In keeping with my love for the Sims, I have a new addiction called Yoville.
It is a sim game where you choose your cartoonish character and set up your home. I got into it because each character was only given one apartment. Each apartment was alike and was composed of a living room, bedroom and kitchen. The Yovillian (you, or in this case, me) can go to the Widget Factory every 6 hours to report for work and earns a certain amount of coins depending on his position in the factory. Minimum wage is 200 coins. You can then head to the depot or the furniture store to buy items to outfit your apartment.
I got into it because I figured I would be done after I decorated my home. Wrong! They recently announced the availability of upgrades to homes. I am now itching to own a 2 story house complete with a yard, 2 bedrooms, 2 T/B, a kitchen, garage and living room. Design possibilities are endless. This should keep me occupied until the Sims 3 comes out. Whee!!!!
I was first introduced to simulation games with SimCity2000 by Maxxis.
In this game, the player takes on the role of a mayor with an unending term and no limits on re-election. The player must plan and develop they city while collecting tax, balancing the budget and providing basic utilities and services to the citizens.
For those of you who are interested to try this out, they have the original SimCity, the one that started it all, online. You can check out SimCity.com Classic Live.
I was so hooked on the SimCity series that it was only natural for me to move on to The Sims and its sequels. In this game, your control is focused on a household and you control everything: how the house looks, how your sim progresses in his/her job, even how the sim lives. Several of my friends have questioned the enjoyment I get from the game. After all, how does one explain the satisfaction derived from a game where you get to control if someone goes to the potty or not?
I've tried other simulation games such as Second Life, Kudos, Virtual Villagers and Desperate Housewives but nothing has been as fun as The Sims.
Given all that, it is understandable how excited I am for the release of The Sims 3. Potentially bigger than the Sims, it appears to allow you control of one whole neighborhood.
Check our some screencaps from the official website:
They gave employees and their families tickets to exclusive screenings of either Madagascar 2 or Quantum of Solace. They shut down 4 cinemas of Robinson's Galleria for this and there was more than one screening time per movie. URC also prepared loot bags filled with goodies (a.k.a. URC products) and these were handed out at the door prior to entering the theater proper.
Before the movie started, a couple of management trainees hosted a Q&A and gave away prizes for correct answers. There were also discounts from select shops in the mall as well as promos from the supermarket.
The kids had a blast watching Madagascar 2. We followed this with a sumptuous lunch at Mangan, Krispy Kreme for the kids' dessert and Bo's coffee for me and Bom.
My cousin was admitted to the hospital last week. I was told it was due to pneumonia. A few days later, I was told that he wasn't responding to antibiotics and that they were going to do several tests to look for the source of his infection.
Among the tests was an ultrasound which showed several abnormalities in the liver and in the region of the pancreatic head.
He was transferred to a bigger hospital and underwent a CT scan earlier today. I just spoke to his brother over the phone. I asked him to read the results of the CT scan to me. It is definitely cancer with concomitant pneumonia. The biopsy will be done tomorrow, My differentials are lymphoma or pancreatic cancer.
Radiology has come a long way from 1895 when Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered the x-ray. In keeping with the digital age, manufacturers have even invested heavily in the research and production of the newer digital x-ray machines and corresponding software.
According to Nature, researchers at UCLA have made a discovery that has the potential to change radiology as we know it.
They have found out that simply peeling ordinary scotch tape in a vacuum can generate enough X-rays to take an image.
Scotch tape!!! Can you believe it?
If 3M can develop this discovery then x-ray machines may not have to be so expensive. Think about it: scotch tape, digital cassette and a computer. The possibilities are mind-boggling!
What would it be like to be Patricia Russo? Or maybe Anne Lauvergeon?
I wonder if these women were born with a silver spoon or if they climbed their way to the top.
The Forbes.com website counted 99 female billionaires this year. This figure is the equivalent of less than 9% of the global total.
