There is something about weddings that makes them such a joy to photograph. The unabashed crying. The boundless laughter. The feeling of heaviness and lightness at the same time.
These are some of my favorites among the wedding photos I so amateurishly shot in the past year or so. Hey you gotta start somewhere
The thin line between caring too much and not caring at all.
As a doctor, one has to always toe the thin line between caring too much and not caring at all. In caring for our patients, we make sure their needs are met, not just medically, but (if possible) but emotionally and psychologically as well.
Sometimes though, when things go wrong, like when we misdiagnose patients or encounter surgical complications, we have a hard time deciding whether we should care more or should we care less. We run the patients’ course through our minds, should I have done this or done that? What if I hadn’t done this, would things have been better? But when we think or worry too much, we tend to dwell too much on one patient and compromise our care for others. Sometimes we just need to let go in order to treat other patients well, otherwise our distraction would lead us to mistreat our other patients. When we let go too early though, sometimes it can feel like we’re shortchanging a patient by not caring for them, by moving on too quickly. Letting go too quickly can also lead us to not realize why we made our mistakes in the first place.
When do I care too much, when should I care more?
Part 1/12 of my year-long monthly video diary/documentary. Because I want to remember how awesome life is. I hope I can keep this up for the rest of my life!
The joy and pain of being a(n ophthalmic) surgeon
They joy of surgery lies in being able to visualize a problem, cut it out/repair it/replace it with a working part, and finally being able to see results within a few weeks, within days even. In ophthalmic surgery, the results can be even more dramatic as a patient who at one point always had to be aided by a non-visually impaired watcher but one day after the surgery was able to proceed to the post-op follow up on his own. There is indescribable joy in being able to perform a near perfect surgery.
Then, there are the complicated cases. The ones where you make mistakes in pre/intra/post-op. Someone can lose a significant amount of there vision because of one blinding error. These are the patients that make you question why you ever went into a surgical field in the first place. Should I have cut earlier? Should I have cut later? Should I even have cut at all?
During these times, I just tell myself that no one is perfect. Even our most esteemed mentors have made mistakes. Just remember where you went wrong, and at the same time, remember all those patients whose vision, and consequently whose quality of life, you have made that much better.
Words/Phrases that should be left behind in 2011
Every year, there are words/phrases that are used by everybody, for whatever reason. They sound cool. They enable you to express yourself better. Sometimes it’s just the mere fact that they are used by everybody, especially famous people. Ok lang, sige. Language is constantly evolving anyway. There comes a time though that we must let go. Pwedeng laos na yung salita/parirala. Pwedeng overused na. Or maybe, those words/phrases weren’t good ideas to begin with.
And thus, the words/phrases that need to stay in 2011.
*disclaimer: Humor post lang po. Sana walang magalit. Pati naman ako guilty sa ilang salita/pariralang nalista dito.
1. “I know, right?” - Diba?!
2. “Anyare?” - Ganon ba katamad generation natin na hindi na natin kayang isulat lahat ng letra at kailangan paiksihin lahat?
3. LOL - isa pa ‘to. Teka lang, diba dapat 2001 palang di na ‘to ginagamit?
3.1 - Lolz/lulz - Kung ang LOL ay laugh out loud? Para saan yung Z? Nakatulog ka bigla pagkatapos tumawa? Parang HAHAHAHA ZZZZZZ…..
4. Lahat ng phrases na hinaluan ng artista:
4.1 “Meganon Fox?” - yung artista nga nito laos na eh pano pa yung pariralang ito?
4.2 “Stress Drilon!” - Kung yung pangalan mo ginamit sa di kanais-nais na bagay matutuwa ka ba?
4.3 “Hagardo Versoza!” - Di naman haggard si Gardo Versoza a! Ang fresh kaya lagi ni Machete!
4.4 “Martyr Nievera” - kung merong martir, si Pops yun!
5. Lahat ng phrase na ginagawang letter “o” lahat ng patinig/vowel
5.1 “toooomoooooh” - Maliiii!
5.2 “Ong lobo lobo mo nomon mogsoloto” - oo nga. exactly.
5.3 “noice!” - more like noise!
6. Lahat ng may “na!”
6.1 “Ikaw na!”
6.2 “Ako na!”
6.3 “Alam na!”
…..nakakainis na!
7. And even worse, the English translation of number 6!
7.1 “You already!”
7.2 “Me already!”
7.3 “Know already” - teka parang wala naman atang ganito
8. “Ohh eeehm gheeee!” and all its variants (with matching maarte voice) - self explanatory
9. IMBA - amba-duy!
10. SMH (shake my head) - lahat nalang shake my head ng shake my head. Di kaya mabali leeg mo? Napapailing nalang ako dito e.
11. Wrong grammar patawa/pa-cute posts ng mga ‘kano.
11.1 - “______ is love!” - baka ibig mong sabihin “i love ________” ? How is something love? Cockroach is love! T-shirt is love! Cabinet is love! Sorry alam kong maraming mahilig gumamit nito.
11.2 - “Y U NO _______!?” - Galit ka? sa grammar?
11.3 - “Can I haz _____?” - ay pa-cute masyado!
12. “I was not informed!” - Di na uso ito. At may traces of cyber-bullying kaya medyo nag-shy away na rin ako dito. You were not informed.
Antok na ako saka nalang yung iba. May suggestions pa ba kayo? Wooohoo!!
p.s. Salamat sa contributions niyo Ramon, Cathy, Arianne, Mark, Paulene, Ivan!
Football can be such a cruel sport. One could be dominating possession and have the clearer chances only to lose due to a goal against the run of play. It is the sport that can hurt the strongest and bravest of men and women. Entire nations can mourn a team’s loss. While playing, sometimes you literally feel your life force being sucked out of you.
Why then do we put ourselves through this torture?
The ecstasy of scoring that goal. The thrill of victory. It is for moments like these though that we play this beautiful game.
Let the planning begin. A groom-to-be’s wedding prep blog.
I have perused the web and seen bridal book this, bridal book that. It’s as if the bride is the only “bida” or main protagonist in the wedding. I know, the cliche goes that every girl dreams of being the perfect bride and having the perfect wedding, but that’s not to say that we future grooms don’t look forward to the big day nor do we not want it to be perfect as well. There are some wedding blogs made by grooms but they are few and far in between. So, I thought, “why not make my own?” Maybe some grooms enjoy the planning as much as I do, and maybe they’re looking for someone to ask tips from or share their experiences with.
Here’s to guys to enjoy planning their big day as much as their wives-to-be do! Stick around as I take you on my journey with my wife-to-be as we plan our wedding!
Follow me on groomkong.tumblr.com!
Before there was Michael Jackson, there was my dad - at the Great Wall of China
