Dear Present Self...

 While I was cleaning earlier, I found this letter I wrote maybe when I was in 3rd Year or 4th Year College during one of our recollections. I will spare you the burden of reading it 'coz of my illegible handwriting haha, so this it how it goes:

"Dear present self,
Hello :D !
I know you are enjoying your life now. You are not stressing yourself too much and that's good because you are happy doing it but be sure to know your priorities first but I know you are good at multitasking and great at cramming :D. Love yourself before you love others too much. Treasure you friends and of course your family. Don't regret things that make you happy. Enjoy life. Laugh always. Let God lead your journey to the finish line. SMILE. :) Don't rush.
Much L<3ve,
Jean Michael L. Castillo
:)"

I found myself smiling the first time I read it. I realized, I didn't changed that much since I wrote that letter. I'm still a happy-go-lucky person. I do not stress myself on petty things. I still cram, cram, cram. I think this letter still applies until today. I must know my priorities to achieve my dreams but of course achieving my dreams won't be fulfilling without my treasured family and friends, and reaching the finish line will be impossible without God' guidance. Thank you Past/Present self. 

Snapshot | Shroud of Darkness

06|13|13

Life may bring you many grey clouds, but remember around every grey cloud there is always a silver lining.

- Old One TTM

Last Minute.

Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC). Never imagined I would go to this hospital for my internship. I only considered 2 hospitals after successfully passing my 4th Year 1st Semester and heck JRRMMC wasn't even on my top 2. It was only in that last minute during enrollment when my usual indecisive self kicked in. I began having doubts whether to pursue on my decision to enlist my name on Delos Santos-STI and only in that time that JRRMMC popped into my mind. 

I've heard so many things about these two hospitals from higher batches who has finished their internship from DeLo and JR. To summarize things, If you want to have your internship in a toxic-free and clean setting, choose DeLo but if you want to stress yourself with tons of workload, practice near a -not-so-safe-vicinity, and eat MNM for lunch, btw MNM stands for (Mura na Madumi pa) as my professor told us before, choose JR. 

Realizations came pouring in that very minute. I told myself (or maybe God said it to me I don't really know haha), "Anong gagawin ko sa DeLo? Tumunganga? Tatambay? Magiging decoration?" Then it became clearer to me that JR is the right choice. I already stressed myself during my undergrad years, studying those core subjects (Hematology, Clinical Microscopy, Clinical Chemistry, etc..) and again I told myself or God maybe, "Why not put it to good use? Why not choose a hospital where you can practice it thoroughly?"

And that was almost 7 months ago, I've already gone through 5 posts (Clinical Microscopy, Clinical Chemistry, Bacteriology, Hematology, Blood Banking) and I am currently in my last week on my 6th post, Histopathology. My days as a JR intern is coming to an end  and I can proudly say that choosing Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center's one of the best decisions I made in my life.

 P.S.(I'll save my experiences and learnings from each posts and JR for a later post, one is not enough).

Early morning thoughts.

I've graduated already like 7 days ago but I don't feel like being one, maybe because I still have at least 3 weeks of internship to finish and boy time moves so sloooooooooooooowwww! But I'm happy that I still have this business to finish because this internship is giving me 3 weeks more to delay the problems that a graduate usually encounters. 

3 weeks from now I will be enjoying my temporary break, a break from all the mind breaking acads, all the extractions, all the follow-ups, all the sleepless nights, all the blood typing and cross matching, all the bitchy nurses every morning, all the toxic doctors. Internship will end and my mind and body will at last be given enough rest for extensive reviews for the board exam.

3 months from now I should have passed the Revalida. Still having reviews for the board but of course having some enjoyment in between. 3 months from now I will be a teenage no more.

3 years from now I should be a RMT, ASCPi already. I should already be in my 2nd Year or 3rd Year in Medicine. Maybe I will be wearing reading glasses already because of too much reading, reading and more reading. Love life rarely comes in med school I heard so I;m not getting my hopes up. Still single but happy and focused.

and it will be 3:00 A.M. in the morning 30 minutes from now. Oh I hate it when my mind wanders too much in the future. I want to take it slowly. One battle at a time. I need a cup more of motivation, 1 gallon of inspiration, a pinch of love, a tablespoon of luck, tons of kilos of hard work and with God's continued sprinkle of blessings, I will reach my goal. 

Lokohan Ng Sarili 2013

This is my own version of the yearly "New Year's Resolution" where MOST of the time isn't successful maybe because you got lazy in the middle or you're just plain lazy and many more reasons, valid or not, that you failed to do all your resolutions in the past year. I just hope I can do at least a few of these things in my list this year.

 1.) STUDY HARDER.

