I’m writing this because until now, hours since everything happened, I’m still trying to make sense of it all (even while sitting in front of my notebook computer).

It all started roughly four hours ago. I was at the end of a 12-hour shift at the local ER when in comes a guy frantically screaming for help. He carried a child in his arms, a little girl, all bloodied and muddy. My first though was that she must have been hit by a vehicle. I half stood from my seat as some of my colleagues rushed to her aid. Being assigned in the internal medicine department and having patients of my own, I let my friends from the trauma department handle the little girl.

Not a second passed when in rushed the mother, hysterically screaming at the top of her lungs. This time, I left my patient and stood up to help (the guys from surgery already had their hands full trying to save the little girl’s life). By the time I got to the mother, she was on the floor wailing for us to save her daughter’s life.

As I helped her up I noticed something warm run down my fingers. I looked down to see blood coming from a gunshot wound on the mother’s left arm. That was when I noticed that her daughter (the little girl) was bleeding from a gunshot wound on her left chest. By this time, she was pale as a sheet of paper.

Between gasps, the mother told me that she was a teacher and was on her way home with her husband and two young children on their motorcycle when someone sprayed them with bullets from the side of the road. She doesn’t know where her husband is and what happened to her other child, a boy of about four.

Minutes later, the paramedics brought in her husband. He was bleeding profusely from a bullet wound on his neck and chest. We all rushed to help. I did CPR on the husband but blood kept spurting out of the holes in his body.

Despite our best efforts both little girl and husband died minutes after being brought in. Before she died, a single tear escaped from the little girl’s eyes. The four year old boy was found unhurt a little while later by the side of the road.  The reason for the killings? An ongoing family feud between two warring families.

As I sit here, my heart heavy due to the unnecessary loss  of life,  I realize that sometimes, things just don’t make sense. That sometimes, the best thing you can do is to not dwell upon it.

…anyone care to give me one (while you’re at it, throw in some electric grills too!)? On second thought scratch that. I don’t want anyone giving me a car. I want a car- and I’m gonna buy it myself!

At around the same time next year, give or take a couple of months, I’m gonna get me a car. I can’t wait to say goodbye to the dust that gets blown in my face on the daily commute, goodbye to the heat that sears the back of my neck, goodbye to fumes that make me cough. And when it rains, I won’t be huddled under a coat with plastic on my shoes dodging rain water splashed by the jeepneys and cars that zoom by.

No, for next year, I’ll be commuting in comfort.

My ride :)

There, I’ve said it. Now to work on making that real. Anatomy, here I come!

Are you having difficulty peeing lately? Do you feel as if it burns when pee streams out of your bladder and into the toilet? Do you pee more frequently but in smaller quantities? If I just described how you pee lately, then you may be having a urinary tract infection or UTI (and it can’t be cured by using that eye cream from www.besteyecreams.org).

UTI’s are caused by bacteria (Escherichia coli) that invade your urethra and bladder. Yup, that’s E.coli, the same bug that causes diarrhea and is most commonly found in human feces. You might be thinking, what the eff? How does bacteria from my butt get into my pee? The answer is simple yet downright damning. It’s how you wash after using the toilet.

Most people wash from behind- which means that fecal material is bound to be carried by that stream of wash water and into your pee hole. Girls are particularly prone to contracting an infection due to the fact that their urethra (passageway for pee) is shorter than men- on account of their penises. You could also get an infection by peeing really close to the surface of a public urinal.

The signs of an infection often include fever, pain on urination, frequent urination and low back pain. If not treated, the infection may climb up the urethra, past the bladders and into the kidneys which could result in life-threatening complications.

Fortunately, UTI is relatively easy to treat. An over the counter antibiotic (ciprofloxacin, 500mg) taken twice daily for seven days would cure almost all cases of UTI.

An ad caught my attention a while ago (ads have a way of making you click on them, like that pregnancyvitamins.net ad I saw recently). It was about an instant coffee drink that promises to be the secret to a “truly orgasmic love life”. Curious, I clicked on the link and it brought me to this site.

