November 27, 2007

Diagnosis

When I was a kid my mother took me to the doctor back in the medical unit of SEAFDEC because of a pesky fever that's threatening the family's holiday plans (we were due to depart for Manila for our annual Christmas vacation). I remember that my impression of the guy was of someone who checks on patients and goes home at the end of the day and looks at his medical books to see if most his diagnoses were right; not unlike the kind of guy who'd also look at a dating manual or an FHM magazine after a first date to see if picking his front teeth with his finger during dinner was acceptable or not. 

The guy went at it like most GP does and gave the go signal for 'safe' travel even though I was chattering so bad I feared splintering all my front teeth. I was in the airplane and most of the passengers mistakenly assumed I was horrified of air travel because I was shivering so badly during the entire flight. When we arrived at the house in Quezon City they had to give me an ice bath because the fever was so high. According to my uncle I was so delirious I told them Batman was sitting in the far chair looking at me sympathetically. The next morning I was admitted to the UST hospital and was diagnosed with h-fever.


The Saturday before the last one, my wife and I took our son to the doctor for his vaccine. I was uncomfortable at the clinic due to the unusual low temperature of the airconditioning system. I didn't mind it that much considering i really have a low tolerance for cool temperatures, but the discomfort was there. going home inside the cab, I realized i was suffering from a fever---a little funny considering my son got the shots and showed no signs of imminent fever or malaise.

The fever. That's the worst part. Not only was it so high that the chills were excruciating, but the headache and lack of appetite that came with it were pure torture. You'd get hungry you'd think you can eat an entire cow, but lose appetite after one or two spoonfuls. I thought it was one of those new strains of flu that probably came from an elephant and mutated to pummel humans into oblivion with their new, superpowered mutant potency. My fever only fluctuated between 38-40 C, and that was when I took paracetamol every four hours. I'd probably burn a hole straight into my pillow if I didn't take any medication. 

Not only until the third day of the fever, when I was in the hospital insisting that they admit me that I realized I was again suffering from dengue--my platelets they, said, were decreasing in an alarming rate.

Not that i was entirely depressed by the news. It was the Medical City, and one of the high-end hospitals and I had my HMO to take care of it. I was looking forward to a week (or more) of no work and being treated like a king. That's one of the advantages of being a patient, you basically have people treating you like a fine China during the duration of the disease.

The joke was on me though; the damned card only covered the 'ward' section and not any of private rooms I was fantasizing of occupying. Talk about being suckered.

November 15, 2007

Welcome to the club

THIS IS FOR MY FRIEND ANDRE WHO'S ABOUT TO GET HITCHED:


GAGO KA PART!


CONGRATS!!!!! HEHEHE!




November 4, 2007

Goodbye horses

i recently watched a defective pirated dvd of clerks 2 and basing from what i have seen, it sucked. yes, that's just as direct and bullshit-free as i can make it. i don't think a richard corliss, roger ebert or peter travers crappy impression would give it the respect it deserves so i might as well just get to the point and drop the pretentious movie critic bit and say that yes, it sucked. for me, anyway. aside from the occasional pixelating of the picture (it was a pirated copy after all), the story failed to keep me interested like it did the first. not that it was totally crap; maybe i exepected too much from kevin smith -- beause i really enjoyed jay and silent bob strikes back ---but this sequel to his 94 masterpiece fell flat for me. i especially liked that jay impression of silence of the lambs's jame gumb; complete with the q lazzarus hit 'goodbye horses. i don't know. maybe it's old age or i'm starting to evolve into someone with a questionable taste in movies.
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by the way --- q lazzarus. now that's cult music.
cool.

November 3, 2007

The town

Small towns have an undeniable charm that makes anyone feel at home no matter where they are. Especially when it's just a few hours after dawn's first light; the part where the heat isn't at oppressive levels yet, and the last traces of last night's dew and mist are dissipating. 


Good thing that even if I'm living in Metro Manila, the town I live in has a quiet, laid-back atmosphere that is characteristically un-city like that reminded me of towns in Naga City, Olongapo, and Iloilo. It's only a pity that the crime rate has all the characteristics of those big, industrial wasteland city zones. But other than that, it has its upsides as well.

Earlier, my wife and I made a small trip to the bakery after we consumed every last morsel of bread in the house, unmindful that there were at least three more people who has to take their breakfast. We took a tricycle ride, and saw the surroundings in a very familiar and comforting light.

It's one of those little things that you're glad you have noticed.

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