Photos: Repair Shop

Dong's Repair Shop. Hidalgo St., Quiapo, Manila.

I've never seen so many medium-format cameras in my life. :-p (Hidalgo St. Quiapo, Manila.)

Photo: Sunset in the Sky

Sunset in the Sky. January 1, 2012. Photo By: S.

I love the fiery, but nonetheless quiet, drama of sunsets...

...and I have to say that although my flight got delayed to Manila got delayed and we had to hover for almost an hour in midair, I liked the fact that I ended up with a pretty picture (well, pictures, actually. :-)).

Sunsets can be pretty symbolic;  the end of a good day, the prequel to a new one, or it can be just a plain sentimental memory, like maybe a beautiful sunset shot off Rizal Boulevard. But this one's pretty different, because, for one thing, i took it up in the sky.  :-)

How often does one get to catch that?

(At least, not for me, most of my trips have been early in the morning, or in the middle of the afternoon.)

:-)

It seems like an unconventional sunset picture...with clouds and more clouds in the horizon. 

I take that as a lucky omen.

An unconventional sunset...to symbolize an unconventional, but hopefully good, year ahead?

I hope so. :-)

Happy New Year. :-)

Love,

S.

Photos by: Me. :-)

Oh, and some family pictures thrown in. Not everyone could make it, though. But doesn't green look totally...funky fresh? :-)

:-) Love. Fun.

Photo: All Saints Day

Wax and Light. August 2011. Baclaran, Manila.

"Lighting a candle is a way of extending one's prayer and showing solidarity with the person on whose behalf the prayer is offered." (full article here.)


This is in remembrance, as well, for all those that we have ever loved and have gone ahead of us.

Photo: Never Let Me Go

"Never let me go". August 5, 2011. Binondo, Manila. Photo by S.

Sitting across this couple in the jeepney, and seeing them all "entangled", the only thought that was in my mind was Kazuo Ishiguro's book (although it's of a different theme altogether), "Never Let Me Go." (Hold fast, one of you just might get away.) <-- PDA's are fine, and I have no problems with other people doing it. But currently,I'm ambivalent about what I feel about it, if that were me.

And I'm like, holy cow. now I'm a cynic.

(tsk tsk..)

Love,

S.

Photo: The fool's moon.

Moonlight over an empty house. Ermita, Manila. August 14,2011.

This picture was better in real life, and up-close. The moon was shining so brightly, that it made the empty house seem all the more eerie... Trust me, I scare easily, but this time, I was especially confident because my friends were nearby when I took this picture.

I could almost imaging a creepy face bursting out of the shadows all of a sudden...

and...

nevermind.

I sleep alone in my bed  pa naman.

(I think I'm being a fool, really. :-c )

And yes, this was a scary house. It was so eerily perfect, one could not imagine that it was right smack in the middle of the city. 

~ S. 

 

August 12, 2011. Sunrise over Ermita. Photo by: Sonia.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in 

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e e cummings 

------------------------------------------ 

It was one of those early mornings when the sun was just slowly peeking through the clouds, eager to do its "morning rounds"when I took this picture. A few seconds later it had gotten too bright...and the light had become too harsh for my taste. I personally love orange sunrises...they inspire poetry. And what better poetry than e.e. cummings, whose particular simple verse evokes...stirrings.

I've always loved this e.e. cummings poem. It's rightfully corny, I suppose. :-) But I just like the idea of being of one breath, being of one heart and being one in mind with the one I love (which is the superficial interpretation). Love is when the other person matters more than you, as equally as you.

somewhere along that line, i suppose. :-p 

They say that romantic love is at its most intense when it is in the danger of being unrequited...

What do I think about it?

I don't really know. Sometimes we like to believe in cotton-candy spun dreams and tales of love...but sometimes a picture of a beautiful thing like sunrise beginnings could only be just that, a picture.