Of these 99 women, only 10 are self-made and these are the women I think are more admirable. That is not to say that the rest of the 99 women are under achievers. However, while they can celebrate their being rich, they became so because of their parents or their spouse and not through their own hard-work. They may have other admirable accomplishments or philanthropic endeavors but those did not necessarily contribute to their becoming billionaires but rather the other way around.
The highest ranking woman is Liliane Bettencourt (#17) with $22.9B, who inherited her wealth from her father, L'Oreal founder, Eugene Schueller. Her most prominent/public achievement was the establishment of the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller which strongly supports medical research, particularly with regard to HIV and AIDS.
Next in line is Christy Waton (#26) who received the money from her husband. Her father-in-law was Sam Walton of Walmart fame. Mrs. Walton contributes to school programmes. Following closely is her sister-in-law Alice who raises horses and founded a museum in Texas.
Ranked 43 is Abigail Johnson. Although her wealth is largely inherited (24% stake in her father's company, Fidelity) she wasn't one to just sit back. She received her MBA from Harvard University and became president in the company's mutual fund division.
Way down at #253 is Elena Baturina, 45 years old, from Russia who made her fortune in the construction business. She started out as a factory worker and has now become the richest self-made woman on the Forbes 2008 list.
What are they like? What are their lives like? If one could host a small dinner and have them as guests, what would the topics of conversation be?
I'll bet Elena thought of millionaires as unreachable years ago. Look at her now.
Watch out world. The women are starting to make their mark.
Have you ever heard about the ORAC score? What is it you say? Should you even bother knowing? Should you care?
I didn't hear about the ORAC score until recently. So reading about it was one of last month's learning moments.
The ORAC score is based on a test which was developed by Dr. Guohua Cao. It is designed to determine the antioxidant levels of various substances, food in particular.
A higher Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) score indicates that the substance has a higher ability to eliminate oxygen free radicals, and therefore serves as a better aid in fighting cardiovascular disease and cancer. These substances are supposed to protect cells of the body from oxidative damage which weakens our body.
Awareness about anti-oxidants has grown so that foods and supplements have started including their ORAC score on their labels. This is good news, right? ORAC scores on labels should make it easier to find food that will offer you the most health benefits.
Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Functional Ingredients Magazine quoted Dr. Ron Prior who helped develop the ORAC assay test. According to him, "Having the largest number doesn't necessarily mean the best. It depends on the foods and what phytochemicals are in there and what happens during the absorption and metabolism process. We're finding some of these compounds are metabolized extensively or not absorbed effectively and so not much gets into the blood or absorbed into the tissue."
If the ORAC score is just an indication of antioxidant levels in a substance and not the amount of antioxidant absorbed by the body, then is the ORAC score even useful at all? Are sellers capitalizing on ORAC scores to entice us to buy their products?
There is now an independent certifying organization that gives a seal for validated ORAC scores. Check out The Official Site of ORACWatch.
How many of you subscribe to podcasts? What type of podcasts do you subscribe to? Audio? Video? Genre? Which are your favorites? Which ones do you recommend to friends?
My favorite podcast subscription right now is Food Science from the iTunes store.
Food science according to Wikipedia is a discipline concerned with all technical aspects of food, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption.
Sounds boring? Kirsten Sanford, otherwise known as Dr. Kiki, introduces this particular science to us to show us that it is not. Having earned her PhD in Physiology (emphasis on Neurophysiology) and having favored television over the academe, Dr. Kiki says, “My shtick is Dr. Kiki reaches out to people who don’t necessarily like science to get them to see it as something enjoyable. My goal is to get people who maybe flunked chemistry or didn’t do well on their science fair project to say, ‘This is really interesting,’”.
Dr. Kiki is love!!!
Every Tuesday and Friday, I wait for Bom to pick me up. Invariably, I'll be waiting for him with my laptop open and my iTunes up and running with Food Science playing. She absolutely rocks in Food Science. Some of the other people in the Department have taken to watching her as well. It's gotten to a point where Santi (nerd!) started going on about isothiocyanates while we were having sushi for lunch last week.
