Luneta Park

I was feeling sick on Friday, it was a pretty slow day for me.

Nothing serious, just a day that happens to most everyone at times...things don't seem to be going your way, and sometimes its an effort to get out of bed. (The fact that I had paperwork to catch up on, and an impossible assignment to report about, didn't help my condition at all.)

Well, to add to that, I missed the UST fireworks (I love fireworks..). My friend JC had told me about it, and he said that they were probably going to have fireworks again. Tito Father said that I should go, it was going to be fun in UST. It didn't push through, much to my chagrin.

Anyhoo...whenever I have these "down times", i usually just sleep it off, or sometimes talk it out with a close friend. For Friday night, my "radio host" was my cousin Christo. I have a phone on the Sun network i use for patients, which is also pretty convenient to use to call home, so we chatted on that. After a long time of catching up, and pep talk, here was the gist of the story, " You know, S., you're where you want to be, doing the job you want to do. This is not the time to let anything, or anyone get you down."

(heck, even a psychiatrist needs a little pep talk every now and then.)

-----

Saturday morning was a beautiful day...the clouds were cirrus (which meant great weather later), and the air was crisp and cool. I didn't have work, so I decided it was time to see the city's sights, or one of them, at least. From my window, I could see nearby Luneta park, just some blocks away. It would be fun to take pictures. (Taking pictures of people always was a joy.)

I left my camera at the Hospital call room, so I decided to fetch it before setting out. My phone has the same megapixel power as my camera, but there's nothing quite like the feel of a Canon. (Especially Mine. *love*)

It was still pretty early in the day, but apparently not for other people. I saw a friend walk by that morning, obviously in a hurry. I figured he had a 7AM time in schedule, which was pretty much why he was walking in quick, long strides. I was just going to trail behind him, because I was in no hurry, but he called me over when he saw me. He chatted a bit, but didn't break the pace. He looked like he just hopped out of bed (that probably wasn't his own, judging from the size of his backpack, or the clothes he was wearing, :-S)  and dressed in a hurry for work. I was going to tease him about it, but then I realized that I shouldn't...I myself hadn't showered anyway, and besides, it was none of my business to.

----

Anyway, when I went to the park, I did a bit of sightseeing...quite like a regular tourist. the last time I'd been in Luneta was years ago, and I was a different, younger person then. :-)

It was a bit of a walk, just the perfect cardio exercise to perk me up. For some reason, the air was quite fresh, for manila. Instead of doing the quiet walking around, and being lost in thought, I was doing my favorite role...the tourist-type photographer, but for people. ;-)

Which makes me a photojournalist?

:-)

Blogger is not cooperating and letting me upload my pictures, so you'll have to check them out here. Captions provided, for your reading pleasure.

-----

Saturday morning was a good learning experience. One of the mature defense mechanisms, as we all know is Sublimation, which involves us taking our anxieties and troubles from inside and taking them out, reworking their energy into something useful. I may not be able to do it all the time I get into a funk, but trust me, if you're in one, doing something constructive definitely helps. Heaps.

(photos here.)

Happy Sunday!

Dear Bruno

Dear Bruno,

I love your song.

The last time someone told me a line from your song, "You're so beautiful.." I got little butterflies.

And then some.

Love the concept, man. If i find the idealized dude in this song, I'm going to let him kiss my lips all day if he asked to.

haha.

~ S.

P.S. Your mum IS Filipino, right?

---------


(JK. Seriously now...Joke post, everyone. Have a good week ahead.)

Take care of you.

"It's a lifestyle choice..."


------ 


After doing my rounds on my patients last Sunday, I still had a few minutes to spare before Sunday Mass at the hospital chapel was supposed to start. I knew my friend Pettie was on duty at the hospital (I wasn't), and so I decided to bring her some doughnuts and coffee. 


