Edelweiss

One day, one day, I'm going to Europe and see and smell and touch and taste all the amazing things, places and food there!

But that's not going to be happening very soon so while waiting for the perfect time, we just went to this newish restaurant down the street that has fascinated us because of its colorful decor and very foreign-looking ambiance. It is named after the national flower of Switzerland and Austria, the edelweiss, which they claim is the most beautiful flower in the Alps.

Everything about the Edelweiss Austrian Restaurant proclaimed foreign, foreign, foreign. Take for example the subdued lighting, the scalloped checkered curtains with ribbon loops, , the cathedral window lampshades, the upholstered sofas, the wine bottles prominently displayed, the food servers costumed as little milkmaids, and of course, the numerous Caucasian customers. On the scale of 1-10 I'd give the place a grade of 8 for interior design and atmosphere. Not that I'm any good with interior design, I just like the way the place looked. As for atmosphere, maybe it was pleasant because we came early and there were not that many smokers in the room yet.

Their menu was half Austrian and half Filipino and we had some of both. The verdict: the next time we go there we'll be sure to order a Filipino dish, which sort of defeats the purpose of going to a European-themed restaurant if you're going to order Filipino food, right. So maybe we won't go there again, unless we really, really want the "ambiance." Their new milkmaid waitress who attended to us made a blooper. When we asked her if the salad bar was "unlimited" meaning could we go again and again, she said it was. But just to be sure, before we went for the second time to the salad bar, we asked her if she was sure that it was a salad bar buffet and she sheepishly said sorry, dili diay, she made a mistake, that she was just new there. Tsk tsk.

But what I really found delightful about that place was that on the first page of their menu was, in charming, broken English, the legend of edelweiss, the flower of the Alps. The legend goes that (from what I can recall)...

Once upon a time, there was a Snow Queen most fair who lived in a cave in the Alps together with her gnome subjects. One day, a shepherd mistakenly wandered into their cave and heard the Snow Queen singing. He was so enraptured by her beautiful voice that he came day after day and just sat there listening and admiring the Snow Queen. As the menu book said, "they had their love."

Soon the gnomes noticed that their beloved Snow Queen was spending more and more time with the handsome shepherd instead of attending to their needs and they did not like it one bit. So the gnomes planned a rebellion of sorts (I forgot exactly what they did) where the Snow Queen had to make a choice whether to go with her beloved shepherd and become a mortal and plunge her dependent gnomes into orphanhood or give up her forbidden love and face her duties as mother and leader of the gnomes.

And so it came to be, that when decision time came, it was duty first before pleasure and the ill-fated lovers had to part. The Snow Queen's heart was wrenched just so that a single tear fell from her forlorn eyes and when the tear touched the Alpine snow, voila!, the edelweiss was born.

Awww. I love this legend!

images to yesterday's text

(All text are by Jose Rizal, from a letter he wrote to his good friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, on December 19, 1893.)



"I shall tell you how we lived here. I have three houses-one square, another hexagonal, and the third octagonal. All these houses are made of bamboo, wood, and nipa. I live in the square house, together with my mother, my sister, Trinidad, and my nephew."




"In the octagonal house live some young boys who are my pupils."

"... from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., I am busy as a teacher. I teach the young boys."






"The hexagonal house is my barn where I keep my chickens."












"From my house, I hear the murmur of a clear brook which comes from the high rocks. I see the seashore where I keep two boats, which are called barotos here."

"I rise early in the morning-

at five - visit my plants, feed the chickens,
awaken my people, and prepare our breakfast.

At half-past seven, we eat our breakfast, which consists of tea, bread, cheese, sweets, and other things."



"I have many fruit trees, such as mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos, baluno, nangka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs,
cats, and other animals."

"I spend the rest of the afternoon in farming.
My pupils help me in watering the plants, pruning the fruits,
and planting many kinds of trees. We stop at 6:00 p.m. for the Angelus."

"I spend the night reading and writing."

in Jose Rizal's own words

I was going to write about our trip to the Rizal Shrine in Dapitan but while doing some research on why Rizal was exiled to Dapitan, I found this on the Jose Rizal University website instead.

Here, Jose Rizal describes his life during his exile in Dapitan.

