some tight competition. And of strength was the power of mouth.

We still found out that the three of us still had animosities with the same people since high school. We somehow cannot shake off that even after ten years some people are still irritating and can get through your nerves via FaceBook. We still are entertained by anecdotes from those four years. Tales of droll, laugh out loud moments of growing up. I am still a big believer of the saying, "Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up."

Basically high school was all about hormones and sadly most people and image was dictated by popularity. I guess in way my school it still had some politics regarding self image and personalities despite being labeled a high school whose students are cream of the crop.

Well you can never really leave high school totally in my opinion. High school just laid out the foundation of what the real world can be - mean and tough. High school was ruled by smart people, rich brats, lean athletes, beautiful people and those that did not really fit the mold were picked on. But part of the population of those that didn't really fit the mold didn't really care. I'd like to think that I didn't really categorize into those roles mostly considered popular by Philippine High School standards. Yes I was in the Top Ten of my class for four years but I wasn't that as hard working. Next I didn't play any sports that much, I just did so that I'd never have to suffer a low grade in Physical Education. Lastly I was awkward in high school. I had bushy hair, forehead acne and was one of the shortest boys in class. But I wasn't picked on. My edge was my personality and my mouth. I was small but I did not back down from a verbal fight and I was perceived as too frank for most tastes. I immersed myself reading books, watching movies and listening to the coolest pop songs.

Though I didn't really care much - a part of me still cared for that popularity bull crap and that was one of the reasons I drifted apart from my best friend in elementary school. He was picked on for being fat and then instead of coming to his defense, I walked the halls non-chalant as he was being teased and often times I would join in the revelry. Totally low on my part there. Way back in high school I socialized with both the so called popular crowd and those who were not. And I'm proud to say I still say hi to these people every time I bumped into them in public places.

After this weekend what we realized that some people do never change after high school. Some of them still give a shit on what other people think about their appearance or the way they dress. Some people still pick on the same people for being different after all these years. Some still as shallow as ever. The three of us are still guilty of being gossipy.

After all the real world whether we like it or not is dictated by high school politics. Somehow we still live in a world where superficiality overrule inner strength. People get jobs because they are "popular" a.k.a connections - also known as nepotism. And sometimes it takes more than brains to close deals or achieve goals.

But the only difference this time around is we are more experience and stronger. We can never really escape high school but we can choose to redeem ourselves by being more hard working and being extra nice to people that we wouldn't have been treating well if this were still high school.

Suddenly, Last Summer

Suddenly after last summer I've become and intern and had a great yet difficult and challenging time, contrary to the apprehension and anxiety I've had before it started. It was hard but in the end I do feel a sense of fulfillment and occasionally I find myself to be privileged to be part of a group that's constantly under the influence of torture.

Here are some things to remember that short summer by. Shortest summer in medical school. Roughly three weeks or more or less 24 days if you count it accurately.

Best Place Visited: Riverstone Castle in Argao. A castle replica of a 14th century medieval dwelling right in the heart of Cebu south. This summer though I didn't get to go outside of Cebu

Highlight of the Summer: Tie between ultimate road trip in the south of Cebu and getting to see Secondhand Serenade live.

Best Movie Watched: "Watchmen" superb adaptation of a classic graphic novel with a killer soundtrack.

Best Book Read: "Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Poignant and haunting

Best New Discovery: Skins. A British teen dramedy that's funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

Best Hang Out Place: KopiRoti. Where else can you get delicious brews, yummy pastries, free WiFi and amazing baristas.

Trend of the Summer: Colored wayfarers and denim cut off shorts to be known six months later as werewolf shorts

Most Memorable: Being reunited with my elementary classmates after thirteen years!

Guilty pleasure: FaceBooking

Summer Song: "Insomnia" by Craig David and "Black or White" by Adam Lambert

Best Pal of the Summer: Mikah Whore and the Whore car for taking me to places that alone I'd never get there.

Feeling of the Summer: Dread and excitement but more on the former.

Movie Review: Up In The Air

Up in the Air was basically movie of metaphors. That's what I perceived it after watching the movie which was surprisingly fast paced and witty. Airports as every man's job, connecting flights and passengers as relationships in life and hiring and firing as life's beginnings and ends.

