Of Sex Scandals, Movies and Jumbo Mumbo Mixture of Unfinished yet formulated posts.

This post is a summary or a formulation of different posts that I wasn't able to translate from brain to PC. Let me just say I am overworked these days and I am used to eating only one decent meal a day, and this means chomping down in a rush, without pleasure but the purpose of replacing the body of fuel to keep you going when your EQ wants you to collapse. Yeah blame it on internship.

As much as I wanted to watch movies these days, the body automatically magnetizes to the bed and a planned one hour nap turns into a 5 hour sometimes an 8 hour sleep. I've been wanting to watch "Pineapple Express" for a month now but I always end up sleeping or FaceBooking, or trying to finish reading "The Jane Austen Book Club", which is really light fiction fare but right now after almost three weeks in counting I'm about to reach halfway. Sleep is indeed luxury. So far these are the movies I've been wanting to see but sorely missed: Wolverine, Angels and Demons, Star Trek (and I don't even know about this phenomenon but I've wanted to watch), He's Just Not That Into You, I'll prolly watch next weekend or this Saturday just to break the spell.

Pacman pulverized the cocky Brit Hatton in 2 rounds? And to think most people paid quite a hefty sum with so much anticipation that this will be an exciting match. As it turns out a right blow to the jaw is all it required. Once again the Filipino people was on a stand still except maybe me. During that time I was making progress notes for my ENT patients. I was probably one of the 5% in the archipelago moving around not sitting in front of a TV set.

Sex videos are no big deal actually. Not unless they are scattered for the whole wide web to see. I mean I understand why some get a kick out of it but if you have a couple of those just keep 'em hidden for the sake of your dignity. Hayden Kho has got to be part exhibitionist, part maniac but 100% with some form of undiagnosed compulsion. Sex addicted anyone? Well I feel sorry for Katrina Halili and those involved. The moral of the story is keep your kinky fetishes to yourself. Kidding aside, I think this is an eye opener for the country to develop laws on privacy and online copyright properties. Censorship at the same time regulates yet suppresses. It's hard to find a balance to maintain our essential human rights without tampering on our creativity and expression.

Kris Allen's win in American Idol has got to be the most predictable upset in the show's history. I've been rooting for Adam Lambert since Day 1 but when the final two was announced I started to have an intuition that Kris Allen, the underdog, charming nice guy and run past Adam Lambert. It did happened. I know compared to Adam, Kris voice is so-so. But he did have a couple of moments, from his version of "Ain't no Sunshine" and my favorite "Falling Slowly"from the movie "Once". He's also likable. But don't get me started on Adam from his personality his banshee scream and I'm not yet even talking about the performances. Black or White. Ring of Fire. Mad World. If I Can't Have You. Crying. Adam is one enigmatic person.

A month ago I was so happy that I was finally able to buy a book, a biography about James Dean. I've been looking for 5 years already and thanks to BookSale, the best place for books. I also bought Case Histories by Kate Atkinson and Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel. I also bought Candide by Voltaire from National at 99. And Frankenstein Vintage published for 99. I love cheap books!

Can't wait for May to be over.. really stressful month.

Flashbacks of Enchanted Aprils

I am a little bummed about spending a humid, sweltering April, which is perfect for beach or any outing for that matter, by going on duty in a hospital. Oh well. I am constantly reminding myself that it is to early to whine.



So I was looking at some pictures and I realized that I was having so much fun this time of year from three years back till last year



2008: Dumaguete City weekend, Casaroro Falls, Forest Camp and Balinsasayao Lake

I fell in love with the quaint, lovely, peaceful town with great food. Plus nature sites that are not so far to travel to.

Siquijor was very worth it experience! Undiscovered and totally serene. Plus I was sporting my mohawk!



2007: Kawasan Falls. The best outing ever because it set the bar high for our trips. Very spontaneous, wild, loud with no inhibitions. Open talk at 10 am, chugging beer, tequila and brandy then Mock war at 2 am. I love it! I still chuckle at the sight of our pictures.



2006: Boljoon. This was also not planned since our Camotes trip was cancelled. Since Cha moves heaven and earth to have her three days off she was not gonna settle for the city. Melben and Cezan then invited Cha and I for an overnight stay at a three star hotel with a fish sanctuary. Then road trip in the South. It didn't need a lot of people to have so much fun.

2005: Bantayan. With 3S party people. Great people I spent lots of fun times during MedTech internship. Karaoke, partying, drinking and getting drunk, frolicking under the heat of the sun it was so much fun and being able to visit that island before everybody else did.

