The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

I believe that God answers prayers through signs. In the Scriptures, especially in the Old testament, God manifested himself through signs. He appeared before Moses as the burning bush. God appeared as the pillar of fire. God appeared as a cloud. In the New testament, God took the form of man and became Man-God himself in Jesus Christ. And Jesus worked through signs too! He made wine from water. He cured the blind man by rubbing clay on his eyes. God the Holy Spirit appeared as fire in the form of tongues or as a dove. I believe God even now communicates through signs. Perhaps, it His most visible way of saying to us, "I love you". I am a believer in signs and during the time I took my medical board exams there have been many signs that somehow showed me that God was every step of the way. In fact, before I took the exams, I asked God for a sign, a sign that would tell me whether I would make it through or not. I did not specifically ask for any sign because I didn't know...

(On August 29, 2007, the University of Saint La Salle, with the entire Lasallian Community, hosted a testimonial dinner to the medical board passers of Class 2006 USLS College of Medicine at the Sanctuario de La Salle, in the presence of the entire administration, including Bro. Gus Boquer, FSC, former University President, and the man behind the College of Medicine, once a dream, now a reality) I remember how we started as a batch 5 years ago. We were plenty then. We were more confused as were enthusiastic. Confused in a sense that we have never perhaps expected the kind of dimension we were entering then, the realm of the medical field. We were enthusiastic perhaps because we were excited to start living a dream, for many of us, a childhood dream. We made a choice to study in a new school, rather than in the old and already proven and tested medical schools in the country. We made that choice as one would make that blind leap across the cliffs: with faith. We made that choice because...

I had to go back to Cebu, not only to process my PRC registration but to climb back to the Hills of Simala and pay my gratitude to the miraculous Virgin Mary. I feel that it was through my pilgrimage to Simala that I was granted the grace to pass the medical board exams. So I traveled back to Cebu City, alone for the first time. I traveled to Cebu City via Don Salvador Benedicto. It was a bright day and the mountains of Negros wore brightly their green slopes. The Negrense countryside is very beautiful, especially the route to Don Salvador Benedicto. I reached Cebu City at around 1:30 p.m. and checked in at a pension house. After a quick nap, I went around the city again, alone and trying to reminisce the last time I was here with my classmates when we took the medical board exams. During my first night, I bought some fancy paper and pen and wrote my thanksgiving note to Our Lady of Simala which I would offer during my visit to her the next day. Together with the letter was my name pla...

Now that I am a licensed medical doctor, the next step is to look for a job. Usually, the common options are: proceed to residency or start practicing as a general physician. The former entails another 3-4 years of training, tackling another specialty board at the end of training and practicing as a specialist. The latter is perhaps a stepping stone to working in public hospitals or communities as an employee of the Department of Health or one of those doctors for the barrios. As of this moment, training hospitals are now receiving applications for their respective residency programs. As of this moment, I am yet to decide which option to take. I have so many factors to consider. Of course, family is top of the list. Conversing with my wife, we have always felt that the ultimate goal really is to leave the country and find work abroad. I am currently presenting myself for assessment for eligibility of living and working in Australia. So far, I have earned 125 points, making me eligible ...

The story of Class 2006 is a story of faith. Five years ago, no one ever thought that a far-out dream would someday become a reality. The story of Class 2006 started with a story of one man's vision, with a story of 44 brave souls who responded to this vision, and with a story of a handful of dedicated doctors who pledged to become a faculty of a young medical school. The story of class 2006 is a story of how optimism triumphed over skepticism. The story of class 2006 is an underdog story, of how 24 medical students braved the stormy training and weathered the cruel blows of med school life, eventually hurdling the almost impossible challenge. The story of Class 2006 is the story of Divine Providence, proof that God is the God of underdogs, who shows preference for those in the eyes of society are the least and the last. Who would have thought that this small and almost unheard of medical school would come through despite the at times almost overwhelming pessimism and criticism? I ...

Next week, we are pushing to the -Ber months (September, October, November, December) and you know what it means when the -Ber months are here: the Holidays are here! Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Yes, it is that busiest time of the year, when parents go to the stores to buy gifts for their kids and even god-children. Shopping for gifts is fun but it can get a little hectic and stressful if you don't know how to shop. Smart shoppers shop for toys and gifts with the least expenses and with the mdoern technological age, shoppers can shop online for gifts. Of course, before venturing out into the stores, one has to make a list of gifts for family members and friends. Like for example, I am planning to give my father one of those crazy cigarette lighters, my mother one of those fancy mousepads, my wife an expensive dress, and toys for my kids. After making the shopping list comes the hard part: shopping for the gifts itself. Now, this is where your CouponChief comes in! It's got hu...

