Tuli Mission 3.0

Third Tuli Mission today. Was able to operate on three kids. Spent some time as well on the triage station, where I learned how to take history and take a physical examination of the kid. Learned and practiced how to speak Filipino effectively -- and also learned how to be creative with asking so that I could turn the technical medical words into words or phrases that my patients can understand. As usual, high yield!!

Also got a needlestick injury. Accidentally pricked myself with a syringe after using it to administer anesthesia. Praying that I'm not affected by any blood-borne diseases... huhuhu. I will need to get tested.

Art of Med

I'm a bit apprehensive about watching MedChoir's concert. I went AWOL this year because of problems with biology. I hope that I will be accepted back with open arms...

LQ cancelled + Ripped off my grades by ma'am Co

Cancelled LQ because my classmate got injured in PE. Ma'am Co was nice to give her consideration. She wasn't able to study kasi.

In other news, I sang for Ma'am Co, danced for ma'am Co, pretended to be the grumpy old troll for ma'am Co, played games with the class for ma'am Co, read, individually summarized, and collated three books for ma'am Co = low grade pala in our presentation :) :)
some1 fucking tell me our group doesn't deserve better?

wait, I'm actually enjoying studying for bio now?

LQ tomorrow for the 10mm pig. I'm genuinely enjoying studying. Iba talaga pag mammal na yung inaaral.

Woke up at the dead of night

Great, my circadian rhythm's messed up because of yesterday. Better get to work cramming STS and Psych module. Not to mention the impending bio lab LQ on thursday. Ugh

I'm so freaking sleepy

I SHOULD BE CRAMMING MY ACADS BUT IM SO SLEEPY UGH
Bye

Time to cram

Bioweek just ended, and another one is coming up... and there are so many things I need to memorize for the 10mm pig.......................

Past bio exams at least I had 2-3 weeks to get my shit together but this time... ma'am Co's rushing it... ugh

Today is cheat day + BIochem exam

I've had exams every 3 days for the past 2 weeks. TODAY IS CHEAT DAY. NO ACADS.
Ate with my dad in Four Seasons buffet too!! Killed myself with shrimp even though I'm allergic hahaha. That's how I walwal kasi.

Earlier this morning, I had my biochem exam. It was okay naman. Much easier than I expected.

Studying for Chem + Cutting is Justified

I'm super super worried about the chem exam tomorrow, because the lectures given by the profs were so shallow compared to what I find in the book. I don't know if I should trust our substitute prof, that what qwill come out in the exam, is just what he mentioned in class-- previous exams had extra info taken from the books. Except in this case, LITERALLY EVERY DETAIL WAS LEFT TO THE BOOKS?? THE LECTURES WERE SUPER SUPER SUPER SHALLOW. I am so confused...

In other news, I cut my physics class today, and had a classmate get my score. I got 95%. Cutting is justified.

Bio Lec Exam 3

I think my new studying style worked!! Just accepting what ma'am Co says as law without studying anything else (like books, old transes, etc) really worked. Sobrang hirap lang talagang intindihin si ma'am Co, but at the same time, the load is much much lighter because I don't study the superfluous shit.

Studying for bio lec is so benign now

Studying for bio lec is so benign now, because I chose to restrict myself to ONLY WHAT MA'AM CO LECTURED. Getting rid of the other details which are super trivial really made it feel much much lighter. I'm so happy that I was finally able to free myself from the trap of annotating previous LU transes -- which are most of the time full of mistakes and contain too much redundant info. Proud at myself for taking stellar notes: recording + picture-taking of ppt + handwriting all in one super useful ipad app. Good job migs.

I was also able to study for chem because of the extra time. Amazing.

Sense of urgency only came today...

The moment I woke up, I felt a sense of urgency. Finally... hahahaha now I have the drive to study SO I SURVIVE HAHAHA

Decided kasi to take a break after the bio lab exam yesterday. Now I gotta prepare for my bio lec exam on thursday, and my biochem exam on Saturday. ggwp

BIO LAB EXAM 3 + quizzes returned

OMG I GOT PERFECT IN THE LAB LQ?!??!?!?!? IMPOSSIBLE!!!
And for lec, I got 21/25!!!

THE EXAM TODAY WAS ALSO SURPRISINGLY BENIGN

OMG THANK GOD FOR DAYS LIKE THESE!!!

On speaking out

I should really learn to be more assertive... especially when I see other people doing things which are wrong. Wala lang. Just got triggered again when I was thinking about the tuli mission. with me being afraid to call out my higher-LU partners. Tsk.

EASY p6 exam

11/10 would do again, learning physics from scratch two nights before the test See you again next month, physics!!

[taken from twitter]

Fuck physics

Fuck this piece of shit subject I don't even know why the hell I need to take this shit. I love math; it's my best subject. But physics is a different monster altogether... what the hell.. plus the profs are really shit. I swear DPSM has a lot of problems with regards to their physics profs no fucking joke

Aced that bio lec + lab quiz

my new studying style for bio worked :) Aced that bio lec + lab quiz definitely. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS JUST ACCEPT WHATEVER COMES OUT OF MA'AM CO'S MOUTH AND I'LL GET HIGH GRADES!!!

No more "extra" shit from the 2021 transes hahahaha

Studying for the DUAL bio lec + lab quiz

The topics for this coming exam aren't as difficult as before, because they are rooted in chemistry, something I have grown to love in my time in imed. What I'm actually scared about is whether or not my new study strategy will work. For previous tests, I had always referred to the transes of the upper LU buddies. But they ALWAYS. ALWAYS. CONTAINED MISTAKES/SUPERFLUOUS STUFF. I think enough is enough. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, after all. I'm taking my own notes FROM SCRATCH now (and not merely annotating their transes) while simultaneously recording ma'am CO's sermons 24/7. Tomorrow, I will know if it worked, because I have DUAL BIO LONG QUIZZES HUHUHUHU

On making mistakes

We are only human. We too make mistakes. Reflecting on the mistakes I have done in the past tuli missions, I am convinced that it is my duty to use them to improve myself -- I should not repress them as some others do. Yes, they are mistakes, but why repress the one good thing which may come out of it, self-improvement? They are unavoidable and we must take great care to not make mistakes, but inevitably, we do... When the time comes, it is only right that we keep these mistakes burned into our minds so that we never commit them again. It is the least we can do for our patients who have been put into risk because of our carelessness.

Mistakes last tuli mission:
1. Noticed a mistake a partner made and failed to call him out for it.

In my defense, the damage was done and nothing could have been done. But I should have had the courage to tell him right then and there that what he was doing was wrong so that in the future he would not commit the same mistake. Next time, I will be more assertive even though I am very young compared to these people I am working with.

