Aftermath

Thanks to Calvin's Hub for the pics

Missing Your Comments

I’m hoping that many are still reading my blog but somehow can’t find the ‘post comments’ area :D Anyway, in case that’s the case, it’s on the upper right side of the post. I can’t find a way to change the font of the word ‘comments’ so it’ll be more visible.

Raging Waters

Video taken at University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Foundation by those present last September 26, 2009.

Metro Manila Sinking

In just a span of 6 hours this September 26, typhoon Ondoy (International Name: Ketsana) broke the previous record rainfall which occurred during a 24-hour period in 1967 [Yahoo News].

Rains aren’t unusual here since this is a tropical country so I didn’t pay any attention to the Saturday morning downpour. Our whole family went to church as we usually do on Saturdays. All throughout the church service it rained. By lunch time I had received a few text messages from friends about some flooding. It wasn’t until we got home that we realized that it wasn’t an ordinary downpour.

Messages started pouring in (we don’t turn on the television or radio during saturdays) from friends stuck in massive traffic jams and some who had to wade through flooded streets just to get home. I guess what caught my attention was that areas usually not prone to flooding were reportedly waist-deep in water.

Here are some videos and pictures of that day (not taken by me):

Dozens of pictures and videos are also on iReport.com

And it’s still raining right now :(

Lost in Translation

According to a study done by the Mayo Clinic, one of the desired traits patients want in a doctor is that he should be FORTHRIGHT. Which means being honest and explaining to his patients in such a way that they understand their illness and their treatment.

That's all nice and good but I often have patients who don't care the least what their illness is as long as their bad symptoms go away. This isn't a good attitude especially for chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension. These are the patients who usually stop taking their medicines once the symptoms disappear.

On the other hand, I also have patients who already have been to other doctors. While they received proper medical attention, the explanation of their illness is either oversimplified or too technical that the patient cannot provide me with enough information to allow me to continue management from the previous doctors. This means repeated lab tests and examinations which could have been avoided (health insurance over here is almost non-existent).

What to do?

Career Week Presentation

Thanks to those who gave me their input. It went well, although I think I should really learn the proper poise when giving a talk. I think I’m too ‘at home’

VM Fusion to the Rescue

Well, it turns out that Windows Live Writer won’t run from a USB drive in a Mac environment (it was a long shot)... to the rescue come VM Fusion. Although I still have to boot up WinXP, this time I don’t have to reboot to do so. Fusion allows me to run WinXP from within Mac OSX. A better choice would have been a Windows emulator which would eliminate the need to boot up Windows, but I guess that would be hard to do.

****

I wanna upgrade the memory of my laptop to 4GB but I’m not sure if it’ll be worth the expense or even if I really need the upgrade. I think it will since I regularly multitask programs. Still, OSX seems to be doing a fine job of multitasking several programs with the 2GB of memory I have right now.

Christian Irony

I thought even a 3rd world country like the Philippines would at least benefit from its strongly Catholic influences, especially since they teach about the Love of God and acceptance of the mistakes of others. Well…

Catholic institutions are seeking exemption from a law that does not allow them the right to enforce disciplinary action on unwed students or employees, according to a report by Inquirer.net.

 

Republic Act 9710, or the Magna Carta for Women, signed into law by Pres. Arroyo on Aug. 14, bans the dismissal of unwed mothers from schools or employment… [Read More]

I really don’t know what their reasons are but I think its ridiculous!

But what do you think about this:

…Two Florida school administrators were due to appear in federal court Thursday to face contempt charges for saying a prayer at a school luncheon…

on January 28, "Lay asked Freeman to offer a prayer of blessing during a school-day luncheon for the dedication of a new field house at Pace High School," according to court documents.

 

"Freeman complied with the request and offered the prayer at the event. It appears this was a school-sponsored event attended by students, faculty and community members."… [Read More]

If they found out some students actually say prayers before examinations, would they kick them out?

My Smooth Tongue

Since Monday I’ve been feeling bad because of my tongue. It feels as if I’ve just drank a glass of hot coffee. It’s red and smooth around the edges. It looks almost like the picture on the right (that’s not my tongue, but it sure looks similar).

It’s called a Geographic Tongue or Benign Migratory Glossitis, and I think I have it. My teeth feel extra sharp because of the loss of papillae on my tongue.

I guess its because I’ve been loosing sleep for the past days because of having to configure a new computer and updated the template on this blog and other unnecessary stuff that I felt too important to set aside.

I need to supplement with Vit. B and Folic Acid… and sleep.

PS: Comments are on the right upper side (the area with the red splatter)

9.16.2009

I’m kinda regretting not looking into making a facebook account earlier. It would have been something great to do. Now, someone else has started it, and although all the Leads are administrators, still it’s different.

I’m pushing myself too hard. I didn’t get much sleep last night because I was caught up setting up a new template for my main blog. It was 90% good, a few kinks, but I like the new layout. I’m motivated to post more often now.

My tongue hurts. I think its cheilosis... It started after 1 whole day without sleep. I’ve read about it, I may need more Vitamin B and Folic Acid

I had a good 1st 15 days of September. It’s also paying off not worrying too much. Although I’m a bit concerned that I may not be putting in enough hours reviewing for the exams.

