From Wilson Fortaleza of Sanlakas and Laban ng Masa:
"It is a tragic picture of national desperation where many Filipinos are hooked to a television game show, pinning their hopes on partaking of the cash prizes to ease their extreme poverty. It's not 51 pesos to a dollar. It's 70 lives to the peso."
Let us pray for all those who perished in the ULTRA Stampede.
Tuesday, January 24. HBD Pau! 
It's our block's first day in the community. And it's raining so hard! (Note to self: bring umbrella next time.)
Logged-in at the staff house 9-ish. The other 2 blocks were there, and it was refreshing to see everyone out of their med whites and in brighter, more relaxed, more fashionable attire. 
We were then escorted by Dr. G to our respective barangays. Amy and I were first to be dropped off, our barangay being the nearest, and we had clinic that AM; didn’t have any patients though because of the strong rain. Met two of the barangay health workers--Ate Mena and Ate Sofia; the barangay councilor for health, and the barangay captain, who briefed us on the health projects of the barangay.
After the clinics, BHW Ate Mena accompanied us to our foster family's where we will be staying for the next 6 weeks while in the community. Save for a leak in the ceiling which was strategically placed over an unused space of the house, the place wasn’t actually that bad, and we had our own bedroom with a king-sized bed--plenty of room for us 2 small girls, 5 pillows, 2 blankets, books, bags and other things. 
Lunch at Rose & Grill with the rest of the block. And then drove around in the PM to visit each other's barangays. JB, Grant and Joshua's place was a separate bungalow, in the same compound as the barangay hall and health center. It was roomy, but had only one queen-sized bed to accommodate them 3 big guys. We then went on a roadtrip to visit RV, Marven and Gio’s place far out in the boondocks (and even got lost!). The place doubles as a barangay health center during the day, and their living quarters at night; pretty cramped especially for the giant Gio. Hydrogen sulfide gases from the neaby geothermal plant filled the air with the smell of boiled eggs. Their location's very nice though, being at the slopes of Mt. Makiling and so close to nature... But I think it can get scary at night. 
Jonas and Erwin are also staying with a foster family which is, I guess, why we can't hang out at their place. Their barangay is right next to ours, and their foster home is only a stone's throw away from our place; we are even nearer each other than we are to our respective health centers.
Dinner was tasty tinola. Yum! 
Today's weigh-in: 100 lbs. Comm Med's a benign rotation where everybody gains weight; I resolve *not* to. Will go jogging tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 25. HBD Ate Elisa!
Woke up early. But jogging plans shelved because of rainy weather. Bummed in bed for the most of the AM. Listened to Eraserheads blaring from the CD player. Read some Biochemistry. Still stumped re barangay's health projects... awaiting the previous block's updates and endorsements--the one we replaced in the community--so we’d know what has been done and where they left off.
Amy and I decided to drop by the barangay hall to meet the other barangay officials. Our foster family’s place and the barangay hall are located on opposite sides of the highway, and crossing it, or even walking along the sides of the rode, is like playing a very dangerous game of patintero with speeding cars, buses and big trucks. There was an ongoing barangay council meeting re budget, so we didn't stay long. Hope to be able to meet the rest of the health team tomorrow.
Jonas and Erwin got clinics for the whole day. RV said he’ll pick us up for lunch, but later texted that he couldn't go coz there was a town fiesta and ma-traffic. We didn't get his message however, and we've been waiting--and hungry--all along. It was already 2 pm when we learned that he wasn't coming. 
Bought lunch of corned beef, pancit canton, tuna and bread from a nearby sari-sari store.
Robinsons Lipa with the boys. Drove around in search of the famous lomi place but ended up having dinner at Chowking.
Thursday, January 26
Time in the province is so slow. Woke up shortly before 7 am. Yet had enough time to take a bath, eat breakfast, wash the dishes, brush our teeth, walk *leisurely*, and still arrive at the health center early at 8. Clinic opens at 9. We met the rural health midwife Ate Hely and the rest of the BHWs. Had 13 patients total (sina RV, 5 lang. hmph). And lomi for merienda!
Lunch was adobo with sili... anghang-sarap!
Couldn't go out in the rainy weather. Reviewed lit re health projects. Read Biochem. Slept. Grabe, *patabaing baboy* lifestyle ito!
Poor Marven. He's sick. 
