NOMNOMNOM Burgaaaar.

It's Sunday and tomorrow we have another big test coming up. Am I nervous? I'm scared silly. There's going to be a lot of problem solving and analysis on the exam tomorrow because last week was all about epidemiology. I don't know if I'm going to get a high score. I don't even know if I'm going to pass. :/

BUT being the optimistic person that I am, of course tonight wasn't just about reviewing for tomorrow's test! Arg, Joe and I scoured SM Hypermarket for this week's groceries and settled on having dinner at a very intriguing small restaurant nearby called Perri Todd's.

We've heard rumors from our classmates who live here in Iloilo that their burgers were epic, so we had to try them out. We bought the most expensive burger on the menu: a huge slab of beef, lettuce, bacon, mushrooms, and a special cheese sauce. The three of us just ordered one since the price was a bit steep.  Check it out though, it's awesome!

How many burgers like this do you reckon can fit it my mouth?

We also ordered a dish of spaghetti with meatballs. For a pasta-oriented person like me, it passed my easily pleased taste buds with a grade of A+. The serving was meant for one person only, but the three of us shared it too. (We are poor students, after all :D)

Joe and Arg. Joe says that he can finish everything by himself. I have no doubts about that.

It was a pretty stressful day, but thanks to this burger I don't care anymore. Hahaha! I'm gonna buy my brother this one for his birthday on October. :)

University Acquaintance Day

This week our class had to prepare for the "Pag-iririmaw" Event held annually at our university during the first month of class. Pag-iririmaw means "to meet" or "to gather together". I don't really know what language that is though haha. The university plans a parade (with floats), street dance, and a beauty pageant, with all of the different colleges joining. Actually the College of Medicine is autonomous from the entire university, but as tradition dictates the first years always join to represent the entire college.

Preparation week was hectic because we didn't have the time, energy nor the inclination to really win XD. The float, "costumes", yells, etc. were practiced just one night before Friday, the day of the event. Hats off to the med students for a job quickly done! :D

 My classmates slapping a carton pedestal together. And painting it white to cover all the little details.

I helped too by providing moral support.

On Friday afternoon, everyone of us were dressed and ready to march.  We had tarsier ears because the theme of our college was Bohol, a place famous for its tarsiers. We had tarsier "eyes" too, but they were too embarrassing I couldn't even puke after seeing myself in the mirror.

I know we look stupid, but heck, everyone's wearing it anyway.

And just before the parade actually started....it rained! The float was ruined and our walk of shame was agonizingly postponed for another hour. And so we took a lot of random pictures instead. :D

 

Our drummers. Supposed to be tarsiers but dubbed themselves as Care Bears instead.

Our small but spunky contestant for the pageant. 

The underside of her skirt would probably be a nightmare for laundromats, especially with all the rain.

Our male contestant for the pageant. Wearing "stage makeup".
This guy must have all the guts in the world to be able to go parading like this.  

 That's our float. Because of the sudden out pour, it sank instead. XD badum..tss!

 It was a memorable experience, to say the least. I don't think I want to do this again, though, hahaha. I'm looking forward to next year's first year batch. I hope they'll have more absurd outfits so we can all have a good laugh. :D

Rain on Our Shiny New Uniforms

We actually started wearing our College of Medicine uniforms last Monday. Personally, it feels weird because I stopped wearing school uniforms ages ago. It's kind of awkward but fun as well to be a student again. At the age of 20 :) I feeeeel so ancient!

 

 Gab sneezed. Me and Arnie macho men pose with <serious> faces.

 Me and Arnie macho men pose with <dead fish> faces.

The guys doing their <I'm cute> poses.

Dorm mates. On the left side, notice the two persons' visible fugly tans that are yet to disappear.

3rd period Epidemiology class ...and Narcoleptic Joe strikes again! 

Unluckily, the season has started to change and heavy rainclouds seem to gather in the skies daily. Today, it rained really hard and my shoes (and feet) got wet. Especially when a taxi zipped by and splashed water on Gab and me. I guess I have bad luck not only in games but in real life as well. :(

Walking on the street with white uniforms on rainy days: Difficulty level 99999.

