early graduation gift ideas

the night before Christmas

t'was the night before christmas, when all through the ward
all the interns were stirring, but there was no mouse.
the suction catheters were hung by the suction machine with care,
in hopes that all the endotracheal tubes soon would be clear.

some children were nestled, all snug, in their beds
while some of the kids had fever in their heads
four Mama's ambubagging and three interns monitoring
had just settled their bodies for a night without a nap.

When from the last bed on the third row there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the second row of beds to see what was the matter
towards the frantic mom and child i flew like a flash
took out my stethoscope, listened, and then made a dash.

The stethoscope was brought to the breast of the child
while we tried to take the BP and pulses above and below
when, what to our wondering ears should befall
not a heartbeat was pounding, not a pulse could be known

Our residents were there, so lively, so brisk
and i knew in a moment, we had to intubate quick
more rapid than eagles, the other interns came
and we shouted and ordered and called for things in turn:

"Now bag mask! Now O2!
Now hypervetilate and lower the head!
On suction! on pulse oximeter!
On And on check for pulse.
intubate patient now and suction again.
start chest compressions!
Push one amp epinephrine!"

as dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly
the nurses and interns were working and everybody tried
to try to get the heart beating though we knew
that the night was going to end badly and there was nothing more to do.

So our resident went to the folks to explain the truth
that the child was no longer breathing and her heart had stopped too.
as i lowered my head and was turning around
i could hear the mother keening, it was a lonely sound.

The child was covered with a sheet from the head to her foot
and her body was cleared of all wires and tubes
the folks were all bent with sorrow heavy on their backs
and they looked so forlorn, they could not have their daughter back.

Their eyes -- how they twinked with tears running forth!
Their cheeks were like roses -- how grief brought them nought!
They gritted their teeth, and held tight to each other
and the voices they lifted were harsh and grief-laden
unbelief in their faces, unbelief in their eyes
gave them the picture of animals in fright

we spoke not a word, but went back to our work
all silent with our own thoughts, trying not to be a jerk
not trying to think that tonight of all nights
a daughter expired, a sister, a child.

So forgive me if i did not greet you that night
We were so toxic, we were so tired.
But i hope you had a meaningful Christmas, just as we did
And would always remember, life is precious, you are blessed.
Be thankful you are alive and with family, though gifts may be scarce
We have already received the Gift beyond price.
And so i returned to the manger that night,
Remembered that the Christ-child didn't even have a room as his right
He lived and he gave and He died for us all
So we need not despair when Death comes to call.
We just have to believe and accept Him, that's all.

I really hope you all had a happy Christmas and a good night. :)

post Twilight

Okay, let me just say that I've seen the movie.... and I've just finished reading Books One and Two of the Saga. I'm now starting Book Three. And Book Four is definitely next. My friends have ebooks kase and i'm reading them sa laptop ng roommate ko when she isn't doing her thesis or ng mga classmates ko since my laptop is still out of commission. Hehe.

One, it is true that the book is better than the movie. Infinitely more so. No surprise there. Two, I'm sure i won't rest easy until i finish the Saga. And three, I am very entertained by the story. i think i have a taste for vampire/werewolf stories. Hehe.. (Kaya siguro enjoy din ako sa Underworld at Van Helsing.)

At gusto ko lang din sabihin at magreklamo na ang mahal na ng sine dito sa Iloilo! It's now Ninety pesos and fifty cents! Pareho na ang price ng taas at baba so kahit saan ka na pwede umupo. Pero hello! Dati sixty pesos lang un.... grrrrr...... Owel.... at least di kasing mahal ng jan sa Manila. :p

The movie was so-so. Ok lang. If you like romantic movies, and i'm a sucker for romantic movies, ok lang sya. Not really wonderful but ok lang. Tama yung sabi ni Pb, if you watch it, then ok lang, if you don't watch it, then ok lang din. I guess i'm wishing i didn't spend ninety pesos for it. Sana nanood na lng ako sa DVD. I wouldn't miss anything if i didn't get to watch it in the big screen. *sigh* Andaming times na di ko gets ung sinasabi nila kase parang kinakain nila yung words. And yes, i like the book lines better than the script. I watched it one and a half times kase i came in just when Bella and Edward were at the forest and Edward was showing her his vampire abilities so i got a chance to listen better nung umulit na sya. :)

The views were breathtaking though. Really really wonderful! (Bianca, you live in a place like that?! Oh joy! Waaaah.... Don't stop taking pictures ha. I do enjoy them so much.) But I wouldn't want to live in such a rainy place. Nyikes. Magkaka-seasonal affective disorder siguro ako kung ganun. Hahaha...

