Diaries of a Junior Surgeon Part 1

Today, I had a chance to participate actively in a mass circumcision drive hosted by the GAD (Gender and Development) Department of my school. I am a fan of medical drives because as a science scholar aiming to be a medical doctor, it exposes me to real-life blood and gore that scares me more than anything, at least in medicine.

We arrived at the Judith Lazarraga Tiongco Elementary School, Tabuc Suba, Jaro, Iloilo City around 8:30 am, successfully pinning down our target time. We settled down in a school classroom a.k.a. clinic with makeshift beds formed by joined student tables. We started preparing all the needed materials for the circumcision, which I will refer to as surgery hereafter.

Preparing the materials, one of the least exciting steps in the process, was a life changer for me. Each and every material in the kits will be used in the gory ritual every pre-pubescent Filipino fear. Somehow I felt prepared for what is to come.

To remind you, I’m just 16 years old and a dummy in surgery so I am in no way capable of doing the surgery, or any other surgery to be exact. I will be assisting professionals so no need to feel alarmed about this article.

First patient arrives. About 16 years old, obviously had undergone puberty. I got scared. My dream of confidently assisting a doctor evaporated. All courage and confidence just flew away. This is scarier than I thought. He walks in, gets naked. Lays down and waits for everything to be over. I can’t even take a look. I was so scared of something I never met. This is not a good start.

Alice In Wonderland according to a nobody

Just watched Alice In Wonderland in 3d today and now, I can't even write a good article about it because my head is still spinning. I just realized today that I wasn't born to enjoy 3D movies because I end up looking for motion discomfort bags in the movie house within 15 minutes. It felt like almost two hours of hurricane turbulence. If it wasn't pricey, I could have walked out the movie house proudly.

The film is beautiful but not the media.

My ticket entitled me to a complimentary hotdog or popcorn. Everyone was going for the popcorn so I chose the hotdog. While I was eating it, my Biology teacher texted me about our medical mission in Zarraga tomorrow. It read: "Please do not forget to bring your camera for documentation". I remembered its a circumcision or free 'tuli' drive. How am I supposed to document a bloody, adult-material scene using my one year old camera? I stared down at my hotdog and concentrated on Johnny Depp's rainbow make-up.

Bottomline: If a non-3D version is available in your area, watch it instead.

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Of Flavored Sprite

The whole Shrek package

with the green apple float which I hope

you can locate. Photo from here.

I'm a big fan of McDonald's, specially their Floats. Who ever thought that putting soft, vanilla ice cream on top of carbonated drinks would make a giant hit? Now, I can't walk around the city for more than 20 minutes without seeing a mouth drowning in Floats.

At first, the Floats bothered me. Ice cream usually is basic and sodas are acidic. If you mix them together, you get a reaction. I thought it was dangerous to the stomach until I remembered that our stomachs are approximately at pH 2 which is pretty acidic. And mixing acid and base only makes a salt and water.

Now, McDo had returned their Green Float which was first introduced together with Shrek 2. Now it doesn't stand with Shrek, it stands on its own as the Green Apple Sprite Float. Having an extremely long name to memorize and recite in front of a server, I tried it. For less than a dollar, I was excited on what euphoria my Monster Green Apple Sprite Float would bring me into.

Well, it tasted like bubbly green apple juice. I am not a big fan of adding concentrated syrup to Sprite to add flavor. Sprite, no matter how sugar-flavored it is, is beautiful and I don't believe in altering it. IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH TRYING but I doubt I'll get another next time around. I am genuinely sad that the new McDo float didn't just bring it this time.

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PLDT Watchpad failed me

Anybody heard of PLDT's Watchpad program? Its supposed to give you several free TV channels on streaming. I'm using PLDT's DSL line and I have a faster-than-average connection so it was only practical to try Watchpad. It was free and you don't come across free stuff all the time.

So I downloaded the application and ran it on my computer. A small window that verified system requirements appeared before the all black, suave PLDT Watchpad interface. Apparently, the PLDT Watchpad is sweeter than I thought. I noticed a log-in page below so its given you have to sign up for the service. I followed the link and the concise instructions. I gave out my account number, telephone number, cellphone number, email etc. I was very excited that I just can't stop shaking. The thought of being able to watch channels on my computer for a supposedly better quality was getting the best of me.

I agreed with their terms and regulations that I can't even read with all the excitement building up inside. I click the 'submit form' button and a loading circular gif file which was supposed to signify 'processing' appeared. A few moments, a note appeared tearing my heart into two.

"An error has occurred. Another pending request is ongoing. Please call 117."

I retried several times to no avail. About calling 117, no thanks. PLDT is not known for good customer service. Take that from me.

Again, high expectations for a disaster. Do I have the right to clamor? It was for free, remember? Now, the PLDT Watchpad icon is lying useless on my desktop. I'm too depressed to uninstall.

Anyone want to try out Smart's SurfTV?

No pun intended.

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