Sigh. I'll definitely have a getaway next year. I am saving for that already. Now back to my new life again tomorrow.

New Life

This post is way overdue. I've started my internship over 15 days ago. Something that I want to get over with but at the same time I am dreading.  I'll make this short. All I can say is what a test of determination and will power to survive the grueling days of physical exertion, emotional stability which include making amends and adjusting to mood swings of residents. So far rotating in Pediatrics in the Emergency Room and Out patient department taught me patience and cool composure. Seriously I am not that intimidated with kids anymore and I am really improving on not panicking and avoiding anxiety.

The first fifteen days have been stressful not due to the patients or the long hours but dealing with the fluctuating moods of some residents with an attitude problem.

One great thing when we ended our rotation in CVGH, was all of our group passed the exam for Pediatrics ER. Rock on!

Tomorrow, we will be invading Sotto and at the same timeI am looking forward and excited but also scared slight considering the hospital's bed capacity. My goal for the next fifteen days is enjoy and learn, chill out a bit because I do not have paperworks and have a successful IV insertion!

I have lots of ideas for post but I can't seem to find time. Yeah having two Sundays half day should have been ample but I chose to watch movies and sleep instead.

Fast Times at Sci-Hi

8 years ago, exactly I graduated from high school. It was a blistering hot Saturday afternoon and I was dripping wet inside my white toga and was feeling both fulfilled to have finish and sad to be leaving a place, despite of its imperfections I've grown attached to. It was memorable in the sense because at that time I felt huge that I was able to cap another milestone in my life.

High school was indeed a learning experience. Not only was I able to acquire knowledge on the scientific names of the trees and plants in school (one proud Agriculture major here), Asian history, solving Trig problems, Filipino grammar and all those sciences that students from other schools don't have to take till college, the most that made an impact on me was how to tackle life. At that time high school taught me on how to deal with people of different personalities, consequences of losing your temper and half-meant efforts, striving in moments of adversities and quick and sensible decision making. Though right now I still need to improve on the last. Really. Those things I've mentioned became really useful not in college but still even today and the course I lived my life with. Most of these values I've started obtaining during high school and as I grew older and wiser (ahem) I've improved and still currently improving through every situation and every single day.

High school was also a blast. I mean it wasn't all balloons and cheeky but it had lots of ups and downs, happy and sad moments that helped me grow. Four years just went by, though the first two years kinda dragged a bit. I started Freshmen year really intimidated with the company of such magnificent people and I've really worked my ass off very much to prove to myself, my parents and everyone in school both teachers and students that I belonged there. But as the months kept on I've learned to relax and let go. Sophomore year, I became more assertive and happy go lucky I think. Those were the days of carefree me and man, it felt really liberating to be such. I was more aggressive in a sense this time and I would willingly put myself into a gabfest or debate with anybody whom I never liked or had a clash of opinion. My fondest memory of sophomore year was getting my own Internet connection and of course with my own phone at my room (let me remind you those days of dial-up, wherein if someone uses the Internet the phone will be busy). Weekends I would stay up late surfing HTML sites. Java and Flash was almost elitist back then. I would play games and search and print lyrics of the latest hits. I would also be updated on new movies and TV shows like Dawson's Creek. I secretly felt I was cool because I was so updated with information. I would download MP3s that would take a freaking hour just to finish one. I was also a chat addict that time. Talking which literally means typing all over the keyboard to both classmates or people from school and people from different countries. I believe this was the year teen angst took me over. Yup those days emo was still preconceive somewhere in someone else's mind. My angst continued throughout Junior year. It was full of drama, fights and I slacked off causing me to messed up Trigonometry and Chemistry and that was the time where I first encountered integrity and hard work. People were caught cheating at the end of that year and it affected the reputation of the batch. I'm glad I wasn't one of the perpetrators. One highlight of this year was taking home the championship crown over the Seniors. Right now it is petty but to a sea of fifteen year olds with racing hormones and equally competitive, that was BIG. Senior Year I was mostly preoccupied with CAT and enjoying every last of high school. Last Intramurals. Last Dance. Last Christmas party. I liked the first three grading periods of Senior Year. We were united. But during the last two months. It felt like everyone can't wait to get out of high school leaving me behind. I was also confused on the decision making regarding college. I was torn on whether to pursue a dream since childhood which was becoming a doctor or take something that is new of interest like literature, history, film or law. I went with the former.