____________________

Peaceful Life in Dapitan

During the early part of his exile in Dapitan, Rizal lived at the commandant’s residence. With his prize from the Manila Lottery and his earnings as a farmer and a merchant, he bought a piece of land near the shore of Talisay near Dapitan. On this land, he built three houses- all made of bamboo, wood, and nipa. The first house which was square in shape was his home. The second house was the living quarters of his pupils. And the third house was the barn where he kept his chickens. The second house had eight sides, while the third had six sides. In a latter to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, on December 19, 1893, Rizal described his peaceful life in Dapitan. "I shall tell you how we lived here. I have three houses-one square, another hexagonal, and the third octagonal. All these houses are made of bamboo, wood, and nipa. I live in the square house, together with my mother, my sister, Trinidad, and my nephew. In the octagonal house live some young boys who are my pupils. The hexagonal house is my barn where I keep my chickens." "From my house, I hear the murmur of a clear brook which comes from the high rocks. I see the seashore where I keep two boats, which are called barotos here." "I have many fruit trees, such as mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos, baluno, nangka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs, cats, and other animals." "I rise early in the morning-at five-visit my plants, feed the chickens, awaken my people, and prepare our breakfast. At half-past seven, we eat our breakfast, which consists of tea, bread, cheese, sweets, and other things." "After breakfast, I treat the poor patients who come to my house. Then I dress and go to Dapitan in my baroto. I am busy the whole morning, attending to my patients in town." "At noon, I return home to Talisay for lunch. Then, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., I am busy as a teacher. I teach the young boys." "I spend the rest of the afternoon in farming. My pupils help me in watering the plants, pruning the fruits, and planting many kinds of trees. We stop at 6:00 p.m. for the Angelus." "I spend the night reading and writing."

playing paparazzi

Have been busy with the Pain Society of the Philippines (PSP) Annual Convention at Bethel Guest House since I got back from Dapitan/Dipolog/Dakak, so for today, I'll just be annotating yesterday's pictures.

Oh, well, ok. Here's some little news bit I couldn't resist telling. Dakak Resort was swarming with military men in camouflage uniform when we visited the place. I heard they were the security detail for one VIP who was recently released from 13 years in prison. This former politician was convicted for two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness for raping an 11-year old girl and was sentenced to two life imprisonments and had been serving time at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP).

For reasons that I don't understand, he was released last March 19 and has gone back to his hometown where he got a hero's welcome upon arrival. Truly, as we went around the cities (Dapitan and Dipolog) we could see big banners everywhere proclaiming love and a warm welcome for him. I asked the locals, how could this be? How come he is so loved? The answer: "He's really a good man. He's very generous. Maayo kaayo na siya. It's just that young girls are his weakness."

O_o

This is my cousin, Tomas, posing on the steps leading to the main resort lobby.
The sand on the foreground is dazzling white.

I moved my camera just a bit to the right and took a shot of the group that was having lunch there. If you zoom in, you would see the VIP in a white shirt.
But why would you want to do that, huh?

walls of rock in dakak

From the Camila Hotel in Dipolog, we took a motorcab (like a pedicab, fare 7 pesos each) to "Satellite" which is their bus and van-for-hire terminal. We got on an air conditioned van that brought us to Dapitan City terminal in 30 minutes for 25 pesos each. At the V-hire terminal there were plenty of habal-habal motorcycles that would bring us to Dakak resort for 100 pesos per motorcycle per way. A lot of haggling happened here as their initial asking price was 200 per motorcycle. As one motorcycle could seat two passengers, I think this was a pretty good price (50 pesos per person per way).

The ride from the Dapitan terminal to the resort took about 20 minutes and it was a great ride because of the wind on our faces, which we wouldn't have had if we took a van to the resort. The trip was also interesting because the road to Dakak Resort was being widened and concreted and heavy equipment had cut up part of the sides of the mountains to make way for the roads. The walls of the mountains were made of multi-colored rocks. The rocks and soil were predominantly orange, some slate grays and occasionally, there were slabs of blue that were chipped off the mountain. Rumor has it that there is actually a gold mine beneath all these rocks.

rock wall, in various colours

orange rock and soil

interesting slabs of blue
(they even say that underneath, there's some gold, too)

at Dakak resort itself,
there's a wall made up of these different coloured rocks

Dapitan Rocks!

Orange. Gray. Blue. Green.

Rocks.

They say there's even gold.

from D to 3D

So excited. Going on a trip.

From Dumaguete to Dapitan/Dipolog/Dakak.

