100 Truths About Me

I know I shouldn't indulge my emotional exhibitionism more than I already am, but these tags are just so hard to resist sometimes!

Marj, knowing my Achilles' Heel and guilty pleasure, has sent me a king-sized one to romp around on.

001. Name → Mariclaire (no, it's NOT Marie Claire, it's not Mary Claire - I have yet to see someone with a spelling like mine. It's good in theory to have a uniquely spelled name, but you won't believe the troubles I run into when I'm applying for official stuff. News Bulletin, folks, I've been in school for more than half my life... I know how to spell my own name!)

002. Nickname(s)→ Claire, Clairebear, Cleng (don't start!)

004. Zodiac sign → I am a textbook Taurus

005. Male or female → Guess. :P

006. Elementary, 007. Middle School, 008. High School → Poveda Learning Centre

009. College School - University of the Philippines Diliman for pre-med... then UP Manila for medical school and residency (12 years in the UP system, my gyud!)

010. Hair color → Dark brown

011. Long or short → super long now. I can't wait to get home and get a styled cut!

012. Loud or Quiet → Loud. Sometimes my friends wish I have a volume-control knob. It comes from being a part of a loud and argumentative family.

013. Jumpers or Jeans → Jeans! (Will anyone really answer otherwise?)

014. Phone or Camera → depends where I am, what I'm doing, and what my mood is. :)

015. Health freak → I try! But I can't shake the poor eating habits...

016. Drink or Smoke? → smoke, never. drink, when the occasion arises, I drink a fair bit.

017. Do you have a crush on someone? → Are we talking celebrity crush or real-life crush? I *heart* Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) from Supernatural. As for a real life crush, my life is totally devoid of regularly seen eye candy at this time...

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → The only ones, actually. Both earlobes, as soon as I was born. And I have no plans of getting any more, thank you very much.

024. First best friend → Angel, our next door neighbor. We've lost touch, though. :(


025. First award → good question. I cannot for the life of me remember! :)

026. First crush → I started fairly late, celebrity crushes or otherwise! I remember finding Charlie Sheen really cute a long, looooong time ago - when I was 11, I think.

027. First pet → we've always had dogs at home. Lady, our German Shepherd, was probably the earliest one I could remember.

028. First big vacation → Melbourne, Australia, 1982.

030. First big birthday → My 18th birthday (come out party), complete with the princess gown and the cotillion de honor. If only I didn't let myself be steamrolled into picking lilac as theme - I wanted blue! But it turned out nice anyway. The most fun I've had in a party without any alcohol! ;P

CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → leftover vegetarian pizza for breakfast(i know, i know - why did i bother, right?)

050. Drinking → a can of Coke Zero - my caffeine shot for the morning

052. I'm about to → take a shower and prepare for work (bummer!)

053. Listening to → the sound of that strong wind howling outside

054. Plans for today → Work, do a light work out at the gym on the elliptical machine and lift some weights, have an early night because I'm working Saturday, too.

055. Waiting for → my housemate to get out of the shower so I can use it.

YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → I think so. Though raising one seems like a terrifying idea.

059. Want to get married? → I think so. Not quite yet, though. Not just because I haven't found the right person (which is a pretty valid reason!), but because I've just learned to really enjoy being single. I'm just going with the flow in regards to this issue these days...

060. Careers in mind → Already a doctor and internist... but as to where I want to practice? still all the way up in the air.

WHICH IS BETTER IN THE BOY/GIRL YOU LIKE?
**Hypothetically...

068. Lips or eyes → Eyes. I like the deep dark eyes of my Asian origins, but if I go Caucasian, I am very partial to blue.

070. Shorter or taller - Taller than me. That won't be so hard!

072. Romantic or spontaneous → A bit of both, I think. But if i had to pick one, spontaneous. I don't think pathologic planners would appreciate my flights of randomness...

073. Nice stomach or nice arms → It doesn't really matter much, really. :P

074. Sensitive or loud → A sense of humor that I get!

075. Hook-up or relationship → I don't think I am capable of a casual hook-up. I tend to get attached!

076. Trouble maker or hesitant → a bit of a trouble maker, but not a too-serious one. I sometimes need a bit of a push to try to new things outside my comfort zone!

HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → Don't wear either.

081. Ran away from home → Never. No enough of a rebel, I'm afraid!

082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → Our nanny once gave my sister and I a knife each when we wouldn't stop fighting and told us to kill each other. It was a pretty effective way of getting us both to stop.

083. Killed somebody → When you're starting out as a doctor, there's always a part of you that blames yourself for everything that goes wrong.

084. Broke someone's heart → Probably not.

085. Been arrested → Never. I have managed to wheedle my way out of traffic violations here and there, though.

087. Cried when someone died → Always.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → On occasion. Most of the time, I always think the worst.

090. Miracles → Yes. Some things feel too much like "gift" to be coincidence.

091. Love at first sight → No, I think it's just a Hollywood ploy. How can you love someone you don't know? How can you know someone you've just met?

092. Heaven → Yes

093. Santa Claus → until I was 7 and I caught my parents out.

094. Tooth Fairy → Never. I missed out on that particular money making scheme!

095. Kiss on the first date - I don't know... probably not. Conservative! ;P Then again...


I ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → I can give you a whole list... not hard to do when you live so far from home.

