That Saturday was cloudy. The waves were furious and the water not a clear blue. The medical station was under this tree that bred a million caterpillars that kept falling on us, so we had to find a different station. It was windy but the 150 new guests that day didn’t seem to mind. Miss Siren, the HR Supervisor, was a hands-on woman who oriented me with the place. It was the beach area where I would be stationed standing by for any possible injuries or medical concerns from our guests. Hmm, a *stretch* from my previous work on the island. When they started off with their team building games, I went double-hmm-it’s-a-stretch-from-my-previous-work.

I knew trauma seems to follow me, because within 20 minutes of going back to the station, a victim was brought to me. He was pale, confused and refused to move his left arm. Looking at his shoulder blade, I saw some hematoma formation but no deformity. I still considered a clavicular fracture and he was immediately brought to the nearby hospital. We later found out it was indeed a fracture and he decided to return to Manila to have his operation done there. Ulk. After that, there were no cases. And the guests didn’t push through with their Amazing Race activity. So sad.

Last Saturday was my 2nd weekend in this resort. Unlike the previous week wherein it was cloudy, the sun now was smiling down at me. The skies were blue, the pavement dry, the birds were singing and the water was calm. I had my breakfast in peace while reading my new Milan Kundera book. I later went to the medical station in the best of moods and smiling at my nurse. I couldn’t help but tell her all the positive things surrounding us – the sun, the calm water, the skies, the guests kayaking and taking pictures, and the white sand that was more obvious now than before.

“Oo nga. Ang pangit ng tubig ngayon!”

*blink. Blink* (huh?)

I forgot that my nurse is hearing impaired.

There are years when my birthday is stretched for one whole week and I spend it with different people the whole time. Each day (or night) is spent differently depending on which group of friends I was with.

This year, I don’t have a solid plan. I just know I have to spend quality time with family because I won’t be spending my birthday with them. (I would be at the premier).

So yesterday, I met my bro, my sis and mom in this Mediterranean place in Alabang. (My dad was out of town). This is what I miss – the usual family bangayan and the funny stories you tell that seem to get funnier because their laughs are quite contagious and it becomes a vicious cycle. I was amazed at my lemon mint tea, but I later recognized that it tasted like toothpaste and they wouldn’t stop the alaskahan over it.

Later, my bro told us of our teenage cousin’s suggestion to give his name to the Starbucks barista as “Ever.” Ever?!! Big muscled guy like you giving out your name as Ever??? “Yeah, so when the barista calls out to you, he says ‘Cafe Americano for Ever!!” The laughs came in waves and it didn’t stop!

While having dessert in Haagen Dazs, my mom asked me to tell the story of the land crabs. I told my bro and sis that back in Peleliu, Earl and I were staring at the white board which said that it was prohibited to catch any land crab between June 4-7. It didn’t state why. So I made up an excuse that it was “National Land Crab Day.” Earl caught on with the joke and refined my made-up holiday to “National Land Crab Awareness Day.” We were in fits when we wrote it underneath the dates. This apparently caught on, because the following month when it was again prohibited to catch them crabs, the big boss of the group gave an explanation that it was National Land Crab Awareness Day. WHUUT?! HAHAHAHA!

In another story, I told them of that video of the host and I trying to hit a land crab because it seemed to be taunting us; or that crab we called Sebastian who did the most amusing righting-reflex but refused to do it when I started recording him on video. It would be funnier if I told you face-to-face and even funnier if you were my bro, sis or mom.

I only spent 3 hours with them, but it was time well-spent.

That afternoon before we parted ways, we were in Starbucks only because mom wanted some aircon on her. We didn’t order drinks but my bro and mom did order some cinammon swirl and pie. My bro was itching to give out his name as Ever but the barista didn’t need to call him out. He drifted back to our table looking defeated. Aww… you’ll have your chance soon, Ever.

I felt so sad that most of my friends have left. I know the purpose of staying behind is to oversee the people left here. Still, I was too busy sulking.

So when I was fetched by a whole bunch of frantic people at 1:30am because Roy, a local teen, was stabbed, I instantly recognized that this was God’s challenging way of making me realize the purpose of why I had to be left.

Yes, God, I got it.

And as if God wanted to rub it in, He did it the subtle way.

On the speedboat ride to the capital city, I was constantly checking on Roy’s vitals and IV line. When I was checking his pulse under his sheets, Roy caught my hand and held it. I have held a lot of my patients’ hands before. I do this because I cannot give false hopes to my patients, but I can give them some sort of comfort and strength. But not too many actually initiate the hand-holding like Roy.

He held on to me. I squeezed his hand a bit and he stroked my hand back.

You’re welcome, kid.

Photo borrowed here.