But the technical parts of the movie wasn't my problem at all.

The thing that remained in me as i was leaving SM was the thought that there are some loves that you shouldn't fight for at all. They should just be let go of. And don't tell me hindi pwede pigilan yon. Yeah right, been there, done that. Painful yes, but not impossible. What are the implications of a human and vampire relationship? According to the author nga sa book 4, they don't even have the same chromosome number (ok so I cheated and skimmed through book 4 na..).

And then I got to thinking what this movie is telling our youth. To fight until death for "forbidden loves"? Beyond reason, without regard for anybody else basta nagmamahalan kayo, ok lang? "Might as well break all the rules since they're going to hell anyway"? Ano ba naman klaseng pag-iisip yon? Parang puro 'I don't care' ata ang narinig ko dun sa isang part ng movie. Ibig sabihin ba pag 'na in-love' ka wala ka nang pake sa iisipin ng iba? Or wala ka nang pake kung tama ba yun or mali? Because there is a right and wrong to loving, no matter how you look at it. It is always a choice, after all, and choices can be made intelligently and one can choose to do the right thing. Granted that the right thing might not be the easiest or the most pleasant but one should still strive to do what's right diba?

One tito once reminded my that there are only a few questions in life you really had to answer well. One is who will you follow or trust or believe in, two is whom will you spend your life with here on earth, and three is what are you going to do with that life while you're on this earth. To my mind, everything hinges on how you answer question One. If you have made a decision regarding that one question, the other two will follow. If Question One is no issue, as the movie certainly portrays, then pake nga naman ni Bella and Edward diba. But if it was an issue, then they have a big problem. At may problem nga ako sa mga decisions nila.

At gagamitin na ni Nic ang laptop nya.... so susunod na lng ulit....

before Twilight

In a few minutes, i'm off to SM Iloilo to watch Twilight. Oo, hanggang ngayon e hindi ko pa sya napapanood dahil una, wala akong panahon nung mga nakaraang mga araw, at pangalawa, hindi ako familiar sa libro na yun kaya hindi ko pinipilit na panoorin ito.

Kahapon, at sa mga nakaraang mga araw, andami kong naririnig na mga balita na maganda daw ang movie na Twilight. Lalo na kahapon, ung mga college students na nag-christmas party dito sa bahay e hibang na hibang sa movie na yon. So na-intriga ako. Tinanong ko si Ebony (isang graduate din na ivcf dito) kung maganda ba talaga ang Twilight at sabi nya.... "it's so highschool." :) Hahaha... mas lalo tuloy akong na-intriga.

May mga punto na na-raise si Ebony. At may sense yung mga punto nya....

So manonood ako mamaya so i can have my own opinion. :)
Diba yan ang turo satin sa ivcf? maging critical thinkers! ayan.... paalis na kmi ng housemates ko....

later....

clean fun

Missing Frozti, Nang Jimjim, Ate Ging, Nang Bjo, Yanyan and Naldo. Sana andito din kayo sa Pasko. :) You were missed sa Christmas Party slash Videoke Night ng IVHomers. Ahay.

Ate Rachel gets the Videoke Queen Award for getting 100 na score for 10 songs. Hanep. Ang haba ng hair nya ha! Then Nic gets the Dancing Queen Award for her mahiwagang shoulder dance (video to be posted sometime). Pam gets the Wave Award, Gg the Demure Award and as expected, I get the Kitikiti Award. Si Leng naman ang award nya ay Most Mapagpanggap Award. Owel. If you want to know, ask her na lang. Hehe.