I called her to check if she was at the pedia ward at the time, and when she picked up, I went the way I usually call her, "Hoy, Petula! Are you on-duty?" She laughed, and I had to go, "What's so funny?" And she said, "Sorry, I didn't know my phone was on loudspeaker, everybody in the callroom heard you say that 'crisp' way you talk, and they all laughed." 


(Err... yeah. My bad. Pettie is short for Petula, but for fun sometimes (and because of familiarity), I call her Petula. The crisp Cebuano accent is also part of it. )


So when I got to her ward, i just dropped off the coffee and left. The Pediatrics ward (and anything involving these little kids) is one of the busiest wards in the hospital. When I saw her, she looked pretty harassed, and even though it was just 11:50 AM, she looked like she'd been working a day already. "Hey Man, here, you better have this too," I said, as I handed her the iced coffee. They were just about to start their patient endorsements, and as usual, she was in a hurry.


------- 


Later, for dinner, I met up with friends of mine from school. Actually, they were a year ahead of me, but since I hung out with them alot back when we were in medical school, it wasn't any different when I got to  start residency. I was always a part of the group, an honorary class member. We had dinner at a Persian restaurant, called Arya at the mall, and had coffee afterwards.


As always, we had a good time. The POC Ortho Boys JoeJoe and Tope were there, Chamie and I from PGH Psych were there, Roxanne from Adventist Medical was there too, along with Gen from Pedia and Vera from Patho (who happens to live in the next building).


 These get-togethers are always fun for me. Especially since lately, I've been having spells of homesickness, or loneliness every now and then, which is totally uncharacteristic. I live alone in a relatively big house (and it doesn't have cable or internet access, that's why) and although I'm not complaining about my digs, sometimes it's just good to hang out with familiar faces.


If there's anything basic  I've learned in Psychiatry, it's that, to survive, you need to have a good primary support group...otherwise, you'll fragment and have a psychotic break (but that's like, in the worst cases of course). 


We talked about people, the news, work, new research, plans....just the usual. It's like having a family, where you take care of each other, I suppose. 


Gen Yap made a joke about how we Psych people were so "non-toxic" we could go about in heels and skirts, doing the "rampa". "Hey...it's not all that cushy a job, Gen, listening to people talk about their problems and helping them through it is not that easy."


(Hell, I think I'm even developing a permanent crease in my forehead from holding my "Interview Face" for long periods...:-))


------- 


Sometimes I think, that freedom of choice comes with a price. You put yourself in a place full of the possibilities of a great adventure, but you know fully well that there are also things familiar to you that will have to leave behind, even if temporarily.


------ 


My friend Pettie makes great sandwiches. One time, when I was from duty, and didn't have any dinner, she reached into her bag and said, "Hey, I made you a sandwich." Tuna on Wheat Bread. Yum. (One of my favorites.)


------ 


I do stuff like that for my other friends as well, it's not that I expect them to pay me for it, or expect them to give me the same thing in return, I always thought that if you could make things just  little bit better for another person, then you should. 


We all need to take care of each other around here. :-)


:-)


Anyway, Good night. (I'm on duty tomorrow.)


~ Sonia.

The Instrument

This afternoon, I found myself on all fours…

…checking out the lowermost shelf of pens at the national Bookstore, looking for something special.

(haha.)

Actually, I was there initially to pick up my TRODAT (that stamp thing that ISO-certified PGH requires all residents to have). I had mine remade to add the department where I was from (very necessary). That TRODAT stamp was something I won in a bet I made with someone…er, special/cute/nice/amazingly awesome/ or whatever(but that’s another story.) :-p

Anyhoo, today’s blog entry’s cheesiness level will be kept at a minimum, of course. You and I both know that the emotional Sonia (that’s me, occasionally) is not very entertaining. (Drama is not a dish we like to listen to everyday for dinner, right?)

Anyway…

It all started during one ward meeting we had at the Psych department, when I saw one of the internst sign the attendance logbook with a shiny black and gold fountain pen. I couldn’t help but look. Long (I couldn’t take my eyes off it.) I couldn’t resist asking him:

Me: Hey Jim, could I see that pen?

