opening night

WICKED THROUGH AND THROUGH

2005-10-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

I caught Wicked here in Chicago a fantastic TWO TIMES - once with Jhow, Jeff, Rico, Jong, and Chris Co, and once with Cindrella Chavez (who cried pagdating sa "For Good" hahaha!). Haaaaay heaven!

HAPI BOORDAY!

2005-10-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

Makikipost lang ako.... Happy Birthday Daj! Eto yung cake, baka kasi walang magbigay ng cake sayo jan eh!

HOT RETREAT

2005-09-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Chicago from a GREAT two-week vacation! I didn't realize it would be so cold here - it was 57 degrees when I deplaned yesterday - a very far cry from the weather in Texas where I spent my first week.

We stayed in Winnsboro, Texas, which was an hour and a half's drive from Dallas. My uncle, who seems to be one of the big shot surgeons of the town, has a HUGE, let me repeat HUUUGE house. The entire land area spans 40 acres and he has his own forest, his own little fishing lake where he grows catfish, and his own personal road that leads up to the highway. The road is a good length and winds up to his driveway where he parks his cars. The house itself is big and roomy with centralized airconditioning (I hardly even noticed the heat)! The picture above looks a bit scary cause it was taken in the dark. But you can see the road and part of the house with the forest behind it. Creepy lang nga!

Most of my time was spent either shopping in outlet malls, acquiring the books I need for my last exam, or catching up on my studies. The best part of it all was being able to drive my uncle's Lexus around - it was a sleek black pick-up style car that had everything you could possibly think of, in addition to a GPRS screen. You just typed your desired destination into the computer, and it would figure out the fastest route AND tell you in a cool female voice where to turn left or right. It just took awhile to get used to the 'standard' road rules we ignore so often back at home.

The food in Texas was also great! We ate in a Japanese Hibachi restaurant in Dallas where the cooks prepared everything at your table - flipping the pans around in acrobatic style to boot. But the best food I had in Texas was undoubtedly their steak! I had never tasted anything as tender! According to my uncle, they only rear the cattle to a young age before they are killed - unlike in other countries where they allow the beef to grow old and tough.

Overall, Texas was loads of fun, and I can't wait to visit my uncle and aunt again. Oh, and if you were wondering about Rita, we left Texas for Vegas the morning the storm hit. More about Vegas and our effective escape to 'higher ground' in my next post. Gotta study muna!

FLOWERS FROM TEXAS

2005-09-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Waaaah I'm so sorry I forgot! Anyway, these are for you...I picked them myself!

9-11 Symphony

2005-09-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful day in Chicago two days ago - after a full week of studying and basically getting bored at home. We started off with a stroll through a free artshow where we had hotdogs with marinara sauce (Carlos' treat). The sausage was really good, and it reminded me of the wursts we had in Frankfurt earlier this year.

We then headed down to the Magnificent Mile for a look at the shops - Saks Fifth Avenue, the Apple Store, Bloomingdale's - everything was pretty expensive! I did get a look at the new iPod nano though -- it was FANTASTIC! It really looked a little longer than a standard credit card with a thickness of around 1cm. It comes with a color screen that can display pictures while you listen to your music. Ah what a dream item!

Anyway, afterwards we went down to the Millenium Park where they had this oversized bean that was supposed to reflect the city's skyscrapers. Past that we walked into the main park where there was a stage crowned by the HUGE metalwork of Frank Gehry - it actually reminded me of one of those machines in War of the Worlds. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra was playing there for free and they put on a terrific show of Copland, Ives, and a FANTASTIC Rimsky-Korsakov suite - Sheherezade. The sound they put out was marvelous - much better than any live orchestra back at home I daresay.

The day ended with a trip to the suburbs where we had dinner at Jo Lee's, a Chinese restaurant with huge servings accompanied by bubble tea. We had to wait around 20 minutes to get a table but the food was well worth it. Afterwards, we drove down to Evanston beach where we took a quick walk before we drove back home. The entire experience blew me away, and now Chicago is high up in my list of considerations for residency (I'd say #2 to New York).

OK folks I'm heading to Dallas in a few hours for a two-week stay there. Will let you know how the Texans party in a bit. Hang in there!

MONTSERRAT

2005-09-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Guess who took this picture!

BUKAS NA

2005-09-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hey people! I'm finally taking the 3rd of four exams I have to take for board certification tomorrow! In a way I'm glad its gonna be over already because I've been stuck at my new home here in Chicago reviewing and basically getting really bored in my spare time.

I've never EVER used the internet so much in my life, and I've recently turned to perusing items at Amazon.com (now I can get what I want shipped straight to the house in a week or two) - but you can see how dangerous that might turn out to be.

Well, wish me tons of luck with the 'American' patients I'm gonna be examining tomorrow. Ciao!

HELLO CHICAGO!