2. Failed to aspirate before injecting anesthesia

Carelessly I forgot to aspirate. So there was a tiny chance that what I had injected had been injected intravenously which could have potentially caused side effects. Looking back now, luckily I dont think my patient experienced anything out of the ordinary, so I consider myself lucky. Although, the anesthesia wasn't as effective for him.... could this have been a side effect of my carelessness?

3. Accidentally dropped a suture packet

This isnt a major error, because we just had to reopen another pack, pero sayang! I am still a noob, and I dont have the skills to maximize concentration on my patient AND efficiently manage costs.

For the record, I also made mistakes during my first tuli mission. But I also got over them and saw them as opportunities to improve. Specifically, I made mistakes in stitching and in identifying anatomical structures. I made sure that I did not commit the same mistake this time around. And I didn't. My stitches were on point. But yet I got wrong this time what I got correct last time. So that is a lesson in itself, that I should keep on reviewing. Medicine is a lifetime of learning and relearning, after all.

I once felt bad about my mistakes after the first tuli mission, thinking that I was a failure for doing them, and that I should quit going to tuli missions altogether. Nope nope nope. That is the worst thing I could possibly do. The one good thing about making mistakes is that it gives you wisdom and experience. To quit after having made these mistakes is to bury them away as if they have never happened - never to be used to improve oneself or help improve the quality of health for others. In that case, it would be a total waste, because not only did you commit a mistake, but it also didn't bear fruit. At the very least, I should use it to improve myself and others when I courageously tell them about my flaws, in the hopes that they too will learn the lessons I have in my practice.

THE PRODUCTIVITY IS REAL

I've been working since 7pm yesterday to 2am today. Non-stop bio!! GOAL WAS TO LEARN 48HR CHICK. AND I THINK I LEARNED NAMAN!!!

this counts as my post for april 16

GG exams this week

Ahahahaha tentatively, this weekend we have a dual biochem and physics exam, and then a dual long quiz for both bio lec and lab on thursday. What is gg.

Tuli Mission 2.0

MSS had their first tuli mission this year (my second ever) today! I was able to operate on four, with three of them being unsupervised!! Last year, I only was able to do one because of an exam, and that was supervised. I'm so happy that even as early as now, I can be exposed to the practice of medicine.

Listening to my sister's recording of her interview

My sister secretly recorded her interview, and I'm so happy that she had a great time! (The family interview is not so much of an interview as it is an orientation so it was safe to record... ish. Obviously we didn't say so but yeah)

Sister's ateneo family interview! + TEACHING CHEM TO STUDY

Super excited for my sister to finally be inducted as a student in the Ateneo :) I hope it will be as fulfilling a journey for her as it has been for me.

ALSO, I taught chem to my hs friend, Paul. Truly, the best way to study, is to teach it to someone else. So thanks Paul. He was like thanking me so many times kasi wala raw siya alam hahahaha ako naman deep inside thx because of you I ACTUALLY AM FORCED TO STUDY HAHAHAHHAA kasi kung hindi matutulog na lang ako diba lmfao

Proud of myself for going to classes today.

I really, really really wanted to cut today. But I didn't hahahaha. I just studied chem during class. I'm approaching max cuts na kasi. Tempting, but I need to cut responsibly :(

YES NO P6 LAB!!

Dude physics lab is literally the most hassle subject ever. I hate physics (I love math and math is my best subject, but physics is such a gross mutilation of math in my opinion, because it loses its finesse and elegance because physics is empirical BASTA HAHAHA)

SO NOT ONLY DID I CUT PHYSICS LEC AS OF THE TIME OF THIS WRITING, I CAN NOW CUT PHYSICS LAB!!! AND THEN DIRE-DIRETSO FREE DAY TO STUDY CHEM!! WOOO

Note: its okay to cut physics don't judge me. Only 20/40 of the people in the class actually go. It's much more efficient to study more important subjects like biochem/bio and then just cram physics 2 days before. Kaya naman e. We're intelligent in imed. And we actually appreciate analytical thinking as in physics. Its not like bio or biochem where you really have to put in work because if you don't know something, di mo talaga alam. In physics u can bullhsit ur way through as long as ur good at math lol

YAY NO CLASSES

not only is there no classes, but THERE ARE NO CLASSES ON A MONDAY. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS HAHAHAHAHA NO MA'AM CO WOOOOOOOOOOOO NO BIO YESSSSS

[and more time to study for Chem huhuhu with my shitty notes UGH]

DAMN ME FOR MAKING SHITTY BIOCHEM NOTES

Ano ba yan, I'm trying to review my notes, tapos I just wrote down "Listen to the recording I'm so sleepy" OMG WHEN WILL I LEARN HAHAHAHA but I'd like to believe that day I really was sleepy... sigh

It's nice waking up knowing that I don't need to do anything

Actually, the psych group video on conditioning is due tomorrow. but HAHAHAHA I was smart and I suggested to my teammates that we do it during bio lab last thursday, while our teacher was gone (it's super low yield kasi to actually look at the slides, kasi sira-sira na siya, so we usually just hunt for one good specimen tapos pasa-pasa na lang. It's how we do things).  SO now, I don't have to cram anything. Weeeee. This is rare for me lol

So, my "holy week 2.0" is going swell :) this is the calm before the storm

Addicted to Penn and Teller... ahahahha

I discovered this magic show called Fool Us by Penn and Teller and I can't stop watching!!

Also, I cut the whole day today. holy week 2.0 just because. Again dont judge me, the classes I cut are OK to be cut. grrr

Lol didn't wake up in time to study hahaha

Set the alarm at 5 AM. I woke up at 3AM, and reset the alarm to correctly wake me up at 6:30 as usual. Wasnt able to study. Lol gg.

Also, I surely failed that quiz. I would be lucky to get fifty percent.

Too sleepy to study ugh

I should be studying for bio, but screw that. I'll just wake up early tomorrow lol

Successful backing out from chess

Surprisingly I got out alive... neither the dean nor the dept head of PE fried me for ditching the chess team. Big thnks to Janelle who helped me get out by asking as my spokesperson (she had to ditch the table tennis team too and successfully did so)

Chess team problems

So apparently I have a tentative lab exam on April 16, an FCH presentation on April 18, and a tentative lec long quiz on April 19. The last two, I only found about tonight. And I was fool enough to volunteer to join a chess tournament from April 16-19, whole day, overnight. Great. Hope I can get out of this sticky situation unscathed...

Finished Psych Vid

After resetting my computer, I downloaded office 2016 which is provided freely to all UPM students. Now, my computer is fast enough to handle it. Thank God. Productive day finishing psych.

Factory resetting my computer.

I swear I'm not doing it to procrastinate for the psych video.... hehehe
it's just been slow... EXTREMELY SLOW, lately.

