A Whirlwind Week

The past week made me dizzy with work.  I spent my last days at the office I left so I was precoccupied with the endorsements, parting messages, despedidas and all.  With no break in-between, I assumed my new position in my new job.  The set-up is totally different.  From private company to government. From manager to technical officer.  As a newbie of course, work is overwhelming but what’s more important is for us to learn the ropes first.  Hope to get this by smoothly and with lesser stress.

Bruxism

That’s right.  It’s a medical term for the condition when you unconsciously grind your teeth against other teeth.  They say it’s due to stress–your subconscious telling you to slow things down a bit. 

I have bruxism–so when the dentist happened to check on my teeth again, after a filling, I was reminded to get myself a mouthguard–to prevent the further thinning of my two lower incisors which suffered the brunt of my toothgrinding all this time.  And got the mouthguard I did…I started to wear it, feeling like Manny Pacquiao ready for a fight.  It’s really inconvenient to wear especially for someone who never wore any brace or retainer.  But has to get used to it, lest I get a false teeth just because of this inane condition.

My Speech #4

CONQUERING THE WORLD

“How can we observe what we can’t see? This is my mind-boggling million peso question for you tonight.  The answer is simple: close your eyes.  Think of one big thing that shook the world lately.  Think of its effects on us. Think of the strong reaction that we had to it.  Think of how concerned and scared we had been.  More clues–it’s contagious, but is it serious and dangerous?  No!  Then, it’s not Michael Jackson’s death. This is not the first time that this happened to the world, but we seem to be unprepared for it.  End of the world?  No, but close.  It’s the news that had many updates for so long a time already up to now.  It’s like the daily weather forecast.  The horoscope? Definitely not!

 H1N1, anyone?  Yeah!  It’s the influenza A(H1N1) virus gimmick, rather pandemic. A virus as it is, it is invisible, but its presence is very much palpable, its traits very much observable.  Here are some of its traits:

First, it’s contagious.  When it was born or came out of this world, it has spread on the globe like gooseflesh cropping on the skin. From Mexico, the US, to Canada, Europe, Asia, Philippines to Fiji, it has really arrived.  It has traveled far, fast, and wide into the world.  It’s very much alive inside of us, in the droplets that we cough and sneeze out, in the very spaces that separate us from one another, on any surface of any object.  And most importantly, it is daring enough to cross any border, without minding a barrier or two, even continents, struggling to get into anything to spread itself, like the cold air from the aircon that pervades even the thickest of jackets when we’re in the movies.

Second, it’s a tough and sturdy virus.  It can survive extremes of temperature, it can survive the ice of Alaska and the deserts of Egypt.  It can hit any person, even a strong boxer like Manny Pacquiao will go down on the floor, even those with very good immune systems may suffer from its fury when challenged.    If a person is weak or diseased, it knows when to take the opportunity to knock down that person’s defenses.  It is also hard to put off, so you have to sing the whole “Happy Birthday” song while you wash your hands. 20 seconds to be exact.  “Happy birthday to you……”

Third, it’s a new virus on the block, making it very unique.  It came into being from different flu genes found in birds, pigs and humans. This unique pedigree becomes a personal gift that it uses to its advantage.  Up to now, the make-up of the virus still baffles scientists and virus experts around the world.  Humans aren’t ready for this virus yet because we still don’t have immunity to this.  No vaccine, no medication, has yet been made to prevent and cure this virus 100%.  Being new, it’s also thought to be an adventurous virus.  Just like some of its ancestors, it has the potential to mutate into a very aggressive and powerful virus that can wipe out mankind.  It might be the kind that can easily jump from humans to animals and vice-versa, at the speed of air.  If this happens, this will be the pandemic of all pandemics.

Viruses have been here with us since time immemorial.  But unlike us humans, they have managed to survive the challenges of the times better than us, by transforming themselves, undergoing evolution of sorts as far as their traits are concerned, for them to be effective in what they’re supposed to do.  Spread itself, take down a person’s immune system, and grip the world in pandemic. 

There are three personal viral lessons I will like to talk to you about:

As a person, my enthusiasm for life and what I do is in the proportion of a contagion.  I spread the word on how marvelous living is despite setbacks and tough times.  I am passionate about being a doctor and a public health practitioner and I intentionally infect others with this passion, sharing with them something which I know is transcendent—the love of the world. 

I am a determined and focused person.  I see my goal everyday eye to eye.  Whatever it takes to get it, I will do it.  Things will trip me, make me fall, or even stop me in my tracks but I will persevere and persevere and persevere until I get what I want.  Just like how I accomplished things in my life: taking Medicine, passing the boards, having a stable well-paying job, getting a Masters, and lately, getting a good position in the government.