When it comes to studying, I really can't help it but slack off. I study BUT when I know that I learned just enough to pass, I stop. So this year, I'm going to be more efficient in studying because I'm going to take my Licensure Exam this September 2013 and not only hoping to pass but hoping to TOP it. Anyway, who doesn't want to top the Board Exam?! :))

2.) EXPLORE NEW PLACES.

I've been to many places last year. Went to Baguio and celebrated the Flower Festival there last February 2012. Went to Subic to experience the ZOOBIC Adventure and enjoyed my tour in Cebu and Bohol with my closest HS friends. This year I want to explore places I've never been to. I want to go to other countries too.  Places on my "Travel List" this year: Palawan, Bacolod, Ilo-Ilo, Batanes and Singapore. 

3.) MAKE EXERCISE A HABIT.

I want to shed a few pounds, be healthy and monitor my diet. Plain and simple.

4.) COLLECT & READ MORE BOOKS...

and blog about it. I must read at least 20 books/novels this year. I want to meet new characters, enjoy new plots and adventures, whine and appreciate the endings. I also want to add at least 50 books to my growing book collection (160+ and counting).

5.) BE ORGANIZED.

Burara ako and I need to change that attitude. 

6.) SPEND MORE TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Every minute is special so spending more time with my Family and Friends will make it extra special. 

7.) SAVE MORE.

How can I travel and buy books if i don't save MORE money? 

Lastly

8.) Enjoy What Life Has To Offer

Live. Laugh. Love. Pray More. Complain Less. 

WELCOME 2013!

Student Life | Internship Jitters

After using millions of neurons, reading TONS of notes and understanding each of them, enduring (not so) sleepless nights and the countless venipunctures, I can proudly say that I SURVIVED the most difficult 2 semesters of my academic life! The journey wasn't easy, most of the time I was either scanning my notes, studying for a long quiz, reviewing past lessons, making assignments or just having the pleasure of sleeping after a very long day at school but every effort was worth it because I passed all my subjects and tomorrow will be 1st day of my Internship as a Medical Technology student at Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

And now I'm freaking the hell out because of it! I don't know what to do when it actually starts. I think being this nervous is just normal for starters. JRMMC (correct me if I'm wrong) is the second largest public hospital here in PH so I am really pressured to do my best in this hospital. I'm imagining a lot of blood and not to mention gallons of urine and different types of stool samples. Patient interaction isn't a problem because we MedTechs do not deal with them often. Tomorrow will just be an orientation so I think we will be toured there by our Clinical Instructor and then we will be assigned to our post this week and I hope I will be assigned in the Clinical Chemistry lab. 

The bright side is lesser neurons will be used and sleeping late won't be a problem except for 16 and 24 hours duty. Good luck and God bless to all my co-interns!

I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.I'm so nervous.

Movie | Recently Watched

My summer class just ended a week ago and a way to keep me busy this after that is watching new movies. So this past 3 days I've watched two movies, the first one was the movie "Gone" starring Amanda Seyfried and the second one was one of my awaited movies this year, "Snow White and the Huntsman" starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Thor....I mean Chris Hemsworth but he will always be Thor in my eyes.  

"Gone"

I was expecting this movie to be good because of the trailer but *sigh* it did not reach my expectation. Just like Randy Jackson said to Jessica Sanchez when she sang "I'll Be There", I was waiting for a "moment moment" in the movie but it never gave me that "moment, moment". Lame story, no remarkable twists, it didn't gave me the "oooooh" and the "aaaaaah" and I was like "JUST LIKE THAT?!" when the movie ended though I was happy because its as if I've rented the whole movie house for the two of us who were there. HAHA! Don't waste your money watching this! 

"Snow White and the Huntsman"

One of my anticipated movie this year that is why I watched it on its opening day. All I can say is the mirror must have been high! IMO Queen Ravenna is much gorgeous than that constipated Snow White even if the queen does not have a hair black as night, lips red as blood and skin white as snow and watching Thor wielding an axe is just awkward, he should have brought Mjolnir and ended the war easily so that no lives were sacrificed. The movie is really nice and you must watch it if you have time!

 I found this edited poster of the movie in 9GAG and it will somehow show you what I see while watching the movie. 

I Forgot I Had A Blog

I promised myself to constantly update this blog but it has been almost 4 months since my last post. So in the next few days, to my 4 followers lol, i'll post some updates, random stuffs and  bla bla to make this blog come to life again.

Personal | Thank You JANUARY

This month was too much of a whirlwind to be able to dissect into parts. Below is an overview of the things that happened to the first month of the year.