Notice that the site opens with a statement that the US Patent and Trademark office “partially” rejects Pfizer’s patent on Viagra (the sex drug), as its main ingredient (sildenafil citrate) isn’t that much different to the “Chinese” herb “Horny Goat Weed”- the main ingredient of Magic Power Coffee. The article then compares Viagra with Magic Power Coffee with the conclusion that they’re virtually the same except that the coffee is served as a yummy beverage while Viagra is served as a pill- clearly, “wise” consumers will choose the yummy coffee over the pill.

Now here’s where it is absolutely important to check the veracity of a product; specially one with claims as outrageous as this one. A quick Google search took me to this article.

Apparently the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved this product for general consumption and even warns consumers against taking it as it may dangerously lower blood pressure.

Just goes to show that not all food supplements and herbal remedies should be taken at face value- some are clearly scams that aim to make money off gullible people. So the next time an ad about a new wonder drug or vitamin has you clickety-clicking on that BUY NOW link, take a moment and do a quick Google search. I assure you, you’ll be thankful you did.

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it’s 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers – Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities – Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS – 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information: http://www.boracay-packages.com

Say you’re out of town on official business (selling barcode scanners). You check into a nice, upscale hotel for a few days. Being a ‘seasoned’ traveler you have no qualms lying comfortably on the hotel bed under the sheets, dry yourself off with bathrobes the hotel staff provided your room with. You even walk around in their uber-fluffy bathrobe. When you get home, you notice that you’re itching in places that would qualify as nether- and not in a good way. Pretty soon, the rashes start and then the boils. Chances are, you’ve just contracted hotel-grade scabies.

That’s right, SCABIES. In HOTELS.

This critter lives in hotels too

According to this report,the number of Americans contracting scabies is on the rise; and a huge number of it is attributed to hotel stays.

For those who don’t know, scabies is caused by a mite- Sarcoptes scabiei. This parasite burrows under the skin (they specially like the warm, moist creases of our groin) and lays literally hundreds of eggs that hatch within days. The intense itching is because of those bugs burrowing underneath your skin and having a feast. Scratching only makes it worse as this encourages the bugs to burrow deeper. This will also cause breaks in the skin which could be a source of infection.

The mites can live without a human host for two (2) to three (3) days without a human host- mainly snuggled safely in the fibers of bedsheets and blankets. Although treatable, scabies is a proverbial pain in the ass.

So the next time you check into a hotel, think twice about donning that bathrobe.

Cherry Mobile is quite the breakout brand in mobile phones. It’s stylish, full-featured and best of all, inexpensive. It’s even dual-SIM. No wonder everybody’s been raving about it!

Below are the new dual SIM phones sold by Cherry Mobile.

Cherry M35 Integra (Php 5690)

Cherry D50 Inertia (Php 3690)

Cherry D20 Life (Php 2990)

Cherry S11 Blade (Php 2690)

Currently, Cherry Mobile is running the Dobleng Kasiyahan promo. That means you buy one, you take one! This runs from May 28 to July 18, 2010 so get your Cherry mobile phones now! :)

Cherry Mobile Combo Number One: P1 + P1 = P1790 (Save Php200)

Cherry Mobile Combo Number Two: P1 + 1602 = 1990 (Save Php200)

Cherry Mobile Combo Number Three: 1800 + 1800 = Php 2290 (Save Php290)

Cherry Mobile Combo Number Four: 1602 + D15 Dual SIM = Php 2990 (Save Php200)

Cherry Mobile’s cheapest phones are the Cherry Mobile P1 which is only Php999, and the Cherry Mobile D15, only Php1999. They also have QWERTY phones, such as the Cherry Mobile Q3 (Php2990) and the Cherry Mobile Q3i (Php2890). Both are dual SIM.

Cherry Mobile also has touch screen phones, and these are the Cherry Mobile T80 (Php6990), the Cherry Mobile G5 (Php6990) and the Cherry Mobile Eclipse (Php9999). Amazingly, Cherry Mobile even carries phones with analog TV! These are Cherry Mobile Q6 (Php4790), Cherry Mobile Q7 (Php5890), Cherry Mobile Q8 (Php5990), Cherry Mobile Q9 (Php5990) and Cherry Mobile G7 (Php4990).

