Summer Kneading
This terrible summer heat–the type that makes me feel like I will combust in the middle of doing chemo–reminds me of a situation that my friend Mrs. T had found herself in a few decades ago. I asked her if… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Interview with The Post Ph
The challenge with interviews is not repeating most of what I’ve already said in the previous interviews and book reviews, and teacher Mok’s questions had allowed me to tell more behind the scenes stuff. More than anybody can have any… Read More ›
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EDGLC Wins at the National Book Awards!
Had a great time at last Saturday’s awards night for the 41st National Book Awards. Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer and Other Medical Misadventures wins for the Best Non-Fiction Prose in English, tied with the biography of Senator Rodolfo Biazon… Read More ›
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& More. For More!
When we were discussing where we would hold my book launch way back in November 2022 my publisher, Atty. Andrea, suggested to have it in this coffeeshop which I refer to in the book as The Shrine Motherfucker Cafe. Obviously… Read More ›
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Version Non-Loida
Officially had my first meeting with the committee as an examiner for the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology. Every year the society gives a diplomate exam to those who have completed their 2-3 year training (aka fellowship aka HELLowship) in… Read More ›
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Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award 2023
Last November I attended the awards ceremonies for the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award, which covers books in English released in 2021-2022. For over 20 years, UP Institute of Creative Writing and the Madrigal Gonzalez Foundation have been handing… Read More ›
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Old CNN Clipping
I’m posting here CNN Philippines’ December 2022 article about Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer being one of their 2022 Best Books, written by Chuck Smith and Andrea Panaligan. Other featured books were How To Grieve by Jade Capinanes, and Dear… Read More ›
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Kutob/Subo
Ilang minuto nang kumakalembang ang alarm clock, cellular phone, iPod, at iPad nang sabay-sabay pero tulog na tulog pa rin ako. Nagising lang ako nang kinatok na ako ni Ate Luz, ang katiwala sa boarding house. Laking gulat ko nang… Read More ›
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Shockable Rhythms
          On what was supposed to be a restful weekend Smoketh’s father handed her a key to a safety deposit box, something that Smoketh never knew existed. She couldn’t fully grasp the concept of having valuables tucked away in… Read More ›
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Weekend Therapeutics
For this quarter’s issue of Santelmo the guest editor is internist Joti Tabula, who I always refer to as the patron saint of medical narratives and humanities in the Philippines. He said he’d take the title, although he wouldn’t protest… Read More ›
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Such Ugly Forks In The Road
Didn’t exactly have the best holiday season, and January has not been kinder either. Met up with some friends for some form of therapy, and confessed that I was ashamed that I hadn’t been seeing much of them in the… Read More ›
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Mortality Report
As I was doing my rounds on my first week as an internal medicine resident I discovered in terror that one of my patients, Mrs. Tonya Mae Horizon, was gasping. I shoudn’t have been too surprised—when she was brought in… Read More ›
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Prediction
The Oscars best picture of the year, I can already predict it, is Saw X. I must admit that my interest in this franchise has waned, specially with that boring 9th installment Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, featuring a… Read More ›
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Sixteen Hours of Elderliness
There were hardly any Disney mascots going around–maybe because it was 12 in the afternoon and the LA sun was threatening to melt everyone. We finally found one, Daisy Duck in full witch Halloween costume, and the queue was quite… Read More ›
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Party Rock
To my glee I discovered that I only have one patient in the clinic this morning, so I asked my secretary to check if David, the ophthalmologist in the clinic across ours, was available. My eyes have slowly been getting… Read More ›
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Paper Thin
Mondays have been consistently hectic the past few months. Like as soon as I arrive in the clinic, it would be an amazing race to all the chemo, outpatient consults, inpatient rounds, transfer to my afternoon clinic, outpatient chemo, and… Read More ›
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Desensitization and Other Therapies in Baguio
I was initially ecstatic when I found out that I had qualified for the 62nd UP National Writers Workshop (UPNWW), then anxiety quickly started to set in. I would be marooned in a hotel in Baguio, I would miss a… Read More ›
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Clawie
A friend in the hospital where I work noticed that I’ve been re-posting a lot of funny cat videos on Instagram, that she also found those videos hilarious, and could she interest me in one of her Persian kittens? I… Read More ›
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Oh, Hiiiii!
I must have assumed that this blog is sentient and can write itself, but when someone pointed out that it’s been five months since I’ve last written something I was shocked! Or at least, I pretended to be shocked. Of… Read More ›
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EDGLC Goes Global 😆
Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer and Other Medical Misadventures is now available in Barnes&Noble / Nook, Amazon / Kindle, and Rakuten Kobo! I used to LBC copies to the US, UK, Australia, and Korea, and the shipping fee was too… Read More ›
Supposed Former Melancholia Junkie 