098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → At the moment, yes! But I'm beginning to feel a familiar restlessness coming on...

099. Do you believe in God → Yes

What happened to number 100? Oh, I'm supposed to tag people. Anyone who wants to grab the tag can grab it... come on, you know you want to!

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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.

Seven

These Facebook note tags are getting a little bit out of hand for me - probably because my FB friends (of which there is a ridiculously large number - not that I'm complaining) have hit on my weakness for answering almost any tag that's sent to me.

This one, though, was interesting enough to steal off my friend's page and do voluntarily. Having done it voluntarily didn't mean I wasn't going to tag anyone else to do it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure anyone I've tagged on FB for this one has done it. I was hoping the people I tagged would answer them, too - because I really do like to knowing what their personal sevens will be. :)) What can I say? I'm a tag addict.

So I am tagging another seven of my blog buddies and friends for this interesting little tag - Merry Cherry, Marj, Iris, Abaniko, Ann, Ness, and my cousin Anna. Looking forward to reading about your "Sevens!"

Seven Things That Scare Me

1) Dying utterly alone - I've seen this recently, and it's the saddest thing ever

2) Taking risks

3) Being the only doctor in a plane where there's a medical emergency taking place

4) Making a horrendously wrong decision - whether it's professional or personal

5) Going into a coma (persistent vegetative state) for years and years - if this ever happens to me, and you know I can't be pulled out of it, please pull the plug on aggressive life support and let me go. Seriously. This is not life, it's living death, and I want no part of it.

6) Having kids and raising them to become as neurotic as me

7) Heights. I can't do heights.



Seven Things I Like The Most

1) Being at the beach - any season, any time, with friends or alone.

2) Coffee or a meal with friends, topped by lots of laughter and good conversation.

3) Days off!

4) Traveling. There's so much beauty to be seen in the world, and I can't get enough of it.

5) Driving - as long as there is no bumper-to-bumper traffic. It's motor therapy. My car is my inner psychiatrist's couch, my concert hall, and my happy place. Yes, even when I get lost.

6) Doing nothing, just being.

7) The effects of alcohol - when taken in moderation.



Seven Random Facts About Me

1) I have wheedled, argued, and flashed my MD license and talked my way out of getting any traffic tickets in Manila - and am currently batting at a 100%. Unfortunately, you can't do that here in Perth!

2) I read my first grown-up romance novel when I was ten (what can I say, I was precocious) and have been a bit of an addict ever since.

3) My caffeine shot for the morning is usually taken from a 300ml bottle of Diet Coke Lime or Coke Zero.

4) I’m shy around new people - seriously. The strange thing is, I would rather speak in public to a big audience or sing onstage than meet new people.

5) I like sleeping with lots and lots of pillows. The minimum number for me is always two - one to lie on and one to hug.

6) I was always one of the last kids to be chosen for kickball - or any sport for that matter. Hmmm... why is that translating into my real life at this age?

7) I used to speak in rapid-fire English when I was ticked off or upset when I was back home. Now that I speak English most of the time, I find that I lose my English when I'm ticked off or upset and revert to Filipino instead. Weird!



Seven Important Things In My Bedroom

1) My passport

2) My iPod and the cheap dock I play it on

3) My expanding file - which contains all my documents and records from back home

4) My laptop

5) Medical books - Murtagh, Current Peds, and Volume 2 of my beloved Harry (Harrison's Principles of IM)

6) My heaps of pillows

7) Aromatherapy candles



Seven Things I Plan To Do Before I Die

1) See as much of the world as possible.

2) Scuba dive. At least once.

3) Do something reckless and totally out of character - and not when I'm drinking, okay!

4) Fall in love, utterly, utterly - without caring if I land in one big splat. (I have yet to meet anyone who can make me feel this way)

5) Write a novel

6) Learn to lapdance. Seriously. :) Or at least take one lesson!

7) Live by the sea. To literally have the sea in my backyard.




Seven Things I Can Do

1) Run 5 kilometers - on a good day. On a bad day, I struggle to even get to 3. How am I ever going to get to 10!

2) Sing!

3) Be drunk and passed out at 4AM and still be up at 7AM and at the gym working out by 830. (Yes, this has actually happened.)

4) Cook a very good lasagna.

5) Sound quite intelligent about something that I have no idea about.

6) Have "dumb blonde" moments quite often.

7) Touch my tongue to my chin - but not to my nose.



Seven Things I Can’t Do

1) Stick to a strict diet. I love my junk too much.

2) Dance - but these days I'm doing it at the gym anyway. ;P It's heaven working out somewhere you are so sure you won't bump into anyone you know!

3) Get rid of my tummy, no matter how hard I try. *sigh*

4) Express myself when the issue is an emotional one. I just tend to hold it in and be frustrated.

5) Stop crying once I get started. Which is why I hate to cry.

6) Drive like a guy. I admit it, I am someone who gives women drivers a bad name.

7) Do something without overanalyzing it to death first.



Seven Things That Attract Me To The Opposite Sex

1) A sense of humor that jives with mine. He has to be able to make me laugh!

2) A fair degree of intelligence or at least street smarts. We have to have interesting conversations, and he has to be able to stand up to me in an argument.

3) He's someone I should be able to look up to and respect.

4) A good smile and nice eyes.

