the perils of

10:30 pm. Just got back from a night out with my friends Anna and Janine, whom I only get to see during my vacations when I'm back home in CdO. Yes, I'm home at 10:30 PM. None of our get-togethers have ever ended this late. I know, it's very grade school. But this is how my high school barkada has always been: super innocent and holy. Not being sarcastic, I really mean it. With Manila friends, it's considered quite normal to have a beer or two and come home at 12. But when I'm with Janine and Anna, we just have Coke and come home early. We've never had any alcohol (as a group) and we never stay out past 9 (tonight was the exception). It's pretty incredible how even though we're all adults, we still behave like a bunch of grade schoolers. And to be honest, that's what I like about hanging out with them. Tonight, we met up at GC Suites and grabbed some 678 Chicken, had Korean ice cream at the movie place upstairs, and then walked a ...

        Last Saturday (which also happened to be Valentine's Day), Rap and I embarked on a perilous quest to discover a mythical town inhabited by mutant pineapples, noodle-pullers, and, the most dangerous of all, Chinese people.         Rap and I had been to Binondo before, albeit separately. I had gone during a field trip for my Philosophy class some two years ago (and I blogged about it here ), while Rap's last visit was some four years ago, for an English class activity. But despite the time that had elapsed, Binondo still seemed as familiar and charming as ever.         We took the LRT2 all the way to its last stop in Recto. Pretty decent station. Well, except for the really dark and sketchy parts.         I know it was a risk bringing my bulky camera along on this trip, but I didn't want to have to bring out my tablet every time I wanted to snap a picture! Anyway, I kept it in my bag when I ...

           Hello. I have to come clean: I don't have a lot to write about now. I know people come to my blog to read stories about med school life or college survival tips or the like, but I've been idle-ish for the past couple of weeks (because of sem break).            Speaking of sem break, I have a couple of med school friends who said that they went crazy over the break because they had nothing to do. It does feel weird, after months and months of shedding our blood, sweat, and tears, we have a couple of weeks to spare to catch up on all the lost time. And catch up I did. I love being idle. All break long I spent lying on the bed, watching Flipping Vegas reruns on FYI, pigging out on whatever unhealthy salty food was in the pantry, and generally just vegetating. Yes, I am quite disgusting. But I'm okay with that.            Or at least I thought I was, up until school opened with a couple...

        I think one lesson I learned today, however oversimplified and cheesy it may be, is that for every miserable moment that med school throws your way, there are little bouts of happiness to be discovered. Today in particular started with a lab exam from hell. And right after that came the lec exam from hell. Both were equally draining and depressing.         BUT after that, Dr. Banzuela treated all of us in the batch to UNLIMITED FISHBALLS!!! This was our batch's reward for having answered a difficult question during class last week (it was Dustin in particular who answered it, and all of us got to reap the benefits of his effort hahaha). The fishballs did wonders to boost our morale. Look at all these smiling faces! (Credits to Kamille from whom I did not ask perimssion to post this [hehe sorry])          Dr. Banzuela is one of my favorite teachers in ASMPH. I'm not just saying this because of the fishballs!...

All places have a story to tell. The challenge for you, the frazzled college student still brooding over last week's exams, is to just shut up  for a little while and listen to that story. Batangas was a conversation that I almost never had. I had found out on the morning of the trip that a revised thesis proposal was due in five days, so a few hours before we were scheduled to leave, I was 90% convinced that I wasn't gonna go. But I still wrestled with the question out loud, and I made such a big fuss over it that Rap deftly reversed my decision by telling me, "See this is why you need this vacation." And so I went. And I am really glad I did. It was my first overnight block outing, and also my first time in Batangas. It's a really beautiful place. What follows is not a narration of the events of the trip. Usually the best parts of any outing (the people you spend time with, the friendships that you strengthen, the priceless conversations that you share, t...