2005-09-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm here! I'm finally here! My first impression: it's not as cold as I thought it would be for the beginning of fall. My uncles who picked me up at the airport said that the temperature here fluctuates throughout the day - kinda like having four seasons in 24-hours. I'd like to see that happen in Manila!

A lot of other unexpected things happened too. The immigration and customs people were not as 'toxic' about my entry into the States as I thought they would be. I didn't even have to tell them about my exam to get in - i just told them I was on vacation. The hardest question they asked me was what a doctor was doing 3 1/2 months away from his job in the Philippines. I just made a quick remark about working in a 'family' business and being on leave, and that apparently got me off the hook.

The house I am staying in is my tito's. I instantly fell in love with it for ONE REASON: they have wireless internet! Aaaaaaah heaven! It's a good thing I brought my laptop along with me. At least I know I won't be TOTALLY bored to death here. And with stuff like Chikka, I can even text you for FREE! (uy nag plug!)

By the way, guess what the first thing I ate was when I got here - McDonalds Premium Chicken Sandwich and a side of fries. What an introduction to the land of fast food services! Please let this NOT be an omen of my weight-to-be. (Well...I DID have a diet coke instead of a regular coke) :)

Ok I have to study now for my exam this Thursday. Wish me luck! I'm missing all of you already! Mwah!

JUST AROUND THE RIVER BEND

2005-08-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

Our new album, "Interludes", is almost out! I spent close to eight hours editing the tracks yesterday and I'm sneaking an extra session in today just to work on a few fine points. I must say that I'm very proud of how the group sounds now - a BIG leap in such a short span of time. I can't till we launch the CD! Sadly, I won't be here. GEN FED-EX ME A COPY! Hahaha.

This picture was taken on one of the side streets of Venice where we were buying masks. The designs these people make are beyond exquisite, and I spent a whopping 15 Euros just to buy a mask of a Venetian Doctor. It's sitting here in my room at home - happily staring at the ceiling.

Our class yearbook will also be out this September, and Buddha and Vinnie's new books in November. So will the DC Crisis issues (if I remember what my brother said correctly...hmmmm). AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I'm gonna miss EVERYTHING! This sucks. I just hope the trip to the States turns out well. Wish me luck!

Sex, Drugs, and Crocodiles

2005-08-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hate crocodiles? Well, doesn't everybody? And no matter how many times the 'blokes' on Animal Planet try to shove the grotesque beauty of reptilian life down our throats, I'm willing to bet the farm that no sane person with an IQ above 70 will go for a dip within a mile of the hunky beasts.

A few scientists in Australia may soon have us reconsider such an aversion, however. Tests have shown how crocodile blood has an equally voracious appetite for drug-resistant bacterial strains, and yes...even the HIV virus. Apparently, the species has evolved a highly aggressive immune system as a means of surviving in the wild from savage fights that leave them with gaping wounds and missing limbs.

"The crocodile has an immune system which attaches to bacteria and tears it apart and it explodes. It's like putting a gun to the head of the bacteria and pulling the trigger." Crocodile blood is said to be so potent that, when mixed with human blood in the lab, it kills a greater proportion of HIV particles than human blood alone.

Researchers in north Australia are now routinely extracting croc blood in hopes of developing new drugs for diseases like AIDS.

If that news does prove to be true, I guess the Croc Hunter can have as much fun with his pets as he pleases! (ok that was gross...full story here - ciao!)

PEE POWER

2005-08-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, medical scientists are thinking of just about everything nowadays. Researchers in Singapore have recently developed a battery that generates electricity from urine.

'The battery unit is made from a layer of paper that is steeped in copper chloride (CuCl) and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper.' It looks like a little credit card that you can pee onto (hahaha!) - the urine seeps between the chemicals, mixes them, and voilà! - 1.5 V of pungent stinky energy.

In truth the manufacturers are aiming to market the device as a platform for the development of 'biochip home kits' that can measure stuff like glucose levels in diabetics. Pretty neat eh?!

As a final note, the idea of pee pee power seems all too Zen-Creationist as it swims in my head - sort of a quasi-binary-fission-slash-rib-from-Adam concept: juice from juice. Har har.

Find the full story here.

2005-08-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Free At Last

2005-08-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

My second board exam is finally over, and the post-catharatic ecstasy is too intoxicating to describe. There's just so much to celebrate and so little time. A big thank you goes out to those who helped me through this horrible week!

I'm leaving for the US in two and a half weeks and have a shitload of work to do before then - lecturing for two drug companies (ugh), filing my hospital applications, getting my letters of recommendation, holding the last few choir rehearsals, losing some weight for my interviews (heheheh)...the list goes on and on. The good news is I'm generally freeing up my evenings to spend time with all of YAH before I go. That also leaves me ample time to blog. Yipppppeeeee!