There are times when I brazenly scoff in jest that i've had enough of love ("...and all that bull-shet":-p), but really, deep inside (and in my blogger's heart), that sunrises are beautiful for a purpose, beautiful so as to inspire.

SO there.

------ 

And yes, I had a happy birthday. it was simply a happy day. With a perfect sunrise. :-)

Love, 

S. 

p.s. sunrises and poetry make me feel like mush... an evil combination. LOL.

When i need peace and serenity. This helps.

Koi Pond, Caleruega, Batangas, Philippines (April 2011)

There really IS such a thing as...

A silent parrot

Nuns who love videoke

...and Bleeding Heart flowers.

.

Daily Snaps

We're in the middle of a residents' meeting. Sort of. (April 2011)

I just love this pretty building right near my hospital. :-) (April 2011)

Love is probably when he ties your shoelaces when you can't ( and other chorva). :-)

I don't even have to explain how easy it is for me to hold them this way. ;-) (With Promise Nazareth Robles Entona, born April 5, 2011)

There is always a story behind kids taking care of littler kids...and this girl-woman sure isn't the mother. :-S (April 2011)

A common sight in a physician's meeting at my hospital. By my rough estimate, only 8 of (approximately) couple of hundred plus residents came.

Photos: Faces and Silliman University

Some pictures I took the past few days...

 

One of our consultants...He was the moderator at the Grand Rounds held recently (Aleah's). I took this one because I thought that this was the kind of pleased face you wanted to see at your grand rounds. :-)...The usually give you a beating. Acadmically, of course.

 No, I wouldn't dream of walking outside "This Area". Would you? (Plane ride home, some 30,000feet(?) up in the sky.)

Tennis Girls. March 28, 2011. Tennis is the one game where love is not the most important thing to score... But these little girls probably don't know that yet. I found them sitting up in the scoring booth "keeping score", while the graduation ceremony was going on. 

I pack light. Not. March 2011. 

When I got back, I brought my tennis rackets, some stuff from home, and the all-important cooler of comfort food, cooked by Ma, and some others by my titas/titos, who know my faves. Heck, I even got fried rice, the special kind my Tito cooks.  

:-)

Pick me up at the Irport? March 2011.

A Typo, of course, but the peeled sticker only added more charm. :-p

A shot of the strategic planning. This one is of a roomful of psychiatrists reaching for the sky. Not a common sight, mind you. (March 2011)

One of my favorite haunts when I was in College. The Library.
3 floors of absolute book heaven....oh how i loved this place! :-)
(I was at my cousins' graduation a few weeks ago, and I couldn't resist taking pictures like a good little tourist.)

Someone told me that someday I was going to get in trouble for taking pictures of strangers in "compromising" poses. Well... in my defense, I take pictures of the human condition...isn't that a good enough reason?

Back in College, this was where we played tennis...the gym had walls. It was a good idea for them to hack at the walls and install the big tarp. At least it was a fail-proof plan in case the rains came and ruined everyone's graduation make-up and shoes, right? :-)

(The court looks much more improved. It was shell when I was still at Uni.)

---------------- 

Long day at work today.

Good night y'all!

How was your day?

Every little thing is magic.

After a long day, I usually wind down with writing something in my journal… sometimes, I write down lists, or sometimes I just droll on and on about a certain topic, which, upon reaching the end of my “papyric” tirade, it all starts to make sense. I just feel that I never want to lose any of it.

Each little thought is a memory, and every action, every nuance, every line that counts for something should be written down to be remembered (or somehow told.) J

My luggage from home. The cooler is full of food.
lol.

-----

I had just gotten home from a long day at work… my last activity for the day had been an interview with a bipolar patient from the ward, who was currently Manic. I was assigned to videotape my interview with her for my supervision tomorrow. * In this context, supervision is when you and a consultant sit down and discuss a patient’s case, or in my case, she wanted to discuss my interview with me. The last time I had supervision, I interviewed a psychotic patient, and she’d pause the video clip at certain places to explain to me about aspects of interviewing patients, and then give me some tips on interviewing.

