"today, i got hurt *counts fingers* six times"

So far in my existence as a Biology student, this has been the busiest semester ever! The lecture classes, even though they are only offered as a one-hour class per meeting, the lessons that were discussed would take ages to decipher and analyze :( Laboratory classes that go far beyond the class schedule. Lunch-less days. Free time spent by reading materials for PI 100 class. And nights being spent answering guide questions.

Seriously, I NEED A BREAK! It has only been 3 or 4 weeks but everything's a living HELL!

Okay, so here are some little updates:

THESIS

My adviser told me to study for my upcoming NMAT instead of getting too pre-occupied with my thesis work because she has to use the laboratory for her research for a while. But as promised, I have to work on it after NMAT. Besides, I have to spend the entire Christmas vacation writing my manuscript because on January or so, I have to present my manuscript in a mock defense for the bio199b class which be held in Lorenzo Hall early next year.

PSALM Inc.

It has really been a while since I attended the regular Thursday night fellowship and it was really good to be back and see my old friends again. There were a lot of new faces in the crowd and some of the second years and third years are becoming active with the org already so we won't have to worry about on who's going to manage the org once we graduate :) Last Thursday, they asked me to give out my testimonies and it really felt good to be able to say out the things that I wasn't able to blurt out for the past months :)

BLOOD TEST

So far, this laboratory exercise in ZOO120 has been so far the highlight of my semester. I wasn't only able to learn the physiochemical reactions in our bodies but it also gave me life lessons as well :) In this class, it was my first time to make a cut through the human skin and my first patient was Aidz. It took me three tries to make the cut and after doing it successfully, I realized that the human skin is really THICK!

During the actual Blood Test Laboratory Exercise, me and my groupmates gathered enough strength to prick our own fingers by ourselves and I swear, it wasn't easy. After our first try (except for Ralph who never got the courage to do it himself), Mikko and I were like trembling and felt really cold afterwards. The pain was really throbbing and we kept on saying that we should do all the tests that needed our blood so that we no longer have to prick ourselves again. Unfortunately, we clot really fast and had to prick ourselves over and over again. Ralph got about a total of 4 or 5 pricks, I got 6 and Mikko, for the win, got a total of 8 :D

Now, for the *EMO* part, here are the things that I personally learned and I learned from others:

The first shot was the most painful one and getting over it took a long time. -me

No pain, no gain. -Ralph Basmayor

Mabuti pang i-prick ang sarili, alam ko kung kelan ako masasaktan. -Ma'am Marie

The unforgettable pain made me bleed. but i have to get through it. -Joie Sheen Bastian

Nasaan na ba ang crush ko? I need to see him para maraming blood na ma-pump out! -me again :P

Seriously, the first prick I made to myself was really the most painful. But the succeeding ones were not painful enough but still, pain was felt. And the rest of the pricks were nothing to me. Also, every time I used my ring finger as the source of blood, it bled the most amount of blood. So is it true than that the ring finger has a vein that is directly connected to the heart? Haha. I think so... :)

Finally, here's a song I'd like to offer to that one person out there: