Crappy Birthday to Me

I'll be honest, it's been very hard to celebrate today. Today began in a particularly craptastic fashion, what with flunking a practical driving test after I took leave especially so I could take it. (Don't ask.) A fairly minor mishap in the greater scheme of things, but on top of growing a year older, all alone and far away from all the people I would want to celebrate with... the end result wasn't pretty.

It's so much easier to wallow. But as a wise friend recently told me, the only person who can create joy for me is me... and it's something that I have to work on, as well, for the sake of my sanity. And I figured I'd start by trying to change my perspective - at the very least of this day.

On the upside, I did get a whole lot of Facebook greetings from friends from afar, a few unexpected phone calls, and a pizza and pavlova dinner surprise from my surrogate family in Perth to sort of make up for the disaster that was my birthday. In the light of all that, despite my downward spiral into stress-induced depression, things weren't quite so bad.

It's a common wisdom that one of the most effective ways to get a better perspective on life is to celebrate all the things one should be grateful for. Given my propensity for utter negativity these days, I figured tonight - on the eve of yet another birthday - I would make an effort to celebrate the things that I am grateful for.


Here's my (very random) list!

- Both my parents, alive and reasonably healthy, albeit hundreds of miles away
- A warm and supportive extended family, both here in Aussie and in Manila
- A group of friends in my adopted city that has become my family away from home
- A growing number of godchildren!
- A full-time job that lets me earn a decent living
- Having a decent place to stay for a bargain price!
- Living near the water (something I have always dreamed of doing)
- being reasonably healthy - if not as fit as I was a few months ago
- Being alive.

Yes, I have quite a bit to be grateful for.


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Lemonade Love

I'm ending my blogging hiatus - partly due to life-induced writer's block and partly due to being totally inundated with Facebook tags - to say thanks to Marj for this lemonade love she sent me for having a blog with "attitude and gratitude."

I can't say I've been sporting much of an attitude here these days - I've been a touch confused about life lately, hence the utter wasteland that is my creative life. But I am most definitely filled with gratitude for this wonderful affirmation from a spunky blogger and blog buddy whose entries I always enjoy. Hugs to you, Marj!

I've always blogged mainly for the catharsis of it - which is why my little corner of cyberspace has always been as random as I am in real life - and because I have always loved to write. I never expected it to last for as long as it has, nor have I expected to have found so many kindred souls through it who are actually happy to take this journey of growth along with me. And those are more things, huge things, that I am most certainly grateful for.

Now for my turn to spread the love... I am giving my lemonade love to:

1. Megamom - my once-teacher and life-mentor, who juggles the chaos that is her life with triplets and a full-time career with unflappable grace.

2. Manggy - who shares his love for food and life in this visually satisfying but hunger-inducing blog

3. Panaderos - whose insightful entries are bakery goodies of wisdom.

4. Iris - who's spunky and sassy and making her way through life heart-whole

5. Jean - who's always big on honesty and an attitude to die for

6. Abaniko - whose lovely photos of places he's been always inspire a tug of envy but more a dollop of gratitude about being alive in such a wonderful world.

7. Pepper - the ultimate Miss Positive powered by her faith;

8. Merry Cherry - who is following her heart into service to our countrymen.

9. Woobie - no one does attitude like Woobie does. :) No one. When it comes to romance matters, I want to be her when I grow up!

10. Honey - whose attitude towards living life to the fullest cannot be beat. I miss you, sis!

Your turn to spread the lemonade love!

Here are the rules:
1. put the logo on your blog or post
2. nominate at least 10 blogs, which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. be sure to link to your nominees within your post and let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog
4. share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.
5. How did you get a great attitude and gratitude

Okay... blogging done, off to yoga now. Have a good Sunday everyone! Click here to read the rest of this post.

My Wish-I-Had-These List

from flickr

Because it was just my birthday yesterday, I am giving myself license to be completely shallow today. And what better way to indulge in my utter shallowness than to make a list of the material things on my wish-list?

Of course I know that the likelihood of my getting any of the items on my list from someone else is nil to negative. Everything here can be purchased on-line - so if on the very, very off-chance someone feels the urge to get me an extremely generous gift, you can contact me for my snail mail address through this form. Just kidding!

On the other hand, it's always free to dream. Without further ado, in no particular order... here my is Top 5!




