aubreythinksthat

2nd year sembreak ruminations

2011-10-29T01:01:00.000+08:00

It has been seven months since my last post. I can probably come up with a thousand reasons for the hiatus, but it really just comes down to one thing: priorities. In the past couple of months, I have been withered, beaten to the pulp and set into a dizzying spin by med school. Second year med, to describe it as challenging, is like calling a woolly mammoth cute. The higher batches have often warned us, to the point that I thought it was just to scare us out of our wits, that second year requires you to make a tight-wire balancing act of nine subjects, three of which are divided into lecture and lab, all expecting you to know, memorize and understand a truckload of information served in hefty, sometimes unpalatable servings. And my did I have a field day as a second year student. Perhaps it was to make me understand that you do not call yourself busy unless you're having an average of four hours of sleep per night (which in med school is already a grave indulgence) and you find yourself cavorting with burn-out every so often.

I must admit I frequently found myself questioning if I really did want to become a doctor. If all the sleepless nights, missed runs, family gatherings, night outs, hiking trips, vegetarian cooking classes were worth sacrificing. Life is practically passing me by, it's as if I'm always too busy poring over books that when I raise my head, I find that so many things have changed, and I have to reorient myself to how life is proceeding in the real world. Sometimes it takes the unfortunate form of having to realize that people important to me have changed and I am left perplexed as to what might have happened in between.

Do I regret my decision of taking up medicine? And have I, the great evangelist of following-your-heart-especially-if-you-want-to-be-a-doctor finally succumbed to the rigors of med school that I'm about to warn against the frivolity and emptiness of wanting to be, and becoming a doctor? Not really. Over the past weeks, privileged with adequate sleep and a clearer mind (thanks to the semestral break) I realized that my doubts were fueled not by a change of heart, but by fatigue. I have become so bent-over exhausted that every exam seemed to be a punishment, not to test what I know, but to see how far I can survive without throwing in the towel. Med school, more than being a training ground, is a test of character. I used to have a low opinion of fresh grad doctors, thinking finishing med school is similar to getting a college diploma while partying the weekends away. And my was I wrong. To finish med school and come out intact, is to me already a testament to a person's intellect and resilience. I realized that one cannot be a doctor, without giving himself a good a reason for doing so. Which begs the question, why do I want to become a doctor?

It has now became clear to me why this question is a staple in the admission interviews. Because it is the one thing that will keep you from copping out, breaking down, and losing your sanity. I went through first year med with the vaguest 'To serve humanity', which to me then sufficed as an all-encompassing statement for whatever it is that I planned on doing. But eventually the vagueness caught up with me, and I found myself questioning why I even bother doing the things I'm doing. Thinking it over, it isn't really that different from serving humanity, that is, I want to help people live better lives. (I know it may not be that specific, but somehow it manages to synthesize my motivations.) To me, a person who is healthy, unencumbered by disease or disability, has a greater chance of realizing his full potential. I want to become an instrument by which someone could be a better person, and I hope it overflows to a degree that he/she desires to be a better father/son/daughter/friend/citizen. I know it may be a fallacy to think that putting people in a better state of health would compel them to make a utopia of this world. But I'm placing my hopes on people's innate goodness, that somehow, we all have in us a desire to make this world a better place.

After spending two weeks of my sembreak in a relaxation frenzy, I will be coming back to my classes next week with a rekindled fire to put myself through whatever mad rough-drive med school has to offer. It may be a painful pill to swallow, but the good, valuable things in life rarely come in neat, just-open-and-enjoy packages. Someday I know all the effort and sacrifices will have its use, and until that day comes, when I finally gaze into the picture where the pieces have finally come together, I will make that decision of becoming a doctor everyday.

Selling my MSA reviewer

2011-03-30T01:29:00.010+08:00

I'm officially done with my first year in med! Yay! (Imagining how time runs forth is just mindboggingly astounding.)

And from my customary post-school year general cleaning, I discovered that I still had this lying around:

I originally brought this for 648.00 back in 2009. This Reviewer from MSA is one of the few (am not really sure of the others) NMAT reviewers you could buy from National Bookstore, and perhaps from other well-stocked bookstores. I am selling the Reviewer and Companion Volume (answer rationale) now for only 300.00. I've only used pencil in marking some parts of the books, (and have promptly erased them since), so I would say they are in pristine condition.

But wait, there's more.

Instead of giving me your payment in cash, you could give it as a donation to the Big Brother Big Sister Program. It is an outreach program organized by mountaineering groups to bring school supplies to kids in indigent and mountainous areas of the country. Since 2005, the group, consisting mostly of volunteers, have reached hundreds of children from Abra, Camarines Sur and various places in Benguet. A 300 peso donation could sponsor a child's school pack consisting of: 1 knapsack, 7 notebooks, 4 ball pens, 4 pencils, writing pads, crayons, sharpener and ruler.

Please click here to find out how to make a donation and to learn more about BBBS.

I am not in any way connected to the organizers of this program, so please follow their instructions for making a deposit, as well as informing them of your donation. Once you have contacted them, e-mail me a scanned copy of the deposit slip at aubreythinksthat@gmail.com. We can arrange a meet up for the books, preferably at SM Megamall or Shangri-la Mall.

This is definitely a win-win situation so go for it!

Managing time as a med student

2011-01-23T04:06:00.000+08:00

It's been 7 months since I entered med. My mind just swirls sometimes thinking how time seemingly went by in a blink of an eye. Yesterday I was scrambling to get into med, and now I'm three months away from finishing my first year. The experience has been an unbelievable, emotional, and challenging mash up of learning, adjustment, and figuring things out-- literally a whole slew of stuff that shook me from inside out.

By now I think I've comfortably adjusted to the demands of med school. Comfortable enough to figure out how to tackle never-ending school work, and to fit in time for rest, family and friends. Perhaps the biggest challenge to any med student is to learn how to prioritize among the many things that all NEED to get done. During my first months, the overwhelming amount of school work often left me catatonic and confused. It's the same thing as one panicking in the midst of fire. You either end up running aimlessly or remain glued to where you are.

Surviving in med is not about being the most intelligent. It's about being well adjusted and knowing how to focus and prioritize. You may have the whole day to do a report in Biochemistry but that doesn't mean you can't squeeze in an hour or two to read a chapter in Physiology.

I never fully realized the value of time until med. Before I would complain of having too much in my plate, but then I would sleep a full eight hours and reserve time for siesta. Now I consider myself extremely blessed to even have five hours of doze off time. I realize you can never really know what you're capable of until you put yourself to the extremes of possible. Time has always been finite, the challenge is how to maximize it.

I'm not saying the world should adapt the 'med-student' work-like-a-horse lifestyle, or our unhealthy sleeping habits. And putting things in perspective, it's not about having a 25th or 26th hour. It's about learning how to work effectively; accomplish the most important tasks first and know that 30 minutes is worth so much once devoted to the right activities. Indeed, not everything that can be done, ought to be done. And perfectionism, while ideal, will rarely allow you to finish anything.

I'm practically just recycling old wisdom here. Do things as soon as you can and give it your best effort so you won't have to do it over again. Med taught me, or perhaps forced me to imbibe the tenets of Time Management 101. Having focus is probably worth as half as having time itself. Facebook is great but how often has it helped us finish a paper due tomorrow?

And it's not just about school work. Being the alpha female that I am, I went through a personality overhaul realizing that I can only accomplish so much on my own. I remember being told during my interview for PLM-CM that doctors work in teams and it would be rare to encounter one who relies on himself alone. Friends and the help of others are invaluable. As much as rest is. But I'll save that for a later post.

Posting at two months interval is glaringly telling of what has been going lately. I sincerely want to thank everyone who has remained followers of this blog and especially NMAT takers who have left me nice messages of thanks. I really really appreciate it. I hope we may all see each other in the future as colleagues and I wish you all well on your journey as med students.

(It's nice to be all whimsical about time management. But in crude detail, things that helped me are David Allen's Getting Things Done (Google Getting Things Done) and Cal Newport's Study Hacks.

Dear Readers, Followers and Random Websurfers

2010-10-20T08:57:00.000+08:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has become a 'follower' of aubreythinksthat. I know that not everyone in the blogosphere gets to have the readership, and I'm just really grateful that a whole bunch of people has given their precious time to read my random ruminations.

I know I haven't been posting frequently as of late. Priorities dictate that I am first a doctor, then a writer (which explains why blogging had to take a back seat). As such is the case, I'm afraid I won't be posting any more frequently in the coming months. In the same way, my response to comments or questions will probably come down to a trickle.

However, I assure you, dear reader, that every entry from this point on shall be worth the read. Again thank you very much for sticking around.

-- Aubrey

NMAT Application for December, 2010

2010-10-19T11:24:00.001+08:00

Test Date: December 12, 2010

Registration Period: September 16 to November 16, 2010

Test Center: Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Zamboanga

Registration Fee: Php 500.00 (Bulletin of Information, Supplementary Handout, Student Information Questionnaire, and Practice Sets I and II)

Testing Fee: Php 1,400

Online Registration: www.cem-inc.org.ph

Walk-in Registration: Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. 24th Floor City Land Pasong Tamo Tower 2210 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City

Tel Nos.: (632) 813-3686, 813-3694 to 95 local 108

Application forms are also available at CEM Branch Office in CEBU (Suite 104 Arbor Ville, 308-A Osmena Blvd. Cebu City) and Davao (Door 21C, Villa Abrille & Sons Business Center, J.P Laurel Avenue, Davao City) and at CEM Test Centers in Baguio (University of Baguio), Cagayan de Oro (Xavier University), Bacolod (University of St. La Salle), Iloilo (Ateneo de Iloilo), and Zamboanga (Ateneo de Zamboanga)

The NMAT-tinik Challenge

2010-10-18T09:58:00.001+08:00

St. Luke's College of Medicine is hoisting its 3rd NMAT-Tinik Challenge for pre-med college students on November 13. Interested students should form a team of three to represent their school. Members may or may not come same course. They're giving away netbooks, cellphones and ipods for the first, second and third placers. Registration is until November 5, 2010.

I think this would be such a great kick ass entry to med school :)

CLICK Here for more info.

Pleasantries of Vagueness

2010-10-03T10:06:00.000+08:00

Happiness is a trivial concept. Being a concept in itself , it is a desperate attempt to compartmentalize, to represent a fog of inexplicable yet thoroughly overpowering phenomena, manifesting itself in our reality as coordinated muscle movements of a smile, the repetitive vibrations of a hearty laugh, a sweeping euphoria from the rush of endorphins, and transcendence beyond the ever ubiquitous sadness and hopelessness of our human condition.

I ask then, what is happiness? One could be perfectly happy, both in the polar ends of subsisting on human contact, or in solitude (this I do not discount as a product of contentment over prolonged periods of isolation, although happiness and contentment might be two different things). What does make one happy? Is it understanding? Satisfaction? Or perhaps resignation of the fleeting nature of feelings, and the acceptance of the meager substance of our humanity? I daresay one cannot be perfectly happy without letting go of higher faculties. One will forever be overwrought with the complexities of reason if one persists to hold on to seeking happiness and grounded existence.

I seek happiness that stems beyond earthly connections. Of this I concede much of how I have known on one ought to live should forever be obliterated, forgotten, or forged with principles uncharacteristic of normalcy. We all exist in the isolation of our own minds, of our thoughts, of our own understanding. Everybody thinks, and would like to believe that by virtue of similar constitution, other beings understand, yet at the back of our minds we know that nobody can ever really grasp realities as we know of them. One must find happiness in the isolation of his own self. Then perhaps only then could he truly fulfill his tendency of seeking a semblance of the same in others.

And this is the first post on what Aubrey really thinks of.

Failure and Medical School

2010-08-28T07:50:00.002+08:00

By now, I have failed more exams than what my two hands can count. I have failed quizzes, long exams, and as I am fully aware of by now, three of my subjects. I don't think it is overreacting to describe med as torturous, nakakasabaw ng utak, mentally and physically draining. Shifting week had been studying at the wee hours of the morning, sleeping for about 2-3 hours, crawling to school to take a mind-contorting exam, and repeating the cycle for five days straight. It's plain doomsday if you find yourself having eight hours of solid of sleep. Personally, I knew med school would be physically and mentally demanding, but have not imagined it to be this extent.

I'm not proud to brandish my failures. And I do not mean to make rationalizations either-- that it's always a barrage of quizzes every week, that its difficult, or the passing rate is too high, that there are numerous reportings, requirements for submission, chapters to read, stuff to memorize, research, analyze and a whole mound of other things to do. After all, this is what I signed up for. Nobody said that medicine would be easy or that it would be a jolly, prancing dance in the park. I have accepted from the get go that I have no right to complain, and along with it, is the inevitability of failure.

Overall, I find med a humbling experience. Obssessive-Compulsive overachievers would find their pride skinned with a bread knife. I don't remember the last time I felt this inadequate, and so short of standards required of school. More than that, med has introduced me to gazillion of things I do not understand, I do not know, or not even have the slightest idea about. Consolidation of concepts, pathways, histological and anatomical learnings, is still another story.

I love medicine in that it has awakened me to complexities that are yet to be learned. Yes I may be failing my exams but I know I am slowly growing as a doctor, both in the intellectual and personal sense. I know it may be impossible to understand everything for the moment, like when I resort to memorizing when my brain is blacking out from studying straight. But everyday is just a rich learning experience that no information or realization, regardless of what area or subject, is futile.

PLM's passing rate of 75% may be like walking the plank, especially if you're being fired canon balls of information every day, every week, memorizing anatomical parts, nerves, muscles and an endless list of stuff that may spill off to the next post if don't contain my writing. But really, who wants a doctor who makes mistakes? Med school may be the best for us to commit errors, but its no training ground for us to be error prone either.

Much as I would like to write something buttery, sweet and fluffy about med, I'm afraid there's nothing buttery, sweet or fluffy about it. It may be difficult, but I know it would be worth it when time comes that lives depend on me. Stories of rainbows and butterflies would have to wait. For now I will just have writhe well enough to pass.

(Med School FYI: A shifting period is equivalent to one grading period, think elementary 1st grading, 2nd and so on and so forth)

More Doctors for the Country

2010-08-23T19:21:00.001+08:00

More want to be doctors as global demand for nurses declines
Manila Bulletin - Sunday, August 22

Amid the decline in the global demand for Filipino nurses, more graduates of science-related courses are now pursuing a degree in medicine, the Board of Medicine said over the weekend.

Board of Medicine member Jose Cueto said the lessening of employment opportunities for nurses abroad seems to have contributed to the increase in National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) examinees.

The NMT is a requirement for undergraduates seeking a degree in medicine.

Six years ago when there was a high demand for nurses abroad, the Board of Medicine noted a sharp decline in medicine students.

''During the time when nursing was at the top on the list of (preferred courses by) students, there was a sharp decline on the number of students taking the National Medical Admission Test,'' Cueto said.

However, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) noted a reduction in the demand of nurses abroad.

Based on recent statistics from the POEA , the number of professional nurses deployed to other countries only increased by 6.71% from 12,618 to 13, 465 in 2009; as compared to the rate in 2008 when migrant nurses rose by 40.13% from 9,004 to 12,618.

Earlier, reports by the POEA showed that the trend was due to the global economic recession which reduced the demands of Filipino nurse in some countries like the United States, Canada, Kuwait, Quatar and Taiwan, and the increasing number of competing nurses from other countries like Pakistan, India, and some African nations.

''Doctors used to take nursing course, now it's the nursing graduates who are taking medicine. The reverse education has been reversed,'' Cuteto said.

Nursing, together with other health-related courses like physical therapy and medical technology are considered as some of the best preparatory courses for medicine.

A 2009 report by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) showed that among the three courses, nursing is considered as most popular with 77,898 examinees, followed by medical technology (2,270), and then physical therapy (1,347).

Cueto said the decrease in the employment opportunities for nursing students contributed to the increase in the number of examinees in the medical board exam and the NMAT.

''Now the Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. which gives the NMAT, says there is now an increasing number of NMAT-takers,'' Cueto said.

However, despite the increasing number in registered doctors, the board said it would still not be enough to address the lack of doctors in rural areas, since they would usually prefer to practice their profession abroad.

''Even if we increase the number of medical students, the problem is that many of them are still going abroad and for those who choose to stay in the country they usually only stay in the metropolitan areas,'' Cueto said.

Aside from Cueto, the meeting last Friday was attended by PRC Chairman Nicolas Lapeña Jr. and three of the six members of the Board of Medicine, which includes its chairwoman Mildred Pareja, Miguel Noche Jr., Restituto De Ocampo.

Justice for Roxanne

2010-07-25T16:55:00.004+08:00

Motorbike-riding robbers kill med student, Arab businessman in Tondo
By Nestor Etolle (The Philippine Star) Updated July 25, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Robbers riding tandem on motorcycles stabbed a 20-year-old woman studying medicine and shot dead an Arab businessman in Tondo, Manila hours apart yesterday.

Mary Roxanne Musngi, of Gagalangin , Tondo, a student of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and reportedly the granddaughter of a former senior police aide of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, was declared dead on arrival at the Tondo Medical Center.

According to Police Officer 3 Jaime Gonzales Jr., Musngi was on her way home at past 3 a.m. after a group study when she was blocked by three men riding tandem on a motorcycle at the corner of Gen. Lukban and Juan Luna streets.

Two of the men alighted and grabbed her bag. The victim tried to resist, but one of the suspects stabbed her repeatedly. The suspects fled when she fell.

PO3 Rommel del Rosario checked if the suspects were caught on video by a close-circuit television camera installed along Pritil street, but unfortunately the spy camera had not functioned for the past several months.

Del Rosario said they have four minors who could provide the police with leads to track the suspects, but police “still need the approval and cooperation of their parents.”

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=596425&publicationSubCategoryId=65

For Roxanne

2010-07-24T23:07:00.003+08:00

You told me about half of your life in one jeepney ride. We sat in the jeep’s estribo and as always, with your gummy smile you told me of the most childish things one would hear from a 20 year old med student. God grants your wishes you said. And you were so ecstatic you haven’t lost your childhood powers. I just smiled but thought it was ridiculous. I would have raised a discussion on how God is not a genie in bottle, and being treated to see Sorcerer’s Apprentice would not convince anyone of God’s existence. But you held to your truths like a pot of gold really existed at the end of the rainbow. Anything I said wouldn’t have made a difference.

I found you a weird med student from the get go. You were too childish, speaking in a sing-songy baby voice I would sarcastically imitate in my head. You didn’t have that characteristic ‘med student’ aura, and honestly, I thought you were just a crazy child trying to see what med school was like. The first time we saw each other in class, you were prancing about, greeting me with your toothy smile and asking about my previous writing job. You said you would have wanted to work in a publication. I just smiled. Later I realized you wrote terrifically well. I wish I said something. I really thought you would make a great writer.

Every day you babbled about your life, your dad, how you couldn’t study at home, your love life, your friends, mentioning names as if we’ve known them all along. It was like listening to a child telling her playmates of unicorns being wounded and fairies having their wings plucked. Almost everybody in class knew of your life story, and probably half of us thought you were too honest for your own good. You knew but just kept on sharing anyway. You told sad stories with pacifying laughter and funny stories with even more giddiness. While many of us scrambled to memorize and perfect exams, you talked about your online games and enjoying life.

Last night, you told me about how you were so intent on doing better in our classes. You even taught me of a mnemonic you made for memorizing the citric acid cycle. I honestly thought it was clever. For the first time, I realized you weren’t just playing around. You apologized for being so madaldal. Yes you were madaldal, but I found your thoughts genuine and unjaded.

How things could turn from a good night to the news of your death the next morning I could not understand. Maybe it was in the tapa last night that made you think you could take on a man with a knife. For the short time I knew you, I never thought you would make me cry like I have not cried in years. I wish we told you instead to text us when you get home. I wish all of this is just a bad dream. I wish I’m just being delusional.

I knew you prayed to God to take all your pain away like a magical panacea. I know you are in a place right now where God is clutching you so deeply in his heart. Thank you for making me realize there is more to life and being a doctor than good grades or striving to be efficient. Thank you for touching my life and teaching me about it.

You laughed as I told you were very sunshiney. Thank you Roxanne for shining brightly on us all. You will be sorely missed.

Realizations of a two week med student

2010-06-27T06:49:00.004+08:00

Do you know the feeling when riding a roller coaster you hear the machine grate and rumble into motion? Before you realize it, you're speeding 60 miles per hour, your wits barely with you, and everything becomes a blur of hazy unrecognizable images. All you know is you're moving fast, too fast you can't even think, or feel your heart trying to escape from your chest...

Now imagine Med school.

Today will be my second weekend as an official med student. After such a long, ordeal-ridden path towards admission, I have been accepted at PLM-College of Medicine. If you're thinking of going to PLM in the future, I can only give one advice: know and complete their required units, possibly even before submitting your application. My friends at PCU and myself waited torturously for the subsequent lists because the first batch of accepted applicants were only those who had no deficiencies. My NMAT score also helped in way as PLM selects students by ranking.

I came in one week after the start classes. To be honest, I was contemplating on focusing on our business instead. I took it as a sign from the heavens that being rejected by three medical schools only meant I was not destined to go into medicine. But lo and behold, PLM called in. I thought if I'm going to med school, it's either I go now, or I completely forget about it. I guess God only made me realize how much I really wanted to be a doctor in the first place.

I have heard so many times that getting into med school is the easy part, and staying is the hardest. For my friends and I, neither comes on a silver platter. PLM-CM have long had the reputation of releasing its results late. If waiting wasn't torture enough, there's learning you will not be accepted after spending your summer taking additional subjects.

Anyway, as I noted in a previous post, tuition at PLM is socialized. But even if you fall under Category 3, (click here to read the previous post) you would still be paying lower compared with other medical schools.

Now for the fun part...

The gap of one month from my last post to now could be no clearer indication of how med school is practically eating up 90% of my time (The other ten percent for activities necessary for survival and maintenance of life). I don't think I have ever been this consistently busy. I am now just switching from doing med stuff, eating, doing med stuff, travelling, doing med stuff, sleeping and so on and so forth. Is it hard? It IS hard. The only consolation I think of now is I'll finally become a doctor in five years, and I could now write about med life first hand.

I am not really complaining. In the first place I am here because I wanted to be here. And honestly, I'm deeply happy to be here. Although thinking about going through a storm and actually going through one, will never exactly be the same thing.

If I am this busy the first leg of the school year, I could only imagine what the future months will bring. I now read chapter after chapter of my huge textbooks, not because I am being studious or anything but because I don't want to stare blank faced when our professors spew stuff I haven't even heard about. It's a complete shake up for me since I admit I didn't read much during my Nursing days. I currently have seven subjects, Physiology, Biochemistry, Gross Anatomy, Histology, Family and Community Medicine, Bioethics and Neuroanatomy. Nursing students I think would generally require major study for Histology and Biochem since our discussions of these subjects were just pretty much on the surface.

And no med people are not really big nerdos. My classmates are actually a fun bunch, and I think I'm very lucky to belong to a class of such well rounded people. I even think they're actually more fun-loving and crazier than I am.

I know writing this post will be one of the very rare times I could actually do something apart from med. The difference now is I'm heading where I want to be headed. Just thinking I will be a doctor in a few years invigorates me life a good cup of coffee on a gloomy day. I'm just so fired up I want to close my eyes and feel every twist and turn this roller coaster has to offer.

Razzle Dazzle at Club Mwah

2010-05-26T18:05:00.008+08:00

Who says you have to go abroad to see performances Las Vegas style?

Here with my Tita posing with the star performers of Club Mwah

Last Thursday, me and my balikbayan Tita aunt had the great privilege of seeing the famed performances of Club Mwah, a posh club at Boni Ave, Mandaluyong popular for its Moulin Rouge, Chicago-esque dance and performances.

We wouldn't gone there ourselves if not for the free invite courtesy of my boss. Entrance is a bit on the pricey side, 750php, but if you ask me, it's actually worth every peso once you see the full two hour show of the Follies de Mwah.

Words would be short of describing how throughly entertaining, riveting and highly engaging the numbers were. They had broadway, comedy, can-can dances, singing impersonation rolled into one cohesive medley, with costume changes rolling faster than you could actually say Wow! The place was completely decked to the nines, with animal printed seats, multiple projected videos and audience level stage bathed with dazzling pinpoint lights. An elevator takes you to the main entrance, where guests are mostly large groups of pinoys often with foreigners in tow. During our visit, a group of radio jocks, press people from newspapers were there to see the newly concocted show by part owner, choreographer and show master Chris Nicolas.

Here with the creative genius Chris Nicolas

Pocholo Malilin, the other half of the duo told us the show is changed every three months. Follies de Mwah is the in house group of performers consisting of 24 dancers, four are 'macho men' and the other twenty are gay performers you wouldn't really second guess to be real women.

I haven't heard of Club Mwah until after my boss invited us, but my Tita tells me its quite popular among Filipinos abroad, and appears to be a go to spot among foreigners and celebrities. I had no idea we had such performances locally, and watching them takes you on a jet-setting trip all over the world, from the dances of Egypt, Geishas of Japan, US Broadway. For someone watching them for the first time, my mouth was practically agape and my eyes wide for most of the show.

Here's a guerilla video of the fantabulous Follies de Mwah

This video falls greatly short of the experience. Cameras are actually prohibited during the show, thus the lack of pictures. If you're getting tired of movies, or too alienated by theater, Club Mwah offers a live and thoroughly entertaining alternative. Click here to watch previews from their website.

I may be beginning to sound live a paid advertorial now, but their shows are really amazing I can't help but just gloss over the entire thing!

Overall, I could only say Wow!

The conscience vote

2010-05-09T07:50:00.008+08:00

Whether we admit it or not, winnability rates one of the prime considerations of Filipinos for choosing a candidate. Surveys are said to indicate overall public opinion, no matter how some groups dismiss them as 'conditioning propaganda' inciting a bandwagon mentality among voters. Understandable in that people naturally cast their lot on a lamado than a dehado. And who would want to fight a losing battle anyway? It is a tendency reinforced by democracy, where majority opinion is valued while individuals are shot down as a blurry constitution of the majority.

But the elections is not tupada. It would be stupid to dismiss ourselves as mere sabongeros (cockfighters) betting on a rooster goaded by the huddle. We are talking about electing people on the helm, giving them near limitless access on our taxes and vesting them the power to be in control. Sure one might say that governments are owned by the people. Really now. In reality, the decisions of a significant few pull the strings of society. And this elections, we hold the power to dictate who those people would be.

I am not saying that Noynoy, or any leading candidate for that matter, automatically make a bad choice. What I am trying to urge you dear readers is to realize and understand why we are voting. Ultimately, it is a right not for the favor of any candidate, but for others' and our own sakes. Surveys do not matter. Our choices make and are those numbers. Have a solid reason for choosing your candidates, apart from winnability or general public sentiment. Make your vote matter. Vote with your conscience.

Ayos Ka by Director Brillante Mendoza. Version sanitized by MTRCB.

Why No Posts Aubrey?

2010-05-05T20:23:00.007+08:00

It's not hard to notice my posts have gone down to a trickle. Big apologies to those who check regularly. Contrary to what I have posted in November (which can be read here) I have not quit my job. I guess I was just too burned out that time, and you see, I rarely quit. For one I have a knack for persevering with things that I don't even like doing (hello masochist), more so with things I have great passion for. Actually, I cannot imagine myself doing something else.

(Celebs are actually nice people, well the people on these photos are)

For those who have recently wandered on this blog, I am currently employed as an Editorial Assistant (Writer/Researcher) for an Anvil commissioned book on Philippine Directors. And no I have not gone around to ask for photo ops. As the book is almost finished (were down to our last weeks except for a my loong overdue essay), I thought of making a memento for the nine challenging but absolutely amazing, unforgettable, eye opening months meeting actors, interviewing directors and artists, and learning about the movie industry. Philippine Cinema has a wealth of hands-down masterful films (and no I don't mean Star Cinema formulas). From dismissive, I guess you could now call me a disciple of Filipino filmmakers.

Also, I've been very busy with the food stall my Mom and I put up. I remember one of my New Year's resolutions was to put the topnotcher money to good use, and what better way to do that than start a business.

(Our store attendant Paula posing for the camera)

It's not really that big, but everybody has to start somewhere right? Initially we offered dim sum (squidballs, kikiam and practically every kind of food people buy on streets and 'make tuhog tuhog' trans. skewer) It didn't take off that well during the first week, so we decided to sell burgers instead. Generally, it's been better. Experience is really an incomparable teacher. I'm learning first hand that a business takes dedication and work. More on that on the following posts. :)

We're located at MRT Shaw at the entrance near Nice Hotel opposite Edsa Central. If you happen to pass by the area maybe you could say hi and try our burgers out. Out soft ice cream is to to-die-for creamy. (Plugging?!) But no kidding, some people buy four cones in one stop. So there, no false advertising here.

I'm still taking my lacking Physics units for PLM. They've already released the names of those who've passed without deficiencies last week. The ones with lacking units are still to submit their grades to be evaluated and ranked accordingly. I'm really hoping all ends up positively.

I'm hoping to post more frequently as well. Second of 'People of inspiration' coming up in next entry. Thanks for keeping around!

Top five people of inspiration

2010-04-15T22:25:00.004+08:00

My entry to med school is precariously hanging in a balance. Of the three schools I have applied for, only PLM is yet to release its results. I failed to get into UP and UST, the former I reckon because my credentials were not up to their standards, (I didn't graduate with latin honors--read about it here, nor did I have a 99+ NMAT), and considering their ratio of UP grads to 'outsiders' it was a literal shot to the moon; as for the latter, well, I could only surmise I was not the type of personality they were looking for. Among the ones selected to take the psychology exam, I could only faintly imagine what my exam result revealed (psychopath? work freak? hermit with antisocial tendencies?) Haha.

Among the three, I am really eyeing to get into PLM since I don't want to further burden my parents with my two other brothers studying and me going back to school. Needless to say, UST was really a shaky prospect in the first place. Currently, I am taking up my lacking Physics units at Philippine Christian University (more on that in the coming posts). Should the results be less than favorable, I have plan B percolating in the kitchen.

While I am yet to be disheartened, I want to list five people who inspire me to never give up and to just take life by the horns.

Sarah Reinertsen

At 35 years old she has clinched seven of the hardest and most prestigious marathons in the world. Among them the NYC, London and Boston marathons. She has also conquered the Ironman Triathlon, a grueling combination of running, swimming and cycling events, and have set many world athletic records. The catch is not that she's 35, or that she's a woman. She's an above the knee amputee.

Born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, (causing shortening of the leg) her parents elected to have her right leg amputated. While growing up, teachers and classmates often left her out in PE classes because she was 'different', immediately judged unable to keep up with 'normal ones' given her condition. She proved everybody wrong when at age 11, she clinched first at a 100 meter dash track meet. From then on she would train tirelessly for marathons and triathlons, where she would be the first female above the knee amputee to be an Ironman finisher.

Real or perceived we all have our handicaps. Some greater than others, some nothing but overblown products of too much whining, self-pity and underestimation of our capabilities. Actually, this woman puts half of us to shame. Finishing a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and run in a matter of 15 hours is not something you can just get out of your couch and do on whim. You train and work hard for these things, and if anything she is living proof we can achieve anything we put our minds into. Why be part of the general population who complains before they act, disheartened before making the first move, and defeated before they even try, when you can actually be the exception?

1st of 5 parts

The actual PLM College of Medicine interview

2010-03-22T06:38:00.005+08:00

What can I say, among the twenty plus people to be interviewed that day, I was second (told you I was early...). Anyway, my interviewer was a very nice doctora. She set off the interview with something like, 'Tell me something about yourself." The following questions basically revolved around that.

Doc: Okay, Angelica, tell me something about yourself

Aubrey: Um, I'm Angelica Aubrey Morla. I'm a graduate of BS Nursing, and currently working as a writer *insert other 'about me' things here*

Doc: Ah so you're already a nurse, why do you still want to be a doctor?

Aubrey: Because I want to be in control of the management of my patient. *Insert explanation here*

I don't want to bore you with the minute details, but I think, judging from the questions asked me, be prepared with the most basic things you could imagine being asked in a med school interview, like:

Tell me something about your family

Why do you want to become a doctor?

What do you think are the most important qualities of a doctor? Do you possess these qualities?

What are your best traits as a doctor?

Why do you want to be in PLM?

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Are you comfortable in working with a team?

(For nurses) Tell me about your experience in the community (remember community health nursing?)

As a scholar of Manila, after graduating, you will be asked to at least render some form of service to the city, are you okay with that?

Also, they have two situational questions where your values will be put in check. I leave that to you guys to discover. :)

All in all, I had a wonderful experience with the interview. Maybe because I was intent on not fabricating 'ideal' answers just to make me appear highly qualified. I just hope it really does help get me through the portals of PLM-CM. To all interviewees, don't be nervous, it's not gonna be as bad as you imagine. Good luck!

Related Post:
Realizations of a two week med student

PLM College of Medicine Interview

2010-03-20T08:10:00.009+08:00

I don't know if I might be inherently lucky with interviews, but so far, all of them had been entirely pleasant. Click here for my FEU-NRMF interview experience)

I arrived at PLM about forty minutes before my schedule. Personally, I consider all interviews as equal, whether it may be for a job or for my medicine application. First impressions, although it may not exactly last a lifetime, are crucial (technically we are selling ourself here), so it is important to be there early and dress the part. Professionalism is key here future doctors!

While passing time, we met Carla, a very nice first year med student who entertained and eased our nerves before the actual interview. During her time, she told us that they were given an essay due to the teeming number of applicants. The topic was, 'Among the many applicants, why should we choose you?', which only meant a self-concocted sales pitch for themselves. However the most interesting she told us about was how low the tuition in PLM could get. All PLM students are practically scholars of Manila, thus the socialized tuition fee. For someone who was not born in Manila, a Manila graduate, voter or resident, and whose parents earn considerably higher than most, the fee would be about 46,000 thousand pesos. This is still lower compared to other reputable or prominent med schools (like the one in Espana *cough* or in Fairview *cough*). However, if you are a true blue Manileno, meaning you were born in Manila, a graduate in Manila, residing and a registered voter in Manila, your tuition would be whopping... 7,000 pesos! I myself have been flabbergasted that my eyes practically rolled on the floor. Unfortunately, I'm not a 'Manila-all' student, so I'm guessing I would slightly be on the higher range. Once you are accepted, Carla told us that PLM shows you how your tuition is computed (e.g. Manila born= *** pesos) so you'll know why you are being charged such and such. All in all I think PLM is a great deal, considering PLM's reputation as a competitive med school (see their board passing rates). I have not learned of the entire low down on this yet, so I'm afraid I cannot give definitive answers should you have more specific questions.

So far this post is taking longer than expected, and veering farther than my intended topic. Next stop: The actual interview.

Click here: Actual interview for PLM College of Medicine

Related Post:
Surviving the PLM MCAT

5 Tips to ace the UST Medical Entrance Exam

2010-02-28T08:03:00.006+08:00

I took the UST entrance exam last Saturday, and I've compiled a list of five tips to help you get through the exam as well.

Tip 1: Leave all neurosis at home.

Anxiety is bad enough, so I advice you to leave your neurotic tendencies somewhere else.

Tip 2: Come to the test center with a happy disposition

I cannot even begin to emphasize how a good mood helps you relax. You need all the relaxation you can get for this exam. (Just make sure 'happy' does not translate to 'creepy-person-laughing-maniacally-on-sidewalk')

Tip 3: Prep your exam stuff

Okay, I now make sense do I? Nothing brings up your anxiety level than having to rummage through your bag in search of your ID, pencil or pen. Prep your stuff the night before and have a relaxing good night's sleep

Tip 4: Activate your social life

Hermit does not sit well with this exam. Have a good day out with friends the day before and make sure to enjoy every bit of it.

Tip 5: Lastly, do not study.

It's a breezy psychological exam, so like what our proctor said, 'Unless you have problems with your personality, this is a piece of cake.'

Happy Exam taking! I know I did.

Free Running Clinic!

2010-02-22T07:14:00.008+08:00

Marathoner Anton Diaz from the Awesome Planet Blog has an interesting metaphor for the current running gaga in the country:

'Running is the new Badminton.'

Remember how badminton took the country by storm years ago? Whether running is the new fitness fad, or just a passing curiosity, I think the more important thing here is that people are getting up from their couches and engaging in something physical. (And no planting in Farmville in Facebook does not count.)

As I've pointed out in my last post, we as health care professionals have an ordained task to promote fitness and exercise. If you want to take up running as a sport, or perhaps just plain interested, the Bull Runner has organized a series of talks and running clinics for those who want to run their first 42K marathon. The only catch is, IT'S ALL FOR FREE!

I am far from running my first 42K, but as a relatively new runner I still have tons to learn about proper form, pacing, training and all that jazz about this sport. They kicked off the program with a motivational session last Feb 17 and are going to follow it up with a series of talks and group runs. On March 6, they will be having Boston marathoner Coach Rio on board to give a short low down and technique and stuff about running. Visit the Bull Runner site for more information.

As of current, I am looking for running buddies to enjoy this sport with. The slow and easy run next Saturday will be at Bonifacio High Street at 6 AM. Leave a comment if you're interested. :)

Doctors on Exercise and Fitness

2010-02-19T11:50:00.003+08:00

Many people take up running for health reasons. Personally, I took up running to become fitter (or just to become fit period as a prior level of fitness is almost nil). Anyway, every time I run, it always manages to creep my head whether doctors, or health care professionals et al, walk the talk when it comes to exercise and fitness. As a nurse, physical activity has been persistently part of a patient’s overall care plan, and exercise programs are commonplace especially if a client’s condition warrants retraining the body for normal use. Even for doctors, they always manage to come up with ‘tay, maglakad lakad ho tayo sa umaga ha’ advice for their patients. However, I think there’s a large gaping disconnect between what we are professing, and what’s really going on. I do not mean to be holier than thou for god knows how I’ll be able to maintain an exercise program in med school, but how many doctors do we really see working out? Okay, that may seem a little short sighted, but putting it another way, how many doctors do we see looming large in hospital hallways? How many of us (as a future doctor myself), fall under normal BMI? And how many are obviously overweight? How many have actually involved themselves in a strength training program? And how many have made an exercise program for themselves at any point in their lives? Are there even fitness groups among doctors in the Philippines? And as health care professionals in general, does our work even permit us to engage in dedicated sports, or even in a simple work out routine?

Cutting doctors, and doctors to be some slack, I believe the rigors of med school and hospital work prove it much of a challenge to stick with a fitness routine. Nevertheless, if we don’t ‘get on the water’ as we tell clients to do so, I don’t think we could fully, and believably get our message across.

In a survey conducted by UK Physicians on 61 junior doctors (Residents) in two hospitals in Southern England (I am yet to find a local study on this matter), they found out that only 21% met the general recommendations for moderate activity (30 minutes of brisk walking, five times per week) among participants. This is considerably lower compared to the 44% of UK adults (age 25-34) who fulfill activity recommendations.

“Doctors most often cited a lack of time, though many also said they lacked motivation or were too tired after work -- excuses that, studies suggest, many of their patients may give.”

(Here’s the link on the article as published by Reuters Health indexed in another site: http://www.drsears.com/tabid/399/itemid/13308/Doctors-dont-exercise-enough-either-survey.aspx)

I guess doctors and health care professionals, in some areas, are very much like their patients in citing reasons for their lack of exercise. However, bottom line is, as people who are in the position of power to advice clients on what to do about their heath and bodies, it is necessary that we get out there and do what we preach. Modelling is one of the best forms of teaching, and unless we get our hands dirty, we just become hypocrites who talk about things we ourselves don’t even know about.

Microsoft One Note: Best research buddy

2010-02-15T21:02:00.004+08:00

I consider One Note as the next best thing to come out of Microsoft HQ since Word (arguably so since I rarely have utility for their other programs). It allows me to organize my research and notes into easily identifiable sections and pages, just like in a normal tangible notebook, only without the taxing intricacies of actually making color-coded labels.

Note that isn’t a paid advertorial for Microsoft, I just found the program very very helpful in my research for the book on Philippine Directors. Had I known about this program back in my Nursing days, I probably had a better time condensing and using information for my research papers.

You could paste entire web pages and have the formatting and pictures exactly as it appears on the website. Also it automatically indicates where you pasted the data from, making it easier for you to track, and create bibliographies after. And mind you, it could also search texts inside pictures, so the search function pretty much has you backed covered.

I have used One Note for a slew of other things like keeping personal notes (which can be password protected) and my review notes for the PLM-MCAT. College students, researchers, writers and med students would find great use for this program. There’s a free trial version at Microsoft’s website if you want to get a feel of how it could work for you.

Here’s the link:http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/default.aspx

Valentines Run

2010-02-14T11:21:00.004+08:00

What do you do on a Chinese New Year and Valentines Day? Why run of course!

Mom and I did the 5K run at PSC’s Run For Your Heart today, and I must say we had a a blast with all the freebies that awaited us in the finish line. The race itself was a little disorganized (did I say little? It was VERY disorganized.) We consider it an irony because the event organizer was the Philippine Sports Commission itself. From the beginning, runners from the 5K and 10K were set off only about a two minutes apart, considering that the 10K runners should have gone about 15 minutes before. Their flaw kind of worked to our advantage since our race was supposed to start at 5:45, (yes we woke up late) and yet they had us go at 6:00am. We also approached them afterwards to check our official time, but we were much disappointed to see that they had it way off. I don’t know what’s up with their manual whatchamacallit device but surely I finished earlier than 54.20 (I was timing myself, so at most even if my watch was off I’d still be within 30 minutes). So there anyway enough of the rants. The only redeeming thing is that they had lots of food to give away. We gorged on fried rice, misua, lugaw, Gatorade drinks, ensaymada and cheese mamons, and they even had free shirts and slabs of tikoy to have us take home… bawing bawi na for the 100 peso registration! The best reward I got from this marathon is finally convincing my mom to join. We had the best bonding time this morning, and I’m glad she got infected with the euphoric mood of the races. So far this has been my best Valentines day/ Chinese New year ever. Now who says that fancy dinner dates are a must for Valentines? Not me for sure.

Med life sneak peak

2010-02-13T07:31:00.005+08:00

I had the chance to chat up with an acquaintance yesterday on his first year at med school. You see we were supposed to be batch mates last year at FEU-NRMF, but as some of you are well aware of, I balked out at the last minute (for reasons stated here and there within this blog). Giddy as I was, I asked him all sorts of questions about how he has survived school, and well, here's what he has to say:

(Not exactly his words, but you get the drift)

Wow, you're still alive?

Yes I am. Haha.

You have school tomorrow? (Take note that this is a Friday night, 8pm)

Yeah, I have an exam tomorrow. I actually have to study tonight.

Really? You have classes on Saturday?

Oo. Monday to Friday we have exams too. And tomorrow as well.

Wow that's very nice. So how are you managing? You see I was thinking if I should get a dorm room if i get accepted at either UST or PLM, what do you think? I live in Mandaluyong.

Ah. I think you should. Baka hindi mo kayanin ang biyahe. On average siguro I read 3-4 hours a day. Kailangan talaga mag-aral eh. Well if you could handle the exhaustion...pwede rin. Pero if you could, mas maganda if you live near, sayang din yung oras for study.

I considered that too. Actually I remember nung pre interview at NRMF, they told us na if possible, we get a place that's walking distance. Kaso the comforts of home are very hard to give up. Having ready food on the table, not doing laundry...

Oo nga. Kaso yun nga yung oras. And well siguro sa food tipid mode. Puro de lata nga ako eh. Haha. Puro pancit canton. Ganon talaga eh. Minsan bumibili pero mahal din minsan, and sometimes I don't like the food.

Oy di ba you bike? Do you still do that?

Hindi na gano, probably every other weekend na lang, busy na kasi.

Grabe, school must really be difficult...

Hindi naman. Actually hindi naman totoo yung sinasabi nila na kapag med school wala nang social life. Meron pa rin naman. You find time. Siguro hindi na gano pag third year na kasi mabigat na talaga. Pero pag na meet mo yung tao dun, magugulat ka mga party people. Pero yung mga 'sobrang party people'... nalagas na kagad, first sem pa lang. Haha.

So there guys, there isn't much but that's what I learned so far. It's interesting to hear someone adjust to med school and still talk positively about it. When the time comes, I would have experiences to write as well. Embrace me oh rigorous med life!

Related Post:
Realizations of a two week med student

Run lump, Run!

2010-02-05T00:06:00.018+08:00

Growing up, I was never athletic. In elementary, physical activity equated to afternoon Block? 1, 2 ,3, Langit Lupa or whatever chase-you-chase-me game in vogue that time. I hated PE, and thought it would have done well to have it replaced with extended hours of English, or any sort of reading class. High School was more or less the same, only in that time, sitting it out in front of the computer, more reading and endless phone conversations filled my idyllic hours.

I was lucky to have a cooperative metabolism that time, and a naive sense of body image that I didn't see, nor cared if my thighs could have rolled on each other. Talk of sports would make me mutter my elitist, "I'm not athletic" which to me signified that I had better things to do. I lost a significant amount of weight after being fitted with braces in college, making me realize how much extra 'baggage' I had been carrying around; nevertheless, it didn't change my mindset about physical activity, and thin as I was then, I believed I was more than equipped to instruct my clients about fitness and exercise.

My first run was out of curiosity from our then newly bought treadmill. A fresh lacto-ovo pescetarian that time, I thought exercise fitted the whole healthy lifestyle switch. So I ran. Minus any innate motivation, I failed to sustain it after a week. I spent months being sedentary reviewing for the NLEX and NCLEX until I had become too inactive a potato could practically grow on me. I enjoined several friends to Milo Marathon's 5km run in 2009, more to keep guilt at bay than to get engage in running per se . We came 30 minutes after the gun. So there, so much for my first attempt at a marathon.

Not to be disheartened, I signed up for Globe's Run for Home 10 Km race with two girl buddies. It didn't really feel like a race to me since I was dragging my feet the whole time. I had no prior training because didn't feel like I needed to. Sure I was anxious about it for a time, but hey, I'm fit! What was there to get so worked up about? Yes that was until I finished at 1 hour 45 minutes, panting at the last of the pack, with 2% of the race group behind me. The next day was a similar story when I could barely climb the stairs from my sore legs.

It was only fortunate that I ran in one of the most organized and accurately timed marathons last year. For one, I earned a singlet and bib as brag rights, and second, it opened me up to the exhilarating atmosphere during such races. The only down side is I also had a fairly accurate 'unfitness' record to keep--which, to think about it, is also positive since it made realize how delusional I was. (Thus explains the constipated photo)

From then on, my interest in running slowly began to grow. But it wasn't until after typhoon Ondoy that I realized how much of a helpless sluggish lump I was. After things were settled, I took up swimming (no need to explain why) and ran. I think I have my friend to thank for this since I saw what fitness could do to one's physique and how it could save you in life threatening situations.

My first running lap was in the fourth level parking of our condo. I remember feeling so tired and sore after. Reading about running etcetera, respectable running should at least 30 minutes continuous. I was running 5 minutes and my lungs were practically giving out. It is true that the more you know, the more you don't know. In this case, the more I ran, the more I realized that I couldn't keep up with my perceived level of fitness. Much to my chagrin, I would have to admit that thin is far from fit.

After a few weeks of running, reading and running, I began to notice a stark difference. I was running longer and generally felt better. In my last 10K marathon in November (which I have been late again), I felt quite energized with finishing compared to how miserable I felt during my first run at Globe's Run for Home. I'm currently training for a 5k, and it's a comforting thought that I could now run 8 km straight in 35 mins. While I'm certainly far from the super runners out there, I feels great to realize that I've taken myself from my comfort zone and did what I thought I couldn't do. Would I call myself athletic now? Perhaps. But more than brag rights, being fit or being athletic, knowing how much will power you have is the greatest reward of all. In my runs, I realized that the hardest part, is actually getting out the door; the laps and miles basically just add themselves up. I've also come to terms that, one, I really knew nothing about exercise (Really, how many of us health professionals know anything about actually working out?), and second, I was too impatient and lost on any goal.

Now let me turn against myself by saying that, running, and engaging in sports, in general, is empowering. You tend to learn much about yourself as you do about the sport. It teaches you to challenge yourself, to work hard, and to slowly build on what you currently have. One thing I love about marathons is that it embodies the running adage, 'slow and steady wins the race'. Really, I didn't think I would hear that from myself either.

Surviving the PLM MCAT

2010-02-01T12:07:00.009+08:00

I practically was smiling to myself after the test was over, not because I found it too easy, but because depressing over it would just push me to insanity, I might as well throw a big wide grin while at it.

So how did it fare compared to NMAT? The two exams basically cover the same subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math-- and instead of the Social Sciences part, the MCAT has Psychology, Anatomy, and General & Earth Sciences. I think the PLM MCAT is more challenging because the questions are a bit concept specific, plus there are some that you'll just have chalk up to stock knowledge. The test itself is divided into two parts, the timed test and the untimed test. The timed test runs for about 3 hours, with about 300 items, covering the said subjects plus Reading Comprehension. The untimed test, generally a Psychology exam, is given after.

The Chemistry and Physics subtests are a healthy balance of theoretical and application/computation items, so it would be a good idea to take note of the most well used formulas. The same also goes for the Quantitative exam--with many of the questions dealing with Algebra and Trigonometry. As a nursing grad, I didn't have much difficulty with Anatomy and Psychology, although I think non-science students would have a bit of a problem on those areas since the questions are quite specific. Generally, I found the exam difficult, mainly because I didn't review as much as I did last time, and also because of the time limit. The questions themselves are not mind contorting, a good brush up on your HS books should be able to get you through, but factoring in the 'gone in sixty seconds' time limit plus not reviewing, I pretty much got myself into a whack.

A couple of the med societies (aka med fraternities and sororities) were already prowling about handing out pamphlets and other trinkets last Sunday. I guess you could never be too proactive for the coming school year eh?

The results would be out one month from now, as forumers in pinoy.md have also mentioned. Honestly, it was a bit of a letdown since I was eying to get into PLM after the UP thing failed to bear fruit. Anyway, I just hope that my score would at least get me a decent shot for the interview. Even if I don't get to PLM, I'm cooking up some back up plans which needless to say means, that by hook or by crook, I'm going to med school this year. :)

Related Posts:
Bits and pieces on PLM College of Medicine
Realizations of two week med student

Ambient music for work

2010-01-27T09:41:00.010+08:00

I'm a sucker for productivity. Much as I like to listen to enlivening pop tunes during work time, I find them quite distracting, and often obtrusive to my thought process. Normally, I'd just play something on loop until my ears are practically immune (in physiology language that's basically sensory adaptation). However, my auditory sense somehow manages to channel out and pick up 'Caught in a bad romance... or I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me, Paparazzi!' somewhere along the way. Recently, I've tried to ditch all my .mp3s, and it worked for a time, until I realized that my creativity also went into mute.

I discovered ambient music through my random clicks at Lifehacker. It was the kind of background music I was looking for for such a long time, although I wasn't quite able to put a finger on it. It's a mix of classical, jazz, nature and other unimposing sounds that leaves you to your thoughts and yet breaks the monotony of silence. Think of spa, bookstore or coffee shop music.

I'm loving it so far. There are some free tracks at Hearts of Space if you want to sample what ambient music is like. It might also work if you're studying for an exam or just want to relax from daily hubbub.

Photo credit: www.michaelpeters.de/ambientmusic.htm

Crash Review for the PLM MCAT

2010-01-15T19:53:00.005+08:00

I just passed my application today for PLM College of Medicine. Well more like completed since I got ahead of myself by submitting the requirements last December, only that I lacked a Voter's certificate (in lieu of a Voter's ID), and a Non-Filant certificate for my mon (PLM is pretty strict in ensuring that you don't get around the Income Tax Return doc by saying that only one parent works, and the other isn't--so much for foxy schemes). The atmosphere in PLM a while ago made me miss school so much. Seeing students in their white uniform, the giddy yet intense academic environment, I really can't wait to be enrolling in June! :)

The PLM-MCAT is scheduled next week. From what I read the coverage is the same as that of the NMAT, only more difficult. Now I'm dead scared. The coming days would be devoted to crash reviewing--I could only hope that I've retained stuff from my NMAT review. I would write a more detailed account of my experience once I hurdle the exam (more like crash and burn really). Apologies for the disjointed writing! Please leave a comment if you'd also be taking the MCAT next week. Have a great week everyone!

POST SCRIPT: Exam was moved to the 31st of January. Can't be any more fortunate!

Holiday Read: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid

2010-01-01T11:54:00.006+08:00

No kid is inherently born cool. Even as a certain crop of individuals have distinguished themselves as demi gods of our kindergarten or elementary classes, there has surely been a point in their lives where they got entangled in some painfully embarrassing situations. Such applies even more fittingly with mere mortals, or the normal guys at school who have a whole slew of insanely hilarious yet cringe inducing stories to tell about their not so usual childhood. (Aye here!)

Diary of a wimpy kid is the journal (not a diary as he insistently points out) of Greg Heffley, a student stuck in middle school together with the mix of kids who either have to shave twice a day in order not to look like gorillas or have yet to reach to reach puberty. He chronicles his day to day adventures, often with the goal of being hailed in school (or sometimes just not to get beaten up by the bullies), which often backfires and ultimately leads him to wacky misadventures. Author Jeff Kinney inserts really funny quips from a smart kid who is delusional about his degree of coolness (taking pride for being one notch higher than the next unpopular guy in school), and mashes it up with a slew of unsuccessful childhood conquests, the same kind which most of us have probably gone through one way or another.

Not to take a page from esoteric reviewers, but this book appealed to me like Phineas and Ferb and Spongebob Squarepants. The humor is generally directed towards youngsters but adults would find it equally entertaining. My mother gave it to my 3rd grade brother as a Christmas gift, and I must say that I immensely enjoyed it myself. After all, who among us haven't gone through the 'wimpy kid' phase?

Review: Surgeons Do Not Cry by Dr. Ting Tiongco

2009-12-26T18:12:00.012+08:00

People who visit this blog are most often aspiring medical doctors who like me are weighing the pros and cons of pursuing such a profession. I often get gratuitous comments for my posts even though admittedly, I hardly know anything about being a med student or being in med school. Like a soldier about to wage through a battlefield, I am more of a seasoned spectator than a veteran decorated by wounds from battle.

I received Surgeons Do Not Cry by Dr. Jose 'Ting' Tiongco as a present from my close friend Edge Guevara. For someone on the verge of entering med school, I could not have received anything more perfect. The book is a compilation of Dr. Tiongco's column pieces written for the Mindanao News Agency, detailing his heartwarming, painful, joyous and renegade days as a medical student at the UP College of Medicine. As I was reading through the book, I realized that although I tried to have as much information about med life, it stands nowhere near what doctors/ students actually experience in practice. The idealism-dampening situation of healthcare in the Philippines, the great disparity between academic, book molded lectures and dismal real life situations, the ego stunting environment at the best med school in the country, and the perpetual export of our experienced doctors to the luring promise of milk and honey abroad, are described by someone who lived through it all, and luckily, survived to tell the tale.

Dr. Tiongco writes in a very relatable, non-alienating way. I reckon that even laymen would find his stories very interesting, and quite heart-wrenching. I myself had to stop several times in order to collect my thoughts, stifle the tug on my chest or prevent myself from tears. I hardly get overwhelmed with Chicken Soup like books, but medicine is just something very close to my heart that I consider myself fortunate to have read through such an insightful and well written book. To the readers who frequent my blog, I know many of us are full of anxieties of what awaits us on the far end of the road, I definitely recommend this book and even say that it is a must-read before anyone sanely decides to enter med. I have nothing but heartfelt thanks for Dr. Tiongco. I wish I could I could thank him personally but since I am yet to find a contact information, I am convinced that a better alternative would be to share such an essential and amazing book to my fellow future MDs. Kudos Dr. Tiongco and thank you!

Here is a link to one of the stories on the book, posted by his niece Shaira Tiongo: http://shairationgco.multiply.com/journal/item/92

To be or not to be a doctor

2009 Year Ender

2009-12-24T15:22:00.006+08:00

It is the first time that I have consistently kept a planner for an entire year. I think it was mainly because my schedule proved busy enough to be plotted, or perhaps less chaotic than college that writing activities was more useful than constantly annoying. Going through the past twelve months has made me realize that indeed so much had happened, good, bad, regretful, euphoric, memorable, forgettable and a thousand of other events that have in one way contributed to my present way of looking at things.

My 2009 would probably be defined by my feat at the Nurse's Licensure exam. Until now friends and people would often introduce me as the topnotcher (which truthfully irks me since I feel that it typecasts me as an uninteresting braniac). I must admit that it has since been a great addition to my resume, and it has led me to many unimaginable things you only tread on during your idle unproductive moments. I have never thought of being on TV before, and being on Eat Bulaga, (the jackpot will always be a good excuse for the embarrassment) will be one of my most unforgettable albeit quite quease-inducing moments.

Of course the acknowledgement ceremony, speaking engagements and victory party are also quite well etched to memory. I guess these were the only times that I thought my achievement was worth something, since I was able to share them with people who matter to me, and maybe inspired one or a few people. Although besides that, I don't believe that such an accomplishment would be worth anything to the world. People were happy for me sure, perhaps because I mattered to them, to my family, to my friends, to FEU, and to my review center, but nevertheless it didn't make life any better for anybody, except well myself. Plus I would yet to establish something significant from my earnings.

The early part of the year was most mostly to devoted to exams, only one of which was essential to achieving my goal of being a doctor. I passed the NCLEX after two months of study, but really without any plans to go to the US or even to pursue Nursing, just to prove to myself and my family that I was capable of doing so. In retrospect it was pretty selfish, although recalling how I was goaded to take the exam carves off the guilt a little. More than ever, I am now extremely certain that I would like to be a doctor. I have all the things that many nurses in this country would give a limb for, but it never deterred me from medicine, not with opportunity of dollar earnings, humongous houses abroad or whatever, I want to be a doctor, and I'm going to be one.

If creation and utility to people would be the gauge, I think my work at aubreythinksthat would at least be worth something. Acing the NMAT could have again been a self-serving feat, but at least I was able to make something out of it by giving others a viewpoint of what the exam was like. I may not post as frequently as before (which will be part of my New Year's resolution btw), but still my previous posts have continually helped others. So I guess that would be good thing to celebrate about this year.

I also started running marathons last August, with my foiled debut at the Milo Marathon, and the second more successful Globe Run (clocked in 1 hour something for the 10Km--yes I know pitiful). I found it really satisfying and enjoyable, especially since I have been regularly running now and nearly about to perfect my swimming. I plan to join aquathlons in the future, and go surfing in the summer. 2010 would be a year full of more running, marathons and water activities-- only if med school doesn't kill me first.

Now that I think about the summer, I am reminded of my trip to Pagudpod with the Advocate. I honestly wish that we could have been more creative with our Team Building locations back in the day, because seeing how beautiful Pagudpod was, it makes me feel fluttery just by imagining its pearly blue waters and soft white sand. In Ilocos the sun was like a big yellow lemon in the backdrop of blue and feathery angel wings (forgive me for the hallucinatory thoughts). Words would be short of describing how heavenly Pagudpod was, and I really feel fortunate of having seen it before it was ravaged by the typhoon. This coming year I hope to see more paradise like places in the country. Palawan maybe, or perhaps Bohol. Covering the Philippine Travel Mart made me realize that the Philippines has a lot to offer in terms of tourism, and I don't plan on getting old without witnessing our country's pristine wonders.

This year has allowed me to see a lot of things in a different light. My job for one has trounced my narrow minded, and recycled perception of Philippine cinema. The movie industry is pretty much in shambles right now, but it has not been always such, and the virile movement of independent fillmmakers will most likely be mounting the next golden age. I have a newfound respect for our writers and directors, especially the bold, imaginative ones of the 70s. Movie making is difficult, more so with the pervading commercialism, usurping Hollywood flicks, and declining, undiscerning tastes of movie goers. This job is better than any high paying BPO offer I could have taken.

Well the year had not been entirely peachy, for one we were affected by Ondoy (recounting the details of our little tragedy would be very indulgent). I know thinking about how others were affected will really not diminish what we've gone through, but our family has a lot of other things to be thankful for, and I believe that in terms of bouncing right back, we're pretty much okay now. Although it may not be as normal as we're used to, I believe we've had it easier than others. I am just happy we don't have to contend with death or losing our home entirely.

This entry is insufficient to describe how 2009 had been life-changing for me. I gained some and lost some, others I won't care about, but a few leaving an unfathomable, gnawing void. This year has been an immense learning experience, equally blessed and challenging, bruising and elating. I bid farewell to passing year and welcome the coming one full of optimism and enthusiasm.

Credits to my friend Edge Guevara for the photo. Visit his blog livewire-edge.blogspot.com

Three months to my dream job

2009-11-24T00:27:00.007+08:00

I am quitting. The mere thought of discussing my final week on this job with my boss is giving me waves of elation. Surprisingly, it is lending me a virile sense of enthusiasm, uncannily mimicking the vigor I had on my first day on this job. I am excited to finish my last article, unlike the previous ones where every page I wrote seemed to drag on for hours. I am quitting work. I am quitting my dream job. And I cannot be more satisfied.

Many things have happened in the past three months. Compared to my first job as an essay editor for a Korean English academy this job is by leaps and bounds, more interesting and intellectually stimulating. I have learned a great deal about the film industry, the work that goes on into making films, the artistic frustrations of filmmakers, the corrupting effect of commercialism on art, and the underappreciated greatness of Filipino movies. A newfound respect for the film industry and Filipino directors have sprung within me, and an understanding of how movies wield a significant effect on the development of societies, humanity, and intellect has made me appreciate filmmaking as a respectable field, similar to how writing is able to influence and capture the world's development of thought. Film is unique as an art. There are nuances which can only be depicted and captured in film, emotions that can only be seen through the camera, and sentiments that would be inadequately presented without the imagery of motion picture.

Names like Lamberto Avellana, Manuel Conde, Gerardo Santos, Ishmael Bernal, and Lino Brocka, the country's national artists for film have become familiar to me, and so is the understanding of their work. I learned how even geniuses learn to bend and compromise their vision because of commercialism, and the imposition of the audience's taste for escapism. Poor becoming rich, people living the high life, demi god characters, the contrived happy ending, moralizing sentiments, all of the weary plotlines and elements which up to this day are being fed to the masses, have in one way or another been challenged by these directors. All of them have learned to dance to the unforgiving system, making commercial flicks in order to have the producers' graces to do quality films. They have created their mark in Philippine cinema by infusing their own sensibilities to their films, questioning status quo, exposing realities, and creating masterpieces which are truly Filipino.

It is unfortunate that most of their films have been lost to oblivion. Either from the country's lack of facilities to preserve these treasures, neglect, or utter indifference on the invaluable significance of their works, a number of great Filipino films, will only be read but never seen by today's generation. Most of them have been lost to fires and decay, some others were wound to make torotots for New Year (Yes you read it right, the films perpetually wound to make torotots are actually from movie reels.) I believe there is even a move to search for the country's long lost movies from these New Year noise makers. Only a handful of pictures from the 1940 to 50s exists today. And even those which have been fortunately restored are housed in film archives which most Filipinos wouldn't be able to access. During the three months that I have been in this job, my belief that Filipinos have a very poor sense of history had continually been reinforced. Many of the works of the past have been lost, and some are on the verge of extinction for the plain reason that we couldn't care less to preserve them. A sense of history propels us forward, it gives us insight how to tackle and proceed with the future. It is very unfortunate that a lot of the country's classics would, sooner or later, forever fade into nothingness.

I must admit that if not for this job, I wouldn't have any hint of appreciation for Filipino films. The first black and white film I've seen was Anak Dalita (1956) by Lamberto Avellana. I was very much surprised to beholden the young Rosa Rosal, playing the role of a taxi dancer-- with a vixen body to boot. Unlike the sing-songy articulation that I expected of ancient movies, this one featured realistic dialogue, similar to our contemporary films. Turns out this movie heralded Cinema Verite (Cinema of Truth) in the Philippines, and Avellana the harbinger of realism which fought the pervading sarswela tradition during the period.

Today's film industry is literally dying. Compared to the daring of Brocka and Bernal in the 70s which presented reality in its most raw and challenged audiences to think and question, the films of today are weak and regressing. With exception to incisive and scrutinizing indie movies, our commercial cinema have been churning out materials written to have sweet, benevolent, feel good endings. Edgy topics are not really presented as bitingly as you would expect them to be. Ricky Lee, a renowned entertainment writer, said in a forum that even the direst of endings are given a feel good and hopeful spin, because it is what the production houses want, and I think partly because, it is what audiences are looking for. The taste of Filipino audiences is another topic which requires a very lengthy discussion.

Of all the things that I have gotten out of this job, it must be a wonder why I am happy to quit. Apart from the reason that I would be embarking on a project that I have long been wanting to do, I realized that I am not someone who could capitalize on my writing as a source of living. I am not a crunch writer, and I treat writing the same way I would savor a tasty dinner. My writing tends to change with my mood, and honestly, I am finding it difficult to write about things which are being shoved down my throat. I guess I'm not cut out for employment. Model employee is just something I wouldn't get, or would be proud of getting. Quitting on this job is not so much of detesting writing (I would die before I feel that way) but being a sorry member of the proletariat. 'Do what makes you happy' is probably the most worn out quote in the universe, although this is not a question of whether I am doing what I want, but whether I am doing what I want they way I WANT it. Writing is my life, and I don't want to have any reason to hate it just because it is imposing on me as a job. In a few days I'll be unemployed, jobless, out of my dream job and probably broke after some time. But preserving the sacred nature of my art would all be worth it.

Ondoy's birthday gift

2009-10-17T13:20:00.007+08:00

I find nothing special in celebrating birthdays. To me they are nothing but annual excuses to get drunk, splurge on lavish meals, and have a mighty good time with friends. I skipped on a debutante’s ball on my eighteenth birthday, thinking I might have as well used the money for more practical things like a car or a cool gadget. For the past 21 years, my birthdays have been uneventful, a special feel good day for a year added to my age.

My last celebration, on the other hand, had been entirely different. Scrubbing the muck of our walls after Typhoon Ondoy had left our house submerged in flood, destroyed much of our appliances and left our entire subdivision swimming in silted water, I had my birthday in the humblest circumstances. My 22nd year at life was celebrated with the smallest cake roll, and we had nothing on the table but canned goods remaining from the relief dropped off by the Coast Guard chopper. At that moment, I was only too thankful that my family and I were safe, and such meagerness meant nothing to erode my spirits.

Days ago, our house belonged to the thousands ravaged by typhoon Ondoy. Our entire first floor sank, with the water almost reaching our second floor by the late evening. From the time it started raining, the water rose rapidly from a few inches to several feet high. We were continually trying to find higher areas to place our stuff on, from the chairs in the living room, to the dining table, and finally to the overhead cabinets in the kitchen. It still failed however to save most of our appliances since the torrential downpour left us no choice but to eventually evacuate to our second floor. By mid afternoon, the water level was already beyond human height. We were watching our sofas get overturned, the fridge sliding off its makeshift legs and floating like a metal casket, and our cars disappearing beneath the murky water. Before we even had the chance to collect the food in the cabinets, our first floor has turned into a mini aquarium, with most of our appliances having a leisurely swim in the water.

As the day turned from gray to complete darkness, the sight from our balcony became more and more grim. Flood continued to feast on our entire subdivision, transforming it into our very own version of water world. Two story and three story houses have seemingly been constructed in the midst of the aquatic landscape, with roofs of bungalow houses becoming undistinguishable from the structure it had formerly been part of. Even the air already had that distinct morning sea mist, proving that indeed we were no longer in the same residential suburbia.

If not for such calamitous event, I would have been busy making arrangements for a night out with friends. Only in that time, it didn’t even brush my mind as I witnessed my neighbors traverse the waters aboard an air mattress only to evacuate to our home, which offered a third floor should the water continue to rise during the night. A shindig seemed all too frivolous, when you are watching people hold on to the very core of survival.

If I had had a party at home, I would have probably invited the same amount of guests present in our house in the peak of Ondoy’s wrath. But it was no festivity. People were reeling from the complete devastation of their homes. Although to me, there could be no more fitting celebration of life than people who are continuously fighting to survive such trying times. Shindigs die down in the morning, but the strength I saw among my neighbors is a formidable example of the inextinguishable spirit that stands in the face of adversity and grim circumstances. Birthdays are a celebration our successful passage from the comforts our mother’s womb to the harsh conditions of the world, and each year is a triumph among the many things that challenge our existence. I guess a destructive typhoon could send no clearer message that indeed, I am fortunate to be alive.

Beholding our first floor after the water has subsided the next day was heart-wrenching to say the least. Thick brown sludge covered every area, and all our heavy appliances have either been overturned, broken or knocked out of place. The reek of excreta emanated from every corner. Floodwater was actually a more bearable site to see, than mud paste slathered on every nook and cranny.

My family got together to clean each spot until it almost resembled its pre flood-ravaged state. Although admittedly, no amount of scrubbing could make recovering from such devastation any easier. Our only consolation was none of us were harmed, and even at our most dismal state, we still had something. Beyond our depressing situation, we are strongly encouraged by the strength of others who are in even more difficult circumstances, yet who never faltered and continued to trudge on with might and spirit. I think Typhoon Ondoy reintroduced us to a lot of things. From each person’s inherent sense of brotherhood, to our capacity to remain standing in the face adversity. We are at the mercy of circumstance, but we are never helpless victims unless we consider ourselves as one.

I really do not hold it against my family that they forgot to greet me during the day of my birthday. I completely understand that such overwhelming events tend to fixate our eyes on the more important things. I gladly brought a cake to share with them that night, and I guess nothing could have tasted any sweeter.

Pinoy Inglisero

2009-09-12T05:27:00.008+08:00

I read this phrase on an e-mail that my boss sent me last week. I was writing a piece on Lamberto V. Avellana, National Artist and pioneer of realism in Philippine Cinema, and she was telling me that she is considering that we write the article in Taglish instead, to attract more readers who feel alienated by 'Pinoy Ingliseros'. This actually gave me chuckle, because I know I belong to that certain breed of off-putting Pinoys who voraciously feast on the English language. I love English, and yes I am a Pinoy Inglisero.

It's not hard to notice that all the entries on this blog are written in English. I think I have never done a Filipino article/piece in my life; well maybe except the first poem I wrote for our paper when I was in third grade. But other than that, I could not remember particular instances that I willingly, or perhaps confidently used Tagalog in my pieces.

I do not have an aversion with Filipino, heck, 70 percent of my conversations are in this language. Although expressing my thoughts on the written media, I prefer, and am more comfortable with English.

Pundits might dismiss as another one of those people who has been heavily ingrained with colonial inclinations. Well we all know that growing up in the Philippines means having to learn Filipino, marred with all sorts of influence from different languages. The Philippines has long known to be biligual, and have even once been labeled as the largest English speaking nation in Asia. Our language has evolved from adapting words from other tongues, so there is no such thing as pure Tagalog, as there is no such thing as pure English. Filipino is a mish mash of Spanish, English and Chinese, plus a huge part originating from our Asian neighbors.

If one considers it, school maybe the single place where you could learn to use Tagalog appropriately. And even there, Taglish seems to be the prime standard, as adopting a 'purely' Tagalog medium would seem too contrived, and not to say tongue contorting. Imagine your teaching saying, "Itago na ang inyong mga talapindutan ng numero" when life could have been easier if she just said, "Itago na ang inyong mga calculator."

When I was younger, I used to think highly of people who spoke in English. I easily concluded that they must be really smart that they have such a command of a foreign language. But as I got older, I realized that no amount of English or American accent could conceal stupidity and logically empty arguments. We Filipinos have a habit of attributing English speaking to intelligence, when in reality it may only be a product of a person's circumstances that he is used to speaking in such a way. Either intelligent, or a person is labeled as sosyal, maarte, or Amerikanong hilaw, which generally, equates to being an elitist.

I do not use English to distinguish myself as a cut above the rest. I don't think the plain use of the language warrants me such privilege. For the things I want to express or describe, I have not grasped enough Filipino to adequately depict what I want say. As English have been much developed, it gives me the springboard to illustrate my thoughts as they run through my head. I appreciate Tagalog, but it is just too limited for me. Taglish might be a workable solution, but it would seem bastardizing for the two languages.

For now, I think I'll remain to be a Pinoy Inglisero.

FEU Advocate writes its history

2009-09-07T08:47:00.004+08:00

The FEU Advocate is calling for its alumni to come back. Regretfully, the 26-years-gap between the renowned Advocate that joined the battle for democracy and the Revival Advocate, strained a vital alumni connection. For 12 years since its rebirth, it has published current events, stories needed to be known and understood by its readers. And much weight is borne by the publication’s function, thrusting all efforts to attain its purpose year-in and year-out downplayed an equally meaningful undertaking—recognizing the past.

Time is far more than ripe, yet it is never too late to sound the horn that will rally the Tamaraw Advocates again. This time, not a call to arms for press freedom, but a call to reminisce, to relive and to finally write the Advocate that was, for the Advocate that is, and for the Advocate that will be.

We call for your aid. Aid us in exacting and solidifying a volatile history of the publication. A grand Advocate alumni reunion is set to occur on February in celebration of the FEU Advocate’s 75th year of existence, more details regarding this event will be disseminated.

This is a rare occasion that will give you, Advocate alumni, a chance to share what you know and experienced, and to see and witness where the FEU Advocate is now. That the publication that means more to you than anyone else, is still here—existing and calling for your return.

We also call for help from FEU alumni who witnessed the publication’s releases before its shut down in 1972. You can assist us by providing or lending us old copies, photos or other relics related to the FEU Advocate. Contact us and share your stories.

