the perils of

In case we homo sapiens don't survive this pandemic, I hope the future master species (dogs) discovers my blog. I hope their linguists eventually decipher this English I'm using from the ancient days of 2020 BC (Before Covid). I hope they study my blog as carefully as we humans have studied our history books and sacred texts.  And if there's one thing I want my Future Masters to know, it would be this: I tried my best. Even before this pandemic, it was never easy being the community doctor. But now that the sh*t has hit the fan, the difficulty level has increased 100x. On top of my regular consults at the clinic, I'm struggling to keep up with the latest research, studying the patterns of disease, looking out for any clusters of flu-like illnesses in the community that could be the end of us. And in between all of that, I'm endlessly firefighting. (A more exciting way to say problem-solving.) But not all fires were created equal. The smaller, ...

I know you've been worried sick about me. Masks and alcohol are in short supply, and more and more people are getting infected across the country each day.  It may be a futile request, but please don't worry too much. Here in my little barrio (if you can even call it that), things are so much more peaceful than what you see on TV.  The police and fire patrol are doing their job well. We at the health center have been monitoring the situation daily.  The groceries are well-stocked and there are anti-panic buying rules in place. Farming continues. My foster fam recently adopted this puppy named Skrrrt and I love it with all my heart. I'm safe for now but I won't be letting my guard down. I miss you all and I can't wait to go home. Stay healthy folks! 

I'm almost four weeks into my first ever job as a Doctor to the Barrio, and it's been an amazing ride so far. When I first found out about my assignment sometime in January, I was apprehensive. When you google Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte, there's not much information you can find. It's mostly just news articles about their recent spate of NPA attacks. As a baseline anxious person, I had a never-ending list of worries: What if I'm kidnapped? What if I'm killed? Or worse, what if there's no Internet??? I had no idea what I was getting into, and I would soon find out. 1. I'm a town celebrity - whether I like it or not. "Doctora, what's your complete name?" read the text from Gigaquit Municipal Health Officer, Dr. Roland Mira. Yup, I thought to myself, he's definitely making me a welcome tarp.  We'd never met in person before, but I'd heard much about him from mutual colleagues. A veteran doctor who'd spent most ...

My unemployment is almost at an end. I've been accepted into Doctors to the Barrios. Deployment is two or three weeks away (DOH has been keeping us in the dark about our schedule). The days of Netflix binges, unlimited snacking, and random video games are coming to a close. I haven't been this relaxed in years, and I will sorely miss bumming around the house. Change terrifies me, but I'm ready to put my best foot forward for my future barrio this 2020. Anyway, I'm excited to write about my December favorites. I've seen so many good films and played so many good games lately and I'm raring to share them with you. So, without further ado: Movies Marriage Story. Despite its title, Marriage Story is a movie about separation, specifically the divorce of Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). What's refreshing about this movie is how its central characters still treat each other with so much love, despite going through the breakup. (In fac...

I love Christmas. I love spending time with family, receiving presents, and unwrapping them on Christmas morning next to the ratty old plastic Christmas tree we've been recycling year after year since I was born. What I don't love, however, is the residual clutter than ensues. I come from a very big family, with more than 70 family members from my mom and dad's sides combined. Imagine the volume of presents that translates to! Each year, we give and receive so much stuff that by the end of the holidays, we would have enough content for an entire season of  Hoarders. As a solution to this, last year I came up with (what I thought was) a pretty genius idea. I tried gifting people with gifts they had already received but probably didn't remember because they got buried underneath all the clutter. My younger brother Jiggy received my old barely-working Gameboy Advance from the 1990s, external lamp light and all. My sister Cait got her old Pokemon-themed Tamagotchi that...

Date: December 4, 2019 Time: 6:33 pm Mood: 9 out of 10 smiley faces I'm well into two months of unemployment and I'm getting better and better at it. I hit a low point a couple of weeks back where I felt so depressed and isolated, being shackled up in a tiny condo with nobody to talk to. But lately, I'm hardly ever bored. And these lovely things from my November are the reason why. TV & Movies Broadchurch. My dad recommended this British crime-mystery drama on Netflix and I'm hooked. The show is about the picturesque coastal town of Broadchurch, where nothing truly bad ever happens, until an eleven-year-old boy is murdered and the townspeople are shookt. It's pretty much your run-of-the-mill detective drama, but what makes it so compelling is how well-built the world is. Each of the characters feel tangible, and I found it so hard to walk away from their juicy secrets. Come for the mystery, stay for David Tennant's extremely Scottish accent...

Here's something you don't often hear from people who have passed the boards: unemployment sucks.  I bum around the condo for most of the day. I only ever leave to forage for meals, and some days I just can't be bothered. "Moonlighting" gigs, or temporary doctor jobs, are abundant, but they often get snatched up very easily.  Fortunately, I managed to snag a job last month with the clinic at Ateneo de Manila, through a friend who needed someone to fill in for her. Working at the Loyola Schools was a breeze. It's literally right across where I live, there aren't that many patients, and when there are, they're all benign. It was like coming home. I used to cross this bridge every morning in college. In my excitement, I arrived an hour early. Clinic was closed. The Ateneo campus is just as beautiful as I remember. There's now a self-care room on the second floor the Social Sciences building where you can take naps and rest...