(+) fever, chills and vomiting. A> AGE.
Friday, January 27
The scheduled house-to-house BP screening and "weigh-in" activities were cancelled because of the rains. Instead, we paid a visit to an old lady who was stricken with Renal Cell CA, with pulmonary and bone mets. She was bed-ridden, in constant pain from her cancer, paralyzed from the waist-down, and with bowel and bladder incontinence (one of the purposes of our visit was to change her Foley catheter). She was very gracious and even shared with us her life story. And despite her condition, I think she is still more fortunate than others; she was financially well-off, had a supportive family and SHE HAD TIME. (Sometimes when I think of my own mortality, I want a kind of death that's gonna give me time to prepare... definitely NOT something abrupt like an AMI/CVA/accident.)
Lunch was tambakol and pinakbet. I'm glad I'm not carnivorous (anymore) though I’m still not a big fan of pinakbet. But Nanay Cora’s pinakbet was delightful, and I even had 3 helpings of it.
Watched the interblock basketball game over at JB et al's brgy.
Joshua's back--and bronzed--from Camiguin!
Saturday, January 28
Mortality & Morbidity Report at staff house. Back to Manila.
From the creator of Tabulas, comes Listfoo! A site that allows one to create, manage and share lists.
And because I am obsessive-compulsive, and I luv making lists... http://aggie.listfoo.com/ 
HBD Trina!
Clinic in the AM. Had only one patient.
Trainors’ Training in the PM. Staff house. Conducted by our very own consultant preceptor Dr. C. It is a requisite for every incoming block, to hone our skills for when we train the BHWs. It was one of the rare times our block was complete. (We're pretty much antisocial, and keep to our own little groups. ) JB and Erwin were supposed to facilitate a game, but they made us "role-play" instead 
; their instructions were met with protests from the whole block, coz we were all in a "competitive" mood, expecting a game, and NOT another "role-playing".
But I’m especially proud of our group’s skit! The objective of the skit was to show how a community-based health program works--a serious topic, and we were anxious that it would turn out to be boring and proselytizing. But our presentation was a riot! And Joshua was the star of the show, delivering the wittiest lines. (warning: esoteric jokes ahead!) “Kasama ko ang intern ko kase nag-p-preceptorials kame" *malicious smile* "Kilala kita. Kasama kita dati.... Pati yung mga bodyguards mo.” “Kailangan mong magclinic. Para meron tayong M&M!” LOL! I sneaked a peak at the audience during our presentation, and even Dr. C was laughing so hard.
After The Training, RV, Amy and I went on a roadtrip, in search of the ilog "resort". The instructions were clear; we were to look out for "Frank's Burgers" and the "Speed" laundry soap ad, landmarks for when to turn right. But just when the signs were right in front of us, we were diverted by the sight of Mormons. So we missed the signs and drove on, and found ourselves in Laguna! We had to go back and retrace our steps, and this time, kept our eyes on the road and eventually found the "turn" towards the ilog "resort".
It was apparently the same place where my *then* group had our community immersion a couple of years ago. But since I don't drive, I do not actually pay attention to roads and places (hehe! di ba Carlo? Pau? Lee?! 
)
The path to the ilog "resort" was very narrow, littered with chickens and puppies. We even met a horse and a cow along the way, and we had to drive slowly, carefully, to avoid hitting the animals. It was nearing dusk, and we were in the middle of nowhere! Not knowing where the road would lead us. To the ilog "resort"... or the Blair Witch! Buti na lang RV was a cool driver. Had it been somebody else, baka nagkapikunan na kame! (di ba Carlo? )
We eventually found the Blair Witch, este, "resort", but the place was decrepit--it looked like the Blair Witch had actually lived there. There were no other people, just some chickens, a cat, a parrot that says "Tao po!" and some dogs, including one that was tied near the door of the little hut, which also serves as the main entrance to resort... but we found another way, from behind the little hut. hehe
It was a long way down to the riverbank. The place was deserted, and under renovation. But we stopped for a while, to take in the natural sight, to savor the fresh air, and to rest. Saw a blue bird. Pretty!
The way back was less of an adventure.
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Had “bulanglang” for dinner, which is a watery kind of soup, of any rekado + GINGER! Like "adobo" can be anything cooked in soy sauce, i.e. adobong baboy, adobong manok, adobong sitaw, adobong kangkong. For dinner tonight, it was binulanglang na mais! Yum!