For those who just came upon this call, you can also help by publicizing this project, ultimately expanding our reach to Advocate alumni. We enjoin you to repost this entry or link our information page at advocatehistory.blogspot.com.

Any assistance is much appreciated. Please contact Aubrey 09277953575 or Edge 09275437732, you can also email us through advohisto@gmail.com.

Quarter life crisis

2009-08-21T06:53:00.007+08:00

I have long wanted to write an entry on this subject, yet the need for an inevitable self-disclosure bordering on TMI (too much information) has prevented me fron coming up with an appropriate post.

I am barely 22 years old. And yet I feel greatly jaded, confused and disillusioned. Almost a year and half after graduation, I am standing before a blank wall, staring at nothingness. I feel like a movie character walking on an endless road, slowly disappearing as the camera pans upward to the sky. Only in that part, the closing credits roll in, and you know the character lives a happily-ever after. Real life doesn't give you that privelege, you walk along until fate decides to throw you another plot.

If I have learned anything by now, it's that school and real life are very different. If I could be thankful for anything, at least my college org previewed how it's like to be immersed in an actual working environment. Although it may not be pitch perfect, it is better than going straight from the classroom to real word adult existence.

I believe my premature weariness stems from not knowing how to get my act together so that I may fulfill all my dreams. I want to be a doctor, a writer, a succesful business person, and a humanitarian. Life is full of trade offs, but I don't think I would be willing to compromise the things that lend my life its meaning. Wanting nothing is pitiful, but wanting too many things is taxing to the spirit.

After school there are no clear expectations, no road signs and no definite path, only the vastness of possibilities that may either excite or overwhelm you. For me, it's probably the latter.

As most of the middle aged peope have the habit of reminding you how young you still are, or 'ang bata mo pa' in lingua franca, followed by the hopeful litany of the things you are yet to accomplish, you tread on this false sense of security that great opportunities still lie ahead. But what if there are none? What if you are to be cemented to you perpetual confusion? And your life will be spent wondering on what lies on the other side of the fence? A lifetime of regret scares me.

Wikipedia's article on quarter life crisis can be summed up in one simple phrase: insecurity with the future. I know I have the insecurity, I just don't know about the future.

NMAT FAQ

2009-08-12T00:27:00.006+08:00

Here are some of the questions that I frequently get asked in the comments page. Note that although I researched the answers the best I can, you should not, and cannot hold me against what I've written here. These things are merely to give you an idea of information that must always be verified with the proper bodies/organizations. So there, enough of the disclaimer. :)

What is NMAT?

The National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) is a mandatory exam for anyone who wants to study medicine in the Philippines. It is administered by the Center for Educational Measurement. (click the link to be redirected to their website), and is held every April and December.

How do I apply and how much is the fee?

The application period is usually a month or so before the designated testing months. For Manila residents, you may apply at their office at 24th Floor Cityland Pasong Tamo Tower, 2210 Chino Roces Ave. Makati City (It is near Don Bosco Makati). For those outside Manila, CEM usually holds satellite application and testing centers in key areas within the country. Inquire from their office where you could take the exam. As of April 2009, total exam fee and practice set will amount to 1,500 pesos.

Is there a med school that does not require you to take this exam?

The NMAT is prerequisite mandated by law, so finding a med school that doesn't require this is almost nil. However, due to the decline of enrollees to medicine, some students can negotiate a 'to follow' NMAT result for their application (note that this only happens with SOME med schools, most of the reputable schools wont accept your application without your NMAT result). Even if you do get accepted without taking the NMAT, you would have to sign a sort of contract with CHED that you would take the exam before you graduate. So there, no escape out of this one.

Why do schools have a cut off score? What is the cut off score for this and that school?

Back in the day before Nursing was fashionable and business for med schools thrived, applicants had to compete for limited slots. Needless to say cut off scores were set to select the creme de la creme from 'multitides' of aspiring students. However, with the current topsy turvying of situation, where doctors are becoming nurses and medicine is exposed for the non lucrative profession it really is (that is for the workhorses of this field aka GPs), applications to med schools have trimmed down and have continued to dwindle. Thus cut off scores have also spiralled in response to the situation.

Each school sets its own cut off score. As to what these scores are, it would be best if you call the med schools you're interested in yourself. Most med schools adjust the bar every now and then, so it would be more accurate to check with them. UPCM sets the cut off at 90.

I'm not happy with my score, can I retake this exam?

You may retake the exam as many times as you like.

How is this exam scored anyway?

I'm not an expert on statistics and the intricacies of how this exam graded. However to put it in more understandable terms, I will attempt to explain it according to how I understand it.

The number on the exam result, which med schools and other people will really care about, is your percentile rank. Percentile rank is not how many answers you got correct, (that would be the raw score) but how you fared among all the people who took the exam for that certain period. For example, if you get 74, that means you belong to the upper 26 percent of those who took the exam, and 74 percent scored lower than you. If you get 98 out of 100 items correct, but everyone else got 99, your percentile rank would still be 1 percent.

I do think the scoring is kind of unfair, as you are not judged strictly by how well you answer but how smarter or not others are compared to you. There is a running notion that the December NMAT is valued more than the April exam, as it is deemed that smarter people opt to take the test later in the year. I think the reasoning is crap. There is no mandate that directs 'smart' examinees to take the December exam or vice versa. It would be more blunt to belive that a certain month is more attractive to a certain group. If one scores 90+, it is still a 90+, no matter when he/she took it.

Unless CEM releases a paper about this matter I would not be bound to believe this hollow notion.

I want to get a 90+, how do I review?

I have written much about reviewing for the NMAT. Click on the related links for such posts.

I think I have answered most of the questions. If you have further queries, post them as comments, and I will try to answer them the best I can.

Further Disclaimer: I am not in any way associated with CEM or any particular medical school.

Farewell President Cory

2009-08-05T08:15:00.009+08:00

Cory Aquino can be likened to a bright light who shone amidst the darkness. The goodness of her soul and purity of intention seeping through the pitch black darkness of tyranny and conceit. She was not the ideal picture of what a valiant hero might be, the life she lived before she was thrust to lead this country after it was left scathe by 20 long years of dictatorship, was all but simple and humble. It may not be to the imaginings of those who were powerful then, that this woman, mild in her words and compassionate in character, was to be the ultimate symbol of strength and courage.

A reminder of our mortality

2009-06-26T22:05:00.005+08:00

Today's news shook the world, as Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dies at age 50. Jackson is undeniably a huge star, a revered (and sometimes reviled) icon who carved an indelible impression in pop music. He is an unmatched pioneer whose beat and sound reverberated and appealed to a wide range of audiences. Whether you were born on the 70s, 80s or 90s, its an eccentric feat not to recognize Thriller or Billie Jean, or probably not have the slightest fancy of his upbeat music.

The news of his death spread like wildfire. However, many doubted the authenticity of the report released on TMZ, as major news outlets lagged on confirming his demise. And perhaps because many thought that this is Michael Jackson, a major music superstar, a world renowed performer, hailing the kickoff of a rocking comeback. However, as reality finally set in, many people were left in shock, hearing and reading such news--that indeed, the King of Pop has passed away.

As his death is reported all throughout the media, a recognition of his contribution to the music industry and world wide popularity is usually run back to back with shots of mourning fans and statements of personalities expressing their grief over his passing. I cannot personally say that I was a fan myself, but I knew some part in me got blown over that someone, who seemed bigger than life, went away as spontaneously as a leaf breaking away from a tree.

I don't think I could fully grasp to what lengths he has affected and changed music as we know of it today. But I believe it's a general contention that he has made a huge dent on the face of entertainment, that it would be hard to surpass, let alone replicate his achievements. However, amidst all the deafening buzz of his glory, we are reminded of how sudden life could be. Death reels in in the most unexpected of time; it does not even matter who you are, what plans you have in store, what ground breaking history you have made, or what you do. Death catches up with everyone. His death reminds us that our life is not ours, and only the Greater power can definitively say what tomorrow holds.

Michael Jackson was a big superstar. But in death, it remained him, and him alone. No cheering fans, no big pyrotechnics, no flashing lights-- just the inevitable and himself.

We all go as we come, and the next best thing we could probably do is to leave a life well lived. Every day is chance to start living the best life we possibly could. May Michael Jackson's life remind us of the many big things that each of us is capable. And may his soul rest in eternal peace.

Shiny and Sparkly
And splendidly bright
Here one day
Gone one night

(Gone too soon by Michael Jackson)

**Photo credit: soulofamerica.com

There is still hope for the Philippines: Register for the 2010 elections

2009-06-08T20:48:00.010+08:00

It is easy to be cynical. It is easy to stand on the side lines, throws jeers and send out sighs of disappointment about the issues that bombard our country. It is easier to lay back, throw eloquent criticisms at the government, and enjoy the privilege of being an anonymous disgruntled Filipino citizen. But to actually endeavor to be part of the solution-- is a more noteworthy task than watching the Philippines sink deeper into its own mud hole.

Photo credit from First time voters project

I am 21 years old, and I am a newly registered voter.

By the 2010 national elections, "First Time Voters Network said roughly 60 percent of the 2010 electorate will come from the age bracket of 18 to 40 years old." Many analysts have said that the voting trend in the Philippines next year might follow what happened in the last US elections, with the youth providing the swing vote which elected current president Barack Obama.

In an article in the Philippine Star website, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) national chair Henrietta de Villa, said that young Filipinos could produce 30 million voters on election day. “Their number is not only enough to have a swing vote, but to elect the four top leaders.”

The 30 million youth segment of the voting population could not come in such bulk of a number without the individual people who have chosen to go out, register, and eventually vote. I believe that more than being resigned to the depressing state of our country, a more positive and beneficial course of action would be to think of and act on what we could personally do to contribute to the salvation of the Philippines.

I urge every Filipino citizen, here or abroad, reading my blog to please register for the next elections. Your non-vote could potentially let unworthy candidates get an easier grip on vital government positions. Let us not discount the power of collective action.

Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand

-Bodie Thoene

Visit these sites for information on how to register:

Bagongbotante.ph

First time voters project

Sources:

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=431343)

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/youth/05/20/09/first-time-voters-excited-anxious-2010

Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

2009-06-02T16:40:00.013+08:00

I was flicking through the channels this morning and chanced upon this movie being shown on HBO. The movie was already midway, nonetheless it didn't fail to capture my attention.

The other Boleyn girl is a fictionalized historical narrative of King Henry the VIII's involvement with two sisters, Mary and Anne Boleyn. It is largely based on the novel of British author Philippa Gregory focusing on the lesser known Mary Boleyn, who had also been involved with England's King Henry VIII, even before he married her sister, Anne Boleyn, a much more widely known character in English history.

The annulment of King Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (the first wife) to marry Anne Boleyn eventually led him to be ex-communicated from the Catholic Church and England's seperation from Rome. Henry the VIII has been quite infamous in history for having six wives, and Gregory picks up from one the most controversial segments of history to construct a novel loosely based on factual accounts.

The movie is rivetting and grossly entertaining. It's a period piece which, notwithstanding its historical inaccuracies for being a work of fiction, excites the senses and depicts how greed, lust and thirst for power could eventually lead to one's own destruction. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen effectively contrasts each other's character; one with high ambitions, and the other with the meekness of a lamb. The film is highly sensual and builds on the difference of Mary Boleyn, and her sister, to which both had the king enamoured.

The other Boleyn girl is not a good Sunday morning film, especially if you are looking for something laid-back and easy. Moreover, I advise you not to watch this film if you are searching for historical correctness. Despite this fault, the film succeeds in creating a moving drama, unbelievably sending aftershocks of awe even after the closing credits roll in.

Music of Nostalgia

2009-05-31T04:43:00.012+08:00

One thing I love music is its ability to invoke memories. It may not be so much of being mushy and overly nostalgic, but a simple demonstration of how our brain associates information so that recollections are like chains strongly wrap around each other- thus securing the integrity of our long-term memories.

I'm quite sure many of us have had the experience of childhood memories flashing before our eyes whenever we chance to hear Batibot's chirpy opening song. Or more commonly, lovers lamenting over foiled promises of eternity upon hearing love songs which even by their perfect melodies could induce a flood of both happy and painful memories. Music has a way of returning us to the past. I think in way or two, human beings are predisposed to be sentimental creatures. Although we may not be fond of revisiting long forgotten experiences, our brain always presents the forceful opportunity to do so.

So to further hit home with the point of being nostalgic, and mushy at that, here is the song which greatly reminds me of one of the most beautiful things in life-- falling in love for the first time.

Keahiwahi- Falling

C'mon I know you have a a lot of songs up your sleeve. It doesn't hurt to share.

Philippines confirms first A (H1N1) case

2009-05-22T12:06:00.001+08:00

Click here to read about it.

When doctors become nurses

2009-05-16T22:17:00.010+08:00

Whenever I chance upon a composition I have written a long time ago, a jolt of excitement runs through my senses. Reading my work, as close to how a fully disinterested person would, makes me quite excited. It's like evaluating your work with a fresh eye.

An excerpt from an essay I wrote, and posted almost a month ago.

If I may share anything with future board exam takers, it is that success is the little things we do every day. Success stories could not have been initially written as such; it sprang from small struggles and victories that taken collectively conjure a bigger picture of accomplishment. No matter how seemingly difficult the board exam may be, it is a surmountable task which anybody may take on with flying colors. It is only a question of how much you want it, and how much you are willing to give to have it. The challenge lies not on achieving a one-time miracle, but on doing the littlest things everyday that shall lead you to your vision.

The board exam is everybody’s game. There is no glass ceiling to break, and you do not have to graduate with Latin honors to be a board topnotcher. But while this is true, working hard for it is a requirement which could not be divorced from the equation. Only prayers, hard work and determination turn the impossible into something inevitably attainable.

I wish I could convince myself with these words right now. I am finding it hard to find the motivation and will to study for the NCLEX. Sometimes I think it is because I don't really want it. If you look at it at face value, a lot of people would actually want to be in my position right now. This nursing career is blossoming right before my eyes, and I feel guilty wanting something else and abandoning it.

I frequently pray to God to show me the calling for which I was made. Of the many things I am unsure of, the only positive thing I am dead certain about is that I want to be in the health profession. I believe that the field of health is a vital segment to the survival, sustenance, and development of society, and humanity as a whole. Although I am deeply confused right now as to what role I should I take.

Attribute it to being a quite fatalistic, I think the nursing career is being laid out for me like a clearing in the midst of a jungle. I topped the boards, and earned a scholarship at ALLGEN for an NCLEX review. However, to be bluntly honest, I cannot see myself as a nurse. Whenever I try to imagine myself as such, my mind drifts off to the next person a nurse is associated with, that is, the doctor.

Not taking other factors into consideration, I know I want to be a doctor. Of course, I have a huge amount of respect for the nursing profession; although being a nurse is not something I think I am cut out for. Exams and the real world is different. Exams can only test what you know and how you think, but not your motivations.

However, the real world is not all about motivation. You cannot eat hope, survive on dreams and pay the rent and bills with motivation. It's about being smart, making pragmatic decisions so that you can eat three times a day and not have to worry about stretching your last cent. Of the few months that I have been like a fish out of water in the real world, I met quite a handful of doctors surrendering their stethoscope for the nursing cap.

As I realize it now, I have met quite a number of doctor-nurses in the past. Although I have not given much thought to it until I was on the verge of starting my medical education. In my freshman year, I had a clinical instructor who was a doctor, and by that time, was teaching nursing students on how to do nursing procedures. By second and third year, I had a really smart professor who was also a doctor, and during that time, was only waiting for her visa so that she could start working as a nurse abroad. A couple weeks ago, I met a co reviewee who was already a consultant, a pediatrician at that, who is reviewing for the NCLEX, hoping to work in the US as a nurse. While I was submitting my eligibility application, I met a woman on her late forties whom I had a quick chat with. She told me that she is a doctor, and her husband, who is a surgeon, is also applying for the NCLEX.

It would be dense and hypocritical of me if I don't acknowledge the overwhelming fact that a LOT of doctors are trading their five years or more of medical education to become nurses. I would be lying if I say that I am not affected by this. As of now, I have decided to wait out and apply for UP for the next school year. Although I am still weighing things out between nursing and medicine.

It might be easy to brandish the cliche 'follow your dreams'. But life is not all about dreams-- we need to work, survive, and have decent source of living which would allow us to enjoy things which we could only dream of. Sometimes I think that I am just shutting out nursing too much, and I need to give it a try so that I could decide for myself what I really want.

I want to devote myself into something that would make my life worthwhile. One thing I am sure of is that I only want to be happy and lead a life I can be satisfied with, financially, psychologically, and emotionally. Until I am really ready to delve into either the nursing or medical career, I think contemplating more on the life ahead would be absolutely necessary.

Related Post:
To be or not to be a doctor

NMAT Review

2009-05-01T11:05:00.006+08:00

Since I have a penchance for painfully long posts, I decided to make this entry a litte more eye-friendly.

Here are five tips/advice/personal learnings to help you on your NMAT test:

1. You don't really have to enroll in a review center. It all boils down on one thing: if you have the money, go enroll, but if you don't, then you don't have to. If you are like me who still relies on her parents' financial support, do your parents a favor and don't unload 5,000 pesos for a week's worth of review. It doesn't guarantee you anything anyway. A review center cannot feed you everything, studying on your own is still essential.

2. Answer the practice test. When I was reviewing for the NMAT, the one thing I usually asked is if the practice test is any similar with the exam given. And after taking the exam, I realize that it certainly is. The topics covered on the practice tests are the same ones given during the actual exam. Definitely read on the concepts on the practice test.

3. Study High School books. If I could be thankful for anything, that would be my brother's fourth year HS books. Believe me, if anything should cover for the Physics or Chem part, that would be reading HS stuff. You don't have to study mind contorting topics, just the basics.

3. The internet is your friend. One thing that really helped me is reading on forums about how people tackled the exam. I learned techniques which certainly helped me a lot. For the number/letter series, write the alphabet several times on the scratch sheet and draw a skipping line to determine the pattern. It is easier seeing the pattern visually rather than counting manually.

Also, there are numerous sources online to help you study for the exam. Read about it in this post.

4. Interview people who have taken the test before. Nothing beats actually sitting down on the exam venue. Talk to people who have taken the exam before, and have them tell you what is it actually like.

5. Last and most importantly, pray. Surely God is more powerful than any exam you would take.

Related posts:
NMAT Review Resources
Finally, the NMAT exam
My NMAT result

NMAT Results for April 2009, to be mailed first week of May

2009-04-27T18:04:00.005+08:00

Source: CEM personnel who answered phone query this morning.

Postscript: I received my NMAT result today, April 29, 2009. I scored 94. God has been very good to me.

Related posts:
Finally, the NMAT exam
NMAT Review resources

My two cents on suicide

2009-04-23T14:55:00.007+08:00

The news for the past week had almost entirely been about Ted Failon and the death of his wife, Trinidad Etong. The wife died by a gunshot wound through the head. Many believe that it was suicide, as the statement of Ted Failon and their household members provide. Nevertheless, the police are still exploring other angles, such as parricide, homicide, and murder.

There are varied aspects to tackle in this tragedy. However, the most significant thing that this event has dramatized is the effect of committing suicide to one's family and loved ones. While it is excruciating enough for Failon's family to see Trinidad take her own life, they are left with the repercussions that are so overwhelming it leaves one asking if their lives have suddenly taken a page from a telenovela.

From the time that this incident has surfaced, Ted Failon, being a popular media personality and a hard-hitting brodcaster, has continually been subject to the police's brusque investigation--which by their actions seem to have Failon guilty, until proven otherwise. Their household helpers have been mercilessly arrested (or invited, depending on whose vocabulary) for questioning, and consequentially charged with obstruction of justice, for tampering with the 'crime scene'. Kaye Failon, Ted and Trinidad's daughter, have stood amidst the onslaught of incrimating speculation against her father, defending him with unfaltering faith and conviction. While Trinidad Etong may have achieved peace with her death, the consequences of her action continue to ripple amongst her family, with the people whom she loved dearly, being on the receiving end.

I sometimes think that if she had a miraculous revelation of what would happen, right when that gun is pointed on her temple, I think she would have never pulled the trigger. However, the painful thing about life is that we can only live through an experience to actually know its consequences. In her suicide, she may have skipped living through the pains of life-- but her family is now the one suffering, gasping for an escape in the slew of predicaments that has befallen them. In her eulogy, Ted Failon said that it has occurred to him that shooting himself in the head could be a possible way of ending his woes right now.

I used to think the suicide is dramatic. Beautiful in fiction as much as it is poetic. Novels that end in suicide or some sort of tragedy more often than not captivate me into thinking that death has some redeeming power. But I now think it is nothing more than fictitious. Suicide is nothing like Juliet fluttering about, plunging a dagger in her chest, or Romeo sipping a poisonous cup. It is a very painful experience, most especially for the ones who are left behind.

Choosing life over death may seem to be the more difficult choice sometimes, especially when we are bombarded with all sorts of seemingly insurmountable problems. The beautiful thing about life is that you always have the chance to do over, rectify your mistakes, and experience the most amazing things that are yet to blessed upon you. Death, well, it is dead end choice. No restart or reset button. Just the end of a life that could have been.

No more than ordinary

2009-04-11T12:27:00.003+08:00

I submitted this piece for a compilation of board exam stories written by students from the Institute of Nursing at Far Eastern University. I hope, in the humblest sense, that somone gets inspired from reading my story.

If I were to walk among the multitudes of other nursing students, clad in my white uniform, I think I would blend seamlessly in the picture that no hint of any distinct feature would leave its impression upon an observer. During college, I could not be described as any more than ordinary, normal, and unimpressionable. I graduated with no particular distinction; and I probably went by college with no stellar goal but to finish my course within four years, and survive each day answering exams, attending duties and doing Nursing Care Plans. Fortunately, I did manage to earn my BSN degree, even though I hardly read any chapter of my voluminous nursing books.

I do not mean to glorify my less than exemplary means of finishing college. For months before graduation, the talk of the June board exams would cause my stomach to churn, knowing how deeply unprepared I was. And being with nursing people almost every day, it almost never fails to rub itself on my consciousness. Add to that my failure to attend most of the review classes, as I took the privilege to ‘rest’ during some of the scheduled concepts, I knew that if I took the June boards, I would probably fail-- or pass by a slim margin from the passing rate.

From a sociological point of view, I would now be considered a deviant, because I decided to take the November board exams. The feeling of dread of the possible outcome of taking the June boards was just too acute for me to ignore. As it was considered almost a norm for FEU-IN students to take the June licensure exams, a lot of people were asking me, including my parents, why I chose to postpone taking the exam. My reply would usually be “Sobra kasi ang pressure ng June eh” or “Hindi pa ko talaga prepared”. Yes I was pressured—because I was really ill prepared.

Having much time on my hands, I took the earliest review schedule in RCAP, which was slated during the weekends. During the beginning of my review, I realized that I did not want to proceed with studying the same way I did during college. Although it may be less taxing to allow yourself to just be swept by circumstances, it certainly felt defeating to see yourself in a position where you just basically let other things, besides yourself, to dictate where you should be. From that point, I decided to really focus my energies on something, which is, ambitious as it may sound, topping the board exam.

It might have seemed too fearless of me to actually set my eyes on something which thousands of nursing students from the Philippines are coveting. I convinced myself that I might only take the NLE once, so I might as well make the best out of it. Minsan lang ako mangangarap, itotodo ko na.

As if from God’s divine intervention, I found myself opening and reading my textbooks, which by their state could still fetch a good price in Recto. I adopted reasonable study habits, reading on my own during weekdays and attending review classes during weekends. Of course I would have to thank my parents for allowing me to hole up in my room for almost four months. By October, my room could have successfully been a candidate for a room design/overhaul show as Manila papers filled the expanse of one of my bare walls. During the last weeks of reviewing, I made sure to finish answering past board exam questions and reread earlier notes.

Of course it wasn’t as smooth sailing as a contracted summary would allow. There were times that I had to drag myself to read, force myself out of the comforts of my bed, and prevent myself from turning on the PC, lest I get soaked up in web surfing that I put off studying for tomorrow. Although I had to make adjustments on my study schedule every now and then, I made sure to finish much of it as I could. My social life, which is practically minimal to start with, was cut off much more.

I must have prayed for the board exams more intensely than any time in my life. When I find myself losing focus on what I was reading, or had no drive whatsoever to study, I usually prayed to God to guide me in having the will to do so. I perennially asked Him to help me top the board exams, and to have the heart to accept the results whatever it may be. I realized that achieving something great is beyond human efforts; no matter how we try to take things into our own hands, success is only possible through God’s providence.

