I used to hold clinics Mondays-Saturdays pre-pandemic, but I’m now down to four days a week. The patient load has started getting heavier, but I have so far been able to squeeze everything in. In one of my days off this week I did rounds on two patients in ManilaMed, then immediately trooped to the mall. Most of my pants have already turned kupas, and I need new pairs as wearing an isolation gown is no longer de rigueur.

I was with my nephew, Larry Koopa, whose Tomica With Food photography will one day cause him to accidentally swallow a rusty Lexus model, leading to an expensive abdominal surgery.

I had the tiniest sirloin steak (6 oz) in Texas Roadhouse, but Larry Koopa had to get the bigger one, of course. I don’t usually like eating my steak with rice, but I was famished. I’ve been missing meals quite frequently the past few weeks that I’m starting to get GERD. Or is it really GERD? Or something more severe, like a tumor, or more likely… an accidentally swallowed Lexus.

Started the next day at 6 am, making me rethink this four-day week. The key to surviving these toxic days is to come up with something to look forward to, even something as simple as a nice, hot caramel macchiato at the end of the work day. One of my old patients had called me earlier to tell me he would bring me a gift, and it got me all excited. And what should that gift be but… a belgian malinois, something that I hadn’t heard about before and had to google (malleanese? malinuas?) multiple times.

I am totally a cat person, and were it not for my severe allergic rhinitis my house would be totally full of nefarious, perpetually hungry cats. Luckily my sister and nephew have immediately fallen in love with Giggles (as per her birth certificate), so I’m designating them as the primary caregivers. My role so far has been limited to changing her name to Alanis Nadine. Let’s see if it catches on.

Welcome to the family, Alanis Nadine!

Categories: Blogs