5) Someone who can sing or play an instrument always has heaps of bonus points from me.

6) Treats his mom, sisters, and girl friends well, without exception.

7) Someone who's responsible, goal-directed, and knows what he wants out of life. (It sort of balances out my indecisiveness.)


Seven Things I Say The Most

1) "Fudge!" (curse substitute!)

2) "I'll do (supply verb here) after 5 minutes." (And then after 5 minutes, I ask myself for 5 more minutes... the mark of a true procrastinator.)

3) "We'll see how it goes..." (This is very catch-all!)

4) "Bloody (supply noun here)!" (Yes, I use "bloody" - pretentious-sounding as it may be with my confused Pinoy accent and I have been using it for years, long before I came to live here. I picked it up from my Oz uncle on the many visits I did before actually coming to stay.)

5) "Oh... my... God...!" (Pauses are included for emphasis.)

6) "Have a good day!" (My new automatic "goodbye" to complete strangers - something I have learned to do over here.)

7) "What the...!"


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More Tag - 25 Random Facts About Me

I used to think that this whole tag business was confined to the blogging world, but lately several of my friends on Facebook have tagged me with this 25 Random Facts tag. I figured it was time to do the tag and tag back. I remember already doing a 10 Random Facts tag here a few months back, but I figure that since I'm doing this one for my FB network, I might as well post it for my blog buddies to feast on as well. As for tagging my 25 - already done that... but you're free to grab the tag if you want to do it, too.

At the very least, it will get my mood up... I hope. It's not easy settling back into real life after being oversaturated by the sight of beautiful places - post-travel blues.

Copy. Paste. Share your 25 and tag 25.

1. I am currently suffering from serious post-travel blues at the moment. Coming home after a great trip is always a bit of a let-down.

2. I love my Body Balance classes at the gym and am thinking of doing serious yoga one of these days.

3. I was almost cast as Nova Villa and Freddie Webb's little girl in the sitcom "Chicks to Chicks" when I was five - only I suffered from a serious case of stage fright when I saw the studio lights.

4. My latest driving credits include country driving at 120 kph for at least 200 kilometers from Konojup to Armadale. Yes, granny driver Claire now knows how to zoom-zoom down the highway, yeah!

5. I love the beach and the ocean at any season, not just to swim but to simply watch the world go by. It's my recovery room. I just visited some of the best beaches I have ever seen this weekend... I wish I could have stayed at any one of them forever.

6. I have become a bit obsessive about facial sunblock since I moved to Australia. I need a supply!

7. I still have no idea what I will be doing a year from now, where I will be doing it, and whether or not what I will be doing will lead me to home. It's quite an experience living from one day to another...

8. I miss my spur-of-the-moment coffee dates with the Five O'Clock Club or my other girl friends at Starbucks. But I'm glad that I have new friends here to share coffee with when I really need it.

9. I can spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing important. I'm a professional time-waster!

10. I don't like taking risks in anything and always like going for the "sure thing." So it's nice when circumstances sometimes force me to be a bit more spontaneous - which is what this year is really all about.

11. I have more regrets that are tied to the things I didn't do rather than the things I have done. I'm hoping I can reverse that ratio as the years go by - because it would mean that I'm actually learning to live my life rather then continuing to hedge my bets.

12. I am a cynical romantic. I believe in happy endings and forever, but I'm also very pragmatic about the whole romance process and tend to keep my expectations low. Yes, I subscribe to the gospel of "He's Just Not That Into You!"

13. I haven't gotten past running 4 kilometers for the past few weeks and here I am hoping I can do a 10 kilometer run by April. ASA PA AKO!

14. I hate change. I like security and certainty and making plans - which made me a little square stuck in a deep rut for a good long while. But, thanks to my new moves, times are changing. I've come a long way, baby!

15. I have been in one major car accident (a school bus wreck when I was five - I got windshield glass in my forehead) and am crossing my fingers that I have reached my quota for a lifetime.

16. I used to cry over my patients and thought I'd gotten over it after residency - but apparently, there are still some patient stories that can pull me towards the brink of doing so.

17. I would like to be able to see a good deal of the world before I die. I would like to be able to see a huge chunk of Australia before I go home (if I decide not to settle here). I love to travel!

18. I have an addiction to pulp fiction - bestselling romance novels and murder mysteries being on the top tier.

19. My top 3 comfort foods used to be ice cream, premium chocolate, and cheesecake. These days it's my pork rasher adobo or Woodies roast chicken in spicy Mang Tomas lechon sauce. Tastes like home!

20. I rarely watch TV but when I do, it's more likely to be a crime show or procedural. I love mysteries - probably the influence of all the Nancy Drew I read when I was in 3rd grade.

21. I used to read the encyclopedia for fun. What a nerdy kid! Thankfully, I outgrew THAT eccentricity.

22. I've been meaning to learn more constellations for years, but for some reason I've never gotten around to spotting anything other than Orion (which for some odd reason, people here call the Saucepan).

23. If I ever get married, I'd rather elope and then spend all the moolah we saved on a big wedding on a major travelfest of a honeymoon - maybe somewhere in Europe... Venice comes to mind.

24. One of my biggest dreams is to have a house by a beautiful beach someday. I would love to be able to wake up to the sound of the ocean and a sea breeze every morning!

