Thursday, July 05, 2007

Under the Walnut Tree

When I was younger, I used to have an incessant flair for the dramatic. I won a childhood talent search by my declamation piece (complete with faux-laurel leaves and robe) “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” from Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar (Act 3, Scene 2). I also escorted a childhood friend (euphemism for a pesky neighbor) when her family forced her against her will to join the Little Miss Philippines contest in a noontime TV show (Eat Bulaga). I appeared once (or is that twice, or thrice) in the now defunct show FLAMES, with the then young Claudine Barretto and Bojo Molina. And had some little TV (extra) appearances every now and then. (Flames Image Courtesy of ABS-CBN.com).

I wanted to pursue show business then, but as years passed by, I recognized that I do not need to appear in one (movie, TV show, etc.) to be one. As my horizons widened and I became exposed to one too many shows, I started associating myself to the characters in the show, and watched as if they’re filming my life (just kidding).


The following shows, and the characters portrayed, are listed below.


Legally Blonde

This summer go blonde!



Oh how could I forget one of the most influential movies in my life (hehe).
That was me right there (in pink). When I first saw this movie, swear to God, I told myself that I will be just like Elle Woods. Not because of the pink stuffs or the blonde-ish associations, but because I wanted to make a huge difference in the lives of people around me. I wanted her determination, her intelligence, her spunk, her convictions (and her dog, too) that one must not judge with what one only sees.



Legally Blonde Images: Source: http://movies.yahoo.com. Image courtesy of MGM. Photo by Tracy Bennett.

Most memorable line:


Warner: You got into Harvard Law?
Elle: What? Like, it's hard?

Mean Girls
Welcome to the girl world.


This movie is girl world in its finest.
And that was me, right there (2nd from the left on the picture below). I love this movie because you can relate to it in one way or the other, and you can identify with the main characters in their best and worst traits. Maybe from your experiences from backstabbing people around you, or a petty jealousy for a man you have a crush on—you couldn’t help but say “that was so me.” (And yes, I admit, I’m a catty, bitchy person in high school).


Mean Girls Images: Source: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808529211/photo/520459

Most memorable line:


Gretchen: I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me... but I can't help it that I'm so popular.


Sex and the City


It was Carrie’s manner of writing that largely influenced my style of writing when I was just a novice writer (click here or here). Dating disasters, emotional issues, sexual dilemmas and concerns— everything is tackled by this superbly written, witty, show. Haven’t we all had our Sex and the City moments with our friends/lovers in the past? This show has been, and will remain as one of the most loved and cherished show for generations to come.



Sex and the City Images courtesy of HBO.com

Most memorable quotes:


Carrie: Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life and people go. But it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart.


and

Carrie: Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.


Scrubs



This TV series inspired me to take up Nursing and be the best Nurse that I can be. Scrubs evolves on the personal and professional lives of the characters working at the Sacred Heart Hospital, including the nurses, and the then interns, now attending physicians, and their superiors and subordinates. The best thing about this series is that events are portrayed very realistically, with an emotional touch and a sensitive comedic undertone. (This is one show where nurses are portrayed acceptably and satisfactorily, with a great sense of sensitivity and pride for the work that they do).

When I was starting out on my hospital duty, it seems as if the events I watch on this series are what are really happening in the wards. Loss of a loved one, the knowledge of a life-changing diagnosis, bioethical dilemmas, patients touching your life—everything are all true ingredients of a hospital life. JD shows the imperfectability of a medical professional as a person—always in the crossroad of indecision, a mature individual with a core of immaturity, imprisoned by his limited nature, capable of rational and logical thinking but can become irrational and illogical at times, and is an irreplaceable being.



Scrubs Images Courtesy of Scrubs, NBC.com

Most Memorable Lines:


Dr. Kelso: Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy

and

JD: So they say that 1 out of every 3 patients admitted to this place will die here. But some days the odds are worse than that. And on days like that I guess the best that you can hope for is that you take something from it. Anything. Anything at all. Even if it’s just taking the time to lie on the grass and think about all the things you still have left to do.


Grey’s Anatomy



Need I say more? When I first watched this show, I was left with two choices: (1) pursue a career in medicine, or (2) pursue a career in medicine. Unfortunately for me at that time, I was not able to take the NMATs, no Med School will ever process my applications, and I don’t have the energy to study again and be back to the classrooms after the board exams drained my heart and soul.

This show has the making of a masterpiece—a superb ensemble of characters (all of them have personal and professional issues worthy of a long storyline), almost true-to-life portrayal of medical conditions in its totality, and a touch of humanness in every episode that caresses your inner soul and moves your spirit.