And he sort of gave a little laugh while I reached for the pen, and examined it closely.

It was black, shiny, elegant…and my favorite, it was ergonomic. J And when the nib touched the paper, anything I wrote, every stroke and every line came out (and stood out) like…

                        Black gold.

(Ok, so I’m overreacting, but hey… you know the feeling.)

So, while I was flipping it around, rolling it around my fingers twirling it, and all the while admiring the balance of a perfectly good pen, I could not help but sigh.

Me: Where did you get this?

Him: I got it in Binondo, Ma’am, in Escolta, at a place called “Louis’ Pen Store.”

Me: For real? Maybe I’ll go there and check the place out one of these days…

Him: It’s virtually got a lot of pens there, mostly high-end ones so I had to pick out an affordable one.

(And then he started talking about Parker pens, and saying names like “F14” and comparing his pen with other Parker models. For a while there, it almost  seemed like he was talking about cars. Which was good, and I think the kid knew about his fountain pens. )

Me: But hey, this is pretty cool…do you write?

Him: Yes, a little…but I haven’t the time lately.

Me: (handing the pen back to him), “Cool. Take care of that pen.”

Him: Yeah, this pen is going to outlive me.

Chamie, my co-resident who was also at the table with me also joined in the exchange. She knew about my thing about pens (and paper), and tried out the black pen, as well. She was pretty amused, but thought the pen too short…a longer pen, she said, also made you write in more beautiful strokes.

And myself, being the purist that I am, said solemnly, “No, it doesn’t really matter, the pen is the pen… it’s like, wow.”

(LOL. I don’t think that made much sense, though.)

------

My job as a resident requires a lot of writing. Writing down notes and observations of patients, referrals…psych histories (and boy, are they long).  A good pen really does matter. Like our mentors always say, “ You, yourself, are the instrument. You don’t bring anything, no stet, no CT scan (although you have to order that in some cases), no flashy equipment that will tell you what is wrong with the patient, just yourself.

And a good amount of output involves writing out lengthy histories, like I said.

And good writing involves a good pen.

(And I got one today. It’s blue, and plastic, and has a cartoon of a penguin licking a popsicle, being licked in turn by a polar bear.)

Ok. The end. 

------------------ 

Defense Mechanisms, 101:

ISOLATION OF AFFECT: This defense involves a split between thoughts and feelings. Painful, troublesome, frightening feelings are removed from the thoughts they usually accompany and forced from conscious awareness. This defensive style is recognizable in the person who is able to talk about things that would ordinarily make a person wince without any noticeable feeling. A doctor describing a mutilated accident victim in cool clinical terms is someone who is adaptively using isolation of affect.

The Human Drama

I had my second, and let me say, very eventful second tour of duty in my new hospital yesterday.

I saw 7 patients in all, 4 of which were admitted in my service, and the other three were in-patients in other departments that I discharged to go home.

I found it hard to talk to my patients at some points during the day. I had to pause few beats before I could go on to say what I had meant to say. I had foreseen this obvious challenge to my current situation. Tagalog (or Filipino, if you wish), is not my first language and it requires a lot more effort on my part that I had initially thought.

( Whining has become a defensive coping mechanism it seems. I don't think I'm that bad, it's just that I just make it a big deal so I don't go overboard and also have people expect too much.)

---

It puzzles me how a person could think that harming herself or himself is going to become a means to an end. 

The most "popular" (if may call it that) way to attempt to end a life according to my experience here in my new hospital for my patients (some as young as 14) who have decided to, is that of taking in / "drinking" silver jewelry cleaner (there's a case everyday, no fail) or household bleach. They seem to think it's a terrifically good way to end their lives or at the very least, harm themselves enough to get someone's attention.