Person #1: Ano yan? (loose trans: What are you talking about?) FS Viewers: It's not just food . . . it's science.
We also call the few minutes before closing our "Kiki time". Unfortunately, we only have a couple of unwatched episodes left. Fluids and Thermometer. Sad for us but not for you who are yet uninitiated.
Even my 7-year old daughter watches her. Yesterday I caught her and a cousin using my laptop without permission. They were watching, what else, Food Science. "Kuya Nico wouldn't believe me when I said chocolate came from the Theobroma tree", was her explanation.
Seriously. Watch the show. Using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream was way cool (pun not intended). Find out why I now have a blowtorch on my list of must-haves. Ask the 9-6 shift in my department about the Maillard Reaction and listen to us go on about carbohydrates and amino acids.
Check out more of Dr. Kiki and learn fun food facts by clicking here. And remember, it's not just food. It's science. Enjoy!
The first two days of November is a time to visit the cemetery. In our culture it is almost mandatory.
My earliest memories of these annual visits are at best patchy. I was fortunate enough to have had both sets of grandparents while I was growing up so I can only hazard a guess at whose graves we might have been visiting when I was younger.
On my mother's side, it may have been my aunt who was born on Christmas Day. It is unclear if she was stillborn or if she was born alive and died a few hours later. My grandmother told me that she was working in her flower shop that fateful day. She had reached up for a basket and began experiencing labor pains soon after. That was always how she began her story so I had assumed as a child that her reaching up for a basket was what had caused my aunt's death.
On my father's side, I recall visiting three graves. Two were on top of each other (great grandparents?) and another was to the side.
The visits only had a real meaning to me when my grandparents started passing away. The first to go was my paternal grandfather, Lolo Mandong, who had won medals in both world wars. I was always afraid of him as a child and one of my greatest regrets is that I didn't get to know him better. Sadly, when I think of him, the first thing that comes to mind is a picture of him in his US Navy uniform. And I do mean a picture - in sepia and framed.
Next were my maternal grandparents. My grandmother, Lola Tans, was the one I felt closest too. My fondest memories are times in the flowershop when I would help her. She would let me wrap and twist white or green crepe paper around wires before she inserted them into flowers for arrangements and bouquets. I also recall the time between lunch and nap time when I would go to her bedroom and lie down on the bed while she read to me the comics page of the Manila Bulletin. My favorite memories of Lolo Pete took place in either of two places. The kitchen, where he taught me to bake breads and rolls -- braiding the cinnamon was what I loved best. In front of the fireplace, him on his rocking chair and me and my cousins on the rug, while he told us stories about growing up.
My paternal grandmother, whom we fondly called Lola Taba, passed away a few years ago. We were her only direct grandchildren and so we were the only ones allowed to call her that. To everyone else, she was Lola Titang. She was the one I hardly got along with yet strangely enough she is the one I have the most memories of. I remember things she said and did going way back to when my age was still a single digit.
Looking back, I wish I had spent more time with them when they were alive. Getting to know them better. Listening to and remembering their stories. Now, it is too late. Memories of life are much dearer than memories of cemetery visits. I've heard it said a lot of times, that the best time to visit is when people are alive and not when they are dead. It is a cliche but one that is best taken to heart.
Today, I did not visit a single cemetery. I am spending the weekend with my family. Some of my husband's family are with us too. We are celebrating life by enjoying each other's company, sharing stories and eating good food.
No, we did not visit the dead. That doesn't mean we have forgotten or that we will forget. The cemeteries hold only their remains. I'd like to believe that their souls are in a wonderful place where they look down on us and lovingly encourage us to spend as much time with our family as they would have wanted to spend with us had they had the chance.
Eternal rest grant unto them Oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.
It feels good to pay it forward but I am of firm belief that is feels better to pay it back.
