Snivels.
Ah, me. I’m such a sap.
It’s a good thing I’ve got work tomorrow afternoon.
Countdown begins.
I spy with my little eye…Roaches!
I first tried Google Earth last Christmas. Unfortunately, the resolution for Metro Manila just plain sucked. But now, they’ve apparently improved the resolution so now you can actually even see my brother’s car parked in front of our house! I’ve also learned that the actual air distance between my house and Feliz’s is only 1.92km!
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On the trip back from Maya’s despedida, I decided to listen to radio, thinking that maybe the quality of the programs would have improved by now. I leave judgment up to you:
DJ talking about another DJ’s propensity for inventing words: “…the word is `ambience’, there’s no such thing as `ambivalence!’”
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Gasoline prices suck.
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I’m deathly afraid of roaches. Worms, mice, lizards, snakes, and frogs – no problem (heck, I’ve even eaten live earthworms before…). But roaches? It’s weird, because I used to play with spiders as a kid. Nowadays, the phobia has spread beyond roaches to any flying insect larger than a blowfly. And spiders too. But usually the flying ones. And roaches have the distinction of having been given the capability of flight, but not enough brain power to actually know how to do so properly – unless of course their mission in life is to fly towards the person most likely to be affected. I’m so grossed out by the little buggers, that I can’t even step on one. It’s the sickening crunch they make, see? That’s why I use BB guns. It’s gratifying to be able to take one of them out from far away. Never mind splattering bits and pieces all over the place. I’d take a confirmed kill over the uncertainty of letting one out of your sight.
I can sometimes smell them before I see them. I can’t believe I stopped watching TV in the other room because I saw a roach on the ceiling. None of my BB guns are charged at the moment, so I have nothing to take it down with. Which means that I’ll be missing out on CSI: NY.
6 CommentsValidation, grammar, and the unbearable creepiness of being
I went to the Mercury Drug here in my village this morning to get epinephrine for Feliz’s aunt who was having an allergic reaction. After explaining the urgency of the situation to the saleslady (because I was number 48, and they were still serving 38) she still took an unbelievably glacial three or so minutes to figure out that they didn’t have it in stock. It took her that long because she didn’t know what it was, and had to ask around – never a good sign. So I proceeded to the Mercury Drug in South Supermarket, here at Westgate. Same story. At least the guy behind the counter had the decency to know that they didn’t have it. Which brings me to this question: Doesn’t Mercury Drug - the country’s largest drugstore chain – carry this all-important life-saving drug?
I came up with a sobering realization: When I was rotating through government run emergency rooms, we would frequently run out of supplies, and needed the relatives to buy their own drugs and supplies from the multitudes of drugstores surrounding hospitals. Sometimes they would take a long time before they returned, and I guess when you can’t even buy epi from Mercury Drug, then it’s no wonder why it takes them a lot longer. (Try asking your local drug store for tetanus toxoid and/or immunoglobulin)
So now comes the second part of this story. I ended up in Med Express, right across from the Westgate Mercury, and asked for the same thing:
"Miss, may epinephrine ba kayo?"
"Sir, may prescription po ba kayo?"
As you can imagine, this is a situation that I’ve been waiting for the loooongest time. I’d like to add that my sandals, shorts, and t-shirt did not add to my credibility one bit. Needless to say, after procuring a blank sheet of paper, I was able to whip one up. The clerk also asked me for some information for my discount card, so I give her both my PRC and driver’s license. Anyways, after typing it all up, she gives me my meds and my med-express card, saying:
"Doc, ito na po ang card ni’yo."
Ah yes… I’ll take my validation any way I can get it.
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After all that brouhaha, we found ourselves back in ATC, this time to look for a Filipino grammar book for Feliz’s American brother-in-law. While leafing through the various balarila, and getting re-acquainted with things like klaster, pang-halip, pang-abay, panlapi, etc., I started wondering how the heck I ever scraped by in grade school. I mean, when was the last time you saw the word salungguhitan in your everyday life? I thought to myself "maybe I should be getting this book for myself." Then I saw the price. 300 bucks for a grade 2 textbook? Forget it. For future reference, can anyone say Home Schooling?