Vavoom, y'all.

black and green

Black, green and trimmings in red are the colors of the toga for the Doctorate in Medicine degree holders in Silliman. Red for SU, green for the life that physicians seek to uphold and black for the solemnity of the graduation exercises.

Black and green and touches of red also seem to be the motif of the following pictures I took last week when we went to Bais for some errands. Though I've driven many times to my father's hometown in Sta. Catalina (98 kilometers south of Dumaguete), this was my first time to drive that far up north. Bais is actually only 44 kilometers from Dumaguete but several stretches of road and some bridges were under repair so it took me almost one and half hours to drive to Bais.

shady road from Bais to Tanjay

locked gate

the chapel and flowering trees beyond the locked gate

la casa grande

Marvin Flores

It is my pleasure and privilege to have been classmates with Marvin in Lit 22 under Sir Sawi Aquino a couple of years ago, together with a bunch of other BS Physics majors who were taking up World Literature as part of their wholistic curriculum that aimed at producing scientists with a cultural edge. I remember Marvin as a non-nerdy looking guy who was quick to smile and always ready to help. When I needed an extra character to play the role of King Aegeus in my skit about Theseus and Aethra, Marvin was the obvious pick as he learned his lines in a blink and his lighthearted nature made everything seem easy.

I did not know then that he was a genius as those physics guys were mostly quiet in literature class as it was the Psych and English majors who did most of the talking. It was only after Sunday's graduation that I learned about Marvin's awe-inspiring story of overcoming financial hardship all these years. I am going to be culling snippets from the original article by Kuya Moe Atega for posting here later but in the meantime, here's the link to Marvin's story. (The story is in Facebook, I'm still waiting for Kuya Moe to upload it somewhere more public because I believe Marvin's story should be read by everyone.)

According to SU News, Marvin, who was a scholar of the Department of Science and Technology, intends to pursue a research on the anthrophomorphic principle and the constancy of the speed of light.

Graduation Day

Finally, it's the most awaited day for Silliman and Foundation Universities.

To our medical graduates, congratulations and get used to your new names! (Click on image to see the rest of the Testimonial Dinner pictures.)

(l-r, back)
Dr. Yugeong Go
Dr. Philmed Salindo
Dr. Georgitha Partosa
Dr. Marikit Bituin Buquiran
Dr. Tanya Ramas-Uypitching

(l-r, front)
Dr. Julie Cabristante
Dr. Sheena Saycon
Dr. Pearl Vidal
Dr. Kristine Espancho

To my literature and creative writing classmates Jordan, Ayla, Mario and Sonia, congratulations and hoy balik-balik pud mo.

To my friend Jun Quevenco, Magna Cum Laude from the Foundation University College of Law, I am speechless! Ang galing! Hugs to your wife, Jay, and daughters, Katrina and Maika.

To my niece, Paula, already a weblogger at Grade 6, who graduated from elementary with honors and leadership awards, I am so proud to be your relative! :-)

To all the rest of the graduates, congratulations and happy job hunting.

To all parents and guardians, whew!

To my colleagues in the teaching profession, it's been a fun year and I salute you for braving the heat and the sweat by sitting at the SU Amphitheater in your incredibly thick doctorate togas for the entire sweltering afternoon hours to honor our pioneering graduates.

To my hairdresser, thank you for the tender touch and hair care advice, but would just like to let you know, ni fly-away na pud ako buhok. Duh.

And finally, to my dear teacher, Dr. Dale Law, thank you for the wonderful semester of brutally frank critiquing of my essays. I actually hope you won't get to read this because I'm sure you're going to flip with my colloquialisms and many "awkward" word choices. If you must know, Sir, from this day forward, every time I write a sentence, I always ask myself, "What will Dr. Law say? What will Dr. Law say?" I know what you'll say. "Repetitious!" ;-p

And, oh, p.s. to Prof. Andrea Soluta, my Literary Theory teacher, yes, Ma'am, I promise to submit my writing assignments on the different -isms before the deadline. I just have to make this post and yeah, uh, finish some pending Guess the Sketch Challenge games.

And while I'm at this, I might as well thank you, dear reader, whether you come visit here regularly or just stumbled upon this today, I am grateful. What's the use of writin' if no one's gonna be a readin'?

I, thank you all. Bow.

Paglaki ko gusto kong maging...

This video was made by our graduating medical students and presented during our testimonial dinner and bequethal ceremony today.