I am unabashedly La Sallian even if I have never received a loyalty award. My contention that they did not accept females until the year I started my studies there, nor my contention that my total length of stay with the institution outnumbers the years of those who actually received the award, have been for naught. The absence of the award however does not diminish my gratitude and appreciation to the three schools/campuses I have studied in.
Thus, it was one of my greatest frustrations to have helped improve facilities in other medical centers and not have been able to do so in my own home turf. I wanted it to become one of the best. I wanted to help it realize its potential in what little way I could. Unfortunately, red tape was everywhere and it felt that like there were hurdles around every corner. It felt like half the administration was opposing our group. It even felt like some of the Brothers were against us and at least one of them even admitted his concerns. It was implied that I and my colleagues were in this for personal gain of the illegal kind. A fellow La Sallian even accused us of being uninformed and backward. Very hurtful given that we had nothing but the best intentions at heart. And these were only the things that got back to us. I don't know, and at this point I don't care, if there were more slurs.
It took three years of ups and downs but early this year we finally achieved what we set out to do. Worthy of full page ads in the major dailies. It was a very fulfilling moment indeed. We felt good when the hospital administration acknowledged our contribution. We felt good when Br. Mawel thanked us personally. I felt good showing colleagues, students, alumni and outsiders around our project.
It felt good enough that my colleagues and I agreed that we could finally lay low and take a breather after everything we went through.
Wrong. The pull is too strong and we find ourselves more ambitious than ever. We are a bit nervous though because after the One La Salle shuffle, we are treading on different ground again. Almost all of the personalities we have to deal with will be new. Firstly, Br. Gus, whom I have been seeing and have heard about since HS days, but have never worked with before. Even Sr. Francesca, the Hospital Administrator and Dr. Carlos, the Medical Director are new faces and forces to contend with.
This means more prayers, sleepless nights and gallons of coffee. I'm even more certain people will start saying things again. I just hope that with our track record, we won't be given as hard a time as before. If we pull this off though, it will all be worth it. This is no longer just benchmarking. It will mean being in front of the pack.
Yes, paying back can definitely become addicting and this is one addiction I don't mind having.
A college friend who was in pre-law decided to forego law school and work in the field of banking instead. His goal was to make his first million one year before the rest of us earned our law and medicine degrees. He succeeded and left the rest of us wondering if we had made the right decision.
Throughout medical school, internship and residency I rarely attended reunions. The main reason was lack of time. Another was not wanting to hear about how successful all my other HS classmates were. It wasn't because of envy, resentment or feelings of inferiority. These were the years when I was buried in books, when I was going on 24-hr duties, when I was doing scut work, when I was being deprived of quality family time, when my firstborn was spending more time with her yaya than with me, when I could not even enjoy my time off because I'd be sleeping like the dead in an involuntary effort to counter sleep deprivation. I didn't want to hear about how successful they were because I was afraid that it would weaken my resolve to follow through with what I had started.
All throughout internship, my end goal was to pass the boards and practice medicine. While the main purpose of treating patients and doing good for the rest of humanity was always there, likewise ever present at the back of my mind was a longing for a time when I would get paid enough to compensate for what I had gone through.
After the boards, I quickly went to work as a GP moonlighting in different small hospitals and in clinics. I affiliated with different insurance companies and this afforded me my daily "reasonably priced" P300 lunches. College friend was by then rich banker friend and he was thinking of buying out one of the bigger multispecialty clinics and wanted me to help run it. My income would have further improved but by then I was bored and unchallenged by my work.
I refused. Training over money.
Instead, I went into residency for further training and was forced to spend on "expensive" P60 lunches. My specialty of choice was not as demanding of my time so it was then that I married and started a family. However, my entire training allowance was not even enough to cover for my meals and my gasoline expenses. My husband had to take on extra work to allow our family a decent lifestyle. Towards the end of my residency, I was once again tempted to go straight into practice to help out with finances. But the lure of the academe was stronger. I decided that it would be best to go directly into subspecialty training.