25. Since the start of this year, I've been trying to work my way out of the box and live my life from experience to experience, triumphs and heartaches included. So far, it's been a very interesting ride - and I'm glad I've finally decided to take it.
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The Alphabet Tag

My blog buddy Marj sent me my first meme of the year, and I figured I'd take a break from contemplating my status as a figurative "dumb blond" by playing along.

(Who am I kidding? I love doing this!)

So... here's the ABC of everything about me.

A. Attached or single?
Do I even have to answer this question?

B. Best friend?
Isa, who became my friend in college, and is the most collected, together, and serene person I know. She's the perfect foil to my scatter-brained, flustered, hyper self. I miss her heaps.

C. Cake or pie?
Cake! Cheesecake, mudcake, shortcake...

D. Day of choice?
A perfect day on a perfect beach.

E. Essential item?
My iPod. Mobile phones are a dime a dozen, but I'd be devastated if I lost my iPod!

F. Favorite color?
I love blue, but I find my closet is currently stocked with different shades of pink. How did that happen?

G. Gummy bears or worms?
Gummy bears!

H. Hometown?
Manila

I. Favorite indulgence?
A full body massage at In Sense spa (which I haven't had since I got here!)

J. January or July?
January. July always brings nasty weather - whether it's in Manila or Perth.

K. Kids?
Hope so!

L. Life isn’t complete without?
Quality alone time.

M. Marriage date?
I stopped giving myself a deadline years ago!

N. Number of magazine subscriptions?
None.

O. Orange or apple?
Apples

P. Phobias?
I don't like heights.

Q. Quotes?
Don't really have one.

R. Reasons to smile?
There are heaps! It's just a matter of looking for them. :)

S. Season of choice?
Fall, in a place where the leaves turn. I love the colors of autumn!

T. Tag 5 people -
Raymond, Sonny, Jean, Pepper, and Marlowe

U. Unknown fact about me?
I can drink half of a 750ml bottle of Absolut Vodka and still be (somewhat) lucid by the end of the night.

V. Vegetable?
Sun-dried tomatoes (yes, I know it's technically a fruit, but humor me.)

W. Worst habit?
Jeez, I have to pick one? They're all terrible! Erm... nail biting to the point of bleeding. (Gross, I know...)

X. X-ray or ultrasound?
Huh?

Y. Your favorite food(s)?
Dessert. Any kind. To my detriment.

Z. Zodiac sign
Taurus (and I'm a textbook one).

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Back from the Tag Grave

Due to my status as an adjusting ex-pat, my blog life hasn't been quite as active as it's been. I am touched and gratified that people (Manggy in particular!) continue to visit and comment despite my being so delinquent. As a way of saying thanks, I'm playing a bit of tag with some of you - using something I've blatantly tagged myself from Abaniko's site.

The tag: Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know each of them a little bit better.

Family.

Friends.

Myself.

Love.

Anything.

I tag Panaderos, Ris, Em Dy, Woobie, and Ness for this one.

Okay, now back to regular ex-pat-Pinay-doctor-adjusting-to-life-abroad programming! :)

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Tagged Again - 10 Random Facts About Me

with my batchmates during our oath taking as diplomates in internal medicine

I should really be sleeping right now because I'm driving early tomorrow morning (no rest for the wicked!), but my friend Renee sent me this tag, and I don't like putting it off for too long. It's really pretty simple - just a request for 10 random facts about me.

The rules?

• Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
• At the end of your blog post, you need to choose ten people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don't forget to leave them a comment telling they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Here goes!

1. I am actually the eldest of 3 children. Of course my friends are quick to say I'm more like a youngest than an eldest, but that's just them picking on me as usual.

2. I once sang for a singing contest held at the SM Megamall Building A atrium when I was in high school.

3. I've appeared on TV a few times, thanks to my aunt's old showbiz connections. My longest appearance was as a guest anchor on the long-since-defunct Junior Newswatch when I was ten. The most memorable one was when I sang for a local Christmas special when I was fifteen - I even got to record the track for the show in a real studio!

4. I love the beach! (Stating the obvious here!) And I love the water... yes, despite the fact that I almost drowned when I was 6.

5. I love to dance the swing (the 70's kind) - but not much else!

6. I once wanted to be a romance novelist when I grew up... now I dream of becoming a travel writer after I retire from medicine.

7. I customize the colors of my highlighters. (I will demonstrate how I do this in a future post one of these days. What can I say? Geek! Geek!)

8. I am a certified bookworm. I eat, breathe, and sleep books of all kinds. I'd rather read than do anything.

9. I have worn the UP medicine toga thrice in my lifetime (for college grad, university grad, and for diplomate oath-taking) - and I still haven't figured out what side the tassel should be on. (see photo above)

10. I only learned how to bike when I was in high school... and since it's been more than a decade since I've been on one, I'm not sure I still know how.

I tag... anyone who wants to grab this tag. :) But I may make a real list in a few days, when I am feeling less sleepy and more inclined to do some link love.

Good night!

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Thanks, But No Thanks

The world in your hands by Kelsievent

I'm on my way to a convention, so I only have enough time for a quick post.

My colleague and co-TBR member, Joey, sent me this little tag a while back. I've been meaning to answer it but putting it off because I have no idea how to! Well, here's a shot at it.