Went looking for pics for my psych vid

Sad to say that a lot of my pics when I was in hs has gone missing. It pains me to know that I will never have maayos pics of my complete tulong dunong kids during their grad again.

Watched a movie with my mom

Watched Guardians of the Galaxy (torrented) with my mom and then asked her for info regarding my childhood for the psych homework. Very interesting responses from her.

First day of the holy week break

So happy that I can finally take a break and detox from acads. I can finally catch up on my hobbies such as piano and chess, and maybe play a few video games. Even though I had a hard time in the exam yesterday, at least I don't need to study for anything now.

Messed up that psych exam for sure.

Ugh, I'm so malas in my social science subjects. I failed the first exam for soc sci, and I think I failed my exam today in psych as well.

At least dati I went beast mode and perfected everything after that failed exam in soc sci. Hopefully history repeats itself this time.

I actually passed the bio lec exam 2!

Miracles do happen! I don't know how the hell I managed to pass that exam!!! Thank God!!! WTF.

Talking with my parents

Warned them na that tomorrow I'll know that I'm a failure in bio hahahahaha here come the thoughts of shifting again HAHAHAHA NOOOOOOOOOOO

CONTINUING THE DETOX

GAGO IM NOT DOING SHIT. I NEED TO DETOX FROM BIO PA RIN.
DOTA AGAIN.

SORRY WALA NA TALAGA AKONG PAKE, I KNOW I FAILED THAT FUCKING EXAM. SO I MIGHT AS WELL HAVE A GOOD TIME WHILE I STILL CAN LOL

TIME TO DETOX AND FORGET ABOUT BIO LOL

I probably failed that lec exam, so I might as well give myself a good time. Time to DOTA... lolz

I think I messed up the bio exam...

I think I messed up the bio lec exam 2 a while ago :(
I really don't derive any satisfaction from learning biology anymore... Ugh, here come the thoughts of shifting again...

Solid detox afterwards though... teaching 2024 calculus with Jom!! It was cathartic :((
Maybe I really am meant for math..

RIP philhealth speaker

Okay, in FCH today, we had a guest speaker from PhilHealth. AND NOBODY, AS IN NOBODY. WAS LISTENING, because we were all too agit over the second bio lec exam. it was so bad, and she made patama at some points, pero we still chose to ignore her. She was asking if any of us had any questions, and then LITERALLY STOOD THERE FOR 10 MINUTES IN DEAD SILENCE. I DONT KNOW NA HAHAHAHA

Sorry miss PhilHealth, but you don't know the struggle of ma'am Co (nobody does except imed and bio talaga, plus this subject is exclusive to imed so gg talaga)

Our old physics prof came back...

NOOOO MA'AM SARJ YOU WERE THE BEST
NOW WE WON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING AGAIN NOOOO

LOL CLASSES WERE SUSPENDED

THANK U JESUS I ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO PASS THE BIO LEC EXAM LOL

Day before bio lec exam 2

actually tanggap ko na yung fate ko bukas
damage control na lang yung ginagawa ko ngayon

curious na akong malaman kung ano gagawin ni ma'am once she sees our scores tomorrow

We only had 2 days to study. Sumabay chem and physics sa BIO. Yun lang hiling ko, pag bioweek please yung mga pabida-bida na subjects stfu muna

[taken from twitter]

Physics 1st exam

Ugh hassle talaga ng physics. The exam was okay naman. Easier than I expected. I honestly overprepared. But that's my fault, I wouldn't know, because I don't attend class lol. I'm relying on my mathematical ability lang.

Medisings, but sorry, I need to cram physics.

Miggy and Pam, two stellar singers in our class, are competing in medisings. But I chose not to go to watch them, because I have to cram physics hahahaha... sorry po :(

That's how I survive eh. Physics is the LEAST PRIORITY OUT OF ALL MY SUBJECTS. ITS THE MOST WALANG KUWENTA TALAGA. ANd I know that I am capable of being able to cram it on time and with quality naman because I'm talented in math. So I take advantage of my strengths and leave it to the night or two before talaga. I'm being efficient. SORRY THOUGH TO MIGGY AND PAM

one of my classmates' parents threatened to sue maam co

Today, the lab exam 2 was returned. It was okay. I passed, 73/100. But the highlight of the day wasn't my score. Rather, it was the accusation of ma'am Co that two of my classmates had cheated. One of these classmates had a panic attack, and left the classroom. She came back with her mom, who then threatened to sue ma'am Co. They have been at it for three hours now-- shouting t each other in the DB workroom. I seriously fear for my life because it is literally in ma'am Co's hands right now.

Also, this morning, we were supposed to have a quiz BUT SHE FORGOT LOL the entire imed was literally trying to hold our laughter in. We were like hiding our transes and prepared yellow pads na nga sakali it might cause her to remember eh. HAHAHAHAH wala po talaga kaming alam sa bio lec 2 topics huhuhuhuhuhu

Cut classes yet again to study for the damn LQ

UGH THESE BIO 2 EXAM TOPICS ARE SO BAD JUSKO
EVEN THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS THE HIGHER LU BUDDIES PASSED ON TO US ARE SO GG

WE LITERALLY DONT KNOW WHERE SHES GETTING THE QUESTIONS WTF

I literally have no classes on tuesdays and fridays.

Sobrang benign lang talaga ng biochem and physics for me compared to bio. So I sacrifice their classes to study for bio. UGH THIS BIO LEC EXAM 2 WTF????????????????\

DUDE IM READING LIKE 5 BOOKS FOR BIO AND ALL OF THEM ARE SAYING DIFFERENT THINGS??????? TAPOS YUNG KAY MA'AM ANG LABO???? WTF????????

Note: sometimes I cut din on mondays pero yung in-between bio lec and lab subjects huhuhu sorry na to STS and psych :(( sometimes I really have to cram that last hour in for lab and they really do make the difference if I pass or fail huhuhu

Chill lab exam + joining the chess team

The bio lab exam 2 was surprisingly chill. I just hope that my feelings of happiness are merited hahaha. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

In other news, I went to the first meeting of the chess team today!! I was winning my first game but one oversight made me throw :( determined to do better, I played with the coach, who happens to be the dean of CAS. We played a really arduous (and extremely interesting) game, which took about three hours, and ended with a draw. Chess is really so freaking stimulating.

Studying for the bio lab exam

For some reason I'm not as agitated over this coming bio lab exam. Historically, the 2nd exam should be the hardest, but for our batch, ma'am Co transferred some of the topics from the 2nd exam to the first exam. So technically, I'm over the worst. Now, it just seems so chill in comparison to be honest...

The Problem with Imed

Every time we have an incoming bio exam, its as if we have our own cold war in IMED.
Half of our lab class is under ma'am Co, and the other half is under ma'am Brillantes (a really chill prof comparatively).
Today there was a class argument because people thought that members from each class were being stingy. Ugh. This is what happens when people let their hate just accumulate instead of confronting them one on one. It's so annoying. Well I guess I shouldn't expect too much -- college isn't high school after all.

