BEYOND TOXICITY

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We love Ayala Malls.  Since the day Tina and I started dating about eight years ago, Glorietta has been our favorite.  Tina admittedly, was never frequent goer to malls in Makati before she met me.  Then came Gabby who also made Glorietta, Greenbelt and TriNoma his play and stroll places.  He has been enjoying Timezone arcades and Starbucks frappuccinos in those malls since he learned to walk.  I realized that I accidentally made my family mall-rats like me.  Going to a mall has been an outlet for me to recharged and relax after a week-long work or during times of hassles.  What I like most about these Ayala malls beside being family-oriented environment is that they are eco-friendly too. Having trees and gardens in between their posh establishments made them unique at least here in Manila.  I have been to most of them including the one in Alabang and in Cebu but never to Bonifacio High Street and Serendra until a day before Tina turned 32. 

We had our lunch first at our favorite Dad’s, Saisaki, Kamayan’s Ultimate buffet in Glorietta.  Take a look at my first plate, it’ll make you salivate…

   I started heavily with assorted seafood kebab in pesto sauce, ham and lengua from Dad’s and tamago rolls and some yakisoba from Saisaki.. then ebi tempura and plate after plates, we heartily satisfied our gastronomic cravings.

Then we went window-shopping at Rustan’s, took a peak at the good-buys for the holidays, ofcourse we took pictures too for we are photo-addicts. 

And we decided to finally go to Bonifacio High Street and Serendra to see and experience the current ”it” place that people talk about.  It was like Botany mall in Auckland, New Zealand where we used to stroll and enjoy for few weeks 3 years ago when we were there for a vacation.  Boni High Street and Serendra are not only made of food shops and boutiques but an expensive community in the middle of Taguig where few years back was just a vast land of cogon grass. Though most shops are of high-end, it’s a great place to have a morning or an afternoon stroll, where one can walk a dog, window-shop, or spend a good dinner.  

If my familiarity with some things serves me right, I think this emerald sculptured fountain in Serendra across Boni High Street is without a doubt one of Orlina’s glass masterpieces.

Then our mall-hopping won’t be complete without a cup of coffee and frappuccino from Starbucks. We had it at 3rd floor of Fullybooked before ending our day with a smile.

Extending free healthcare to those without is truly engaging.  It’s a worthwhile endeavor and an exercise of social responsibility.

Below are photos of the 1st Allgen Medical Mission that I and Tina participated last November 15, 2008, Saturday at Open Air Auditorium, Rizal Park, Manila. 

Our clients were the security guards, vendors and photographers and those homeless in the park with their families.  It was organized and conducted by Allgen Reviewers in coordination with National Parks Development Committee with the help of pharmaceutical companies as sponsors and the assistance of our nurse-reviewees. 

All of us volunteers were given the official Allgen Medical Mission T-shirts that labeled us at least for a day that we became ALLGEN ANGELS. 

Allgen is not only a review center for NCLEX / CGFNS but a family who extends assistance to its community. Thanks Allgen for the opportunity to help! 
www.allgen.net

      Though I am a doctor, I can honestly admit that I am the least credible person about weight management.  Not because I don’t know anything about it but on this aspect, I don’t practice what I preach.  

Recently, I weighed myself and as I read the increments on the scale, I was surprised I gained so much more than I expected.

My wife (who’s a nurse) and I do not smoke; neither of us drink alcoholic beverages nor go bar-night-outs.  What we are guilty of is eating.  But certainly we don’t have any eating disorders yet.  We just cannot help but to eat good food whenever we go buffet-eating and restaurant-coffee shop hopping.  We love the ultimate buffet of Dad’s, Saisaki and Kamayan. We are also Starbucks Coffee addicts. We also love italian food other than chinese and little of japanese. Our next target is to conquer the infamous Spiral buffet at Sofitel hopefully if not this holiday, early next year in time for our 5th wedding anniversary if our budget allows it.

I know it’s FAR from GLUTTONY & being morbidly obese but it isn’t healthy and so inappropriate for my profession not to be health-conscious, though I thank God I’m still asymptomatic, I guess I am guilty of not watching what I eat.