(Real, hard core suicide patients do not let anyone know, and carry out very detailed plans which are most often fatal enough to succeed. Most often, though, if they just swallow a few gulps or do something rash so that someone might see and stop them, then they are just usually seeking someone's sympathy.)

If I said that I didn't understand the meaning behind all this, it would be unbecoming of my profession and chosen specialty. (This is, however, saying it with the bias of my own experiences.) I'm coming from a different place than my patients so I could say that no man could ever be worth drinking silver jewelry cleaner for (muriatic acid, or heck, any other attempt for that matterà more often than not, they have complained of problems with their significant others as their main reason)

But that's just me. I believe I'll always have someone, or something to fall back on just in case…

There are other people who feel that they don't, however, so their story is a whole different one (and that's where we come in to help.).

----

Last night, I was amused at how funny it felt to have one's patient's chastise them.

Two of my patients said some stuff that would be totally wounding had I not known that they had "a few screws loose".

For example:

    Patient 1: "Are you sure you're a doctor? How come I know my illness better than you do?"

    Or,

    Patient 2: "The Divine Master has given me the power to rule over all the world and heal every man. All you doctors don't know anything, you are the Devil's minions and you will all go to hell!!"

(Ouch. That hurt. Not.)

Being a doctor, and a psychiatrist in-training at that is starting to sound like it's getting to be an occupational hazard.

----

Friendly friends

They say it's good to have friends from other departments. I say, it's good to have friends. Period.

A friend of a friend, a second year resident was also on-duty last night at the ER and he knew me, so when he saw that I had long notes to write (we usually do in psychiatry), he invited me to sit in their station. A native speaker, it also came in pretty handy when in my interview, my patient described himself as "maharot", which I had to note down because I didn't understand what it was. When I later asked, I found out that it meant that the patient meant to say that he was lively and playful (rough translation/connotation in English) as a child.

So that helped.

Oh, and it's easier to refer your cases when you need help when you can greet the Neuro resident with a wave and a smile.

Friends are good. Period.

J

---- 

I had a patient who got agitated at the ER when we were about to bring him to the wards to be admitted. He refused to come.

Long story short, he went wild and 7 men had to hold him down, and an IM injection had to be given.

It's pretty common, especially when the patient is a florid psychotic, but for the naïve first timer, namely moi, it was quite the dramatic moment.

According to my senior resident who went on-duty with me, I should want more of those to come so I can learn more.

(I agree, but maybe in another month, when I will have "mastered" speaking in Tagalog. SO there.)

----- 

Talking, really talking to people is not as easy as you think.  

The January Epiphany (-ies)

This morning, as I was rushing out to get to work, the lady at the lobby of my building called out to me: “Miss Stephanie? This came in for you…”

(Ooooh, a surprise!)

I nearly giggled with glee. (I absolutely love surprises.)

It was a present from a good friend and mentor who sent it by mail. It felt like Christmas and I was being a big kid again; excitedly running my fingers all over the stamps and picking at the adhesive of the envelope to open it right away. My purse and book bag were kind of heavy, but I had both my hands unwrapping the present while walking towards the hospital (I couldn’t wait til I had sat down and settled, of course.)

“I wonder what she got for me…” I thought as I flipped the envelope around in my hands. It had the logo of the Philippine Psychiatric Association so I figured she must’ve sent me a brochure for another conference or something.  When I pulled out the contents, though, I got the nicest surprise ever. J

 

And if that wasn’t enough, I got this, as well.

(Thank you for your Christmas present, Doc Eunice. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…I LOVE IT!”

Epiphany 1: Jessica Zafra does quite the sharp commentary. Biting, but true, it makes you realize that there are things in life that are so frustratingly real and stupid (or very nice), they eventually become very amusing anyway. (And no, I don’t feel worthy to critique her book.) I used to read her before, but then someone said that her stuff was getting to be repetitive. And then some part of me started to think that “Hey, maybe she’ll always be like that, bitter. And ranting against all these common ironies but not really doing anything about it.” 