I went to chem today

Went to chem, because it was the day before the chem test, and so I was expecting a high yield lecture. Wasn't disappointed. Because I had spent the days prior teaching myself, the one "summary" lecture helped clarify the small details which didn't really make as much sense to me, and I was also able to clarify which things are more important for the test. Great. (usually dont attend low yield classes huhuhu)

Hey, that was an easy STS exam :O + Answering the online chem quiz with friends

I actually think I did well!! I'm not really good in the social sciences (the first exam I ever failed was in the social sciences) but I think the test kanina was really good. It helps too that the prof didn't test our rote memorization ability for socsci (which I suck at kasi I don't really appreciate it if I just merely regurgitate information) but it was an analytical, subjective essay test. the first exam I failed, I failed because my prof was looking for damn buzzwords in the essay which I failed to include, even though my ideas were correct. Ugh. I mean, why, just why? Socsci and related fields is supposed to be analytical, like this. So for this exam we had questions that challenged our perception of society, such as whether or not we thought robots would be able to replace the medical profession. These are the kinds of exams I look forward to. Other profs in the social sciences should learn from ours.

Also, I answered the chem quiz with friends Jea and company. I helped carry them haha (not to be mayabang but ganun talaga HAHAHA I really learn best when I don't go to class kasi, and its really effective for me, so don't judge me!! THey were confused from things they heard in lec. But I knew the whole story kasi I bothered to read the book. So the higher-level, deeper questions in the online quiz were easier for me to understand, so I helped my classmates).

Got perfect in the long online chem quiz, by the way.

I had to cut a class again...

Tomorrow is my STS exam and I'm super super agit because I only have ONE DAY to prepare!! I had to study for the coming Chem depex this saturday. SO I had to cut a class again. I'm beginning to hate this feeling. It makes me wonder why I'm such a shit student hahahaha :(

I am also not sure if there will be a pop quiz in bio lec or lab tomorrow, but it seems like its "time" because the bio exams are coming up and wala pang quiz. So what the hell, ano iaalay ko? Noooo

We have a new physics prof and she's so high-yield!!

A new physics prof, named Ma'am Sarj, came to teach our class today for physics. She's crazy good. We were able to cover so much; she's easily the best physics prof we've had. All the past profs have never really taught well/wasted our time/were absentee profs. Ma'am Sarj was not only able to teach us a new lesson, but she was also able to bring us up to speed on what we should already know at the point (which we didn't because our previous prof was awol).

I HATE POINT QUIZZES

Look okay, point quizzes for bio don't make any fucking sense. Especially when your serial sections are fucking incomplete. So when asked to identify a structure, pero that structure is on "part 3" of the serial section slides, pero you were only given parts 1 and 2, you shouldn't be blamed for failing that quiz. GAGO WE WERE TAKING THE TEST LIKE 5 AT A TIME, AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE SLIDE OF "PART 3". SO LOL?????? WALA AKONG NAKUHA DOON??? GG TALAGA SOMETIMES SI MAAM CO, LIKE HOPELESS

Here we go again...

I have an STS exam this coming week, plus chem and physics on saturday, and then it will be bio season once more.

BUT I'M ALREADY STUDYING BIO AS EARLY AS NOW. WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS HOW TOXIC BIO IS. It takes precedence over the three other subjects which are scheduled even nearer than it!!

asking my parents' opinion on ma'am co's feeling "insulted"

One day later and I still can't get over it.

Mom says ma'am co's an asshole, and she didn't mean it when she said "wala na sa'kin yun, basta sinabi ko na ang kailangan kong sabihin na sa'yo na yan kung anon'g gagawin mo about what I say" when I apologized to her.

Dad says ma'am co's sincere naman when I made kuwento her response to me when I apologized.

KASI NAMAN, bakit sinabi niya "wala na sa'kin yun etc etc" when she could have said OKAY I FORGIVE U??? WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE MALABO?????

huhuhuhu I really wanna think positively pero gago I feel so fucked?? i'm probably gonna get singled out huhuhu sana she doesn't hold a grudge against me

Ma'am Co felt insulted?????

Apparently ma'am Co felt insulted because I had used a powerpoint from my buddy stuff which came from a different prof. Ummmm okay. I don't know why she has to be so insecure about her "authority"........

As for me I'm just doing everything I can to survive, and I shouldn't be penalized for that... what the heck.

THANK U ERIKA ONG FOR CARRYING US IN THE GROUP QUIZ

THANKS ERIKA ONG FOR CARRYING US IN STSHIT HAHAHHA KAHIT SOBRANG HASSLE NIYA SOMETIMES THX FOR STUDYING PA RIN!! STELLAR KA KASI SA BIO SO U CAN AFFORD TO WASTE TIME ON SUBJECTS LIKE THESE HAHAHAHAHA

Show and Tell

Today, we had a show and tell for IDC. It was actually pretty fun. I brought my dad's CPAP machine and was given a few minutes to explain what exactly it was and how it helped to cure sleep apnea. It was also a contest for the best show and tell item, and I think I won, based on my classmates' positive response. Yay!

The exams were moved

THe physics and biochem exams were BOTH moved. So I'm now living the chill life.

Just joking. I'm going to take full advantage of the fact that there's no bio...
At least I can play a few games on the side though haha

Expecting a sermon + prep for biochem

It's 12 and my lab class is at 1, where more than likely I'll be getting my lab exam results back. I'm expecting a stern sermon on how bobo we are... oh well.

Now also I need to owe up to reality. Biochem and physics exams are coming up. Time to cram my 2month backlog hahahhaa (its definitely possible. It's NOT bio. After going through bio, I feel like I can do anything...)

End of Interbio weekend :(

Last Thursday we had our first lab depex exam for Biology, and the Thursday the week before that we had our first lec depex exam also for Biology. This weekend thus presented a small glimpse of freedom. By tomorrow I'll have to start studying for the next exam... :(

Chatting with my buddy

It's always a pleasure to chat with my lower-batch buddy :/ I see part of myself in her, and it's always refreshing to remember and share the emotions and feelings I myself felt when I was still in LU1. Most of all, sharing tips reminds me that everything comes to pass with time. I used to think a lot of things were impossible during LU1 but here I am now, in LU2, in my final sem before med school! It just gives me such good vibes huhu

Taking full advantage of interbio weekend

Cutting all my classes today (Biochem and Physics) because those subjects are cheese easy compared to bio, and I can easily cram the lessons for those subjects without breaking a sweat (at least, compared to how much I have to sweat when I study bio). I want to take full advantage of the interbio weekend and be with my family. Bye.

Lab Exam 1

The Lab Exam was so difficult!!! The questions were so pointed... you could really feel your ignorance :--( I really think I didn't do so well. The class thinks the same. We all expect a very very low score... huhuhu

At least, its the start of interbio weekend!! That weekend in between bio exams which is super super super super chill. I can finally play DOTA again. Ugh yehess!!

I miss math :(

Miss ko na ang math. Ppl don't value the fact that in math, there's only one right answer, and it's found through logical reasoning. It's an exact science. It's not like bio, where you have to account for wrong sectioning/atypical crap/conflicting info and u can never be sure :(

[taken from Twitter]

Bio Lab review

With the vagueness of Ma'am Co's questions, I really need to be sure I can get high scores in the other block's prof's questions. That's my only hope for passing. The other prof however gets questions directly from the books. So all I have to do... is memorize Rugh and Pattens... At least for her, the questions will be expected.

Lab Long Quiz + Lec exam score

Surprisingly, the long quiz on serial sections wasn't so hard. There were a few questions which I find unfair because of their vagueness, but all-in-all they were easier than I had expected. It was mostly identification with a few side questions in between, nothing special. It was wayyyyy better than the OIA long quizzes for bio 25, which, like bio 30 now, required us also to memorize a table. I remember failing all the long quizzes for OIA in bio 25, but I think this time I was able to pass.

Our papers for lec were also returned today. I got 70.5/100, and considering the difficulty of Bio, I'm happy na. I thought my score would be wayyy higher though. I really believe that there are a lot of corrections to her questions... a shame she won't allow us to see the questions again.

LOL HERE COMES THE SENSE OF URGENCY

Okay fine, its JUST a long quiz in BIO tomorrow, but then, I have to do well pa rin. Time to memorize the other half of the F-table... hahaha

YES IM SO CHILL

Super benign knowing that its ONLY a long quiz on Monday. I just played DOTA the whole day today.

Procrastination

The high of being able to convince ma'am Co and be assertive hasn't run out yet. I still can't believe we were able to move the exam to next Thursday!! I can actually play video games now! In reality I had already memorized 1/2 of the table prior to knowing the exam was moved so I'm really living the chill life. yay.

Bio Lec Exam

I actually kinda felt confident after taking the exam. The questions were definitely challenging, as my professor, surprisingly, knows how to make really good questions :O It actually reminded me a bit of my time in the advanced science class in high school. The questions weren't simple recall questions. They really tested your understanding of the material...

Whatever the case, I'm happy that bio 30 isn't even remotely like bio 25. Bio 25 felt like a trivia exam to be honest. Bio 30 required more analysis and I prefer those types of exams.

In another story, after a weekend of trying to prepare for the lecture exam, our class has given up in preparing for the lab exam scheduled next Monday. We have to memorize, among other things, a 4-page long 7-column table... Out of desperation two other classmates and I decided to approach Ma'am Co and do the impossible: beg to have the exam moved.

I was quite apprehensive at first since ma'am Co is well-known to be a terror prof but I was surprised to find out that she listens to reason. The three of us just had to explain the situation of the class and how we didn't have enough time to prepare for the really long coverage of lab given the lec exam. We also managed to call off the quiz she had scheduled for us that day, which none of us had prepared for at all!!!!

Day before bio

Today, Feb. 14, is the start of Lent (and is also Valentine's day). It also signifies the start of our death for bio... because the lec exam is tomorrow.

Dumb me also decided to play one game of DOTA to "detox" but lol playing dota to detox is like courting death. Lost the game, ended up feeling worse than before. Damn it, now I need to study while feeling BV.

That LQ was a wake-up call..

I really need to fucking get my shit together for bio... HAHAHA. Probably gonna cut tomorrow, its the first bio lec exam on thursday kasi, and its supposed to be the easiest!!! I need to rack up points because I know that in the future I'LL NEED THEM HAHAHA AT THIS RATE???

WTF is this Bio lec LQ???

Our first bio lec LQ was today, and I had assumed it was gonna be easy given that we learned these things about the frog before... boy was I wrong HAHAHA

ganito pala magtanong si Ma'am Co sa tests... ang labo..... tapos hindi pa mulcho/identification, may essay and table questions pa... wtff

Cramming STS ethnography paper and STS outline

In my team, we divided the group. 4 of them would be working on the STS outline (we were required to make an STS outline for a reading in class), and one would be working on the STS ethnography of an online community.

I offered myself up to be the one to make the STS ethnography because 1.) I didn't wanna read the reading and 2.) I had the perfect community to analyze: the super toxic but also interesting DOTA 2 community. It was a lot of fun cramming that paper.

Piano lesson + New piece!!

Okay, I was wrong that the concerto was the only piece I was missing in my repertoire before I could hold a solo concert...

I already have a piece prepared for the classical and romantic periods of music, with the modern piece ongoing (the capstone concerto). Plus, I also have representative pieces (3 etudes, one sonata, waltz (chopin), prelude (rach)).

But I entirely forgot about the baroque era! my teacher assigned a new piece to me, by bach. the last time I played a Bach piece was when I was very very young. I hope I enjoy this new piece. It's really easy and it's almost sight-readable, but thats understandable given the musical era it came from.

PIANO PRACTICE DAY YES

Sorry if I keep posting about piano, but every Friday is really my happy day because I am reunited with my piano.

I was able to start on the 3rd movement of the Kabalevsky concerto na. THe only part we finished 2 years ago was the first movement. Hopefully I can finish this concerto soon, so that I can have my long-awaited and long-planned solo concert :(( Ito na lang talaga yung kulang. The piece where I play with the orchestra!!!

Successful Bio 30 Student Lecture + Lab Long quiz

We pleased ma'am Co!!! She said it was good! Aside from one small detail we missed, everything went perfectly. She was so entertained during the lecture. She was smiling the whole time. Feels so good that all the preparation reading on books and summarizing them into one coherent whole was worth it. Love my team for the Dora the Explorer Concept and thanks also to the class for being bibo enough to play along to our antics!!

Praying to God also works!! Praying to St Jude works!! Omg

Surprisingly the lab long quiz wasn't as difficult as expected as well! I'm confident that I did well. Such a great day!!

Bio gastrulation prep problems

I SHOULD HAVE CUT PE. I KNEW IT.
I needed time to complete this damn powerpoint and do the needed research, but no, I wanted to be a good boy. Now I have to pull an all-nighter just to finish this damn project.

Cramming for Bio

Anyway, today was just another day of studying Bio. I am currently preparing for a long test for bio lab as well as a presentation on amphibian gastrulation for Thursday. My group was unlucky as we were chosen to be the first to present. I'm already getting so agit over everything, because all the sources we used have different stories to tell about the gastrulation! Our group is currently trying to synthesize all of these different concepts into one coherent whole in preparation for the presentation. Another thing which is bothering me is that 20% of this presentation will be graded based on creativity. A suggestion came up that we should create a short dance about gastrulation which we will cram tomorrow. Hopefully that is enough creativity for ma'am.

