<3

So now, as a celebration of our reconnection, I present to you... an entry.

Okay, let's get this started.

***

I'm finally on sembreak, whew! 6 months of hard work has finally paid off. I passed all of my subjects outright and I didn't have to worry about taking removal exams nor the promotion boards. I'm so happy! Thank you Bro, I couldn't have done it without your divine assistance. :D

And did I already mention I was exempted to take the Final exam for Biochem? :D

I never expected this to happen because Biochem is like one of the most hard knockin' subjects in the first year curriculum... and never would've I guessed i'd end it with a grade of 1.50. Woohoo! My prayers were answered. Now I know that God really listens to those who want to be heard. :)

I feel bad for my other classmates though. A lot of them were "weeded" out (as higher years succinctly coin it) and from the original population of 65, section F is down to 38. I blame it on the very rushed environment in FEU. There was really no room for adjustment and they already bombed us with numerous shifting exams since day 1. But I do understand why the academe is doing that, the reason is pretty simple. We're already pursuing a doctorate degree and as aspiring doctors we are expected to handle things with grace and maturity even under the bout of stress. As one of my professors told us, a doctor's life is never stress-free. So as early as now, they're training us to work under pressure because the strain bought about working in a hospital is never a joke. I should know, having worked for more than 5 months inside one. So yeah, i'm gonna have a tough road ahead, but I chose this and i'm standing by it until the end. 

Some people who got affected by the "weeding" are close friends of mine. I'm sad about what happened... as in reeeaally sad. But I am as powerless as they are and I can only dust my knees, get up and move on. I have myself to think about too. I pray that God blesses them on whatever they're planning to do after this.

That's about it regarding my scholastic affairs. Let's talk about the more trivial but fun (?) events that happened to me lately.

***

I just discovered that I'm one of the most googled people in our classroom. Really, I have no idea why. Two people have already admitted on doing so, and i hope i don't get any more confessions soon. The top reason me and my friends could think of is that my classmates are having a hard time believing that I didn't graduate as Cum Laude or with honors at least. Do I look like a liar? Haha! Well, slight lang. :) Uhm, I feel kinda awkward about it but i'm not mad. If you guys are reading this right now, i just wanna say that i'm more boring than a slice of white loaf bread and I hope you don't find any incriminating stuff about me (though i couldn't think of any). Oh and by the way, I got my premed degree from MCU, not UST. :)

Speaking of MCU, i went back there last friday and was mildly amused with the structural changes it has undergone since I graduated. However, i'm still as dissatisfied as ever with their administration. That new registrar is really flipping my bitch switch. I kinda missed the old one tuloy.

Oh and I finally got my yearbook. It looks very nice, even with typographical errors and all. Plus the testimony under my picture was really sweet. Thanks Dean, i know you're the one who composed that. :)

***

About my love life? Hmm.. I don't want to go to details and all I can say is that he's not the guy I thought he was. It was fortunate that I have a good head on my shoulders. My mom certainly didn't raise a fool, for sure! ;D

I feel bad for Girl 2 though (You know her). She was just a victim of a disaster called Jerk. Though sometimes I couldn't help but feel somehow responsible for her heartache. I don't know how to console her, and the only thing I could do for her is to wish her peace of mind and strength to overcome the pain. And as for that guy, i pray that he gets what is due to him. The asshole. D:<

***

I'm worried about my dad's health these days. The signs of aging are showing up and they definitely don't bring good news. First, his gouty arthritis have struck again. He was briefly hospitalized for it because he couldn't walk and it's causing too much pain. Next is his teeth. He just woke up one day with a swollen face and gums so we rushed him to a dentist to have his molars extracted. Poor dad. He couldn't eat any solid food and he still needs to undergo another dental operation to relieve him of the pain. I feel so sad about this. In my eyes, he's the epitome of power in our house and I grew up looking up to him as some kind of superman. But now, seeing him in a frail and crumbled state makes me weak in the knees and sick to my stomach. But this gives me all the more reason to become a doctor as soon as possible. I still want to repay him for the love and support he has given me all my life. He may have been a strict disciplinarian, but he's still my Dad and I love him. 

That's about it for now. I feel refreshed. I missed blogging like this. :)

Later!