Last Monday we also had a really hard exam (we had 2 exams in 2 hours). It probably wouldn't have been that hard if I had studied well days before...but I went home during the weekends. And who could possibly study in a household like mine? Sigh. My fellow dorm mates and I (we sucked at the test) therefore vowed to ESTABLISH A STUDY HABIT EVERY NIGHT. I sure hope it becomes a habit. :P

I'm currently working on an epidemiology assignment where I have to make graphs and calculate the risks blah blah. It's boring and nitpicky and boring. And boring. THIS IS GOING TO BE MY LIFE FOR THE NEXT 4-5 YEARS?! D:

GUTS! Meh, time to sleep :P.

Spongebob protects me from boogie monsters whilst I sleep.

I AM NOW A LADY ASCLEPIAN!

I thought for sure that this chance to join the organization Order of Asclepius would be forfeited since I went home during the orientation, but fate was kind and gave me another chance. :)

I grabbed that opportunity and didn't let go. I DIDN'T QUIT. It was very hard but looking back, it was super enjoyable and very memorable. I believe that all those experience HAVE MADE ME STRONGER INDEED.

Last Monday, we were pleasantly surprised to see a streamer strung outside Roxas Hall (the building exclusively used by med students) with our names on it, officially recognizing and announcing us as the newest brothers and sisters in the org. SO HAPPY :D

Unfortunately I pointed to the wrong name. And check out my fugly tan! hahahaha

My certificate was ruined by my tears and sweat.

I'm looking forward to the MANY MANY MANY events to come, that will surely mold me to be an awesome doctor in the future. \o/

Joe, My "Narcoleptic" Classmate

Today is the first day of my second week in med school, and I am feeling wretched because of a headache and a runny nose. Mondays are always sleepy days, since most of us are still recovering from post-weekend laziness. But my friend Joe, who has been my classmate since high school until now, took sleeping to the next level :).

Narcolepsy is actually a sleeping disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, and although Joe probably doesn't have that illness, he certainly falls asleep at awkward times in awkward poses.

This is one of his ninja skills.

His seatmates were being polite, trying their best not to look at him so they wouldn't laugh while he dozed. Another friend and I weren't polite, though, so we sneaked up to him and took pictures. Haha Joe, you are Epic!

First Week is Over!

First week of med school is over, and so we celebrated at Green Mango (a restaurant that has good food at reasonable prices). How do I find med school? Hm, well it's hard to say at the moment. So far, we haven't broached the topic of the human body yet, so it has been smooth sailing.

Our professors (who are doctors) tell us that it's going to be like this for about a month (Block 1 and 2) and that by Block 3, we'll be bombarded with hard topics and that's the time that the reality of med school will actually hit us right smack in the face.

I noticed during this week that ALL of our professors told us that IT WAS GOING TO BE HARD FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS and that we won't be able to reap our efforts or have an established practice until we reach past 40 years old. Being in med school is like throwing away your social life and putting the burden of the world on your shoulders, they said. Well, I don't care ~ I'm here to prove to myself that I can do it :P.

On a sad note, we tried out for the College of Medicine's fraternity, and we were initially accepted but we failed (because we had to go home to our city, we missed the orientation = forfeit). Sigh. I feel bad about that, but I guess there must be a reason why I didn't make it :P. I'll try again next year if I get the chance again.

I'm trying to get into "StudyingMode" again, but it's so hard to do so!!! since I forsook that skill one year ago after the Nurse Licensure Exam. I hope I can get my groove soon, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be an uphill climb from hereon.

Argee, Gab and I smiling freakishly while waiting for our orders. I'm hoping to lose 8 kilos this year XD

First Dinner with Dormates

Tonight we went to SM Iloilo for dinner and to look for more stuff to put in our new little rooms. I came with two of my dorm mates for the next 4 years, Argee and Gab. We wanted to splurge a little bit (just a little bit) so we dined at Sbarro. It was actually my first time eating there. Their lasagna serving and pizza slice is huge! I feel bad leaving leftovers on my plate. :(

When the food server asked me about the lasagna topping, I didn't know what she meant because it was my first time there. Seeing my confused look, she quickly listed the choices in a flat voice. I couldn't hear very well and the only word I understood was "tomato". So I ordered tomato topping. After she ladled a thick tomato mixture on top of my lasagna, I found out that white cheese was one of the choices D:! I swear I'm going to try that one out next time!