Anyway, if I was to learn a language, it might as well be Mandarin.
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Speaking of grade school, out of curiosity, I did the creepy thing and searched for profiles of my old grade-school classmates. See, I spent my last three years of grade school in a Jesuit-run Chinese school in Iloilo. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have dropped those Chinese classes. Anyway, after I graduated, I moved back here to Manila. Therefore I hadn’t seen these people in like, oh, 17 years? And you know what? They still looked the same! (oh, well, most of them anyway). Amazing. Plus ça change…
Addictions
I’m a caffeine addict. My preferred method of delivery is Coca-Cola. Regular. I absolutely love it. My former co-interns and co-clerks can attest to that. There were duty days when all I needed to get through the day was a 1.5L bottle of coke and some siopao (asado).
I guzzle the stuff. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. In times of desperation, I’d even drink it warm. There are times when my water intake over the course of the week would amount to - oh, say – one glass? Occasionally, I’d feel the need to drink something other than Coke.
Thank goodness for Pepsi.
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Currently watching CSI: Supreme Sunday on AXN. Don’t people know how to do CPR anymore? Someone collapses during the show, and the next scene involves the crime lab. Of all the shows I’ve seen, I think I’ve only seen the para-medics involved only once.
Lists
I just finished watching Amityville Horror again with Feliz. Although it has its moments, it doesn’t quite make the cut of my top 3 scary scenes:
1. As scary movies go, I think the Japanese have the format down pat. I’m talking about Ringu here. The scene is where Sadako’s mom (refresh my memory please) is brushing her hair and she turns to the camera. Then she slides away, and then later on, you see her peering at you. I can’t watch it by myself! (And I was tempted to make copies of the film, just to ward off any possible curses…)
2. Interestingly, there’s this one scene in Mel Gibson’s Signs. I don’t know how it made the cut, but when the alien passes in front of the camera, it creeped me out big time! So maybe I’ll just cop out on number two and just say “Blair Witch Project.” The first one, that is. The whole film’s just creepy. For one Halloween, Feliz cut up an old shirt, filled it with rocks and candy, surrounded the whole thing with twigs, and left these piles in front of her friends’ houses. It freaked more than one person out.
3. And the number one scariest scene for me is the one in “Three Men and a Baby.” I know it isn’t even a scary movie, but see, that’s the whole thing! You know which scene I’m talking about. It’s the scene where the camera is panning, and in the background, the figure of a boy can be seen behind the curtains? Yep, that’s the one. It’s only on for less than a second, but jeeez-louise! Last time I saw it, I knew it was coming up, all the lights were on, I wasn’t the only person in the room, but still, after seeing it, it still sent shivers down my spine!
Which brings me to my next topic, sentiments I think we all share when we watch thrillers. I don’t care where you’re from, but I think you’ll agree with me on these points. If ever I heard some weird thing happening in the next room, or in another part of the building, I would:
1. Dress appropriately. I would take the time to put something on. I don’t think pajamas offer any form of protection whatsoever.
2. Bring a light source. I’m talking about at least a real flashlight. Finding the light switch to a room is even better. A lighter does not count.
3. Bring a weapon. A gun would be nice. Then maybe a bat. For some weird reason I kinda don’t want to bring anything bladed. Which means knives, axes, and chainsaws are out of the question.
4. Bring a friend. If not for anything else, at least a monster might go for him/her instead.
I mean, come prepared! Can you imagine the casualty rate in Aliens if the space marines were in their jammies, came in one by one, with nothing more than a lighter?
Counting Down
Time flies.
