I thought December was going to be a breeze this year, fitting end for the roller coaster ride that was my first year in rtesidency. But nooooo, if I were to make a toxicity graph of months, peaks were July, August and December.

Not-so-funnily, everyone else seems to think I'm pulling their leg when I say, 'nah, really can't go I have to do tons of stuff blah blah blah' since it *is* Dermatology and people who get into it, expect as less stress as possible. But really, a small patch of earth with 17 girls to work with? Seriously.

But then, not everyone could still throw around the MD title and work 8 to 5, 5 days a week (well, most of the time). Not everyone can get a weekly massage, have dinner at home and the time to make powerpoint animations for their grandrounds all in a day. Not everyone can brandish that MD plate, get away with breaking a couple of traffic rules in a jiffy.

So I'm really lucky that not everyone could be me. Modesty aside.

So, ushering in year 2 and I'm thinking of year 3 already. There's a great deal of pressure lifted being the middle-grounders this year. Cause really, in a three-year program, what matters most is the first and the last. So we're actually in a pit stop if you may. I'm hoping we're now allowed to fly under the radar and let everyone else gossip over the petty stuff. GO TEAM MEDIOCRE!

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I'm just happy I've done all my Christmas repsonsibilities in time this year. Still had to squeeze the shopping time in between weekend rounds with Dra. Tan (you'll laugh thinking of having edema rounds in Derma, but yes, we DO), rehearsals for the RPO (resident's night if you may, we didn't get third, which was what we were aiming for, hehe) and putting together a decent graduation for the seniors ( decent being the operative). I only got to Cuenca, Greenhills and the staple Makati malls and bazaars this year. Not as bad as what I experienced the past years.

Lotsa gifts! New friends, new gifts! The year's been good, met the best and the worst, hopefully done with the JR surprises. Can't wait for the coming year.

Merry Christmas people!