Weigh-in: 103 lbs.
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This blog post was brought to you by the letter "B".
A lot has been said about “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” by more credible writers, what with its topping the ratings game and ushering in a new trend in K drama heroines. Check out X’s in-depth review at Twitch, and il_mare’s review at spcnet; il_mare luvd the series so much, she even made an episode guide. But for whatever it’s worth, I just wanna share my sentiments on one of my favorite K-series (which also has the letter “S” in its title, like my other favorite dramas: “Sweet 18”, “Let’s Go To School, Sangdoo”, “Stairway to Heaven”, “Winter Sonata”, and “Summer Scent” )
The series is composed of 16-episodes, each episode about an hour long, though it took me more than an hour to finish each ep, what with all the replaying I did... But for all the replaying, and laughing, and crying, and replaying some more, I breezed through the series and finished it in a couple of days... It was so addicting! If only I didn’t have hospital duties then, I could have finished it in a day (vs. Delicious Proposal which took me several weeks to finish; gawd, it was so unremarkable, that only the luv of Sang Woo and Ye Jin sustained me til the end... but that would be a different story). And thank God, I was on Globe Nonstop else namulubi ako kaka-text kina Phoebe and Lexi (miane for flooding your inboxes!). I wasn’t with them when they watched the series (again, hospital duties), and they had a grand time! But I wasn’t about to miss out on all the fun. And it’s better late than never (same thing happened with “Winter Sonata.” ) 
The yesasia version is entitled “The Lovely Sam Soon”, but I prefer the original Korean title which literally means “My Name is Kim Sam Soon.” Her name, after all, played a central role in her life, the thing she blames for all her misfortunes, and that changing it to something else (Hee Jin) might change the course of her life. (Hmm... I wonder how my life would have been if my name were “Faye Aldover” ) . “Sam Soon” is an old-fashioned Korean name (like Gertrude and Ermengarde are old English names, and Caridad, Procopia, Cofragia are old Filipina names). In the same way, Sam Shik is an old-fashioned male name in Korea.
Sam Soon is South Korea’s answer to Bridget Jones. Like Bridget, she’s nearing her 30s, an age not considered young by society. She’s fat (but because she is a pastry chef!), neurotic (she talks to herself), loud, noisy, and recently brokenhearted... the antithesis to the demure (dying) characters played by Son Ye Jin and Choi Ji Woo in their soaps, who are rarely heartbroken, but rather often confused between two guys vying for their affection. But UNLIKE Bridget who is all “I will not sulk about having no boyfriend and instead develop inner poise and authority and sense of self as woman of substance, complete without boyfriend, as best way to obtain boyfriend.”, Sam Soon has more sense and authority in her, and is a much stronger woman than Bridge (feeling close!). Sam Soon also cries and sulks, but she collects herself soon afterwards, bakes herself a cake (oh my sweet tooth! 
) , reinvents herself, and moves on.
The real-life Kim Sun Ah is more reserved, proficient in English and plays the piano. But she managed to hide these things, shed her poise and gain weight to play the irrepressible Kim Sam Soon. Her “cat-scratch” voice further adds pizzazz to her already interesting character. Sam Soon isn’t the typical drama heroine; she is the typical ordinary person with all her imperfections… just like you and me! And that we are able to relate to her makes her all the more lovable.
Now Hyun Bin plays Sam Shik, *our* typical drama prince, a chaebol’s son, hedonistic, arrogant, plays the piano, BUT DOESN’T DRIVE like Sang Woo and Byung Hun in their soaps. I didn’t recognize him from “Daddy Long Legs”, but gosh he’s so cute in MNIKSS! I luv everything about Sam Shik, from his gelled-back hair to his bright-colored tops (lime green, baby blue, pink!) with queer little patches and details... his supercilious attitude... his intense expression when Sam Soon was nearly hit by a car... as the doting uncle of Mijoo (lucky kid!)... the bitter boyfriend of Hee Jin... the helpless little boy, his head on Sam Soon’s lap, crying out the painful memories of his past... the crazy karaoke singer, his necktie worn around his head... the intense kisser... the tight hugger... *swoon* Now I understand why Phoebe took out BYJ from her Fave 5. .. But I’m not booting out Yonsama. Instead I’m taking out LBH to accommodate Hyun Bin in my Fave 5. I still respect Lee Byung Hun and acknowledge how effective and versatile he is--a waaay better actor than my Fave 5 K actors put together (Kwon Sang Woo + Lee Dong Gun + Jung Woo Seung + BYJ + Hyun Bin). But I never wanted Byung Hun for myself... And I want Hyun Bin, or rather Sam Shik, for me! (I also like Song Joo and Hyuk Jun and Choi Chul Soo and Jun Sang...)