1. A 3M Littmann Cardiology III stethoscope - Since, if my Perth trip pushes through, I will be handling both pediatric and adult patients - this steth is perfect for me because it has a listening piece for both kids and adults.












2. My own digital SLR - I've been suffering from serious camera envy these days. Travel to gorgeous destinations + DSLR = potentially gorgeous pictures. While my point and shoot does quite nicely, I want to learn how to do this on a higher level!






3. A new PDA (Palm TX) - With the advent of smart phones, PDA units are becoming passe, but I've never liked placing all of my eggs in one basket. My phone is a phone, but my PDA... it's a must-have! I've had one on and off since I started residency, and it stores dozens of textbooks and formulas that I can carry in my pocket. Unfortunately my last one got stolen in the PGH emergency room, 4 days after I bought it. They're notoriously difficult to find locally these days - so if any of you know where I can get one, please contact me so I can look into it!






4. 80GB iPod classic - I love my click wheel 2nd (or is it 3rd) generation 20GB iPod, which has been my best friend for 3 years and is still serving me well despite being chewed on by our pug. But if I had the chance I would love to upgrade - more space, more music, more love!






5. a candy pink VAIO laptop - Isn't it just the cutest? And it's loaded, too! :) Enough said.







On a more serious note, I can say with conviction that it was a great year for me. Career milestones achieved, new friends made, old friends rediscovered, good health for me and my loved ones, beautiful places visited, the potential for something new - one blessing after another. God has been exceedingly generous, and I thank Him for a life rich with what is priceless.

Truthfully, I don't think I can ask for more.

Many, many thanks to everyone who sent messages, good wishes, and hugs to me via the gamut of electronic media we have today! May all the good wishes and prayers come back to you a hundred-fold.

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Party 101!

Hey, folks, there's a party in my Middle of Nowhere!

No, not because it's my birthday (that's still a few days away and another celebration altogether). It's because my blog has passed its 100th post mark - this is my 101st post. Welcome to Party Central 101!

I can't mark my blog's existence in years because you can see from the archive list that it's been around since 2005 - so technically it's over 3 years old. But I wanted a blog milestone to celebrate since I really just started blogging 6 months ago. Hence this big hullabaloo for reaching post number 100.

I initially started this blog to be a repository of random thoughts and gripes - and also as a means to practice my rusty writing skills. However, since I really got into blogging, this blog has evolved into a place to meet people of differing opinions and a place where I have learned much over these past few months. I've been having so much fun! Even if I've been confined to my very little corner of the blogosphere, it's been a really great place to be.

It's pretty obvious to regular visitors - (wowee, I still can't wrap my head around the concept of regular visitors I've never actually met!) - that this blog is still suffering from serious blogizophrenia. Personal diary one moment, travel blog the next - my thoughts bounce off the walls of this pinball mind of mine and posts come from all over the place. I am, as one of my new on-line friends, Linc, puts it - blogging in the "me niche."

However, despite my blog's needing a serious dose of direction, there are still people who come - and stay! So I'd like to thank everyone who reads my posts and engages me in a conversation every now and then. It's great to know that I'm not all alone my middle of nowhere in the blogosphere! I'm even more amazed to realize that while I started doing this to keep in touch with my friends, I've actually ended up making new ones through this blog - and that's really double the blessing.

So I'd like to give some (link) love to the people who have taken the time to regularly read and comment on my posts, to tag and be tagged back, to link and react, and who have become an informal circle of friends for me on-line - Manggy, Em Dy, Ris, Woobie, Panaderos, Mari, Ness, Joey, Marj, Megamom, Vanessa, all my fellow doctors from The Blog Rounds, and everyone who has ever made a comment that I haven't enumerated here. Thank you so much for your visits - and I look forward to having you guys around for the next 100 posts!

Oh, yeah... I'm not really sure what this means since I haven't really thought seriously about monetizing this site, but there is one additional thing to celebrate about aside from this being party 101 central.

Would you believe it? For a blog that started out as a means to find my way out of my quarter-life conundrum, that's not so bad at all. :)

So pull a chair, have a slice of cake, and blow out the candles with your hopelessly lost but happy hostess. The champagne is free flowing, and so is the beer - and whatever poison you may want to overload on. It's time to party!
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