Here's another transferred entry from my old blog, dated September 8, 2005.

Below is an old post from the first blog I kept through the Freindster social networking site. I decided to move it here (and another old post) since I plan to delete that blog in its entirety already. This is dated September 14, 2005, a week after my 25th birthday, and a few days afteer being confined at a private hospital for a day, diagnosed with the sometimes life-threatening dengue fever.

+ ~~~ + ~~~ + ~~~ + ~~~ + ~~~ + ~~~ + ~~~ +

This makes a good blog: my short hospital confinement. I’ll be back to my “work” 7:30am tomorrow, Philippine time, but there are some things I’ll keep with me from that stay. I’ll share 7 of them with you:

1) I realize that being cared for, you can help those who care for you become generous with their time.

2) You have to learn to be hurt in order to be helped.

3) Being sick, I felt the assurance that I will always be cared for, for the rest of my life, no matter what happens to me in the future.

4) Your visitors will serve to amuse you, so take care that you be pleasant with them.

5) Cheerfulness while being sick is possible: Just look at those bright flowers and the even brighter smiles of those caring for you.

6) Your illness serves to help you in one way or another. It’s up to you to find out how.

7) In such a confined space, you can let your heart expand by praying for those around you or not exactly around you. You have all the time in the world to do so.

I had a pretty grueling Saturday yesterday, handling the UNIV2008 orientation at Banilad Study Center by my lonesome .. And I'll be doing the same thing in two more Saturdays (although I hope a friend will be around to give her UNIV testimony next week...)! I'm not complaining though. I like being with college students and listening to the ideas they have to offer, though it can be kind of intimidating learning to handle the LCD projector for the first time and speaking at length about the local phase of an International Student Congress I have just been recently in charge of here in Cebu. I hope my efforts to smile bear fruit.

Because of this responsibility, I decided to let a chance to help a friend out in her research work (plus honorarium) pass by. I don't think it is wise for me to commit to something I won't be able to give my full attention to right now. Time is of the essence and I want to take on only the things that I can handle.

I'm still a jobless doctor for the meantime, and I spent the morning of July 17 cleaning up my "writer's drawer".... and look what I dug up! A copy of my batch's prophecy (USC-BS Biology and Marine Biology) which I wrote way back in early 2001! I'm not sure now if it's the same one that I wrote for our JS prom, but it might be a copy of one I wrote about everyone in our batch (except myself of course, hehehehe!) for the CAS yearbook (which never materialized)..... Anyway... enjoy and apologies in advance to those of my classmates and friends who may not find their names below...BTW, made some very minor editing changes as well...Kabuang lang gyud ni!!!!

PS. To my classmates: this is the same thing I posted in our yahoogroups. You don't have to read it all over again... Unless you want to!

Prophecy

It is the year 2011. The biology and marine biology graduates of the year 2001 are holding a grand reunion of sorts in the occasion of the wedding of two of their own: Dr. Eugene Gabuya and Ms. Janice Tocao. So, how far have the class of 2001 traveled on this road of life? Let us then look into the lives of these individuals to see how much the Fates have favored them. Dr. Euge, as he is fondly called, has been enjoying tremendous success in coaching the USC Biology basketball team to its record 4th straight victory in the annual biolympics. Toki has just recently given up on pharmaceuticals and is now deeply involved in seaweed farming and processing with Jenny Lyn Melgo, PhD. Dr. Melgo also owns a world-reknowned catering business on the side.

Gwendolyn and Angelika, the batch's singing divas now jointly own a cyberaoke joint, "The Daydreamers", which is now the hottest craze in town. They sometimes perform duets in front of their clients to much applause and adulation. Gika also helps out divemaster Honeyluz's newly established "DIVE Shoppe". Aside from conducting dive lessons and renting out dive equipment, Honey is also the accomplished head coach of a promising group of young swim champs. Jehllean is another of the enterprising members of Batch 2001. She is now the proud owner of an up-and-coming disco joint dubbed the "Jabongga-jabongga", which rivals Zero Below and H2O. She is currently planning another similar venture with batchmates Rhea and Juliet to put up "Rodent House" in Mandaue City. Juliet, former Ms. Biolympics is now the most sought-after image model of all sorts of beauty products. She is also assisting Dr. Negapatan in the field of medical research involving cloned rodents as test subjects. On the other hand, reknowned psychiatrist Dr. Formentera has established a cutting edge communications industry, recently establishing its first international head office near Pune University, India.

Among its ranks, the batch has produced two of its own who are members of the noble teaching profession. Professor Chester Brazalote, fondly called Sir Oblong by his students has been teaching biology to sophomore high school students for eight years now at a certain exclusive school for girls. Although considered as the "kilabot ng mga highschoolers", this family man is surprisingly devoted to his pretty and loving wife. Dr. Sherryl Lipio, on the other hand had been assistant professor teaching advanced college biology subjecta at MSU-IIT. but was just recently fired from her position...Rumor has it that a group pf concerned parents filed a joint complaint when it was discovered that her male students just couldn't concentrate on the subject matter since they were concentrating on her in class... She is now weighing the option of taking another round of post-graduate studies either in Harvard or in Oxford University.

Dyosa Marie Poquita, M.Sc. and Maria Lourdes Docoy, M.Sc. have been quietly engaging in their prawn farming business when Ms. Poquita discovered a new species of sea slug. After careful taxonomic studies, she named the new species Didinus slugisimus after her business partner. Meanwhile, Dr. Cabaitan is now the Cebu Chapter head of the Philippine National Red Cross. His beloved wife Kareen has just retired from her modeling career after giving birth to her fifth child. She plans to collaborate with Jenny and Jehllean in their present business ventures.

James, known to the batch by his surname Saso, is now peacefully setting up home with his wife on a deserted tropical island. Their only means of communicating with the world is through a single two-way radio unit. On a nearby island, Mark Dimzon, PhD. and Mike Joshua Palomar, PhD. are now deep into their top-secret research ventures. Nobody really knows what they are exactly up to for the sake of science... Deaver Merin has migrated to the US to fulfill his repressed rockstar dreams... People are still trying to determine exactly how many hearts he has broken along the way... Frankie Ligas now has double PhD.'s and is putting up a military science training facility right next to the Ligas School of Biophysics. Fritzie has been practicing medicine in Cavite for the past couple of years... Her husband's foremost complaint is the havoc her 13 pet iguanas bring to their otherwise normal household.

After finishing medicine on scholarship at Southwestern University, Dr. Angelica Logarta began to teach in Gullas...after a year though, she opted to teach at Cebu Doc., where she has been instrumental in molding the minds of young aspiring doctors. Dr. Joy Adolfo is a fellow in the field of psychiatry like Dr. Formentera. She has been taking care of patients the "Patch Adams Way". Due to the high demand for her services in the field though, she is also a practicing pediatrician. Dr. Abe Montejo has surprisingly opted not to practice after passing the medical board exams... He was last seen digging throught the muddy substrate in the middle of the Kawasan Falls after having discovered still another new species of polychate. He is said to be looking for other waterfall sites to start digging in. The malpractice suit against Bimbo Tequillo has just been dismissed. It involved a patient in the waiting room who died after a case of excessive laughter. Dr. Elmer Kent Lopez, an obstetrician-gynecologist who holds office next door to Dr. Tequillo was named and accessory to the much publicized "laughter crime". That case has also been dismissed. Dr. Lopez is also often chosen as a keynote speaker on events honoring the National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

So many achievements in a decade of time... Surely, there is more in store for Biology and Marine Biology batch 2001 in the years ahead... Only time will tell what greater heights these favored mortals would be able to reach as Time unrolls its thread of life...