To be honest, I do not remember much of what came up during the board exams. My mind was caught in a whirl of finally taking the licensure and answering most of the questions as correctly as I could. In the end, I was just relieved that it was over, not so much thinking of topping it whatsoever, but just happy that I finally got through with it. It was as if a huge load was removed from my back.

After enduring almost two months of tormenting anticipation, the results finally came out. And by God’s immense blessing, and months of studying, I passed--and ranked fourth among 88 thousand takers.

My family, friends, relatives and especially myself were overcome with happiness. Apart from the extreme elation that it has brought me and my parents, numerous opportunities also presented itself. I was offered a scholarship, asked to join a game show on TV, and thrown an acknowledgement ceremony. Not too bad for an ordinary nursing graduate.

If I may share anything with future board exam takers, it is that success is the little things we do every day. Success stories could not have been initially written as such; it sprang from small struggles and victories that taken collectively conjure a bigger picture of accomplishment. No matter how seemingly difficult the board exam may be, it is a surmountable task which anybody may take on with flying colors. It is only a question of how much you want it, and how much you are willing to give to have it. The challenge lies not on achieving a one-time miracle, but on doing the littlest things everyday that shall lead you to your vision.

The board exam is everybody’s game. There is no glass ceiling to break, and you do not have to graduate with Latin honors to be a board topnotcher. But while this is true, working hard for it is a requirement which could not be divorced from the equation. Only prayers, hard work and determination turn the impossible into something inevitably attainable.

Finally, the NMAT exam

2009-04-06T23:15:00.008+08:00

After much anticipation with taking the NMAT, yesterday proved that it wasn't a piece of sugary confection. It's ampalaya mixed with tausi and soggy okra. It's everything you wish you wouldn't have to eat again.

I arrived at De La Salle about an hour earlier (6am) and already the examinees seated in the benches were filling up the rows from end to end. So yes, if you would be taking the exam, come early. CEM probably had us line up about 7am, checking the identification sheet and admission slip. I went to CEM a week ago to pick up my admission slip because the one they mailed never came (a likely story considering how reliable snail mail is in the Philippines). If you don't receive yours a week before, consider going to their office for the duplicate copy, or you can just get it from them on the day of the exam (they bring all the duplicate copies on the testing venue).

Okay, so about the exam

The exam started at around 8am. The first part is given for three hours, which is apportioned for the different subtests. My plan was to finish the easy parts first, which meant jumping from English to Perceptual Acuity, Inductive Reasoning then Quantitative exam. I pretty much sailed through English, finishing it about 10 minutes earlier than the alloted time. Feeling quite perky about this, I decided to push with Inductive Reasoning--and until now I can't reckon if it was a good or bad decision. Well it didn't help that we weren't allowed to write on the test booklet , considering how the exam is highly 'challenging'. There were some items that you can take less than a minute answering, but there were some that would just contort your brain to forms you have never imagined. It's a mental exercise really.

There's nothing much to say about Perceptual Acuity. All you need to have is a good set of eyes, and well, highly sharpened perception. After I was done with the three exams, blanks and all, I think I had 40-50 minutes left with Quantitative. As expected I didn't finish it. I tried the practice exam under real time conditions, and I thought this would be the most problematic section for me. (Math had never been my forte) Well at least I was right. I probably was only sure of 15 items, and the rest of 40 were left to the grace of fate and my mighty Mongol pencil. Better any answer than none at all.

The second part was given after lunch. My baon saved me from the trouble of hunting down a place to eat. RJ's advice was really helpful to note. Most of the food establishments around La Salle are closed during Sundays, and there are quite a number of examinees too, so it would save you from the hassle if you would just bring packed lunch. The line in the canteen extended from the cashier to the outside of the cafeteria door (so just imagine how many people are lining up).

If the first part was Apocalypse, part two was Redemption. I finished the exam within the alloted time, plus it wasn't that stressful because you can have an inkling of the answer as long as you have sentido comon (common sense).

Bits of Advice

So what could I say that would be helpful for you. First answer the practice exams. I overheard some examinees answering it the day before, and some others leaving out some subtests altogether. Don't do it. If you're aiming for a decent score, the practice tests would lend you a good grip of what will be given during actual exam. There are even some items that were just rehashed from the practice tests.

For the first part, I think the more substantial thing to focus on is time management and sharpening your analytical skills. And you can't sharpen your noggin if you only do it once, so I believe practice is the key here.

As for the second part, all the things you need to study for is IN the practice set. So you can't leave it to the wind and put off answering the practice exams if you find the questions unfamiliar. Everything is in there, you just need to brush up on the topics especially if you don't have a strong Chem/Bio background. The concepts are very basic, and the computations are not very difficult since they do not allow calculators. I don't think I can emphasize it that much: answer and review the practice set.

As for the MSA NMAT reviewer, I think it is too difficult. Too difficult compared to the actual exam, especially in the Qualitative and Physics part. I am just echoing what many of previous NMAT takers have said, don't get yourself too down if you can't even get past the first question in the MSA reviewer. It's not going to be THAT hard. Well on the plus side, I think it would be quite helpful for the Perceptual Acuity, Inductive Reasoning, Sociology and Bio subtests.

Lastly, unless you feel quite confident with your Math, Physics, Bio, Chem and other subtest skills, try reviewing. I would probably have a better time answering the exam if I had just graduated from High School. But since I am a not-so-fresh college grad, I pretty much forgot most of what I had taken up five years ago. So try brushing up on your HS books. Truth be told what I reviewed was my brother's 4th year Physics and Chem books. And man, I'm glad I did. I don't know what my score would be yet, but I found the second part more tolerable than the first one. (You would be surprised by the things you have forgotten.)

According to our proctor, the results would be released by mail after 3-4 weeks. I do not have high hopes about my score, considering how I might have as well played Russian roulette with my Quantitative subtest. Anyway I'm just glad its over. Well if the reason you're reading this is because you will also be taking the NMAT, I wish you good graces. It was a fun carnage for me. :)

Related post:

NMAT Review resources
My NMAT Result

Internet Addiction

2009-04-01T13:15:00.003+08:00

I think I have an unhealthy addiction to the internet. Every waking hour of my life, the first thing I think about aside from praying is checking my mail. Recently, my psychological dependence on surfing the web has caused me to cram for my NMAT review. Right at this very moment, when I am supposed to be finishing three chapters of my Physics book, I am here in front of my laptop, satisfying my unexplainable and insatiable craving to be online.

A few months ago, I deleted all my social networking sites because I noticed that my time is usually used up by browsing friend profiles, updating my shoutout, reading memes, and consuming whatever feature a networking site has. I think it proved succesful, since I curbed my internet use to a minimum, allowing me to review unperturbed for the NLE. After I took my board exams, I started joining social sites again, hoping to post my SocialVibe badge all over the place. One thing led to another, and I again find myself spending hours and hours on the internet.

~~While this obssession/ addiction/ compulsion has not reached a point where it has crippled my life.~~

See, even my supposed next sentence is marred with denial.

I still manage to take a bath, eat, and sometimes work out. But other than that most of my days are just filled with endless hours surfing the web. Clicking link after link and finding myself far from the original task I had in mind. Many times I feel an upsurge of self-control, believing that I can prevent myself from drifting to unproductive net surfing, but then after a while, I notice that time has drifted by like a river opening up to a dam.

Usually I convince myself that "I would be just checking my mail", or "I would just be looking around for a few minutes"; eventually minutes turn to hours, and hours get wasted on aimless reading and 'interesting' time hogs instead of tasks I was supposed to accomplish. I am a procrastinator. And a really highly effective one at that.

I am really contemplating on purging my connections to this life consuming monster. Technology is good until you are hooked. I recently downloaded Leechblock (a productivity tool for Firefox that allows you to block certain websites on times you normally have something important to finish). Social sites are blocked from my laptop everyday except Wednesdays and Fridays--since cold turkey rarely works. I turned it on the other day. Monday was a struggle, Tuesday I used the other PC just to "check" my social sites, and today I am wallowing in regretful depression.

The only appealing solution to me now is to completely detach from the internet again.

Aimless ranting, menial preoccupations and an excuse for procrastination

2009-03-24T18:55:00.006+08:00

I haven't posted anything in a while. My last entry is dated March 13, making today the 11th day since I have posted something on this blog. Ah, let me see...what has happened since...I had been busy with submitting stuff for my PRC license, running around doing chores, reading and *ehem* reviewing.

I really am so bored. I need to get a life besides surfing the internet, reading, reviewing, sleeping, eating and existing. I don't know, is it possible to post something interesting if everyday is just driving you completely nuts out of its sheer monotony?

Maybe I need to proactively do something out of the ordinary. Probably volunteer at some charity event, go out with someone interesting, watch Revolutionary Road with myself, stand at the edge of a cliff, talk to someone...or anything besides what I do everyday.

Oh yeah, I'll be on TV tomorrow. I'll be contestant on 'Sa Pula, sa Puti' at Eat Bulaga! The Nursing board topnotchers will be playing against the Medical Board topnotchers. I was told to wear what I wore during the exams, which means I'll be in my nurse's uniform. And I think I'll whip up a song number for the talent part.

On a side note, ALLGEN has offered me an NCLEX review scholarship, thus stirring me to actually apply for a US nursing license. I really did not have any plans to apply for the NCLEX, but since this opportunity has presented itself, I might as well ride the tide.

My NMAT exam will be exactly 12 days from now. God forbid I get a miserable score.

Anyway, if I know you and you have something interesting going, want to go out, chill, hang-out, talk or whatsoever-- message me, text me or contact me by any means. I'll be a ready sailor any time of day. (I'm just not up for anything illegal :P)

Everyday Blunders: What's your name again?

2009-03-13T16:15:00.007+08:00

I'm a self-confessed doofus when it comes to remembering names. A goldfish can probably embed more things in its memory than I can store up names of people in my head (and no they don't have a three second memory). I could not even count how many times I met a person by chance and eventually had to wrack my brain for something to call him/her. And this is not even talking about casual acquaintances or people I have known far back. I frequently find myself hovering for a name when a familiar face, usually a classmate whose name I have known some semester ago, unexpectedly comes up me for a benign hi or to start some talk. A conversation with such a person would usually go like this:

Person X: Uy Aubrey hi!

Aubrey: Uuuuiiiiii hi(notice the extreme elongation of the word)

*Flashes a huge smile while putting together scraps of memory*

So there, when you come up to me, and I don't mention your name in the first greet, I am probably trying really hard to remember who you are. Guilt usually overcomes me especially when someone calls me out by first name and I can only remember them by their face. I do not employ a selective memory when it come to people, and I do not intentionally try to ploy an I-don't-know-you scheme. If I could wish a special ability, it would probably be to have a phonebook memory, so going through the ordeal of putting a name to a face would be an embarrassment long gone.

I read from an online article that in order to be a pro at people labelling (personal names), one must denounce that he is 'bad' at names, and link unique facial features or personal peculiarities with a person's moniker. For example, one can probably link 'Aubrey' to me by seeing my huge round eyes, which they can imagine to be the pronunciation of my name-- OOwbree (with the Os being my eyes).

This post dawned on me when I faced a rather embarrassing situation this morning. I went back to my college org to leave some review materials for a friend. As I was in the office, people went about their usual business, with some greeting me occasionally. After a light chat with Dwight, the current Advo EIC, I said goodbye to everyone (which meant three people at that time) and poised myself to leave. I particularly said goodbye to an artist which I had already worked with during my term. I said, "Uy, bye". He then nonchalantly quipped "Di mo na ata ako kilala eh" (You don't remember me, do you?). I was dumbstruck that I hovered for a lousy excuse, "Teka inaalala ko yung buong pangalan mo" (Wait, I am trying to remember your whole name). Fast forward some awkward seconds later, I mentioned his surname correctly, while I called him by someone else's first name. I was so embarrassed I played cute--which I am not very good at either.

My ineptitude at remembering names really gets me all the time. For someone who believes that a person's name is the most important word to him, I literally crash and burn with my degree of face-name recognition. I know that it means a lot to a person when you remember who he is; because it implies that you attach a sense of value to him. I know I wouldn't want to pro-actively greet someone only to receive a blank and inexplicable response of confusion. Now I really need help with names.

How about you, do you have weird I-can't-remember-you moments?

NMAT Review resources

2009-03-09T22:37:00.010+08:00

People reviewing for the NMAT have two options, first is self-studying, and second is enrolling in a review center (or both for those who really want to get the much coveted 90+ percentile). While the second option may be less laborious, with one only having to attend his review classes and pick up from lessons programmed by the review center, it needless to say, costs money. Self-studying on the other hand, which should be free if one has the needed resources on hand, is a lot more taxing, and requires more focus if one is determined to get a good score from the exam.

Since I believe that the odds are almost equal, whether I enroll in a review center or on my own, I have chosen the the self study road and consequently saved myself some thousands of pesos.

Resources are as equally important as determination itself. Since I already have related resources from my BSN days, I have a ready arsenal. If you don't have much yourself, consider borrowing textbooks from friends or the library (buying new stuff defeats the advantage of saving money).

Okay, so textbooks could be so voluminous at times--good thing we don't have to read the whole thing. I noticed in the practice exam that several questions are only from several fundamental concepts. Observe the trend yourself, and pick from the things that usually come up.

I also bought an MSA NMAT reviewer, just to have a better grasp of the things that might pop out in the exam. While it did cost me 695 pesos, it certainly is a lot cheaper than unloading 5,000+ for a week's worth of review classes. Read how it did (or somehow did not) help me review for the exams.

There are also a lot of resources on the internet. I found the WTAMU College Algebra review quite helpful in remembering what I need to do with the numbers on the quantitative exam. You could also try searching for free Ebooks if you don't fancy buying or borrowing. I will post more sites in the future if I stumble upon some really good ones.

Site to read for Sociology basics: Sparknotes: Sociology

Aside from lessons, it is also equally helpful to read on forums discussing the NMAT. People who have taken the exam before usually give invaluable advice regarding the nitty gritty and pecularities of actually taking the exam. So far I am keeping a number of things to mind.

a. Be wary of the time. The exam is really set to have you work on time pressure.

b. Never write on your test booklet, unless you want to have to erase everything before you can submit your paper.

d. Write the alphabet on a scratch paper so answering the series/pattern part is easier.

c. Come early to the testing center for it can become quite chaotic.

d. And lastly, bring a sweater.

These are not foolproof ways of acing the test. I think however, that with the right combination of street smart, hard work and prayers, it is possible for anyone to get a good score on the exam. I still don't know how my means will do for me when I actually sit right in the testing center. But I will certainly share what worked and what did not on my next posts.

So Good luck to all of us. :)

PS. If you are also reviewing from the NMAT, or have taken it yourself in the past, I would really appreciate some tips and comments. God Bless.

Related post:

Finally, the NMAT exam

Save the Whales

2009-03-09T01:53:00.005+08:00

Lazy Sunday nights of summer

2009-03-08T21:28:00.002+08:00

Today is one of those days when you just feel like grabbing a fresh fruity drink in a fancy shaped glass, and sitting back in a recliner right by the pool. The stars above your head twinkle giddily, and the cool wind brush upon your skin like wisps of cotton tickling your senses. It's one of those times when you think that God must be in an extra pleasant mod, and allowing you to experience the sublime wonders of living.

Every single day is a gift from Him.

Public Speaking Anxiety

2009-03-02T22:00:00.003+08:00

Last week, my review center asked me to give out an inspirational message in one of their free seminars for Nursing students--in the spirit of paying it forward for their 25th anniversary. I was advised of the task about a week earlier, which allowed me some leeway to prepare for my supposed speech. I dilly dallied on coming up with a spontaneous material and a well written thought out composition. Since I do not fancy the idea of possibly going blank in front of a large audience, I chose the latter.

I procrastinated on doing my material, writing it the day before my actual speaking engagement and finishing it the morning--since inspiration has not chosen to dawn on me days earlier (or possibly the other way around). Anyway, I thought I came up with something decent. It was neither goosebump raising nor earth shattering, but one which is concise, direct to the point, and somewhat inspiring (or something bordering that point).

On my way to the review center at around 11 last Saturday, I was praying that my fortunate/unfortunate audience can really get something out what I will flood their ears. Although I had something prepared, I knew that good intentions can only do so much, and the final outcome shall always be what God wills it to be. My mother offered to drive me to the review center. When we finallly reached the place, I began pacing around like a crazed chicken sensing a brewing storm.

Even though I had tried to imagine what the supposed scenario would be like, seeing my audience and finally coming in contact with the vibe of the environment, I just knew that reading a two page doubled spaced speech would paint me as an obnoxious out of touch braniac. So I had to do spontaneous. Basically I just pruned my composition to its fundamental elements, and patched it with related thoughts which could somehow make my speech coherent.

So came my moment of doom. Right before I was introduced, the RCAP staff played some videos and introductory material. My stomach was having the time of its life and doing somersaults-- I felt like I was going to have diarrhea. My mind eventually travelled to previous public speaking encounters, and minus case/class presentations and our thesis defense, I figured that my public speaking experience is almost close to zero. The only instance I could think of was when we presented our spot map to our community back in second year, and even then I was jittery, to put it lightly.

And so I was called to give out my inspirational message. My introduction was fine-- as for the rest of my message I think I developed it far better than I initially planned it to be, although my delivery sucks. I knew it didn't evoke inspiration as much I as I wanted to, since the students replied a not so resounding yes when Mrs. Medrana asked them after if they were inspired. (haha). Nonetheless, I think it was fine, since Ma'am Medrana thought it was nice, and I practically said the things I prevented myself from saying in my rigid composition.

The first time I did it was average, the second was poor. I think the anxiety pushed the envelope for me and goaded me to expand my ideas. The second one was a mimicry of the first, though it was much shorter. I was so relieved that it was over, although I wish I delivered it better. Anyway I don't care much about myself, what I really want is for those students to realize that it is actually possible for them to top the board exam. I hope I somehow achieved my purpose, even in the most minute sense.

Should I have prepared better? Would it have been different If I had memorized my speech and actually recited it like an orator in front of them. Was it from the plain lack of preparation or do my nerves always get the better of me? Why do I melt all over the place whenever I have to speak in front of people I dont' know?

How do you tame public speaking anxiety?

The inevitable thank you note

2009-02-25T17:04:00.007+08:00

It might seem anti-climactic of me to post something about the NLE several days after. But believe me, if I were forced to write this days earlier, I don't think it would be coherent enough to be understood.

Five days after the NLE results were released, I think I'm still in a daze. Honestly, I think it will never really sink in that I was fortunate enough to top the board exam. When I see my name in the list of topnotchers, it feels as if a different person is listed there, and I read her name with the kind of detachment that I afford the other names in the top ten. I really can't believe it's me.

I think what made it slightly tangible was the outpouring of people who congratulated me. I received more text messages, calls, comments and friend requests in a span of three days than several previous months combined. Even people I was no longer in touch with were sending me their congratulations. My mother was all over the place, calling and texting our relatives, while I remained stuck in an explicable kind of elation. I was so happy I think I was manic.

And for the first time in my life, I cried tears of joy. People know I don't usually cry, and I can poster up a calm demeanor in the face of heart wrenching situations. But the moment my mother faced me after she read my name on the computer screen, tears just welled up on my eyes and I was sobbing unstoppably. My crying was interspersed with periods of laughter, I think I could have passed for schizophrenic. Pent-up tension was rushing from my body, like a tide bursting open from a dam. It was like the months I spent studying was finally vindicated. I haven't yet experienced anything that is comparable.

The question people usually ask me is if I expected to top the NLE. To be honest, I really didn't. When you are waiting for the results of the board exams, I think the more predominant feeling is the fear of failing. I was more consumed by the thought that I made a number of fatal mistakes which could lead me to take the NLE for the second time. Or if I made some error in filling up my answer sheet that the highly sensitive checking machine would have a trigger happy tendency of not checking my paper altogether. When I checked the board topnotchers, the word I was looking for using Ctrl+Find was "far", because I was just hoping to see who topped from FEU, and didn't really expect my name to be there. But lo and behold, by God's immense blessing, it was my name in there, right in the top four.

I know it would have been impossible for me to achieve such a thing without the people and entities who supported me. And since not everyone of them will hear my thank you speech in the acknowledgment ceremonies, I would be taking the privilege of thanking them here in my blog, for the entire World Wide Web to read.

To God, I acknowledge that I would be nothing without your will (Nil Sune Numine). I know that everything I have is from you. I couldn't thank you enough for blessing me with something so immense. I offer everything back to you Lord.

To my parents, thank you very much for supporting me in everything that I do. You could have coerced me into taking the June boards, but you were nothing but supportive of me of the many months I opted to wait out and study. Thank you for bringing me up in all the comforts you did not have while you were young. I am always inspired to excel in my endeavors knowing how it will make you and our family proud.

To FEU, IN and its faculty, I express my gratitude for molding my mind and allowing to me learn and grow. All the things that I had answered during that exam was from the nourishment of education that I received from you portals. I believe I could not have done as well if I had not been from FEU.

To my review center, RCAP, and to all its reviewers, I know that by the time I went into your classes, I had gaps in my understanding of the nursing concepts which I didn't care enough before to fully grasp. I really made the right decision of not joining the bandwagon of other review centers and instead enrolling in your classes.

To my friends, the Advocate, BSN 804 and Group 16, thank you for always kidding me that I might top the board exam. Ayan nagkatotoo tuloy :P Syempre special mention si Sheilla who stuck it out with me when I was reviewing. And of course to the 3-5-100 review group, I hope I could also pay it forward to the upcoming Tamaraw nursing grads like you did with me. I wish words could be close enough to describe my gratitude towards you people!

Topping the board is one heck of an emotional roller coaster, but I would gladly experience it any time of day. To the June Tamaraw takers, believe me, there is no glass ceiling above you. You are all poised to top the board, you would only have to court chance.

List of Medical Schools in the Philippines

2009-02-24T11:16:00.014+08:00

Here are the medical schools listed in the NMAT supplementary hand out, with their corresponding address and contact information:

AMA College of Medicine
5486 South Superhighway cor Gen Tinio Street, Bangkal Makati City
(02) 751-7131; 889-8822

Angeles University Foundation
College of Medicine
2009 Angeles City
(045) 625-2809

Ateneo de Zamboanga University
School of Medicine
La Purisima Street, 700 Zamboanga City
(062) 991-0870; 993-1699

Ateneo de Manila University
School of Medicine and Public Health
Don Eugenio Lopez Sr. Medical Complex Ortigas Ave, Pasig City
(020 706-3085 to 87 loc 3004; 635-9804

http://www.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=1134

Bagiuo Central University
College of medicine
#18 Lower P. Burgos Street, Bagiuo City
(074) 446-5302; 442-4949; 444-9247

Bicol Christian College of Medicine
Ago Medical School Foundation
4500 Legaspi City
(052) 481-1155; 482-1144

Cagayan State University
College of Medicine
3500 Tuguegarao, Cagayan
(032) 253-4919

Cebu Doctors University
6000 Cebu City
(032) 253-4919

Cebu Institute of Medicine
Cebu City
(032) 253-7412/13

Central Philippine University
College of Medicine
Jaro, Iloilo City
(033) 329-1971 loc 1081/1048

Davao Medical School Foundation
Medical School Drive, Bajada, 8000 Davao City
(082) 226-3157; 226 2627; 226-2344

De La Salle University Health Sciences
4114 Bagong Bayan, Dasmarinas, Cavite
(046) 416-0226 to 30 loc 159

Emilio Aguinaldo College
College of Medicine
San Marcelino Street, Ermita, Manila

FEU-Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation
Regalado Ave cor Dalos Street, Fairview, Quezon City
938-4851; 938-4884

http://www.feu-nrmf.ph/adm_med.html

Iloilo Doctors College of Medicine
5000 Iloilo City
(033) 337-7755

Lyceum Northwestern
Dr. Francisco Q. Duque Medical Foundation
2400 Dagupan City
(075) 522-0296

MCU Filemon Tanchoco Sr. Medical Foundation
1400 Caloocan City
367-2249; 367-2031/ 38 loc 216

Mindanao State University
College of Medicine
9200 Tibanga, Iligan City (063) 221-3835; 221-3045

Our Lady of Fatima University
120 McArthur highway, 1405 Valenzuela, Metro Manila
293-2703, 293-2705/06

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
College of Medicine
1001 Intramuros, Manila
527-9067

Remedios T. Romualdez Medical School Foundation
College of Medicine
6500 Tacloban City
(053) 327-5355/ 327-5506

San Beda College
College of Medicine
Mendiola Street, Legarda, Manila
735-6011/ 735-6075 loc 4113

St. Louis University
College of Medicine
2600 Bagiuo City
(074) 442-3043; 442-2793

St. Luke's College of Medicine
Willian Quasha Memorial Foundation
Sta. ignacia Street, 1102 Quezon City

Siliman University Medical School
Angelo King Allied Medical Science Center
SUMOFI Compound, Aldeooa Road, Dumaguete City

Southwestern University
Matia Aznar Medical Foundation
College of Medicine
600 Cebu City
(032) 255-6469

UERM Memorial Medical Center
Aurora Boulevard, 1105 quezon City
713-3302

http://www.uerm.edu.ph/admission/medicine.html

University of Northern Philippines
College of Medicine
Vigan, Ilocos Sur
(077) 722-2810; 632-4052

University of Perpetual Help
Dr. Jose G.Tamayo Medical University
College of Medicine
4024 Sto. Nino, Binan, Laguna
(049) 511-9869

University of Perpetual Help Rizal
Jonelta Foundation School of Medicine
Alabang-Zapote Road, Las Pinas City
783-4938; 871-0639 loc 172

University of Santo Tomas
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery
1008 Espana, Manila
732-3038; 741-5314

University of La Salle
College of Medicne
La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City
(034) 435-2582 (TF) 434-1063

University of the Philippines
College of Medicine
Health Sciences Center
547 Pedro Gil Street, 1004 Metro Manila
526-4171

http://www.upcm.ph/2007/admission.html

University of the Philippines
School of Health Science
6501 Palo, Leyte
(053) 321-3114

University of the Visayas
Gullas College of Medicine
Mandaue City
(032) 346-4224

Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation
College of Medicine
2420 San Carlos City, Pangasinan
(075) 995-5438

West Visayas State University
College of Medicine
5000 Iloilo City
(033) 320-0881

Xavier University
Dr. Jose P. Rizal College of Medicine
9000 Cagayan de Oro City
(08822) 858-3116 loc 1103/ 1104
(08822) 722-677 loc 1103/1104

Yay! I passed the November 2008 NLE

2009-02-20T14:07:00.009+08:00

Well the pic above says it all.

I really believe that it is God's blessing more than anything. To imagine that I am included in the small fraction who passed, out of the 86,000+ plus examinees, I cannot think of any other reason besides God's divine providence. I really thank the Lord for bestowing me this amazing blessing. Although I really intend to be a doctor, passing this board exam is not so much for me, as it is for my family. I raise this gift to the Almighty.

Post Script
I think it is a huge miracle that I topped the board. To everyone who has sent their congratulatory words, I am really grateful and I appreciate it very much. And congratulations too to the new Tamaraw Nurses! God has really been generous to us.

How stranger can dreams be?

2009-02-19T07:02:00.009+08:00

It was morning. I was walking through a coconut field. The sky was blue like a post card scenery. Towering and erect coconut trees, abundant with produce, line a dirt road. I was with a farmer. He was talking about how 'kerosene' can be derived from coconuts, but only of the fresh kind. He pointed to a cargo cable car rushing above our heads, full of old and browned coconuts. He says only Saudi can make kerosene from such kind.

Flicker.

I was suddenly inside a bedroom, with blue walls, and an unkempt bed. I was looking out through a wooden jalousie. There were two swimming pools, one is extremely large and rectangular, and the other was rather small and round. The larger was composed of two full sized rectangular pools, fused angularly on top of each other. The pool on top only had three walls, thus it was open. Only the round pool had water, though the larger pool was also damp from green moss. The two pools were situated right beside a dirt driveway, which opened from a road lined with coconuts. An unpainted guard house is situated on the left of the opening. I saw my brother swimming on the rounded pool with green moss floating on its surface. He was with a woman who refused to get into the water. They left after my brother had a short swim. Then I saw another couple. The man, who is about 24-27, had a football player built, but her girlfriend was rather petite. They were walking near the pool and wanted to have sex. Then my vision panned to the driveway, a couple of male elementary school kids was looking for someone, and they surveying the place through the open driveway. I was afraid that they would see the couple 'getting it on', though it seemed as if they didn't see anything. After the boys left, a bunch of church people decked with veils showed up on the driveway; they were looking around as if purposely trying to catch something. I saw some of them snort in annoyance, so I thought they might have seen the two. Then my line of sight moved back to the couple. They were torridly kissing, and this already annoyed the pious people. The group left. A green pickup truck drove up the driveway. The football guy answered the driver's queries through the guardhouse, which extremely annoyed her girlfriend. After the truck left, the woman was wailing and was threatening to leave. His boyfriend, almost with a pleading look, asked her if she really wanted to leave. Then as if from a scene from a pinoy X-rated movie, the woman touches the man's crotch and they go inside the guardhouse, finally doing what they wanted.

Flicker.

I see a former publication colleague walking through a school run by nuns. It had big square buildings placed next to each other, which resembled a prison compound. The walls were painted blue.

I was suddenly in a cafeteria inside one of the buildings. The place was rowdy, though I was not sure if there was a party. The cafeteria was on the highest floor, and if you looked out the large opening, which was only secured by a wire fence, you could see the sky, with the warm yellow sun spreading across the clouds. And I think I saw the coconut cable cargo.

I was bored. A guy approached me, wanting to start a conversation. I didn't pay much attention to him. Then by a sudden spark of insanity, I rode a swing beside my cafeteria table (alas there was suddenly a swing!). Then I hit someone on the next table, though I wasn't sure who it was.

***Hazy details

I was suddenly in a place I didn't recognize. I see my two former colleagues from the publication, the other one was the person I saw walking through the compound. She had bruises on her face, and it suddenly occurred to me that she might be the one I have hit. The three of us were walking, trying to look for the 'resort', which meant the place I was in before. We asked a guy how we could get there, and he directed us to walk through the cemetery. It was already darkening. The cemetery was lit by candles though, it was like November 1st. Feeling we were lost, we asked another man, this time an undertaker, to point us to where the resort is. He said it was in the far end of the cemetery, and we would have to take the makeshift stairs to get outside. I objected because I knew it would take us somewhere in Makati, but my two companions were seemingly convinced by the man's directions. On our way to the back, I caught sight of my Aunt's tomb, perched high above the other apartment style vaults. It was lighted by a yellow candle.

Outside the cemetery, we were suddenly in place which I reckon is Malate. There were two hotels situated in a curved uphill road. One is violet and the other was white. I then remembered that I already saw the violet hotel in one of my dreams, and it was dingy and dark. However, my two companions insisted that we choose the violet hotel because it was cheaper than the one beside it, which had a pool. We went inside, and ordered food to be brought up in our room. After which, we walked up the dimly lit stairs. The steps were covered with red velvet, which is dark from dirt and lack of cleaning. As we were on the second flight of stairs, the rooms suddenly spread out and the place was lit by a warm yellow light, which seem to have emanated from the yellow candles place beside the doors. I saw my elementary friends, and by some uncanny incident, they were also there to drink the night away. Out of disbelief, I repeatedly asked them if it was really them, then I proceeded to give each one a tight hug. I don't know what happened but by a flash, it occurred to me that the place was infested with ghosts, and I immediately realized that they were not really my friends. I was so afraid that I ran up the stairs again. I called out to my two companions, but they were running ahead of me, and they were engulfed by the pitch black darkness of the halls.

Then I was in my room. The sun is barely up. I was lying in my bed facing the wall. I thought: "finally I'm awake". I moved my body. However, each time I open my eyes, I am in the same spot. I tried larger movements, which lead me to fall from the bed twice. But each time I hear or feel a thud, I find myself on the bed, frozen on the same position. Out of fright, I heaved "God, I must be dead...", and then I woke up.

The interminable wait for the November 2008 NLE results

2009-02-17T13:33:00.005+08:00

Yes, I am one of the 80,000+ Nursing graduates who have taken the November 2008 Nursing Licensure, and who by this time, are probably bordering the point of torturous anxiety and paranoia.

But as to be expected, the results are still in tight wraps within the PRC/BON. Although considering the inflated number of board exam takers, plus the week long holidays last December, I think the lapsed time is pretty tolerable-- also taking into account how long it took them to check previous exams with much lesser examinees.

Some sites have posted that BON has started quarantine last February 8, and results are to be due in 10 days. If it it is to be believed, the results should be out by tomorrow. However, none of these sites have cited an official source, and the official BON site has not posted anything which corroborates the said information. So wait again it shall be.

As I have surfed these pages, I encountered a few (actually many) comments which by the looks of it, are probably from examinees who are on their wits end. Some wrote as if sending God a quick message, others tried incite rumors of irregularities, and the remainder bordered between funny and extremely worked up.

Here are some of the comments which I found interesting:

BARAK OBAMA says:
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:23am

Blessed are those who wait patiently!

(Wow a virtuous quote from the man himself?)

sheila Says:
February 15th, 2009 at 1:49 am

bumagsak sana kaung lhat

hoy shiela! Reply:
February 16th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

ang sama nman ng ugali mo masyado!!! tindi mo

(I wonder what the examinees will do if this woman shall stand in front of them and actually say this to their faces. ANGRY MOB! Haha--burning at the stake should be made legal again)

# izy Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 5:07 am

ilabas nyu na!!!! wag kayo maduga!! dinadaya pa ng mga taga PRC! di nyu controlado ang mga bagay bagay! di kayo dyos!! di nyu ba alam ang paghirap ng mga taong nagpa aral samin!!!! wala kaung awaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! di nyu ba alam ang panahong ginugol at pinagtyagaan namen para dito! lahat nag aral!! lahat nagpakahirap!!!

(Last time I checked BON is still composed of people :P)

Well I hope that many of the examinees really do pass. And I think I should stop thinking about it for the time being. :P

The inevitable valentines post

2009-02-14T22:04:00.008+08:00

(Unfortunately, the guest blogger I had commissioned had some immediate and important things to attend to, thus the inevitability of me writing this entry. :) Let's see if I'm equally qualified to do this Valentines post.)

Love Materialized

When I was High School and College, it has been a common sight during Valentines day to see a parade of brightly colored flowers, humongous and fluffy stuffed toys, and interestingly shaped balloons on campus grounds. Sweeps of women carrying large bouquets of flowers wrapped in strong shades of red and pink paper would be marching to their classes, carefully cradling the love presents in their arms, like holding fragile items of wilting value. Men would most of the time, be the equally proud bearers of such objects, because they either view it as a solid pronouncement of their affection, or it just shows how much moolah they can splurge on such fancies.

Seeing such a display every year has always had me cringing, if not completely repulsed. Aside from the fact that it was a constant reminder of my disappointing love life, or sometimes lack thereof, it is an utter parade of frivolity with people worrying themselves over soon to die flowers, soon to be chucked away stuffed toys, and soon to be deflated balloons. And have I received flowers on Valentines day? I did, and it did not feel as glorious other women portray it to be. (or I think the flowers weren't just as beautiful, haha)

Although I have this tendency to be a Grinch, I do think that people could do away from sending chocolates, flowers, and large fancy bears. Sure it is thoughtful to give your loved one something on Valentines day, but such gifts are also boringly usual, and not to say convenient, that it makes you wonder if much thought had really been put into them. Or it could probably be a last minute idea which could pass for sweet and kilig stirring.

Of course it is everybody's freedom to choose how they would like to display their sentiments of love and affection. Although it would be more interesting if people would deliver poignant lines of poetry or Aphrodite summoning verses to their significant others. Words, for all their limitations, have the capacity to endure time, even to the point of immortality, with their meanings still as vibrant and as reminiscent of its creator's amorous intentions.

Sweet sentimental lines may not cost as much as large teddy bears on Blue Magic, or huge bouquets on Bloomingdales, but their meaning is much more more depictive of a full heart trying to express the engulfing awe of love.

One week hiatus

2009-02-11T01:51:00.008+08:00

Dear Readers:

I would be temporarily retiring from all internet activities in order to study for the April 2009 NMAT. Well it's still far, but taking into account that it has math, I think I would be in for quite a lot of mind butchering.

Anyway, I have invited a guest blogger for Valentines--Feb 14. I am so excited to read his post, given his experiences on love and romance. (Don't react guest blogger!)

And I have installed a cbox, so leave a message if you feel like it. Also, if you want to have your blog linked, just type your blog address and I would add you as soon as I can. (Provided that you would also list aubreythinksthat on your blog. It isn't called link exchange for nothing :D)

I really love blogging. You could make yourself feel important, even though you really aren't. Haha.

The Magic of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2009-02-09T11:07:00.018+08:00

Blogs are very popular nowadays. Since its inception at the mainstream, it has been quite a hit among internet users, since it allowed many of us, novice and pro users alike to have an easy avenue of reaching a mass audience. There are probably thousands of blogs, or millions in the web today, each trying to establish a distinct niche or perhaps trying to attract users into reading its content.

Simply put, 'who wants to have a blog which nobody reads?'. Well there may be a few who creates blogs for personal consumption, but commonly people write blogs to get read, whether they churn out political, showbiz, techie or even highly personal content. Aside from popularity, having a high traffic blog/ site can generate you a modest income. And this is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.

Well I don't consider myself a pro blogger yet. Heck, my page still ranks low on Google web tools. But so far, I have noticed a stark difference in my web stats since I employed SEO practices. SEO is a set of methods to increase traffic in a web site/blog through placing higher in search engine results. If your site is popular and well optimized for search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN, it will likely come up in the first 20, or perhaps ten results, if a user searches something that is related to your content.

SEO, is an industry of its own. However, ordinary internet users (myself included) could also benefit from larger traffic volume (the plain thought of some person reading your blog is already glorious).

The graph above is a weekly summary of my web hits (page loads, unique visits, and returning visits). It isn't much compared to other web sites, but the difference that SEO makes is quite noticeable.

So here a few things I learned from other sites which helped me get the ball rolling: (SEO tactics and others)

1. Redesign/Reorganize your blog. I think it is important to have a blog that is easy on the eyes and leaves a lasting impression on its visitors. I downloaded a customized layout and tweaked it here and there so that it does not appear as a typical run off the mill web log. There are many sites out there which offer free customized layouts. Colors are also quite important. As an internet surfer, nothing makes me want to click that close button than a page running orange text in a hot pink background.

And go easy on the glittery, moving graphics. It's annoying.

2. Focus on a common theme. I am no celebrity, with that in mind, not a lot of people would be interested in my menial and mundane activities. Unless you are writing a blog for your friends to read, it would be a good idea to have a singular theme (which is not all about your life) to tie up all your posts and entries. I have chosen to write about my journey towards becoming a doctor. And believe me it works. About half of all my web hits come from people who searched for keywords such as 'NMAT', 'FEU medicine' and other med school names. Also it would make your site a go to blog for your specific theme.

Most importantly, write quality posts. People visit a site/blog for content, not for keywords.

3. SEO SEO SEO. Well SEO tactics are quite a lot. So I would focus on the ones I have utilized thus far. You can search for tutorials on the internet to learn how to do the following.

a. Have Google/Yahoo and others index your page. (Meaning let search engines find your blog)

* Title your blog entries to reflect on its topic; so that when a user searches for something, your site pops up. Don't use 'mysterious' entry titles, unless you want your entry to be put in oblivion.

Also, try to keep the text title of your blog. While it may be tempting to totally replace it with graphics, search engines cannot detect text within images, so it would be more of a disadvantage if you choose to remove your text title altogether.

* Go easy on the tags. Google crawlers are programmed not to follow your tags, so no matter how accurately you label you posts, it would do nothing to help your blog. I think it would be better to use your tags as categories to organize your entries in a way that a visitor can navigate your site easily.

b. Put meta descriptors in your blog (Describe to search engines what your blog is all about)

c. Use a hit counting app so that you can monitor how much progress you've made. I use Statcounter, and it has worked well for me. It lets you see what keywords brought your visitors to your site, recent page load activity and recent visitor activity, among others.

d. Have other blogs link to yours. Or you can also link your blog from your social network profiles.

e. There are still other SEO practices which I have not used, so read about them.

Lastly, be patient. As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day. So after you're done with all the SEO and blog improvement stuff possible, focus on building your content. I think my blog is quite far from ranking 'medium' on Google, but I think reaching that 500 hundred thousandth hit is not an impossibility in the near future.

Interview for Med application at FEU NRMF

2009-02-08T14:35:00.008+08:00

My interview at FEU-NRMF today went well. It was candid actually. Good thing I didn't fret much over it.

My advice for future med applicants at FEU: don't sweat it. The interview is only 20% of the criteria for admission. (Click here for the 2009 admissions criteria) The largest chunk would still come from your undergraduate course.

The pre interview (aka orientation) pretty much covered what could be expected from the interview. It will be done in batches of four, with two interviewers (well we had two) who will basically ask each one of you the same question. And they do have a grading tool which scores areas like personality, communication, motivation and insight to medicine. The interviewers, I believe, are faculty members.

The questions are pretty basic (Describe yourself, what made you decide to go into med, how do you see yourself five years from now). I had a great time with the interview because our panel was nice (and I think the NRMF faculty is generally amiable). It felt more of a healthy conversation than a mind wrenching Q&A. They would even let you ask questions after.

One thing that embedded itself on my brain though is a quip by one of the interviewers. Well the question was how we see ourselves in ten years. So the answers pretty much clung on our chosen field of specialty. I told them I wanted to be a surgeon, because I deem it to be more challenging than other specialties. One of the interviewers then said that surgery could possibly be the least challenging of all the specialties, since you practically open the patient up and cut what needs to be cut (Note that this was said in a humorous tone). He even mentioned a running joke that not-so-intelligent doctors go to surgery because what you need to do is already spelled out, and that surgeons are medicine's plain butchers. He told us internists have it best because their job of diagnosing is mind-boggling. :D

It made me ask myself why I want to be a surgeon though. As of now I really don't know. Or probably because I figured that I might as well involve my non-squeamish personality into something useful. Well, I think should finish med school first before I think of such things.

Related Post:
Medicine at FEU-NRMF

Lily Allen- The Fear

2009-02-06T23:08:00.006+08:00

The Fear is the new single from Lily Allen's current album It's not me, It's You. It's a sarcastic song about how we are consumed by all our worldly preoccupations. Her songs have always been playfully constructed, but this takes the cake for substance.

BTW, watch her video of Alfie, it will crack you up.

Review: Waiting by Ha Jin

2009-02-05T18:44:00.009+08:00

Waiting is a love story set in socialist China around the 1960s to 80s, about a military doctor, Lin Kong, and his lover, Manna Wu, a spinster nurse who has grown old in waiting for Lin Kong to divorce his wife in the country for 17 years.

The novel has been the shortest read I had in quite a while, practically finishing it within five hours. Its story is quite uncomplicated, which does not veer off much from the main plot of the two lovers trying to survive their illicit romance within the bounds of stifling bureaucracy. Lin Kong was bound in a loveless marriage, with his wife chosen for him by his dying mother. And although a dutiful wife, Shuyu never earned the love of the military doctor, for her aged look and bound feet did not make a her presentable wife to society.

Manna Wu and Lin Kong's love blossomed out of the void which each one of them possessed, the latter from a loveless marriage, and the former from abandonment of a cherished lover. The predicaments surrounding their relationship served as a cutting tool--shaping both the characters and the novel itself. Both employed in a military hospital, Manna Wu and Lin Kong never had the chance to consummate their love, as being caught almost equaled to being banished to a far flung province.

As the two waited in vain for Lin Kong to be finally granted a divorce, their love was confined to casual interactions, as the slightest touch hanged like a Damocles sword above their heads. Quite ironically, everybody in the hospital identified them as a couple, only without the liberating shroud of a wedding.

After 18 years of waiting, the final bolt to their romance is unfastened, thus running the gears of the strongest part of the story.

Waiting is an insightful novel to the deceptive nature of human passion. At the latter part of the novel, Ha Jin deconstructs the foundations which fueled Lin Kong in his pursuit of the object which he cannot have. Jin effectively portrays that sometimes, only the chase makes a person yearn for something out of his grasp, and the things that he does have more oftentimes morph into under appreciated possessions.

The words in the books are quite easy to understand. Although it is deplete of the usual divine, richly concocted description of the characters' situations and obstacles, it nevertheless succeeds in painting the internal struggles of its protagonist. Even Manna Wu, which seemed unbelievably unmoved by years of failed promises, was a great canvas for depicting how time could daze even our most ardent desires.

However, I found the novel quite simplistic. Quite simplistic in fact, that I don't think I enjoyed it. It's a good read though, but not something I would devour over and over again.

Rating: Lukewarm

High School Prom

2009-02-04T19:30:00.006+08:00

Around this time of year, schools will probably be on their toes preparing for the Junior Senior Prom. Girly teen magazines will be brandishing teasers like 'Look Spectacular on your Prom Night!' in gleaming bright letters, framing a Photoshop perfect photo of a tween celebrity. Just a few days ago I saw an article in the Inquirer advising high schoolers on the do's and dont's for this once-in-a-lifetime occasion (yeah right). It made me reminiscent of my own uneventful, yet cringe inducing prom nights.

My mother and I bought a shimmery blue-violet spaghetti strap dress for my Junior year. Despite its 3K price tag, it screamed more of a good ukay find, than a pricey designer dress. The neighborhood parlor gay succeeded in making my make up as cakey as possible, which is proven by the thumb print left on my forehead after he made last minute touch ups. My hair was put in a odd looking bun which resembled a siopao skewed on top of my head. All in all I resembled a matrona decked for a ballroom night out.

I couldn't remember much of the party itself. Most of my memory is in hazy detail obscured by flashes of bright lights bouncing off in a huge darkened hall. Although like most of those who attended, my friends and I enjoyed ourselves with dancing, which was halted when romantic melodies brought lovers to the dance floor.

My spirits remained energized until after I was home in the wee hours of the morning. My thoughts perched on a mountain of grandiosity. Although I was stricken by the images of those who looked absolutely gorgeous that night--my self depreciation hitting major points at my ego. It was neither an affair to remember or a memory to mock on a ground. It made me happy for a time, but also quite ridiculous after.

My 'costume' for the Senior prom was a league beyond what I wore for the junior's night (by nerdo standards that is). I remember the ladies wearing dresses of incredibly low necklines and butt cheek peeking cuts, which obviously didn't make the night easy for then. All of the guys were wearing crisp suits, most of them in dark hues, with a two or so wearing white. Identical dresses created created a major issue, with friends convincing the supposed 'original wearer' that she wore it better. It's a laugh fest really. During the dance, I recall my high school adviser forcing my male classmates to partner up with the women, almost turning it into a cotillion. Its something you wish you could enjoy, but cannot help but be delighted upon it consummation.

My high school prom nights would probably be not on the list of those events I would wish to repeat. Aside from my belief that High School is an arena of bullish predicaments, the prom would be an embodiment of adolescent frivolity and feigned enjoyment. Although it could probably be from my low self-esteem back then (or lack thereof) that made it more of a macabre feast than a glitzy spectacle. Well another one of those repugnant memories you would wish to stifle.

What's your prom night story?

Why did my writing suddenly turned sentimental and memoir-ish? I need to learn how to write lightly.

Latest Obsession: Gina Catalino

2009-02-03T10:18:00.003+08:00

I first heard of her music in one of the episodes of the L Word. It's one of those moments where you become irked because you cannot sing past a line from a song and substitute the remaining parts with lalalas. Her songs are equally refreshing and mild, yet evoking just the right amount of sentimentality to appropriately bring form to its expressive lyrics. Catalino's voice is far cry from the usual ear straining vocals; it's unpretentious, pure and mesmerizingly soothing--which does not fail to satisfy even if you listen to her for hours on end.

You can hear more of her at her MySpace profile

After I save up, I will be making my first online purchase, which will be her album, Swept in Sound.

Medicine at FEU-NRMF

2009-02-02T19:12:00.011+08:00

I guess my medical education journey officially begun last Wednesday. Well here are a few things I learned at the med admission pre interview.

a. FEU's curriculum is still traditional. Unlike other medical schools who have employed the problem based curriculum, FEU has retained the use of a traditional curriculum which largely rely on day to day lectures. From what I understand, problem based learning focuses on clinical situations/scenarios which serve as the foci of discussion. Lessons related to the problem are concurrently tackled, in contrast to moving from one subject to another in a traditional set up. Its emphasis is more on self study (independent learning). According to the speaker last Wednesday, FEU's curriculum can be more accurately described as a hybrid of traditional and problem based since they utilize lecture-interactives rather than pure lectures. Here is an article assessing the use of a problem based curriculum in the Philippines.

b. The GWA highly determines admission. In FEU's admission criteria, 70% is given to General Weighted Average (GWA from Pre Med course), 20% for NMAT, and 10% for the interview. The computed GWA is only from requisite subjects that FEU has set (also based on CHED Order No. 6, s. 1996).

According to one of the speakers, they found out from their researches that the NMAT score has no correlation with a student's performance in med school. One person from the audience then appropriately questioned why it was still required, if getting a high score in this exam does not denote an above par performance in school. Well they responded that there are years where there is a correlation and there are years where there is none, so they just lowered the NMAT percentage to address the inconsistency in the pattern.

