5 LESSONS I LEARNED WHILE I WAS ADMITTED IN THE HOSPITAL

Monday morning. VERY early morning… A feeling in my gut woke me up and I thought I needed to answer nature’s call by going to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and… toiled, toiled as much as I could to get rid of every bit of unhygienic “stuff” from my gut. It could have been a normal and perfectly habitual activity of a normal person with perfectly habitual, uh, habits… only that during those times, it was not normal and was not perfectly habitual. I was letting out my food’s remnants (badly, I tell you) not only from my underside, but also from my mouth via nausea or vomiting. And, I was already beyond 30 minutes in the bathroom.

Seeing that their first-aid treatment (banyos kag tsaa) was neither mitigating nor alleviating my situation, my parents decided to call for a cab and have their dehydrated and weakened (ahem) son admitted to the hospital. The specialists finally had me know that I had amoebiasis and UTI.

I think I got them either from the teensy-weensy oysters (sisi) I ate during Sunday lunch (and I only had three; THREE TINY OYSTERS, I TELL YOU!!!), or the kangkong I had during Sunday dinner (my father theorized that there might be traces of fertilizer from the aforementioned veggie… blech), or both.

SO, WHAT DID I LEARN WHILE I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL? Well…

LESSON #5: At the moment it is attached to you, IV fluid will be your constant companion throughout your stay in the hospital… even in the bathroom.

LESSON #4: Hospital food is not the worst thing in the world… IT CAN BE BOTH THE WORST AND SUCKIEST THING YOU’VE EVER EXPERIENCED GASTRONOMICALLY. (although I frankly don’t have anything against hospital cafeteria personnel)

LESSON #3: Do not panic when blood comes out and comes into your peripheral and direct vision. I’ve seen it being drawn out of my arm for testing, and saw it flowing out into my IV tube for a bit (kay namuwersa ko).

LESSON #2: The sight and feel of touching your “by-products” (if you catch my drift) is repulsing and downright disgusting indeed. However, if your specialist needs samples for analysis, just do like what Mike Rowe does in “Dirty Jobs” on Discovery Channel (I had cable while I was confined) and extract them into those little plastic cups (with the lids) that they give you, for goodness’s sakes. I mean it. It’s for your own good.

*****

Staying in that sanctuary for convalescence may not be (overly) bad, despite missing valuable class sessions, sacrificing some comforts (a.k.a. dairy and fried stuff) for the sake of speedy recovery and adding to one's general expenditures (kamahal man sang bulong). I know you don’t want to experience what I experienced in those two and a half days (and beyond). Hence, aside from proper hand-washing, hygiene maintenance, healthy diet, adequate rest and beneficially productive physical activity, just follow what I’m going to do (most of all)…

*****

LESSON #1:

INDI NA ‘KO LIWAT MAGKAON SISI UKON TALABA! BWISET!!! ARRRGH!!!!!! >_<

Good luck, godspeed, God bless! :D

THE GREATEST SCOTTISH ROCK BAND EVER

I only heard of them while I was in the initial stages of my Gaelophilia/Celtophilia (probably late Senior High School to early Freshmen college), but the songs of Runrig, the band that I’m talking about, are just so gosh-darn great. I can really feel the Scottish-ness of their music and the poetic manner of their lyrics. They may be unheard of in the Philippines, but I’ve read that they’re quite popular not only in their homeland at Scotland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Canada, and even the U.S. as well (although I think that I’m the only one in the Philippines who has heard of them). If Ireland has their U2, perhaps Scotland has their Runrig.

I much prefer the band’s pre-1997 line up over their current one since their relatively old tunes are more likeable.

Here are some of my all-time favorites:

1. “News from Heaven”
I’ve fallen for damsels before, but I’ve never fallen for a song… until I heard this play. Rory MacDonald reminds me of David Bowie, by the way.

“Late people come, take the stage
Famous moments vanish without trace
Trees grow tall, fields grow wheat
Woman grows older, man grows weak
But now you’re here, I feel no fear
I can’t believe the news from heaven…♪”

2. “Protect and Survive”
It’s a nostalgic song with epic lyrics. I really dig Malcolm Jones and his mandolin-playing in the middle.

“You took your sacrifice to the gods of war,
Traded your children’s lives for a mass of gold
You beat your plowshares into swords
Breathing free…♫
Once in a lifetime, you live and love
Once in a lifetime, you die
Once in a moment, the sun goes down
Protect and survive…♪“

3. “Stepping down the Glory Road”
This upbeat song about culture and celebration comes to mind whenever I’m euphorically jubilant about an achievement. I love Malcolm’s accordion solo.

“So resurrect the bards
Liberate the word inspired
Stepping down the Glory Road…♫”

4. “Skye”
Listen to this song and let the music tour you around the Scottish isle of Skye. I think I busted a gut while listening to Malcolm’s guitar solo. It was too awesome!!!

“How can’t you see the wilderness growing free
Time wounded and scarred, stroking away the years
It’s hard to believe but memories are old ghosts
Mountains of black and gold, sunsets falling over the moor
Oh, take me there
‘S na horo eile, horo bho
‘S na horo bho, hillean o
‘S na horo eile ho, take me there…♫”

5. “Healer in Your Heart”
Donnie Munro’s main vocals blend wonderfully with Rory’s back-up (and I dig Rory’s bass).

“For the universe and the stars are around you now
But the healer in your heart is only a breath away
There’s silence and there’s blindness in a raging world
But the healer in your heart is only a moment away…♪”

6. “Tear down These Walls”
Indeed, it is a pity that Donnie had to leave the band in 1997. He really was and will always be the original voice of Runrig.

“Tear down these walls
All men were born the same
You came here with nothing
but naked and a name, oh, a name…♪
Tear down these walls they keep raising for you…♫”

* * * * *

Fast forward more than a decade after Donnie’s departure, Runrig is still a popular band with new members and relatively new songs. Their current vocalist, Bruce Gunthro, is great but I wish that they could have a reunion concern with Donnie, though.

RUNRIG GU BRATH!