i deserve a break. we all deserve a break.

but this early into the semester? i'm sure the gesture would have been better served if it had been amidst the schedules, the stresses, the toxicities that would come later this sem. but what the heck, a break's a break. enjoy the moment while you can. and enjoy it i did.

it started on wednesday. the cancellation announcement for cwts came the night before, so we slept in, waking up around 9. we had our first ipc class that afternoon. i can't say that i missed ipc sorely, but with all the other toxic subjects, it might as well be free time, for all i care. we were dismissed at 3, then a bunch of us went to baywalk to watch the sunset. it was magnificent. i wish i had a digicam to capture the symphony of sky, sun, and sea; all three blended together to form the famed manila bay sunset.

we kept on walking clear after the sun went down, arriving at picc (or ccp, i'm not really sure) some time after 6. there are bike rental stalls there, and a big open space for cycling around. the sad (and pathetic) thing was, i don't know how to ride a bike. luckily, i chose, or rather, was coerced, to try my hand at biking again. my friends already had some success stories about their biking tutorials, and they sought to make me their latest subject. after 30 minutes of countless tips, false starts, and near falls, i started to respond to their instructions. a few more tries, and i finally got a feel for what they were trying to teach me. there i was, balancing and pedalling, biking like an amateur but biking nonetheless. and not even all the bruises, blisters, and soreness could take that away from me. add another success story here.

we went home around 7:30, and less then 2 hours after arriving, i fell asleep. we woke up at 5:30 the following morning. ate breakfast, finished all morning routines before 7, then we found out that classes were suspended due to the transport strike. we wasted the morning away in the condo, then i went out to watch alexander with the taft nerds. it was okay, read toffee's blog for my reactions. thursday was basically another free day.

friday, all afternoon classes for med students were cancelled to make way for trp practice. our only class for that day, zoo lecture, was also cancelled as soon as we arrived at up. we spent the afternoon wasting away in the condo once again, then left for the philam life theater around 6. unfortunately, we arrived a bit after the 7 pm starting time, and were locked out until the doors opened around 7:30. still, we missed practically nothing, i knew trp to be some kind of contest, but what i watched exceeded all expectations. it wasn't just a chorale competition, it was a collaboration of all med batches and departments for a night of nontoxic, latino-themed fun and entertainment.

there were the original compositions of the med batches which celebrated the upcoming centennial of the college of med. medrhythmics, upcm's dance troupe, blew me away with their spontaneous routine and incredible movements. the med choir graced us with their renditions of seasons of love and another song. the various fraternities and sororities had their own gimmicks, agape presented a touching song interpretation under ultraviolet light, and the surgery department humored, entertained, aroused, and traumatized the audience all at once with their strip show, perhaps the climax of the program. i thought they would stop at their shorts, but amazingly, they dared to dig deeper. the intarmed dance number was a perfect way to top off the night. heck, i was already cheering my lungs out during the slide show before the dance. after the program ended, i left the theater with 3 promises to myself: 1) i will join our class presentation next year, 2) i will audition for the med choir, and 3) i will develop abs by next trp. don't ask about the abs, it's from watching several dancers with bare, perfect midriffs and the surgeons letting it all hang out.

after trp, we had a surprise celebration for pat, our birthday girl that day, in rob towers. candles, rose petals, and music made for a magical midnight show. saturday came, and with it the birthday of yet another imed classmate. greggy invited the class to emerald gardens for a birthday/palanca award celebration, and i am definitely not one to turn down such an occasion. only a little more than half of the class came, but it was a great time. the food kept pouring in, 1 main course at a time, for a grand total of 6 dishes. even with 10 of us in our table, we couldn't come close to finishing all the dishes. i kept on eating for 2 straight hours at the least. and again, it was another time for class camratting. new pics to accompany the fond laughter and full stomachs we got that day.

with all that has happened, it isn't over yet. tomorrow is yet another holiday, normal classes on tuesday, then the centennial celebration of the up college of medicine on wednesday. it's all pouring in, who could ask for more?

a potential week of nothing, a new skill learned, a show of the stars, a birthday bash.

things just keep, and i hope keep on, getting better.