We IVhomers went to Club21 kagabi, December 15, 2008 para mag-Videoke at kumain at mag-exchange gifts. Supposedly, may dress code. Kami nila Nic, Pam and Gg ang sumunod sa dress code. But as always when ivhomers go out, lahat kami e nagmukhang mga "girls".

When we got home, nagpicture-an pa ulit kami, syempre, sa room namin ni Nic. Hehehe. Kasama namin si Nang Limes that night. And one other, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, dahil hindi pa sya pumasa sa standards namin. Hahahahaha! :) Anyway, masaya ang gabi. Paos na paos nako.

Maligayang Pasko!!! :)

esvee alumni in sepia

The batch of esvees i was with in UPLB. :))) Antagaltagaltagal na naming hindi nagkikita. When before we used to worry about how we'd pass a subject or finish our thesis, now we talk about our work and careers, whatever there is of it. Haha.

Madami nang nagbago: ang iba may anak na, ang iba, may girl/boyfriends na. Ang iba, iba na ang partners, ang iba wala pa rin. May mga tumaba, may mga pumayat. Ang mga amazona dati, girls na ngayon. Hihi.... Yung mga boys... hay... wag na nating sabihin. Hahahaha.

But some things still remain the same. Malakas pa rin kami tumawa, umiyak at kumain. Mahihigpit pa rin ang yakapan. Matindi pa rin magdalanginan. At pambihira pa rin sa puyatan. :)

Most importantly, One Thing has not changed. To paraphrase that which is from The Lord of the Rings: One Lord to rule them all. One Lord to bind them. One Lord to bring them all and in Love bind them. In the Kingdom of God, where no shadows lie. Blessings.

*bighug*

the butterfly

This is the Butterfly that came in the mail that i told you about a few days ago. Pretty, ain't it?

This now hangs on the wall by my bed, and under it is a stuffed giraffe and a stuffed frog. (Yes, i hate frogs pero i endure this one dahil bigay sya ng ex-roommate ko na si Nang Bjo. Baka kasi ma-offend sya kung hindi ko i-display ung binigay nyang stuffed toys. Hahahaha.) Nilagay ko sya dun dahil pang-pasko ang colors nya at natutuwa ako dahil sa carabao park ito kinuha. Pag tinitingnan ko ang picture na to, feeling ko nasa carabao park din ako. Hehe.

(Itong picture na ito ay si kuha ni Deneb Arriesgado.)


Maligayang Pasko!

tagged by Manang Lara :)

Here’s how this is done: 1. Re-post the picture/logo on your blog and please acknowledge where it came from. Kindly leave a comment on this post so I would know you’ve posted it.
2. Write down 5 things you are grateful for and the 5 bloggers you are tagging.
3. You may copy this or write your own quote regarding gratitude:
“In everything give thanks." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am grateful because:
1. I am alive and with relatively good health.
Everyday, i encounter people who are sick and/or dying. I am confronted everyday by man's frailty and by the reality that we are not invincible. I thank the Lord for giving me life everyday and that i do not have any illnesses. I can still stand, walk, talk, eat and enjoy this life that He has given me. Indeed, life is precious and I am grateful that it is God who sustains me everyday. I am grateful that all my five senses are intact and that i can see and appreciate the wonder of his majesty displayed throughout creation.

2. I have a wonderful heritage of faith.
Both sides of my natural family tree, as well as the grafted in part (which is ivcf and the cbc family), are filled with men and women of great faith. They serve as examples for me as I walk along the straight and narrow. I have been mentored and prayed for by countless people and everyone of them has a part in bringing me where i am now. I am grateful that they shine as living testaments to God's sustaining grace and mercy to a lowly pilgrim like me.

3. I am esvee and that i was able to study at elbi.
Once an esvee, always an esvee. Haha, parang ano yan e, "Once a King and Queen of Narnia, always a King and Queen." Dito namulat ang mata ko, dito ako na-nurture, dito ako yumabong. Dito rin ako nabatukan, nayugyog, nabasag, at ibinalik muli. I am grateful that the Lord brought me to that university and this group so that he could meet me on His own terms.