Yesterday marked the 45th day since I came to this nation and the 45th day since seeing their capital city. I have since lived in a different state where there are no road signs, no street signs, and where land crabs have the right of way when on the road.

In this state, there are no traffic jams, and the only buildings you’ll ever see are houses, ruins and a power plant. As such, seeing 2 or 3 cars parked along the side of the road signifies something important, like a funeral, a party, or perhaps a number of bystanders watching some men fix the telephone poles.

I realized that this is the longest I have been isolated from the busy life I know. So for me to go to the capital city for the first time in 45 days pumped up my adrenaline. I never thought seeing that all-too familiar Shell station sign at the port would bring a humongous smile to my face. Moreso, being caught in a traffic jam made me excited and had me applauding like a little girl seeing a pony for the first time.

There are two reasons why I went to the capital city on this particular day. First was to bring my friends to the airport and say goodbye to them. I felt so sad being left back in the Land of Enchantment and not being surrounded by people close to me. I felt like I had no purpose and that I would just be floating on for the next 5 days. I needed to see them off. Second, I had to bring another friend, an Art Director, to the hospital for some x-rays and to buy the appropriate medications. And after both were done, I sat with them in a park eating the best burgers in the country (it’s a small nation).

Being back in civilization was so refreshing, like a perfect consolation for being away from the life I know, or perhaps a momentary therapy for someone who feels sad with the thought of a bus load of friends leaving.

It’s been 45 days. I wondered when the next time will be till I get to the capital city.
(To be continued)

Photo borrowed here.

There are 3 things I fear – snakes, sharks, and apparently heights as well.

I never thought I was scared of heights until that time I learned to wall climb and reached the overhang. I chickened out early. I don’t think this fear is pathologic cause I keep going at it again.

Next were snakes which I tried to overcome some weeks ago. But more on that some other time and in another blog post.

But today, it was about sharks.

I never planned this, but it was on the same day when we went to (other sites here which I can’t disclose yet).

Honestly, I wanted to be the first one in to dive. (That says a lot of my supposed fear). But I also wanted to observe how to act in the water with the reef sharks.

Burton, our guide, assured us that they are not known to bite… yet. So he just jumped in and swam. When I did, I saw a shark behind me. I froze. However, I remembered sharks smell fear. I don’t know if it applies to reef sharks, but I decided to play cool, like, “whaddup hommie?” So the shark swam past me. But the next thing that happened was that the fishes swam away suddenly and in unison. To me that signalled an attack. And that scared me immensely. But since people were around me and I was still close to the boat, I decided to again play cool, like “Dawg!!!” And they all resumed swimming the way they were before the big sharks and the big fishes with a big rubber-footprint-like thingies on their heads kinda attacked them.

At one particular instance when I was now a bit further from the boat, there were some 10 sharks in front of me, below me and behind me (not actually surrounding me). They were big ones with those cute little fishes that stick to them because of some symbiotic relationship, if I remember correctly (college years was way behind me). The fear and anxiety just got washed away upon seeing them. I guess by this time, too, I have already acclimatized with them around. Sharks are actually beautiful. I was just star-strucked.

So we all went home that afternoon thinking how bad asses we are now.

Fo shizzle.

4.    The autistic. These are the ones glued to their notebooks/journals, their novels or the internet and are oblivious to the outside world. For today, I have (again) flamboyant techie downloading songs and videos. He reports that he has taken my suggestion last time on searching for Alexandra Burke and has since become a fan. It’s cool to sit beside these people. I’m almost always assured that no sound will be coming from them nor from their laptops.

5.    The weirdos. There was one who would tap the table loudly when the ADHD creatures become rambunctious. Or the one who actually had the gall to stand in front of the ADHD creatures with arms crossed and just stare at them. (weird).

But my favorite weirdo is not really that big of a weirdo. Daffy and I called him Old Man Tony, a 40 year-old dude whom Daf met while reviewing for the boards some 7 years ago. Old Man Tony wants to be a doctor someday, which was why he was reading an assortment of medical books. That would’ve been admirable, except that he has been doing this for 3 years – the amount of time he should’ve spent in medical school! Instead, he has been slaving away at these books so that by the time he reads them in med school, it would be easy for him. And by easy, that means he’d be topping the class.

Any doctor or medical student will tell you that this is not a guarantee.

Our impression of Old Man Tony is the classmate who always wants to get ahead in the game, would not be a team player, and would keep vital info from his colleagues someday. In other words, the classmate you wouldn’t want to have.

What made him weird, furthermore, was that he kept studying without actually finding out that the cut off age for NMAT (at that time) was 35! Imagine the look of defeat in his face!

“Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but you’re little too late.”

We don’t know if he was able to make it to med school for whatever loophole he found. If he was, here’s a tribute to Old Man Tony, our favorite weirdo and (in my mind and Daffy’s) the iconic Starbucks Katipunan tambay with a mission!

