The Baby Doctor

Creche = Nursery (faces intentionally blurred to protect privacy.)

 

As a second year resident, we get to have rotations in Child Psychiatry... for this June month, Trina and I got to go and observe some students at a nearby school. We spent the afternoon there, and we each had to pick a class. She took the toddler class (2-3 year old kids), and I observed the nursery class (3-4 years old).

I loved the exposure...I so love being around kids, so it was a fun experience for me. For a while now, I've been considering doing Child Psychiatry fellowship after I graduate (that's another 2 years of being here in Manila)...but when I get home, I'll be able to serve a wider base. AND I'll be able to do better in my advocacy. :-)

(RG has the same, but I think he's "ruling" Bicol. Chamie might do Child too...and so will Mer.)

:-)

Well, we'll see.

Bottomline is, I love children.

Love,

S.

Jotting down some thoughts

I just got back from interviewing a pay patient upstairs.

I'm on-duty, and Dave, my junior is in their room working on his own stuff... we had a bit of a talk over dinner. An endorsement/chika session/anamnesis kind of thing, over Italianni's takeout from Trina (which I alone ate, 'cause he was done eating already...).

Perhaps I don't have much to say tonight, just that I'm very tired, and I've had my patience tried, but its  a good thing... I've had some pretty good consults at follow-up today, and let me tell you, there's no fulfillment like the kind you get when people's lives are improved because of something you did help them with.

As I was walking down the stairs from the 6th floor back down to the call room, I remember getting this funny thought...I had to smile. I was where I've always wanted to be, I was studying Psychiatry, I was in Manila, and shweet, I love my job!

:-)

I don't want to be too cocky, but sometimes, I just feel very...happy about it. I followed my heart (literally,:-)) and look where I ended up? I suppose things didn't turn out the way I might have originally intended for them to, but like with everything else, eventually I always get what I want...and it turns out to be just what I need, when I need it...

:-) Like right now...

--------

My eyes hurt, and I have a bit of a headache, and I only wish that the other Pay referral/admission doesn't push through, because frankly, I'm tired. 'Active Listening' takes out a lot more from me than I have expected. When I said I was a good listener before, I had no idea it was going to be such a big job. Listening (i mean, really listening) is not as easy as it sounds. It seems, with every second or minute into the interview, all of your senses are in hyperdrive...ready to pick up every nuance, every lilt in the voice, every pause, every flicker and flutter of the eyelids, every detail in the speech patterns...

...so you can know what is wrong with the other person.

Mind reading?

So not our gig.

We don't just "read minds", we read....people.

:-)

------

One of my patients gave me a little bag of mango bars from Red Ribbon. I love the stuff...mango flavored pastry, with bits of dried mango in it. very nice. all that's missing is a bottle of Coke. :-)

-----

I found the most perfect book. It's Interviewing by McKinnon. I hope to read it and get it done soon, because it's really really helpful.

------

Maybe one of the reasons why I chose to help a patient with anxiety and "the fear of death", was because, well, I didn't have any. And I needed to know how it worked...

-----

A friend of mine just asked me to be a godmother to his little baby girl... and I had to say I was honored (I was.), but then he said he had to consult his wifey first, so I chuckled. For someone he was astig as hell, he was turning out to be such a softie... He actually was a nice guy.

-------

Someone I met today...

Little Marcus (B.)...isn't he a little cutie? :-)

He's the baby boy of one of our favorite nurses...so big for his age. And stylin' too... :-)

That's him, dreaming of being in Milk Land. :-)

:-) I want to have a baby someday. And when I do, I want him/her to be perfect...and to have a daddy who loves him to bits.

Soon.

------

And now I have a paper to write...I am planning to show what I've done to my supervisor tomorrow, so she can see how far I've gone with therapy...

Love,

S.

Video: Payphone (Cover)

Payphone. "If happy ever after did exist..." :-) Love, ~ S.

BonChon is Love.

My BonChon lunch at 2:30pm. so...darn. good. 

Before I ever tasted BonChon Chicken, I've always wondered what the fuss (and hype) was all about... and after I got my first bite, I was never the same again. :-p

:-)

Anyway, it's Chicken, twice fried, so it's crispier, and less greasy *sure*... There are three sauces to choose from, by my first and favorite choice would have to be, Spicy. I simply love the stuff! 