To all our graduates, Congratulations, Doctors!

May all your dreams come true. :-)

Chelsa Cacaldo, M.D.

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) Exemplary Person awardee.

Doctor to the barrios, "fearless doctor in the hinterlands"

Chelsa and the Visayan Forum representatives (Excellent Institution awardee), flanked by members of the RAFI.

And of course, Chelsa with Batch '78 during our 30th reunion last August.

Madz Pics

the signature semi-circular seated formation

a light moment with the Madz in their rendition of a Filipino number

Images from the Philippine Madrigal Singers' concert at the Luce Auditorium posted here with permission from the official events photographer Clee Andro Villasor. [Click on the photos to see the rest of the pictures.]

light/shadow, joy/sorrow

It's been a week since the Philippine Madrigal Singers charmed Dumaguete with their two concerts, one at the Sofia Soller Sinco Hall in Foundation University and the other at the Luce Auditorium in Silliman. Yet it is only now that I'm writing about it because I've found it difficult to enthuse about marvelous music in one paragraph and then in the next breath lament about a tragedy that befell a family that has become quite close to us of late. This sad story is not mine to tell, suffice it to say that it involved the unexpected and horrible demise of a loved one that has left a deep, deep abyss of anger and confusion in those left behind. And so it was with that frame of mind and spirit that I watched the Madrigal's concert, knowing that I would not be lingering after the show to celebrate with the audience and the performers, because I had a wake to go to, to see the face of a young child who had just learned that his parent would be coming home in "a box with a lock."

It was my first time to watch the Philippine Madrigal Singers, a.k.a. the Madz, so everything was new and a surprise to me. The first surprise was their signature semi-circular formation. I thought singers had to be standing upright for best vocal aerodynamics but the Madz defied that and were seated for most of the two-hour concert. The next surprise was their choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio, who was seated with them giving signals with his eyes, head and body instead of with the usual elaborate hand gestures that I have come to associate with choir conductors. I was very impressed with the finesse and uniqueness of their communication. Instead of gesticulating with his hands in the air, Carpio gave eyebrow raises and subtle tilts of his head, shoulders and torso to bring the different voices to crescendo and decrescendo, with his hands staying flat on his lap most of the time. Such control and connection!

That the Madrigal Singers were good singers was not a surprise, it was a well founded expectation and I was not disappointed. In fact, judging by the standing ovation at the end of the concert, nobody was disappointed. At all. What surprised me was the age of the singers. They were all adults, most probably with all the attendant responsibilities of day jobs and families. Yet the quality of their impassioned performance displayed the just rewards of daily practice. I don't think anyone, even the very talented ones, could perform as well without the benefit of rigorous rehearsals.

My friend, Crystal, herself a voice major and currently taking up masteral studies in choir conducting, said, "Ate, listen to their voices. Buong-buo. Very solid na because they are all adults." I wanted to ask Crystal why did we not have a similar choir here in Dumaguete, surely we don't have a dearth of talents here. Then I remembered that we do have. Two in fact. There's Faith Unlimited with Ms. Gina Raakin as director and there's Ating Pamana with choir director Dr. Susan Vista-Suarez. Although these two groups, perhaps, still have some ways to go before they can reach the level of discipline and dedication of the Madz.

Another thing that surprised me about the Madz' performance was the sparsity of movement. I'm a theater aficionado and I've always thought that drama on stage needs big, exaggerated movements, as opposed to film where movements are more subtle and natural. It was a delight to have that preconception debunked and replaced with the realization that drama can be achieved even without big stage movements. In this case it was the exquisite blending of powerful voices that brought all the elegant drama that was needed.

The first part of the programme featured international classics like the William Tell Overture, It was a lover and his lass by Shakespeare, Eres Tu and Loch Lomond. The second part almost brought the audience to our feet, and my heart did swell, I think Filipino music is just so beautiful. Included in their repertoir were Salidumay, Kataka-taka, Dandansoy (this Visayan lullaby reminded me of childhood again), and Yoyoy Villame's Buchiki was one of the songs they did for the encore. At one point, Choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio directed the audience as we sang along with excerpts from Abba's Mamma Mia numbers.

