Grumbling

So I get hungry every now and then...Okay fine I get hungry most of the time! Is it really a big deal? 

Well apparently and sadly, the answer to that question is YES. For one, I gained a whole lot of pounds indulging in every glucose-rich food that I crave for. And recently, I just found out that my blood sugar level is almost reaching the borderline. This led me to lessen and as much as possible avoid all the sugar-y foods that I eat.

Today, I just keep on thinking of THE truffle cake (by Mary Grace). I am craving for it badly and I realized that I have been successful with this sweets-avoidance for a week or longer now. Yes, I know it's a short span of time but for me and maybe for other sweets afficionados this is really a very long time. Hence this entry, to pay tribute to my "sweets-suppression".

So what has kept my belly bursting for the past 4 years?

1. The very evil-y delicious DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE (by The Chocolate Kiss Cafe)

2. Long hours of studying and avoiding the dusty library led me to my haven near UPM.

Double shot Dark Mocha Frappe Light Blended

 

3. The "birthday cake" of our family - Estrel's Caramel Cake

Caramel-coated cakes! These are not-too-sweet but definitely yum-OH! You can also have them custom-made for a very reasonable price. 

4. The brownie that beats all other brownies! THE KFC Brownie!

The cheapest most chewy among all my sweet friends

5. UPM's friendly neighbor! - Cello's Doughnuts (Taft near DLSU)

6. Let's not forget my ULTIMATELly favorite donuts!!

7. The newest addition to my diabetes-inducing foes! Chocolate Truffle Cake by Mary Grace

Definitely sweet! Creamy, chocolate-y, malt-y (tastes quite like Maltesers) and definitely SULIT! 

Dalawang Linggo

Dalawang linggo na lamang ang natitira bago matapos ang "summer" ko at ngayon ko lang nararamdaman ang tunay na pakiramdam ng walang ginagawa. Ano nga ba ang magandang gawin sa natitirang dalawang linggo? 

• Date with Best, Mariel and Bea



I miss you both of you!!

• UBE date with the Freaks - magroad trip tayo parang awa nyo na :(( kahit hanggang Tagaytay lang pero kung super game kayo gawin na nating hanggang Baguio! :))

• Magpa-foot spa 

• Magkapag-jogging, boxing, badminton at capoeira :))

• Shoe shopping! Dahil may uniform na sapatos na lang ang pwedeng fashown :))

• UBE date with BBG. Yung totoong date hindi yung tipong isa lang ulit ang makikita ko :))

• Movie marathon
• Bilang napag-iwanan na ako ng panahon dahil sa mga kailangan kong gawin hindi ko pa napapanood ang mga pelikulang pinagkaguluhan ng lahat: Rio, Thor, Fast5, Pirates at Kung Fu Panda 2!

Post-Transsumm

It ended May 19, 2011 

Our Php 9,000-worth 20-day transition summer was really worth it! No regrets, no apprehensions, just plain worth it. 

If you're reading this as part of the considerations that you have to make before choosing a med school and writing a 3-page essay together with a 20-day transition program disses you on choosing ASMPH, well I've got some reasons why I chose this despite those requirements. 

For the past 20 days, I have met all types of people. People who I know I won't EVER get along with. People who are really intimidating. People who will make you laugh with everything they do. People whom I will spend the next five years with in building our dreams. 

1.  You'll be randomly grouped for the transsumm. But what actually happens is that, the transsumm group that you will have for the summer will be the "trans"(transcript) group that you will have for the next five years! Hello! So you better pray for funny, witty group mates and pray for patience as well, because there will always be a chance that you will have group mates who will really get to your nerves.

Group 10 - Count-to-Ten (my five-year group mates <3)

2.  The first 7 days will be divided for your PH and MBA modules. Don't worry these aren't heavy loads, these are just introductions or glimpses of what you should expect from the curriculum that ASMPH offers.

3. OH! OH! OH! Be ready for some serious journal-writing! Yes, they will have to put you through "Dear Diary, today.....". Oh! A tip! At the end of the transsumm the best journal-writer will be awarded so you better make your journal unique or really emotion-drawing ;P

4. You will also get to experience TMC (The Medical City) rotations. Here you will get to know how the non-clinical and clinical stations work. Our group was divided and 3 of us got to tour at the Nutrition Management Services and the Pulmonary Laboratory.

5. After that you will be fed to the crocodiles in the government arena aka Immersion. There you will be assigned in a particular urban area where you have to acquire information on the different health programs and health problems that the area experiences. Of course, you would have to deal with the different stakeholders in the area and I guarantee that it is really stressful....

Girl in pink: "Wala ang lahat ng hinahanap nyo dito nasa Tagaytay" <--Oye!

Chief Nurse who didn't allow us to interview her at first but with the "charms" (naks) of "Coco Martin" we were able to get her to talk haha :))

After gathering all the data, you have to gather the community members and present the data to them.

You might also have the chance to experience an UBA moment (ultimate bum around) if the officials are really hard to talk to. However this would also be the UBE of your group :)

... but of course it will always be fun!

Tricycle rides :))

Boodle fight prepared by the community leaders :)

6. The ASMPH council also prepared the ORSEM and O-night for the incoming YL5. (not much to say about this haha). By the way, the ORSEM is named TAYA to signify that: "lahat kaming pumili ng ASMPH ay tumataya sa layunin at pangarap na binubuo nito". 