Compared to my other classmates, I'm not so agit over the bio lab test -- probably because I have worse things to worry about :(

Wait there's a probset due tomorrow???

ugh physics the perpetual pain-in-the-ass subject which makes itself felt in the most unopportune moments.........

Lab exercise 3 due tomorrow

WTF I GOT EVEN WORSE IN THE SECOND LAB EXERCISE LOL? 5/10????
PLS IM WORKING SO HARD OMG
I ENJOYED THE LAST FEW ACTIVITES IN LAB BUT LOL PARANG FORCED TALAGA TO ALAY THESE WORKSHEETS??

Preparing for the concerto!!

This concerto by Kabalevsky was a work in progress of mine for sooooo long. I wasn't able to finish it 2 years ago because I entered intarmed. It's time to start finishing it!!!!!!

Thankfully my teacher understands my problems and she agreed for us to study it again even after so long.

Thank God its friday hahaa

I can finally practice piano for my lesson tomorrow (my upright piano is in qc so I can't practice well with my digital piano in the condo)!! it's great to be back!!!

Lab Pointing Test!

Today for lab we had a test wherein we had to search a slide for a particular structure/cell and show it to the prof with the eyepiece pointer directed at it. It was kinda fun (although it was super pressuring and scary as well, especially since the prof makes side comments at you as you search for the structure!)

It was way better than the first test we had (where the prof herself was the one who pointed the structures and then we needed to identify). Allowing the students to handle the microscope allowed us to adjust the fine and coarse adjustment knobs, as well as search for a clearly represented cell/structure that we knew 100% was the thing we needed to find.

In the other test, the prof made the microscope slides really really blurry plus we were only allowed to use a certain magnification, not enough to 100% ascertain the identity of a cell :(\

ALSO I SUBMITTED MY LAB EXERCISE 2 SANA NAMAN ITS WAY BETTER LOL

Lab Exercise 2

My gosh I only got 7/10 in the last lab exercise for ma'am CO and now I have to do another one omg
I worked so hard na nga in the last lab exercise, I LITERALLY READ LIKE 3 BOOKS WTF MA'AM CO

ITS NOT MY FAULT I CANT DRAW!!! I MEAN EVERYTHING IS THERE NAMAN :((((( PLEASE MAAM CO

KAYA PALA ANG HIRAP NG BIO 30 GANITO KASI SI MAAM OMG

Oogenesis

Just now, I finished reading about oogenesis in Patten's Foundations of Embryology. I can't help but feel amazed at how remarkably efficient and systematic the creation of the egg is. It's as if the egg knows exactly what it needs for a successful zygote to grow and develop. It begins preparing for all the wonderful events which follow as early as before fertilization. That is, when sperm fertilizes the egg, it's 100% ready! The preparation for new life is done way, way, way in advance.

It prepares a ton of mitochondria for energy, synthesizes a lot of ribosomal RNAs in preparation for intense protein synthesis, it prepares an adequate supply of lipochondria and glycogen granules in its yolk as a source of lipids and carbohydrates respectively, and it ensures adequate protection based on the reproductive habits of the animal in question (for example, frogs undergo external fertilization where they spawn their eggs outside their body -- the structural adaptations of the amphibian oocyte is apparent).

As compared to sperm, whose one job is to deliver the other half of the genome (and whose genesis also reflects this function) the egg assumes responsibility for pretty much everything else and I think that's beautiful. The mechanisms of preparation of the egg are so profound.

It's just so amazing how so much thought has been put into the development of an organism. Life is truly a miracle, and there truly must be some Creator who dictates these highly organized, well-regulated steps in development.

On Giving Feedback

As directed by my psych prof, my entry for today is supposed to be a reflection on giving feedback.

Giving feedback is something that I think is very important in establishing cooperation and openness, especially in a profession such as Medicine. This was made clear to us in our Introduction to Patient Care lectures in previous semesters. Criticism should be brought to light as soon as possible before it festers and creates chaos down the road. To create an effective working environment, one must not only be comfortable with giving feedback (both criticisms and praise) but also receiving feedback. Back in IPC we had various exercises on this -- we would give feedback to each other and discuss how it made us feel, etc.

Criticism should be dealt with in a mature manner. We don't really know fully what kind of a person we portray to other people, and the only way this aspect of ourselves can be revealed is through honest criticism (this was shown through an exercise on making Jocari windows back then). When we receive criticism, we need to acknowledge the things that the other person brought up and if they are legitimate points, we should act upon them to improve.

Personally I have no reason dealing with criticism. My problem is actually giving it. There are a lot of things I wish I could say to my classmates but I am afraid that they would be offended by my observations. But this fear is something that I need to overcome as I advance in year levels because me not saying anything might actually have serious repercussions in the life of a patient!

In IPC they would give us a formula to use when giving feedback.

I feel _____ because you ______. In the future, I think you should ________________.

This process of giving feedback is effective because we assert ourselves in a way that doesn't infringe on the other person's personal space/beliefs. Being assertive when giving feedback is extremely important. Assertiveness gives you the drive to actually say what needs to be said and take action when it is needed.

IPC also expanded the topic of giving feedback to having effective leadership -- too much criticism is bad (it becomes some sort of a dictatorship) and too much freedom is bad as well (the so-called laissez-faire leadership). A healthy balance of the two ensures the smooth cooperation of a group.

I just hope that in the future my reservations about giving feedback will dissolve. I don't want to enter Med without the assertiveness I need to speak my mind. I really do have a lot of things to say sometimes.

Note: forgot to post last Sunday. Nevermind, my prof is apparently not as strict about the journalling pala.

I NEED TO BE STELLAR IN THIS LAB EXERCISE HAHA

Our first Co lab worksheet is due tomorrow, and I'm super super scared. Sobrang toxic pala ng lab sessions ni Ma'am Co-- she wants us kasi to draw things talaga and label things!! I suck pa naman at art... ughh and really she hasn't been exactly clear which are the structures we can use to differentiate different cells. I hope that what I'm doing is correct. I used several book sources naman to back it up.... but I have a big feeling ma'am CO doesn't really follow the books hahaha

Back to my roots

I was finally able to reunite with my piano teacher. I had stopped taking piano lessons when I entered INTARMED back in 2016, but now that I'm in LU2 second sem, the lightest semester of all the imed years, I decided to enroll once again. My 11:30 dismissal every Friday allows me to get back home in QC as soon as possible and take lessons the following morning. I take music lessons at the UP College of Music in Diliman.

