Author Archives
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Missing Those Days
Managed to survive this long, blasted week–like I had lassoed a pole a mile away and dragged my paralyzed body to reach it. Felt like New Year’s eve was eons ago, when it was, in fact, just last Friday. Initially… Read More ›
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Pambansang Pampalubag Loob
I’ve always wondered whether these few days of respite are worth it, considering that I end up squeezing in so many tasks and patients in the few days left before the holidays. Yesterday had an online meeting at 9 am,… Read More ›
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Monday Anxiety and Carcinogenesis
I am usually calm. The profession necessitates it, otherwise I would freak out everytime I see a tumor getting bigger and nastier on my patient’s CT scan. My own hypochondria is, of course, another story. One thing that’s sure to… Read More ›
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Long Enough
Consistently getting mortified–but not really surprised–at all the errors on my manuscript. I’ve been re-reading the darn thing for over a year now, most of the entries I’ve even written over ten years ago, so the flow and the tone… Read More ›
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Pre-Christmas Run, Pre-Christmas Rum
During our pre-Christmas run we chanced upon a crowd in pink and of course we joined in. Back in college rallies and protests were very common in the campus, and we would walk out of our classes to join, partly… Read More ›
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Noche de Leche
I am anything but a “foodie” (do people even still use this term?), but when my sister said that she would take care of the noche buena preparations and all I needed to do was finance it then she could… Read More ›
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Night Changes
The UP Diliman academic oval, on a weeknight, looks absolutely beautiful. Christmas lanterns, shaped like phoenixes, of various color combinations hang by each lamp post. Ran and walked with our masks on, although when we thought that nobody was looking… Read More ›
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Criterion: Somewhere Deserted
The tinola in Bistro Remedios was surprisingly good. The restaurants in Robinson’s were all packed, so Victorinox and I walked along Adriatico and looked for a deserted restaurant. We were the only ones in Bistro Remedios, and we kind of… Read More ›
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Hypochondriations and Catastrophizations
Doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor or not, the first thing you do if you suspect that you have cancer is to check Google and plummet into a blackhole of desperation and self-loathing. Of course I also texted my friend,… Read More ›
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Pink
Decades ago my brother woke me up in the middle of the night to announce that Bret “The Hitman” Hart had defeated Ric Flair to become the new WWF Champion. Or at least as it was reported in the only… Read More ›
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Pre-Omicron Festivities
Namtab Pots and his partner Paul From The Future have done the unthinkable and watched a movie in the cinema. It was originally unthinkable because they are some of the most cautious people I know, having obsessively protected themselves from… Read More ›
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In Tacky Culottes
When I was admitted into the internal medicine residency program I enumerated in my head all the diseases that I no longer had to learn and memorize, stashing such exam committee darlings as Kawasaki disease, placenta previa, and comminuted fractures… Read More ›
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And Ooh, Shots of Remy
The last movie I was trying to watch in Netflix was something called Sparkle, the final movie of Whitney Houston, which also stars Jordin Sparks. It was released sometime in 2011 or 2012, the most chaotic years in my life… Read More ›
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Friday Mojito
So many things to do today, so I started going on rounds at 7am. Patients were still asleep. I was contemplating on waking one patient up, but he seemed fine. Back in med school we were tasked to get the… Read More ›
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Day Off Prowling
Was walking around the mall and I still could not believe how many kids were running around, eating, playing, and so on. I realized that I never had to contend with kids in toy shops for more than a year,… Read More ›
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Mrs. F
Times like these I wonder what my elementary history teacher, Ms. F, would think. She taught history back in 1990 and 1991, which was just 4 years from the events of EDSA. I remember her telling us about the abuses… Read More ›
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Before I Knew It…
…weeks have passed without me having written something. Usually I am unable to shut up. This is bad. The last time I neglected writing regularly, back in 2014, it took me years to write again. Not that there’s a lot… Read More ›
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Nights of Wining and Whining
We had a hospital photo op today in celebration of the department’s 25th anniversary, where everyone was required to be in formal wear. I haven’t worn my suit and tie since 2019. It is not my favorite ensemble, the tie… Read More ›
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Happy Food
I never really dreaded Monday, nor had I really looked forward to the weekends. I used to love Mondays, in fact, when the clinics were at their busiest, and I would go on rounds and attend conferences the whole day…. Read More ›
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Melanoma vs carcinomatosis
I hate milk tea, but I always said that I would try Tiger Sugar if I ever chance upon a branch without a long queue, just to gloat that I was able to get it without effort. Then the pandemic… Read More ›
Supposed Former Melancholia Junkie 