I am guilty and proud of it.  At least when I die I’ll die happy. =)

   Isa akong doktor.  Ano man ang gawin ko sa buhay ko, mananatili akong doktor.

Malungkot nga lang ang sitwasyon ng Pinas sa ngayon na wala sa kalusugan ang kapakanan ng pamahalaan. Bunga nito ang kawalan ng serbisyong medikal sa maraming lugar sa ating bansa at ang hindi maikakailang baba ng sahod ng manggagawa sa ospital at mga klinika.  Kaya marami sa amin ang tumaliwas sa serbisyo ng pagiging manggagamot. Marami ang kumuha ng Nursing upang makapunta agad sa Amerika o sa iba pang bansa para makipagsapalaran at mamuhay ng sapat.  Sa ibang bansa, ang sweldo ng isang nars sa isang araw ay halos katumbas ng sweldo ng isang doktor na residente dito sa isang buwan. Marami din ang gaya kong pinili ang magturo sa kolehiyo at review centers kung saan ang sweldo ay higit na milya ang layo sa kinikita ng isang residente ng ospital pribado man o pampubliko. 

Maliban sa pagiging praktikal, may nakukuha akong ibang fulfillment sa pagtuturo. I am content whenever I receive messages that they became successful NCLEX-RN passers or even NLE passers because of my humble efforts.

Ngunit kailanman ay hindi ko tatalikdan ang pagiging doktor. Sa isang blog na nabasa ko sa net kung saan nakahanap ako ng kakapi bilang doktor-guro, sumasang-ayon ako na masarap marinig mula sa pasyente ang mga katagang “Salamat, Dok” matapos ang isang konsulta o kung sila ay gumaling sa niresetang gamot, ngunit iba din ang kasiyahang makarinig ng “Thank you, Sir.”

“We make a living from whatever we are getting but we make a LIFE out of whatever we are giving.”

I miss watching one of my favorite series - Grey’s Anatomy.

Before taking time to watch those episodes that I’ve never seen, I browsed the net for Meredith Grey’s quotable quotes…  

“Time takes pleasure in kicking our asses. For even the strongest of us it seems to play tricks. Slowing down… hovering until it freezes. Leaving us stuck in a moment- unable to move in one direction or the other. ”

“At any given moment, the brain has 14 billion neurons firing at a speed of 450 miles per hour. We don’t have control over most of them. When we get a chill…goose bumps. When we get excited…adrenaline. The body naturally follows it’s impulses, which I think is part of what makes it so hard for us to control ours. Of course, sometimes we have impulses we would rather not control, that we later wish we had. ”

“Surgeons usually fantisize about wild and improbable surgeries. Someone collapses in a restaurant, you splice them open with a butter knife, replace a valve with a hollowed out stick of carrot– but every now and then some other kind of fantasy slips in. Most of our fantasies resolve when we wake, vanished to the back of our mind, but sometimes we’re sure if we try hard enough– we can live the dream. ”

“The fantasy is simple. Pleasure is good, and twice as much pleasure is better. That pain is bad, and no pain is better. But the reality is different. The reality is that pain is there to tell us something, and there’s only so much pleasure we can take without getting a stomach ache. And maybe that’s okay. Maybe some fantasies are only supposed to live in our dreams. ”

“To make it - really make it - as a surgeon - it takes major commitment. We have to be willing to pick up that scalpel and make a cut that may or may not do more damage than good. It’s all about being committed, because if we’re not? We have no business picking up that scalpel in the first place. ”

“As surgeons, we are trained to look for disease. Sometimes the problem is easily detected, most of the time we need to go step by step. First, probing the surface looking for any sign of trouble. Most of the time, we can’t tell what’s wrong with somebody by just looking at them. After all, they can look perfectly fine on the outside, while their insides tell a whole other story. ”

“I can’t think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose… there are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it’s more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit but here’s the thing, I love the playing field. ”

“At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That’s how we’re made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines… that are way too dangerous to cross. ”

And just after contemplating on Meredith’s words, I found this picture that literally shows her ANATOMY…   Now this I’ll call ELLEN POMPEO’s ANATOMY rather than Grey’s… Her EYES and her LINES on the show are sexier than any other anatomical parts…

Holidays is in the air.  As one proof,  Starbucks Coffee here started their red-cup season last November 04.  Part of it is their promo that most patrons collect, it’s the Starbucks planner for 2009. 