It’s quite an experience watching yourself as you do an interview. I didn’t know I had tics and mannerisms that got magnified on screen. 

Like, for example, I’d tap my fingers when I get impatient…or, I would tend to pause at times for longer than necessary. The most amusing part was at the start…my supervisor laughed, and said (well, I actually verbalized it for her,haha), “I’m too perky?”

She chuckled. ‘If your patient is aloof, or reserved, you should start with that kind of mood,” she said, “you also need to be reserved.”

------

I had a bit of a scare earlier.

I had a patient at the OPD who (he was manic) actually tore his prescription right in front of me because he thought I was prescribing too many tablets (he was due for check-up in a month, with 3x daily medications, hence the number). He came with his wife, and he got agitated because he said vitamins helped him sleep anyway, so he wouldn’t need the sleeping pills I prescribed as well. His wife was embarrassed for him, and this irritated him, so after a while, he got antsy and started to talk in a louder voice, saying that he knew some important people in the senate and that the former vice president of the Philippines was his uncle, so he’d be given medications, no doubt about it.

Somehow, that tearing of the prescription scared me, and it made me move away farther from the patient, and it made me annoyed because despite all my patience, he still wanted to assert himself. I took a deep breath and tried to diffuse the situation. It was hard, because the way he carried on, it was as if he was going to hit his wife…and if I pushed it, maybe even me.

I resisted the urge to call security, but in the end, I took the risk and decided to play along with it, talking to the patient calmly but firmly (I hope). Eventually, he recanted, and he even made the promise of bringing me a carton of vitamin supplements that he was selling, and giving it to me for free. Just because.

It worked, thankfully. In fact, in the end, he was even apologetic.  He somehow got some insight, calmed down.  He was easier to talk to afterwards.

He ended up being nicer, promising to take the medications (I slipped his wife another prescription, but this time, it was for a full month).

Patient: “Doctor, how would you like vitamin E supplements? I’ll give them to you for free…

Me: Thank you sir, you are very kind, but Vitamin E makes me break out in pimples… (It does.)

Patient: Do you have a boyfriend? I think you’d get along well with my co-teacher who is also single…

Me: (not letting him finish) Oh, it’s ok sir, thank you. Yes, I do have a boyfriend. (I don’t.)

-----

I like to think that I am the type of person who can remember whole conversations, especially if I see people’s faces, and see their gestures, and observe them gesticulate in their own peculiar ways.

----

My friend Chamie is about to give birth…to her baby we have named Chimichanga!

----

I am a lucky girl. And it’s a priceless feeling.

(Thanks Ma, Thanks Pa.)

-----

A girl in the elevator was singing her version of James Ingram’s “If ever you’re in my arms again…”

Happy thought. J

----

I’m reporting on Trance and Hypnosis tomorrow. Volunteered.

(me and my big mouth.)

:-S

------

Oh, we heard a good comment earlier from one of our consultants, and I paraphrase…

”We were a great batch, with a good work ethic.” (He meant us first year psych residents, of course.)

*heartwarming*

-----

A famous author once said, “Anyone’s first draft is shit.”

(Lol. I don’t care.)

-----

Natch, you know what, maybe one of these days, I’m going to get me a boyfriend who’ll ask me at the end of a long day, “So how was your day?” so you wouldn’t have to put up with my long day revue.

*sigh*

-----

But you know I love writing to you anyway, right? J

(Good.)

----

Love,

S.

P.S. So...How was your day?

Oh, this made me laugh while watching Modern Family last weekend. Give it a go! :-D

Photo: Ankle Rainbow Power

"Ankle Art." PGH, January 31, 2011 (Photo by: Sonia) 

I was walking to work, hurrying because I had five minutes to spare before I had to preside over the ward meeting that morning...