As they say, time flies when you're having fun. It didn't seem like two hours had passed and nobody wanted to budge from Luce Auditorium for the longest time after the show, hoping perhaps for some more songs. There was a lot of handshaking and picture taking in the Luce lobby and there were dining tables set up so there must have been some eating and more fellowship that followed. It was a gala show, after all. As for me, I had to leave and attend to more somber matters. When the Madz return to Dumaguete, in the near future hopefully, I am watching again and dragging everyone else along because I have most definitely become a fan.

true knot or not true knot?

As every individual is different from another, so is every umbilical cord different from all others. The umbilical cord connects the growing baby to the placenta and to the mother. Nutrients from the mother are brought to the baby through the umbilical cord while wastes from the baby are brought to the mother for excretion also via the umbilical cord.

Needless to say, the integrity of the umbilical cord is very crucial to the baby's growth and survival inside the uterus. Any abnormality in anatomy or any impingement upon the blood vessels passing through the cord could compromise the life of the baby.

two-minute-old baby

The image above is that of a newborn baby with part of it's umbilical cord still attached. Notice the bluish-black knot at the end of the cord, near the tip of the metal forceps. This is a True Knot in the umbilical cord where factors like an extra lengthy cord and a baby that kept flipping and turning when it was smaller contributed to the knot formation. Varying types of cord coils around the baby's neck, limbs and body are quite common (5-20% of births) but a true knot is a rare occurrence ( 0.1 to 1% of pregnancies)

A closer look at the knotted umbilical cord (near the tip of the metal forceps). Notice the thick and greasy-looking vernix caseosa on the baby's arm that have not been completely wiped off yet.

(image from the Utah Medical Library)

Just to show contrast, this is how a pseudoknot or a false umbilical cord knot looks like. it is not a true knot, but just an exaggerated loop of one of the umbilical arteries because it is longer than the vein.

wall climbing, day 7

Nobody's climbing the wall, it's the wall that's climbing to higher heights as the mason and his assistants lay hollow block after hollow block to rebuild the cement fence that was destroyed by the flash flood last February 7.




This is how it looked today, the 7th working day in the rebuilding-the-wall project. Can you spot the differences between the two photos?



Notice the bananas in the upper picture. When the wall is finished it will become obvious that the bananas do not belong to us as the banana plant is actually ober-da-bakod from us.

pen and ink

Fred Jordan Carnice's poetry and painting exhibit opened today at the Sidlakang Negros Art Gallery.















This is Jordan's Bride (above) and Groom (on the right) in pen and ink.

Sidlakang Negros

Sidlakang Negros in Piapi is a place where the different products of Negros Oriental are displayed for locals and visitors to see. Each town and city in Negros Oriental has their own "hut" where they showcase their town's or city's best products.

Here are some of them:

These bamboo-made home fixtures by Buglas Bamboo are currently on display at the Sidlakang Negros Foundation in Piapi.


untitled, by an FU student

Also on display at the Sidlakang Negros is Project Dos, an art exhibit by the Department of Architecture and Fine Arts of Foundation University.

last day of school

It's Friday the thirteenth, the last official day of classes in SU today. Next week is final exams week. It's hectic and panic time for students and teachers alike.

To my graduating classmates Fred Jordan (Creative Writing), Ayla (Literature) and Mario (Languages), I can't believe I won't be seeing you in school next sem! Huhuhu. I'm gonna miss you, guys. Thank you for all the 'discussions', intellectual and otherwise. ::wink::wink:: Hehehe.

To my graduating students, hey, I hope you finish all your hospital make-up duties so you can march this March. ;-)

rebuilding the wall, day 4

After the old fallen wall was pulverized and the steel bars scavenged for reuse, after the ditch was dug (days 1 and 2) and the deformed steel bars skeleton of the posts were assembled (day 3), it was time to set the posts' foundation in cement (day 4).

just add water : sand, gravel and cement

setting a firm post foundation

rebuilding the wall

Last February, a flash flood devastated Dumaguete and some neighboring towns. We were not spared as about 15 meters of our cement wall came tumbling down courtesy of the raging waters that entered our compound.

fallen wall

Rebuilding the fence started this week. These photos were taken on day one. Let's see how many days it'll take to put the wall up again.

digging a ditch

and making it deep

advice to young doctors

...from the also young (once).


1. Dr. Erlinda Lim-Juan, recipient of the Most Outstanding Family Physician of the Year Award given by the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians last February 2009.