I had the Starbucks 2008 planner, which I have been using religiously; jotting my schedules, notable events, budget etc.. I got that planner after I drank 24 cups of promotional and regular-blended coffee last year;  I claimed it from  Starbucks Gateway Mall a few days after Christmas.  It looks like this.

          It’s stylish and has really functional pages. 

As my youngest brother who works as a Starbucks barista now after working in Costa Atlantica cruises for 5 months across 30 countries in Europe last year informed us the date of the start of the sticker-collection promo of Starbucks for their infamous planners, I first got excited to sip more caffeine from their branches.  But he told us that though the planners for 2009 are available in 3 different colors, its look is more ordinary compared to the previous ones; this was not only his perception but of most patrons’.   The Starbucks 2009 planners are in red, blue and black colors that appear like an ordinary moleskined-planner in any bookstore.  The only good thing despite of it’s plain look is that patrons should only complete collecting 16 stickers with control numbers instead of the previos 24 stickers to claim one planner.

But since my only earthly-petty addictions are to collect Mark and Spencer silk neck ties (which ofcourse is practical and wearable) and to sip Starbuck coffee once in while, (OK, once in a while may mean more frequently depending on moods and budget), and buffet eating with Tina & Gabby, I decided to get a promo card for myself (and for Tina too) to collect stickers as I enjoy Starbucks toffeenut blended coffee frappuccino twice blended this season less the excitement of the look of the planner, but heck, it’s still from Starbucks.

We made headlines again worldwide. Nope, it’s not because of another Charise Pempengco’s american TV guesting, and neither it’s because the country won an international award or something but  nothing more than the Philippines ranked fifth in a recent global hunger survey, with four in 10 poor Filipinos going hungry in the last 12 months.  This is according to the survey done by Gallup International which is a registered association in Zurich.  Gallup was established in 1947 and currently has member-agencies in 65 countries, conducting market and opinion research in more than 100 countries.

Enough with the bragging that we are a developing nation.  Figures state that our countrymen don’t have food on their plates.  May God have mercy on those vultures in power who selfishly corrupt economic funds without remorse. 

 And for most hungry Filipinos, we can’t solely blame those insensitive traditional politicians whom you elected to positions but rather we have to do our part in any way to uplift ourselves from poverty. 

 We cannot depend on anyone for our own plate.  I remember my late grandfather’s favorite cliche,  “Buntot mo, hila mo.” 

I  hate politics particularly in my country.  But if it’ll affect national issues, there’s no harm being involve as little as stating opinions.  Definitely the results of US presidential election will have a great impact not only on our own national issues but on the entire universe’s!    

I believe US Senator Barack is more of a statesman than a politician.  Obama is for energy and environmental conservation.  He is also for healthcare reform.  

I honestly do not compeletely know him but taking from whatever has been written and said about him and his plans, the man has  INTELLECT and  INTEGRITY enough to win not only the votes of the americans but also the admiration of people across colors.

It’s enough for me that one of his huge supporter is Oprah Winfrey  no less.   May he pursue  CHANGE in the US governance if he wins over McCain especially the plight of immigrants and issues relating to Asians.

     My son’s Trick or treating did not stop at Gateway Mall last October 26.  Four days after, Tina and I brought Gabby to Trinoma for him to enjoy halloween at the mall again.  And he did! He went from shop to shops with other kids in colorful and spooky costumes, asked for some candies.  He also had fun in his favorite Timezone.  When we felt tired and hungry, we found comfort food at CIBO and Krispy kreme.  After eating, we had some coffee and saw penguin mascots of Madagascar the movie near the cinemas. They were so adorable and ofcourse we did not miss taking photos with them. 

At this early, Gabby himself has an idea of what his costume for next year’s halloween should be.   Happy halloween everyone!