Argee and Gab both ordered very interesting pizzas. They were delicious, but I liked my lasagna more :P. At the end of the dinner, we had extra garlic bread left so we packed it up and put them inside Argee's bag. Thirty minutes later while we were buying stuff in the supermarket, Argee opened his bag and complained about the smell xD.

Looking forward to dorm life!

My New Little Room

Today, I moved to my new dorm room in Iloilo city in preparation for a life of med school. :)

The first dorm room that I chose was actually bigger, but the building in itself was old and dirty so I moved to another dormitory. The price is a bit more expensive and the rooms are a lot smaller, but security is good with CCTV and fire detectors, and the place is clean and new. My room is very small and I feel like a dwarf living inside an ant hill.

My mom and I came to Iloilo early this morning to unload some of my things and fix the room up. This is what it now looks like!

 

I actually had a hard time taking good pictures because of the lack of space. I just couldn't find a spot where I could take a picture of the whole room. But, judging from the pictures above, yes it is very small! There is just enough space for a small bed, a table, and a tall closet with some shelves on the wall. But I think that this room will serve its purpose. I just need to adjust to the size first, because my room at our house is maybe 3-4x bigger XD.

I'm excited to try my new little room out! :D

A Birthday Cake

May 29, my older brother turned 25 years old! As the both of us are currently avid players of Digimon Masters Online, I decided to make a cake designed like his favorite digimon, Agumon.

I asked for Chabby's help on this one because she's a lot better than me in creative stuff. It was messy (very!) and it took a long time for us, but here is the finished product!

I especially like the caption that we piped on the cake - so fitting haha! On June 6 will be my mom's birthday, so I'm planning to make another one for her. Hopefully, I've gotten the hang of making the marshmallow fondant, so it would be easier this time around.

I'll post more pictures and a guide for making marshmallow fondant next time. It's simple to make in your own kitchen, and the ingredients are basic and simple. :)

And So I Removed My Earrings

I had my left ear pierced twice at the helix portion around nearly two months ago. (If you don't know where the helix is, here's a picture!)

When I had my ears pierced, the lady told me that it would heal in at least two weeks, but I didn't believe her xD. Instead, I waited for at least a month and yesterday I finally removed my earrings, even though it was still a bit tender to move around too much. There was some crusted dead skin (ew!) and the hole didn't look too pretty yet, but I'm glad I removed them so that I can clean it all thoroughly before putting it on again.

I poked and wiped the earrings free of debris, and soaked them in alcohol overnight xD. Today, I'm putting them back on again! I figured that I'd have to repeat this process every night just to be sure that my ears don't get infected or something. Also, I'm hoping that the holes would permanently set soon and all the pain would go away.

My first piercings in a long time... I had two in both ear lobes when I was in high school but they closed almost immediately because I refused to wear earrings where they can be seen. However, I'm quite happy with my new piercings because I can hide them under my short hair. Once my left ear is totally healed, I'm planning to do the right one, too. :)

It was fun, NPL :D

I started my part time job as an English tutor at NPL 6 months ago. Before I know it, my contract is up and today's my last day! It was an interesting experience to say the least. I didn't really enjoy studying for my classes (who does?) but the different people that I've met through my classes have made this part time job really AWESOMESAUCE! :D

First off, my EPICCCC students xD. I'm bad at faces, and I quickly forget names and details like that, so I thought I'd post their pictures here and write a bit about the wonderful and unique memories they've each given me... :)

Alice

She was my first class every afternoon for around 3 months. Such a sweet kid, but very quiet and reserved that it was somewhat a challenge to teach her! It felt very rewarding when she retained the lessons that we discussed. What I liked about her, though, was that she allowed me to act all goofy-like and she didn't even bat an eyelid. Although I guess that made my weirdness even worse xD. Thank you, Alice~

