Download the slideshow here:

http://www.snapdrive.net/files/53071/slideshow%202007%20web.wmv

DOCTOR

Funny how one little word can change your life. On May 11, 2007 the word "doctor" was placed in front of my name, and the letters "D.O." after my name. This event has been something I've worked for the majority of my life and it is a surreal feeling to be "done."

I expected to be really emotional on graduation day, but the sheer hectic nature of the procession, taking pictures and smiling, trying to find your family, hunting your friends down took alot out of me. The emotions range from exhaustion, to loneliness, to excitement, to relief, to happiness, and finally fear. I didn't even have time to ponder any of that, or how my life would change in a month.

In a month some of my close friends will have moved far away to their respective residencies and I will be missing them at a crucial time in our lives. In a month I will have made new friends and will have to adapt to a new dynamic; feeling out personalities and figuring out how to work with new people. In a month I will have my own patients who look to me for guidance. In a month I will be responsible for other people's lives; making decisions about their futures when my own personal future is so uncertain. How scary is that?

But before all that could happen, I had to celebrate my accomplishements!! After the graduation ceremonies, I had a luncheon at Coco Palms in Pomona. The place is lovely, has a great view and an amazing buffet of Cuban food. After a quick 5 minute nap on the way back to my house and a wardrobe change, I headed off to a joint graduation party with 4 of my girlfriends from medical school.

The party was held at the Tedesco Residence, my friend Tenli's parent's house(thanks Lisa and Mark!). We had a taco bar which included pork, chicken and carne asada tacos, beans and rice and all the fixings. A margarita machine was spinning, the coolers were filled with Corona, Pacifico and Coors or was it Miller(I don't drink beer), AND huge bottles of red and white wine. The DJ played into the night and we danced until we were tired.

At the end of the night my girlfriends and I opened gifts that we had gotten for each other. It was a great way to end the night: with friends, memories and big hugs!

For pictures of events please click the links below:

Westernu DO 2007 Dinner Dance

Graduation Festivities

DO 2007 Slideshow courtesy of yours truly

Time Flies....

I have 3 more days left of school. Today was my last Monday of being a student EVER!! It's all very surreal. I'm going through senioritis so I don't want to be at work. On the other hand I am terrified of the responsibility that comes with graduating. It's not like I won't have any guidance during residency, but I actually have to practice not looking over my shoulder for approval from an attending and actually MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS for my patients. DAMN!

It's all really bittersweet. I'm really looking forward to graduation and all the festivities. I'm not looking forward to my friends moving away. I'm looking forward to getting paid. I'm not looking forward to being on call. You get the picture.

I was watching this Filipino news show with my mom and they were talking about medical tourism, specifically in Thailand. I've known about Filipino's going back to the Philippines to get plastic surgery and what not, but I never imagined American's and Europeans going on a "medical vacation." The news segment also showed what kind of rooms patients stay in after surgery and I've never even stayed at hotels that were this nice! I was also surprised to learn that people don't just travel for plastic surgery, they travel to get other surgeries such as open heart.

The reason I blog about this is because the Philippines is trying to get in on this industry, but they want it to be on a Thailand scale. At first I thought that this would be good for the country. Doctors would be motivated to stay in the Philippines instead of going to the US. (see my blog about this doctor drain) Good for all right? Wrong! Yeah, the doctors will stay and practice in the Philippines, but for TOURISTS. What about all the medically underserved in the rural areas? That's where most care is needed, but if this whole medical tourism thing blows up in the Philippines, every doctor graduating in the country will be pulled towards these hospital/hotels leaving the poor worse off than they were originally.

Hopefully next year I'll get to go on a medical mission to the Philippines in my moms province. I'm really looking forward to it.

MATCH DAY

This will be a quick one because it's been a long day, but:

I matched at....POMONA VALLEY HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER in Family Medicine!

Congratulations to all my friends. I'm so proud of you all! And remember....we all end up where we are supposed to. Divide and conquer!!

"Did I Match" DAY : YES I DID!!

Today we found out IF we matched, hence the title. The important thing about today is that I know I'll be going somewhere I chose. If I didn't match then I'd have to scramble, which means I would have to find programs that didn't fill their spots and try to get into one of those spots. The unfilled programs can be located anywhere, so it's not something I anyone wants to do. Anyhow, so MATCH DAY is on Thursday. My friends and I are going to find out where we match together; thank God for wireless! Blog about that to come...

This is a cheap blog only because while trying to find pictures for the blog, I found an entry that said everything I wanted to say. I was watching TLC's "My Unique Family" this evening and Bree Walker and family were being featured. What makes them unique is they have Ectrodactyly. I remembered her from when I lived in San Diego, where she was a newscaster.