So ok, I’m changing my mind now.

-----

Reading Twisted 9 was actually why I started writing… after a long time of putting it off, picking up a fountain pen and some clean white paper and writing this one out. (Irony.)

-----

I got another book for Christmas, as well. Another Booker Prize winner of a book, and probably a secondhand one, because everytime I open the book to smell between the pages (yes, it’s a habit),I conjure in my mind a 56 year-old guy who wears musky cologne, has hairy arms, a cute little potbelly tiny reading spectacles perched on his bulbous nose, reading, with his toddler granddaughter playing with her toys at his feet. And his name would be, I don’t know…Herman? :-p

“What do you think about this book?” I asked Chamie, a friend and co-resident, a voracious reader herself (she’s read it already).” “Well, it’s  a little long-winded, but it’s a really nice love story.”

Enough said. I’m sleeping with the book beside me tonight.

(I love secondhand books and I love [love] stories, especially those that win prizes, so Thank you, I’m very happy with the present. J)

Epiphany no. 2: The book is a “rare and spellbinding book of dreams.”

-----

I asked for a fountain pen for Christmas, a red one.

And then, I realized that I already one. Why would I ask for another one like it? (I had bought this fountain pen for myself a few months ago.)

Epiphany no.3: I don’t think we’d ever be given something we ALREADY have. Instead, we will be given something we need at the time we are ready for it. J Realizing this, I suppose I should have asked for something that isn’t store-bought, like maybe the heart of a boy on a silver platter, or patients that are manageable, or non-toxic duty skeds, for Christmas? Haha. Tsk tsk…but that’s not how the world works.

-----

Epiphany no.4: PGH has a lot of goodlooking men.

 It does, actually.  And each, probably with talent and brains to boast of. It IS PGH, after all (and I say this with pride, haha.) Kaya lang, there is a chance that they will eventually, in one way or another poke and probe you, in terms of your medical life.

Case in point. Last month, we had our physical examinations done during the application process. In the last part, the dentist check-up, I got decked to this tall, dentistry guy who lives in my building… Now, I thought he was cute in a geeky, Sheldon Cooper way, but with a techie, basketball player vibe, but I never really knew anything about him other than the fact that he was always in blue green scrubs, and had the College of Dentistry thing on his blazer pocket.

J

So anyway, he to got to peer in the recesses of the sanctum sanctorum of Stephanie Miaco, MD…her mouth. J My teeth, unlike my brother’s, are less than perfect, so I naturally felt self-conscious. I didn’t have any cavities (whew!), but he did say I needed to have my wisdom teeth taken out as soon as I can. And then he signed my slip. (DONE!)

Getting my teeth checked is like having someone probe me for secrets. It can get pretty embarrassing, and I have some of my own to hide. :-p

Oh, and I saw his first name on his nameplate, but like his last name…I had forgotten it as well. All I vaguely remember is that his name started with the letter P.

------

Epiphany no. 5:  “There is no teaching from without.”

(If that line above reads like something Yoda or Bruce Lee would say, I’d have to beg your pardon…it’s the best way I can use to express this feeling that I have.”)

I was the first one of our newbie group of residents to go on duty this year. And, it being a Sunday, and a day after the first of January, I really didn’t have that many patients to see.

Actually, what caused me more anxiety was the idea of interviewing the patients in Tagalog, not the fact that I’ll probably end up with an agitated patient running around the ER (Oh, and by the way, the people here have a short term for it, it sounds like, “ah-jit” J) ß Side note: Better nga, kaysa naman sasabihin mong “nag-wild”, di ba? J)

My senior, Mafin (who refuses to let me call her Ma’am, a title we give to seniors and consultants here) was great. Anyone who’s ever gotten lost in the dark would surely welcome the beacon of light, right? (Thank you, Mafin.)

