My Own Grey's Anatomy Episode

Nobody likes to be sick or spend some time at a hospital. As kids, we would always give our parents a hard time in taking that raspberry-flavored cough syrup. We would fear and oftentimes end up crying whenever we need an injection. And we hate visits to the doctor, especially having to wait long before we get our turn. As we become grown-ups, our worries go beyond injections, bad-tasting medicines and doctor visits… we become more conscious with our health yet we are never excused from getting sick and spending time at a hospital…

March 19, early Monday morning, I got up having a headache from a bad chain of dreams and fever due to my cough & cold that have gotten worse since Saturday evening. I knew I wasn’t feeling well and despite mom having prepared my breakfast already, I opted to return to bed and not to go to work. When I finally got up to eat some breakfast it wasn’t long till I felt nauseous and soon my vision faded to blackout for a minute. I thought I was going blind, but soon the images went clear and after which was extremely perspiring like I’ve just run a mile. With mom, kuya, and my trusty health card, I was brought to the doctor for a check-up. Doctor said it was probably just because I abruptly got up from lying on bed that caused the momentary blackout. I was given a new set of medicines and after which, it was decided that I just take my rest at home. After almost 8 hours only, I experienced the brief vision blackout again. We returned to the hospital I was taken that morning. My blood pressure went low while my body temperature was high. Despite no obvious and serious life threat, I decided to be confined to have a better rest and medical attention in my own private room at the hospital.

After 3 days and 2 nights (though officially the bill stated only two days) in room 2, four bags of dextrose and about a dozen of temperature and BP checks by different nurses, I was discharged and I realized many things out of this experience. From simple ones like how hospital food are well-prepared and actually tasted good… how the dextrose attached on my left hand could be uncomfortable after a few days… to deeper matters, like how a mother selflessly attends to their sick children even if they’ve grown adults now… and how relatives are there to give emotional support when one is sick while some others we expect aren’t. Most importantly, I realized that this hospital experience is good but I don’t think it’s one of those experiences I’d like to go through all over again, because as anyone would want, I’d rather stay healthy.

As cliché as it sounds, health is really wealth. Nobody likes to be sick or spend some time at a hospital but even if we unconsciously try to avoid these from happening… one time or many times in our lives we will experience them and will teach us a lesson or two about our lives.

Between Last Night’s Hangout and This Morning’s Hangover

I was back hanging out in By the Bay at Island Cove with a different set of college friends last night. Judie, Anne, Jhing, Sheena, Rodel (who introduce us to this beach-themed bar) and I had our post-Valentine's celebration there a few weeks ago.This time, interestingly, only Rodel and I are the ones who have been there before while Jhoy, Wewe, Gladys and Jane were able to join us to commemorate the first year anniversary of our college graduation.

It turned out to be the official press conference for Jane's recent personal trial as well. Things were revealed last night, and somehow half of the mystery that surrounded the reason for this sad happening has been unveiled.

Personally, the second visit in By the Bay wasn’t as good as my first time. I wasn't feeling physically well since that morning, and it was extremely breezy when we were there that it aggravated my health condition. I didn't enjoy the food too, although we ordered the same as previous. The baked mussels, in particular I think, triggered me to have a nasty vomit, and thank God I was able to make it to the CR before I messed up and Rodel was there with me.

No doubt, I was that night's kill joy. I initially agreed to stay overnight at Rodel's place so that we friends can have more bonding time, but after that nasty puke, I knew it would be best that I just go home.

Gladys and I went on our respective houses while the four stayed for the night at Rodel’s. I was feeling better when I got up this morning although I still have such a bad hangover. I got a text message from Jane, telling me that they were with ‘someone-I-would-like-to-see' in the jeepney on their way to Malabon last night. Taking about coincidence, if only I wasn’t feeling ill last night, I would have gone with them to Rodel’ house as planned and had that chance in a lifetime to see this person I have not seen for more than a year. I am having a bit of regret, until I realized that this person might not be ready to see me either. Bottom line is, it wasn’t just meant to be.

My Palm That Doesn't Sweat

03.05.07. I finally purchased a Palm z22- not the most high-tech gadget out there and definitely an inexpensive one but something I've always wanted to own.

In the past several weeks, I've been contemplating much on what investment I'll get in time before coming bonus-a Sony Erricsson phone, an Ipod shuffle/nano, a Gameboy, a digital camera or a PDA. The last I found most practical since I like doing secretarial stuffs (setting dates, making to-do lists, writing notes) and for the simple reason that I wanted to make my life more organized.

Practicality, distinctiveness and budget were major players in my decision making. After several googling for product information and user reviews for Palm z22, realizing that I cannot afford the higher models (like the Palm Treo 680--which was on ny Xmas wishlist) and finding out in www.complink.com.ph that its price has been reduced by a thousand pesos, I finally bought it and I am now a few thousands poorer .

I did make a review of this gadget in a tech website; you may click on this link if you’re curious:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Palm_Z22/4852-3127_7-31546758.html?tag=srtdate&ord=creationDate+desc

Break Again

When two people in love break up and they’re both your friends, which side do you take, the one who called for a break-up for an undisclosed reason or the one who didn’t see a break-up coming?

The answer would be very easy but I guess as a friend, you should know how to place yourself in this kind of situation. A saying goes like ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but since the relationship is already broken, ‘if it ain’t you who broke it leave the fixing to the ones who caused it’. In the process, I realized that a break-up is something personal, something that shouldn’t be pressured by people outside that broken relationship. None of those two people owe their friends an explanation unless they want to. But what should be expected from a concerned friend?

A friend enters the picture once there is a breakdown and not during a break-up. A friend stays behind and not ahead and hopes that moving on will come easy for each and everyone.