One year ago, I started reviewing for the boards. June was for the basic sciences. July was set aside for the clinical subjects. August was for panicking. During those days, life seemed to move pretty slowly. One page at a time. One chapter. One book. Each day blending seamlessly into the next one. The only way for me to notice the passage of time was to go to the Kapiligan Boys’ place over at Zaragosa. They had a pad of post-it’s up on the wall, counting down the days before the boards.
Wen’t grocery shopping the other day. Funny how habit makes you buy the same things over and over. My shopping list back in med school was always the same - Bacon, eggs, coke, choc-nut, bananas (my only health concession), coffee, longganisa-burgers, and the perennial Lucky-Me Instant Pancit Canton. The last item was a staple all the way back from college whenever I’d be too lazy to step out of the dorm. Nowadays, I’ve got no excuse for buying it. I’ve got all the time to do my cooking. With nothing concrete to do one year after the boards, I find myself waiting. Just waiting.
Waiting for my CIN to arrive so I can schedule my exam.
Waiting for the next reliever job just around the bend.
Waiting for September, before I leave for the States.
Waiting for December to come back.
Waiting for the time when we don’t need to be apart for long.
Dog Tales
I feel disconcerted, and Tyler is to blame. He’s Jonathan’s dog, and he isn’t some little lap dog. We’re talking about a German Shepherd the size of a wolf! My brother and I were at Jon’s place to use power tools to do a little smithing work. Initially, while standing in front of the bench grinder, I felt a nudge behind me. It was Tyler sticking his nose up my butt. I shooed him away, and thought nothing further of it – that is until I bent over the grinder to do some work…
TYLER! NO!
Too late! I felt paws on my waist, and Tyler started to do a little grinding of his own on my leg. With three sets of legs to choose from, he chose mine. Now, I love dogs, and I’ve always been nice to Tyler, but why’d he have to go and do this? It bothered me. What did it mean?
Moral of the story: I should remain a law abiding citizen to avoid being thrown into jail
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I’m doing reliever work once again this Saturday. Initially I was thinking “Hey, it’s a long week-end! Sayang lang naman.” Then I realized that most of my days these days are just long week-ends.
Perspective noted.
In between the posts…
Ah, the joys of being somewhere and nowhere at the same time…
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I’ve been a hostage to regular radio while driving for the past few weeks. My MP3 player conked out and I had to choose between silent drives or the unbearable inanity of radio. One example of absurdity occurred the other night. A debate was raging between the DJ’s as to which superhero was better – Superman or Spiderman:
I like Spiderman because he’s more realistic…
Excuse me? Of all the reasons you can give, please don’t give that. I like spidey too but please, I don’t think I need to explain why “realistic” is a poor reason to give when talking about superheroes.
You can imagine my excitement when I found the installer CD that came with my player. Oh, happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! After formatting the disk, I was able to revive it, and now I’m no longer a slave to all the yakkity-yak on radio.
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Been watching way too much TV lately. Sometimes, while surfing, I get a glimpse of the Knowledge Channel. I don’t think they’ve got the format down pat yet. In spite of watching a poorly animated discussion of the ideal gas law, I still failed to follow how Charles’ law and Boyle’s law became condensed into PV=nRT. Sorry, mission failed, guys. The presentation was just three notches higher than reporting with manila paper covering the blackboard. And these are the tamer episodes. I can’t wait for them to explain String theory using finger puppets. Way too much TV.
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Speaking of manila paper, I got bitten by the balloon-animal bug. During my lunch break while working in an HMO, I went to National Bookstore to buy some more balloons, and the place was just jam-packed with people in a mad rush for school supplies. It amused me how the concepts of summer vacation and the back-to-school rush felt so remote - how the sight of notebooks and the pervading smell of plastic no longer elicited a sense of dread mixed in with excitement. My only concern was the impending increase in traffic. Good thing I don’t need to listen to radio anymore 
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To recap: Radio, TV, Balloon animals. Sigh.