I didn’t think it could happen ever again- but it did. After 12 long years, I’ve finally caught the NBA fever one more time. I used to be crazy over the NBA.

I was introduced to basketball by way of trading cards, which started as a fad during my grade school years (like that deep wrinkle treatment my mom was so obsessed with). I remember back in grade 3, me and a number of my friends would sneak up and out over the heavily guarded school fence, cross rush hour traffic, and into Filbar’s along Mango Avenue. There we’d grab a handful of packs of NBA trading cards and traded them off right then and there. My idol was- yep, his Airness- Micheal Jordan.

I didn’t know anything about basketball then. I just loved how they depicted this cool dude literally defying gravity and the way the cards shimmered and glowed underneath the harsh fluorescent lights. Pretty soon, I found out that the guy wearing that number 23 jersey was famous and that I could make money selling his cards. So started my obsession of collecting Jordan cards, in the process learning about basketball.

Pretty soon I was in high school and the famous Utah Jazz-Chicago Bulls rivalry began. Needless to say, I got caught up in the thick of it. I won- and lost hundreds in bets with cousins, classmates, and even jeepney drivers. Those were the good ol’ days of basketball, where people from all walks of life were glued to their TV screens the moment the Playoffs started. Of course,  a lot of the hype surrounding the game could be attributed to Jordan. His seeming defiance of the laws of physics awed people to no end.

When his Airness suddenly went into retirement, so did the magic, the rivalry, that seemed to make fans out of ordinary folk. College life soon caught up with me and I lost all interest in basketball.

Flash forward 12 years later. The finals started last week with the Boston Celtics clashing with their bitter longtime rivals the LA Lakers. I was at home channel surfing and I happened to chance upon a game. Suddenly, that spark that I thought was lost when Mike called it quits came rushing back. I found myself cheering for the Celtics.

In school last Friday, a TV set was stationed out in the walkway. A throng of students, parents and faculty crowded round the TV. It was game 4 of the Celtics-Lakers game. Despite the heat and the sweat and the crowd, I stood there and cheered as my team won that match. And that was when it hit me- I’ve gotten my love for the game back.

Who says men can’t give sound, decent advice? Just a little while ago, I found this floating around on Facebook:

Most of the women who commented on the photo all expressed amused disgust and feigned anger at the advice given by “John”.  Looking at “John’s” reply, it’s not hard to figure out why (I guess it’s also one of the reasons why we don’t give quick weight loss diets advice). Men like “John” are the reason why women like “Shiela” think we men come from Mars.

I can’t help but try and put a bit of perspective into all this- get to the bottom of why “John” gave this piece of advice. Slices of thought that could have been running through “John’s” mind:

If  “Shiela” knew how to keep her car engine in tip-top shape, knew at least a little bit about cars and more importantly, knew how to fix one when it broke down; then she’d never have had to walk back home to ask for help. And having never done that, she’d never have caught her husband cheating- thus, she’d still have a happy, married life.

Or perhaps we men are just hopelessly dense. :/

While we’re on the topic of what Zamboanga needs, I’d also like to point out that Zamboanga needs new restos too! Although there are a few exceptions (Mr. Bean’s at the Catribbo Complex, Patio Palmeras along Pasonanca road), most of the restos in the city are old, dilapidated, and with the worst service imaginable (with food spots like these, there’d be no need to browse through that diet pill review).

Again, take for instance Mang Inasal’s, where we had lunch yesterday (see previous post). OK, fine, it’s not actually a resto, more of a fastfood joint, but still- fastfoods are meant to be just that; fast and efficient at feeding hungry people impatient for food. Sadly, the reverse was true yesterday.

Mang Inasal’s was slow, with waiters deliberately ignoring their customers. There was a lack of everything- from water, to utensils and even paper napkins. Paper napkins! Every decent food joint should have at least a pile on each table! And pox on that unlimited rice promo! It is sooo freaking hard to get a refill and when we finally did, the rice was of poor quality- grainy with bits of pebbles and with the distinct smell of molds. What kind of service is that?

The Mang Inasal's here does NOT look like this

Needless to say, I’m not going back there ever again. And I’m sure to spread the word to other poor souls who may be fooled into thinking otherwise.