30: School

31: School

I can say that January was a productive month for me. I did a variety of things in 31 days. I become more "focused" at school. Read one inspirational book (Choose the Color of Your Life by Alfredo E. Buergo) and one novel (A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin). Attended a concert (California Dreams Tour) and a Party ( DJ Skeet Skeet). Spent time with new friends during Chinese New Year, at the concert, party, food trip at Mercato then an overnight stay. Perfect attendance in this month's Sunday masses. Watched only two movies :( , a significant decrease from last year due to my busy schedule. 

I spent a significant amount of moolah but I also saved a fair amount of it. I kept track of all my expenses this month and I'm doing it for the rest of the year. School life is a rollercoaster ride. I never paid too much attention to acads not until the start of this year. I need to work my ass off to get throught with this semester.

Never saw any of my High School super friends but we communicate through twitter. I miss them. I miss my family too. I want them to come here or I want to go home even for a day or two.

I was sick for one week. My tonsilitis / sore throat is recurring. I need to see a doctor if this happens again. I'm currently suffering from cough and colds. 

For all the things that happened this month, I thank God for making me strong and for helping me get through with the all the challenges, for all the happy memories and for the sad ones for the past 31 days even if i don't remember all the things that happened in that span of time. Looking forward to the month of Love, February.

Goodbye and Thank You January. See you next year. :)

Now Playing | California Dreams: Thank God Its Sunday

Last Sunday Night was another moment I will never forget. Manila was the last stop for Katy's California Dreams Tour and I really did make sure that I can watch it. Went with my twitter buddies and MedTech mates, Josh and Venice. We really can't contain our excitement for the  past 16 days when we bought our ticket and when last night came, we danced, we sang, we screamed at the top of our lungs. We had so much fun even though the show started late and our location only permits us to see a Mini Katy Perry.  

(c) Philippine Concerts

I must say I really enjoyed my first concert this year. Katy Perry was really having fun. I really like it when she's saying "Manila",  music to my ears. Her voice was amazing and she kept the concert very lively until the last song. And of course, who wouldn't be mesmerized by her beauty? She was a goddess on stage! I want her to come back soon!

She sang these songs:

"Teenage Dream"
"Hummingbird Heartbeat"
"Waking Up in Vegas"
"Ur So Gay"
"Peacock"
"I Kissed a Girl"
"Circle the Drain"
"E.T."
"Not Like the Movies"
"The One That Got Away" (Performed in replacement of a medley)
"Hot n Cold" (contains elements of "I Want Candy")
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"
"Firework"

Encore: "California Gurls" 

Photo by Magic Liwanag Photography. 

After the concert, we went to Republiq Club to catch Katy up close but sadly she didn't show up but DJ Skeet Skeet was there to spice up our early "celebration" of Chinese New Year and again we sang and danced, also, her crew was there, the back-up dancers that was with her on the stage and I saw Ms. Slot Machine and damn that sexy back! They were having fun with everybody in the dance floor. We also saw local stars there like Ruffa Guttierez (Gorgeous!), Geneva Cruz (Sexy back!), Ai-Ai Delas Alas at some resto (Very Simple) and the Azkals. 

I went home smelling of sweat, smoke and alcohol but I only thought of one thing in my mind before I went to sleep:

I wanna do it aaaaaaaall again. ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ "Last Friday Night Tune".

Personal | So Far

 14 km of 366:

14 days after New Year and I've been through ups and downs already but of course its really inevitable to experience these kind of happenings in our life. We'll just have to shake off the bad things and get courage from them and just enjoy the happy things that we will be carrying in our heart and memories forever. 

So Far, school's been very toxic. Prelim grades have been given but don't ask about it anymore. Midterm has been very busy; lecture here, laboratory there, and too many quizzes everywhere. Knowing more about my 2 best friends: Blood and Urine. Almost met an old friend (Mr. Poop Guy) and will meet new friends in the future. I just hope my brain will not disintegrate after this semester.

So Far, I haven't done "366 Days of Me" so I'm scratching it off my 2012 to do list. I am now maintaining the "Feed My Piggy Bank Project", haven't miss a day yet. One on my to do list will be fulfilled next Sunday and it is to attend a concert and I'll be attending Katy Perry's concert! *fanboy scream*.

So Far, I haven't missed any Sunday Mass yet. Tomorrow I'll be attending the Mass at San Beda Church. I am planning to visit a different Church every Sunday for my obligation as a Son of God.

So Far, I haven't started my diet yet. DAYUM! and I'm finding time where I can do exercise.

So Far, I've only watched one movie and that is Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Looking forward to Snow White and the Huntsman, Avengers, Hunger Games and many more.

So Far, I've read one book out of the minimum of 10 I've set this year. It was an inspirational book entitled "Choose the Colors of your Life" written by Alberto E. Buergo.

