for this weekend, we have:

4 assignments
3 reading assignments

but enough of that. before long i'll just be using this blog to post task lists and study schedules, and all the comments i'll receive will be either of pity or of disgust. and i swear, it might not be long before that will be all my life revolves around. you know, bagong buhay and all. so there, enough of that, time for the good stuff.

this entire week was all about hs 201, human health and wellness. and aside from all the plenaries and sgd's (small group discussions, that is), last thursday, we had the paz y. ente activity. basically, that was a play on the word pasyente and what we did was just that: a play of being real patients. we had to group into pairs and whisk ourselves away to the many health centers scattered throughout manila, or to the outpatient department of the pgh, and pretend to be real patients. of course, *most of* our ailments were made-up, and some of us chose to manufacture separate identities and life stories as well.

tere and i got assigned to a center somewhere in sta. ana, but we got referred to another one since they were having a blood sugar monitoring drive c/o some congressman. so we went to the next health center, our pair got in while some other pairs didn't (a testament to yours truly's acting skills, haha), i got a free check-up and a prescription for synalar otic, and we got to walk away with no one being the wiser (save maybe the health-worker-on-duty, but then maybe she was just pms or something). just keep in mind, if anyone goes asking around for a mr. rodrigo antonio, freshman, residing at 2281 calderon st. sta. ana, manila, you don't know me, alright?

so what's with the not-so-amusing-anecdote? well, for one thing, i just don't feel like blabbing so much right now. and another thing, i think i'm slowly being drawn towards community medicine. simply put, community med involves working closely with the community in order to provide basic health needs and services directly to the people. on a deeper level, it's all about the people's participation and empowerment, but i really don't want to recount the whole course outline in this entry. the paz y. ente activity, along with all the other hs 201 activities, has shown me how much i might really enjoy working with people and communities, at the barest level possible. i know it sounds idealistic and selfless and all, but wouldn't it be great to grow up and realize that you can actually hold on to that idealism which you valued so much while growing up? of course, i still want to be financially secure and materially gifted (i.e. rich) and practice as a pediatrician someday, but i've started making plans already. graduate (with honors, hopefully), enter a pedia residency program (abroad, perhaps?), stockpile cash for 5 years or so, return to the philippines, find a good-paying job somewhere, enter the dfcm in pgh. and there you have it, undeniable proof of the powers of suggestion. but seriously, i am starting to consider it. just hope the next few years will see me get closer to this pseudo-dream of mine.

and that's it for the heavy, life-changing realizations. on the lighter side, i finally bought my stethoscope (burgundy!!!) and i can now competently take a bp reading using my baxtel aneroid sphygmomanometer. now all i want to do is to hoard scrub suits and have my steth engraved (juan carlos abon, md? hehe). for all the non-believers out there, i'm still keeping up with my healthy lifestyle kuno. with all the wellness lectures, it's hard not to. i've even emptied my condo stores of all junk food, and we might even try jogging sometime this week. the exam this afternoon was deceptively difficult, considering that hs 201 is the most minor graded course we have this year. med choir auditions were just till this afternoon, but i still missed them anyway. i'm thinking that if they hold another audition sometime this year, that would be the signal that it's time to test fate and really try out. i'm also seriously considering attending one of the practices of medrhythmics. i know it's all going to end up as a gigantic joke on me someday, but then again, who knows?

if any, now is definitely the time to dream.