And I even did it twice. Training over money.
Soon after I finished training, a colleague and I were involved in setting up two new facilities. Money became my focus. I was working extra hard on these projects because of the potential income I would receive once these were set up.
Two years ago, I was asked how P300k/month sounded. It sounded like heaven. Then I found out that I had to work 11 hour days and be on-call the rest of the time, even weekends. Very tempting but I was enjoying my personal and family time too much and I eventually withdrew my application. Family over money.
Then things started to build up again and I started wondering "where did my lifestyle go?". I endeavored to achieve a balance in my life. Become a real super wife/mom. Strive for family over money.
By the middle of last year, I found myself affiliated with 3 big hospitals, 2 small hospitals and 4 clinics. Too much work once again and still I found myself taking on the biggest project of my professional career to date. It eventually proved too much and come Christmas time, I had resigned from 1 big hospital, the small hospitals and 1 clinic. At the start of this year I went on an extended leave of absence from 2 more small clinics. Not so that I would have more time with my family but rather to allow me time to work on my big project.
I was supposed to have gone back to work in the clinics this March but I've decided to give up one clinic completely and to cut my time in the other clinic in half. You see, I was really happy with the way everything was going . . .
. . . until my daughter uttered the words, "I like it better when I'm sick because Mommy spends more time with me."
Hearing that was the worst thing ever. It was as if my heart just stopped beating and yet there was a pounding in my ears. Then I got this flashback to a time when I was explaining my choices of specialty and subspecialties. I remember saying it was a lifestyle choice, primarily because it wasn't as demanding of time as the other medical specialties. These were specialties that would allow me to spend quality time with my husband and kids, that would allow me "me-time".
Inspite of this I find myself in a situation where I only get to really talk to my husband when we take just one car to work. A situation where my daughter is vocal about how I don't care enough and don't spend enough time with her. A situation where my son would rather be with his yaya than with me.
My husband's cousin, who happens to be in the same profession, and whom I suspect my daughter may have talked to, also recently scolded me. Quality time is not enough. Quantity counts just as much. She claims she only realized this when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She regrets not being there for her first two children and appreciates that her cancer made her realize how much she wanted to be there for the younger kids and how much she wanted to make up time with the others.
This time, I'm making sure I take heed. I've sworn not to take on new hospitals or clinics unless they are replacements for existing ones. No more additional work hours. The Lord must be very patient with me to have given me several heads-up's.
Family over money. Always. I mean it. This time, it's for keeps.
I got this email with a picture of Mary saying I had to send it to 20 people otherwise I would experience great tragedy, etc. You can check it out below and decide if you want to forward it or not.
Now, I'm p.o.'ed because I've received this particular letter at least 5 times already. To which 20 people shall I inflict the burden of sending this on to 20 other unsuspecting individuals?
Does anyone honestly believe that the Blessed Virgin will kill off people who don't forward her image? And this question isn't being asked because I lack faith or I don't believe or whatever it is some people would like to think.
The image below is of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Many believe that the original image is miraculous. It may well be so since it has survived the last 500 years all the while maintaining its structural integrity. This is stated in the writings of Giulio Guerra, "La Madonna di Guadalupe. 'Inculturazione' Miracolosa". It has also survived ammonia spillage in 1791 and a bomb blast in 1921. The Mexicans should be protesting this email because it implies that their beloved Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, their most popular religious, cultural and nationalistic symbol, is a vengeful mother who punishes those who disobey instructions to forward emails. Filipinos should protest this implication as well because Pope Pius XI proclaimed her a patron of the Philippines.
You know, I would much rather forward (if I do forward at all) the emails telling me to help or pray for someone in need than to forward the emails telling me I will either: 1) die, 2) lose my family, 3) go bankrupt, 4) receive bad luck,
if I don't continue the chain -- even if there is an added bonus of: a) my wish coming true b) receiving a surprise c) Microsoft (or whoever) paying for someone's medical bill or better yet Apple sending me a free iPod
So, anyway, back to this email that I got. It got me to wondering where this stuff was coming from (yes, just now, after years of receiving them) and if there was any truth to the stories of the ill-fated people who failed to forward and the lucky ones who did.