P.S. I can't help but post this. Cobalt and Aurum is the cutest couple ever~!

By Golda C.

My wish is very simple, it's to have your pure and unwavering love.
To be the only girl for you, despite my imperfections and flaws.
To be that thought that would make you smile when you are sad and lonely.
To have those beautiful eyes that can stare right into your soul.
To be the owner of that voice you so long to hear after a very tiring day.
To have that radiant smile and silver-bell laughter that melts your heart.
To have that wit and humor that makes you laugh.
To be that girl who makes you want to change for the better.
To be that girl you simply can't live without.

My wish is very simple, yet very hard to obtain.
So I pray to the almighty father to take pity on me, his child.
And grant me this wish I have in my heart.
No matter how hopeless this wish might sound.

Whoo, drama. Haha. Yup, i'm a hopeless romantic. A very hopeless one indeed. Hehe. 

***

Hay. Ba't ganun. Been feeling really depressed lately. Maybe due to the weather? I hope that's only the case.

I wonder why despite the love of the people around me, i still feel so cold and lonely?

It feels as if i get emptier inside by the minute.

Even sketching -- my favorite hobby, doesn't seem to alleviate this vaccum within me.

Maybe i'll cry tonight. Even if i don't have a solid reason to. I need a catharsis, and crying seems to do the job.

The scenario is this:

You are a cool guy who's got good looks, a deep pocket, and a charming smile. You are a medical student and an athlete as well. Basically, you've got it going on for you. At school, you meet two nice girls who both likes you. You have the liberty to choose between the two, but you can only choose one.

To help you with choosing, may I present to you Exhibit A:

Girl 1:

An average-looking girl who's got brains. She's tall, plumper than most girls (but not fat), and a little bit of a tomboy with a great sense of humor. She's someone you can approach when you wanna have a decent conversation with somebody, and you can trust her to laugh with you even if your joke's cornier than a corn field. Overall, she's not exactly the coolest girl to hang out with, but a good companion nonetheless. 

Girl 2:

A very pretty girl with a petite physique and a girly charm to die for. She's very lady-like (she hailed from an all-girls school somewhere near katipunan) and approachable. She's always quipped with a radiant smile and a friendly aura. If you're thinking she might be just another bimbo, think again. She may not be the most sharpest tool in the shed but she works hard to make up for it. She's probably the perfect girlfriend material.

We move now to Exhibit B:

Girl 1:

She likes you a lot and there's this smouldering chemistry between the two of you. She thinks you make her life more interesting.

Girl 2:

She thinks you're gorgeous and the two of you look great together. 

Last is Exhibit C:

Girl 1:

Can be compared to Angel Locsin; An All-Filipina girl with a Morena complexion and a nice smile. Angel looks like someone who could be a classmate or a neighbor, right? I think there are women are prettier than her in terms of facial features but she got her goddess status through her pleasant and down-to-earth attitude. She's an overt reminder of how women can be beautiful when they're comfortable in their own skins.

Girl 2:

Can be somewhat similar to Anne Curtis but only in physical appearance... people say Anne can be such a bitch and Girl 2 is a very sweet girl. Girl 2 is a kikay with chinita eyes and plump red lips. Can be compared to a delicate flower that needs to be taken care of. If you put Kim Chiu's bubbly personality in Anne's body, you have Girl 2. Very delicious, hmm?

Now, with that all that said...

Who among the two would you choose?

Think carefully and try your best to put yourself in the shoes of the guy in the scenario.

Your answers will be very much appreciated. 

This is your fault. You always made me feel so special. You always made me feel that in a sea of girls, you'd only see me. You always give me that sweet sweet smile whenever we come across each other. You would always be a gentleman when it comes to me. I hate that soul-piercing stare of yours. I hate that panty-creaming wink you do when you're being naughty. I hate your sexy voice. I hate everything you possess!

I hate them because i know they'd never be mine. 

Please stop doing these things to me. You're starting to hurt me. 

Grah. I'm starting to hate myself. I feel despicable. 