Chamie jokingly called me the “sacrificial lamb” because I was the first, and I did feel like one. Kulang na lang mag-bleat ako. Baaaaah.

J Joke.

You know what else they joked about, “You know Atep, for us to easily get referrals, you should get yourself a boyfriend from the main departments…no wait, suitors! ‘Cause suitors can’t say “No.” (Ha ha. Thank you very much…)

-----

Epiphany no. 6: Sometimes, not getting what we want when we want it (i.e. right away) can be good for us too.

In recent months, I’ve learned that not everything we want will be given to us right away…it all takes agonizingly long (if it’s going to count) and entails a lot of hard work (if it’s going to really matter). It’s basically true for everything…school, work, relationships, life itself. If we all had it easy, we’d all get bored right away, right?

(And I don’t like being bored. It gives me dandruff. Kidding.)

----  

 So, today, on the day of the Three Kings (and the day when we all supposedly take down the twinkly Christmas decorations), I wish you a full, happy, insightful year ahead.

To Epiphanies! J

(Thank you, that was a long read…and you’ve been a great audience.)

~ S. 

Epiphanies

This morning, as I was rushing out to get to work, the lady at the lobby of my building called out to me: "Miss Stephanie? This came in for you…"

(Ooooh, a surprise!)

I nearly giggled with glee. (I absolutely love surprises.)

It was a present from a good friend and mentor who sent it by mail. It felt like Christmas and I was being a big kid again; excitedly running my fingers all over the stamps and picking at the adhesive of the envelope to open it right away. My purse and book bag were kind of heavy, but I had both my hands unwrapping the present while walking towards the hospital (I couldn't wait til I had sat down and settled, of course.)

"I wonder what she got for me…" I thought as I flipped the envelope around in my hands. It had the logo of the Philippine Psychiatric Association so I figured she must've sent me a brochure for another conference or something. When I pulled out the contents, though, I got the nicest surprise ever. J

And if that wasn't enough, I got this, as well.

)

(Thank you for your Christmas present, Doc Eunice. I've said it before, and I'll say it again…I LOVE IT!"

Epiphany 1: Jessica Zafra does quite the sharp commentary. Biting, but true, it makes you realize that there are things in life that are so frustratingly real and stupid (or very nice), they eventually become very amusing anyway. (And no, I don't feel worthy to critique her book.) I used to read her before, but then someone said that her stuff was getting to be repetitive. And then some part of me started to think that "Hey, maybe she'll always be like that, bitter. And ranting against all these common ironies but not really doing anything about it." So ok, I'm changing my mind now.

-----

Reading Twisted 9 was actually why I started writing… after a long time of putting it off, picking up a fountain pen and some clean white paper and writing this one out. (Irony.)

-----

I got another book for Christmas, as well. Another Booker Prize winner of a book, and probably a secondhand one, because everytime I open the book to smell between the pages (yes, it's a habit),I conjure in my mind a 56 year-old guy who wears musky cologne, has hairy arms, a cute little potbelly tiny reading spectacles perched on his bulbous nose, reading, with his toddler granddaughter playing with her toys at his feet. And his name would be, I don't know…Herman? :-p

"What do you think about this book?" I asked Chamie, a friend and co-resident, a voracious reader herself (she's read it already)." "Well, it's a little long-winded, but it's a really nice love story."

Enough said. I'm sleeping with the book beside me tonight.

(I love secondhand books and I love [love] stories, especially those that win prizes, so Thank you, I'm very happy with the present. J)

Epiphany no. 2: The book is a "rare and spellbinding book of dreams."

-----

I asked for a fountain pen for Christmas, a red one.

And then, I realized that I already one. Why would I ask for another one like it? (I had bought this fountain pen for myself a few months ago.)

Epiphany no.3: I don't think we'd ever be given something we ALREADY have. Instead, we will be given something we need at the time we are ready for it. J Realizing this, I suppose I should have asked for something that isn't store-bought, like maybe the heart of a boy on a silver platter, or patients that are manageable, or non-toxic duty skeds, for Christmas? Haha. Tsk tsk…but that's not how the world works.