According to the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM), NMAT has been mandated by the Medical Act of 1959 as a requirement for admission starting 1986.

c. Yes, they do consider the school where you came from. Aside from the admission criteria, FEU also considers an applicant's pre med course and the school where he or she came from. They reasoned that the pre med school is also assessed because some schools are 'high-graders' while others are 'low graders', thus affecting a student's GWA.

I completely understand the pre med part; however, evaluating whether a school is a 'high grader' or not is quite questionable for me. I guess I should have asked how they determine whether a certain school is a generous giver or not. Well that would be my next assignment.

I am really hoping that I get accepted at FEU (and no, I haven't applied at any other med school). Aside from having a good long-standing reputation, their tuition is also comparably lower than others. And they do have great facilities, which I saw when they toured us around the campus. (I am not selling my future school too much, am I?).

FEU would be accepting a second batch of applications on February. You could apply, even if you don't have your NMAT. Just make sure to take it on April. CEM has recently posted the schedule for the April 2009 NMAT.

Well med school, here I come! :D

Related Posts:
Being a doctor in a nutshell
To be or not to be a doctor

Paradox of Self- Assessment

2009-02-01T13:37:00.005+08:00

Isn't it mind-boggling that most people describe themselves as 'deep' and believe that they have a vast aggregate of thoughts and ideas which others see as profound-- even if people around them actually see them as blunt, or perhaps not so much out of the ordinary. Usually I chance upon these kinds of self description in social networks, with some person characterizing himself/herself as 'malalim', deeper than what he appears to be, quite difficult to fully gauge or understand and so on. I seldom think that people do that out of a self-inflated ego, but rather an honest assessment of the self.

I have no intentions of bashing people who do see themselves as profound or 'deep'. I am more intrigued with why many of us find shelter in the thought that something, perhaps unfathomable, exists in the superficial. It is possible that such descriptions only stemmed from the context of social networks, which is to present yourself to people who knows and do not know you. Of course, to people who do not know you, you will initially have this air of mystery, which may constitute a meaning of profoundness.

Generally speaking though, not fully knowing a person is a dense reason to automatically attribute 'deepness' to him/her. While there may be no solid measure by which we could judge whether a person is profound or not, it is often painted as being in touch with meaningful things or ideas which the usual person cannot appreciate, or even think about in the first place. Seeing a person as 'malalim' is very subjective, since no one of us has the same experiences or background. What may appear usual to one person may have an entirely different meaning to another. So what counts then?

I think the belief that we are actually smarter, more complex, than others perceive us is naturally enticing. Many people would not like to believe they are dumb as rocks or describe themselves as such. While our own self-evaluation may not always meet with those of others, it will always be a natural tendency to be perplexed of our own thoughts. Thus, we create a microcosm where even our thoughts appear profound to us.

Many of us will see varying levels of profoundness in other people. After all, we do not share the same brain, and a person's exclusive thoughts may appear deep to himself just because it is within the confines of his thinking, even though others might see it as simplistic should he/she voice it out.

How about you? Are you a 'deep' person?

Must watch twelve minute film

2009-01-30T10:12:00.004+08:00

I am reposting a recent entry from Chico Garcia's blog. It's a link to short film entitled SIGNS at the Schwepps Short Film Festival. (CLICK HERE). I cannot describe how beautiful, and out of the box, this film is. You must watch it. REALLY.

Click the British Flag for English instructions.

Morning walks at Recto

2009-01-30T02:54:00.009+08:00

There is something with the cool air blowing on my window which reminded me of walking along the streets of Recto at 5:30 in the morning. Wide eyed from a cold morning bath, I walked its tiled pathwalk, to meet the early morning call time for our community exposure in Cavite. Without the usual hubbub of students, vendors, and other street wanderers, this street, for a moment, actually feels different, and looks different. Instead of the usual throngs of people, garbage lines the pavement, and instead of the usual buzz, silence rings. For a moment, at five in the morning, Recto does not feel like Recto.

Unlike walking the same street at 5 in the afternoon, in the wee hours of the morning, you could actually see the street from end to end-- the entire stretch of the bathroom tiled pavement. No person to bump into, no need to halt your steps for giggly-walking-under-the-moonlight-kolehiyalas, no nothing. Just a long hollow path. The walk feels longer though, and paranoia could be at its most intense. As an Inquirer columnist has put it, fantasy wrecks havoc on the mind. And imagining a crook hiding behind the shadows, preparing for a movie style goon entrance, is indeed more haunting than being blissfully unaware of sitting next to a holdaper.

Sleeping street dwellers punctuate the monotony of abounding space. It's not a feast for the eyes though, as the only thing to see besides them is the light from the lamp posts, illuminating wide spaces, and casting darker shadows at the corners.

Probably the only thing to hear at 5am is the occasional screeching and speeding cars. No one can blame them for savoring the open streets though--considering how these streets is never empty in the day.

I think it is interesting to walk at Recto when it is not in its usual state. It makes you feel that it is open to possibilities, like an old man ready to learn new things, and a married woman reading Madame Bovary. It makes you realize that even an entity so indelibly stamped with its peculiar characteristics could allow you to see a different side to it. And it only takes the right timing, and opportunity to see it.

Interesting article on Philippine Medical education

2009-01-29T12:30:00.004+08:00

Brain Shrink: The Crisis in Medical Education

*&a!dj The benefits correct typing

2009-01-28T18:18:00.009+08:00

I have always marveled at people who typed swiftly; even more so if their ten fingers were doing the job.

Admit it. You're one of those people who burdened their four fingers (which by human dexterity would mean your left and right index and middle fingers) with typing. I know I have. Well for us 'untrained' typists, the more important thing is to accomplish the job, which is to churn out keyboard characters on the screen, and not bother with the difficult rudiments of dealing with the keyboard. I know I wouldn't like to be bothered. Not especially if I am writing.

However, I think that correct typing is a life skill which many of us apparently neglect. Especially in this day and age of computers, which the use of a keyboard shall not fade anytime soon, we are facing a lifetime of challenging our four fingers to do the job which was made for all our ten fingers to accomplish. Typing is not something we could do away with, especially for students, office workers, call center agents and the like. And so, improving our typing technique would not only be beneficial for us, but also for our work, and even for school.

In my former job (yes I only had one), I was really amazed at how my boss effortlessly swept the keyboard with all her fingers and spewed characters on the screen. I'm not sure of her typing rate, but I'm confident that it would be in the hundreds. And she was a blind typist too. She could type correctly without even looking at the keyboard, or even the screen. I was amazed by her skill that the question I had after she discussed something about work, was how she learned to type like that. She told me that she used to work for a paging company (remember pagers?) and that is where she got the hang of the keyboard.

The product is as important as the technique. I believe that her former work was not entirely the reason why she developed a skill such as hers. The correct technique would account for the chunk of it. And that is where practice and learning comes in.

We all know that hard habits die hard. I bet that most of us have learned our way through the keyboard without typing tutors and the like. While it may be difficult to modify the way we type (yes after establishing a feat of 150wpm with just four fingers!), it would certainly yield a lot of positives if we decide to reprogram our fingers into letting the other six join the crowd. It is making full use of our 'resources', and thus transforming ourselves to mean efficient machines. (oh yeah)

You don't exactly need to purchase a typing software to relearn how to work the keyboard. If you have a good internet connection, there are a lot of sites out there which only require you to register and you're good to go. Most of them I believe use a progressive scheme to help you move through mastering the home keys and so on. The site I am using is GoodTyping.So far it has helped me get the hang of asfdf and jkl;. Not too bad for someone who consistently failed to use her pinkie.:D

What is SocialVibe? And why join it?

2009-01-27T20:22:00.008+08:00

How many views does your friendster profile get in a day? What if every time your friends view your friendster profile, you earn points which corporate giants like Apple, Adobe and the like, convert into monetary donations for the hungry children of Africa?

This is how SocialVibe works.

I am not really fond of social networks. I find it a convenient excuse to make yourself busy, and yet, accomplish very little in the end. I had a Friendster account before, which I eventually deleted because it is a deceptive way of 'doing something', especially when I have more important things to accomplish. However, I recently signed up again because of this newfound benefit SocialVibe has opened up.

SocialVibe's concept is simple and genius. Upon joining it, you would be asked to choose a sponsor (corporations and brands) and a cause/charity. A cause is a collective term for the charities working under a common umbrella. As a member, you earn points which your sponsor shall convert to monetary donations for your chosen charity. The are varied ways of earning points, one of which is displaying your sponsor badge. It pretty basic actually. You display your badge in your social networking site/s or blog (like the ones in here), and every time someone views your page, it automatically earns points for you. It's like advertising a certain brand, and having the money go to charity.

There are many different causes and charity which you can support. And there are also a lot of brands which you can choose to advertise.

How good it is to be able to make donations without even having to shell out a single cent? Make Friendster, Facebook, Multiply and your other networking sites work for you, and the causes you believe in.

I would highly appreciate it if you help me earn points for the World Food Program, please click here: JOIN SOCIAL VIBE

PS I'm no PR agent for SocialVibe. I'm only one of its users who hope to effect change in means available to me.

Bust a groove nostalgia

2009-01-24T16:05:00.010+08:00

I remember playing Bust-a-groove on PS1 when was around 12 or 13. This is probably one of the few games (if there is anything in comparison) that I could intimidate pro gamers on playing. Ask me to play this game, and you would never see me face away from the screen until six hours later. I unlocked special levels and unleashed hidden characters . But apart from its great gameplay, it featured original music which made LSS (last song syndrome) seem like a full blown disease.

Here is one of my favorite songs in the game (Hiro's Lair):

Something about this game makes me want to be 13 again. Well you never realize how much you had it good when you were a kid until you get jaded from the complexities of adult existence. I wish they release a fourth installment on Wii.

Message me if you loved this game too!

Entertain yourself: Translate your blog

2009-01-22T00:22:00.006+08:00

I have actually been doing this for a couple of times now, just for self-amusement. Try translating your blog too, it would be hilarious.

Here are some lines from my blog which I found equally funny and mind boggling:

It is perplexing how my ideas and aspirations of becoming a great doctor is caught in a growing haze,

Ito ay nakalilito kung paano ang aking mga ideya at aspirations ng pagiging isang magaling na doktor ay nahuli sa isang lumalagong aso,

I am not confrontational, and lest I appear as maniacal creep, I avoid causing a 'scene'.

Hindi ako confrontational, at baka ako lalabas bilang maniacal kilabot, ako maiwasan ang nagiging sanhi ng isang 'pinangyarihan'.

My father is known as the village firecracker daddy

Ang aking ama ay kilala bilang ang village rebentador itay

Well sometimes it hits the spot:

With their absolutely smooth covers and clean pages, which wafts a peculiar smell of novelty unto my nose-- it makes me completely entrenched in happiness.

Sa pamamagitan ng kanilang mga absolutely makinis na sakop at malinis na pahina, na kung saan wafts ng isang katangi-tangi amoy ng bagong bagay unto aking ilong - ito ay gumagawa ako ng lubos na nakabaon sa kaligayahan.

Project 365: Santa is a hoax

Project 365: Santa ay isang panlililinlang

I will add more once I find the funny ones.

Latin Honors? Nah

2009-01-20T19:49:00.006+08:00

From the time I entered college, I have never thought of the possibility of being awarded a latin honor (summa, magna or cum laude). Call me a lousy dreamer with no laudable goal in life, but I didn't see myself worthy enough to have such a distinction. I only became curious of such possibility when the honor buzz came rushing in during the last months of school. It really didn't surprise me that much when my name was not on the list. Although, I cannot believe some of the people who did qualify (maybe hard work REALLY counts).

Yesterday, I picked up the required documents for medical school, and for the first time, I laid my eyes on my General Weighted Average (GWA). Lo and behold, the perfect example of the phrase 'So near and yet so far' hit my head like a bullet landing dead center-- it was 1.80. The required GWA to qualify for Cum Laude in FEU is 1.75.

Good thing I didn't bother to see my GWA right after the school year. I would have probably sulked and dwelled on the thought of the .05 difference. At least the possibilities of such are distant to me now as they were six months ago. No chance for melancholic 'what ifs' and depressive fits. I actually don't feel regretful or sad. It was more of like 'ah, okay, akalain mo yun'. I don't need titles to prove what I am worth and what I could actually do. It is more pitiful for people to lean on such accolades and fall short of expectations; leading others to question their competence entirely. Being the 'ordinary person' gives you the elbow room to improve at your own pace--a crisp contrast to being continuously pinned to ridiculously high standards.

Well I'm going back to school again. Who knows I might meet the bar this time.

Updates, Menial Preoccupation, and Aimless Trail of Thought

2009-01-19T17:23:00.005+08:00

UPDATE: I am halfway with modifying the layout of my blog. I would just have to create a banner--which will largely define this transition and will immensely challenge my skills, if not dampen my ego.

I have just submitted my application for medical school. It is perplexing how my ideas and aspirations of becoming a great doctor is caught in a growing haze, the nearer I get to making it as material and tangible as possible. I would love to shut out complexity, and competing choices. Understanding and discernment are escaping me like water dripping from my cupped hands. I wish I had that solid vision, with which I could fully channel my energies, free from doubts, other preoccupations and desire for any other thing. I need validation.

People who cut in line are jerks

2009-01-14T18:44:00.010+08:00

People who cut in line really make my blood boil. It's a violent, brimming rage that threaten to cut me off from all forms of social decency. I am not confrontational, and lest I appear as maniacal creep, I avoid causing a 'scene'. But sometimes, people's arrogant disregard for simple courteousness is so blatant, so vulgar, and so obscene, it fills me with disgust and fury.

Why do people cut in line? Is it always out of urgent necessity? I could only think of one acceptable reason why anyone should be allowed to cut in line, that is, if they cannot hold it in any longer and they would make quite a mess of themselves if they should be forced to temper their guts. Now that would be understandable. But if any living, breathing entity, capable of standing in line just like anyone else, would use their slick ways to get themselves ahead of some people, for that feeling of victory or superiority, then might as well compare them to dogs who rush first for a morsel of bread on the ground.

This morning in COMELEC, I was both astounded and furious with a 40 something woman who turned a nonchalant conversation with two women ahead of me as ticket to place herself next to them (Note: They don't know her). Unfortunately, I was behind those women. So as not to cause a major fuss over it, I let it drop, but not without conjuring some violent and gory means of revenge in my head.

Okay, so it appears I'm a sore loser who can stand up for herself. Well in a number of aspects yes. I decided that I must not make an uncomfortable scene which everybody shall devour in their idle gossip. Plus, I'd appear an even more sore loser if we fought like hell over a place in the line. So I just let it slide--while fuming mad in my innards.

It is a sin to rejoice over the plight of others. But let's just say that what she did had been useless for her in the end (Oh sweetest revenge!)

Cutting in line is greed in its most barest sense. An irreverence for the rights of others. The problem is some people want to get ahead of others not considering what it would feel if they should exchange places with the people they violate. Is it really that hard for some to imagine themselves in the place of others? Is respect and justice just extraordinary virtues which seldom punctuate inequality and trampling of rights?

I really do hope that this not become common practice with a lot of people. I do make an effort to be amicable others, especially those I do not know. But nice people can only tolerate so much. There's a tipping point for everyone.

Would you cut in line if the opportunity presented itself?

Being a doctor in a nutshell

2009-01-09T19:28:00.008+08:00

I'm guessing this post would be helpful to a lot of aspiring doctors in the Philippines. If you are contemplating of going into med school, here are a few stuff you need to know: (Note that I am a prospective med student myself, and these information are what I have gathered first hand--thus far that is)

A. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN
This would be the most important pointer I could give anyone. Signing up for med school ambivalent is no gift to your parents or to yourself. ONLY fill out that application once you are absolutely sure that you want to study for another five years (after finishing up you pre med), and endure the rigorous education and training required of a doctor. It is no secret that med education in the Philippines dehydrates pockets, wallets, bank accounts and piggy banks.

B. RESEARCH
Most of the data I know came from researching, reading forums, and more reading. As I have I said before, it is better to go through this head on, than half blind. Know what you are getting yourself into. Doctors in the Philippines do not really earn gazillions in one sitting. Why would a lot of them study Nursing instead? Some even say that being a doctor is almost an act of charity. Know the real face of medicine in the Philippines, then decide with outmost rationality.

The website I have found most helpful would be:
Pinoy MD (Read their forums)

C. BE PREPARED
Medicine is not just a course you apply for then play handy dandy afterward. Unless you are intelligent enough to get into INTARMED (UP's Medicine program which shortens the normal length of med education by two years), then you must know that to enter medicine, you must pass the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) after finishing your pre med course of four years. Most reputable med schools require a cut off percentile--which many place at 90. Thus you cannot just be accepted immediately. Also, a lot schools place importance on your grades. A hefty load of singkos won't bid well for you.

The NMAT is given every April and December. So if you really want to get a headstart, take it around April (of the preceeding year you are planning to enroll). Also most med schools stop accepting applications by January. If you are procrastinating like me, you can try FEU-NRMF and ST. LUKE'S, since they are the only ones who accept 'to follow' NMAT results. Note however that your application would be second priority since you would be handing in you result late (I will be taking my NMAT this April--same year I am trying to apply). You must still hand all the requirements by January though, to ensure that you will be slated for the upcoming school year. UP College of Medicine only accepts NMAT results one year from the upcoming school year. Which means that if you are graduating, you must have taken it in your third year.

See this website for the NMAT: Center for Educational Measurement

MED SCHOOLS in MANILA:
UP College of Medicine
FEU Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation
St. Luke's College of Medicine- William H. Quasha
UE Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center
Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Santo Tomas
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Medicine
Perpetual Help College of Medicine
(**Please tell me if the links are broken)

These are what I have gathered in my prelude journey to med school. I would add more info once I become a bona fide med student. Wish me luck on this 'healing' path I have chosen.

Related post:
To be or not to be a doctor

Finally going to medical school

2009-01-06T22:24:00.006+08:00

(I don't and can't write conversational. If you read my work, it would always seem as if it was taken from a textbook. Now I would like to experiment and let my thoughts flow unhindered, let's see what would come out of it.)

After quite a lot of time thinking, I have finally decided to pursue medicine. Although it took me almost six months to be sure, I guess the time has been well devoted. It is better to confront something head on, than half-blind. Sure it would be tough, and it doesn't earn as much as it is hyped to be, but heck, I want to help cure people. I feel this is my life's calling. If I couldn't at the least bit imagine myself as a nurse, at least I could see myself as a doctor.

I stopped on project 365. Writing for the sake of writing doesn't appeal much to me. It may be a good avenue for practice, but it doesn't do much but render my mind jaded. I think it would be better to just to write when I feel like writing. It's a vent for me anyway, I wouldn't want to force it on myself.

What else could I write about? Ahh. Frustrations. It seems that many people have taken the liberty of writing an entry about how their 2008 went. It's a seducing thought. But I am not particularly enticed. I'm guessing I would fill it with whining about how miserable the past year was, recounting unfortunate incidents I wish hadn't happened. I don't want to do it. I have no interest in wallowing with the past.

I have decided to remain single for a while. Coming from two failed relationships, I have realized that the glimmer and euphoria of new love quickly vanishes. After which, you'd practically find other ways to fill the void that sucks the life out of you. It could sometimes lead you to compromise yourself, or perhaps, live with an agony that cannot be soothe by any romantic balm. I feel that I am not fully ready to engage in a committed relationship. I require too much, and give much less in comparison. I do judge myself as selfish at times. I intend to be serious when I learn that I am not the only person in the world who deserves to be loved.

This post has again become a hodge podge of unrelated thoughts. Well, here it is for free flowing and conversational.

God's amazing powers

2009-01-02T02:49:00.002+08:00

Sometimes it is amazing how God can work his wonders in our lives.

A couple of days ago, I added a Nintendo Wii on my Christmas wishlist. After I read how Wii fit (an accessory of Nintendo Wii) is effective in burning up calories without imposing the 'working out' feel, I knew that it might help me start getting in shape. For the longest time, I have wanted to start working out, but I felt that starting on a work out regimen would be a little awkward since no one in our family is really into exercise. So I concluded that a Wii Fit would be a good alternative.

After I researched how much a Nintendo Wii costs, I got put off by how expensive it was. I imagine my father coming out with all sorts of reasons not to buy us a Wii, even though we can afford it, just because it is too pricey for a game console. From experience, we have asked him several times to buy us a Sony PSP, but he always concludes that getting one would be disruptive to our lives and studies. Comparing the price tag of a Sony PSP versus a WIi, I was certain that I should shelve the idea of ever getting a Nintendo.

On our way home from a New Year party at my Lola's house, my baby brother kept asking our parents to stop by a mall so that they could buy him a new electric fan (his fan finally gave out yesterday). It was very irritating because he would blabber much every time we pass by any establishment which looked like a mall, so my parents finally decided to stop by SM Hypermart.

While they were busy picking out an electric fan, I happened to see a Nintendo Wii displayed in the Toy section. I stared at it for about three minutes, and then walked about, convinced that merely suggesting to buy one would result in failure. As I was walking, I muttered to my self out of frustration, "Lord, if ever I pray to you, would it happen? Imposible siguro yun nuh".

After purchasing the fan, my family aimlessly walked around the supermarket. After a few minutes, I noticed my father to be going the direction of the gleaming display of game consoles. So I walked near the glass display again, hoping he would notice what I was staring at. As he was walking near, he asked, "Ano yan?" (Insert smiley here). I replied, "Nintendo Wii". "Ano ba yan, bago ba yan?" he said. "Opo, (starting on the sales talk) maganda yan kasi hindi ka na nakaupo lang sa controller, ikaw mismo yung gagalaw" I said hoping to get him an insy bit interested. "Talaga? Hm..." After a few minutes of convincing, my father approached my mother and said "Ma, Wii daw sila". (Take not that this is a very odd circumstance since my father would usually dismiss the idea of getting a game console right off the bat). Right then my grandmother approached us, inquiring what we were doing. Fortunately she got a hand of playing a Wii while she was on the States, eventually convincing my father that it was indeed a neat piece of equipment.

After all the sweet talk, my father eventually gave in. (We let him play the demo to make it more appealing). I cannot believe that he actually bought a Wii for us. I think the alcohol in his system quite helped, but I believe it was more of God's divine providence. To think that the idea of buying a PSP was always rejected because it was expensive-- here we are now, being bought a console which was almost thrice the price of the portable gadget. Had any of the circumstance went any other way, I think it would not have happened. I am just so amazed at how God could make things happen with the tick of the clock, a blink of an eye, or even a split of a second. I never thought it would be possible. Much the same as God could give us our heart's desire, he could also take away anything faster than we could even realize.

I feel guilty because I doubted God's ability to grant me the thing I want. It might seem superficial that I am attributing this to something as material as a Nintendo Wii. However, I think the deeper meaning of this is that God can really make things happen. He really does hear the things we say. It was like a sudden jolt to me that right after I questioned God's ability let me have something, he replied with putting it on my hands. I am really sorry if I doubted His immense powers. This is after all, just an object. There is nothing impossible with Him, even the almost impossible things we aspire for, just as long as he wills it to be. All the things I possess are from Him. To God be the Glory. Amen!

The NEW YEAR post

2008-12-31T23:06:00.010+08:00

My father is known as the village firecracker daddy. Every new year's eve people would round up near our street and watch the lengthy 'sawa' being rolled out into a 150 meter explosive. My father's staple firecracker would serve as the night's celebration finale.

As we were walking from church a while ago, a neighbor jested "Oy, iniintay na namin yung paputok mo." My father, proud as he was with his legacy in the subdivision happily replied, "Oo mamaya". He was so psyched that he asked my brother and I three times if people were indeed waiting for his ultimate performance for the night (yeah, as if people have nothing better to do).

Anyway, I thought it would be more amusing if instead of letting the sawa vibrate our eardrums to its enduring limit, we line up wads of cash in the street and burn it. I'm imagining our neighbors to be both bewildered and surprised by the stunt. I'm sure tongues would go waddling after about how we could even think of pulling something like that.

Well isn't that the element of surprise? After all, it's pretty much the same thing we do year after year. Burn money for the fleeting moment of euphoria--create a make believe period of excitement for the approaching year, as if anything would change if we reduce bad spirits to deaf entities.

I am not totally against the use of firecrackers. I understand the symbolic importance of such things, but everything should run in moderation. Seeing my father's arsenal of fireworks is like literally imagining money go up in smoke. I would rather welcome the year seeing the money put food in the mouths of street dwellers than see colorful explosions of feigned happiness.

I would hate to close this year in an irritated tone. After all, this has been a good blogging year. =) Well, WELCOME 2009! And may we all have a good year ahead.