But I honestly think those 3 weeks had been full of fun, albeit exhausting and all. Here are the highlights of it:

We have already started working on our cadaver. It wasn't my first time seeing a dead body, but it was my first time to dissect one. I felt really sorry for the dude we're working on, but we have to do it to learn. I pray for his soul to find peace, where ever it might be right now.

In our group, I was the only girl with enough bravado to join the dissecting party. See all the boys there? I'm one of them, LOL. I have to say it was a thrilling experience. I'm really glad I took up Medicine. :D

BTW, i'm not winking in that photo. My eyes were hurt because of the strong formaline fumes emanating from the cadaver. Di ako nagpapacute no! :D

Our Gross Anatomy is pretty hard. Compared to this, my college ana-physio looked like child's play. Besides from all the stuff you have to memorize, you also have to correlate them to the actual thing. And i'm telling ya, studying from the book and going to the model is no walk in the park. The 3-dimensional perspective is a lot more confusing than the pictures the books and atlases offers. And the specificity, God! Even if you got the name of the bone correctly, it still won't be counted unless you specify it's proper anatomical orientation. I learned that the hard way in our practical exam.

Example:

Question: Identify the bone with the <color> pin

My answer: Metacarpal

Correct answer: 4th Metacarpal of the right hand.

And the best part is that you only have 30 secs to answer. y_y Oh well. Bawi bawi na lang next practical. :D

MicroHSB. It's not easy but I've got a trump card on my sleeve. I am also a Medtech and microscopy is my turf. Harrrr. :D

What i like about our Micro is that we have our own microscopes. No more viewing in turns anymore, harhar. Though our microscopes are ancient, they still do the job. And they run electricity-free so i get why FEU still lets us use these when they have those sophisticated microscopes. Just maintaining the energy and the bulbs of those electric microscopes costs a fortune and our already sky-high expensive tuition fee will increase yet again. So i'm not complaining with my microscope. At least it's mine and mine only for the semester. :D

That's a Microscopic view of the Spinal cord btw. Another good feature of those old microscopes is that they enable us to take pictures on our camera phone sans the glare the usual electric microscope gives. It doesn't look bad, does it? : D

We also had a practical quiz on MicroHSB this week. I only got 2 mistakes, the one being a simple mathematical question. Ack. I hate numbers. The question was 15x45 and i answered 60,000. Hahahaha. Super bobo! :D

Shifting exams, we had already 4 of them I think? Well, i've been studying enough to prepare for them and I'm glad to say that i've been getting good scores. Yay for studying! It's the first time that i'm seeing studying in a new light. It's actually fun. Seriously, it is. Although the whole process of reading books and memorizing stuff is droning, the feeling that you gave your best and got the right answers in return is worth it. Every time I get a passing grade or a high score in a difficult exam, the feeling I get is like winning the lottery. Again, this is another pro of going into medicine for me. The con however, is losing sleep. But it's okay. Someone told me that something worthwhile is never easy to obtain; so i'm ready to sacrifice few hours of sleep just to get through med. :D

Here we are, studying for our upcoming quiz in Biochem. Or should i say nagpapanggap? Wala na ring pumapasok sa utak namin nun e. :D

Tin, see anyone you recognize? Haha. :D

Small group discussions, these are our laboratory work for Physiology. Instead of doing lab experiments (thank God for that), we are to sit on a conference table and discuss topics like doctors. There's no pressure in it, as long as the proctor's nice. But still, you'll never know when you'll come across the terror doctors so we take it pretty seriously just to be safe. I really like SGDs. I feel like a real doctor already when i'm in one. :D

These guys are like my permanent groupmates ever. And i'm thankful for that. All of them are really nice and hella smart, so I feel confident when i'm with them. This photo was taken after our SGD, but we were also discussing about our upcoming reports and stuff. The only disadvantage of this group is that we always come first, being the group 1 and all. Unfair! Lol. :D

And that's what these past 3 weeks had been all about. For the next week we have 2 reportings, 3 shifting exams, and 2 practical exams coming up. I'm gearing myself up to fight for my survival yet again for this week but the question is, kaya ko pa ba to?