The plot involves a man named Ryan Bingham (George Clooney)who works in a company who's hired by other companies to fire their employees personally on behalf. Hence he is then constantly flying 3/4 of his year, living in hotel rooms and suites and hanging out in airport lounges. The movie follows how he lives a life he has chosen, his passion for his profession and his relationships with Alex a sexy seductress who also has a similar lifestyle with his and Natalie, an ambitious fresh graduate who has proposed to revolutionize and threatened his so-called vocation that he upholds.

I've always reiterated this fact that a brilliant script plus great acting from the three leads - each actor managed to portray the characters distinctly and leaving each one with something to draw you was no easy feat that seemed effortless into the film, lifted the movie "up in the air". George Clooney is still George Clooney, and lo and behold buddy you have once again proved that TV stars can make a smooth transition into film. Vera Farmiga was sympathetic and sexy and Anna Kendrick was both uptight and cute.

Congratulations to the screen writers who adapted this book which was quite a chore to read into something enjoyable, subtle and funny. With full of philosophy and profound moments.

This is one of those rare instances that the movie is better than the book. The adaptation also managed to squeeze out poignant scenes and updated the book. For the book was published way back 2001.

What I learned after watching this movie, our relationships in life - family, friends, lovers and significant others are indeed the biggest weight that make up the bulk of our existence.

Watch this movie: if you don't want to read the book this movie was based from because it was a great adaptation.
Eight out of ten stars.

P.S. This is my first movie review after trying to make one for two years since this blog was started.

This is it!

I just had to get this on paper - er... on cyber space before the creative juices stop flowing. I have basically neglected this blog since July. One, I really wanted to write but time has been really really short so instead of typing and clickety-clacking I sleep or catch up on paperwork, second, when I do find time there are no nice things to write about. And lastly I forgot the password and I was to much of a lazy bum to recover it. But now I did and I just had to write something in honor of this day.

Well this is officially the end of medical school for me and hopefully not my medical career well it hasn't even started yet. Internship doesn't count it's part of medical school. I am now not a student anymore. I still don't have my license but I already have two initials after my name. Since compared to my classmates I have been treating this day as nonchalant as I had, I realize that I need something to honor this day aside from pictures. So I am doing this blog post to capture it. At least a month or a year from now I'll read this blog again and I will remember the feelings I had felt when I woke up this morning.

Though I'm not that excited I think I should at least be a little more excited of the thought that I am finally over med school and I survived it with sanity intact and made a good name of myself among my mentors. To prove how I wasn't that into it I am dressed up going to graduation like an emo rock star - dark red checkered/plaid shirt, blood red slim tie, dark slim pants (not as skinny as I would have liked), curly hair and Doc Martens. Well the last one is negotiable. And I'm still working on it. I even wanted to push the envelope further with eyeliner.

Right now uploading pictures from med school past and the recent graduation party pumped me up for the ceremonies. And after graduation comes three weeks of uninterrupted vacations, beaches, fiction books and binge eating.

Congratulations to everyone in CIM Batch 2010 Elixir. You guys taught me a lot of things about the world both good and bad and with that I am thankful for making me tough. See ya in 12 months then after that see ya in a decade.

Welcome to wherever you are, this is your life, you've made it this far!

Oh yeah, this blog is officially back! Vrroomm vrroommm.

The Year of Settling Down.

If 2008 was the year of everyone going away for greener pastures then this year a lot of people I know from high school or college is getting married, planning to get married by next year or has surrendered their single life into the walls of domestic haven. And then they are also having babies too. Wow. The last time I've checked we were searching gifts for 18th birthday parties, then we graduated from college and passed board exams and celebrated those milestones by having drinking sprees. Some got jobs and others like moi, got into postgraduate school.

Though I think it's about time for those people who are the marrying type to get married. Most of my friends have a stable job, savings for the rainy days and four years is already quite a long time that have elapsed since college ended. Four years since we all got mature but on a different level and have set priorities with different intensities. Time's a changing and deciding to finally settle down, quit the dating scene and choosing to commit forever is a pinnacle of emotional full growth.

Let's see. The first weekend for this year was kicked off with Julie's wedding. The month after my parents renewed their vows after twenty five years. After that I am hearing a lot of people getting married and then suddenly posting their unofficial photographs in FaceBook. One more wedding for me (for now) to attend which is Charisse's and I am honored to be part of the secondary sponsor. First grown up role for me so I'd better not mess this up.