I read once an old story about how God works in mysterious ways and why He always has a better plan for all of us. When I think about my friends who did not make it, I remembered this old story. I want to share it with anyone out there who feels as if God and the Universe are coniving against him or her. The story is about two angels who went to earth and mingled with humans. During their trip, they were caught up by the rain so they knocked on the house of a rich old man. The disguised angels knocked on the front door and the old rich man, who was cruel and unkind, opened the door. They asked if they could stay for the night. The old rich man allowed them to stay but instead of leading them to one of his many guest rooms, he led them to the basement and told them they could stay there for the night. With no pillows, no light nor bed, the two angels slept in the basement. In the middle of the night, the younger angel woke up and saw the older angel fixing up something on the wall of th...

Blogging is an addiction. I have been blogging for two years now and my blogs mostly cover the many experiences I had. At first I thought no one reads this kind of blogs. I was wrong. From the time I started getting reactions and frequent visits from fellow bloggers, I became more passionate than ever to maintain this cheap form of therapy. And then I heard that you can get to earn money through your blogs. I told myself, "Whaaat?"(a la Bodie of Pinoy Big Brother Season 2). I then read about the many testimonials of people who blogged themselves to riches. So I decided, why not try it myself? Why not start earning from my blogs? Besides, I have already gained many frequent readers and definitely I am already receiving many hits for this blog. There must be some way where I can get paid by corporate sponsors in exchange for an add in my blog. So I investigated and researched. Then I stumbled over Payperpost. From the name itself, I already knew this would be a cool idea. Imagi...

My faith tells me that it was through Divine Intervention that made me become a licensed medical doctor. I need not overemphasize the obstacles that I needed to hurdle before I could reach this particular pit stop. Oh yes, it ain't over yet. The Divine intervention began at the moment I chose to take the exams in Cebu City. There were three places in the country where I could take the board exams. Cebu was one of them; the other two were Manila and Davao. I decided to take Cebu not only because it was nearest and therefore cheapest, the city itself is historic and filled with churches. I knew before hand that I needed some Divine help in this endeavor and so I needed to be in a place where I could easily find the nearest source of Divine presence. I felt Cebu City was the right spot. And I wasn't wrong. We left for Cebu on the 7th day of the 7th month of the 7th year of this millenium, at the 7th hour of the day. On the road to Cebu City via Don Salvador Benedicto, I was prayin...

As a tribute to the success of my batchmates, and in honor of our Generous God, The God Who Turns Things Around, here's a video I made posted in youtube.com. The song is sung by Yolanda Adams, the same artist of the music you hear in this blog. More pictures about our Cebu Trip also in this blog entry.

The results are out. And I made it! Along with my other batchmates who made it, our performance in the recent medical board exams made University of Saint La Salle 2nd in Western Visayas and 12th Nationwide! To God Be The Glory. I received this good news through text evening of August 15, 2007. I was waiting for the results as early as the morning of August 15. I started the day with a Mass at the USLS Chapel. August 15 was coincidentally the Feast of the Assumption and the last day after my novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. After the mass at the chapel, I went to the nearby Redemptorist Church to offer my last prayer request to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. I checked my cellphone and still no word from anyone about the results. I then hurried to the San Sebastian Cathedral and lit a candle in front of the Divine Mercy and said a prayer at the adoration chapel. I was asking for strength to face whatever the results of the exams. I was asking for God to make me pass the boards. I wa...

When I posted Yolanda Adam's Never Give up, I received many comments about the song. Many are inquiring about it and many are telling me how the song captured exactly what they were feeling at that time. It is really by accident on how I came upon that song. Thanks to esnips.com , I can post music like that in my blog and let readers like you read my blog with the music playing in the background. So I decided to really create an esnip account and organize my playlist. For now, I have come up with a playlist of feel-good music. In search for some inspiration as I tackle the med boards, I find these songs really inspiring and like what other people say, songs that captured what I really feel at the moment. The playlist is available at the bottom page of the blog. For convenient purposes, I have also posted the playlist here in this entry, just in case: Powered by eSnips.com

During one of my movie breaks here in Cebu while reviewing for the board, one of the movies I watched was The Simpsons Movie and after watching the movie I told myself, "Wish I could be in that movie." It was totally hilarious. I was all alone watching the early movie right after lunch after of course I finished studying with my reviewer notes. I always liked it when the animators of The Simpsons would transform real life characters into cartoon characters. In the movie, a few of those I recognized were the Green Day band, Tom Hanks and Arnold The terminator! I happened then to come across a website that can also transform anyone into a Simpson Character, just like the way they did to those celebrities. So I tried it and walla! I now have a Simpson character for me. Try to check the similarities. Of course, the program is quite limited and I could not really add my trademark mole on this cartoon. When I tried, the "face anomaly" featured had the mole right on the ...

I am away for my board exams. In the mean time, here's a nice movie for all of you. To those who are praying for us, please do not waver in your prayer. P.S. I just won as "Blog of The Week". For details, visit The Macellarius Blog .