Franz Marie Cruz’s Diary

When I Was Stranded In Batanes, These Were The Things I
Missed Most In Manila

1. Amazing
        Race, Sky Cable and sole control of the remote control
2. Fully
        Booked, PowerBooks, National Bookstore and their accessibility and
        availability. I had so much free time in my hand but no pocketbook.
3. Cut-off
        time in clinics
4. Dressing
        up, accessorizing and…
5. The
        night life
6. Going
        out with my friends, cousins and the balikbayans
7. Fastfood
        and fine dining
8. Complete
        facility of Sentro
9. the simple amenities in urban life such as Water
        directly from the faucet, working or flushing toilet
10. Robinsons

When I Got Back in Manila, These Are The Things I Miss Most
in Batanes

1. Everything
        was within walking distance from our “hotel”: the lighthouse,  hospital,
        Provincial Health Office, Church, School, ATM machine, Laundry shop,
        Internet café, market, and even their airport
2. their
        sweet yam (yam chips, yam fries, boiled yam) and "paco" or fern salad
3. the
        wonderful scenic views! The rolling hills with cows grazing about, the
        Pacific ocean.
4. Trekking
        their hills, sitting on top and just enjoying the landscapes and seascapes
        below
5. Safety
        of our valuables and belongings, my bag lying around the clinic, leaving
        our room in the “hotel” unlocked and nothing would go missing
6. Food
        being delivered to us wherever we were 5x a day
7. My own
        microscope in the OR
8. Goofing
        around
9. Walking
        around Basco in rubbershoes, jacket, jogging pants and cap and not getting drenched by
        the drizzle
10. Mealtimes
         and inuman with the team

With the orals over and done for now, my time is my own again. I can do the things I enjoy doing without the guilt that i should be studying instead. And so i’m back again downloading music from limewire, surfing the net, answering various quizzes, updating my site and whathaveyous…. but alas, this freedom is only temporary… i got to back studying for another exam…. anyhow here are the results of two personality quizzes i answered.

FRAnz Marie, you’re a Zen Shopper
Did someone say retail therapy? For a seasoned and soulful shopper like you, the mall is more than just the place you go when you need a new pair of shoes or a birthday present for your best friend. It’s your sanctuary.

For you, shopping is a relaxing retreat that takes your mind off the stresses of the day and lets you unwind. Browsing the new arrivals, checking out the sales, catching a movie, or enjoying a snack in the food court makes a trip to the mall more of a journey than a destination. And finding a great new purchase or two? That’s the icing on an already delicious cake. Just say, om!

FRAnz Marie, your best quality shines through in how Intelligent you are

The fact that you’re a smart person who is more able to understand complex concepts than many other people are really draws people to you! But that’s not the only thing. Your answers on the test indicate you’re an independent person who is usually able to handle things in a self-sufficient manner. You are psychologically and emotionally stable and better able than most people to tolerate even the roughest situations, too.

Kris Aquino is the cover of this month’s Preview and so on a whim I purchased a copy of Cosmopolitan magazine instead which unfortunately turned out to be a mistake. (the last issue of Cosmo I bought was 2-3 or 4 years ago until I got tired of the same articles which they try to redo unsuccessfully every month,) Cosmo through the years has not changed. I daresay it has gone worse. Why? (1) Shaina Magdangal, this month’s cover girl, just turned 18. Shouldn’t she be gracing some Teens magazine instead? In my opinion, She has yet much to accomplish to be labeled a Cosmo girl, personal and professional life. There are so many beautiful and exemplary women in the world and in our country, why does our magazine/s seem to say we have ran out of them? (2) Is Cosmo even a fashion magazine? Who is their fashion editor because frankly the clothes in it were very ordinary, uninspiring, uncreative, boring and too ghastly to be even published on a glossy paper full page! Needless to say, I would have been happier if I had spent my P125 on a grande signature iced chocolate from Starbucks instead.

Mrs. Austen: Affection is desirable. Money is absolutely indispensable!

Jane Austen: If I marry, I want it to be out of affection. Like my mother.
Mrs. Austen: And I have to dig up my own bloody potatoes!

Tom Lefroy: How can you, of all people, dispose of yourself without affection?
Jane Austen: How can I dispose of myself with it?

Mrs. Austen: JANE!
Lady Gresham: What is she doing?
Mr. Wisley: Writing.
Lady Gresham: Can anything be done about it?

Tom Lefroy: What value will there ever be in life, if we aren’t together?

Jane Austen: My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.