So...here's the link. I just thought it was really interesting, and I totally agree with what the author has to say.

Bree Walker

You know you've had too much plastic surgery when Wikipedia says so....

"In recent years, it has been observed that Walker seems to have undergone visible facial plastic surgery; her lips especially, appear to have been injected with collagen. It is estimated five quarts of collagen have been used."

Hey all,

I just recently fell in love with this song. It's been out for a while in the Philippines, and continues to be number 1 there. I just wanted to share it with you guys and let you know that I'm there for you. Attached is the English translation of the song(Thanks Dad!) Enjoy

Love you guys!

Christina

http://profile.imeem.com/u0nV1A/music/p4VK0Q-s/hawak_kamay/

Sometimes you feel a heavy load
so hard to bear, you'd say "I can't take it anymore"

Just look at the sky
a silver lining you might find
or, you can count on me (or, you can call me ?)
I'll be here, anytime

[chorus]
Hold my hand… (hand in hand ?)
I will always be at your side
In a world of uncertainty,
hold my hand…
I won't let go
in an empty world

sometimes you feel
the world is crumbling under your feet
and the wave of despair overwhelms you

Just look at the sky
a silver lining you might find
or, you can count on me
I'll be here, anytime

[repeat chorus]

[bridge]
Don't ever feel you're alone
always remember you have me
I'm here for you, oh, I'm her for you

[repeat chorus]

In an empty world…

Hand in hand…

In an empty world…..

CABLE....FINALLY!! The last time I had cable was for 4 months in 2003 when I was living in Philadelphia. My mom has been a subscriber to The Filipino Channel for almost 2 years now, which is through Direct TV. They require you to have at least the basic channel plan(9.99) to add TFC. I decided that when I start residency I would get REAL cable and also get a DV-R to record all the shows I want to watch. I mentioned this during dinner last night. Her boyfriend, who also subscribes said that for international subscribers it's only 20 bucks more to add regular cable. I thought it would be more so I figured, why not get cable now. While I was at work, he called and set up the cable for us. When I got home I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had MTV, VH1, E!, the Food Network, and many more! The only 2 channels I want that are missing are FX and Bravo. I'll have to reassess when I start residency as to what channels I can get for what price. At that time I will also figure out my DV-R situation. Happy President's Day indeed!

My Playlist

Oh how exciting! I saw this on my friend's blog and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Finetune allows you to make playlists or listen to other people's playlists. You can add up to 45 songs and embed it into your myspace or blogger. FREAKING awesome! Plus if you want to sample an artist or similar artists, then you can just listen to it on the website as well. :) enjoy people! I know all the songs are pretty random, but I'm a random kind of person.

If you want to forward to the next song just move the cursor to the far left of the icon and click!

Love Day

This year I was ready to just live through what everyone calls "Valentine's Day" and treat it just like any other Wednesday. It didn't even hit me until last night that it was coming really. I didn't send out any cards(I never do) and I didn't get anyone gifts(usually for my mom, and in years passed the sig. other). I was going to completely deny and avoid the day that makes all single people feel like crap.

This morning however, I was pleasantly surprised by my friend Melissa who had brought me a little bag of goodies and a Valentine. When I got home I had received an e-card Valentine from her as well. She reminded me that I was loved and that Valentine's Day isn't just for couples. It's for the people you care about and letting them know you love them. In keeping with the pleasant surprises, I received a forward from my uncle(just one of many he usually sends along) and I decided to open it. It was a Snoopy powerpoint. Short and simple with the "Cheers" theme song playing in the background. It made me feel all warm and mushy inside so I sent it to all my loved ones hoping it would make them feel the same way.

So I'm changing my perception of Valentine's Day and welcoming all the love. It's turned out to be a pretty good day. I got off work at 1130. I had an awesome lunch with my mom and sister to Market Broiler, where they gave us 2 extra halves of snow crab to compensate for the "long wait"(5 min or so more than usual for our food)!!! Now, I'm going to spend some quality time with my sister, doing nails and vegging out to Charmed DVDs.

Hope all of you had a lovely day!

Project #1: DONE!!

It's about a month late, but I'm finally done. I never did find my journal. I had to Google or Wikipedia certain sights we saw throughout Europe. I wouldn't say the picture book is perfect, but it's done and I'm happy. At least I have some of the memories there, where I can look at them and read about them, instead of sitting in my computer, on some disk or sitting in a box somewhere. I highly recommend doing this. It's takes a while but for me, anyways, it's much less frustrating and messy than doing an actual scrapbook.

****I highly recommend writing in a journal when you go on trips like that. It helps to remember what the hell pictures you took. Also, I highly recommend remembering where you put said journal after your trip is over and making a photobook less than a year after your trip.

In related news....

I have another project that I started. This one is mandatory since it will be showing at my graduation dinner. I'm making a slideshow of all four years of medical school. I KNOW this will be a pain in the ass, but I'm prepared to conquer the challenge!!! I have the right software, most of the pictures, a plan in my head. I'm just waiting for that DVD burner and crossing my fingers that my computer can handle all the work!!

A day to be thankful for...

I woke up today dreading work. My day didn't really start until 10am, which was good, but I knew it would be a long day. The last two weeks have been draining; long hours, patient's health stagnant/unimproved/worsened. Today the first patient I saw was a little old lady who had been on a health rollercoaster; finally getting over one infection and then having to deal with another. She had been depressed over the last week because her status hadn't been improving, she was having some nausea and vomitting and I was scared she would deteriorate over the weekend. I walked into her room to find her sitting up. Her face LIT UP when she saw me. She had this HUGE smile on her face and just looked 100% better; no nausea, no vomiting, tolerating clear liquids and on her way out to be transfered to a long term care facility and out OUT OF THE UNIT(ICU-intensive care unit). It was all I could do to keep from crying. She asked if I was going to see her at the other facility and I told her that my doctor didn't go to that hospital. I told her that she was the highlight of my day and that I was glad that I saw her first. I told her that if I don't see her tomorrow I'd be happy because I know she'd be in a good place, but I'd be sad because I wouldn't see her anymore. It just felt so good.

I know this all sounds sappy but seriously, those moments I spent in the room with her are the moments that remind me why I'm in this profession. It keeps me going after a long day, knowing I have to get up early the next morning.

Plus I got some good news today and I was also able to see my patients, talk to their family and take my time while doing so.

I feel like I've been neglecting this site so I'm forcing myself to blog about random thoughts.

1. I need to watch the movies for Oscars, but I have no time because I just waste my time all day if I'm not doing something that is related to "work."
2. I don't want to go into work tomorrow. I hope my doctor doesn't show up so I can go home early AND not have to look up anything.
3. I'm wondering if I will get any of the things in my post two blogs down done. Well I have to get at least one of them done.
4. I am so freakin lazy right now. Senioritis came early and is getting progressively worse as match day approaches.
5. I'm sad some of my friends are leaving soon to go to residency. We'll all be scattered. :(
6. I'm hungry but it's past my 8pm no eating time. I might just sleep lol.
7. Looking forward to new opportunities.....

Wow, Google really DOES own everything...

Earlier tonight I learned that Google now owns YouTube. Just now, I was just forced by blogger to update my account to the "new version" which allows you to use your Google account information. It was kind of irritating. I mean it's annoying to have to click "old version" vs. "new version" but then they force me to do the new version and I STILL have to click old or new upon sign in. Can I just sign in please?

Ok I thought this was going to be a more interesting blog but really the paragraph above is just what I said in my head. And now I have nothing to say, but at least I blogged! haha.

Too many projects not enough time/motivation...

1. Finish Europe 2004 photobook on Shutterfly. I was supposed to have this finished for my cousin, Melissa's birthday, but that did not happen.

I have arranged all the pictures, however, I need to finish the captions. This requires me to dig up my journal that I wrote on the trip, as I have forgotten the names of certain places we went. Which brings me to....

2. Organize and clean out my cluttered room. This serves multiple purposes. First, I would be able to find my journal for #1(hopefully). Second, it's just good to be clean and organized. and Third, it is part of projects 3 and 4.

3. Install wood laminate flooring upstairs. This won't be happening until April, but I know that date will approach at lightining speed. I researched some of the aspects and wrote down things I need to do. I just have to print the instructions.

What I have to do now is clean out the rooms that we're going to be installing laminate in. First priority is obviously my room because I have the most control over that. I already finished doing one corner of the loft upstairs, but that room should be easy. My mom's room is all her. And the middle room is a half and half deal. I think this will be the most tedious part of this whole process: getting rid of all our junk.

4. Redecorate my room. See, I think this can wait for a while, but if I can manage coordinating this with the wood laminate flooring project, then it might be more practical. I want to repaint my room and make it look more sophisticated.

a. One project for the room is to take all my pictures in my portfolio, print them out
and make them into a collage in one big frame.

I think those are enough/too much for now. I can probably finish #1 by the end of this month. As for #2 I could probably get some headway in February, slowly but surely. The rest are a hefty load so I will just have to get that done when the time comes.

Dr. Nurse

This article was one of the medical news articles on my home page:

Filipino MD Picks Life As Nurse in U.S.

It tells the tale of Elmer Jacinto who trained as a nurse and then doctor in the Philippines. He moved to America in hopes of finding a better future and earning money to send back to his family in the Philippines...but as a nurse.

