Been feeling quite fatigued lately, and when I met up with Smoketh a few nights ago I asked her if she had been feeling fatigued lately as well. Of course she was feeling dead tired too, and she wasn’t just saying that to commiserate. I had opened up my Tuesdays for clinics, a necessity as my previous insistence on a four-day work week was causing me to go bonkers. If I remember correctly, the month of August has always been relatively light in terms of patient load, and with it came lower income. But this month, there were much more patients… and lower income too! Many of my patients have been admitted in the hospital for weeks on end, and by the time they get discharged (or sadly, expire) their families are completely drained of their finances, and I get paid with PN, aka, Promissory Note. Or as others would say, “Paalam Na”, ie, “Paalam Na, professional fees!”. Philippine health system FTW. If only I can forward Meralco, Laguna Water, Batelec, PLDT, Smart, and BIR these promissory notes.

Still, I was able to wake up at 5:30 am last Sunday to fulfill my duty as an examiner for the orals of the new graduates of medical oncology. It was my first time to see my colleagues from the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology in person after more than two years, and I had already begged off from that same task last year. By 9 am I was getting extremely sleepy, so once again, as with all similar tasks, I became the Paula Abdul of the judging panel. When I ran out of questions I just wanted to say, “Ummm… I like the energy!”

Was also able to attend our monthly writing workshop in person. Many weren’t able to attend this time. John, who joins us via Zoom from Copenhagen, is recuperating. Joan, from London, is on a vacation. Paul is in Singapore. And Park is on a work-related meeting. Lord was able to attend via Zoom from Baguio. And then there were four. The workshops have evolved into a hilarious socialization/chikahan/chismisan.

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