Tom Lefroy: If you wish to practice the art of fiction, to be considered the equal of a masculine author, then your horizons must be… widened.

Tom Lefroy: A metropolitan mind may be less susceptible to extended juvenile self-regard.

Cassandra Austen: [regarding 'First Impressions', which will later become 'Pride and Prejudice'] How does the story begin?
Jane Austen: Badly.
Cassandra Austen: And then?
Jane Austen: It gets worse.

Mrs. Austen: That girl needs a husband. But who’s good enough? Nobody. Thanks to you.
Rev Austen: Being so much the model of perfection.
Mrs. Austen: I’ve shared your bed for 32 years and perfection I have not encountered.
Rev Austen: Yet.

Jane Austen: [regarding Mr. Wisley] His small fortune will not buy me.
Eliza De Feuillide: What will buy you, cousin?

Jane Austen: Cassie, his heart will stop at the sight of you, or he doesn’t deserve to live. And, yes, I am aware of the contradiction embodied in that sentence.

Tom Lefroy: Good God. There’s writing on both sides of those pages.

Tom Lefroy: I think that you, Miss Austen, consider yourself a cut above the company.
Jane Austen: Me?
Tom Lefroy: You, ma’am. Secretly.

Tom Lefroy: Was I deficient in propriety?
Jane Austen: Why did you do that?
Tom Lefroy: Couldn’t waste all those expensive boxing lessons.

Mr. Wisley: Sometimes affection is a shy flower that takes time to blossom.

Eliza De Feuillide: What trouble we take to make them like us when we like them.

Tom Lefroy: You dance with passion.
Jane Austen: No sensible woman would demonstrate passion, if the purpose were to attract a husband.
Tom Lefroy: As opposed to a lover?

Jane Austen: [she has just kissed him] Did I do that well?
Tom Lefroy: Very. Very well.
Jane Austen: I wanted, just once, to do it well.

Tom Lefroy: I am yours, heart and soul. Much good that is.
Jane Austen: Let me decide that.

Mrs. Radcliffe: Of what do you wish to write?
Jane Austen: Of the heart.
Mrs. Radcliffe: Do you know it?
Jane Austen: Not all of it.

Jane Austen: Could I really have this?
Tom Lefroy: What, precisely?
Jane Austen: You.
Tom Lefroy: Me, how?
Jane Austen: This life with you.
Tom Lefroy: Yes.

Tom Lefroy: I depend entirely on…
Jane Austen: On your uncle. And I depend on you. What will you do?
Tom Lefroy: What I must.

John Warren: And the famous Mrs. Radcliffe, is she as Gothic as her novels?
Jane Austen: Not in externals. But her internal landscape is, I suspect, quite picturesque.
Mr. Wisley: True of us all.

Rev Austen: Jane should have not the man who offers the best price but the man she wants.

Tom Lefroy: Miss Austen…
Jane Austen: Yes?
Tom Lefroy: Goodnight.

[to Jane]

Lucy Lefroy: [Interrupting Tom and Jane] What kind of trouble?
Jane Austen: All sorts of trouble.

Wine Whore: [comes to sit on Tom's lap] Glass of wine?
Tom Lefroy: Yes, thank you.
[lifts the glass]
Tom Lefroy: A toast from one member of the profession to another.

Tom Lefroy: [reading from Mr. White's Natural History] Swifts, on a fine morning in May, flying this way, that way, sailing around at a great hight, perfectly happily. Then -
[checks he has her attention and nods to let her know this is what he meant]
Tom Lefroy: Then, one leaps onto the back of another, grasps tightly and forgetting to fly they both sink down and down, in a great dying fall, fathom after fathom, until the female utters…
Jane Austen: [breaking out of trance] Yes?
Tom Lefroy: [looks at her for a moment, then continues reading] The female utters a loud, piercing cry…
[he looks up at her again]
Tom Lefroy: … of ecstasy.
[smiles tantalisingly]
Tom Lefroy: Is this conduct commonplace in the natural history of Hampshire?

Eliza De Feuillide: Flirting is a woman’s trade, one must keep in practice

Rev Austen: Nothing destroys spirit like poverty.

I am on leave for a week! Yey! No follow-up, No general clinic, No pay consults, No duties, No ED clinic for one whole week! Wow, I can stay in bed as late as I want to without the guilt… Hmmmm….. But of course, I will be studying…. Gosh, buti nalang I am a nerd and I actually like studying and reading my ophtha books and learning new stuff…. I am actually looking forward to go back to CS library to study, where I spent most of my time reviewing for the boards before… Baka lang, I will rediscover there the perseverance and productivity to be able to review for the USMLE for long hours. Bugger.