Grey's Anatomy Images Courtesy of Grey's Anatomy ABC.com

(Some of the) Most Memorable lines:


Meredith Grey: At some point you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out; they fence you in. Life is messy, that's how we're made. So you can waste your life drawing lines or you can live your life crossing them. But there are some lines that are way too dangerous to cross. Here's what I know. If you're willing to take the chance, the view from the other side is spectacular.


and


Meredith Grey: The early bird catches the worm; a stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we haven't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to ‘seize the day'. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore, until we finally understand for ourselves like Benjamin Franklin meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping. And that even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistake beats the hell out of never trying.



***



There you go. Those are but few of the shows that influenced the present me. In a life that’s full of turmoil, inconsistencies, contradiction and unpredictability, one could feel solace in the fact that somewhere in this universe, someone shares with our experience—good or otherwiseall in a parallel universe.

***

The posted images are copyrights of their respective owners and the author does not, in any way, claims the ownership of the aforementioned images. The original links are posted respectively for reference.

13 comments:

leeflailmarch said...

I love Grey's Anatomy too! I love the quotable quotes from that show. :)

Rocky Sunico said...

instead of TV, i have other things like books and concepts that have inspired me. it was nice of you to share your primary influences though, it certainly gives us all more insights into your person.

of course i don't need to elaborate on mine - you read my anniversary post after all. =D

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

hi mykl thanks for the visit!

i love, love, love that show. meredith is so "me" (minus the medical degree and the mcdreamy part hehe). the quotes from that show are simply spectacular, and you can relate to them too. and that show makes you feel as if you're not only a mere spectator, but a real character interacting with the lives of the interns at seattle grace.

=)

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

thanks for the visit rocky! =)

i have resigned to reading books ever since i bought a Cien aƱos de soledad and got lost after page 56 (when i was still in college). good thing my lit professor forced me to read Mary Austin's Cactus Thorn for additional credits. the urge then got lost when i got a B+ on my report on Kipling's Kim.

i have a love-hate relationships with books (novels) you know. but i guess the "hate" thing predominate. =(

other than movies and tv shows, medical cases and patient's lives are my other influences. =)

by the way, i have downloaded your podcast about the roku. once again, congratulations rocky and brian and hope to see you soon. =)

chase / chubz said...

i love legally blonde.

That movie and Ally Mcbeal influenced me why i wanna become a lawyer.
very weird right? hehehe

fave line:
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands"

sex and the city is the best show on the planet. i love that show.
i love samantha. coz she is provocative, sexy, and agressive.

my fave line from her:
"money is power. sex is power. Therefore, sex in exchange for money is simply and exchange of power."
hehehehe

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

thanks for dropping by chase. and thanks for the comments too. =)

i didn't know you're a lawyer! that's a new one for me. well, after watching legally blonde, i was also inspired on becoming a lawyer but i dont think i dont have the guts to pull it off. all the memorization stuffs, and the courtroom stuffs, haaay--id better stay at the icu and take care of sick people. (and i think i dont have the agressiveness and assertiveness required of lawyers then). =)

and Sex and the City, aaah, it is indeed the best show ever. id like to believe that i'm samantha, minus her sexperiences and her aggressiveness, but it is Charlotte's character that i simply adore. her eternal optimism and faith in people is truly worth emulating.

stay fabulous chase and see you soon hunny. =)

Qtheconqueror said...

Hehe. I think your choice in movies/ series, mirrors a lot of other people's...

Since its Chick Flicks + Medical Drama, suggest tayo sa Universal Studios that they create a Medical Chick Flick. Featuring an Elle-like Med Student who goes EEEEWWW!!! at the sight of a cadaver. Hehehe. :P

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

thanks for the visit q, and you have, indeed, conquered my "unbearable lightness." =)

i guess the characters in my "personal" movies really mirrors even a little bit of everyone's personality, may it be elle's sense of style or her self-confidence, or of carrie's manner of writing or her sense of fashion--these characters have, in one way or the other, inspired us, touched our lives, or just entertained us, and we have found something in them that is truly worth emulating.

by the way, that chick flick medical drama is just sublime. i could just imagine the protagonist in pink scrubs with fur-lined scalpels and forceps grossing out with the sight of blood. that's just fabulous.

hehehe. see you soon q.

chase / chubz said...

ei.. correction.. im not a lawyer ....yet! hehe
still studying though..

doo itashimashite.

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

ooops sorry... i stand corrected. =(

i bet youll be the most good looking lawyer to ever grace the bloggerland =)

doo itashimashite too. =)

gorjess said...

i love sex and the city. been watching it for more than 5 years hahaha. im crazy. cant wait for the movie....

ruff nurse-du-jour said...

yeah me too. i have been watching sex and the city ever since i was in college and up until now, i still enjoy every episode of it.

in fact, i saved the entire 4th season on my ipod. my most most loved episode? "Ghost Town"--such a SATC classic. love love love it.

what's your favorite episode by the way?

drop me a line. =)

Anonymous said...

my fave Grey's Anatomy line:

"Why do I keep hitting my head with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop."