+ screeeaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmm +

Snippets and More

2010-11-29T09:55:00.000+08:00

A lot of people have been checking out my Nokia N95 because of the free iSMS app. They are envious about it that they keep asking me to send it to them. It was kind of difficult to tell them how to install the app though. X_x

Last November 25, 2010 was our Grand Interns Night at the SMX Convention Center. It's near SM Mall of Asia. The event's theme was Glitz and Glamour. I told my friends that for me it was more of Glitch and Glamour because I was so out of place when I saw most of them wearing jeans.

I was so glad that my mom let me come. They usually don't let me go to such events, especially if they happen at night. Can't blame them, really. They ARE parents. She even got me a driver for the night. I <3 my mom. She's really just soooo kulit sometimes. Haha.

Anyway, you can click on the following photo to see souvenirs from that night.

It was sad that I wasn't able to take much pictures. I wasn't myself that night - I was too sleepy and too tired to do anything or to think even. It was because my Carlisle got sick on a day that I was supposed to be on duty - Sunday. Because of that, I had to change my schedule to duty-from-duty-from starting Monday instead of the usual duty-from-pre-duty-from, which is not really compatible to human life - LOL. In the morning til lunchtime of the same day, I was taken to the post-graduate course of Pediatrics at Gateway Suites. Took me an hour or so to get back home to Malabon and then I had to leave again after a couple of hours to attend the party. Ack.

So, what happened to Carlisle? The Friday before last, he was having the usual cough and colds. The next day, he was having difficulty of breathing - supraclavicular and subcostal retractions. Upon auscultation, there were wheezes and tight air entry. I decided to nebulize with Salbutamol every 15 mins x 3 doses which provided temporary relief. He couldn't breathe well because of the colds also so I started using salinase drops per nostril. But he totally hates that. What's more is that the nebulizer broke down and he was having DOB again so I decided to put matters into my own hands.

I inserted an IV access and pushed hydrocortisone at 10 mkdose as loading dose, with 5 mkdose q6h. When I pricked him the cannula, he looked as me as though he could not believe that I hurt him. He cried for a while and kept complaining "ipit" when I placed a toy for his splint. The tape was probably too tight. LOL. I revised it anyway. The following day, he was still not OK so I had to stay home and shifted his meds to oral Salbutamol and Prednisone. Posted a medication schedule on our fridge for the maid to follow while I was away. So glad he's better now. I hope he doesn't get any more attacks next time :(

I'm currently rotating in the Pediatrics department and I'm glad I have 5 weeks left before it ends. It's sad that people change or transform into evil b*tches when they get promoted. There might be some things that I don't know, I don't have a license yet and I do not have the right to decide on the disposition of the patients but if you think about it, we're all the same. We're both in the medical field, you went through all the training that I'm going through now, and ultimately we're both just humans. So don't tell me something stupid like I'm not using my head because between the 2 of us, it's you who can't use her head because it's just full of air.

Pediatrics used to be the happiest department in all of OM. Because of people like you, it will never be the same again.

I'm looking forward to creating new accessories and am hoping to start today. Christmas time is nearing and I'm going to use this time to earn big! *Evil laugh*

This has been your hot[tempered] mommah, now signing out! xOx

So Sick

2010-10-30T10:47:00.000+08:00

I've been sick lately.

It all started when we came home to San Juan last Sunday. I was feeling dizzy - like vertigo, dizzy - and it was the worst feeling in the world. I self-medicated with cinnarizine 75mg which relieved me slightly.

The next day was duty day, so I came in for work and by night time I was having muscle, bone and joint pains and I really was not comfortable. Wo zhen de bu shu fu!! But I carried on and got CBC and UA done. It showed UTI so I self-medicated with ofloxacin 400 mg BID for 3 days. Thought I was fine, but the following day, I started having mucoid stools. So then I came home early. My mom gave me chrysanthemum tea to drink later on that night.

I was okay the following day. My poop was better. But I was anorexic and feeling bloated. It was probably just dyspepsia. It wasn't a reaction to the ofloxacin since I've taken that antibiotic before.

The next day was, again, duty day. I was having bad epigastric pain and was feeling really hungry that night. I ate spaghetti and chicken meal from Jollibee at around 930pm. My epigastric pain worsened and we decided to give myself omeprazole 40mg direct IV. It got even worse! I vomited 3 times and then I was given metoclopramide and ranitidine TIM. I thought I couldn't make it until the next day, if the vomiting would continue so I asked my senior and my monitor if I could go home early the following day. (It was already 230am and I didn't want my dad to pick me up during that unholy hour where criminals are up and about.) Fortunately, I was allowed but my CBC and UA were repeated.

UA came out clean. So no more UTI. CBC had elevated WBC's with neutrophilic predominance. We considered a possible acute appendicitis. I referred myself to the surgery department and they had to an abdominal PE. *Shy..* They did not commit for it to be AP and they were leaning towards gastritis. Thank God. If it were AP, I would really wake my parents up and ask them to bring me to another hospital. I would not get any operations done at a hospital where all employees know me. *Double shy..*

I vomited for at least 8 times. I had to put myself on NPO as I could not tolerate even liquids. IV fluids were ordered and Allain, who is my good friend and supposedly was not a NOOB at inserting IV cathulas, had to prick me twice. I so hate him. He blamed it on the cathula, saying it was the cheap one. I had no energy to fight him. After that, I continued doing my job, I didn't expect that my supposed reliever would allow herself to be pulled out to takeover my duty. Fell asleep for a few minutes and then it was time to call home and ask to be picked up.

I gave myself my take home meds. Gaviscon, HNBB and ORS. I previously had GERD and H. pylori so I was thinking it was probably a PUD attack. But when I was home, I started pooping soft stools again. So there was probably AGE involved. Oh well. No more skipping meals. No more carbonated drinks or caffeine. Oh, I remember drinking hot chocolate from a nearby resto before eating the spaghetti so it was probably the real thing.

I so hope I get better. As in BETTER.

T for Tardy

2010-10-19T09:54:00.000+08:00

I've been always coming in late these past few days.

Today I will teach you... How to sign a phone app for Nokia!

2010-10-12T10:56:00.000+08:00

I will, basically, teach you how to sign a phone app by yourself.

First, choose any app that you'd like to install onto your mobile phone. Of course, it has to be an unsigned app - an app that says 'Certificate Error' each time you try to install it on your phone. So for this, here's a nice app that I'd like to share with you: iSMS, a threaded messaging system that works similar to that of an iPhone. Click the link to download the file onto your computer. Extract the file on your desktop so that you can easily point to it later.

Open up your Internet browser and point it to the following link: http://cer.opda.cn/en/index.php. Click 'Register' on the upper right corner of the page and once directed, fill-up the required information. Put your desired user name on the 'Account' field, all the rest is self-explanatory. Once registered, log-in with your information.

Click on 'Apply Cer' and then you will be asked to enter your phone's model and IMEI. Your IMEI is the same as your serial number. If you don't have your phone's package or box on hand, you can push *#06# on your mobile phone and type the numbers on your computer. When you're done, click on 'Submit Application' and wait patiently until they have created your certificate and key. Go to 'My Certificate' to check the status of your phone's certificate. Once available, you should see the following:

Click on 'Signing' to get started, like so:

'Browse' and point to the iSMS file that you downloaded onto your desktop and then 'Submit and Upload'. Once successfully done, a small window will pop-up where you can download the file onto your computer which you can now install onto your phone via PC Suite or OVI.

You can also use Signsis v1.03 and install it on your phone. Simply download the certificate and key which you created from OPDA and copy it to your phone. Open SignSIS which is installed as 'MobileSigner' on your phone, locate the app, key and certificate and leave the password field blank. Push 'Options' and the 'Sign'. Viola! App signed.

Enjoy! ;)

"Happy" Birthday

2010-10-12T09:53:00.000+08:00

I am having such a bad day =C

It wasn't a good day yesterday either.

Today started out with a squabble between me and mom. Carlisle fell on the floor and she asked me what I did. I was like, what, are you thinking I pushed my own kid to the floor?

Hai.

I didn't go to work today.

Maybe I have to rethink everything before making any moves in the future. That way, I could possibly limit my mistakes. Hopefully.

Will be starting a t-shirt biz with Allain this coming November. I hope production goes crazy by December.

I smell kinda funny, which is weird because I just took a bath.

Anyway, I'll be teaching you a few things today. Yeehaw.

Tired? Who's Tired?! 0.0

2010-10-03T10:50:00.000+08:00

Dude, I'm so awake!

LOL

And Intern Tin's admission/consult score is... *drumroll, please*

13/34!

Congratulations!!

I've never felt so tired in my whole life. I was the only one doing all the blood extractions, ECG, IV line insertions, NGT insertions and then I had to monitor the patients and have their chest x-rays read. Our nurse felt sorry for me that she asked for help from the interns of the other departments. I told her not to because that's MY job. And I believe that there's nothing that I can't handle. X.x But I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you. You're far too kind.

I didn't have shuteye even for just 5 minutes that on my way home my eyes started to pain me. I have DES or dry eye syndrome. A condition where there is abnormal production or evaporation of tears and this is usually often due to decreased blinking especially when you're doing something. And I was too good that I left my artificial tears at home. That sounded crazy. ^^

Crazy.

My mom thought that a laboratory would be a crazy investment. I thought so, too. I suggested a pharmacy instead but she disagreed as well. She's thinking of selling good food. The downside is that it means she will have to cook and that's what I'm trying to avoid here - to let her rest and let my dad do the working.

Working.

I promise myself to be productive today.

I will finish a few or all of the pieces for my dad's order.
Master Bates' History Taking and Physical Examination. (No, not mastur-bate, like the stupid old joke.)
Take pictures of some clothes that I'll be selling off online.
Study more and stop FB-ing.

Du-ty, Or Not Du-ty

2010-10-01T13:53:00.000+08:00

DUTY!!

Well, it's not like I have a choice to not be on duty. I just chose not to be at the hospital in the morning and then frolic with my co-interns at the mall for our Intern's hour. It's not that I don't like spending time with them. I just prefer to be with Carlisle and bite his a55. ^^

I will be at OMMC by 5pm until tomorrow at 1pm. It's another clerk-less duty and I am feeling hopeful - for a benign duty.

Hopeful.

My dad's ordering a few accessories for his father's upcoming 80th birthday. They're supposed to be souvenirs. I'll be selling off some of Pui's pieces and will be making a few sets and other trinkets to complete his orders. I'm hoping to make money out of him. ^^

Money.

Since my dad got back home from a finished contract in Singapore, he has been staying home and not earning a cent. It's not that I'm complaining because I know my mom can take care of everything. I've been thinking of a possible business near OMMC - a laboratory, one that can perform blood chemistry examinations and perhaps, an ultrasound machine? That's a lot of investment.

Investing.

In a few minutes I should be taking a bath and getting ready for 20 hours of duty.

Here's a nice ad from Nescafe that I saw today:

Para kanino ka bumabangon?

I prefer not to translate as it might lose its true meaning.

And Maybe

2010-07-11T11:11:00.000+08:00

I think I can never forget what my mom told me today.

"Problema mo na yan. Ginigising kita kagabi para kumain, ayaw mo bumangon."

I was from duty yesterday. A duty that started from 7am until 2pm the following day. My post was at the ER with 1 resident and 1 nurse, with 41 consults. I was not able to shut my eyes even for just a few minutes. I've had no food intake from yesterday morning until this morning. And that was all I would hear from her.

"Problema mo na yan. Ginigising kita kagabi para kumain, ayaw mo bumangon."

I am not sure how I should feel after hearing those words. Maybe she should have said that first line a year ago after I got pregnant. It would have been more appropriate and just. Not now when I am just too tired to at least feed myself.

"Problema mo na yan. Ginigising kita kagabi para kumain, ayaw mo bumangon."

I asked my brother to buy me breakfast. There wasn't anything here that could feed my hunger. We're at SJ at the moment because she called me yesterday at lunchtime, saying she needs to go to SJ for business purposes. And that she wanted to stay for the night. She dragged all of us back here. Maybe next time, I won't join them anymore. I'll just sleep at MC by myself and keep my problems to myself.

"Problema mo na yan. Ginigising kita kagabi para kumain, ayaw mo bumangon."

Maybe it's not just my brother who needs psychiatric help. Maybe it's all of us.

Raging Hormones

2010-07-02T17:10:00.000+08:00

I was so pissed on my way home. RAWR!!

I was hoping to get home early today because there's this Intern's hour where Interns are supposed to be free from 12PM onwards. So if you're not on duty, you can go home as early as 12PM, that's if there's no lecturer for the day.

All we did was laugh and tell ghost stories that had happened at the hospital while waiting for the lecturer to arrive. It was already past 3PM when we all decided to go home. I thought I'd be home by 4PM. I was at the train station by 3:30. It was already past 4PM and I was still NOT on the LRT yet. DAMN.

I got home an hour later.

Yeah, just a few minutes ago.

BS!!

Substitute

2010-07-01T18:47:00.000+08:00

I was crying out of frustration the other night when I got home and saw that the babysitter was SLEEPING ON MY BED with MY KID and my mother was downstairs watching TV. It wasn't a funny site. Maids are NOT substitutes for relatives. They're just there to HELP look after your child when you're busy.

I only agreed to move to Malabon so that my mom could work and at the same time be more around my kid when I can't. Do you know that I have to commute by LRT, standing for 30 minutes to and from OM? And every time I come back home, I would usually get lost because 1. I'm too tired/sleepy 2. I'm not that well oriented with the city yet and 3. I just really have minimal sense of direction. And every time my mom hears about me getting lost - again - she would say I'm so stupid. Damn.

Maybe that was just a small blow and not really something to make a big deal out of but for the last few days my mom has been really getting on my nerves.

She suggested that we change my kid's milk to Promil and I agreed. When I came home, I saw a can of Progress instead of Promil. When asked why, my mom said "sabi niya mas maganda daw yan" (referring to the babysitter). Well, who the fuck is she to meddle with decisions regarding my kid?! SHE IS JUST A BABYSITTER. Why the hell did she have to send me to school for 22 years for when she would just take the maid's advice?! BS. Super BS.

On that same night, she fed him with only 5oz of milk instead of the regular 8oz. Why?! She said because my kid ate a lot of rice. Just who the hell is she?! My kid had to wake up TWICE instead of sleeping through because of what she did. Whether he eats or does not eat, he drinks 8oz of milk. I SHOULD KNOW. And she should NOT CHANGE MY KID'S DIET because she has no business doing that. She is JUST a maid.

If only I could stay home and watch my kid forever instead of having stupid shitheads, who think they know more shit than I do, take care of him.

Enough of the outrage.

I finally got the chance to chill and see Eclipse after my duty today. I thought I might sleep through the movie because I, of course, feel tired and sleepy as usual when I'm from duty. But the fight scenes and the script kept me awake. "I am hotter than you." says Jacob to Edward. That was true in every word. I've never seen Edward's abs. Maybe 'cause they're frozen. XD

I am having acute gastroenteritis without signs of dehydration. It must have been something I ate yesterday lunch - dietary food. ={ What can I do? I'm trying to save my mother some money because I've been in college for the last 8 years (and counting) and I haven't had a real job. Just the usual summer jobs and the online shop that I keep - that doesn't really have a stable income. If I get lucky then I keep some for my kid's savings and then some for me.

I guess my family doesn't really know what's inside my head. It's probably because I don't let them in. They're all too judgmental. And although ideally, we're supposed to make everyone happy; realistically, we can't - we can't make others happy if we're not happy ourselves.

Shar's a real bitch, btw. She thinks Glenn and I are conniving against her with regards to the OR schedule. Dumb ass. She's so anxious about us getting ahead of her. I really don't know how she plans to be a doctor. She'd probably step on everyone else's toes. Fucker.

PS. So sorry for such a violent post. Couldn't contain it any longer.

Call for alarm

2010-06-28T22:03:00.000+08:00

Whenever my aku Roman calls me on my phone, I always feel like there's something wrong.
It was around lunchtime when I received a call from him saying that he was feeling dizzy. I asked him if he had eaten and he said yes. I figured he was having another vertigo attack so I told him to take betahistine diHCl. It turns out that he was alone at home and he had no one to buy him his meds. I told him to wait for his driver so he could go buy for him.
When I got home, I checked to see how he was doing and I kind of panicked when no one was picking up at their house and his phone was unattended. I thought he might have collapsed or something and no one has noticed. So I called up his son who is a nurse and asked him about his dad. I found out that he had asked his wife to take him to the hospital. Whew! At least he's with someone.
He called up just now to say that he's feeling better and I am relieved that he is. Thank God. Ü

Rant and Rave

2010-06-27T19:06:00.000+08:00

I was excited to go see a movie with a friend today after my duty at the hospital. It's been a while since I actually spent time with friends or go have fun because every time I think about it, I feel guilty about leaving Carlisle at home. Today was different. I thought I really needed/deserved a break after 3 long nights of putting up with Carlisle's screaming and having to carry him until he falls asleep. But, as usual, my mom won't allow it. She wanted me to rush home to San Juan for some reason. I was really disappointed. It was really a much needed break before I become an OB intern, which I hope will not be as bad as when I was a clerk.*sniff*

I think I might have pulled a shoulder or back muscle. I was carrying Carlisle around the grocery store because he was feeling sleepy. When we got back home, I felt excruciating pain around my left scapula. It still hurts until now but it's tolerable. Luckily, I have a very high threshold for pain. XD My pelvic area also pains me. It's not that time of the month because that was over about a week ago. I'm thinking I am probably developing UTI because I don't/cannot go to the toilet whenever I feel the urge to pee. I'd better change that.

Last night, since I didn't have too many patients, I was able to calculate how much money I'd be saving/asking my mom. (It's embarrassing to be asking her for allowance at 26, I know. That's why I'm trying to cut costs.) Since I have free dietary food from the hospital, which is, by the way, not edible at all times, that would lessen the expenses to some extent. So all I have to think about is LRT, jeep and pedicab fare. Plus, some extra money for when the food isn't edible. XD I've told her before that she should at least allow me to drive when I'm not on duty, that could be considered cost-cutting, right? I don't have plans of parking her car at the hospital overnight because it probably won't be there the next day. 0.o It's not like I'd be turning her car into a school bus or a date car like my shoti did before he had his motorcycle. She still won't let me drive by myself.

Speaking of the devil, he called us when we were about to get in the car and go back to our place. He was asking us not to leave and to wait for him to arrive. I was like, WTH for?! It's not like he'd be riding with us in the car since he's on his motorcycle. Damned idiot. Le xiao za bo talaga. (I'm not sure if I pinyin-ed that correctly.)

This nurse from the Medicine Ward kept SMS-ing me today. I like him as a friend and not any more than that but I feel like he's being too pushy or too melodramatic. His friend nurses at the ER all know that he has a "thing" for me and they all keep teasing me. The guy's a widow and he has a daughter who's 7 or 8. Yes, I know we both have a kid already. I don't know if he's looking for a mom for his kid. All I know is I'm not looking for a dad for mine because my son has his own dad.

Ugh. I have to be back at the hospital tomorrow. Again. Rar.

Asthma Attacks Carlisle - Again!

2010-06-24T15:59:00.000+08:00

Carlisle is sick again. Another asthma attack. His previous attack was around January or February. I remember not attending my pre-duty sched that day, as a Pedia clerk rotator. But today's different because I'm supposed to be on duty as an Ophtha intern and I had to call my seniors to tell them what happened. Luckily, it's Dr. Tormon who's on duty today so he didn't really mind me being absent for my son's sake. I'm glad he understands me. XD

I was trying to reach Dr. Eugenio earlier. He's in charge of the interns so I figured I should let him know my whereabouts but his phone was unattended. I'm hoping he'd let this go - not make me make-up for my absence. And because of this, I have to be on duty on Saturday. I don't mind since I have to be at OM on that day from 8am-1pm since there are no clerks during that time. And besides, I couldn't leave anyone - especially my son - who's having wheezes and retractions.

That's it for now. My son is driving me crazy with all his screaming and crying. On top of that, I have a mom who keeps on insisting to do this or do that, not to do this, not to do that. It's a crazy world. X_x

Chicken Teriyaki

2009-03-06T19:57:00.000+08:00

Well, I have forgotten about this recipe. Sometimes, I wonder how I got through Med school with such a poor memory.

Ingredients:

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut in half
3/4 cup granulated sugar (brown sugar would be good, too)
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Procedure:

Rinse chicken halves, and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken cut side down in a baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and garlic. Mix well, and pour mixture over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
In a pan, bring the chicken mixture to a boil and make sure chicken is done. Let cool slightly, then cut into smaller pieces to serve.

Creamy Carbonara

2009-03-06T19:48:00.000+08:00

This is my own version of Carbonara. It's quick and easy to make!

Ingredients:

Pasta
Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
All-Purpose Cream
Bacon or ham
Onion (white ones would be better)
Optional: Milk or water, mushroom slices

*Amount depends on how much you want to make and how many you'll be feeding

Procedure:

Boil the noodles in some salt. Drain and wash so they don't stick together.
Gradually add cream (and water or milk, depends how creamy you want it) to the cream of mushroom soup. Mix them well so they won't form lumps.
Fry the bacon or ham, without oil, so that its own oil will come out. Add in the onions and then the cream mix. Simmer until thick.
Add the pasta into the cream and coat well.

Beer Batter Fish Fillets

2009-03-06T19:38:00.000+08:00

Here's a recipe that I picked up somewhere from the Internet (and altered a bit). I got this idea when I was in Singapore, the days when my cousin and I would go to malls and look for Chippy British Take-away stalls. We would eat fried Mars bars, fried fish or whatnot, and it's really good that I even thought of putting up a store similar to Chippy!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
3/4 cup beer
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 pounds fillets (you can replace this with chicken or something else, if you want)
vegetable oil for frying

Procedure:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and dill. Add beer, milk, and eggs; mix well.
Place fish fillets in batter mixture, coat well, and let stand for 15 minutes.
Heat the vegetable oil in a drying pan and fry the fish until golden brown. Cook fish in batches to maintain oil temperature.

My friend chef said that an alternative could be just dipping the fish in the batter right before frying. Her version involves just beer, flour, baking powder and baking soda. I have yet to try that!

Coconut Fridge Cake

2009-03-06T19:34:00.000+08:00

Vegetarian Kare Kare Recipe

2009-03-06T18:16:00.000+08:00

Kare kare is a Filipino dish. I learned this recipe from a good friend and since I've been staying home, doing nothing, I have been up on my feet doing some cooking (and "baking"). Here is my version of kare kare because I know my friend, chef Charm, does it a lot differently.

Ingredients:

pumpkin, banana bud, string beans, eggplant, pechay
1 beef broth cube
water (about 8 cups)
onion
garlic
peanut butter (about 5-6 tbsp)
grounded toasted rice (about 4 tbsp)
cooked bagoong alamang or anchovies

Procedure:

In a pot, blanch the pumpkin and banana bud (or whatever else that would take long to cook) in water with the beef broth cube. Strain and set the stock aside.
In a big pan, saute the garlic and onion until golden brown. Add in the stock, grounded toasted rice and the peanut butter. Bring to a boil and simmer.
Add in the rest of the vegetables and be careful not to overcook them.
Bagoong alamang can be added to taste or can be served on the side.

That's it! I'm sure you can change a few things here and there, just like I did, to make this recipe fit you.

Congenital Heart Diseases

2009-03-01T13:38:00.000+08:00

I visited my Ob-Gyn yesterday and as usual, we had a chitchat about our personal lives. She told me that one of her younger brothers had one child with tetralogy of Fallot and another child with truncus arteriosus. So, what are these?

Aside from being popular medicine exam questions, these are defects or problems involving the heart.

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) involves, of course, 4 anomalies:
1. a ventricular septal defect
2. an enlarged right ventricle
3. overriding of the aorta
4. pulmonary stenosis

Blood coming from both ventricles of the heart, a mix of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood, is pumped into the circulation. Because there is lack of oxygen going through the body, those with this anomaly usually present as cyanotic or have a bluish discoloration of the skin, lips and nailbeds.

If you're interested to understand ToF better, here's a link to a Flash video from Cincinnati Children's Hospital's website and an article if you want to read more.

Truncus arteriosus, on the other hand, occurs due to failure of separation of a great vessel arising from the heart which should become the pulmonary artery and the aorta. This occurs with a ventricular septal defect which also causes a mixing of blood, like in ToF.

Read more on truncus arteriosus here.

Both of these anomalies are congenital, meaning, they are present at birth. It is said to be caused by a genetic defect or due to environmental exposure during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy.

So, why did I even bother posting about this? It's to leave you a note: Take care of your embryo/fetus especially during your first trimester! If you're into drinking alcohol or coffee or are used to smoking a lot, you'd better quit while your pregnant. Encourage your partner to stop smoking as well so you and your baby won't be inhaling secondhand smoke. Watch whatever you ingest because most of it will surely go to your baby, as well.

Have a happy pregnancy!

How to Rearrange Post Footer Elements

2009-02-27T08:15:00.000+08:00

(When the 'Page Elements' tab won't let you.)

OK, so yesterday I tried a million times to rearrange my post footer elements using the 'Page Elements' tab provided by Blogger but the elements won't budge. Thanks to Pocket's tutorial (along with some HTML knowledge), I was able to figure out how to do it using the 'Edit HTML' tab. I'll be trying my best to guide you on this but bare with me as this is my first tutorial.

1. Log in to your Blogger account and if you have several blogs, choose the one that you'd like to edit by clicking on LAYOUT > EDIT HTML.

2. Make sure you backup your entire template by clicking on 'DOWNLOAD FULL TEMPLATE' before you proceed. (Just in case you accidentally "destroy" your template.) Tick on the 'EXPAND WIDGET TEMPLATES' on the upper right corner of the editing text box.

3. Press 'CTRL' + 'F' or click on EDIT > FIND on your browser and type in 'POST-FOOTER-LINE'. There would be 3 footer lines, each labeled as shown below (Note that they won't be close together like this, this is an edited screenshot):

4. Now, I am not sure how I can explain this but if you would look at the picture below, those enclosed in purple brackets [ ] is considered as one block. (Notice that the words 'SPAN' begin and end one block.) See here that the underlined words are post-author vcard, which means that this will be the block for your 'posted by blah'; and post-timestamp is the block for the time that you posted. You'll have to read this part of each block so you'd have an idea which shows which.

So for example, you want the 'LABELS' to show in the second footer line, you'll have to CUT the entire post-labels block and PASTE it under 'POST-FOOTER-LINE-2'. And so on, and so forth.

That's it! I hope you got that.

PS. Thanks to Pocket for inspiring me to help other people as much as he [his tutorial] has helped me put up this XML site.

Advice

2008-11-28T19:42:00.000+08:00

Saw Twilight yesterday. I thought it was pretty fast-paced compared to the book. I liked it just the same. :)

Next week will be our shifting exams week and every shifting, we have to get a student advising form signed by our respective advisers so that we can get our test permit. Unfortunately, because of all the stress that I've been under lately, it slipped my mind. My adviser only shows up at OMMC every Tuesday but today is FRIDAY. I had to improvise. I had to get an unfilled form and then find an adviser who's willing to sign for my real adviser.

Luckily, the college sec was in the CM office and was willing to sign. She's the same person I went to for advice regarding my clerkship, etc. so she knows my story and she was waiting to hear updates from me.

A few points were given to me:
1. Do not rush.
2. Go to the Blessed Sacrament this weekend.
3. Do not think of things that would be too stressing for me.