Oh and for some news from the 'quasi'-theater scene...the teasers for the RENT movie are out! I have high hopes for the film version of Larson's masterpiece, seeing that a lot of the original actors were casted (the showstopping Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel included), but really more because the plot (drugs, homosexuality, and AIDS among other things) and the heedy hard-pop-rock music lend themselves to the prospect of a not-so- cheesy cinematic interpretation.

I do, however, have my reservations (and have decided not to get my legs all thrown up in the air) as I have yet to see a movie-musical that has done enough justice to its original staging. Yes, Phantom might have swung close, but not close enough in my opinion (largely because of Butler's weak vocal lines). But that's just me bitching, and I'm sure it will turn out to be a lot of fun (I mean, Evita was fun, wasn't it?...hmmmm).

Check RENT out here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDS!

2005-08-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Wappy! This post is a tribute to my formerly adorable and currently dashing baby twin brothers - Spunky and Chad.

Spunky is the one getting his ear mangled by Chad, the monozygote half who is apparently balding at the ripe young age of TWENTY!

One of my friends recently brought up an interesting intrapartum scenario: what happens when a preggie gives birth to one of her twins at 11:58pm and the next at 12:02am - the twins end up with different birthdays. How cool is that?!?

I wonder if that has ever happened to anybody. Be sure to let me know if you meet a pair! I guess this breaks my promise not to blog till my exam is done. *sigh*

Anyway...Happy Birthday again to Spunky and Chad. Hah! Teens no longer.

Have a great one!

Almost Done

2005-08-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry no time to blog. Three days to go till my exam. Will be posting after then. Cya!

SPLASHING NEWS

2005-07-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

Waaaah I miss Paris! This picture is of the crazy fountain off to the side of the Centre Georges Pompidou. I miss the cold too.

Then again the weather has been letting up a bit in the past few weeks now that the rainy season is sweeping in. I hope it stays this way FOREVER. I love the rain - used to run out into my grandmother's huge driveway in Laguna whenever it started to pour so I could take a bath in rainwater. Still sounds like a fun idea, although I think I'm well past my stripping-down-to-my-undies age. If I thought I wouldn't get too sick I'd go for a walk in the downpour. Ah, but my second board exam is just around the bend; that translates to zero time to do so. Haaaay the dumb things we have to give up.

For those of you who are interested, there's news dawthat Rosie O'Donnell (did I spell that right?!?) is planning to play Golde in the restaging of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway. Seeing her onstage with Hairspray's Harvey Fierstein should be a treat.

My word of the day (c/o pedia toxicology): ERETHISM - a strange constellation of symptoms in mercury poisoning that makes you act like the Mad Hatter in Alice and Wonderland (hey I didn't make that up...that's how they defined it online). The word sounds more sexual than neurotic if you ask me.

Tschus! (umlaut on da u)

ALL IN THE EYES.

2005-07-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

From my psychiatry review today:

There are six basic human emotions: HAPPINESS, ANGER, SADNESS, SURPRISE, FEAR, and DISGUST (disgust is basic pala, hahaha) and the facial expressions associated with these emotional states are easily recognized and are IDENTICAL ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Surprise, anger, and happiness are largely communicated through the lower face, while fear and sadness are communicated almost exclusively through the eyes.

Pretty cool stuff. I wonder which part of the face communicates disgust. They sort of left it out. Hmmmm... :)

MURINE STORIES

2005-07-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

At around midnight last night, my brother told me that they had found another dead rat in our kitchen.

My mom came home this week and signed the house up for a 6-month pest extermination package with MAPECON that's supposed to get rid of everything from mosquitoes to cockroaches to rats - apparently with some success. My sister made the discovery last night, screaming at the top of her lungs (to our delight, of course).

Anyway, according to my brother (who supposedly had an extensive conversation with 'the exterminator'), the rats die in a rather interesting fashion after ingesting the cleverly-disguised poison: the neurotoxin first kills their vision before the rest of body is paralyzed. So, after going partially blind, all the rats can make out are bright sources of light that they crawl towards as the rest of their musculature succumbs to the flaccidity - a highly stylized murine near-death experience.

In other stupid (albeit related) news, I have recently stumbled across an article about how a large percentage of NDErs (post-near-death experience-ers...ugh) do not wear watches because they have refused to work. Apparently the NDE has transformed up to a fourth of the post-experience population into watch-stoppers. Strange. Apparently, any watch that they put on their person (old, new, borrowed, analog, or digital) ceases to work after a few weeks. Check it out here.

It's obviously been a boring week.

You've Got to be Carefully Taught

2005-07-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

"You've got to be taught
To be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught
Before it's too late
Before you are six
Or seven
Or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught."

-South Pacific

still working

2005-07-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

working working working... still setting up the site

news news

2005-07-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

my first blogpost and its already almost midnight...