As always, a surprise awaited me. A young lady with ankle bracelets all the way up to her calf walked a little ahead of me, and when she stopped to fix her kid's dress, i got to pass her...and failing to resist the urge, I mustered up the courage to just ask if i could take a picture of her ankle ornaments.

I couldn't pass up taking a picture of the bursts of color. 

"Sure! Just my feet?" she joked, almost disappointed.

I, not even looking at her because I was staring at the bursts of color, said, "Aww..it's not like that, I just like how colorful and fun your ankle bracelets are...Thanks!"

And so, I got my photo. :-)

------ 

I couldn't help but point it out though, but I've been asked this twice already by people who see this picture, 

                "Does she take them off everytime she showers?"

Me: (smilingly, and secretly) Can't we just appreciate her art for how colorful and fun it is? ;-)

---- 

The end.

One vivid afternoon

Two less lonely buildings in the world. ;-) 

One afternoon, after a light rain, I got to thinking...In a world of near-infinite possibilities, could that "awesome fit" that complements you in every way just be right across the street?

Sure. 

Could be.

(Maybe.)

---------- 

In a patch of land, where nothing is alike, and there are buildings of sizes and shapes of different kinds (as "far as the eye can see", in this picture, of course)...there were two that were the exact mirror image of each other.  See if you can spot them.


------------ 


Not Love, Perhaps

This is not Love, perhaps, 
Love that lays down its life, 
that many waters cannot quench, 
nor the floods drown, 
But something written in lighter ink, 
said in a lower tone, something, perhaps, especially our own.

A need, at times, to be together and talk, 
And then the finding we can walk 
More firmly through dark narrow places, 
And meet more easily nightmare faces; 
A need to reach out, sometimes, hand to hand, 
And then find Earth less like an alien land; 
A need for alliance to defeat 
The whisperers at the corner of the street.

A need for inns on roads, islands in seas, 
Halts for discoveries to be shared, 
Maps checked, notes compared; 
A need, at times, of each for each, 
Direct as the need of throat and tongue for speech.

- A.S.J Tessimond

------------- 

DISCLAIMER. This is a "no big deal" entry. Not dedicated to anybody in particular. At all. :-)

Manila, August 2010.

I can make decisions at the snap of a finger...OR at the end of 5 days.
---------
I recently took a trip, and did some career-related things that I've been planning to do for quite some time now. It was something I've looked forward to, and since it was pretty important, and was all-business, I didn't really announce it with much fanfare. 


(I have this thing about not announcing works (or major decisions) in progress...I want to downplay things until I'm really sure. It would surely be a blow if i had had high expectations and then crashed miserably. I'm a bit selfish about my ego.:-p)


I had booked my tickets in advance ('cause it was cheaper that way) and besides, one of the hospitals I applied for really put their application schedules down. That was pretty helpful in planning everything.


The airport was packed (in Dumaguete terms, of course), and it seems many people were also making the trip to Manila that morning. I was travelling alone, which was more economical of course, since I was paying for my trip and every other expense. As much as I would've liked to bring a veritable entourage of cousins along for a fun ride, it simply wasn't going to work out. (Perhaps, when I'm a bigger name, and millions richer.)


I saw Manny Pacquiao getting off the plane from Manila that morning. His presence created quite a ruckus among the ground crew who had pictures taken with him while he was on his way to the arrivals area with his wife Jinky. I remembered that he was scheduled to speak at Silliman University's College of Law as part of the Founder's week celebration. (I didn't get the full-on view of him, but had to settle for what the zoom lens of my camera could handle.)

Manny Pacquiao being led by his entourage to the Arrivals area of the Dumaguete Airport.

Airport terminal entertainment included these three visually differently abled (they were blind) gentlemen who cranked out a variety of old-time tunes from Matt Monro (my favorite in their repertoire, actually), and even jukebox oldies from the likes of Eddie Peregrina and April Boy Regino. Which of course, were never my favorites, but I still had to hand it to him, the guy could really sing. 