Hai. So hard. :-s

I hope I can drop by a church tomorrow.

Salamat, Dok!

2008-11-25T22:28:00.000+08:00

I had to play a talk show host during Medical Therapeutics class. We were supposed to report on acne vulgaris but instead of the usual boring reporting, we presented a role-playing. So I was supposed to be the host of "Salamat Dok" and my guest speaker was "Dr. Becky Velo".

I thought I did pretty well, considering the comments I received after the "play". And my professor/doctor's smile at me when I met her along the corridors. I surprised a few people. They said that they never thought that I could do something like that. Well, isn't "the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people think/say you can't do"?

I honestly surprised myself as well. Couldn't believe I could go through that whole thing and not feel too shy to speak onto the mic. I hope we get a good grade for that. And I hope I could trust myself to do more rewarding things in my life like that :)

Breathe Easy

2008-11-21T18:06:00.000+08:00

I feel relieved that, finally, someone affirmed how heavy this, burden that I am carrying, is.

I had a very enlightening heart-to-heart talk with our college secretary, Dr. Collao. I consulted her regarding my clerkship issues, initially, but she was so easy to talk to that I was able to tell her almost everything that I am worrying about.

I had felt like quitting med school because I realized that I have lost my drive for studying. I am not sure of the exact reasons. It could be hormonal, could be because of all the pressure, the stress, the current situation, everything and anything. But, in truth, I really still would like to become a doctor and be able to treat or cure people.

She made me realize a lot of things. That I know better and that I should be the one trying to understand everyone else around me eg. my mom and my dad. That I should cut my dad some slack for not financially supporting us enough. That I should understand why my mom acts this way towards Filipinos. That I should realize and accept my faults as contributory factors for the situation that I am currently in.

She gave me really sound advice and she suggested 3 things that I could do to fix this mess.
1. Finish third year with really good grades so that in the event that I should ask for an LOA, I could be easily granted with such.
2. Begin clerkship as soon as I can, considering I can be transferred to community service first. If not, I can ask for a short LOA and then do more difficult rounds.
3. Forgive myself, and eventually, everyone else around me.

Somehow, after that talk, I felt like a heavy rock has been lifted off of my heart and somehow, I do feel better. Another thing that makes me relieved is that I found out that the fourth shifting exams would be from Feb 9 to 13 and then the final exams would be from the 16th to the 20th. I hope that schedule won't change anymore so I won't have to worry about it again. :-s

Yesterday, I felt really bad that my mom really can't trust me to be out until just about 8PM. I'm 24 and yet I'm always worrying that my mom would get mad at me for staying out late, her definition being later than 7PM. My very close friend is leaving the country and we just wanted to hangout for a few hours and just have fun. Instead of having fun, I cried a lot that I had a mom that was acting this way towards me.

She kept calling when I already told her that we were watching a movie. She even asked for my friend's number when she already knew my friend's number and kept calling her phone as well. She even called another friend from school just to ask where I was. What will that say about our relationship? Isn't it embarrassing to let other people know that she really doesn't trust me? What else can I lose? All this despite the fact that I texted her before 6PM that I was going to be a bit late.

It's so unfair. Although I am happy that I have a mother who cares for me dearly, I'd love it if she were a little more sensitive to what she is doing to me. It's not like I was staying out later than 9PM. And then she even said that she was "kawawa". In this situation, I don't think she's the one who's "kawawa".

Hai :'c

Me and Rose - Just One Person

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000+08:00

Had a heart-to-heart talk with my friend, Rose. It's amazing how similar we think about our lives and how similar OUR LIVES are. I'm really glad I found a friend in her. :)

How true is it that we live our lives for the people we love and barely for ourselves? And then, with all the pressures that we are feeling, we seek for release.

...

I still have colds. Must rest. :(

I Was Humbled

2008-11-03T19:44:00.000+08:00

I feel so blessed that my mom is here to save me from any shithole I get myself into.

If it were my dad, I doubt if he'd do anything for me.

Nonetheless, thanks mom. YOU ARE SIMPLY THE BEST. And I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

I will never forget this day, for today, I was humbled.