TEXT IN THE CITY


Why is this date memorable? It has to do with the fact that fourteen years ago, my uncle died. Well, technically he just left his aging body behind and went on to get some new one, one full of hair and devoid of tuberculosis. He is without a doubt, in heaven now. Playing soccer probably with Big J. I'm not sure if he ever played soccer. He is (note the use of the term "is" and not "was") special because it was through him that I got to know Big J. At that time, all i knew was that there was this emptiness inside me that was eating me away. He was full of life and one of his friends, also had that air about him. Little did I know it was Big J's way of telling me, hey wanna convert from the dark side? You see, no matter how much we try to push thoughts of it away, we were meant for something bigger than just getting up from bed, taking a bath, going to work, sending the kids to school, paying taxes, and planning our retirement. Eternal beings can't look forward to being buried in the best soil (loamy? sandy?) because, i doubt that the real us would spend a nanosecond there. Either you go up or you go down. What about limbo? What about purgatory? The vatican just renounced limbo's existence, who knows one hundred years from now if they renounce the latter's existence too. I never believed in grays. Even the chinese believed in a yin and a yang. In medicine, either you are either sick or not sick. Normal or Abnormal. I'm pretty sure it's the same in the next life, only one of two places. One thing i'm sure though, if you are not sure where you are heading, all you need to do is stop driving your own life, and give the car keys to Big J and tell him you are lost without His direction, and that you need Him in your life. This is not theoretical blah blahs, I'm typing this not from a high horse, but from the perspective of someone who got lost, wallowed in miry clay, almost died, but with one last breath, called out to Big J. Everything I have now, it's because of Big J. I have been given a new life, i've been washed clean, and I've been blessed in every aspect of my life. When i was just starting to walk with Big J, i thought his promise of salvation (oooh big word - but all it means is that I was snatched from that Darth Vader) would be enough. IT still is, but you know what's weird, i didn't know that Big J loves lavishly. He dotes on me. He dotes on everyone who belongs to him.
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After two weeks of orientation, I finally get to work as a doctor in this place. I was about to say city, but hey there are only two cities as far as I am concerned. Yes this place is different, but not bad different. It's something i think i am starting to fall in love with. Admittedly before i started to work, in the confines of my apartment, alone and not doing anything but coming up with color schemes for it, i had to shout "arggggghhhh!!!! get me to new york city"... followed by "what kind of backward place is this when the nearest AND ONLY starbucks is a fifteen minute drive from my place?". One of the surgery guys, a fellow coffee junkie, told me they were going to build a starbucks right across my apartment. Why my obsession with starbucks? Starbucks brings me memories of being with family... friends... alabang... UST... . I sit in a corner and everything is familiar. And for the duration of my tall sized overpriced coffee drink, I am transported back home. It's a small price to pay.
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My first rotation is in the outpatient clinic. Friends know of my intolerance to outpatient medicine what with their coughs and colds. Surprisingly, I did not get that. Back home, there would be this seniority complex, one should try to be the slave to the senior resident (if the resident was raised up as a bad kid) and always always there's this some sort of "junior doctor is a beggar and most senior doctor as a king" atmosphere. There's always this fear. Imagine my surprise to see the exact opposite here. And the workload - hello! Hello! Ten times less than my workload before. And they pay me fifteen times more! I have an awesome car with a sunroof , i have an awesome apartment with a balcony overlooking a pond... i have swimming pool access... they pay me additional to enroll in a fitness club.. fabulous co residents, great neighbors , wonderful friends... and the best part... free food (and this is not hospital food mysterious kind of food sort of thing but i'm talking about great tasting food which includes ... are you ready for this? ice creams, international foods, salads, fruits, soups, delis, cakes, cookies, cheetos!, sodas... and and adnd endless supply of starbucks coffee - hot or cold.) Conclusion? I had to buy a weighing scale to control myself. Did i mention that i went downtown and people were in their rollerblades and walking their dogs?
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I was talking to Big J a while ago and i was thanking him for all the blessings he has given me. Deep down i felt that there was more to this. That i'm not suppose to keep the blessings for myself. I've been blessed more than i could ever imagine, and i believe Big J wants me to be an instrument of blessing to the other people He loves.
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