Grace, Eye MD

     Mango has been on sale for the past two weeks.  The first time I went early last week, they had very little stuff left, mga pinagpilian na.  SO you can imagine the excitement I felt when I returned last Tuesday to a newly re-stocked store at 50-70% off!  So i looked for stuff i thought looked good, and I ended up with 4 tops and a pair of pants.  In the dressing room, I fit all of them, one after the other, and lo and behold—nothing fit!  Damn!  Even the XS size was too big for me, and they didn’t have a size six in the pants I wanted.

        Looking for clothes has always been a huge frustration for me.  I’m pear shaped and stand 4′11" with no shoes on.  So that means, for a skirt and blouse set, I’d fit into a S or XS blouse, and a L skirt. I am not kidding.  Shopping for pants has always been a bigger frustration–to fit my hips well, I need to get a size two or three inches larger than my waist, so I end up with pants with a gaping waist!  So, I’ve learned to resort to have my pants made by our friendly neighborhood tailor

           Tip for small women like me—look in kids’ stores!!! I found a beautiful embroidered white sleeveless blouse in the Sale pile of Osh Kosh.  It was size 16 and fit me perfectly (walang batang kasinglaki ko e ).  Also, another prize find is a think cotton baby blue embroidered blouse at Jam, Rustan’s kiddie brand.  Again, a size 16 and just a bit over three hundred bucks.  How’s that for value for your money?  Kaya I’ve made it a point to look at the Rustan’s kiddie section and wherever there seems to be large kid sizes.  The saleslady looks at me strangely, but what the heck, I bet she couldn’t fit in it even if she cut the armholes.

          Theme has nice stuff, their smallest size is 24 which fits well, but some of their other brands are big pa rin.  G2000 size 5 is good.

          Mmmmm…maybe I should invest in a company that sells clothes for small women with a small top and a huge butt

The agonizing wait is finally over. The results of our Philippine Board of Ophthalmology finally came out, and all five of us from PGH who took the exam—me, our boss Mike, Aldous, Joyce and Marion, passed! The night before the exam, people started texting us, wishing us the best. People I didn’t even expect to text, just did! Tek even texted us from Cambodia, and Ate Nanette from the States. Mama and Papa called me rin. Sam, of course, was such a sweetie. He accompanied me to anticipated Mass at Malate and took me to dinner at Aristocrat. The exam was difficult, but the worst was the module on the Inner Eye which included Glaucoma, Uveitis and Retina. Retina just killed us. People were obviously dazed after that module. The rest of the exam was ok, but after that, I wasn’t so confident that I passed. Parang, I did my best, but I wasn’t sure that it was good enough (sorry, James Ingram!). I thought that the period before the exam was the worst, but nothing prepared me for the waiting. I was so wasted that I couldn’t imagine how we all managed to do it in our Medical Boards four years ago. That exam went on for 2 weekends—four days of exams! Maybe I’m just growing old, kaya my body really hurt after this exam. My back, legs and butt hurt!!!  When I came back to the dorm after the exam, I just rested a bit and Sam took me out to dinner and a movie to help me relax. The day after, after my clinic, the five of us made the rounds of churches just to pray that we’d all pass. We started off at San Sebastian (I just have to get married there!), San Beda, mass at St. Jude, Malate Church, Church at the Reclamation Area, Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church. I just knew that everyone was fervently praying and just helping each other keep our spirits up after that horrid shit-I –don’t know-if –I’ll pass exam. Yesterday, Tuesday, wasn’t any better. People talked to us and everyone was pretty much expecting we’d pass. But in all honesty, I don’t think any of the five of us was entirely sure we’d make it at all  Today, I heard Mass with Mama at Baclaran and lit ten candles (which I forgot to pay for, hehe!)for the exam. Sam again took me out to dinner at Alda’s this time, and in the middle of dinner, Joyce texted me that me all passed. Haaaaay…..relief! During “War of the Worlds”, text messages from our old seniors and consultants just kept coming in. Of course I called my Mama and Papa, and pretty soon, messages even from abroad came while Dakota Fanning was screaming her head off! I am just so relieved that this is all over for now. The Oral Exam will be in a few months, but for now, I can rest easy. I am just so thankful that I have very supportive family, friends, colleagues and of course Sam. I cannot discount the fact that God, Mama Mary and St. Jude, St. Therese and St. Joseph also had a huge hand in this, because though I doubted myself, I never doubted Divine Providence .

I feel as if my life is on hold because of the (big) exam I’m taking on Sunday. I already have a long list of things to do.  First things first. On Monday, my batchmates and I are doing rounds of 7 churches after my clinic (Joyce’s idea, Visita Iglesia, Ophtha style). On Tuesday, I’ll get a haircut.  I’m starting to look like a girl, and not the little boy I was in February.  Drea will get a huge kick out of cutting my hair.  Then I’ll color it with henna at home (at least mama will).  I’ll end up smelling like lupa for a week after I use the LUSH henna I got at Greenbelt, but what the hell, at least my hair’s gonna be nice, and the white strands peeking from underneath will disappear.  Then I have to renew my passport at the DFA. I can imagine myself standing in line, swearing like a jeepney driver because of the heat and baking under the sun (with my Armada SPF 30 and trusty payong, of course!).  Then I have to have myself refracted and stop pretending that I’m 20/20.  Yes, I will start wearing glasses until I get inis that I have nose pad marks (mga in 2 days ).  Then I have to decide what to wear to Sam’s brother’s wedding.  Oh, and find shoes and a bag to match.  Argh, then I have to Fedex my fellowship application to Melbourne and Singapore.  Bahala na si Batman, basta, apply lang nang apply! :)  And then, I will read a book NOT in any way related to Ophtha. I’ll fix my room and closet so that my side of the room will cease to resemble SMokey Mountain. And I will watch a good, brainless movie. And I will spend time at home in the weekend and watch Discovery Travel and Living for hours and enjoy Mama’s cooking.  I will drag her to Alabang Town Center and look for a blouse that will make me look skinny (asa pa).  I will bug Papa to watch Fiddler on the Roof.  I will bug Jorge. Period. Oh and claim his promise to treat me at Red Crab after my exam. I will spend time with Sam, lots of it.  We will take time eating dinner, and not hurrying because I have to study Retina or Cornea.  We will go to Greenbelt. And Rockwell.  I’ll visit his parents. We’ll spend hours (ok, maybe just a couple) drinking coffee and  just talking…..Haaaaay, sana, Monday na…