I guess one would argue that if you do not want to be affected by all these personalities while studying, then proceed to the library immediately. However, all these apply to the libraries as well because the library is just the cafe minus the coffee. And that cafes are libraries minus the reminders of being quiet (which fall on deaf ears sometimes anyway.)

Well, back to mah books. (Oh yeah, today I’m both the studious/nerd and the autistic techie).

Once again, I thought that studying in a cafe would do wonders for me. It did.

However, what’s interesting today is my encounter with the usual people who hang out (tambay) in a cafe. I forgot all about them. I have encountered them countless times during the different stages of being a med student.

I have learned to examine the area first, identify these personalities, before I settle on a place where it will be beneficial for me. And I do this quickly. I guess I also do this without noticing that I do this.

These are the usual tambays with a mission:
(Note: Those who came in to unwind and those posers have been taken out of the list.)

1.    The quasi-studious creature. These are those who think they have the biggest brains in the whole of the cafe. Some go to the extent of pretending to pass by the studious creatures’ table so they can peek at what said studious creature is reading. That, or the fact that they talk loudly at 90 decibels is enough to make anyone make patol.  My friend, Daffy, even said that she once encountered some of them who even talk aloud about what they’re reading and how difficult their subject is. If she were immature enough to make patol, she would have told them, “Iho, you’re studying Biochemistry. That’s freshman medicine level. I’m reviewing for the boards.”

In my case, “Iha, you’re talking about Anatomy. That’s freshman level medicine. I’m a doctor and I’m reading just for fun.”

2.    The really studious creature. Also known as “the other studious creature/nerd besides me”. These people I can tolerate – whether they are the humble types or they be the loud ones with “(School) College of Law” emblazoned on their jackets, “(School) College of Medicine on their shirts, or whatever telling sign they have that makes them brainier than the average cafe tambay. I respect these people simply because they are those who are as focused and as unaffected as me… until our attention wanes and we observe the other quasi-studious creatures in the cafe. When one studious/nerd meets eye-to-eye with a fellow nerd, we know we have met a friend despite the lack of verbal communication. And that’s already enough to make friends. (We nerds have our own language).

3.    The ADHD creatures. These talk too much and at a volume where the whole of the cafe can hear, allowing the irritated bloggers to make a post about them. For today, I had a couple of college girls deliberate on whether or not they will have to continue on with medicine after graduating from college. Apparently, the two are so pessimistic about medicine that I can’t decide whether to smack them in the head for being so cynical or applaud them for bailing out early at a lifetime commitment. (Please understand that I was trying to study, hence, the low tolerance level).

(to be continued)

- marami nang napapaaway dahil sa “my way” at “bakit ngayon ka lang.”

- people talk to you and all you can do is smile cause you understand zilch.

- everyone is your relative.

- the nearby pool is the river.

- a dip in the river won’t be complete (if you’re not lucky) without women doing their laundry or a carabao taking a dip upstream from where you’re swimming.

- everyone has a soap opera they religiously follow.

- watching the moon rise is entertainment.

- fresh air won’t be fresh air without a whiff of dung.

- a trip through the fields won’t be complete without a close encounter with dung.
***
photos by trixie. that river is the one a few meters from our home in tuguegarao city, cagayan.
and below is a carabao pool party.

One of the best things about coming home is what would greet me upon entering Los Banos’ border – lush greenery and rich colors from flowers. It’s a stark contrast from the metropolis and the beach.

This weekend, I just had one thing in mind – that much-deserved spread of home cooked meals!

But really – the reason for me coming home is to assist this plastic surgeon brod on a procedure. I’ve been a doctor for some years now, but not all doctors have had the opportunity to scrub in a lot of plastic surgery procedures. This was my chance. And it was calming to assist a brod whom I have known since college but have never worked with in a surgical procedure before. It was a bit – I dunno – weird(?), because the last time I did work with him was some 15 years ago. I never realized it has been that long! (And that he’s that old! Haha!)

Even though a surgical procedure was the reason behind this chance to go home for a day, touching base was enough fuel to get me through the week again.

I love How I Met Your Mother. There, you learn that a good way to pick someone up is to have a wingman.

Out of curiosity, I did it today.

“Hey (Pat)! Have you met (Nick)?”

Then I made a quick exit.

By the way, I haven’t been introduced to Nick. I just heard that was his name. And Pat never saw it coming.

When I looked back, I saw that they were indeed having a conversation and enjoying themselves albeit just a few minutes. It ended by the time Nick mentioned that he was with a girlfriend. (Daamn!)

I was so amused by this, that I told one of my buddies about what was happening when it was happening. Before I knew it –

“Hey Mike! Have you met Zoe?”

Oh no.