my favorite anatomy lecturer (and some personal thoughts on the subject).^.^

1. Though I'm a psychology graduate, I didn't have any idea about Anatomy upon entering med school 'cause unfortunately, we didn't have it in our B.S. curriculum (sigh).

2. I am not really a Science person, like what other people think I am (hahaha..I'm more on the artsy type, actually) and

3. taking medicine is not much of a personal choice.

       I believe that these three are the main reasons why digging into the world of Human Anatomy for me, takes gruesome effort. Four long hours of lecture regarding medical jargon, clinical correlations, etcetera a day (and worst, eight) make me feel lost at times. It's like being a pure Ilocano having a Wernicke's aphasia sitting on a hard-core mandarin class--It's pathetic. I admit that for most of the time, sitting inside an Anatomy class makes me feel really confused/bored..and with instances like that, I can't help but to do either of these two:

1. Just read the topic on my own while completely ignoring the lecturer (for I understand it more that way) or if I haven't get enough sleep the other day, 

2. fall asleep. haha.  

     Learning something is hard when you don't have the intrinsic motivation to learn it (we did a research on this for our Experimental Psychology class but that's another story, hehe). That principle is so true between me and Ana. Boldly and directly speaking, though it's important and I'm curious, I'm just not interested enough.

     However, I said at times, most of the time and in general. This is because there are actually times that I find Ana intriguing..depending primarily on the delivery of the lecture. Not all teaching doctors are meant to be professors, unfortunately. Considering that, I thank God for a few who were efficient enough to rouse my latent interest for the subject..and one of those is Dr. Ramon Ramos III, an ENT specialist.

     Being the head of Internal Medicine in our school hospital, he said he is more of a clinician and not academician...but on my opinion, he did a greater job than the other lecturers we had who are supposed to be specializing in academics. Whenever he is our lecturer,

I listen intently

I take notes
 and

most of all,

I don't sleep (even though I feel sleepy).

  We had our last lecture with him for this school year last week. I admire him so much, that after the session, I connived with my friends so that I can have a picture with him. hahaha. Ridiculous, eh? I consider myself as his stalker, in-the-making.

  

My take on 'Trick or Treat'

last night, after church, i went to my tita's place and decided to sleep there. immediately after i stepped inside the unit, one of my excited young cousins, (king) hurriedly came to me and he was so eager to tell me something, he jumbled out the words and i didn't understand the first sentence that he said. after cheerfully dragging him to the sala, my other cousin, queenie also came to me and they were both so hyped i felt lost and was left staring at them while smiling. 

glad that lola came to my rescue, and she explained to me what the fuzz is all about-- that is, the recent halloween party that they just attended the same day (actually just an hour ago by that time). with much joy and enthusiasm, they related lots of stories..stories about the setting, food, candies, and other freebies..but what they were actually rejoicing about is that princess, the oldest of my young cousins won first place in the costume contest. though i am not in favor of celebrating halloween (i didn't even know why they celebrate it in the first place, and why parents tolerate their kids to wear 'evil' stuff ) i was happy to hear the news and was proud of my cousin's bloody victory. after that, they went to play and go on trick or treating with the neighbors on the different floors (they live in a condo) and the neighbors generously gave them treats. queenie even received not just candies, but a pack of dried mangoes! the kids surely had fun with their first ever creepy party.

hours ago, i accompanied ate jonna outside when she was asked to do some errand and to buy at 7 eleven and mercury. while we're on our way to the first store, two street kids started to follow us. i immediately noticed the black tints on their faces (which seemed like charcoal) and strokes of red lipstick which served as blood effects. with used kfc buckets on hand, they begged us for a trick or treat treat. because there were other streetkids that are also roaming around, i kindly rejected them with a smile. while i did this, i realized how many candies and freebies were there back at home...how well-prepared the halloween party my cousins attended to last night and how my cousins and their friends, even on their dracula, hunchback, monster, white and black ladies' costume and make-up look 'descent' than the two kids. the kids keep on insisting after i said "no" and so i asked them to wait until we finished buying at mercury. they eagerly said yes.

while inside the store, i keep on thinking what to give them..their desired coins (which they repeatedly say "kahit piso lang") or food. after buying my mother's usual medicines, we stepped outside the store and asked us again. i asked them to wait again after we buy at 7 eleven which is just a few steps from there (i preferred food, and i didn't find anything good to give them at mercury). they seemed to be disappointed but patient as they were, they agreed.

while ate jonna went to find margarine, i hurried to the food shelves. i want to give them something (this is, after all, not often) but there is not much to choose from there..just biscuits and junkfoods. though it isn't appealing to the eyes, biscuits are much more pleasant to the stomach than junk foods. finally, as we stepped outside the second store, i put in each of their buckets (which contain just a few coins and pieces of candies) a big knick knacks chocolate (i personally don't like chocolates that much, but kids always does! and i like knick knacks). they were so grateful that they immediately called on to their friends to boast about their new treat. i was happy also but i told ate jonna that we should start walking, and walk fast for the other children might start to ask for their own treats.

i find it amusing that my cousins and the two kids, though contrasted with status qous, were just similar in their hearts, all of them find enjoyment in trick or treating. this reminded me that happiness is for ALL...and because i can't find the essence of the halloween event, i might as well give it a meaning to myself, a chance to make some kids happy (even if it's not dried mangoes) in my own little way..and make it worthwhile for them, even for a short while. it is ALWAYS fun giving to people you don't know, even it's not christmas nor new year..pwede din sa halloween. 

chair twist.

child pose.

hours ago, i was so excited for our cadaver session to end...because of yoga! haha. it's been a long time after our last session..and even though traeni and i made a vow to make it a routine every after evals, we realized that it's not that convenient for us. anyway, whenever we had chances, we grab it, like kanina! (though we still have a long biochem quiz tomorrow and another long anatomy quiz on friday) hehehe.. 

it's a little bit lonely, there were only three of us...(plus our instructor, doc simbulan). nevertheless, it's a pro...personally, i can relax better and be more comfortable if we are just few. it's been a tough week for us due to the major exams and it's really a great opportunity to loosen up all the tightness that we have, physically and mentally.

 we expected the usual viñasas (yoga routine) like what we did in our past two sessions but to our surprise, tonight's session was chair yoga! it was my first time to observe how it is done...and i find it incredibly simple (kids can do it, i promise). dr. taught us a lot of easy and practical asanas (postures) that we can do even if we are inside the classroom (there are several that is just fitting to be done at home, of course). some of my muscles including my hamstrings, biceps brachii and trapezius ached since some moves are extremely twisty and i'm not used to stretching..maybe my muscle fibers atrophied already coz i'm too lethargic to exercise. haha.

with Yoga master, Doc Simbulan.

my favorites for this night's session are chest, heart-knot asanas and neck rotation. paramaiana (relaxed breathing) while sitting in gissuts (not sure if i remembered it right) position is notably calming. after the two-hour recreation, we bid each other namaste! (may the best in me, be the best in you).

TARDINESS: the price I need to pay.

i do not know whether i'll be morose or if i'll just laugh at my foolishness. i can't negotiate with my emotions..but i decided to settle on remorse.

it's the second time that i missed an anatomy quiz. yes, ANA. the subject that has the majority of our grade's weight---39%. fail this and one is surely 99.9% close to repeating first year. the nastiest thing is, if one will not be able to reconcile another subject aside from it (as in any, though it has only 1% bearing) he/she should be ready to bid De La Salle-HSI goodbye.

the reason why i failed to take the quizzes: tardiness. yes. the most gibberish reason a student can put forward (especially if you are already in graduate school).

reason of negligence: i gave in to my morning weakness. again. i didn't wake up on time..hence, late attendance. since i entered med school, i don't usually go to school behind schedule since (unlike college, hehe) and for incidences i cannot fathom, i happened to be late on the two days where the doctors delegated a "surprise quiz". a dire twist of fate. grim.

the consequences of my ill-fate: for the first missed quiz, reporting on CNS embryology [clinical correlations on spinal cord] which is due three days ahead with no assurance if it will be credited as 75% quiz grade. for the second one, 0% quiz grade with no expressed intentions from the professors whatsoever for a chance of compensation. helpless misery.

what i even don't want to think of but must accept and expect: a great downward pull on my grades..and on the given 5% attitude. ouch.

a pledge i have to keep from now on: wake up early and be on time. by all means, i should be in the room at least 10 minutes before class time. that's the goal.

help me God. please do.   

verse of the day: Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle your thumbs. Suddenly poverty hits you and everything is gone! -Proverbs 24:33-34

the brain on my brain

We are now in our neuroanatomy module and honestly, I’m anxious with our present and upcoming topics because apparently, the entire brain thing is not easy. Even Dr. Julius Caesar (the best dissector of his batch, an anatomist, and one of our highly-esteemed instructors) said that it’s the most difficult topic for him when he was in his first year. Huhu. 

Having taken the initial topics meninges, venous sinuses, CSF pathway, cerebrum, midbrain and diencephalon make me quite confident that I have fair chance of surviving neuro but when Dr. Ramos started with the complex, cranial hemorrhaging ascending and descending motor and sensory pathways (these explains how the messages from our receptors reaches the corresponding corteses in the brain and how it induce the appropriate reflexes/movements) hours ago, I realized that I was wrong to conclude early. Hehe. Pathways can be really quite confusing and demanding especially that there is no other option but to memorize (and memorize by heart) loads of ganglia, neurons, etc. because in the brain, all is connected, all has function and all is complementary to each other and essential even the smallest fiber of a neuron! 

Anyway, it was on the afternoon session, during our gross lab that I was suddenly shaken by the beauty of the man’s brain. Though it’s not my first time to see and touch one, it’s the first time that I appreciate it and pore over without pressure of an oral exam. Getting a grip of a real brain for hours is really captivating and to realize that it’s that mass of matter and vasculatures that controls and makes us humans is even more enthralling. 

That moment, all confusion and complications were changed into fascination. I’m just so mesmerized, that after getting familiarized with its sulci, gyri and other structures, I couldn't help but to keep on poking it while saying to myself “God, ang galing mo talaga!” I just can't imagine how He constituted all of those; component and functions in that mass of fibers, white and gray matter in such a way that it works in complete harmony so that we can feel, perceive, realize and act. He is definitely omnipotent and omniscient. I would like to keep the brains beside me during the rest of the session but the stimuli from the formalin elicited synapses and sent messages to my olfactory center, so I stopped poking it after almost three hours. Haha. Even though studying it triggers migraine, I wouldn't stop admiring one of God’s unparalleled masterpieces—the human brain. It’s a pity we weren't allowed to take one home.