This is all I can remember of in the first 14 days of the year and I think my 2012 started off good! I still have to fill in 352 days with memorable memories and experiences.

Snapshot | Yet Another Sunset

Gumasa, Sarangani Province

Personal | Christmas Break 2011

It was the time of the year again where we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ and Christmas season is my most favorite season of the year. It is the season where I feel very positive and thankful for my life, I don't allow negative vibes come near me. This year's Christmas Break was my most awaited one because I really needed to escape from the wrath of College Life, this semester's really difficult for me, at times I felt hopeless but that's just short-lived 'coz i don't really dwell on pessimism and just look on the bright side. So when the break started, there were only two things i wanted to do in this year's break: 1.) Spend quality time with my Family and

Spend quality time with my most treasured friends.

Christmas Season is one of the best season where I can really bond with my HS mates because if not all, most of us are going home to the province to celebrate the event with our family. I haven't really prepared financially to this event even though i knew i would spend a lot because of the every other day dates with SMILEs.

December 19

Went out with two of my best buddies. Celebrated Ben Ben's 19th birthday. We went to Robinson's GenSan and ate our lunch at Bigby's Cafe and Restaurant, after that we watched Lion King 3D (Ben Ben's Treat). We really thought we were the only ones watching the movie 'coz the movie house was empty, we sang loud and laughed loud inside but to our dismay, we had company. After the movie, we saw Ivy and chatted with her and then we formulated a raw plan to have our Christmas Party after Christmas day.

December 21

Planned to eat dinner at Dimsum Diner but unfortunately it was close and Ivy was really devastated çoz she really wanted to try the food to our new meeting place, we decided then to eat at Basilio's, a resto that mainly serves Pastas. After dinner, we went to the newly finished City Hall and Provincial Capitol to have our picture taken. After that we went to our house to have snack and just talk, laugh, talk, laugh.

City Hall

At our house (Me, Mikee, Rea, Aldrich, Allaine, Ivy)

 December 23

Another dinner date with SMILES, I was supposed to watch movie with them but I was on my appointment to the doctor so I just had dinner with them. Ate at Dimsum Diner, new faces were Mariel, Jan, Gaylord and Helric who just got back. After the dinner, we went again to our house to talk about our college life.

No Pictures Were Uploaded. :(

December 26
And yet another dinner date with SMILES, and again i was supposed to watch movie with them but i received their text late. They fetch me up in our house and then went to Tupi, So. Cot., to eat dinner. The Chicken Barbecue was delicious! After the dinner we had our "Pictorial" because we all wore neutral colored clothes. We did serious poses, solo pictures, jeje-poses and many more!

JeJe Pose

Super Duper Wacky pose

December 28
The highlight of my Christmas Break happened the night of this day. In our group, every time we plan, mostly it remains as a plan for a very long time or sadly forever, sometimes we execute the plan but only few will attend and rarely the plan is successful (both executed with many present). Obviously, we only expected a few of us to go, like 10-12 persons, so we rented the Videoke Room that is only good for 10 people but to our surprise (the ever always present people), time after time, our classmates arrived until we we're very crowded in the small room we rented, so we've decided to transfer to a ballroom sized room, which was very cheap by the way. So by 7:00 P.M., we reached 28 people and that's a first! Only 10-12 people were absent.

I can't enumerate all the things we did but that night was pure Fun! We played games, we sang, we danced, we chit-chatted to catch up with everyone's life lately, everyone is smiling, laughing, taking pictures of everyone and every moment that has happened, in short we just really missed each other very much! It's really rare for us to be this many so we really cherished the short time we're together.

I don't consider them as friends anymore, I already consider each one of them as my family. My non-biological sisters and brothers from different mothers and fathers. I really love these guys!

12 years of Friendship and going strong!

Let me share to you a nice quote about friendship:

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. -Elisabeth Foley

Personal | Twenty-Eleven

Before 2011 officially ends, let us look back to the memories I made this past 364 days. All happy memories, bad memories isn't allowed. This year has been memorable as the past years were. Many things happened, happy and sad. Experienced new things. Failed and Succeeded. Met new friends. Made new memories with old friends. Bonded with Family. Strengthened my relationship with God. This year is too good to forget.

I thank God for giving me 2011. I thank my family for their unconditional love. I thank my college friends for being there 'coz i was always alone. I thank SMILES for another year added to our 11 years friendship. I thank myself for holding on too strong and for enjoying life in the midst of problems and that of course with the help of God.


 January 1, 2011

December 28, 2011




I'm hoping 2012 will be better or be as good as 2011. Looking forward to new experiences. Excited to make new memories with everyone. I want to meet new friends. I need to be productive. I must change for the better. I don't believe the world is ending. Another 365 and a half days to thank God for.




Let's Get It ON!