I hope WIndows Live Writer will run from a USB drive *cross fingers*

reFORMATed

Whew! I had to go through a self crash course in HTML just to get this new template running. It isn’t perfect yet but I think it looks a lot better than the old one. Unfortunately, I lost most of my linked blogs. If you happen to drop by and notice that your blog is not on my bloglist anymore, please, please leave a comment (it’s on the UPPER RIGHT SIDE) with the URL of your blog.

Weeeeeeee! bigger photos :D Love it!

preMEDitated

Next Tuesday will be the Career Week of the high school I went to. I was again requested to give a short talk (30 minutes) about my chosen profession. This is not the first time. I was also one of the speakers 2 years ago (if I recall correctly).

I didn’t expect to receive an invitation after that first time. That time I gave the students the reality of being a doctor: no sleep, no food, no holidays, no days off, no social life, no time, and no money (compared to other professions) - in short, NO LIFE. I guess I wanted them to see beyond the stereotyping of this profession and be absolutely sure they want to become a doctor.

However, I failed to tell them the positive aspects and blessings of entering into this profession. This is what I intend to do this coming Tuesday. I’ll try to make a post of my short promotion once I’m done.

I’m open to suggestions on what to tell them. So far I’ve been thinking about the traits a person should have to become a good doctor. Any other suggestions?

What Was Kenya West Thinking!!!

I felt so sorry for Taylor Swift.

and then Beyonce did this:

… which was a very noble thing to do!

Another Monday Morning

8.30am
Had a patient come in for urinalysis. The specimen had a particularly strong odor... I know it has to be relevant, but i just can't recall what medical condition it should make me suspicious of... i really should review my medical tech books.

9.30am 

...watching 'Seconds From Disaster' about Tornados on National Geographic Channel. I now know that the 'F' in F1 - F5 categories of tornado strengths are because of the efforts of Dr. Fujita of the University of Chicago.
Tornadoes are rare in this country.

Interrupted routine

my routine has been interrupted by this laptop. I’m not complaining but for the past 2 days I’ve lacked sleep and food. I hope I have get my groove back :) today and be able to exercise also. I’ve even neglected my farm on Farmville :[

Test Post Using MacJournal

On Windows Machines, bloggers should really use Windows Live Writer. It’s gotta be the best blogger tool available. Unfortunately, there is no Mac version of it. So I’m stuck using MacJournal. It isn’t exactly WYSIWYG, but it’ll have to do

A Hallmark Moment

I just had a great dinner date. It was one of those times when even the simple things are made special by thoughtful gestures and unexpected expressions of affection.

(Which I almost ruined by being cranky most of the evening.)

Helping Others: Not As Easy

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church may be known for many things like its emphasis on health and diet among others but it is generally not a wealthy religion, more so here in the Philippines.

But I guess wherever there is a church, people in need of assistance are drawn to it. Most of them in need of medical assistance (health insurance isn't common here). Its the policy of the church not to give financial assistance (we can't afford to) but to extend assistance in the form of medicines if we have them available.

What gets me though is that the people who come for help all expect, some even demanding financial help. They refuse generic equivalents of the prescriptions they have (don’t get me started on physicians in government hospitals who prescribe the most expensive brands when they know their patients don’t have money).

Just now a lady approached me here at the church clinic with a request for various lab exams. The estimated cost was about $25. I offered her the services at a nearby lab which would cost her $6. She didn't even seem a bit interested. Instead she asked if why we couldn't just give her the $6.

09.12.2009 AM

10.20
children's homily is once again poorly thought of. The story teller should really think about his story - if it is interesting to kids. No visual aids should mean extra talent in speaking.

10.30
Just staring at the chorister's butt haha

11.15
Very irritating style of some pastors or speakers is when they make questions as part of their sermon. Do they want the audience to actually give an answer?

Professional Competition

I feel insecure all of a sudden. Somehow I’ve never felt that confident in my abilities as a doctor. I think I’m always on the defensive since most of the time, first-time patients are hesitant to come to me for consult. I guess it has to do more with my appearance (I don’t really look my age and I don’t dress my age either).

Then there’s this guy who goes to the same church I do. We have the same premed course, except that he topped his Licensure exams and he’s now in the top medical schools of the country. It doesn’t help that he looks like what a doctor should look like already.

In a few years he’ll be a licensed MD and it’s a given that people will be more confident going to him.

…and it doesn’t help that he has a great personality and is a good singer.

*sigh*

Lost Anonymity

I think I’ve lost the anonymity I’ve always wanted on the net. Oftentimes I can’t post everything I want to because I’m afraid I’ll be judged or someone I know will read it.

I’ve been thinking about starting something like a diary. That way I’ll have something to write about everyday and not wait for something exciting to happen just so I can post about it.

The problem is, I don’t know where to start my diary. I want to be anonymous but at the same time I want other people to read about it and share their comments and criticisms.

… I don’t wanna start another blog, but I don’t think I can comfortably write things down in this blog either.