I'm so happy that I can continue taking piano lessons and finish the goals I set for myself before imed. I'm currently expanding my rep so that I can hold a solo concert featuring pieces from various periods of music. Right now, I am finishing my piano concerto which would be the highlight of that said concert. Here's to hoping that Ma'am Co won't disrupt these plans!

In other news, I had to take leaves of absence in my various orgs last semester because of the study load, and I'm still not ready to commit to these orgs again. At least with an extra-curricular such as piano lessons, I'm not going to mess with anyone except myself if I choose to stop. If everything goes according to plan, I might be able to rejoin these orgs in the future. I'm just testing the water right now, so to speak-- seeing what things I can add to my load and which things I can do without.

Second Attempt on the Frog Testis

Thankfully, when I viewed the frog testis slide this afternoon, I was more productive. I was finally able to see the things which I needed to see. Apparently, the microscope was the reason why I couldn't identify anything right yesterday. In fact, today, I had to cycle through three different microscopes before I found one which produces clear images and doesn't have a broken stage.

Super thankful also to my friends Janelle and Pam who went out of their way to share with me some tips on differentiating the cells. Half of our block is under a different prof, and that other prof was more generous in giving directions for identifying cells, so the added info they gave me was very helpful.

Toxic first bio 30 lab session, Wholesome psych session

How the hell do you differentiate between these different spermatogenic cells? I see literally no differences between them looking under the microscope. They all look the same. They all look like pink boxes with blue circles in them. The details I've read about frog spermatogenesis just aren't being visualized. I'm really not sure if it's the microscope or if it's just me. God knows I read like 3+ books in preparation for this lab. Probably it could have been the slide as well. All I could see were freaking spermatozoa and spermatids. Even the prof had a hard time looking for the other types.

I will try again tomorrow with another microscope and a different slide. Hoping for a better tomorrow. And also hoping that when we move on to higher animals (mammals) the structures will be more well-defined. (From what I've read and seen they are).

Thank God for a subject like psych though. It kinda reminds me of the IPC days we had back then where the activities were actually wholesome and generally made the class feel nice and happy. Actually to be honest, it reminds me of having high school retreats where anyone can just open up and share random things to the class. It was nice listening to some of my classmates who decided to share their life stories (our lesson for the day was "knowing" the other, and it is a theory in Psych that to actually "know" someone, one must listen to his/her life story).

Ang Kuwento ni Rosario

Today for my FCH 101 class (Health Care Delivery) we were told the story of Rosario. The story takes place in a barrio named "Tanyong" and the story touches on the quality of life in that barrio. We were also given details of Rosario's family members and their specific roles in Rosario's life.

In the end, Rosario dies of severe diarrhea and fever. The task for the day was to determine what exactly caused Rosario's death.

The most obvious reason for Rosario's death was sickness, but we were challenged to ponder on the question more critically. What caused the sickness? Malnutrition. What caused Rosario to develop malnutrition? And so on and so forth. We used details from the story to come up with logical answers to our investigation.

In the end we identified numerous root causes of Rosario's death. Some of these were poverty, corruption, poor sanitation, poor infrastructure, poor patient education, poor job opportunities for the poor, shortage of health workers, etc.

As a future doctor, it is important that I realize that my role is not limited to being a clinician. Health is defined as the state of total well-being of a person, and it transcends the presence or absence of disease. Included in its scope are things such as freedom from poverty, proper education, sanitation, etc. As such, it falls within my duty as well to also address the rest of the things which caused Rosario's death, and not only the severe diarrhea and fever.

Our facilitator for the day emphasized this, and pointed out that as students of the College of Medicine we are expected to practice community-oriented medicine, with an emphasis on the social determinants of health (social, economic, and political factors such as those which caused Rosario's death).

It's quite daunting to think that our roles are so much more than meeting patients in the clinic. As doctors of the College of Medicine it is also our role to make a difference in the greater scheme of things, for if we were to simply cure our patients and send them back to the conditions which caused the disease, what good would it be for them?

It makes me a bit relieved that I chose to accept INTARMED as my course in college because I entered it expecting a profession which would help me to serve others and make a difference in society. A desire to serve was one of the reasons why I chose INTARMED over my other interests, namely music and math, so I am relieved that I chose the perfect profession for the job. Medicine truly is a profession which is inseparable from service to the underserved. Doctors truly are heroes.

A Trip to the Library

Today I just want to write about my experience borrowing books from the library. It might not seem like much, but it was actually my first time ever to borrow books. I dunno, it seemed like a milestone for me! I have a very weak sense of direction so please don't judge me though!!

In UP Manila, to borrow books, you first have to have your ID stamped and countersigned. My ID had already been stamped before, but that was only good for my LU1 days. I had not bothered to have my ID stamped again in the succeeding semesters because I really had no need to go to the library; all I needed were either easily found in my buddy stuff (study materials passed down by upperclassmen, a tradition in the College) or accessible online.

So at the end of my first class for this day (Biochemistry) I began pestering our class president for directions on how to go about having my ID stamped and countersigned. I really had no idea how I had that ID stamped before. I think back then our batch freshman coordinator walked us all through it at the same time, which was why I really don't remember the process anymore.

She told me to go to the OUR to have it signed, with a copy of my enlisted subjects. My immediate follow-up question was to ask where exactly in the OUR. Apparently the building right beside the College of Arts and Sciences is called the OUR, but there was actually a room inside which was the actual OUR... my knowledge of what was usually called the OUR was limited only to the booths where we pay our tuition so I was pretty confused. Actually up to now I'm still confused. Laugh all you want people. I suck at things like this.

So I made my way up to the OUR, bringing with me a copy of my enlisted subjects which I had printed previously, and looked for... the OUR. I showed the administrator there my list of subjects and I had it stamped. Easy.

Next, I had to have my ID countersigned. One just needs to go to his or her respective college library and simply have the librarian in-charge sign the stamp. The problem was, our actual college library was off-limits because its foundation had collapsed on itself. Luckily the class president advised me beforehand that I should go to Salcedo Hall instead to have it signed. Thankfully I knew exactly where Salcedo Hall was, so I made my way there. 

The guard at the entrance stopped me and asked me what I was there for, so I explained to her that I had to have my ID countersigned. I asked her where the library was and she told me to go to the end of the hallway to take an elevator to the second floor, where I would find the library. Before I left, she asked me if I was a student.

"Actually, student po ako sa College of Medicine."

She was like, okay, sige. Only now do I understand why she was a bit confused at my answer. Apparently Salcedo Hall is a building of the College of Medicine as well. At the time I had thought that Salcedo Hall was like, a building from the College of Public Health. Facepalm.

She had told me to go and take the elevator at the end of the hallway, so I walked till the end of the corridor. I looked around, but I couldn't find any elevator... hahaha. Luckily the staircase was easier to find, so I took that instead. It was only to the second floor, anyway.

When I reached the second floor I found myself facing a forked road. I really had no idea where to go, so I just walked around and read the labels of the different rooms. I remember feeling scared because some of those rooms really had don't enter written all over it. The rooms were labelled as the office of so-and-so, etc. The other rooms made me wonder however. Why is there a physiology lab in the College of Public Health? (At that time, I was still 100% under the assumption that I was in a CPH building). My mind of course tried to reconcile this by thinking, "Of course Public Health people need to study physio too... duh." But truly, at that point, I was getting confused again. Sigh.

I was looking for the College of Public Health Library, in a CM building... A few more minutes of mindless wandering passed and then finally I saw a paper post signalling the entrance of the F. Herrera library. Thankfully despite my less than stellar sense of direction I had enough street-smarts to remember that the CM library was actually called the F. Herrera library. That made it easy. I remember being awed though that they were able to relocate the Med library in a CPH building. Ugh, I'm cringing right now actually.

When I entered the door, I saw only a collection of booths. The person in the first booth was like, "huh?" when I had her try to sign my ID. It's a good thing that the person in the other booth overheard my conversation and said that he was the guy I was looking for.

So with my ID signed, I went back to the CAS library. Prior to starting my journey, I was clever (wow. I'm trying my best here, okay?) enough to access the online OPAC and list down the call numbers of the books I needed. So this should be easy, right?

So when I reached the 2nd floor of CAS I quickly entered the library. The guard there stopped me. I then proceeded to flash my newly-stamped, duly-countersigned ID to her and go on my way. Nope. Apparently I had to leave my bag at the front desk pala. Oh yeah. Facepalm again. She then told me that she thought I was trying to have my ID countersigned from her, so apparently I had confused her as well. Good thing she was very nice naman. I explained to her that I don't really go to the library that often and she then was very accommodating to me. I explained that I was there to borrow books. So I asked her if she knew what to do. She told me to just go inside and talk to the librarian in the desk, so I went inside.

There was no one in the desk at the time, so I went back outside, and explained to her that I literally had no freaking idea what to do. So she walked me to an adjacent room inside the library. In my head I was pretty surprised that the CAS library had additional rooms. Previous visits to the library in LU1 had given me the impression that the huge entrance area was the entirety of the library. Entering the new room, she directed me to an old lady who looked kind.

So I told that lady my situation, and gave her a paper with the call numbers of the books I required listed down. She checked the system if the books I was looking for were available, and told me to go look for the books. Not the response I was hoping for. I really had no clue how to find a book given the call number so I was hoping that she'd help me find them hahaha.

Diskarte time. So I saw that all my books had call numbers starting with QL so naturally I went to the section with QL in it. All my fears disappeared when I realized that the books were arranged in a logical manner. It took me some time, but after about 20 minutes of shuffling through the books on the lowest rung of the bookcase I found the books I needed. It wasn't as easy as simply finding the call number because most books were rebound and had no title on the book spine, but in the end, I was able to find what I came for.

The lady told me to look for the newer books on the first row of the library. There was some sort of a mini-QL section there which contained my book. Now, I just needed to find the last book in my collection. I was there to borrow five books: four of them were on embryology, and the last was a book I genuinely wanted to read which was recommended by a lecturer in my History of Medicine class entitled "The Men who Play God" referring of course to physicians.

At this point the lady in the counter stood up and asked me if I had found the books I needed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized she was there to help me find the last book. I explained to her that my last book was from the Filipiniana section, and she directed me to a bookcase. She made me walk up these mobile stairs like you see in the Beauty and the Beast movie and I was there trying to look for my book. I couldn't find it, so she offered to do it herself. She couldn't find it either. Apparently, official records state that the library has the book, but the book has since gone missing. Shame. Now I have no excuse to study embryology.

I then asked the old lady for directions on how to borrow books. Luckily, this part went smoothly. She told me to go to the other desk in the first room of the library (the one which I initially saw no one manning) and tell them that I wanted to borrow books. A few stamps and signatures here and there and off I was with four embryology books.

I felt good after the whole adventure. I felt almost as if I had accomplished something extraordinary. Maybe its because I really know myself to be street-retarded and I'm proud that I was able to figure things out (almost) completely by myself for once. Diskarte. Hooray.

Introduction and First Post

My name is Migs and I am currently an LU2 student enrolled under the INTegrated liberal ARts and MEDicine (INTARMED) program of the UP College of Medicine in UP Manila.

One of the subjects I am taking this semester, Psych 10, requires me to document my experiences and adventures throughout the sem. Seeing this as an opportunity, I've decided to go ahead and start my own blog which I intend to maintain until I graduate from Medicine.

The idea of starting a blog to document my experiences as a student in the INTARMED Program has always been playing on my mind. As I was transitioning from high school to college, many past INTARMED students have maintained and kept blogs which were able to inspire me and guide me until eventually I was accepted into INTARMED as well. This blog is my way of "giving back" to these bloggers and also my way of being able to usher in the new generation of imed students to the college. 

Future posts will describe my journey to becoming an INTARMED student, but for the time being, my posts will be limited to my daily exploits, which my professor requires me to blog about every single day for the rest of the sem. Today marks day one.

Today I met my prof in Biology 30 for the first time. Her name is Ma'am Co. This particular prof is a really notorious one among INTARMED students. She is known for causing students to be delayed in entering medicine proper (LU3) and also known to be extremely difficult. I had previously thought that she was a prof who would be mean and condescending--but I now realize that that is not the case. Now that I've had the privilege of meeting her for the first time, I can confidently say that this prof's notoriety is due to her really high standards and tremendous faith in her students. What makes this prof difficult is not her quirks (Believe me, I had one prof before for History who really pissed me off because of his "quirks" but this prof is different). What makes this prof difficult is that she actually dares to ask for more. She is not content with her students just getting by and not really learning anything worthwhile. She knows that her subject matter (Embryology and Genetics) would constitute a large portion of our future studies in medicine, and she has taken it upon herself to ensure that when we leave her class, we will be prepared for whatever challenges may await us. Other profs might just be content with getting through the course curriculum prescribed by their respective departments, but this prof is an exception. She is willing to go above and beyond the syllabus, and she is willing to be with us every step of the way, as long as we cooperate, of course. "You will get the grade that you deserve," she says. She is asking for a lot-- she expects us to study lessons in advance (and take quizzes with some questions based on future lessons), and be able to transcend simple identification of structures. She wants us to understand, not memorize, the concepts. She wants us to read between the lines of our embryology textbooks. She is asking for soooo much, but for an INTARMED student about to enter medicine next year, it's about time that I level up. I have never felt more motivated in my life. I am so ready to face her challenge head-on. I know that the road will be tough, but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. It's time to burn the midnight oil.