If you were the ruler of the world and you could have anything you wanted as well as have people do anything you wanted, do you think you would get greedy and mean or would you be a good and fair ruler?

Frankly, this post was hard for me because I have never entertained any ambition to achieve world domination - and it's hard for me to understand someone who would. Being a live and let live kind of person, I wouldn't know what to do with absolute power. I'd be more likely to give it away to everyone else as soon as I got it. Nonetheless, I don't think anyone can predict what the answer to this question until he or she is suddenly given this responsibility.

I'd like to think that I would never fall into the "greedy and mean" category, but if I use my power to grant a few big favors here and there to the people I love over other people I don't know, how does this make me different from the people who do?

Over lunch yesterday, Ei, my idealistic lawyer friend, and I were discussing Philippine politics today. I posed to her the question - "How can these [corrupt] people in office live with themselves when the poverty of the people they are sworn to serve is blatantly staring them in the face?"

Where do they get their sense of entitlement? Where do they get their nerve? Did they start out as well-meaning idealists before they became corrupted by the power they were given as a means to serve? Were they changed from people who sought these posts to change the lives of others into people who now only look out for themselves?

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Wistfully Seeking Happily Ever After

photo from deviant art

Ris gave me an idea for a pretty thought-provoking, candid post without having to write too coherently. For someone who's wired on too little sleep after waking up way too early, it was a godsend.

I know, I know, you're thinking, "What another meme?" Not exactly. But humor me... it really does get interesting. And since Ris didn't really tag me, I'm not obliged to tag you either. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure you'll want to take your turn at it after you read it, just to satisfy your curiosity about you.

Haven't you ever wondered about your image choices have to say about you? If you have, you can also take this scarily insightful little LoveDNA test.



I'm borrowing another page from Ris' blog by uploading image captures of my results to share with you guys. How on the money is it? As I said, it's scarily insightful. I'll let my results speak for themselves. (If you have a hard time reading the text on the images, you can find the results by clicking the preceding link or clicking the images to see larger versions of them.)











I guess despite everything, this closet romantic is still wistfully seeking happily ever after.

What's your LoveDNA?

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Mix Tape Tag

photo by Angel Baby 9000

Jet thought up this really great music meme that I, a musical junkie, simply could not pass up.

Music has always been one of my enduring addictions, right up there with chocolate, books, stargazing, and nailbiting. I blame it on having grown up singing by my aunt's piano - and practically everywhere else. In any gathering, you will always find me by any person playing a musical instrument - or by the videoke machine. I know an absurd number of songs by heart - a fickle trick of the memory that completely deserts me when I am trying to memorize medical facts.

I've been collecting music since the good old days of cassette, pre-BASF days, when it used to cost P45 a tape. I used to give my friends mix tapes on a regular basis, back in the days of the double cassette deck and I would have to copy tracks from one cassette tape to another. Some two decades later, the advent of MP3 files and CD writers has made my life so much easier. I always like sharing bits and pieces of my eclectic music collection to uninitiated friends - which is precisely why I simply cannot resist this tag.

Here's what we do.

1. Choose 19 of the songs you like best, regardless of artist or genre.
2. Put them all together in a CD.
3. Make 5 other copies.
4. Post your playlist on your blog.
5. Choose 5 people and share your playlist with them. Also, send your playlist to the one who tagged you.

Okay, this is going to be a tough one. I am simply incapable of choosing 19 songs I like best of all-time... there are just so very many of them in my collection - all of which I really do listen to. Besides that, their position on my I-love-this-song chart varies depending on my mood or what I feel like listening to for the moment. So I'm going to have to do this quickly - otherwise, I'll end up changing my choices here and there and will probably end up never posting this!

Presenting... dr_clairebear's 19 picks for mix tape sharing - what I feel like listening to - at least for tonight. (Aren't you glad I'm not in a campy 80's or 70's disco mood?) :)


Side A - Pretty Songs for Reflective Moods

Violet Sky - Keri Noble
Lullabye for a Stormy Night - Vienna Teng
Sweet Chariot - Charlotte Martin
Send Me a Song - Celtic Woman
Gravity - Sara Bareilles
Back Where We Started - Tina Dico
Fire Sign - David Berkley
Ghost - Indigo Girls
Time - Sarah McLachlan

Side B - Happy Songs To Drive To

Those Sweet Words - Norah Jones
100 Years - Five for Fighting
Fools Like Me - Lisa Loeb
Midnight Bottle - Colbie Callait
Everything - Michael Buble
Little Superhero Girl - Corrinne May
Do I Need a Reason - D' Sound
Breathe - Michelle Branch
Bliss - Alice Peacock with John Mayer
Glorious - Natalie Imbruglia


I tag Ris and Woobie (whose musical grab bags I'm curious about), Linc (who I know by now does not do tags, but I also know has an 80's playlist of maudlin' songs on his About Page - so it's worth a shot), Manggy (who likes Sarah McLachlan, so must have some pretty music in his collection. And he has a closet love for pop, too!), and Lis (who gave a pretty lengthy recommendation list over here which I have yet to mine).

Guys, please email me your email addresses so I can send you my playlist link. I would burn this for you in a heartbeat, but I don't trust our snail mail system. But it's negotiable. ;) You can reach me at dr[dot]clairebear [at] gmail[dot]com.