High school brought a lot of memories for me. Right now it's all becoming a blurry memory. But every time I talked about it with friends and batchmates it suddenly becomes vivid and alive again.

Most of my bestest and closest friends are from high school. Dawnah, my partner in crime in malling, shopping and eating delicious food, is one of my best friends from high school. For two years now we regularly meet up once a month to catch up with occasional phone calls every week. Jo, my co-conspirator on books, movies, coffee and basically almost everything. I've met from high school. My wonderwall and ever accepting of my quirkiness and idiosyncratic nature. She is also my translator when I am lost in Philosophy. Though we have been classmates for only a year, we got even closer during college along with our coffee mates, Bingo and Julio, also from high school. We still keep in touch a lot composed of talking on the phone, e-mails and dinners and group hangs till the wee hours of the morning when she comes home to Cebu thrice a year. She is currently an incoming fourth year law student. Most of my closest friends from college were people I went to with from high school. We didn't hang out much but at college we had lots of fun moments from staying up all night to impromptu and spontaneous drinkfests. Most of them are already abroad exploring greener pastures. The rest of my friends are caught up in work, having cute babies and getting married or have already tied the knot.

High school was a part of my life that completely made sense after all. Everything that happened way back prepared me for what happened during and after college and the rest of my life. I met people who contributed a lot on life. Right now most of us still say hi or talk for a while when we meet at public places. We support each other's business and endeavors by recommendations and have prayed for each other's successes. My sensible support for the last three years of medical school were from high school. People who endlessly told me everything will be alright and have never complained that they are tired of listening to me rant and bitch about medicine and the people in medicine. You guys know who you are, and I am ever thankful for the support and love. 

Now I can't hardly wait for your ten year reunion by 2011. I hope that happens because I am excited to see those I haven't seen for years.

Top 5 Memories of Summer 2004

That was a great year indeed. Looking back, the summer was a prelude of how awesome overall the year was. Just simply reminiscing after five years...

1.) Making it into Internship First Batch

Very rewarding because it made the sacrifices, sleepless nights and self-deprecating days totally worth it going through them. Medical technology was tough. Imagine, at second semester junior year we had seven majors all crammed into one. The feeling when I found out that I passed all subjects and made it was indescribable. Superb and euphoric!

2.) Family Gatherings
It was the summer of April's 18th Birthday Bash, Alvin's graduation from high school, Uncle Franz's wedding which I regret missing but had no choice and little cousins Tara, Caitlin, Adele and Therese leaving for the US.

3.) Beach Parties
This was the year where I went to the beach every week in the course of four weeks. Georel and Eva's birthday party, celebration with college friends for passing and family day trip to Plantation Bay.

4.) Getting addicted to American Idol
Cable TV aired this show for the first time albeit two weeks late but still good entertainment. We were rooting for Jasmine Trias to win it but then midway she faltered and cracked under pressure.

5.) Hanging out with High School Friends
From splashing around in the beach, or sitting around in the mall devouring ice cold treats and exploring downtown, going to book fairs and buying pirated DVDs it was the summer of reconnection. The last summer of less responsibility days. A year after we graduated from college and got a little serious, so the times spent that summer will always remain in my memory as carefree, casual and spontaneous as frolicking around and lying down in the grass while looking in the sky kind of thing. The bonds were stronger and made new and deeper connections of acquaintances that are now friends.

Soundtrack of the Summer (these were the songs overplayed in MTV or MYX)
1.) The Way You Look at Me - Christian Bautista
2.) This Love - Maroon 5
3.) Hold Me Now from 50 First Dates soundtrack (still a great album after 5 years)
4.) I Miss You - Blink 182
5.) I Believe in this Thing Called Love - The Darkness (what happened to them?)
6.) The Reason - Hoobastank

25 Random Things

I got this one from FaceBook, which is right now the emperor of social networking. A couple of people already tagged me but that time I just couldn't gather enough facts that I thought interesting and besides I don't want all of FaceBook to read what I write. Too much attention. So after four weeks I decided that I'll do it already but as a post in this blog for privacy and to increase the amount of entries (I'm on a goal to make it to at least 100 posts before the year ends). Heck even Celine Lopez did an article of this shameless tool of plugging how cool you can be. Here goes.

1.) My mouth is both a strength and a weakness. Double edged sword.

2.) I'm half-extrovert and half-introvert. Most people only think I'm the former but the latter gets me back to my senses.

3.) Books are to me, as Carrie Bradshaw are to shoes. Been lovin' reading since I was three and been hoarding a lot of books for the past 5 years already. Half are yet to be read.