I quote "The President of Argentina received this letter and called it "junk mail", 8 days later his son died." Using Google and Wikipedia, I have come across Carlos Menem, president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999 whose son, Carlos Jr, died during his presidency. While the death of Carlos was sudden (helicopter crash), there is no evidence to prove that former President Menem did indeed receive the email and that if he had received it, he did so 8 days before Carlos died.
"A man received this letter and immediately sent out copies...his surprise was winning the lottery." Which man is this? Which lottery? Visa Lottery? Green Card Lottery? Spiel? El Loto 6/41?
"Alberto Martinez received this letter, gave it to his secretary to make copies but they forgot to distribute: she lost her job and he lost his family." This particular line really piqued my interest. Why does Alberto Martinez get named while lottery guy is just "a man"? Which Alberto Martinez is this? The Spanish cyclist? The writer? Or is it the Alberto Martinez who said, ""I even like Taco Bell. I love the beef burrito supreme. I don't like their tacos, but I'll go there every once in a while, sure." and "To us it's not important where the other guy is. It's important where we are and what our internal goals are. ... We're very happy."? Nope, doesn't sound like someone who might have lost his family. Did they mean General Alberto Martinez who was a former Secretaria de Inteligencia de Estado (Secretary of Intelligence) of Argentina. Unfortunately, records show that he served until 1973 leading me to doubt that he lived long enough to receive this email (or any email for that matter) at all. Still, "making copies" might mean that this letter was originally in hand/type written form.
This did make me think of Argentina, however. Perhaps the email originated from there. The country is after all ranked third in Latin America in terms of Internet usage. AND, should the Alberto Martinez in the email also be from Argentina, then maybe his woes and his secretary's job loss (poor secretary, she didn't even receive the email herself) were more due to Argentina's problems of inflation, external debt and capital flight than the Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998 (coinciding with when Carlos Menem was president) and poor internet correspondence. Or it could just all be a coincidence.
To end this lengthy post (which may have some of you thinking that you would rather have received the chain mail instead), let me make it clear that I am not making fun of the Blessed Virgin nor am I being un-Catholic. The second of the 10 commandments states, "You shall have no other Gods before me." It condemns superstition among other things. How better to describe a belief in fortune or misfortune happening based on whether or not I click the forward button? Oh, and I was quoting the Vatican.
So there, I refuse to force the chain email onto all 20 of you. However, know that if you don't reply to this post in 60 seconds, your computer will shut down automatically and you will never be able to turn it on again!
The President of Argentina received this letter and called it "junk mail", 8 days later his son died. A man received this letter and immediately sent out copies...his surprise was winning the lottery.
Alberto Martinez received this letter, gave it to his secretary to make copies but they forgot to distribute: she lost her job and he lost his family.
This letter is miraculous and sacred, don't forget to forward this within 13 days to at least 20 people. Do Not Forget to forward and you will receive a huge surprise!!
I've finally broken my LJ addiction through no significant effort on my part.
"Real" life has gotten in the way of life as I know it. My practice has picked up substantially. Obviously, when a roughly 12-hour work week evolves into almost 60 hours per week exclusive of take home work, not much time is left for anything else.
I only see friends whom I work with or at work-related seminars / conventions. I haven't been to the parlor in ages so my roots are showing and my nails need a decent m/p. No more gym or boxing. No more cafes unless the study group is meeting there. My cellphone breaking down twice meant losing all my contact numbers (except the ones I have in common with my husband) and thusly contact with almost everyone in my world.
Throw in a computer which threatens to crash every so often and that means the near death of my online life. I think that fact is pretty obvious to anyone who checks out my archives. The number of my posts has been dwindling since the second half of 2005 and I only have 9 posts since December. An average of a post and a half per month.