-----

Epiphany no.4: PGH has a lot of goodlooking men.

It does, actually. And each, probably with talent and brains to boast of. It IS PGH, after all (and I say this with pride, haha.) Kaya lang, there is a chance that they will eventually, in one way or another poke and probe you, in terms of your medical life.

Case in point. Last month, we had our physical examinations done during the application process. In the last part, the dentist check-up, I got decked to this tall, dentistry guy who lives in my building… Now, I thought he was cute in a geeky, Sheldon Cooper way, but with a techie, basketball player vibe, but I never really knew anything about him other than the fact that he was always in blue green scrubs, and had the College of Dentistry thing on his blazer pocket.

J

So anyway, he to got to peer in the recesses of the sanctum sanctorum of Stephanie Miaco, MD…her mouth. J My teeth, unlike my brother's, are less than perfect, so I naturally felt self-conscious. I didn't have any cavities (whew!), but he did say I needed to have my wisdom teeth taken out as soon as I can. And then he signed my slip. (DONE!)

Getting my teeth checked is like having someone probe me for secrets. It can get pretty embarrassing, and I have some of my own to hide. :-p

Oh, and I saw his first name on his nameplate, but like his last name…I had forgotten it as well. All I vaguely remember is that his name started with the letter P.

------

Epiphany no. 5: "There is no teaching from without."

(If that line above reads like something Yoda or Bruce Lee would say, I'd have to beg your pardon…it's the best way I can use to express this feeling that I have.")

I was the first one of our newbie group of residents to go on duty this year. And, it being a Sunday, and a day after the first of January, I really didn't have that many patients to see.

Actually, what caused me more anxiety was the idea of interviewing the patients in Tagalog, not the fact that I'll probably end up with an agitated patient running around the ER (Oh, and by the way, the people here have a short term for it, it sounds like, "ah-jit" J) ß Side note: Better nga, kaysa naman sasabihin mong "nag-wild", di ba? J)

My senior, Mafin (who refuses to let me call her Ma'am, a title we give to seniors and consultants here) was great. Anyone who's ever gotten lost in the dark would surely welcome the beacon of light, right? (Thank you, Mafin.)

Chamie jokingly called me the "sacrificial lamb" because I was the first, and I did feel like one. Kulang na lang mag-bleat ako. Baaaaah.

J Joke.

You know what else they joked about, "You know Atep, for us to easily get referrals, you should get yourself a boyfriend from the main departments…no wait, suitors! 'Cause suitors can't say "No." (Ha ha. Thank you very much…)

-----

Epiphany no. 6: Sometimes, not getting what we want when we want it (i.e. right away) can be good for us too.

In recent months, I've learned that not everything we want will be given to us right away…it all takes agonizingly long (if it's going to count) and entails a lot of hard work (if it's going to really matter). It's basically true for everything…school, work, relationships, life itself. If we all had it easy, we'd all get bored right away, right?

(And I don't like being bored. It gives me dandruff. Kidding.)

----

So, today, on the day of the Three Kings (and the day when we all supposedly take down the twinkly Christmas decorations), I wish you a full, happy, insightful year ahead.

To Epiphanies! J

(Thank you, that was a long read…and you've been a great audience.)

 

 

Photo: Light and dark

Happiness (and other things in life, besides) comes from within. You can't give any from without.

An important lesson I learned these past few days as a Resident...that to be able to teach, and teach effectively, you've got to do a whole lot of reading on your own.

(A friend of mine, who is also a Psychiatry resident said in her Christmas card, "Enjoy as much as you can, and learn as much as you can during residency!" :-) I fully intend to.)

Have a nice day, everyone!

It's Epiphany Day today. (Here's wishing you a good one, filled with the epiphanies you need. :-))

Love,

S.