7. The TEAM BUILDING! These days would require some effort but it would be fun. You'd get to hang out with your group mates and old friends! Tsismis galore! In my case, I got to learn Pusoy Dos! The games are fun and tiring but overall the team building was really fun! 

7. Lastly, after all the activities, we "graduated" from the 20-day transsumm. For the graduation, we were tasked to creatively introduce ourselves to our dean Dr. Bengzon. And so we did...we prepared nothing but funny stuff. Stuff which the dean did not understand haha. It was okay though, we were not aware that he wanted something which summarized the whole transsumm and how we were prepared by this program to transition into grad school - med school. 

WARNING: It is also during this day that Fr. Ampil and Dr. Bengzon will give you very long speeches! haha But there will be a lot of things that you would get from these speeches most especially from the one by Dr. Bengzon. 

The two things that I will not forget from the speech by the dean would be: a.) Relationship (or building relationships) is the currency of medicine and; b.) The brain is the prime organ in the body and it functions to serve all the other systems of the body. He who is prime must give priority to those who are served (Bengzon, 2011). 

8. ULTIMATE LAST! You will be able to experience nights which you would miss once the real battle starts. These nights will be truly cherished and missed. Too bad I missed all of them because of some things I had to finish with UP but I definitely would not miss the next one! 

Cheers to ASMPH Batch 2016. May we all find the strength and passion to finish the dream that we are about to complete :) 

Photo credits: Jonnecker Kingsu and Maki Eduardo (sorry I stole some photos heeee ~~~)

Of Romance and Heroism - Hua Mulan

I grew up loving Disney's Mulan. A loving daughter, a brave warrior and ultimately meeting and being with her 'prince charming' -Li Zhang. Every little girl and even grown up girls love these kinds of stories - happy endings. Well who wouldn't like a happy ending anyway? 

One of the best movies that I have ever watched is another version of the folktale. A version which could disappoint many, but would give its audience the real sense of what love is. Hua Mulan was released in November 2009 and was nominated for six awards in a prestigious award-giving body in China. So why did I say that it would disappoint many? Because it has a sort of sad ending. But it also has a happy ending because the movie will make the audience realize a lot of things.

Before divulging the differences between the two movies, I would just like to point out the four things that I have found common in both versions. a.) Mulan exemplified familial piety when she disguised as a man to replace her father in serving the army; b.) they both found their love interest in the camp/battlefield; c.) they both have a black horse. 

So what differentiates Hua Mulan from Fa Mulan?

 

1. Hua Mulan's mother died even before her father was called for duty in the army
2. Hua Mulan was not a weakling. She was well-trained in kung fu and had great battle techniques that she even became a general.
3. There was no lizard/dragon - Mushu. Instead there was "Tiger" (according to the subtitles) who was her sidekick.
4. The fourth difference showed how Hua Mulan was an exemplary leader among her troops. Hua Mulan led by example. She protected her troops as much as she could. She loved her troops genuinely that her soldiers were all willing to die protecting her. She was the complete opposite of the Rouran leader who even managed to kill his father just because he wanted to take over the decision-making. This selfishness eventually led to his death when Rourans connived with Mulan in killing Mendu (Rouran leader). 
5. The fifth difference is the greatest difference between the two movies. It is how their love stories ended and how Hua Mulan the Movie, for me, is a better film than the cartoon version.

When Wentai found out the Mulan was a woman, he started protecting her. He had great dreams for her. He wanted Mulan to become a great leader because he saw in her great fighting skills. There was once one time when Mulan had to leave her troops just to see if Wentai's troop was still okay. When she came back to her troops, they found out that they have been attacked by the Rourans (Huns). This incident was the start of the hardships that both Mulan and Wentai had. Wentai felt that Mulan fell in love with him already, and at the same time he has also fallen for her. Wentai had to put on a face and tell Mulan that he wouldn't do the same thing if roles had been switched. 

It was not that Wentai did not want Mulan to know that he loved her, Wentai just wanted Mulan to become a stronger person for herself, for him and for the whole nation. He wanted her to be strong that he even pretended to be killed in battle just to harden Mulan's heart and empty her of emotions. This way, she can fulfill her responsibilities as a general. 

When Mulan was wounded, Wentai cut himself many times to give Mulan his blood since they ran out of water and other medicines. And in order to gain medicines, he turned himself to the Rourans (because he was a real-life prince). 

Mulan being the fighter that she is, dressed up as a Rouran to spy in and know who among the Rourans could be turned into allies in order to free Wentai and ultimately stop the plunders done by the Rourans. In doing so, she found out that the Princess of the the Rourans wanted to be the queen of the Wei people in order for peace to be established between the two nations. Mulan sacrificed her desire to be Wentai's wife just to be able to stop the killings of her 'brothers' and make peace with the Rourans. 

"It is easy for me to sacrifice my life for my nation. But giving up the woman I love is too difficult." -Wentai 

Truly it can be said that this could be one of the most heart-breaking films, but in the end, the movie taught us of love which is not selfish and love which is true. The movie exemplified all kinds of love: filial piety, love of neighbors - love of nation, and romantic love. 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." -   1 Corinthians 13:13