Anyway, I've been giving LJ some thought. The reason I started it was because it gave me a reason to procrastinate doing my research paper and studying for the boards. Then it became a means of informing family and friends about the goings-on in my life. I've met a lot of new friends and I'm grateful for this. However, now that my addiction has broken and now that my voyeuristic tendencies have abated (temporary?) I've decided to clean up this blog and filter the friends I check on.
How long this will last, I can't say for sure. It may just be a phase. Let's wait and see.
Having worked extra hard since the start of the year, and conveniently forgetting that I asked Bom to buy me several pairs of shoes and that I just bought myself a new set of jewelry, I decided to treat myself to a love that I've long deprived myself of.
I had just invited my sister for coffee and she was taking her time to show up. No, she is not the aforementioned love even if we never got along when we were younger and have only recently taken sisterly bonding to previously unreached (not even wildly imagined) heights. The love I am talking about is what I gave up during my less financially stable times. The love I am talking about is books.
Yes, I decided to drop by Powerbooks.
By way of explaning why this is relatively momentous, I have to mention that I used to spend most of my allowance on books (fiction and non-fiction). I would even forego lunch and merienda to be able to buy books every weekend. This was all during the days when I kicked ass in Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit. This was also the time when my weight problem was putting on enough poundage to even hit 100 lbs let alone my ideal weight.
I mentioned this to my sister when we were finally having our caffeine fix. I told her that I missed reading books so much but that I had to prioritize the pittance I was making during my years in training. Milk formula, tuition and household bills obviously take precedence over my favorite authors. Inspite of the existence of dear friends who would lend me books, I could feel my once sharp (IMHO) mind deteriorating. I have to confess that I watched Jeopardy last week and sucked -- big time. That was a harsh blow, believe me.
My sister found the whole thing amusing then she looked at my body and asked, quite pointedly, if that was the trade off. That's when it hit me. She was absolutely right. My weight gain roughly coincided with the time when I stopped spending so much on books.
Now, over a decade later, I weigh over my previously targeted 100 lbs (way, way, way over it). Plus, I do believe I already mentioned that I didn't answer more than a handful of questions thrown by Alex Trebeck.
So, to answer my subject heading. It's effing 3 a.m. 3:30 a.m.! Why am I still on the PC?
I'm being kept awake by the mind-boggling hypothesis that the solution to my ignorance, and more importantly my obesity, is to start buying books again.
I've always enjoyed sunbathing. Lying down on the sand. Feeling the sun's warmth on my skin. Sometimes enjoying it all with a coconut oil massage. Pushing my sun exposure time to the limits by staying on the beach and enjoying the sun -- yes, even into the 10am-2pm window.
In grade school and high school, I used tanning oil or lotion. Then media made us more aware of skin cancer risks and I shifted to an SPF 15 sunblock. I think. I can't really remember what SPF my sunblock offered back then. All I'm sure off is that I started using sun products with an SPF as low as 4.
Nowadays, even my foundation/powder is at least SPF 15 and I don't dare go to the beach or scuba diving without applying at least an SPF 50 sunblock.
In spite of all precautions, my skin, unfortunately, bares signs of photoaging. I've developed fine lines and much to the ant's dismay, freckles as well. Believe me, when my 4-year old notices that "mommy's skin isn't so nice" then it is definitely time for me to take notice as well.
That (plus a case of 3 zits I won't bother to go into except to say that is the most I've ever had all at the same time) is the reason that I started seeing my friend Malou again. After two visits with her, my skin care regimen went from a 3-step (Physiogel cleanser, moisturizer and eye cream) program to a 7-step program with AM and PM variations.
I'm now using the following:
- Cetaphil cleanser for oily skin. Although I may shift back to Physiogel or regular Cetaphil once I consume the tube that I have now.
