Seven days!

Just like in the famous movie, The Ring, I only have seven days to keep as much happy memories as I can before I embark on my final year in medical school. Geez!

The Zambales trip with Bryan’s friends was superb. I enjoyed the sun and the sand as much as I could since this was my last beach outing for April. I like going out with non-medical people because they keep my sanity in check. And besides, sometimes, I have to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while. =) I would have wanted to tell more about my summer escapades but I’m saving the memories for the next few posts. As for now, I’m off to Zzzz-land, my best acne treatment, for a well-deserved goodnight’s sleep. =)

Oh hi! I just came back from Bolinao, Pangasinan - tanned as ever! Well not really. =) Although I do sport a new tan, I wonder how long this is gonna last. =) It’s amazing how time flies by so fast. The next thing I know, I only have one beach trip left for summer. Boo! This time around, I’ll be heading to an island in Zambales for another round of camping with Bee’s friends. Talk about adventure? Good luck! There are no pools around where we’ll be going on Wednesday so boo! No pool floats! Geez! Zambales! Here I come!

I was browsing through my friends’ facebook pages earlier and while I yet have to receive wedding invitations from really close friends, I realized how a handful of my grade school and high school classmates have started having kids and building their own families – married or not. Looking at their babies’ pictures, I couldn’t help but feel left out. Not that I’m wishing I already have my own. It’s just that I feel I’m still living an adolescent’s life while they’re all living in the grown-ups’ world already. Talk about extended adolescence eh? Good thing back here in med school, majority of my classmates, friends and even some of my residents have remained single despite their age. Hehe. At least I don’t feel alone right smack in my world. I’m no longer wondering why there are a lot of successful single doctors out there. The world of medicine cultivates that kind of life particularly. Have a pleasant night everyone.

There’s no stopping it. I can smell the end of my clerkship. It feels like we only started yesterday. Looking back to the months that passed, I can’t believe it’s almost over and soon, we’ll be wearing that white coat we have dreamed of for years. Daryl, Karen and I went to the tailor today to fit the intern’s uniform that we had made. It feels surreal to wear the coat on top of my uniform. It’s exciting to look forward to what’s going to be in store for me starting May.

But before everything else, of course there’s the summer vacation we’re all looking forward to. So far, I have Isabela/Ilocos, Pangasinan and Sagada in my itinerary. If I had it my way, I’d spend the whole April traveling, or in beach houses, battling it out with my friends on nice ping pong tables, or drinking away under the starlit sky. But alas. Money is still the name of the game. At times like this, I wish I were the daughter of a popular scion with a bottomless bank account. But then again I wouldn’t have entered med school then if my hands were full of businesses to run right? Just a few nights to go! I can’t wait!

I have not yet sent Ricardo for repair. Yep. It’s been months since my trusty Sony Ericsson Walkman Phone died and deserted the face of the Earth. Blame it on my busy schedule and the lack of transportation (read: car), poor Ricardo remains to be a useless piece of orange metal in my room. Maybe you’re wondering how I’m getting by without a phone. Truth is I can’t. So I begged Bryan to lend me his old Motorola V6Maxx which we bought early last year. My mom also lent me my younger brother’s old Nokia to use with my Sun simcard for hospital use. Unfortunately, Bryan’s V6 already looks like a piece of crap (sorry Bee) and I realized my brother’s phone was hydrophobic when I accidentally submerged it in a pool of water. I still use Bee’s old phone (whose 2 MP camera I accidentally broke… yep… too many accidents surround me you see) and the hand-me-down Sony Ericsson K310i which my mom bought second-hand. I feel so sorry for myself looking at all these disheveled gadgets I have in hand. I couldn’t believe I once sported a 40K-worth cellular phone. Since Christmas is less than 50 days away, I’ve decided to put up a Christmas wishlist so that everyone who’s planning to buy me something for the holidays won’t be having a hard time choosing a gift for me. (*hint* Bee *hint*)

First on my list is this:

The new Sony Ericsson Xperia!

Oh yes! I can imagine my fingers through its beautiful touch screen as I surf online to use the latest live chat software available in the web. The problem is that Sony Ericsson Xperia is priced at 30-40K in the market! OUCH! At times like this, I only wish it were the future and I’m already earning more than enough to buy me my heart’s desires! But hell. I’m stuck in the present where I’m still a struggling medical clerk. Ugh. I can already hear my heartbreaking. =(

But hey, what’s a boyfriend for, right? RIGHT?

It’s a tiring week filled with preparations for the seminar and finally wrapping it up yesterday. We thought no one would come but lo and behold were more than 30 people who were interested enough to listen to what we had to say… and that was despite the intermittent rains.

It’s heartwarming how people in the rural towns are so helpful even if we are not exactly one of them. Each lent a helping hand to us poor medical clerks in any way that they can: men helping with the chairs, carrying them themselves so that us girls don’t have to do it ourselves, while the women helped out in distributing the food we prepared plus tidying up the place after. The “bayanihan” they exhibited is very envious. Such display of cooperativeness is rarely seen in the city… at least among complete strangers. No wonder a lot of foreigners who visit rural areas fall in love with the people.

After a hard day’s work, we chilled out and enjoyed a good movie in our “private theater” right here inside room. We rented lcd monitor yesterday and we figured it would be such a waste not to make use of it after the seminar. It cost us 2K anyway!!! Anyway, I wish had one of these fascinating gadgets at home. I wonder if dad’s willing to shell out for one.