Detox

After choir practice one night, I went to the dress rehearsal for the Agape hand mime. I signed up for two performances in the TRP and was already exhausted, but others, whose org affiliations bordered on the superhuman, had it worse.

My mother asked me why I was "stressing myself unnecessarily," and I said, "Everybody here does it. You'll get crazy if all you do is study. And you still won't get higher grades if you lock yourself in the library."

TRP is a big event in Medicine, a time-honored tradition that spans generations; some of my classmates' parents had been there during their student days. It's a variety show showcasing talents that are otherwise repressed by weekly exams, hospital rounds, and our share of academic stresses. It's a venue for release. And the more you keep it in, the louder the explosion.

The highlight is the choral competition. I've written about this before: each class composes a song and performs it. The song has to be original. And everyone in class has to sing. Last year, ours was called "Isang Lagda" writtten by Ryan Magtibay and arranged by Anne Barraquio. It reminded us that we are the first batch who signed up for the Return Service Agreement, a legal bond that demands that we ought to stay in the country for at least three years to serve the Filipino people. It was idealistic, profound, and dramatic.

This year, we wanted something light. Light but meaningful. The song is "Detox," a term people here use to signify taking a break from the stresses of med school. The unbeatable Magtibay-Barraquio tandem took on the task of composing and arranging. Detox is a story of a medical student's life, an unending cycle of stress and sleep—but mostly stress. The melody is perky at the beginning, reaches a zenith of soulfulness at the bridge, and goes back to being fun again at the ending.

So there we were, Class 2014, waiting in the backstage. The mood was tense, and if we didn't watch it, this would hurt us. In our practices, we didn't look like we were having fun, as the message of the song so conveyed. Maybe because we were too preoccupied with our notes and dynamics because we wanted to win badly.

But this was now or never. When the stage curtains opened, we flashed our brightest smiles as we sang our hearts out, following Dane Leonardo's conducting. At the end of it all, we felt so relieved and, would you believe it, detoxified.



After the performance, I asked Dane how we fared. "That was the best run we've had." Maybe it was the endorphins kicking in, but then she wasn't so wrong.

Later we would later learn that we won first prize. I couldn't believe it at first, but as soon as I saw my classmates yelling and jumping and carrying that mammoth of a trophy on stage, I ran as fast as I could to have my share of picture-taking.

Labing-apat, walang katapat!

Video by April Lapuz and photos by Victor Arcega. Many thanks!

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Detox (2014)

Gusto kong kumain ng pistachio ice cream
Lunurin ang sarili sa gabing madilim
Iindak, kakanta, sasabay sa tugtugin
Walang pipigil sa aking paggiling!

Ang isang linggong pagod, tatapusin ko ngayon
Sa gabing ito, saya ang aahon
Walang libro or trans na makikita
Dahil ako, ako muna ang bida!

Magshashopping ako nang paulit-ulit
Manonood din ng pelikulang malupit
Makikinig sa paboritong kanta
At maghahanap ng macho, gwapitong papa

Buong araw akong maglalaro
O kaya'y aakyat ng bundok
Tutugtog kasama ang barkada
Maghahanap ng seksi at magandang mama

Ang isang linggong pagod babawiin ko ngayon
Sarili ko'y itatayo't iaahon
Walang hirap na dapat nakikita
Kaya ako, ako muna ang bida!

Magbababad ako sa Rob
O mabuti pa'y sa bahay uuwi't matutulog
Yayakapin ang buong pamilya
At kukuwentuhan sila nang walang sawa

Kung sa ginagawa'y pagod na lang ang tinatamo
Balikan ang sarili at tingnan nang mabuti
Di makapagmamahal ang pusong napapagal
Di makapag-aalay ang walang maiaalay

Kaya naman . . .

Ang isang linggong pagod, tatapusin ko ngayon
Bukas bagong ako ang aahon
Pagiging doktor muling isasaisip
Dahil sa buhay ko, habambuhay, kayo pa rin ang bida!

(Photo: Alric Mondragon)