My first taste of it was with a friend, Stephen, who bought dinner that time. He asked what I wanted for dinner, and because I was so hungry and BonChon was the first store I saw, I immediately made a beeline to the place. No regrets. Over small talk about the upcoming delivery of his "Missus", the importance of investing in real estate, and about other life stuff, I devoured my order of spicy chicken wings. So super.

The next time I had it was when I was on-duty with Pearl, Lovelle and RG and we were wondering where to get our dinner. It was RG's first time to try BonChon chicken, and he made another RG-type hirit, where, he said that he wanted his first time to eat it, to be with someone special. And we were like, all hungry, so we basically ignored his comments and trooped on over to the nearest BonChon branch. Best dinner ever. Although Pearl and Lovelle couldn't take the spiciness of the chicken. Lovelle was in tears all throughout the meal. haha. <-- This type of chicken is absolutely perfect with rice, although on its own, it IS something else too. 

It is affordable, although I wouldn't recommend it as a daily meal. It's just too good. You just have to not have it all the time, so that when you're hungry again, you'll crave it so much, you won't ever think of any other food until you have it. :-) I was in a mall full of restaurants earlier this afternoon, and I'd passed Bonchon Chicken place and it was full of people, and I was like, "Nah, maybe next time." Yet, I kept thinking about its chicken, with the crunchy skin and the delightfully flavorful spicy chicken variety...and I ended up taking a seat and wolfing down my order. 

Bliss.

:-)

I'm seriously emotional about it too. haha. One time, when they were out for lunch while I was screening patients, RG, one of my coresidents asked me if I wanted to order with them. I ordered the usual (my favorite), two piece chicken; drumstick and thigh, hot and spicy, with rice... So, a couple of hours later, when I was all done (and all beat from having to interview 6 people in-depth about their problems), I went to the callroom and asked about my share/order. RG, with his poker face, comes up to me and says, "Sorry, Atep, we were in a rush, and all we got you were fries."

I could feel my face crumple, and my heart sink to the floor (being both tired and hungry, oh, and drained is the worst feeling in the world.)...and I felt like crying. I had expected to be able to eat well when i got back to the callroom...but, this??

A few seconds later, he grins and goes into their room and fetches the bag of precious BonChon chicken...and the rest of the world became dead to me temporarily as i happily devoured my order of BonChon.

More BonChon soon.

BonChon simply is, Love.

:-)

Love, 

S.

Photos: random day stuff.

Check out the extra long line at the Mess Hall for lunch... clue: the first person in line is the nurse in white, followed by another clerk in purple... :-)

Bien's leaving...and here's the mesage he left on the board. so not serious.

"resting" for a rare moment together in bed. (Photo by Mer)

just some pics. thought i'd post some memories.

Love,

S.

Daybreak

5:10am, Manila

Right now, on the horizon, the first crimson splashes of early morning sunlight are peeking, making a delightful little contrast to the twinkly city lights of the lower buildings in the distance. The last star of the night will be covered by the early morning smog clouds soon enough... Not that many bodies are stirring on the streets, but I can hear the faint buzzing of the early morning commuters anyway on the main street (Taft)...

I've always loved the mornings... at one point or two, I've whimsically thought that each one brought on a new page to write on. "The promise of a new day," according to one Paula Abdul song, so to speak.

:-) One by one, the lights in the distant house buildings are getting extinguished, and the pale salmon reflection on the Pasig river of the crimson sky will be no more, and the all-night stores will be have swept away the dirt of their porches after the long quiet night will be ready for business.

I am here, standing on my balcony, resting my chin on the ledge, thankful for the new day.

A new day, and a chance to do something good, is always a promise kept.

------

While lying on my stomach at the callroom after a bout of food poisoning yesterday, I was reading the first few chapters Ayn Rand's "The Art of Fiction", a series of lectures that she did for a small group of friends. She wrote about how the subconscious...and everything you've ever been through was important for writing...and how good writers should always have these to draw on for inspiration...

