:Six Feet Under… and then some.

I have never been accused of being a religious person, but Ash Wednesday is an interesting day for me because it allows me to walk down a church aisle without breaking some kind of rule.
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As usual the service in Old St. Mary’s church was superb.  I think the difference in the quality of the sermons here versus the majority of what I have heard at home come from the overall tone: ie sermons here are more supportive and constructive, as opposed to those that sound somewhat akin to an elder lecturing a child.
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Congratulations to the Medical Board passers of 2007!

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Well, I’m back here in Chicago.  Unfortunately, it’ll just be for a month.  Suffice to say I was initially disappointed with the one month I was given, but in retrospect it gives me just enough time to do the scramble.  Just.  Actually, its sort of a wake-up call for me to really focus on this to make the most of this trip.  There are two great motivators for me to do something: Either a pat on the back or a kick in the ass.  This is more of the latter, but after being so lucky in the past few months, I guess I can’t complain.

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My DSLR arrived about the same time I did!  At the very least, this trip will be better documented than my last one, now that I’ve got my own camera to play with here. 

See?  I really can’t complain

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Big shout-out to the staff at Medicard Imus.  Always fun to swing by.  Salamat sa pagkain.  Basta, this May, remind me to bring the chocolates.
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I just came from Cavite to get 2 checks from Medicard.  The sum was just about enough to pay for the gas it took to get there, plus maybe treat someone out to coffee or something. Muntik nga mabawi yung 2nd check, because on the way home, I got caught by the traffic cops for violating the color coding scheme:

     "Ser, may coding lang tayo ngayon"
     "Good afternoon po, galing lang po ako sa clinic." (which was true!)
     "Pahingi na lang ng PRC license kasi maraming gumagamit ng MD sticker na hindi
      doktor…"
     "Eto po…"
     "Okey na ser."

Sulit na talaga yung 5 taon ng paghihirap ng magulang ko.
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Well,  Anton’s left for Malaysia, and I’m on my last week here before leaving for the States again.  It seems that my to-do-list hasn’t quite become shorter, but at least one of them was crossed out:  cleaning the guns.

Well, at least one of them.

I was able to clean Anton’s .45 - soaking it and carefully doing what he calls a "What-the-fuck" oiling of it.  Why WTF?  Put it in your hand - that’s the first thing you’re going to say.  Either that, or "Eeewww…", But WTF had more of a ring to it than "Eeeeewww oiling."

Next: M1917 and a shotgun.

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Ah.  The smell of gunpowder.

There are few things as cathartic as a day at the range.  Amidst the litter of firearms on the bench, there’s always a caliber to suit your every mood.  From the "I wanna just plink" of the .22, to the "I wanna dislocate my shoulder" of the shotgun, there’s something for everyone.

However, sometimes it can be a bit frustrating.  i was having a bit of a problem with
the sight of the .22 rifle (that’s right, blame it on the rifle…).  I couldn’t quite get the elevation right, and I was either hitting above or below my target.  However, there is always a proper tool for the job.  So I switched over to the shotgun.

Siguro naman I didn’t miss the target here.
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It behooves one to know the four basic rules of gun safety.  Yesterday, while cleaning out my desk, I found one of those flare guns that Anton and i used to create "the world’s cheapest fireworks display."  I picked it up, neglected rule number one and started pulling the trigger.

Rule # 1.  All guns are always loaded.

The flare shot out and started bouncing around in my room.  Good thing nothing got  burned. 

At least as far as i can tell.

Ah, the smell of gunpowder.

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I won the auction!  Got myself a digital SLR similar to the one I used during my brother’s wedding.  Now I don’t need to take crappy pictures with a point-and-shoot.  I can now take crappy pictures with an SLR!

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I hate those audible smileys.  Those pesky things that shout "OMG, NO WAY!!!", and catch you off-guard?  Screw em.  And pop-ups.  The ones that say "adult sites have been detected on your computer" and that they’d delete them for free.  First of all, I don’t have the disk space for all the smut they claim I have.  And second, if I did, why the heck would I want them to erase it?  Stupid pop-ups.

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Current Sudoku record: 5:06

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There’s this statement which goes "you never dive the same place twice."  I’ve found this to be somewhat true.

I was initially concerned that chronic shore entries from the resort would get boring, but thankfully, there was so much to see that I actually want to go back and map it out myself so that I can go on my own…

Sinulit ko rin, kahit papaano, yung last dive week-end ko til May.   At least naka-anim ako na dive.  Sa Mayo na lang uli…
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I sorta miss diving with friends.  Not having a regular group of my own, I end up taking part in the insta-buddy program.  Which is all jim-fine-and-dandy underwater, but being the total anti-social schmuck that I am, I sometimes have difficulty relating to others during the surface interval.  Which is probably why i keep trying to get people I know to either get back into diving, or to take it up. I have been unsuccessful in my efforts as of late, so til then…well… bahala na lang.
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Thanks to Olo, I’ve found a new sense of fulfillment in diving.  I’ve taken his advice and every time I go diving, I now pick up almost every bit of trash that I can reach.

Metro-aide of the sea.
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On the boat ride back from the resort, I found myself lying on my back on top of the engine shroud of the pump boat.  The night sky would reveal itself in all its brilliance every time the boat’s flag fluttered and obscured the solitary light on the mast.  The scent of the sea, as well as the rhythmic sound of the boat’s engine and the crash of the waves on its bow was a delight to the senses.
Although there were five of us on the boat, the contrast between the starlit sky and the dark sea made me feel both isolated, yet strangely integral to the fabric of nature around me. I felt blessed.

It was a good weekend for me.
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When I took my car out this morning, I noticed that there were some scratches on the side of the hood that I hadn’t noticed when I picked up the car in Batangas the night before.  They were light scratches and buffed right out with car wax.  When I was asked where the scratches came from, the only thought that popped into my head was:

     "I parked beside a chicken."

You never realize how absolutely  absurd a sentence sounds until it actually comes out of your mouth…

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Woohoo!

Checked my OASIS record.

I passed CS!  I’m now ECFMG certified!

Well, actually, I just checked to see if I could re-apply for CS (seeing as the official paper hasn’t come in through the mail yet)

And you know what?  It said I couldn’t apply because the records indicated that I had already passed…

Woohoo!

(rain on my parade…)

Now comes the fun part of the scramble.  I think I’d like to go someplace warm

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Candy!  May utang ako sa iyo! 4 na pancake house meals!  Wanna make it another double or nothing for scramble?

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I think I’ll go diving this week-end again.  If all goes well, then I’ll be heading back for the states soon, and considering my aversion to cold, I think i’ll put off dry-suit certification for a while.

Damn spoiled tropical-water diver.

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