4. The Lord has given me heartfriends and soulfriends kahit napaka-migratory namin.
I am grateful for kindred spirits who allow me to be me and who are themselves when they are around me. Friends who laugh and cry with me for any reason and even for no reason. Friends who pray with me and rejoice with me. I am grateful for I know that if ever the need arises, i have friends who will break the roof so that i can be let down so Jesus could heal me. :)

5. I am grateful because not everyone is given the opportunity or the privilege to be in the healing profession.
I am grateful for this calling. I do not feel worthy of it, and yet I am grateful for the chance to be of service in this capacity. I am grateful for the chance to study, to know more about the human body, to be able to understand even a little of how we function. I am grateful that even though nakakapagod, at least i had this chance. Madaming gusto mag-aral pero hindi makapag-aral. Salamat sa Panginoon at andito ako ngayon.

So, that's my 5 things for now. :) I'm tagging Kitot, Tarits, Em-em, Theia, and Eena. :)
Be joyful always! And in everything give thanks! Blessings be.

See you again, Auntie...

We, Kit, Deneb and I, visited Auntie last Saturday. We went to their house from the airport because Nanay told me to visit Auntie because she could go home to the Lord anytime. And she did. Just now.

She had Multiple Myeloma, a type of Cancer. Auntie is prepared to die naman, I know, as are we all, and yet, losing her does not take away the grief.

This picture was taken in February this year. She was still strong then and able to converse with me. Last Saturday, she was already bedridden, thin as a wraith, and attached to the oxygen tank 24/7. She didn't recognize me. And she was in constant pain.

She too, i think, was a KC grad. :)

The Lord took her home today.I know she no longer feels pain there. She is strong and able to dance again. She can garden all she wants now and bake to her heart's content. She'll be able to make the craziest quilts there made of gold thread and whatnot.

I will miss you, Auntie. I am saddened that you won't be there on my graduation, or on my wedding. I'll never have the quilt you promised me. I won't be able to eat your cooking on your birthday. I love you. And I will miss you. So much. And yet, I let you go, for I know you are happy now with the Lord. At least ngayon, makikita mo na ulit si Ate Melody diba. Tsaka sila Lolo and Lola. Hintayin nyo na lng po kami jan. Mag-re-reunion po tayo. *yakapngmahigpit*

Until we meet again, I will miss you every day.

smile mo, kita ko

I see the moon and the moon sees me.
God bless the moon and God bless me. :)

Ang saya saya ng moon last night and tonight. And ako rin. Hehe. (photo ninenok ko kay Alec Macatangay. thankee!)

I wasn't supposed to be out under the sky yesterday dahil On Duty ko sa hospital. But then i had a "girl accident" so i had to go home to change. Buti na lng ang IVHome e katabi lang ng hospital and naka-uwi ako. When i left the hospital building, i looked up, like i always do, and i looked for the moon. Laking gulat ko when i saw the moon and the planets Venus and Jupiter smiling down at me. Ang clear clear ng sky kagabi. Sila lang talaga ung mga dancers in the night sky. And so i did the only thing that came to my mind... I grinned back at them. Hehehe. And of course, nagtext ako sa mga tao. And i returned to the hospital in better spirits.

Naalala ko ung pinoy henyo na nilaro namin sa house nila thea sa segment ko ng triple party. haha. "Bagay?" "Shape?" "Bilog?" "Malapit sa bilog!" "Heart?" Hahahahaha!

At natawa ako kay Tarits dahil late na sya sa balita. :) hehehe. Glad we were able to enjoy the Heavens together again Tarits. :)

And i couldn't help but be amazed at the wonder and glory of the Lord our God displayed all throughout creation. Amazing talaga sya. The Heavens indeed declare His glory and we have no excuse to say that there is no God. Great is the Lord and worthy to be praised, indeed. Indeed.

iloilo people in manila

I attended the IVCF Alumni Homecoming in Manila on November 29, 2008, 3-7pm.
UP-ISSI Bldg. UP Diliman.
Saturday. I came from the hospital here in Iloilo... Haha, FD ako.

At sila ang nakita ko dun... :) mga taga-Iloilo din.
Thanks to chela for the pix. Ninenok ko che. :)