Back to the old blog

my i.ph blog is just too much of a hassle to maintain.  It's not compatible with my Firefox, for some unknown reason.  Even the i.ph tech people don't know what's wrong. So I decided to just go back to blogspot.  I do mourn the loss of this aesthetically more appealing blog though. 

 Here's a link: Chronicles of Boredom

Renewing Friendship

I can still vividly remember the time when I first felt what real, honest friendship was like.  The year was 1998, one of the most outstanding seasons of my life.  I was the third member of a tightly woven gang of 3.  The other two, my best friends at that time, were churchmates.  One was a childhood friend and the other, the rose to our 2 thorns, was a recent acquaintance.  About a year later, we would find ourselves separated because of some differences between our families.  And yet, through the whole ordeal, I never once questioned my friendship with them.  By this time, my two friends had become very close — close enough that they were soon a couple.  I have to admit that it made me a little jealous but at the same time, I was very happy for them and I had expected it to happen soon enough.  Be that as it may, I lost communication with them and the friendship somehow fell apart.  I received little news from them since we were all so busy with school and other things.  We were able to meet a few times to catch up on each others' lives but they were no more a big part of my life as I was in theirs.

Last Sunday, 19 November 2006, I met Doogie, our rose, for the first time in years.  I just felt that I needed to rekindle my friendship with her at this time, and hopefully soon, with John.  As we were catching up on each others' life events, I knew that we were both changed somehow, more mature, more grown up.  She was different and yet the same.  Whether this changed the quality of our friendship remains to be seen.  One thing is for certain.  I missed her company.  She was one of the very few friends I was able to confide in.  The events that transpired between us three very possibly left an obvious shift in the way I saw and dealt with my other friends.  I realized that the few years in the late 1990's that the three of us had established ourselves to be best friends could be seen as a pivotal event in my life, in the way I value friendship, and in the way I behave toward my friends.  I can't exactly describe how I was changed or what aspect of me changed.  I just knew that I never saw friendship in the same light after my brief encounter with them.  It was just different.  I was different.

Doogie Howser, M.D.

I've been watching episodes of the first season of Doogie Howser, M.D.  I realized that I miss the show.  I never knew until today how much wisdom it had.  The show's premise is preposterous in that a 16 year old kid can never be that good a doctor and have the complete personality Doogie has.  But the show is real in the sense that it deals with real human emotions and human circumstances.  It reminded me of my duty as a doctor — to be not only a healer but also a compassionate friend to my patients.  In the midst of all the heavy work of the medical profession, not just as an intern but even as a clerk a year ago, I feel that I have somehow lost my idealism and compassion for strangers.  I don't want to be jaded this early in my journey to be a physician.  Doogie Howser reminded me to be mindful of that noble calling.

Blast from the Past (from Blogspot)

I was reading my old journal tonight. I found this interesting entry, dated 10 June 2002. I'd like to post it here for posterity. Hehe. As I am in the middle of my internship year, I find that this entry brings back refreshing memories. I'll let you read on…

******

08:45 AM

10 June 2006

Sitting here at a strange hallway in the Med Bldg. of UST. It's my first day as a med student. I'm a freshman again and somehow it's very similar to being a college or even a high school freshie. Everything's new, the old students stare and gawk and smile — smile at the fact that we are the new ones, inexperienced.

I was not able to sleep at all last night. I tried going to bed at 11:30 but I just kept on tossing and turning. As I texted to Josh, today begins my lifelong journey as a medical man. From this day forth, people who don't have a clue will look up to me and my breed of people as a class who know better. People would see us as beings who hold their life in our fragile and fallible hands. It is such a great responsibility but I have looked forward to facing this challenge ever since I was a kid. Today is the first serious step I'm taking toward the fulfillment of a lifelong passionate dream.

Except for the UPM Bio people and Aujero, I don't know a single soul. But then I believe that is what is on everyone's mind — kind of a collective psyche. Together, all 400 of us new med students will face the challenges and hurdles posed for us by our new mentors. When we have proven ourselves worthy of the sacred white coat and the title "doctor," it will be our turn to challenge the new aspirants. Such is the cycle that is Medical Education.

It's a brand new day, a new year, a new course for me. The only difference is that after entering this field, there is no turning back. I shall be a doctor for life.

08:55 AM

******

I miss being a med student. Four years after I wrote this piece, my friends and I made a video that we showed during graduation. I wish I could show you the video. Tried uploading it via youtube. The file was too big. O well.