I always get a second shot on something. I dunno, maybe God put me on earth to give me a second chance in everything I do. Maybe to appreciate these things better and not to take everything for granted. Like when entering med school. Like when taking this residency match shit again. It's a good thing, yeah I agree, to be given a second chance/second shot in life, but man! I get dizzy with the emotional roller coaster ride that goes with it.
I just filled up my application for the match. Hopefully, a good pediatrics program will hire me this time. Tough choice: Chicago or New York? I'm eyeing Chicago right now, but living in New York is one heck of a party! And besides, a lot of my classmates are in New York. But if I want to get serious with my chosen field, I could use the cozy, relaxed atmosphere of Chicago. I say I should get down to business this time.
In a month, I'll be leaving for LA. I'm planning to stay for 6 months but if I get a job before that, I'll definitely leave for the Philippines right away. It's expensive to live in the States! Especially when you're living under your parent's subsidy and a tourist visa to chain you down from getting a job. Well, here are 10 things I will definitely miss:
10. The pirated DVDs. Crucify, chain me or eat me alive...but,honey, I live for piracy. The third world's revenge. Thank God for limewire and torrentspy. Thank God for Quiapo. For approximately a buck a copy, how can you go wrong? Even pirated stuff in the States is expensive ($4, from the subway). And most of the time, I get better DVD bootleg copies here than anywhere else.
9. The fabulous street food. Every now and then, I get this weird cravings for street food: grilled isaw(pig intestines), grilled tenga (pig ears), fishballs and shawarma. Somehow, it gives me a weird high.
8. The movie theater . OK, I admit, I'm a film geek as well. I love going to the theater. And for 2 bucks a movie, you'll find me in the theater as much as 3x a week! 2 bucks for a large popcorn as well. During my last trip in the States, I only went to the theater thrice in 6 months. Can you imagine such deprivation?
7. My free CDs. Thanks to a friend who works for a distributing company, I get three or four promotional copy of recently released CDs. Makes my boo happy (see previous post -- my boo).
6. Free party invites. Perks of being a contributor/writer in an alternative lifestyle magazine published here in the Philippines.
7. Booksale. I can buy all the books I want from this little store and at super bargain prices!! Imagine I got a hardbound copy of How To Lose Friends and Alienate People for 50 pesos. It didn't sound like a great deal,huh? But, for me, it definely was! It was a great book. It's a memoir, FYI, not a Chicken-Soup-for-my-wretched-soul or something.
5. My supply of Reader's Digest. My mom's friend supplies me with back issues every third month. She actually works for Chatelaine (a Canadian home magazine) but she goes back to the Philippines every 3 months. Her mom was my patient and she's eternally grateful that I pulled her back to life again. I didn't charge her (my PF) because she's my mom's best friend. But the X deal is better than what I expected.
4. My cosmetic freebies. Sigh, I'll miss my facials, spa and cosmetic freebies. Perks of befriending the whole Cosmo mag staff and courtesy of my best friend in the pharma business.
3. My patients. Honestly. I hope I could feel the same compassion to other races but it's getting a little longer than I expected. I may sound racist but if you were taught to care for little brown people, it needs a little more effort to understand and feel empathy for big white rednecks and big brothas from the hood. You know what I mean. I even read The Invisible Man by Thomas Ellison and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison to listen to the black man's voice. It did help a lot. But it me who needs a little work (i.e. exposure).
2. My room. I feel elated when I am surrounded with my books. (I know, I know--I am a geek. I thought that's settled already.)
1. Boracay. I will definitely go back here for a shot of paradise.
No comments:
Post a Comment