(Jet, hope you don't mind I reworded the meme a little, just in case Big Brother is watching. :))

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Book Cutting and the 123 Book Tag

Marjie tagged me with this book meme, and I couldn't resist.

The game goes:
1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

It's sort of like that book cutting game my friends and I used to play when I was younger. You get a book, ask a question, open the book to a certain page, and whatever was on that page is supposed to answer your question. It was one of the more popular ways of forcing Fate to give you a definite "sign."

My book-at-hand is something related to my previous post. I recently unearthed it in our bodega (storeroom shed) while I was looking for my board exam reviewers. I bought it a few years back, during my last year in medical school, when I was grappling with the dilemma of what I should do next with my life.

Finding myself at that same point right now, I brought the book back inside the house and have been meaning to read it again. With everything that's been going on here these past few days, I haven't gotten around to it yet. This tag seemed a good way to start.

My book? Stomie Omartian's "Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On: Trusting God in the Tough Times." The excerpt on page 123 as specified by the tag follows - but I'm breaking one of the tag rules and going over three sentences.


"What originally seemed like the end became a new beginning. But new beginnings don't happen without something ending.

"Major life changes can be scary. But if we don't cling desperately to the old life, the new experiences can be exciting as well. Trying to keep things from changing only makes the process miserable. It's far less upsetting to just let the old go and walk step by step with God into the new life He has for us."



I kid you not. This was really the excerpt based on the tag rules. Considering my most recent mind-boggling questions about my life, I can't help but think that there must be something to the whole book cutting thing. A coincidence? Maybe. After all, that is really what the book is all about. Or maybe it's God's way of giving me a few answers in a roundabout way. Who knows? Regardless of what is more true, I got the message.

But I digress. :)

Since this is a book tag, I'm tagging two voracious readers I know will have books within reach - Ris and Megamom. Anyone else who wants to do some book cutting of their own is very welcome to participate. Enjoy!

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Personality Test Junkie Strikes Again

I've stumbled upon yet another personality test that I couldn't resist - and it comes with a nifty little badge, too.

Chalk it up to fascination with how people's minds and feelings - including my own - work. It was this same fascination that led me to choose Psychology as my pre-med major in college - and I loved every minute of it.

Even as a kid, I used to enjoy answering these introspective self-evaluations. It didn't matter if they were official ones given by our guidance office or those silly scored pop-psych quizzes found in magazines.

The badge above shows my personality type according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is based on the personality theories of Carl Jung. It operates on the principle that we are born with or develop certain ways of thinking and acting. It aims to sort behavior into the combination of four "opposite" pairs: extraversion - introversion, sensation - intuition, thinking - feeling, judging - perceiving. This results in 16 possible psychological types made up of varying combinations of four of the eight components above.

While taking the "personality test" on the myPersonality.info site is hardly the same as taking the real MBTI test, which is longer, more comprehensive, and validated, it does give you a pretty good idea of what type you might fall under.

I am allegedly an INFP - Intraverted - iNtuitive - Feeling - Perceiving - also known as the "Dreamer."

"INFPs are introspective, private, creative and highly idealistic individuals that have a constant desire to be on a meaningful path. They are driven by their values and seek peace. Empathetic and compassionate, they want to help others and humanity as a whole. INFPs are imaginitive, artistic and often have a talent for language and writing. They can also be described as easy-going, selfless, guarded, adaptable, patient and loyal."

How on the money is that description of an INFP in relation to me as a person? Well, I'll leave that for my friends to decide more objectively after they read more about it here. (For those who want to comment how accurate this is in describing me, please feel free to leave your comments.) But in a lot of ways it does strike pretty close to home.

I've always known that one should take the results of these tests with a grain of salt, but when answered honestly and candidly, they also almost always contain a grain of truth.

Much as I like answering all these personality quizzes, I also love sharing them with friends and convincing them to answer them, too. So it's your turn! If you're up to it, take this MBTI quiz at Personality.info and create your own badge to embed in the comment form when you share your results. It's easy to answer - and actually a lot of fun.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your badges! :)

(Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. I really just like spreading this kind of love around. I am even making it an informal tag - so Raymond, Ris, and Marlowe, head on to that website, answer, and blog about it! :))
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Proudly Pinoy Blogger, MD

As a newcomer to the blogosphere, I am still amazed by the sheer number of medical doctors who blog. Despite their busy schedules - whether as clinicians, researchers, teachers, or trainees - doctors from all stages in the journey, coming from different parts of the world, take time to distill their lives and thoughts for anonymous readers on the world wide web.

The content of these blogs are as varied as the doctors themselves. While some aim to make lay people more aware of health issues or the latest medical innovations, a good majority of the doctors' blogs I've stumbled upon so far are about their lives as doctors or their attempts to make a life outside of medicine.

Given the sheer number of Filipino bloggers loose on the blogosphere, it comes as no surprise that there are much more than a handful of Filipino doctors who blog. Doc Em Dy of Pulse has done a great job of making a listing of other Pinoy doc bloggers on line. To consolidate this growing Pinoy medical blogger community, Bone MD of The Orthopedic Logbook, has also come up with a project called The Blog Rounds. The Blog Rounds is a blog carnival specifically for Filipino medical bloggers similar to the Grand Rounds started on Blogborygmi almost 3 years ago.

As a doctor who blogs, I know I am biased towards reading blogs written by other doctors. It's always fascinating to see through other colleagues' eyes and discover that underneath all the surface differences, beyond the different medical systems, we have much more in common which each other than we realized. The experiences, the struggles, the frustrations, the rewards - the journey to becoming a doctor - is the same. But more importantly, while it is often not explicitly stated, doctors who blog contribute to demystifying medical life for our non-medical readers and showing the world that, yes - "doctors are human, too."

I think that The Blog Rounds is a great way of fostering a community spirit among Pinoy doctors on-line - wherever they may be. There is much we can learn from each other that we cannot learn from our books or our practice; and, in the same way, each of us, regardless of where we are on our journey, has much to teach. It also welcomes non-medical Pinoy readers into our world and gives our collective voice the chance to be heard.

Fellow Pinoy doctors and health care professionals interested in joining in the fun can read more about how to do this over here. But for this project in particular I am tagging my other Pinoy MD bloggers The Doc Whisperer and Caffeinated Gurl to join in the fun.

Sulat na tayo, mga kapatid!

* * * *

Speaking of blog carnivals, I'm very pleased to share that my entry "Anything and Everything" was featured in this week's Grand Rounds hosted at ChronicBabe.com. This week's theme was about New Beginnings, and I felt that experiences as a temporary general practitioner after being an adult internist-in-training for 3 years was just what they were looking for. Many thanks to Jenni for including my post!

Next week's Grand Rounds will be hosted at Canadian Medicine (many thanks to the site owners for the link love and the mention!) and you can read about the guidelines for submission over here.

Readers who enjoy medical related content will definitely enjoy the Grand Rounds, which features posts from medical bloggers from all over the world. If you want to know what medical life is really like, beyond Grey's Anatomy or House, MD, you can find the upcoming schedule and archive for the Grand Rounds blog carnival on Blogborygmi.

Happy reading!
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Overhaulers Wanted

Meet Dr. Clairebear.

this custom made South Park self-portrait was built on this great site.
Get one for you!

The cartoon above is a pretty good approximation of what I used to look like on a good day at work.

You would have bumped into me coming in from my morning commute, lugging my huge Hedgren backpack, iPod earphones in place. My hair would usually be in a cool and practical - if somewhat disheveled - up-do, and I would almost always be in pants (jeans when I could get away with it) and a scrub top. The whole ensemble would be set-off by my favorite soft as butter, 3-year old Bass slip-on moccassins - which used to be tan, but now look like the canvas of a Jackson Pollock painting.

This was hardly an ideal attire for any up-and-coming medical resident.

Obviously, I have been on the Fashion Police's most wanted list for the past three years.

The environment in my training hospital wasn't exactly conducive to dressing up. For someone like myself, who has always lived by the adage "comfort before beauty" when it comes to fashion, it was a haven. The rigors of 24-hour duty allowed me to wear feet-friendly shoes that I could slip on in seconds. My clothes had to be CPR friendly because had to be ready to jump on hospital beds to take my turn at chest compressions anytime. Scrub tops conveniently had several pockets to hold the other essential tools of my trade - a penlight, a calculator, my PDA, my phone - and thus were acceptable as well.

The fact that I could wake up in the morning and be ready in 15 minutes tops (already inclusive of my morning shower) was pure joy.

Unfortunately, this atmosphere of anti-fashion freedom has made me into a complete fashion dunce. While I still live by my "comfort before beauty" philosophy, my present age and status now require a certain amount of dressing up that I am not capable of. I am a fashion disaster tabula rasa. I would be a challenge even to the fabulous 5 of Queer Eye.

In short, I am in desperate need of an make-over. And I seriously need help.

Any takers? I don't have any money to offer, but I promise to give free medical services for life to anyone who can actually pull this miracle off.

*******

A Completely Unrelated Post-script:

Megamom tagged me a few days ago to answer questions about my blogging life.

I'm not quite sure that what I have is an actual blogging life. Regular readers (do I have those?) notice how my posts are usually from all-over the place, and it's probably because I haven't quite decided how serious about blogging I really want to be. But I'm going to answer the questions anyway because: a) my underlying obsessive-compulsiveness cannot leave on-line tags unanswered, and b) I have an addiction to these quizzes.

1. How long have you been blogging? On an off since 2005 - mostly off, though.

2. What inspired you to have a blog and who are your mentors?

I set up this blog when I was a first year resident so that I would have an impetus to keep writing. I also planned on using it as a means of keeping in touch with friends without having to write collective emails. I also thought it would be interesting to keep a record of my growth as a doctor as I went further in my training. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to work on it then.

I haven't really sought any serious advice on blogging because I'm still in the process of figuring out what I want out of it, but I will probably need advice soon!

3. What 3 things do you love about being on line? Meeting people from all over the world who have common interests, easy to access information, makes for hours of entertainment.

4. What 3 things do you struggle with in the on-line world? Its unlimited potential as a tool for procrastination, information overload, and addiction

I tag anyone who wants to answer!
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Iska Memories

this great photo is by Marlon Hacla on Flickr

The main pitfall in attempting to study at home is my own lack of emotional quotient. The concept of delayed gratification (i.e. getting on the internet after I finish covering my scheduled material for the day) is something that simply flies out the window when temptation is too tantalizingly nearby.

I admit it, I am losing steam. I just want to get this exam over with. Not that I am ready for it, mind you, except maybe to flunk it big time. So, if I suddenly stop blogging on this site indefinitely and seem to have fallen off the face of the blogosphere, you can assume the worst.

But... I digress.

Thanks to my internet addiction and lack of focus, I've decided to answer this UP Centennial Meme I picked off my old friend Peng's page instead of trying to decipher my notes on colon cancer. Yes, like many other blogosphere wanderers, I'm a bona fide Iskolar ng Bayan from the University of the Philippines - from college in Diliman to medical school in Manila.

To other fellow Iskos and Iskas in the blogosphere, I'm sure the following questions will bring back a truckload of happy memories.



mga isko at iska, sagot na!

To commemorate our centennial year...
University of the Philippines

1. Student number? 95-22806

2. College? College of Social Science and Philosophy, Diliman. College of Medicine, Manila.

3. Ano ang course mo? (What did you Major in?) BS Psychology. Doctor of Medicine.

4. Nag-shift ka ba o na-kick out? (Did you shift majors/Courses or were you a kicked out of your College)? No. I was the quintessential goody two-shoes all the way.

5. Saan ka kumuha ng UPCAT? (Where did you take your entrance examination?) Far-away Math Building in Diliman, on a Sunday afternoon.

6. Favorite GE subject? (General Education classes) Humanities I; but PI 100 comes a close second because of our quirky professor who brought us to Mount Banahaw.

7. Favorite PE? Social Dance - despite the fact that there were only about 3 boys in our class, our teacher used to wear her jazz panties and tights Superman style, and it meant having to cut lunch short to commute to the gym by 1pm.

8. Saan ka nag-aabang ng hot guys/girls sa UP? (Where do you hang out to check out the hot babes/dudes?) At ISSI, while working as Registration Assistants in Diliman - we used to check the registration forms and return Form 5's to fellow students after they paid their tuition. Which means this was a semestral thing. All those periods in between? Seriously long dry spells.

9. Favorite profs? (Favorite Professors?) Dr. Nilo Ocampo (PI 100), the late Dr. F.G. David (Psych 160 - Neuropsychology), and Professor Sto. Domingo (Psych 118 - Field Methods)

10. Pinaka-ayaw na GE subject (least favorite General Education class)? Science Technology and Society - a completely useless waste of time.

11. Kumuha ka ba ng Saturday classes? (Did you sign up for Saturday classes?) No. Wednesday classes, though, yes.

12. Nakapag-field trip ka ba?(Did you join any field Trips?) Twice to Mount Banahaw for PI 100 and Psych 108, and to Taal and Anilao for Humanties II.

13. Naging CS ka na ba or US sa UP? (Were you ever a College Scholar and or a University Scholar) A few semesters.

14. Ano ang Org/Frat/Soro mo? (What Organization/Fraternity/Sorority were you a member of?) UP Pre-Med Society, The Philippine Collegian (for one semester), ICTUS, Psychology Association, Phi Lambda Delta Sorority (in the College of Medicine)

15. Dorm, Boarding house, o Bahay? (Did you stay at a dorm, boarding house or did you live at home during college? ) Mostly I commuted from our house.

16. Kung walang UPCAT test at malaya kang nakapili ng kurso mo sa UP, ano yun? (If you had your way, what was your dream course/major?) Creative Writing - which was actually my second course on my college application... but I passed Psychology, and the rest is history.

17. Sino ang pinaka-una mong nakilala sa UP?(Who did you first meet at UP?) You know what... I cannot for the life of me remember. :)

18. First play na napanood mo sa UP? (First play you watched in UP) Paulit-ulit na Pagguhit ng Bilog... or at least, I think that was the title of it. Great writing.

19. Saan ka madalas mag-lunch? (Where did you usually eat lunch?) At the PMS tambayan. But my favorite lunch was the Chicken Roll from CASAA and the porkchop that used to spill off the plate from Chinatown - also in CASAA. Best fishball stand? Mass Comm. Best Isaw? The one near Kalayaan.

20. Masaya ba sa UP? (Was it fun in UP?) Most definitely! My world really opened up when I went to Diliman. And besides, that's where I learned how to drink. *evil grin*

21 . Nakasama ka na ba sa rally? (Did you ever get to go to a rally?) Once in Diliman for a tuition fee increase protest, and of course I was there in my medicine whites at EDSA Dos.

22. Ilang beses ka bumoto sa Student Council? (How many times did you vote for Student Council elections?) You know, I'm not sure. But I'm sure I did a couple of times at least.

23. Pinangarap mo rin bang mag-laude nung freshman ka? (Did you ever aspire to graduate with honors when you were a freshman?) I was a girl who had plans of going to medical school in UP, too. Enough said.

24. Kung di ka UP, anong school ka? (If you didn't go to UP, what school would you have gone?) Probably De La Salle University, as part of their first BS Human Biology (straight medicine) program. I seriously thought about it after I passed the screening, but in retrospect I'm so glad I decided not to save up on a couple of years and turned it down.

In the spirit of fun and being a fighting Maroon, I'm tagging on-line buddy Manggy, my going-south mentor Chino, batchmate, Raymond, and Megamom for this one. And any other UP grad who feels like taking a walk down memory lane is free to answer this meme and link back!
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