Who doesn’t like free stuff…. free dinners, sample meds, gift items that come along when you purchase a bottle of perfume, free make-up makeovers…. I’ve long been on the hunt for coffeeshops with free parking and free wi-fi. So far I’ve found 3. First is Figaro in front of ever commonwealth which is most accessible to me when I’m in Quezon City. Parking’s free and on weekends, you can avail of their wi-fi for unlimited period for a minimum single purchase of P200 of their products. I usually order their white chocolate mocha (which sadly comes in 1 size only) and their pasta arrabiata. Sadly too, they’ve phased out or modified 3 of my favorite orders: grilled eggplant sandwich, chocolate cake and peanut-butter bar. So my selection has been pretty much limited at Figaro. I love Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Tomas Morato the best. Free parking is more difficult especially during peak hours and less safer. I’ve heard and read so many carnapping and “bukas-pinto” stories in that area. But wi-fi is free and fast 24/7. Plus the diners are mostly law or medical students working on their laptops or studying over their books, just like me. I like their teas and since I’m relatively new to Coffee Bean, I’m trying out their different dishes and drinks. In Manila, I recently discovered that Seattle’s Best Coffee near Harrisons has free wi-fi connection. Although it is not as fast as in the first 2 coffeeshops I mentioned. For my palate, Seattle’s makes the best white chocolate mocha drink.
However, the downside of studying at coffeeshops with free wifi and parking is the short hours I actually get to study because of the distractions of the net and limewire. Oh well.
(I am in search of a starbucks branch with these 2 criteria.)

“Uy lala, senior na tayo next year,” I would have followed this with a hyena-like pang-asar laugh. Ang bilis ng panahon. Time INDEED flies. Lala and I were blockmates during our internship year and became fast friends when we found out we enjoyed stalking people, especially our senior residents! “May stalkers din kaya tayo, Lala?!?!” I would ask her and follow it with another yelp and bellow. Nyahahaha.

“Last Boy Syndrome”

What is it in our brains that makes us think of one song, or one boy, over and over and over and over and over again?
Is it a melody or a rhythm? Or a face or a voice that’s on repeat mode long after our ipods have run out of batt?
They say you never stop thinking about a boy until you meet a new one. You never stop humming a song ’til you hear another one.
So sing me a new song.

This was published by my new-yorker-published-writer-author cousin carissa in her blog.

I find this so true. And kahit na the boy is as baduy and jologs as the song you curse yourself to be sometimes stuck with, that baduy boy will persist in your mind try as you might to get him or the stupid music out of your mind. hand me something hard to hit my head with pls!

to read more from my cousin carissa’s blog, follow this link, which i suggest you do….
http://carissavillacorta.blogs.friendster.com/rollercoaster_ride/

it has been a year or more since my last blog. a few of my friends (a handful at most!) have been asking why i don’t write anymore. i’ve become shy and uninspired i guess.

let’s see what have i been up to lately?!?

i did my first corneal transplant surgery last week! a little yabang lang. actually it was a lost eye following a very severe infection from poor contact lens use. imagine that! so the service consultant decided to give me the procedure as P-R-A-C (can i actually publish this?) anyway, i was assisted by a fellow and the service senior naman. the surgery took 4.5 hours, i removed the lens as well, did a segmental iridectomy and anterior vitrectomy but i might as well had completely vitrectomized the eye sa big glob of vitreous that went out. but finishing the surgery at 730pm na ako ang gumawa ng surgery is way better than going home at the same time na naghihintay lang like i did when i was a first year. pero i realized too, grabe, mas madali mag-follow-up kaysa mag-opera and i catch myself shaking my head on all the complaints i had back then. tsk. tsk. tsk.

