Raymond's Tuna Fettucini

I’d always prefer a pasta with a creamy and rich white sauce over one which is tomato-based anytime, anyday. With this preference, I myself made a recipe when I was in high school for our Food Technology home cooking project. Guess what? My experiment turned out to be a taste bud prostitute which pleased almost everyone I cooked for. Yay! So I'm sharing this recipe with you guys.

Ingredients:                                                                                                     

• 2 big cans of Century Tuna Spicy
• 1 kilo uncooked fettuccini
• 1 can button mushrooms (pieces and stems)
• 8-10 pieces black olives (optional)
• 1 small bar of Quickmelt cheese, grated
• 1 pack Knorr Cream of Mushroom
• 2  tetra packs of Nestle Multipurpose Cream (330ml each)
• 1 bar anchor butter (unsalted)
• Finely chopped parsely
• 10-15 cloves of garlic
• 1 large Onion (white)
• Pepper
•  

Procedure: 

1. Cook the pasta as seen in the directions until it becomes al dente. 
2. Saute the minced garlic until golden brown using 1/4 of the bar of butter. I do use garlic liberally whenever I cook since it has already been proven by the that it can help in lowering the blood pressure and in preventing the development of hypertension. Add chopped onions. Use the white onion since it becomes “sweet” when cooked. 
3. Add the 2 cans of spicy Century Tuna. To make the cream based pasta a little unconventional and healthy at the same time, I decided to put a little kick to it by using the spicy variant of Century Tuna. Do not remove the oil along with the tuna. It contains good cholesterol and adds more flavor to it! 
4. Simmer for 3 mins. to let some of the oil evaporate 
5. Dilute the cream of mushroom in hot water and pour it along with the garlic, onions, and tuna. 
6. Add 2-4 cups of water and mix thoroughly. 
7. Add the 2 tetra packs of all-purpose cream. Since we’re Filipinos, add a little water to the pack. Shake it a little then pour it as well in the pan. Sayang naman yung natira. 
8. Add the chopped mushrooms, parsely, black olives, and grated cheese. 
9. Add the remaining ¾ of the butter and let it cook for 2 more minutes. 
10. Add black ground pepper as desired. 
11. Serve while hot

Misdirected, mismatched?

I've had this URL since May last year and had just published a single post since then. So my blog isn't necessarily in good shape and it is as sedentary as my lifestyle since I entered medical school. The past year has been very fast paced and I can't seem to document everything that has been happening. Hopefully through this post, I can get people updated.

UST Central COMELEC Executive Board 2014-2015

I got elected as the Vice Chairperson of the UST Central Commission on Elections. The UST COMELEC is arguably one of the three biggest organizations in the university. It handles all political parties and  college-based units in UST. I turned out to be a surprise to the organization when I ran for office because the representatives of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery are usually the more passive ones due to their busy schedules. But hey, no one is too busy for one not to care about issues that directly affect us. I want to prove that Medicine students can do it if they have the will and commitment to do it.  The organization breeds with potential even before I entered it. I, along with the other Executive Board members, have this vision of taking the organization to greater level of significance that can span the national level. We plan to do this by instituting reforms in the electoral process, innovating projects, and by having strategic partnerships with other organizations. Talks are currently ongoing for a big project for the 2016 National Elections and I am very thrilled with the opportunity of doing something concrete for the Philippines.

Aside from being elected, I also got pretty decent grades in my first year of medical school which qualified me for the Dean's List. Aside from the bragging rights, I don't really think this speaks a lot about myself. The more I stay in med school, the more I get the perception that grades only measure a part of a persons intelligence. It doesn't evaluate things like cooperation, creativity, and linguistics. I think medical school has misappropriated focus. I am not saying that technical education is bad. In fact, it is the lifeblood of medical education. However, I think there should also be a way of evaluating the other facets of a person.

Upon looking at the issues the world facing today, they actually stem more from problems with the emotional quotient (EQ). Territorial disputes, corruption, mindless politicking - can only be addressed not by technological advancements but by developing morally upright people. So when we look at the current problems and the current system of education, there is clearly a mismatch. We focus to much on how to make our lives better (through technology) but we fail to live better lives as a person.

My idea may not hold much water in other institutions as I am confined only to my experience in the university. As of now, I am not necessarily satisfied with  the institutionalized education I'm getting. I must continuously try to learn more than what the confines of medical school offers.

Who's Excited for Sembreak?

The issue regarding the shift of academic calendar back to the original one had stirred unpopular reactions from the students of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (USTFMS). For sure it would. Semestral break has been the only thing that some students look forward to, like a little treat after weeks of mayhem. And now, they’re about to take it.

For weeks, I refused to comment on the issue since I have not heard all the angles of the story. I tried to reserve my comments until the Medicine Student Council (MSC) or the USTFMS administration releases an official statement. But alas! Until now, I haven’t heard of a formal explanation that would allow me to comment using thorough information. The MSC, which had the primary responsibility of informing the students, have devolved the functions to the class officers. I have talked to an officer of the MSC and he said that this was done so that the class officers can address the queries/comments instantaneously. While he raised a valid point, I do believe that the MSC should have still released an official statement to (1) keep the students informed, (2) eliminate variability in the information disseminated, and (3) encourage active participation of the students in the discussion. I would appreciate it if the MSC informed the students of the steps that are being undertaken to address the issue and the progress of the “student consultation”. As of this moment, an MSC officer informed me that a “resolution” was already submitted to the Office of the Dean to follow the original schedule.

 I also do not understand why some students encourage others not to comment on the issue for the reason that its implementation still not confirmed. But when will be the right time for students to react on the issue? When everything is final and executory? When the students have no chance of their opinions being heard? There is a clear difference between spreading unverified rumors and spreading a spark of awareness on the issue, and on this case, the issue is already being discussed and the only thing missing is the final decision. People are yearning for an explanation so that they could understand the issue. Suppressing students’ opinion on social media hinders awareness and possible collective action from students.

From what I have been hearing, the academic calendar is being reverted so that the junior interns can still apply for senior internship slots in hospitals of which application period does not coincide well with UST’s current academic school year. This is an understandable point but I say this issue could have been a preventable one. This was a lack of foresight from the administration. An academic calendar was released at the start of the academic year but why is the issue only being discussed now? If the admin already saw that there will be issues with the academic calendar shift, they should have not followed it in the first place.

The issue apparently raises some issues to students since a number of students have already booked local and international flights after the last day of classes. Students will either resort to rescheduling flights (would be very costly) or cancel the whole trip altogether. There had been some stories that the administration is considering a “No quiz policy” solution to give way for those with flights. But this is far from a solution! Neither would it be pro-student. The student will still be the one to miss classroom activities and later on suffer from quizzes once they get back because of those missed lectures. For sure, the quality education that they are due will be compromised. Talo parin ang estudyante. 

Another issue, which may not be a concern of the majority, would be the enrollment itself. Considering that the students have just paid matriculation for the finals, is it compassionate for parents to enroll their child for the second semester and shell out another hundred thousand pesos at this time of the year? I have heard that there is a compromise that even though classes will start by November 24, enrollment would still follow the same schedule which is on December 4. However, this still shortens the time for students to enroll since they have to be enrolled by December 4 since classes are already ongoing. I hope they extend the enrollment period until the supposed 1st day of classes, which is on January 5.

I pray that the UST Medicine students act collectively so that our opinion may be considered, for MSC to continue to live up to the title student representatives who would lobby the rights of the students, and for the administration to work out a solution that would benefit all.