I haven't had that much time for writing these days, really, but I do admit I've had a pretty full plate these days... my "investments" into my subconscious have been in the forms of new sights, new feelings, new experiences, new patients that I have seen and helped in my own way...the belief in the promise of new beginnings.

Will write more about them later, of course, but for now, this should suffice...

I am happy. 

:-)

Love,

S.

Video: Starships

This played on the radio in the car on the way to the lecture venue at NCMH... reminded me of when I went clubbing with Ling and her friends...super fun.

Will get my coresidents to dress up and go clubbing when we're free! :-)

(RG's idea, originally.:-p)

Love,

S.

Poem: Many red devils ran from my heart

Many red devils ran from my heart
And out upon the page,
They were so tiny
The pen could mash them.
And many struggled in the ink.
It was strange
To write in this red muck
Of things from my heart.

- By Stephen Crane, "Many red devils ran from my heart"

(An early morning read during breakfast, before going off to work.)

Love, 

S.

Video: How to save a life

This was on constant loop while I was studying for the exams... i love the song.

The first time I heard it was on a friend's youtube video of his band performing (where he played the drums), and after hearing it on my player, I got hooked. :-)


"How To Save A Life"

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God, he hears you
And pray to God, he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

How to save a life

How to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life

How to save a life

Love,

S.

Photo: with Herv and Gayle

With Gayle and Herv...two very good friends from Sci High. They just popped over (from wherever they were at) and we had dinner together at Cafe Breton...

Ah, good times.

:-) That's "Gaylederma" and "Manager" in da hauz... :-)

Ah, love them. and Loved that we had a great time! :-)

Love,

S.

Shakespeare in "Class"

My coresidents  Aleah and Joff and I attended the Master Classes IV activity at the University of the East yesterday. There were a series of really good lectures (something I don't regret attending because it was almost like a review of research and psychopharmacology).

We have exams on Friday...

Anyway, there was this segment that was particularly interesting...Dr. Cabuquit, a consultant from UE inserted this little ditty about mental illness in the times of Shakespeare. We all thought it was pretty amusing, and  then..

 

he wrote his own "response" to Shakespeare.

haha...such fun. Literature, and words. Ah, heaven.

and... Joff just plays with the iPad.

LOL.

What a moment.

Long live Shakespeare.

Love,

S.

Photo: with Dr. Abeleda, psychiatrist extraordinaire

Dr. Connie Abeleda was recently in town, and she gave a lecture one afternoon.

She had been a practicing psychiatrist for 20 years in the US...and she was connected with Mt. Sinai hospital Psychiatry..

:-)

I was a little late, having come from the OPD, so when I got there, I was a little embarrassed to find that there was only one seat left, near Joff and the others. I wanted to sit there, but then they told me that that seat had already been taken. Joff said, "there's a seat up front Atep, you can take that."

So I shrugged my shoulders and went and took the seat right next to her...

I had a lot of fun. She was a very interactive speaker.

---

I learned later that they had really planned to put me there in the first place (knowing my propensity for asking questions).

Bibo Kid strikes again.

Love,

S.

Video: Payphone

For some silly reason, there was a time when I swore off all Maroon 5 songs, AND eating chocolate cake.

Now, I think I'm better.

This song is becoming a new fast favorite... and I had chocolate cake last week with my friends.

Things are looking up.

And yes, I am happier these days...I just feel generally better about things, that's all. I hope the sunshine keeps shining on me.

:-)

Love,

S.

Audio: As Long as You Love Me.

Am having a lot of fun studying to Backstreet Boys music in the background. Ahh...happy memories. One time, somebody did a backstreet boys dance in front of me. It was the funniest thing ever! Love, S.

Video: I need you tonight

My favorite boyband in high school....that had me all mushy inside, is playing here in manila. a one-time only concert...and i'm on-duty. :-(

Big Nick Carter fan. huge.


:-) Oh well, like I said, I'll probably just see them perform again in some other part of the world...someday. *fingers crossed* Love, S.

Music: Love the way you lie

I remember when this used to be my "alarm" song for waking up at 5 in the morning.

I love it still.

Love,

S.

P.S. Ariana Grande's version of Rihanna's Love the way you lie.