"In the practice of medicine, there are several important Cs to live by. The first C is the C of Commitment to patient care. The second C is the C of genuine Concern for the patient's well-being and then there is the C of having a good Connection with our Creator. Doctors should also abide by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) Code of Ethics. For example, we should not Charge our Colleagues, their parents or their Children. Doctors should remember to live by the Hippocratic Oath. "


2. Dr. Lucille Flores-Teves, OB-Gynecologist

"Go immediately into training. Specialize. Sub-specialize, if possible. Choose a specialty or a sub-specialty that is not available yet in the place where you plan to practice. There is no gyne-oncologist yet in Dumaguete so we have to send patients to Cebu or Manila for management. The ultimate goal is to bring good service to our patients. It is more convenient for the patient if they can have the treatment in their hometown rather than having to travel to a strange and distant city where logistics and support groups are less readily available.

And don't delay in getting on with that residency. The older one gets, the harder it is to learn new things."

3. Dr. Mike Ozoa, Urologist

"Try out your career first. This advice is particularly for those who only went into medicine because their parents or some other relatives coerced them into it. For the new graduates who are not too excited about the practice of medicine, my advice is to give the practice of medicine a chance. Give it a try. See if you like it. Then if you realize that you don't like it or that there is something else that you would really, really want to do, then that's the time that you hang up that stethoscope and fold up that smock gown."

4. Dr. Erlyn Quinanola, OB-gyne/Sonologist

"Specialize. It is easier to get into hospital practice if you are already a specialist."

5. Dr. Marc Baviera, Urologist

"Go into residency. Patients today are well educated. They don't go to the hospital looking for a General Practitioner. They look for a specific doctor for a specific disease.

While waiting for a residency slot, you can do moonlighting or be a company physician. But your goal should be to go into residency."

6. Dr. Agong Uy, OB-Gyne/Sonologist

"Don't waste time. Go immediately into residency. While waiting for a residency slot, you can work as a medical transcriptionist."

7. Dr. Glenda Nuico, Pediatrician

"Specialize. Sub-specialize if possible. Medicine is very competitive these days. One has to be updated with the latest developments in medicine."

8. Dr. Gam Garcia, IM-Infectious Diseases

"Whatever you do, love your work. And everyday, seek to be a blessing to others."

9. Dr. Danny Olegario, Orthopedic surgeon

"Train. Choose whatever specialty you want. But you have to train."

__________________


This is a rather skewed survey, of course, because all the respondents are specialists, with spanking brand new clinics at the SU-MAB. I wonder what the doctors at the provincial hospital would advice the new medicine board passers.

I'm also wondering what my SUHS '78 classmates, Dr. Jacqueline Borja and Dr. Chelsea Cacaldo, who are doctors to the barrios here in Negros Oriental, would say.

A few months back, I met Jacqueline in the hospital and I asked her how was she doing as the Rural Health Officer in Basay. She said that she was the "all around" person there, meaning aside from her duties as a physician, every now and then she also doubles as the nurse, midwife, counselor, advocate, manager, teacher, helper, financer, socials committee chairperson and everything else in between. The interesting thing was, several years ago she had a chance to go to America because a well-paying job was waiting for her there. After weighing everything, however, she decided to stay with her people in rural Basay. And she said, she has not regretted that decision since.

As for Chelsea, well, Chelsea! She's been in the news lately because she was recently the recipient of the prestigious Ramon Aboitiz Exemplary Person Award! She is now dubbed the "fearless doctor to the hinterlands for tirelessly providing health care services in a rebel infested area." Read about it here.

So if you ask me, as a specialist I would say, go specialize. But before you do that, be a doctor to the barrios first for a couple of years. Our people surely need you. Who knows, maybe like Jacqueline and Chelsea, you might find that your heart is in the barrio and decide to stay there. Or if that is not your calling, I believe the two years with the poorest of our poor will somehow have a lasting impact in your perspective as a physician for the rest of your practicing days.

Dr. RMTO's clinic

Doctors' clinics at the SU-MAB:
Dr. VTR's
Dr. BPF's
Dr. AES's
Dr. RMTO's

________________________________________

Dr. Robert Michael T. Ozoa, urologist, undisputed father-of-the-years awardee, shares his art and his wisdom in paintings that adorn his clinic at the SU-MAB.

the male (notice the prostate) urogenital system, by RMTO

These unframed "words to live by" hang above Dr. RMTO's desk. He's made several of these so he changes the hanging slogans every week.

