Jumping out of a Perfectly Good Airplane!

My first skydive! It was mind blowing and kinda scary, but I would do it again. Falling and falling and then slowly floating down when the parachute opens... You have to see life and the world from this perspective at least once. For pictures click on the link below:

Skydive - October 2005

New Job

The last couple of weeks have been really busy and I am behind in posting the latest news on here. When I get some free time, I will try to catch up getting some of the pictures from the last couple of weeks posted on my Nashville page.

First, I want to thank my friends and family for the birthday greetings (October 15, 1969). You make life worth living - I love you all! A special thanks also goes out to my group of friends here in Nashville and my buddies at the office for the birthday surprises and all the fun on my birthday weekend.

Second, for those of you that don't know, I have resigned my position as the Manager of Vanderbilt's Neurosurgery Practice and have taken a position managing Medical Specialties for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital (several specialties including pediatric Neurosurgery, Neurology, Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Genetics, Immunology & Rheumatology, Infectious Diseases and Hepatology - I am not sure if this is a complete list of my new clinics). The VCH is ranked by Child.com as one of the top hospitals in the country. I am very excited about the new job, but I must confess it was a very difficult (painful - I had several migraines that week) decision to make. It has been a pleasure working with the Neurosurgeons and the Neurosurgery team, and most of all I will miss my coworkers. They have become like a second family to me. I wish you guys the best. I am very grateful for the time we spent working together.

Old Friends

This morning I got to speak with Reggie and Jun. They were hanging out at some party in Manila and I called out of the blue. Apparently, they were talking about me (OK guys, be nice!). Great timing, I might add.

Reggie is one of my best friends from high school. We were classmates at the University of the Philippines High School in Baguio, a small town in the Mountain Province (in Northern Luzon, the largest island in the Philippine archipelago). She is doing very good. We lost touch for a while, but I was able to reconnect with her when I visited Manila earlier this year. To my surprise she actually finished Law School and is now a very successful high power attorney with 3 kids and a loving husband (Hi Vince!). To be honest I didn't think Reggie would finish law school. She had a whole lot going on when I left for the United States. Reg, I am very proud of you!

Jun is another close friend who is married to Joanna, a childhood friend of mine from Davao City. I got to speak at their wedding and even went with them on their honeymoon. We spent some time together earlier this year when I visited Davao (click for the pictures). No visit to the Philippines would be complete without seeing them and the kids (I am the god father of Arnie, the eldest son). They are like a brother and sister to me. Jun told me that Joanna has opened her second veterinary clinic (awesome Jo!) and he is doing good with his computer programming/consulting firm. They may be coming for a visit next year. That would be really nice.