The three blind musicians who rocked the airport music scene. August 26, 2010. (lol)

I seem to be getting into situations where kids abound. I sat next to a mom who had triplets...and I even got to bottle feed one of them when one of the others was acting up probably due to the pressure. I couldn't help myself and after introducing myself (and telling her I was a doctor), I asked her about her prenatal history, and all that. She was kind enough, and the kids were fun. 

The quirky little triplets. August 26th, 2010.

My uncle (and aunt and cousin) picked me up at the airport when I got to Manila...and dropped  me off at where I was staying (it was closer to the hospital than their place in Paranaque). My cousin Gerard and I had lunch 
at the mall, and for a little while, I had to be accustomed again to being in the big city, with the mill of busy people (talking in rapid fire Tagalog,mind) and the neverending traffic. (Yet, I had fallen in love with this City a long time ago, with its promise of adventure, so i figured traffic would only be a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.But we'll see about that, 'cause almost everyone I knew who's ever been in Manila has never liked being there, if it weren't for the studying or the work that they did.)

A degree in foreign services. Now why didn't I think of going into that? natch. :-) August 29th, 2010.

First off, I went to the hospital where I was going to be taking my exams the next day. I went alone, of course, I usually am lately. It's not that i didn't need anyone to go with me, it was just that i needed to get a feel of things without having to bother anybody. And besides, I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of anyone should anything go wrong. Like I said, I was terribly self-conscious about having to show anyone a work in progress. 


The secretary who handled the scheduling was friendly enough, and after getting the details (and doing some additional payments for exam fees and stuff), I walked around a bit. We wouldn't know our room assignments until the next day. Since it was my first day back, I was still self-conscious about my Tagalog-speaking skills. Argh. Nothing makes me more anxious that speaking Tagalog. (I have to translate things in my head first, and that takes practice.)


Anyway, the next day, I found out that the room assignments were by group/specializations. Mine was to be held in a conference room on the second floor of the hospital and when I got there, there were a handful of students already in (which I adjudged to be from UST, because most of them knew each other). Well, the exam was 40% general medicine, and 60% Neuropsych, and when we handed our exam papers in, the chief resident (who looked like she was going to be a tough cookie, er, senior) told us to "make ourselves available" on so and so date for the interview. 

Sto. Domingo Church. August 28th, 2010.
So it looks like I'm going to be back in Manila again pretty soon. :-D

I wolfed down lots of rice and beef stroganoff afterwards, 'cause I got so hungry. Comfort food that my roommates and I had last year when we were living near UST.
----- 

The Picture Show Room. National Museum. August 29, 2010.

I got a second-hand book on digital photography, which I totally love! :-) 


It's still pretty new, and has got great text and lots  and lots of pictures. 


The previous owner had written something in illegible scribbles which totally bummed me out, and if that were originally for me, I'd have wished, they were written like this, "Dear Stephanie, here's to a lifetime of great pictures. Love, (insert name of significant person)" 


LOL. Kidding. But of course, beggars (of good bargains) can't be choosers, and i was terribly lucky to have found that book. It smells great, and i started reading it the minute I got it. My cousin Chris doesn't like second-hand books, but I do. I always thought of them as extensions of their previous owners, and they came with attached memories, highlighted notes...and essences. They were lived/breathed/pored over and loved. I believe that makes them more special.


(And so,with dramatic flourish, I therefore say to the heavenly love that has made it possible to get that book to me, thank you very much. I love it. It's absolutely perfect!)


------ 

Overfeeding time, with JoeJoe. A Veneto, Mall of Asia. August 27, 2010.

Oh, and I got to see my dear friend JoeJoe, an old schoolmate and fellow staff member of the school paper. Like any true friend would, he took me out to the Mall of Asia and fed me A Veneto pasta until I could no longer take in anymore and threatened to lose my cookies. Initially, I had asked him to take me out to a Japanese restaurant instead 'cause I was so hungry and was dreaming of a plateful of sashimi all to myself. He laughed and then said, " Just wait til you try this pasta place I'm taking you to, THEN we'll see if you'll still want Japanese after."