ow, and last saturday we had a fire scare at rob.i didnt want to get out of bed yet at 10am and i told my mom i will drive the car to the repair shop at 10 am! i was awake, too lazy to move when someone rang the doorbell multiple times. I was like “exag, who could that be?!?” I opened the door and there were 3 maintenance boys outside, one was already taking to my next door neighboor. He told me to abandon my unit and use the exit. Naturally i was confused. The hallway was filled with smoke, the 3rd guy was coughing na. I asked why. He answered there’s fire in the building. It still didn’t quite hit me. Parang i reiterated to him what he told me to do, “Abandon the unit? I can’t use the elevator? Stairs ako? Can i take my car with me out of the building?” He said yes, yes, yes, yes. Unbelievable! So i closed the door again, went back to my bedroom, changed into a more decent clothes, decided i don’t have time to wash my face or brush my teeth anymore (which i will later regret!), grabbed my laptop bag (because i have my research proposal saved in there and i was scheduled to present in 4 days) and my instrument set (na mostly ay utang pa), towel and extra shirt. i was planning to bathe and change in sentro. plus i could use the towel to cover my face if it gets mausok like they do in the movies! and so i locked my unit and headed for the stairs, where surprisingly was somewhat empty except for 3 or 4 voices behind me. it was scary, i was a bit panicky but i had to keep my composure and think with my mind. when i got to the 5th floor where my car is parked, i saw people taking the elevator to go up the building but the parking was unordinarily busy that time. There were people in their pambahay hopping into their cars and leaving the building. So i got more comfused. My imagination got wild. Did someone plant smoke in my floor to convince the residents to evacuate their units then eventually robbing them? yes, parang movies. So when i got out of the building i drove past our lobby, saw there are indeed firetrucks out front and the lobby was packed with people in their pambahay, with plastics of whathaveyous in their hands. Baka may sunog nga. So i started calling my friends who live in the building…. edhel, jen, liz, trina…. and my mom to inform her what is happening. Edhel who lives on the 21st floor was unaware. Buti nalang she didn’t think i was joking again this time when i told her the building might be on fire, especially after the prank lala and i pulled on her 1 or 2 weeks ago and she got really pissed. Got to sentro. Yes, i had fresh out of bed hair, with eye discharge pa! Eeeewwwww!!!! So anyway, they were able to control the small fire, nakabalik din agad kami sa building and the entire experience has turned into a blog entry.

this has been a long article, quite detailed too actually. i suddenly became chatty.

I picked this up from lala’s and pats’ blogs and i have 18 minutes to anwer this.

Facts about Franz:

Nervous Habits: Nail biting.

Are you double jointed:

Can you roll your tongue: Yes.

Can you raise one eyebrow: Yes. Taray!

Can you blow spit bubbles: sounds gross.

Can you cross your eyes: Nope. like intermittent ET, OU?

Can you move your ears? Nope

Do you make your bed daily? in manila,  i do. but in qc, i don’t.

Do you use blankets? yes. i feel naked without. weird

Which shoe goes on first: The right one!

Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? Nope. i’m not that violent

On the average, how much money do you carry daily?  during weekdays, i need at least P500 in my wallet for service lunch deliveries.  on weekends, i try to get by with whatever is left in my wallet.

What jewelry do you wear 24/7: none. i remove everything.

Favorite piece of clothing: it has got to be, sleeveless tops

Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl. tamad magcut.

Have you ever eaten Spam: Yup. before i became a vegetarian.

 Favorite ice cream flavor: strawberry, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, green tea

How many cereals in your cabinet: fruity loops and choco flakes ng oishi

What’s your favorite beverage: C2 green tea!!! grean tea frap from starbucks. any white chocolate coffee. jasmine tea. lately, i’m addicted to the vanilla flavored ice brewed coffee from gonuts.

What’s
your favorite restaurant: marami. i love eating out and trying new places.  italianni’s, conti’s, bodhi.

Can you cook?: not a proper meal.

How often do you brush your teeth: twice

Hair drying method: fan dry then blow dry.

Have you ever colored / highlighted your hair: Yup, once.

Do you swear: only when i’m mad, frustrated.

Do you ever spit: nope

—FAVORITE—

Animal: cute little dogs                                                
                                                   

Food: vegetarian, seafood, pasta, desserts

Month: December.

Day: in my present rotation, it has to be the weekend. i hate NO-mot-pedia ophtha =(

Cartoon: rugrats

Shoe Brand/S: vnc.

Subject/S
in school: math, bio, ophtha in med, chem because i was a teacher’s pet by all of my chem teachers in collge

Color/S: blue

Sport/S: jogging, table tennis                                                                            

TV show/S: FRIENDS, SATC, grey’s anatomy, amazing race, wheel of fortune, project runway

Thing to do in the summer: head to the beach

CD:  OST of a lot like love, 50 first dates, greys anatomy

Person you talk to most on the phone: not a phone person

Thing you do when depressed: write in my journal

Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows with mirrors? yes

What color is your bedroom: pink

Window seat or aisle: Window

What’s your sleeping position: fetal position

Even in hot weather do you use a blanket: yes

Do you sleepwalk: no

Do you
talk in your sleep: no

Do you sleep with stuffed animals: yes, a pooh pillow

How about with the light on: cant sleep with the lights on

Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on: yes, both

That was fun! Your turn