Books and Reading

2008-12-27T20:49:00.007+08:00

I went home from the mall thinking how I would start this entry. (That's how excited I am)

I often said that If I had a lot of money, I would buy books.
I got 1,500 for Christmas, And I splurged it all.

The euphoria running through my veins is just enlivening. It mimics the feeling of being high on booze, where your thoughts run so fast and unhindered. I have lent myself to the command of my most guilty pleasure. Books.

I cannot explain how extremely jolting it is to be able to purchase books which you have long stared at from the shelves. I absolutely feel no guilt that I spent all my money on these treasures. With their absolutely smooth covers and clean pages, which wafts a peculiar smell of novelty unto my nose-- it makes me completely entrenched in happiness.

I bought four titles, each of distinct interest to me.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
I bought this one because of Cherry, a former Advo editor whose penchant for great books is to be emulated. I remember her citing this book as one of her favorites. The blurb (teaser) at the back cover explains why. The novel is about Madame Bovary, who pursues her dreams of 'ecstasy and love' to revolt against the ordinariness of her life. But then she eventually falls to feelings of corruption and suffering. I am absolutely intrigued with this work.

Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light
This book is a compilation of private correspondence that Mother Teresa wrote her confidants. I heard this book reviewed in CNN once because some passages that Mother Teresa wrote paints her to be in the dark about whether or not God is still with her. I think it would enlighten me towards the path to God I am trying to arm myself for.

Cathecism of the Catholic Church
This may come off as closed minded, but I believe that the Catholic Church is the one true religion. I still cannot substantially defend this at this point in time, but I want to start knowing about my Church and how it could help me understand God and my existence.

Waiting by Ha Jin
I was initially looking for Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. However it was out of stock so I tried to pick out a fiction novel which has a pretty interesting blurb. Waiting is a story set in China about Lin Kong, a doctor who is ardently in love with Manna Wu, an modern educated woman. However Lin Kong already had a wife and family. He tried divorcing his wife every summer for 17 years, but he always failed. After eighteen years though, he promises it would turn out differently.

I am hoping to finish these books within a month. Thus I would be temporarily retiring from net activities, as it could be disruptive to my reading. Golay, I'm sooo stoked!

P.S. I am open to trading. Just offer me some good titles :D

Project 365: Santa is a hoax

2008-12-25T01:38:00.005+08:00

If I will critique my own writing, I would say it's always too long, too wordy and devoid of humor. Well change starts from seeing what's wrong. (PLUS I couldn't seem to write in a conversational manner)-- see my use of 'conversational manner' proves my point.

Day 6: The CHRISTMAS POST

I never believed in Santa Clause. Of course my parents went through the phase of trying to deceive my brother and I that our Christmas gifts were from Santa. But during those years, I consistently I believed that the Santa scheme was only to amp up the value of our presents. I was convinced that flying sleighs and a humongous guy from North Pole delivering gifts to all over the world was an absolute impossibility. Heck we didn't even have a chimney!

Needless to say, I never wrote Santa any letter. Oh wait, I did... But I wrote it because I knew that my parents would be the ones to read it. I told 'Santa' that I wanted a Barbie. I remember that after my mother read my letter she breathed a peculiar sigh-- and I just knew that I would never get a Barbie for Christmas.

Anyway, for all time's sake, I think it would be fun to write Santa a letter.

Dear Santa,

I don't know if I had been good or bad this year. It's pretty difficult to quantify my actions. But I think I have improved from the person I was last year. I may not have much going on for me like the past year, but I think I am more stable and discerning now. Is that even a 'criteria' for your gift giving? Well I hope so.

Anyway, I would not ask you for anything material. I have begun to realize that the euphoria from material things quickly dissipates. After which you feel pretty much the same as before. I don't think I'd ask for money either.

What I'd like to receive this Christmas is opportunities to learn patience and to be a good person. I know these things cannot be magically instilled into a person, that is why I am asking for chances to help me develop such.

I am not the most saintly person in town. God knows of the thoughts that run on my head, and of the things that I am guilty of. I realize that the only things I want in life is to fulfill my purpose and to go to heaven. I believe I am trying to be better, but more opportunities to learn goodness would really be helpful.

I am also tired of being very impatient with the people around me, and even with myself. It's like I could not help it sometimes. (Do I need to be in Oprah now?)

Well that's about it. I know my requests are a little tough,but you could probably forward it to your bosses, if you know what I mean. *winks*

Merry Christmas Santa! Now get up on you ass.

Sincerely,
Aubrey

Project 365: Gay pageants, equal rights and tolerance

2008-12-21T22:34:00.007+08:00

It is unfortunate that I missed seven days of Project 365. I don't think it was solely my fault though. Last Sunday, December 14, we learned upon reaching home that our electric meter was stolen. MERALCO got to it in about two days, thus I was practically incapable of doing anything which required electricity. Also, the last few days had been busy. It's the Christmas rush you know.

Day 5: Stretching a thought

(I have long admired writers who could explore a thousand things from a single idea. I believe such people are just gifted. While it is already difficult to richly develop a topic, and to keep readers gravitated, it is more difficult to touch a multitude of ideas from a common focal point. A simple writer shines a beam of flashlight, a great writer mimics the sun's untamed rays.)

It was my first time to watch a gay pageant last Friday. It was really fun because the candidates were unbelievably beautiful. I swear I wouldn't look twice and judge them as men. I told my mother those gays would put real women to shame (maybe I was kind of referring to myself haha). They have flat abs, big butts, and huge mammaries. I remember reading a joke that while feminist women try to blur the difference between men and women, gay people try to amplify it.

The candidates really put on an entertaining show. That is why I sat through it for four hours. One interesting thing I noticed during the program is how the candidates persistently stressed that gay people are no different from anyone else. That they are also creations of God, and that they also deserve to be respected and loved. While I do not have the slightest opposition against their contention, I began to think how the other people in the audience were really feeling about homosexuality, gay rights and equality. Sure they were cheering the ones who delivered eloquent answers, but do they really believe in what the contestants were driving at? Do they also think that gay people deserve to be called 'children of God'? Or that homosexuals are not mere aberrations of humanity? Who among those people would warmly embrace a relative who comes out of the closet?

I think Filipinos are tolerant of gay people, but not exactly accepting. It is okay to have a gay friend, but not a gay brother, a lesbian cousin or a homosexual father. To be honest, it would be a huge blow for me if any of my brothers came out of the closet. Or if my father suddenly realizes that he's not really into women. The feeling would probably mellow down after a few months, but I would not be jumping for joy because of it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my gay and lesbian friends. I believe everybody deserves to be treated fairly and to be considered as a creation of God. Nothing irks me more than people who cast stones, or take on a moral ascendancy over others just because of their 'straight' sexual orientation. Everyone deserves a chance at a happiness that would make their life worthwhile. If ever my brother comes out gay, it would blow me over, probably not entirely because of his sexual orientation but also because of the sudden shift of persona that will happen. Maybe if he was leaning towards being gay for most of his life, it would probably not be a huge shock for me.

Edge told me that his column for December deals with homosexuality, with its discussion weaved on bible verses. I say its a very tight vantage to take. Most of the people who are against gays and lesbians also use the bible as their artillery. I think he better be prepared for lengthy discussions on bible interpretation and curses of eternal damnation. (You know I'm rooting for you Edge)

Gays and Lesbians are still to move mountains on their fight against the narrow minded interpretation of sexuality. It's a fight which many deem to be futile and against the fundamentals of human nature. But then again, blacks and whites marrying was also deemed an abomination back then. Just because it is not happening now doesn't mean it won't happen. To all Homosexuals-- PRIDE!

Project 365: Regrets

2008-12-13T22:13:00.010+08:00

Day 4: Lost Entry (Satisfying my mind's tendency to go wild)

It has been too often said that one does not realize the value of something until it is gone. Most of the the time we attribute it to some tangible object, perhaps a person, or something that is slightly concretized like missed opportunities. Feelings of grief are easily attached to things that are discernible and real. But how often have we grieved over something as vague as loss time?

People grieve because of a perceived loss. Loss is only possible when there is some degree of attachment or value that a person sees cut off or removed, something which he/she thinks could never be brought back again. It is not unusual to regret failing to study well back in high school, or making a bad life changing decision. Regretting time though, in its barest sense, is something out of the ordinary. Usually we see time as a lost commodity relative to a more concrete object or idea. We do not say "I feel bad because I lost 10 years" singularly. That ten years is connected to things like missed chances to make something worthwhile, perhaps missing on life itself.

But what importance is of time if it is not relative to life? Time cannot be treated like a single entity, devoid of connection to anything else. It cannot exist like gravity, which is present whether there is life on Earth or not. The value of time is something that human beings create. For example, we say a certain time of day is 9:00am, but in the universe, there is no such thing as nine o'clock. There isn't morning nor evening. Possibly only the beginning, existence, and end.

It's an aimless trail of thought. Why am I blabbering much about time? Because of an e-mail I just received.

Thank you for writing.

Our preferred NMAT score is 80 and above. Regarding your query on the NMAT exam, i am sorry to inform you that we will not accept your application without the NMAt score because we take that into consideration in determining the list of accepted students. The school will be releasing the list of accepted students first week of march. Maybe, you can consider applying on the June 2010 intake.Thank you.

xxxx
Admissions Officer

Project 365: Learnings from Sirach

2008-12-12T22:06:00.008+08:00

I know I should write a decent post; since writing one for the trash bin won't do this project any justice.

Day 3: Unexpected learnings from the Bible

I recently tried to read the Bible. And I realized, as I was quite surprised, that most of its teachings were practical and very much applicable to our daily lives. A set of verses about the responsible use of wealth particularly struck me as it goes against what I believed the church was propogating.

It isn't right for someone who is selfish to be rich. What use is money to a stingy person? If you deny youself in order to accumulate wealth, you are only accumulating it for someone else. Others will use your riches to live in luxury. How can you be generous to others if you are stingy with yourself, if you are not willing to enjoy your own wealth? No one is worse off than someone who is stingy with himself; it is a sin that brings its own punishment.

Sirach (14: 3-6)

Of course it is important to draw a line between enjoying your wealth and totally disregarding the plight of the poor and the underprivileged. While we should not go to extremes and treat this passage at mere face value, I realized that enjoying your wealth is not at all a sin. Blessings are a result of divine providence, and it is by this that we gain the right to enjoy whatever God has bestowed upon us. It is not a sin to be rich. Neither it is a sin to be talented and smart. Thus, one should not be morally punished by society if he is fortunate enough to be wealthy. Or perhaps cursed because he is intellectually superior or more talented. However, being rich or superior in any manner brings upon it the moral responsibility of helping others more, since I believe that what one gives must be at least proportionate to what he has.

It is quite insightful to read the Bible. I am planning to read it more often. The books on wisdom lend a good perspective on things that we usually encounter in our lives. I think it is a folly to ignore things that could make us potentially wiser.

P.S. I am not a bible scholar. I believe though that God has granted us sufficient logic to have a grasp of these things. I am a mere mortal looking at the vastness of God's wisdom.

Project 365: Passionate Existence

2008-12-11T04:04:00.007+08:00

Day 2: Passion

Primal drives continue to exist without actual human desire. We breath, drink, and eat out of our corporal predisposition to facilitate our survival. But human beings are more than just animals who thrive because of instinctual needs. We are capable of transcending beyond the physiological, to exist in a plane which is not dictated by hunger or thirst, but by a deep yearning for something bigger than who we are.

Passion is such a driving force in our nature. Its what seperates us from animals who are only aroused by their primitive instincts. ...

Writing: A way to make your life appear interesting

2008-12-10T23:33:00.006+08:00

The wonderful thing about writing, or any art form, is that you can always present a different perspective for your subject. Art allows us to view things beyond its linear, practical and obvious chracteristics. While the exercise of art also permits to see the uniqueness in the usual, it primarily opens doors to interpret a subject, or object in a different light. It gives us the opportunity to see beyond the tangible and lend a larger meaning to the normalcy that we perceive.

***

Project 365: Each day in the life of an uninteresting blogger

Okay. So I will try to write a blog each day for 365 days. This will be one of my most ambitious personal projects yet. All the entries will be in free-form. Lets see if it should make my writing any better.

DAY 1: The piece I am most ashamed of.

If one would ask me of a particular piece that I wish I could re written and edited, and could have well used my present writing skill, it would be my high school memoir. I'm not saying that I'm completely proficient now, it is just that I was completely horrible when I wrote that yearbook piece. If laid my pen on that composition today, I would have marked it with a 'READ AGAIN' in huge bold letters. Or probably mark it in red ink here and there, it would appear hemorraging to death.

Here's the raw, cringe inducing version:

For me, the time I spent in high school cannot be counted in years but by days... days I solved Math problems, finished pain staking project, cried over something only to realize that I am strong enough to rise over it and days I enjoyed just being with my friends. These days left me with people and lessons that I would treasure forever. I would not be able to forget all those persons who walked into my life and touched me in a whole different kind of way. I would never forget how my classmates and friends taught me to be proud of myself and to be confident of what I could do. I could say the the days of high school changed me. I am entirely different person now because of the experiences I had. The joy I experienced in my four-years stay in PCC will continue to warm my heart with delight and happiness for years to come. Nothing, not even time, could erase the precious memories of joy I had in high school. They will stay with me for all eternity.

Talk about cheesy, cliche, and overly dramatic.

For me, the time I spent in high school cannot be counted in years but by in days... days I solved Math problems, finished a pain staking project, cried over something only to realize that I am strong enough to rise over it and days I enjoyed just being with my friends. These days left me with people and lessons that I would treasure forever. I would not be able to forget all those ~~persons~~ people (persons is acceptable, though people is more appropriate) who walked into my life and touched me in a whole different kind of way. (Now this is subject to double meaning). I would never forget how my classmates and friends taught me to be proud of myself and to be confident of what I could do. ~~I could say the the days of high school changed me.~~ (Redundant meaning) I am an entirely different person now because of the experiences I had. The joy I experienced in my ~~four-years~~ four-year stay in PCC will continue to warm my heart with delight and happiness for years to come. Nothing, not even time, could erase the precious memories of joy I had in high school. They will stay with me for all eternity. (I could barely remember anything now!)
Well I'm glad I got that I out of my chest. I think a lot of people would find this superficial, if not annoying. Things affect people differently. If anything could ruin my day, that would be a bad piece of writing visiting me from its grave.

Normalcy

2008-12-09T15:59:00.005+08:00

What would it be like to see yourself in third person? Would we judge ourselves the same should we stand in a different perspective?

I am a harsh critic. Sometimes striving for objectivity, but nonetheless slave to the impulsive snaps of instinct and emotional upsurge.

She sits on her bed, with legs sprawled across the mattress, and her hands typing away her everyday self-conceived misery. Her room is bright and lively. Crisp colors of green, orange and pink mimic the feel of a clear sunny day. Sunlight streams through the windows painted with Christmas pines. Her room screams of a child prancing, jovial and innocent, running accross the prarie, waving and giggling. She defies this however, and sits desolate and distant from the enlivening charm radiating from her walls. She is encapsulated by an invisible force, shielding her from everything except her own self. Abandonment never tasted this real to her. Out of all the emptiness it brings forth, she feels it, hollow and dark, existent and absent, but all the same real.

I have a gay crush on this man

2008-12-08T01:22:00.005+08:00

Quotable Quote

2008-12-07T21:53:00.004+08:00

Writing is like bearing and rearing a child. Raise it well and it shall glorify you throughout its existence. Raise it recklessly and it will cause you shame.

Funny things kids do

2008-11-23T00:17:00.003+08:00

At home. My little brother was on the computer, while I was at my room adjacent to the PC.

Me: (Hears muffled crying. Walks out to check on brother)
Bro: (Playing Warcraft and crying in front of the PC)
Me: O bakit anung nangyari?
Bro: Nag hang o..
Me: (Tries to check PC) Eh bakit ka umiiyak?

Bro: (Cries harder) Eh kasi... sumusugod na sila oh..

Me: --Cannot control laughter---

I have got to write (WARNING: Long read)

2008-11-15T14:59:00.012+08:00

Nothing wakes up my senses than writing. Nothing racks up my brain like writing. And nothing sets my life in perspective than writing.

Thirteen days to my board exam, I stand excited and lost. After six months of preparing for it, I'm only a heartbeat and a skip away from what most would deem as a prediction of my success in life. Fail the board exam and you might as well wish to have been born in a country away from the Philippines, unknown and unheard of of your relatives.

I do not know if it is a good thing that I do not feel anxious about this exam. I've had this peculiar belief since I was young that when one does not feel disturbed, or at least moved by a supposedly 'major' event, then something bad is bound to happen. I know it sounds really superstitious, but I certainly do think that fate has a lot of hand on how our lives turn out. Anyway it would just be another exam, and if ever I pass it, I would just be another nursing gradute. After which I would just be another unemployed, job less BSN, going around hospitals passing her resume with the hope of at least having her curriculum vitae read by the HR people. By then I would just be another person waiting in line, along with the thousand others, hoping to get their life started.

It is depressing that I am losing my sense of idealism. I wish I had the same wisdom and discernment as that of Rizal. He pronounced that the 'Youth is the hope of the nation', seeing that the vibrance of wanting change lies most radiant in the youth. I wish I still had the same fire burning in me, or even close to what I had before I learned about all the realities of life. With all its dire evils, seemingly hopeless situations, and a cycle of different, yet almost the same problems, life as we humans do it, or at least how I see it in the Philippines, is a murderer of dreams. Well if one would project life with how things are going in the Philippines, it would be a gloomy mirage, rendering the future bleak and depressing. Of course there is more to seeing our lives as governed by societal influences. After all, a society is only a collective label for a group of people and the dynamics they adopt. People make the society, they make its rules, and they haul it towards where they want it to be headed. Which then surfaces the truth that we affect each other. The decisions we make, and the actions we do, no matter how minute or big we think these are, affect other people and in turn reflexes back to our own lives. (Okay I am getting really really trivial now). But if you try to see the larger picture, fate, as we see it, may only be a sweep of all the little things that each person does, casting its effect in a more collective scale.

I wish I had that capacity to turn my trivial thoughts into something more practical. I know I make sense but I don't think it comes across other people as I relate it to them. Words are just words until they materialize into something tangible. Normally I would get the "Ah, ok", or "Hmm" or down right silence. Maybe I have to be clearer on what I'm saying. Or find someone who tunes out, than see the world in a microcosm. Hindi ako nakakatakot kausap, I'm just weird.

Anyway, this post made me realize to exert the best effort I can to be a productive and successful citizen. (Which is harder than it is said). It's time to save the flame in me which is going dimmer by the minute. But I wish it was clearer to me what I really want to do in life so that I might succeed in doing it. As of now, I really don't know where I am headed or where I am supposed to be. I should have feared first not knowing decisively what to do in life than not being successful at all.

When I was younger, I thought I was a cut above others because I did well in school and it seemed as if I had my life together for the next 70 years or so. But now it came to me that I am no different than the class rule-breaker which everybody believed had no idea of what to do in his life. After the board exam, I would be free from the bondage of a pre specified life course. Which makes me more anxious because I do not know what to do with my life. Should I throw it down the drain? Should I devote it to others? Should I shelve it until the next big opportunity comes along? Should I pursue Medicine? Should I go one with being a Nurse? Should I be a writer? The questions bogging my head are endless. At least now I am certain that I need help with discerning what I would like to do. I know I've always said that in the end everybody just wants to be happy. But the path to happiness is different for everyone.

I think I've just exhausted all the thoughts in my head. I must read my reviewers now, lest I fail my board exams and put my life in a halt for another six months. In thirteen days, I'll pass the boards.

How painful is painful?

2008-11-04T10:16:00.005+08:00

I had the most terrible stomachache last night. I guess the milk in the cereal I ate for merienda did it for me. I was practically cringing in the toilet seat with all the emotional affect appropriate for pain. It felt as if a ball of spikes was rolling down my abdomen. And in the middle of it all I thought about how patients in hospitals must feel.

If I were to rate my pain last night, I would have rated it an eight out of ten. But then I realized, what significance does that number have? Nurses and medical practitioners alike have been repeatedly taught to use a pain scale when assessing the pain of a client, to at least allow a measurement of a very subjective experience. Of course there is nothing wrong with using it, lest a technology be developed which will allow health care people to experience a patient's pain. However, I wonder if people in the health field really do get the gravity of how much pain a patient feels when he rates his pain a 7, or 8 or a 9. Do we, (myself included) even get the slightest idea of how it is to be in their state of pain? Or does the number just become another objective cue to write in the patient's chart to measure the effectivity of analgesics and interventions? How much do we, as human beings, even brush upon their excrucuiating experience?

I remember an incident told to us by a certain lecturer (who I cannot remember) to remind us to be responsible and 'human' nurses. It was about a patient who died because of nurses, who failed, or grossly ignored the patient's complaints of pain.

The nurse on duty made her rounds when Patient Y told her that her stomach was aching. I believe the nurse told her to rest and lie down until it eventually resolves. After several minutes Patient Y went to the station, IV stand in tow, asking the nurses for analgesia, since the pain was almost unbearable. The nurses with their head nurse in the gang, put on a laugh fest telling Patient Y to just go back in her room. After several more minutes, the patient went back again to the station, only to receive a null response. As Patient Y was again returning to her room, she fainted, knocked her head on the floor, and died almost immediately.

It is almost inhuman to be apathetic to someone in his weakest, most tormented state. But to do it, and even enjoin people to laugh at him or her is to be without a soul. As JK Rowling has put it, Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places. I hope those nurses get to even touch how it feels like to be in such immmense pain, and be able to laugh at their situation.

I know the pain I experienced last night is incomparable to the pain experienced by cancer or chronically ill patients. I would not have been prescribed morphine, like most of them require. I think it is almost funny that my experience last night has equated to relearning how to be empathetic to the pain of others. It may be just abdominal cramping, which continues to have its aftershocks right now, but I remembered how it is to be vulnerable and be tormented by pain.

Sometimes it is easy to forget how pain is, until you feel it again. I think however, that keeping in touch with our sense of humanity, even without being in pain, would allow us to break the bubble of indifference towards how others feel. And crossing that boundary shall enable us, humans and health care professionals, to effectively help others alleviate their suffering.

WHY BACK UP?

2008-10-21T22:46:00.005+08:00

I was not supposed to turn on the PC today, lest I procrastinate again in finishing the remaining chapters I am supposed to review in Med-Surg. But hey, here I am typing away the minutes I supposed to spend reading my book.

Every PC user's doomsday can be summarized in two words. PC CRASH. Your PC crashing could be equivalent to having a minor heart attack: experiencing palpitations, having cold clammy skin and feeling an impending sense of doom (while imagining your most precious files being eaten away bit by bit, byte by byte). While many of us know from experience that backing up is one very important way of saving yourself from losing life-worth files and starting again from scratch, a few of us religiously take the effort to actually get on with doing it.

In our house, they usually call me when the PC malfunctions or acts as if it would enter a very long coma. What I would normally do is get on another working computer, log on to Google and search the words that pop out of the error screen. The advices from forums or support websites usually restore our PCs to good working order. However, what I dread the most is when the problem is on hardware. While it is bad enough that the PC does not boot-- it is much worst when it ends up with the 'Blue Screen of death' or it does not even start.

Most of us have experienced that time, when out of nowhere, the PC suddenly goes haywire. When I tried to turn on the PC this evening, the lights just flickered and it went dead. Yes, the panic mode sunk in. Of the two years that we have been using this PC (this is supposed to be the high end, crash proof one), it has never acted this way. And so I frantically turned it on and off, like most of us do when the computer starts acting weird, but it just kept doing the same thing. But alas, like any normal PC, it turned on after some random switching. Which lead me to write this post on backing up.

It does not occur to us to do back-ups until the PC is halfway on the path to the point of no return. It did not occur to me to back up until the PC acted as if it could be dead tomorrow. Like the old adage: we do not realize a thing's importance until we lose it. Or in this case, until we lose the chance to do it.

From an internet article I read, hard disks normally falter after two to three years of use. Some are even dead before their first birthday. That's why backing up is not just a task to get on after the computer first crashes, or when we get the time to do it (which God knows when). It is a necessary activity that we need to have a consistent schedule of.

I am not so much of a techie, so the kind of 'backing-up' I know would be to save my files from my hard drive to an external drive (external hard disk or flash drive). For today's dire PC situation, I used Nero BackitUp. It's practically easy since all I had to do was select the files I needed (most of which are movie files) and it does the job for me. Other programs for this purpose are also available. Time Magazine also featured a website which allows one to upload a huge amount of files for free, which could prove useful for this kind of task. If you are an XP user, creating restore points is also effective in bringing back your PC to health.

So before you turn off that PC tonight, put a 'noticeable' reminder on your desktop to get started on backing up. Or better yet, set a consistent schedule. No one knows when the grim reaper will visit your hard drive.