Kakayanin. :D

Ciao~

Benjamin Peralta, we have never spoken formally but you mattered a lot to my bestfriend. For almost every moment that we get to talk to each other, he'd instantly complain to me how incredibly stupid and inane you were. But i'd just laugh it off and go along with him, because like I said, I never knew you personally. Yes, sometimes we'd stare at each other in silent recognition but we had never exchanged words. Not even a simple Hi nor a Hello. Yet, somehow, i feel affected by your passing. You were still too young, you have yet to enjoy life. You were a handsome kid, too bad i won't ever see you bloom into a better man anymore. I'm really sorry for you and all of those you left behind. I pray that where ever you are now, you'd find the peace you never found here. So long, kid.

"Igi, ano ba sa English yung manliligaw? Switor ba yun?"

Bye Benji. 

On Studying

I passed my Pre-med course without studying much at all. Really, even when there's a major exam coming up i'd still play Online games until morning. Then i'd just cram all my notes (handouts) in my head in the jeepney on my way to school. That was unhealthy, yes, but at least it got me this far.

But try doing that in Med? Tsk tsk. You're gonna get burned. 

Studying in FEU turned my study habit upside down, as in totally overhauled. But i think it's a good change, since Med is really hard. I now study for at least 2 hours every night without forcing myself to and even without the motivation of an upcoming exam for the next day. I'm actually proud of myself. And for the record, i haven't stayed for more than an hour for a day in front of my beloved PC. *beams* I guess it's time to get really serious about things, huh? :D

Medicine is a whole new battleground now, and i will do my veeeeryyyy best (more emphasis to the very LOL) just to make it out the war alive. The competition will be tough, since almost half of my classmates are either from UP or graduated cumm laude, but I won't be defeated so easily. Aba, i graduated cumm lande no, so there. Try and me beat me at that, lol. :P

Newfound friends

Actually, i'm quite popular in my class. Almost all of my classmates know my name. o_O Probably because my name is Golda (which strikes the not-so-funny bones of the geek squad) or because i'm an RMT. Medicine and Medical Technology overlap on some aspects and people think i know everything.... which is soooo not true. I'm as new to Med as a newly blossomed flower on the first day of spring. I don't like to be presented with the 'expectation' card, please. :/

So anyways, i found new (and old) friends to hang out with. We're a bunch of four now. The two of them are from UP and the other one used to be my underclassling back on MCU. They're pretty fun to be with and they help boost (although indirectly) my study drive. The UP girls study hard (as in hardcore-paper burning-zit sprouting-hard.) and the MCU guy kinda looks up to me, so it's safe to say that they're part of the force that compels me to study hard as well. It's only been 2 weeks, but i know this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. :)

Books and every other financially concerned thingy/ies.

Graah, they're so effin' expensive! Just the study manuals costs at least 600 php each when it looks almost the same as my MCU manuals which only costed me 200-300. Not to mention the essential textbooks which costs about 2000+++ each. So when they said that studying Med is gonna be an expensive affair, they weren't exaggerating at all. v_v

Photocopies are basically the life essence of students, but when they cost 2 pesos a page... it actually kills us. Well, me at least.

Eating lunch always costs me more than 100 now compared to the 40-50 php combos we used to have on our school canteen in MCU. FEU has no canteen. And it bothers me to no end that i'll have to eat at the FCM mall everyday for 4 years. I miss the dear old carinderias sa likod ng MCU.

Foren-gers.

We have 4 of them in our class alone, and i think we have about 20+ (or more?) foreigners studying with us in FEU. One of them is my seatmate. After 2 whole hours of sitting beside him in microHSB lab, i realized one thing. I can't understand american slang. But i'm starting to get used to it. Well, i need to get used to it. He'll be my seatmate for the rest of my stay in FEU so God help me. Hahaha. Nosebleed galore!

But aside from the fact that he can't get rid of his slang even if his life depended on it, he's actually very nice. And handsome (wahahah) to boot. He really tries his best to make me feel comfortable with him and compliments me on almost everything i do. Just imagine my heart already deflated and dying from all the heartfart i make when i'm with him. LOL. :D

Examinations

Shifting exams are cruel. Not only that they're hard, but also takes place during lunch time. How can they teach us all about Physiology when they're violating our physiological needs? :O

***

Yup yup. It's only been 2 weeks. Something tells me i'm going to have loads of fun in the future. 

I'm looking forward to it. :D