4.) Instant pancit canton is even more satisfying when shared with people, paired with bread on the side, toasted or not.

5.) It's either I'm on the go, driven, super motivated and goal oriented or chilling, apathetic and lazy ass... never in the middle.

6.) I can't park or drive a car in reverse. Really. Need a lot of practice.

7.) I get a kick of watching movies that are quirky, full of idiosyncrasies and unusual. Put in a some poignant scenes, heartfelt conversations and a killer soundtrack, I'll love it!

8.) Spontaneity and carefree behavior are fashionable traits.

9.) I'm a die hard Federer fan, so all you Rafa fans can go to hell!

10.) I'm the Prince of Cheap. Call me sale whore, bargain hunter and cheapy cheap lollipop. I'm proud of it! Must get the best value for those hard earned moolah.

11.) You can get everything in Downtown Cebu. Not really but almost everything cheaper.

12.) I am very conscious about breaking a sweat and sweat stains since I am a sweaty person. I managed to project this behavior so I tend to observe people who have sweat stains in their armpits. I love High Endurance deodorant and a piece of advice, avoid gray shirts except when exercising.

13.) Chuck Bass and Seth Cohen are fashion icons.

14.) Skins is the most humorous and edgy teen TV dramedy of all time. Highly recommended.

15.) When I look at a person's face the first thing I noticed is their nose.

16.) I also envy people with magnificent lower extremities from the thighs down to the toes. So I observe these body parts on people a lot. Roger Federer's legs and feet are an epitome of athleticism and finesse. However if a lady has big thighs or calves then that's a big subtraction. Heck even my thighs are too big for my frame. 

17.) Even though I'm talkative it's hard for me to express my feelings vocally. I do on rare occasions. So if I get mushy, it's comin' straight from the heart.

18.) My taste in music is so diverse from pop, emo, alternative, rock and classics. If the lyrics catch me then its good. I'm picky when it comes to R n' B and I think House shouldn't be considered music at all - it does not define talent but what it means is a good mixer and an even greater studio with state of the art equipment.

19.) Walking and people watching relaxes me.

20.) The 90's was an awesome decade. I'm so attached to those years of growing up and making mistakes. What can I say I love the 90's, baby!

21.) My fashion principle is wear what you want, comfort, statement, a tinge of emo and affordable, not necessarily in that order of importance. 

22.) I wanted to be a great writer or an editor of a magazine like Entertainment Weekly. However I don't think I'm good enough and my poems are just awkward and rubbish.

23.) Sunsets interest me more than sunrises.

24.) I think birthdays are overrated. Christmas and the Holidays are more gratifying and life-affirming.

25.) I'm a complex person that wishes he was a little bit more simpler.

The One Where I Loathe My Totally Worth It Purchases

Yes. I am a sale whore... But the best sale whore in town!

This is an adaptation due to my meager ration every week and I've developed this skill over the last 6 years or so. Since I couldn't ask my parents (though I can), its just a personal choice of mine to be able to control impulsive buying sprees and increase my EQ. I get a very modest allowance. It allows me to enjoy good food and buy me a good time but it does not satiate my appetite for shopping books (bookashopaholic, if there is such term) and my penchant to buy clothes at times. I only ask my parents if I can't fight the urge anymore or I couldn't sleep just thinking of that item. It has to be a very intense fixation. Trust me it rarely happens.

Here are some items I am proud of acquiring from the past two months. So totally worth it.

1.) Rusty Lopez Black Loafers (I own a pair of leather shoes now that's not Doc Martens, it's about time!)
Orig Price: 1800 php
Sale Price: 799 php

2.) Crash by J.G. Ballard
Orig Price: 375 php
Sale Price: 50 php

3.) Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper
Orig Price: 599 php
Sale Price: 50 php

4.) Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (its still in covered in plastic wrap, in honor of the late Heath Ledger)
Orig Price: 335 php
Sale Price: 50 php

5.) Super Villains Vintage T-shirt in Orange
Orig Price: 169.75 php
Sale Price: 84.50 php

6.) Super Heroes Vintage T-shirt in Green
Orig Price: 169.75
Sale Price: 84.50

7.) Utz by Bruce Chatwin
Orig Price: 425 php
Sale Price: 50 php

8.) Griffin and Sabine (I wanted this for a really long time)
Orig Price: 575 php
Sale Price: 120 php

9.) 2 Decent Denim Jeans from Ukay-Ukay which I cut into denim shorts for summer
Orig Price: 180 php each
Sale Price: 20 php each