Belle

 Belle was another really sweet girl. She was a breath of fresh air compared to my otherwise limited number of friends and acquaintances. I forgot to take a picture, so instead I pasted here a clip of her profile picture on Skype after we said our goodbyes. She used to spend a long time making her sentences - but BOY were they good sentences! I think she can be an English writer if she wants to. It was too bad that I wasn't able to be her teacher for long because she had to enter high school. Thanks, Belle~

Edward

 

Edward also stayed as my student for 6 months. He is an interesting fellow.  He doesn't talk too much, so I got used to trying out all kinds of styles to fish for information xD. It was quite heartening (and added a huge boost to my confidence) whenever I managed to make him crack a smile and laugh. I would usually call him "Beautiful" and I guess he never got over that compliment hahaha. Thanks, Edward~

Jane

Jane was such a joy to teach because she was so eager to learn and was such a good student! I like her classes because that was one time when I really felt like I was doing a swell job as a teacher xD. We made an agreement that 10 years from now (when I'm a doctor and she'd have a family of her own), I would come visit her in Japan and we would have a picnic under the blooming Sakura trees! Aw, I'm seriously hoping that becomes a reality! Thanks, Jane~

Marley

Marley is like my long lost mother and sister rolled into one! She's very funny and I enjoyed my classes with her. She was one of my students to whom I could really open up to and tell about things happening in my life. She often calls me an "oddball" xD. I admire her talent as an artist both with the pen and the needle. I laugh every time I remember how frustrated she gets when she messes up her sentences. So down-to-earth and friendly, you've taught me a lot as well for the past 6 months! Thanks, Marley~

Matthew

Matthew's pose in this picture is the "Whatever~" pose that I taught him during class xD. This kid is sooo smart and witty! We liked to tease each other and I used to call him "Grandpa" because he often pretends to be more mature than he really is. When I told him I was going to be a doctor in the future, he told he would become one, too - and that one day he was going to operate on my brain. Unfortunately, we only had classes for one month before he was transferred. Thanks, Matthew~

Susan

The first thing that comes into my mind when I think of Susan is "demure". She is like a real life Yamato Nadeshiko or something, and it is one of her very endearing qualities. I liked teaching her classes because I would change my voice sometimes when reading dialogues and she would compliment me on it! xD. She's good at Japanese, too! I'm hoping that in the future she finally meets a great guy and becomes a master violinist! Thanks, Susan~

Mr. Ahn

This picture was taken at my request because I was so curious about his dog Lily (which he just took to the parlor to get its hair cut). I enjoyed talking about random things with Mr. Ahn, because he has a lot of experience in life and tells such good stories! He often had phone calls from work interrupting our classes, though xD. Such a workaholic! I pray that his success continues with his business and that his daughter becomes a doctor like me in the future, too. Thanks, Mr. Ahn~

I had another student named Leo, he was a funny guy who liked to tease his wife and call her fat and ugly xD. But I wasn't able to take his picture because he had another important appointment on our last day of class.

I spent 6 months teaching these interesting students, and also I got the chance to work with awesome bosses and wonderful coworkers. We went out for company dinners, braved storms together, and we even made a music video when Carmeigh's contract ended!

  Thank you so much to Boss Sam and Ms. Gloria for your patience in guiding and teaching me, for the free dinner and movies, and for treating me really well these past 6 months. Thank you to Manang Frances, Carmeigh, Tracy, Chabby, Ghia, Jetsy, Amado and Manang Kristle who accepted me as their friend and giving me precious memories. I WILL NEVER FORGET ALL OF YOU.

Top: Kristle, Frances, Amado, Sir Sam, Tracy, Aldrin (Tracy's boyfriend); 2nd row: Chabby, Carmeigh; Bottom: Me, Ms. Gloria. (Ghia and Jetsy weren't our coworkers yet when we had our Xmas Party last December) I'll pray for everyone's good health and success in the future. I hope we meet each other again someday, guys! Goodbye!