But after all that’s been said and done, it’s about transformation.  From a meek, uninterested, unconfident child in grade school, I have become what I am today, a person ready to conquer the world with his profession, expertise, and special skills.  It takes assessing one’s self, sizing up the situation around, and seizing opportunities to reinvent ourselves for us to be more formidable and more capable of achieving our goal.

We need not wait for the next wave of pandemic to come out of our own.  We need not see the A(H1N1) virus for us to believe—that deep in ourselves, we might not see it, but we have the power,  the skills, and the ability to transform into someone who can change the world.

Good evening, fellow toastmasters!

Airness

A letter to the editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine recently explained the epidemiology of the current A (H1N1) pandemic in relation to international air travel.  The study analyzed flight patterns, especially the destinations of travelers from Mexico.  It showed that countries which are the common destinations, like the US and Canada, are also those which have the large number of cases of A (H1N1) virus infection.

In conclusion, studies of air travel patterns can help us predict where the next epidemic will take place so we can set anticipatory measures.  Life in this globalized and connected world now has certainly become easier but also scarier, because diseases now are more easily spread.

Little steps to my dream…

 

 

 

My brand new job!

Bagoong Club

I missed dining out with my Hon in restaurants we’ve never been to.  When we got the chance to go to the Morato area in QC, where a lot of new restaurants have sprouted, we made sure to visit Bagoong Club, a quaint restaurant that looks more like a house than a resto.  The target: special bagoong-inspired dishes.  For lunch, we chose to partake of their Bagoong Club combination–with grilled and fried pork in addicting bagoong paste.  The ambiance is rustic, and several photos displayed on the walls suggest its celebrity appeal–with many famous personalities having dined there already.

Will surely go back to Bagoog Club to try out their other stuff.

Transformed Movie

 

Watched the sequel to the famous robot movie franchise of Michael Bay.  The movie is fast-paced, with lots of action going on, and testosterone!  The plot can he hardly recognized, if it has any, and the transformation of the robots cannot be appreciated because of too much close-ups and rotating cameras, which makes the whole viewing experience dizzying and nauseating.  Watching it in IMAX didn’t contribute to the appreciation.  Good thing the tickets we got are only for free.

And the story is mushier and the lines of the stars and robots are much “cornier” than in the first movie.  Which makes me wanting to go back to watching the first movie to bring back the glory of the Transformers which I have grown up loving as a child, even before the movie ends.

H1N1 News

The media is still abuzz with A (H1N1) news, especially when it recently reported the first Filipino mortality PROBABLY due to it.  Metro Manila has been declared to have a LOW-LEVEL community outbreak.  Many more, even politicians, are becoming more concerned with how the virus rapidly spreads and how the DOH responds to this health problem, even criticizing the department for downplaying the calibre of this virus; thus creating confusion among people.  Should they be alarmed or should they be complacent?  But I believe the middle ground should be the case.  People should be concerned of it and actively take charge of their health to avoid getting it.  Thus, boosting one’s immune system and personal hygiene are king in these times of flu.  Let’s start singing “Happy birthday!”  and repeat as we wash our hands.

At this point, there is no telling when H1N1 would cease to be in the limelight.

The Biggest Career Shift

From private to government, my career will have its biggest turnaround ever.  With my newly earned MPH, I have decided to chart a Public Health career to realize my personal vision of working for international health organizations.  A lot of considerations came into the decision process–financial, family, etc. but taking this first step seems to be the most sensible thing to do now at this point of my life.  Momentum, youth, and soon-to-be-lost personal freedom are on my side now so I decided to take this calculated risk.  “No guts, no glory!”

Adjustments into the new system I’m entering create some sort of anxiety for me.  But with the good Lord with me always, I will pass all trials that will come my way.

Pandemic

And so the WHO already sounded the A (H1N1) pandemic alarm bell after transmissions of the disease had proven to be more widespread and more people are being infected.  This creates further alarm and panic among people all over the world.    After 40 years, another influenza pandemic is again in the midst of mankind.  This challenges the preparedness and readiness of the world to deal with a new virus whose characteristics up to now remain to be elucidated.  We know how rapidly it can be transmitted; but how virulent the virus is is the more important thing to consider. 

What the public needs now is proper information on prevention and control measures to be safe.  We should all get our acts together to contain and control this pandemic lest it threaten our economy and worse our existence.