Smart(is an)***

:::smart server is down:::smart server is down:::
:::smart is the new ***::: ;p

a thousand splendid tears

I had read several positive reviews of Khaled Hosseini’s 2007 novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, so when I bought a copy of the book, I was already expecting it to be as enjoyable as Hosseini’s first book, The Kite Runner. I did not expect, though, that while reading this second book, I would have to rush to the privacy of the bathroom several times to bawl there in secret lest the people in the house, who were coming in and out of my room, wondered why I was sobbing while reading.

That may sound a bit too dramatic, but, if you know me, I’m a sucker for drama. That’s why I loved the dramatic twists and turns in the lives of the protagonists and the antagonists and all the other minor characters in the story that was set in Afghanistan, particularly in Herwat and Kabul, places that I had only vaguely heard about. It was hard to imagine how the people lived in what, to me, was a strange and even barbaric culture.

Whereas The Kite Runner was about paternal love, male bonding, friendships and betrayals, A Thousand Splendid Suns was about the sacrificial nature of maternal love, female bonding and the reality of gender bias. This last one was particularly striking to me, because I come from a country where, in many areas, women are considered just as good as men, and gays just as good, if not better, than straights.

I am not going to write a summary of the book. There are plenty here, here and here. But of course, all the summaries and reviews, including this one, do not do justice to the book. It must be read in full to be appreciated.

Let me tell you instead about which parts of the book had me BOL (Bawling Out Loud).

First would be the innocence, the naiveté, of the female protagonists. Many times I wanted to tell the women/children in the story, “Noooo! Do Not Believe That!! Do Not Allow That!! Do Not Tolerate That!!” But always they were helpless against their brute oppressors.

Second would be the time when Laila, the heroine, was about to give birth but could not immediately get into a hospital simply because of her gender. As it was, her baby was breech so an emergency Caesarian section was indicated. Problem was, the impoverished hospital that took in female patients did not have any anesthetic.

As a physician in a third world country I have seen a few minor surgeries done without benefit of an anesthetic. It is incredible how the conditioned mind can tolerate pain. But a C section is not minor surgery, by any means. In some hinterland areas in the Philippines, it can be done under local anesthesia by expert hands. But a C section without any kind of anesthesia happens only in fiction, I so want to believe.

In the book, Laila’s friend, Mariam, held her hand during the entire operation. At the end of that horrid chapter, the narrator goes, “Mariam would always admire Laila for how much time passed before she screamed.”

In my work, I am ever watchful for the slightest sign of pain in the patient; be it a slight tilt of the head, a furrowing of the forehead, a flutter of the eyelids, a single finger lifted, a hint of a whimper, a rise in the heart rate and blood pressure. A scream is way off the scale. Oh, how I wanted to be there with Laila, with my little ampule of Bupivacaine.

So yes, I let myself be carried away by that book. Not too difficult, really, because third in my list of reasons for BOL is that, some parts of the story were my very own, too, written in words that I could, perhaps, never have the courage to say myself. Maybe not in a thousand years.

brown out sa bagacay

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Dr. Lim-Juan

Congratulations to

Dr. Erlinda Lim-Juan

of the Silliman University Medical Center

for being the recipient of the

Most Outstanding Family Physician of the Year Award

given by the

Philippine Academy of Family Physicians on
February 2009

coming to fruition

from our (neighbors') yards.


okra flower and fruit. from jovitt's yard. not a lot of people like okra because of the slimy goo inside. just think this way: good for my intestines, good for my skin, vitamins and minerals, kaboom!



green bananas. a.k.a. bulungan variety. from the vacant lot on our right. did you know we have lots and lots of banana varieties in the Philippines? the bulungan banana remains green even when ripe. this used to be my favorite variety when i was a kid. now my favorite is the banana-cue variety. just love all that caramelized sugarrrr.




ze golden coconut. from tita mary's yard. these golden globes are so low lying i can almost reach them. dunno if they can be eaten or if they are just for display. i will ask tita mary tomorrow.

The art and poetry of Jordan Carnice

My friend and classmate in lit and writing classes, Fred Jordan Carnice, the only Creative Writing graduate this year, is holding "Lines Verses Lines", an exhibit of his poetry and paintings at the Sidlakang Negros Gallery starting March 15. This exhibit is sponsored by Sidlakang Negros, the Weekly Sillimanian and the SU Kadugong Bol-anon.





Way to go, Bullfrog!! I am so proud of you! Congratulations!!