- C E Ferulic, an antioxidant serum that has gotten the thumbs up not only from the beauty/fasion magazines (Allure, Instyle, New Beauty, Elle, Vogue, Cosmopolitan), health/fitness magazines (Fitness, Medical Spa Report, Oxygen, Vitals) but from the big guns (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, International Journal of Pharmaceutics) as well.
- Benzac AC, which I think is the most uninspired part of my skin regimen. I only use this when I have a pimple.
- Skin Lightening Gel, which provides the most difficult application. I'm supposed to apply it only on the freckles and dark marks but I've taken to spreading it all over the areas with the freckles and dark marks. It should all even out somehow.
- eye cream. I'm currently using Re-Nutriv but only because I got 2 sample giveaways from my last shopping spree.
My next purchase will be facial sunscreen for everyday use. I still can't decide between the compact and the gel form. The compact is definitely more convenient but I'm wary about buying it since it only comes in two shades (light and dark, how much simpler can it get?) and the only one available right now is light. I'm deathly afraid of looking like a kabuki dancer especially after I had make-up lessons last Sunday to update my look and complete my mini-makeover.
In the meantime, I find myself walking around sunny Makati with my umbrella -- something that as a child watching her mother, I swore I would never do.
I guess the sun has proven to me that this is one of those times that a mother knows best.
Doctors have to read thousands, maybe even millions, of pages worth of medical textbooks and journals.
Understandably, it can get tiring. Who am I to deprive my residents of a break once in a while? So, in connivance with the training officer, Dr. Hipol and Asela, we planned a micro mini wine and cheese party.
So on one quiet Wednesday afternoon, the very rarely heard overhead paging of "All Radiology resdients please proceed to Radiology office now." signaled a much welcome break.
The consultants donated different kinds of wine and Asela and I bought the cheeses appropriate for each of the wines. We asked the residents to provide the crackers and grapes.
We had also prepared notes for each of the wines and cheeses, laid out on the tabletop or tacked to the negatoscope in place of x-ray film. Easy to remember tidbits of information that may or may not prove useful in the future. Origin of the wine and cheeses, pronunciation of names, descriptions of color, taste, ideal pairings, etc.
I have always maintained that my chosen specialty and subspecialty are lifestyle choices.
No phone calls in the middle of the night about patients. No morning, afternoon, evening and weekend rounds. You don't necessarily have to dress up. You can eat while working. You're usually in front of the PC, alternating between work and whatever it is you are surfing at the moment. After office hours, you can leave work and forget about it completely until the next day. There are very few emergency calls - and half of these can be ably handled by a fellow or senior resident.
Like I said, lifestyle choices. Until now.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely enjoy my work. Sure, it is tiring sometimes but overall I'm quite happy with it. In fact both you and I are wondering what I'm complaining about. I know that I should be thankful and I am. Really.
It's just that one of the main reasons I went into my field (other than the fact that it is so benign) is so that I could always spend time with my family and not have to worry about being called away on special occasions.
In the first half of this year, my work schedule was Monday morning, whole days of Wednesday and Friday, 1 hour each (including travel time) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I had time to bond with my kids, go to the gym/spa, surf to my heart's delight, finish paperwork, cook meals for the family, etc.
Now I find myself being what Asela calls a real mature adult with work -- more than what I ever expected. In fact, in less than 6 hours, I will be starting at a new hospital. This is on top off two other new jobs, both less than 2 months old.
Instead of lazy, late breakfasts, I find myself waking up almost 2 hours earlier to get ready for work. Instead of a leisurely lunch, I get my food to go and just eat at the various stoplights from one workplace to the other. Instead of getting home in time to watch Spongebob and Art Attack with the kids, I sometimes come home just in time to kiss the bee sweet dreams and to spend only a little over an hour with the ant. Instead of planning diving weekends or out of town trips with our friends, I'm stuck at work on Saturdays. Instead of going through my LJ friends' posts almost daily, I now have to content myself with once or twice a week.
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nostalgic
sleepy
peaceful
excited
contemplative
amused