Inanities

Earlier today, I was sitting at a tailor shop, quietly waiting for my blazers to be handed to me when out of the blue, one employee asked: “Sa tingin nyo sino mas matalino? Abogado o Doktor?

(Silence.)

“Sa tingin ko, mas matalino ang mga abogado,” says the employee.

(I smiled.)

A man who is apparently in charge of the sewing patterns, countered: “Siyempre, doktor!”

“Bakit naman?” asked the woman.

“Eh kasi…” was all Sir Gallahad could say.

The woman cuts him off: ”Tingnan mo ha, ang doktor hindi pwede pumatay ng pasyente, sinumpaan nila yan eh.  Pero ang abogado, pwede magsinungaling.”

(Ano daw?!)

Fortunately, at that point, my new blazers were ready to be taken home.  I was about to rush off when I noted an extra button sewn on one of the blazers.  It was unsightly so I asked to have the button taken off and have the matching eyehole closed.  A few minutes later, the blazers returned with both blazers now having two eyeholes and two buttons each!

I gasped… I sighed… I smiled… 

Then I said: “paki-close na lang din yung eyehole ng isa pang blazer at pakitanggal ng extra buttons.”

Sino ang mas matalino?  Definitely not this MD.

Tere used to say that whenever she has something in her mind and she wants an unconditionally sympathetic ear, she would talk to Tin.  Apparently, I come in when it’s time for her to face the facts and unfortunately, the process would sometimes involve pins but no cushions.  Ouch! =)

Anyway, I mention this now because I have this friend whom I’ve always thought as the ”voice of reason.”  With her, unloading your burdens is not always therapeutic since her “gentle set-downs” are figuratively butt-whacking.  And yet you would still talk to her the next time you feel like it because she listens.  (This is in contrast to people who would pretend to hear you out while their heads are bent over a piece of paper, their hands busily scribbling and mumbling inane responses like “uhuh” or “hmm”.)

On the other hand, sometimes I wish there is a Tin in our midst who would allow you to rant and rave and not judge no matter how brash or unreasonable you become, because sometimes people just need to let everything loose to get a better grip of the sane and the acceptable.

Apparently, there are two types of exposure to AH1N1 based on whether the “contact” one is exposed to is symptomatic (with symptoms) or asymptomatic (without symptoms).  If you were exposed to a symptomatic contact, then you get quarantined.  But if you were exposed to an asymptomatic contact such as the person who was exposed to the aforementioned symptomatic contact, then life goes on.  Of course, if one would care to think about it, if an asymptomatic contact is actually breeding the oh-so-dreaded virus while she is being quarantined in a place he/she is sharing with you and he/she develops symptoms later on, then you become THE asymptomatic contact and would then be quarantined.  You would be permitted to go home so long as you wear a mask.  The individuals sharing your household would be free to come and go until you develop symptoms.  And so the chain goes on and on…

And you wonder why pandemics happen despite “quarantine”?

A friend of mine has to be quarantined for 10 days due to exposure to AH1N1.  She is not concerned.  After all, she has only been in the same room with the patient for 2 hours.  And if she does develop symptoms, well how bad could the flu get?  It’s actually a blessing in disguise since she would not be going on duty for the next few days.  “Lucky you; sana naexpose na rin ako,” I joked.

Then I came home.  Sprawled in the bed across mine is my friend — and roommate.  Apparently, the “quarantine” has begun.  Our chief resident sent me a message of reassurance, saying I would be fine so long as my friend wears a mask.  I found myself staring at the “face mask” lying haphazardly across my friend’s foot… Wishes do come true.

Have you ever done something so inane and yet so monumentally catastrophic that the rest of your life seems to be teetering on the brink of disaster?  Well, I have and if it were possible I would have given myself an equally monumental kick on the butt.

My brothers would always tease me about how stupid I can be when it comes to the simplest things.  Times like these, I find myself agreeing with them.  Shoot!  Shoot! Shoot!

If I can be spared this time, I will not ask for anything else… not for a while at least.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to wear stilettos to work today.  You see, it is an accepted superstition at work that skirts and heels are beacons of toxicity.  But did that stop me?  Not for this OC who wants everything to match - not even when images of ACLS scenes popped into my head while slipping my feet into that pair of properly hued 3-inch pumps.

Serves me right.  Just past noon, Anne tapped my shoulder saying, “Sorry to cut you off, ma’am.  NSSCU called…”

And off I go!  Half-running, half-slipping through the tiled floors…  half-worrying, half-praying that I don’t fall on my face… But I simply had to get there…

As it turned out, slipping and falling on my face were the least of my worries…  I will never wear stilettos to work again…

I love these girls.  They make life so much easier for me this month.  They work hard and somehow every little effort gets rewarded.  Everything just happens.  things are even better than I could ever expect.  Thank you, “friendships”.  I really can’t ask for anything more.

My younger brother is a licensed civil engineer, but he turned his back on the profession to become an entrepreneur.  At first, I thought he was wasting a great opportunity just because the specifics of the job don’t suit him.  But then he is now self-sufficient and all he ever does is sit in his office and surf the net!  Of course he would argue that he drives off to buy his supplies at least twice a month.  Duh…

 So this entry is truly about envy… and re-evaluating past choices.  Am I in the right place and doing the right thing?  Is this really what I want to do with the rest of my life?  Always pining for rest and relaxation?  Getting very little sleep one day then dragging oneself through the next?  Getting barked at and having one’s head snapped off because you are not making any sense?  Does it make sense to expect a zombie to make sense?  Let us sleep, darn it!

Actually, this entry is also about me being extremely tired.  Well, isn’t it obvious?  I am tired of the sleepless nights Q 3 days.  I am tired of the disapproving tone, the scowling and tongue-clucking.  I am tired of charts and monitors and syringes and anything that is medical, especially since most of it is pseudo-medical.  I am just – just tired!

And yet I blabber on because I don’t want to sleep, for if I sleep then all I ever did is work and I will be nothing more than a white coat.  Ergo, the title…

Once upon a time, when I was innocent and hopeful, I heard about the legendary Giant. They say he is the most fearful creature in this side of the planet.  His stare is fierce and his voice is thunder.

And I thought, yeah right!  It’s all a facade.  He’s just another all-bark-no-bite.  Yep! I believed that beneath the bluster lies a gentle giant.

And then they sent me to his lair…

Such a cold place.  I don’t believe I’ll ever thaw and become warm again.  I’ve become an amphibian!

This will be the longest month in my entire life.  My eyes are wide open… open with dread.  The dread waxing and waning, peaking every 3 days when it’s my turn to try taming the not-so-gentle giant…

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I’m too sleepy to be blogging still, but this is the night of the biggest epiphany of my life.  Suddenly, I know where my life is headed and I can’t wait to get there.  All thanks to a certain leopard with spots the size of Arizona, but as colourful as a speck of light falling on dewdrops.  He is - as his favorite singer would phrase it - "an answered prayer".