Jung Ryu Won is Lee Yoo Hee Jin, the woman from Sam Shik’s past. Thin and fragile, she is a stark contrast to the big-boned and dominant Sam Soon. Even as she is Sam Soon’s rival, one can’t really hate Hee Jin! I even felt sad and sorry for her, i.e. when Sam Shik’s blowfish mom rejects her, and when she cries in the parking lot, saying “I know I’ll get over you someday.” She’s very nice, very pretty, and speaks good English--not an easy feat, as even the best Korean actors whose characters have supposedly spent years in the US or Australia or any English-speaking territory, fail in timing or inflection or both when delivering English lines.
Completing the requisite love square thingie of K-dramas is Kor-Am Daniel Henney who plays Henry Kim. But this love square thing in MNIKSS is a bit different from the usual, in that the two gorgeous hunks are fighting over the love, NOT of the lead character, but of the second-fiddle girl. Henry Kim is Hee Jin’s doctor, suitor and friend. Though not much a challenging role, Daniel’s performance is not to be undermined as he played the character well especially for a newcomer. Henry Kim’s such a gentleman, so patient and giving... also in contrast to Sam Shik.
The rest of the cast of MNIKSS were all colorful! But my favorite among the secondary characters is Yi Young (played by Lee Ah Yun), the cool, feisty and free-thinking older sister of Sam Soon. 
Aside from its atypical heroine, MNIKSS also presents a more realistic view on love and relationships. It is strongly recommended that MNIKSS be watched after seeing a substantial amount of the usual K-dramas. Such dramas espouse the idea of an “Endless Love”, a “One Great Love”, that starts off as a beautiful friendship in childhood and then blossoms into a wonderful romance, enduring the test of time and distance, evil step mothers and twisted family relations, company problems and scheming directors, amnesia, blindness, cancer and even death. MNIKSS does not. It does not talk about destinies or fates, or soulmates, or childhood sweethearts. But rather, it puts value in every character’s relationship, past, present or future. Even as Sam Soon’s ex was an @ss, their 3-year old relationship was real. They were in love, and this love was genuine (flashback scene in France where Min Woo professes his feelings for Sam Soon in front of a lot of people, and she cries in happines). Sam Shik and Hee Jin’s love story has all the makings of an “Endless Love” story... save for the ending. And even as Hee Jin had Henry Kim waiting for her, she didn’t instantly jump into a relationship with him, but waited for her own wounded heart to mend. The love and relationships of the characters were not hastily disregarded for the new one (not like Hae Won having qualms over her relationship with Jung Jae because her heart starts beating for a total stranger, or Yoo Jin not showing up for her engagement because she sees dead people). It is in fact an affirmation of the “realness” of their previous relationships, as Sam Soon, Sam Shik, and even Hee Jin, go through great lengths to break free from their past, many times stumbling along the way. The ending is also realistic in that while Sam Soon and Sam Shik get together, they still have to work at their relationship and gain the acceptance of Sam Shik’s blowfish mom.
The series has many of allusions to Korean history and pop culture, e.g. Miji King, Mazinger Z, MoMo, etc. But even without knowledge of these references, one can still enjoy Sam Soon, like I did (I am only vaguely familiar with Mazinger Z.) The script is witty and smart. There are a lot of scenes that had me laughing out loud and nearly falling off my seat. I would especially like to mention how the piggyback carry of a drunken girl, idealized in many K-dramas, has been de-romanticized when the drunken Sam Soon PEES on Sam Shik’s back!
To borrow a few lines from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So, what’s with Kim Sam Soon? She who we call Sam Soon by Hee Jin or any other name would still be the same talented pastry chef. The girl with a big body and a big heart to match... who laughs and cries, and has big dreams... and fears... and flaws. Yet in her imperfection lies a real human being, who loves and gets hurt, yet continues to live.
Happy Valentines Day everyone!