Week 13, 2012: After the rain

Late in the afternoon I swung by the nearby mall to buy things for the apartment. I wanted a break from  the studying-sleeping cycle I've had these past days—well, mostly sleeping.



The air was cold and fresh because it had just rained; it was the perfect time to go for long, solitary walks. I think best during these moments.



 The streets were empty, save for the passersby on their way home.



As I passed by the Cancer Institute, I thought of the patients lying inside, getting their doses of chemotherapy, wondering if there would still be a tomorrow. O, that God would bring comfort and healing upon them.



Across the street, the Department of Justice complex looked peaceful from the outside.



The Out-Patient Department of the Philippine General Hospital looked different without the deluge of patients. I spent most of my time in this building. The best teachers I've had were the patients I was able to interview and examine. I find it amusing that as I read up on certain disease entities, I remember some of my patients' faces. And while I feel bad I could not remember their names anymore (I keep a personal, private journal listing all the patients I saw, but my records are incomplete), I feel grateful for the opportunity to have met them.



I bought a cheap shower curtain at a Japanese store and went to the grocery to buy fruit. On my way back, the street lamps were already lit. It was the start of another long night.



As I write this on a balmy night, I remember what King David wrote in Psalm 63:1-5:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.