Bottled ※ Brain

Monday, July 13, 2020

ABS-CBN franchise vote and stage 4 breast cancer

We must associate human faces and stories with national issues. The story of this ABS-CBN employee, the family's breadwinner, resonates with me. How will he sustain his mother's treatment for breast cancer?

daily, medicine

My last duty at PGH

Saw Lennie and Carlos, block mates from med school on my last duty stint at PGH. Lennie C. is a neurologist, taking her fellowship in stroke. Carlos C. is a gastroenterologist, with special interest in bourbon, English shoes, and bespoke suits. I'm proud of them. (This is a screenshot of Lennie's Facebook post).

This was in March 29, after my last 24-hour stint at UP-PGH as a trainee. I've been out of the hospital, and of work, since then. I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me. Please pray for me as I seek His direction career-wise.

We've come full circle may well be the caption of this photo. My first clinical exposure was in LU3 (first year in medicine) at the Neurology ward (Ward 5), with Lennie, Ching, the Catangui twins, Jegar, Casti, Marv, Dalvie, and Joreb. I had no clue how to remember the spinothalamic tract! (Carlos belonged to the other half of the block; their preceptor asked easier questions!) It seems fitting that in my final day at PGH, I got to visit Ward 5 and was reunited with dear friends who, like me, are wiser and better physicians than when we had started out.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

daily, friends, watching + listening

The Tales of Beadle and the Bard, J.K. Rowling

My friend and colleague Harold recommended this to me. Very fascinating. Best enjoyed a few minutes before sleep.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

daily

Dog in the lobby

The most polite canine.

Friday, July 10, 2020

daily

50th floor

Climbed the 50th floor of the building (I started on the 20th). Good cardio!

Thursday, July 9, 2020

pens

Lamy Safari and Russell Moore

Can't remember where I read this line. I often write random words when I overhear a speech or read a line.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

daily

Brownies

Fruit of Manong's culinary adventure.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

daily

Korean beef stew

One of Manong's dishes.

christianity, music

Unto the shore, the rock of Christ

Each time I read the news, I'm assailed by bad news. It takes a lot of commitment to see the world from a biblical perspective. Christ our Hope in Life and Death, a stirring modern hymn, spurs me to think about my sure hope--not in medical science, not in human government, not in familial relationships, not in my own abilities. But only in Christ, my Savior and Redeemer.

Unto the grave, what shall we sing?
“Christ, he lives; Christ, he lives!”
And what reward will heaven bring?
Everlasting life with him.
There we will rise to meet the Lord,
Then sin and death will be destroyed,
And we will feast in endless joy,
When Christ is ours forevermore.

Words and Music by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, Matt Papa

©2020 Getty Music Publishing (BMI) / Messenger Hymns (BMI) / Jordan Kauflin Music (BMI) / Matthew Merker Music (BMI) / Getty Music Hymns and Songs (ASCAP) / Love Your Enemies Publishing (ASCAP) / adm at MusicServices.org

From the YouTube channel:

"What is your only comfort in life and in death?” For centuries, believers have learned the Christian faith beginning with that question. It’s the first article in the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563. Why start there? Because death is our common fate. Unless Jesus returns first, we will all die. To find comfort in life, we must know how we can face death. Hope comes only in trusting the one who died to take the curse of death and who crushed the power of death by his resurrection. “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor 15:20). That is the only statement that can transform how we live each day and how we prepare for our earthly life to end.

Monday, July 6, 2020

oncology

Associate member of the PSMO

I was officially inducted as an associate member of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology last night. The ceremony was prerecorded. The video clip began with our replies to the question, "What is the most important lesson you learned during this pandemic?" I gave a short but truthful reply, "I learned to trust in God alone." Others gave fascinating answers, most of them quotable soundbites. Fred gave the Korean heart sign at the end. Rich spoke about the politics of health. Karen alluded to the distance and nearness of human company. Roger talked about the "mess" of this Covid-19 crisis, the most exasperated version of him on camera. Kgel from the University of Santo Tomas threw in the word, "plasticity," clearly an offshoot of her readings in DeVita about the defining characteristics of cancer. Marge, also from UST, talked about valuing the things and people that matter the most. It amazed me how many new fellows were comfortable in front of the camera. Toni sounded like a morning show host! Congratulations to all the new associate members! I feel so honored to be counted in your company.

notebooks, pens

Colors

Sunday, July 5, 2020

film, pens

Pens in films: The Spirit of the Beehive

Watched The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) yesterday. You can watch it by following the instructions here. It's a quiet but disturbing film about childhood and imagination. What I found most interesting were the fountain pens. This was set during the time when fountain pens were commonplace.

Jessica Zafra writes:

The Spirit of the Beehive is set just after the end of the Spanish Civil War, and the house is paralyzed with sorrow, or fear, or both. Franco the dictator was still alive when the film came out, but maybe it was too enigmatic to incur the ire of the censors. Or else the censors counted on the audience not getting it. Today it is hailed as a masterpiece, its eerie quiet the appropriate soundtrack for a nation traumatized by war.

Some screenshots of pens. If you can identify them, please let me know!