"A nurse in the Philippines makes $150 to $250 a month; doctors make $300 to $800. But the average registered nurse in the U.S. earns $4,000 a month."

I started think, however, "Why don't these doctors pursue a career in medicine in the U.S.?" It pays even more than a nurse. I could understand that perhaps passing the boards is difficult because of the language barriers, but there are many foreign medical graduates out there practicing medicine just fine. I asked my mom the reason behind the Dr. Nurses. She explained to me that if you're a nurse, you can get petitioned more quickly to work legally in the U.S. than doctors since they are in demand.

Another interesting point the article brought up was that since all these doctors who trained in the Philippines are heading to America for a career in nursing, there is a shortage of doctors in the Philippines, especially in the rural parts. I never really thought about this, but it made me kind of sad. These people are just trying to find a better life for themselves, but in doing so other people are left without healthcare; and those that stayed are being shortchanged even more for doing good. I guess it's just one of those things in healthcare that need a solution, but it will be years before we actually find one, much like the health insurance gap here in the U.S.

27 going on 17

Somehow I thought I would be a little more grown up by the time I hit 27. I think a big part of that is because I still live at home with my mom and my sister, but there are other things too. I know you're not supposed to compare yourself with other people but it's hard not to when you are the outlier in a group of friends. I have friends and family who are planning weddings. Others have bought houses and some are preparing for a move out of state. I have another subset of friends who all have children and husbands to take care of. Most, if not all, have their own places and have independent lives from their families.

Mine is a special situation though. I keep telling myself that, but it doesn't help make it any less..."ok" for lack of a better word. There are various reasons why I choose to/feel like I have to stay living at home. For one, it's easier on my family if I'm home and able to babysit my sister as needed. Another reason is that it's just more practical for me to live here. I'm saving about 10 grand in rent a year, and I'm sure living alone wouldn't make me feel any less lonely than I already am. So in the end, I think it's the right decision. I love my family and consider them a priority. It's just hard to feel like an adult when you live under your mom's roof.

The only thing holding onto my adulthood is the fact that I'm going to be a doctor in 5 months and earning money in 7 months. Hopefully things will change by then. I'm planning on revamping my moms house with new flooring and also redecorating my room. I don't know what that will do, but it gives me a sense of change; a newness to it all. I just feel stagnant even though i'm "going places." I might as well try and take charge of the situation instead of sitting here feeling sorry for myself.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I figured the start of 2007 warranted a post. This year will hold several milestones in my life.

Milestones of 2007
1. 10 years out of high school
2. Graduating from medical school and FINALLY becoming a "doctor"
3. Starting residency, which will determine the next 3 years of my life
a. internship year: the hardest year of residency
4. Taking Step 3 of boards, the last and final one!!! (This might happen in 2008 but if i'm ambitious maybe 2007?)
5. 3 weddings(that I know I'm going to), 2 of which I'm a bridesmaid...this number could climb
6. Trips planned: Hawaii and the Philippines!

Ok I thought there were more than that but 2 and 3 are biggies so they take up like top 5 haha.

Looking back....

2006 was an interesting year. It was the first year in a LONG time that had been completely single. I think it went by so fast because there was so much sh*t going on. But, see, I survivied and made some good memories along the way.

Milestones of 2006
1. Studied for, took and passed Step 2 Clinical and Written boards
2. Residency applications and interviews, which will continue through the new year.
3. 3 weddings, 1 of which I was a bridesmaid: most weddings I've been to in a year.
4. Finished 9(+/-) clinical rotations
5. Bought an iPod
6. Trips: Philadelphia, PA and Plymouth, Michigan...does two trips to Vegas count too?

Seriously that's all I can remember from 2006. Isn't that sad? hehe.

Happy New Year everyone. Hope this turns out to be a good one for all of us!

One mention of Jerry Springer....

I'm working at an outpatient office with a doc who is originally from Cincinati, OH. I had mentioned to him yesterday that I was going to see the Dancing with the Stars on tour at the Staples center. This morning he asked me how it was and asked who was there. The subject eventually found its way to Jerry Springer. He proceeded to tell me about how sleezy he was. He used to be the mayor of Cincinati until he was caught with a prostitute. Apparently the mayor of Cincinati is more like a "for looks" kind of thing and he really just does PR for the city and the city manager does everything. According to my doc, Jerry freqented a nearby Kentucky city that had all kinds of strip clubs and the like.

Ironically enough, in the next door office that he shares with a family physician, a fight ensued between the MA secretary(pink girl) and the other MA(blue girl). I guess blue girl attacked pink girl and they started going at it...AT WORK! My doc says the girls never liked each other. At any rate, someone's gonna get fired. Their doc isn't in the office, but my doc is going to call him and let him know of the situation.

JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!