Kim came home from Japan after resigning from her job so she could relocate to Singapore to be with her fiance, hence the reason for the move. She treated me with a Japanese lunch at Nonki and we got to talk for two hours and lo' and behold the bruja is also planning to get married next year.

I'm just a little bit overwhelmed. I still find it a little but weird sometimes. Just last week I had dinner with Charisse, bride to be and Eva, hardworking housewife with her daughter Erin. During high school and college we used to talk about anything under the sun. This time around we still do but the scope is a little bit limited. If you can't even recognize the Jonas Brothers on magazine then it's a definite sign you are indeed old and from a different generation. Both of them admitted shamelessly that they can't identify them unless their names flashes on the TV screen. Anyways when we talk the conversation is even more diverse so to say with the two of them talking about being employed and household related topics. Both of them now own house. So we talk about loans, finances and bills. I, however entertained them with my internship adventures, impulsive shopping sprees, and I update them on what's the latest on post high school pop culture. I feel a little bit sheepish sometimes that my concerns are getting some doctor to sign my requirements or getting broke after an impulsive BookSale shopping spree or coveting a shirt, pair of shoes or some underwear. But lunches and get togethers with friends not from med school keep me sane and gives me an assurance that my stint in this frustrating world of internship is not for nothing.

I am glad that even though most of my friends my high school are married we still keep in touch by these lunches or dinners every four months or longer. Right now I am getting more close to my single friends like Dawnah the ever "Living La Vida Soltera" and my coffee shop foursome friends. We need to sit over and talk again soon. Yeah, I am pretty sure that none of them will get married for the next two years.

Status Updated

It's been almost two months since I haven't ranted, talked, or simply just posted about anything that bothered me or managed to enter my stream of consciousness.

Current Status: Rotating in OB-Gyne, overworked yet at the end of the day it somehow managed to make sense. Really. I've learned a lot from the past two months than a two months of reading William's Obstetrics relentlessly.

MUST LIST:

1.) Roger Federer, tennis god.
I've actually predicted him winning the French Open this year and breaking Pete Sampras's all time record of 14 grand slams. Kudos to the greatest ever by rebounding from a slump during 2008 and rising up from almost obscurity. I am even more convinced he'll win two more. Sampras picked up his 14 in a span of 12 years, Fed Express did it in 6 years, Rafa or no Rafa it still would have been accomplished.

2.) Kopiko coffee
Homemade Filipino style blend in ready to mix sachets that kept me awake even after 40 hours of eye opening.

3.) Mango Float Ice Candy
A new twist to the traditional Filipino ice candy by adding graham crackers in addition to mangoes and milk. The result is a sweet concoction of oh so addictive creamy goodness. This is one of the things that I've discovered and learned from three rotations in Vicente Sotto Hospital aside from being composed, calm and delivering a baby in the lobby. A strenuous 36 hour duty is easier with these ice candies after every meal.

4.) Chicken Salad Buns and Iced Mocha from the French Baker
Perfect combination for a relaxing post duty, pre-church Sunday afternoon.

5.) Penshoppe
I'm still loving last season's underwears now on sale!

6.) Booksale
Where else can you get "Oranges are not the only fruit" by Jeanette Winterson for 22 pesos? My ultimate retail therapy stress reliever store.

Current LSS raves:
1.) Come Back to Me by David Cook
2.) How Do You Sleep by Jesse McCartney
3.) Insomnia by Craig David (still after almost six months of constant overplay mainstream, I'm still in tune with this song!)

Movies I Want To See:
1.)Villa Estrella - yup I will waste pesos for this, can't resist Pinoy horror fare.
2.)The Inglorious Basterds - Tarantino will not disappoint in this flick. Trust Me
3.)Ice Age 3 - the only animation movie I will watch on the theaters
4.) Public Enemies - Johnny Depp and Christian Bale on the big screen together another great combination

Books I want to buy (just among the countless unending impulsively updated booklists)
1.) The Accidental by Ali Smith
2.) Saturday by Ian McEwan
3.) Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
4.) Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5.) Columbine by Dave Cullen

And I am turning 25 in a month. Getting older, wiser but second adolescence won't go anytime soon. As for this year my birthday will be a minor event due to Charisse wedding. But no plans for a major celebration for now anyways. If I could have my way I would ditch the hospital and go somewhere distant yet near and just enjoy the simple things. Shit. I sound pretentious. One thing's for sure I am buying a new camera and more books to add to the tower of unread books this year.