The darned dude was right, after all that pizza and pasta...I didn't think I could look at another plate of food again for that night. And after we walked around the grounds of the Mall of Asia, he got me a long tall glass of Caramel coffee at Seattle's Best and challenged me to down the whole thing down. I couldn't, of course. The next things I want to try when I get there would be the bungee jump thing, and take pictures of the sunset on Manila Bay. <-- I'm looking forward to it.


------ 
Joejoe did his internship year at the Philippine General Hospital, and since I was going there to visit a family member who was admitted, I asked JoeJoe to give me a tour after. Haha, Joe was great. He talks to me mostly in English, in that off-the-cuff comfortable way that I'm used to have him talk in ever since we were in school. He showed me around the hospital and gave me useful info and "side notes" (although not all of these were terribly useful to me, they were just pretty hilarious, that's all.)


One time, we passed by this guy (an intern, i suppose, judging from his clothes) and I had to stop walking for a bit. :-) I elbowed Joe, "Joe, check that out, remember my crush back in med school... the tall guy, XXX? I thought I saw someone who looked like him, eek!!!" Joe didn't see the guy, of course...because among the two of us, I was probably the one who was more likely to have her attention caught by a guy.  Oh but the resemblance was uncanny... *sigh*. I got giddy. Joejoe just pretty much laughed at me in amusement.


------ 

A painting of the Philippine flags in the Picture Show Room. National Museum. August 29, 2010.

I applied to two hospitals, and they're both interviewing next week. I'm nervous about it, actually, I mean, I love doing interviews...but I feel that this one is no joke. Joe said that I might have to prepare a script or something, haha. :-) I downloaded something from the internet, and well, the resource person who wrote it said that there was a need to get things down for some questions that were routinely asked, so I might have to work on that too.


Oh, if only interviews were as easy to do as honestly telling someone you like what you felt. (I got the idea from watching Sharon last night on tv with Hershey, over delicious hotdogs).


Bituin Escalante and Sharon Cuneta were doing a duet, and they were doing this great song that went something like, "Kung ako na lang sana ang 'yong minahal, di ka na muling mag-iisa... Kung ako na lang sana ang 'yong minahal, di ka muling luluha pa... Narito ang puso ko, naghihintay lamang sa yo..." (Anyway, the song's down this paragraph.)





LOL. it's corny, I know, but the principle is still the same. You're basically letting these people know that you're a good person, and you're willing to work hard at making [training] work, and that, deep in your heart, that is all you ever really wanted.


Right?


:-) 


(I hope I didn't embarrass myself with that CORNY spiel. haha)


----- 

Hershey Miaco at the National Museum. August 29, 2010.

I checked out the National Museum with my little cousin Hershey. I loved it...even if we didn't get to finish looking at everything. AND my camera's batteries went flat when we got to the Spoliarium. LOL. I'm definitely going back.


I love Art and History...although I wouldn't say my feelings as academic, because, the closest description I can come up with is this, "Seeing great works of art makes me overwhelmed enough to feel like peeing in my pants." That's how I love looking at art. lol.

"Those who have eyes hear, and those who have eyes see." By Camille Dela Rosa. National Museum. August 29, 2010. (I liked the Salvador Dali flair and feel of this one. Edit: even if it is kind of disgusting.)

----- 
Anyway, I've got work tomorrow. Be seeing you. This was a pretty long entry...and I hope it made up for the week I was away.
------ 
Oh, and in reference to my opening sentence, my decision was that...i am decidedly scared. afraid. anxious. of what the next few months will bring. That, despite my best efforts, and despite giving myself away...I wouldn't get picked anyway. and that would totally break my heart.


Which is why I haven't made contingency plans in case I don't get in. :-) I so want to.


(And that goes for other things in life, too.)


------ 


Love, 


S.