T-U-L-I

WARNING: In this article, I will be divulging one private aspect in my life. Whatever that is, be prepared to be enlightened! ;-)

When I was young, I feared the traditional rite of the brave called circumcision. I didn't fear the process per se. What I feared was experiencing the pain the process will bring about to my "you know" --- penis. And so everytime my parents wanted to me to be circumcised, I would hide from them. But my wise parents were really determined and so they 'devised' a strategy such that I would be led to the doctor without me knowing my fate. What they did was that they told my sister to accompany our little boy neighbors to be circumcised. And since it was only me and my sister who are left in the house, I was forced to go with them, with a solid determination that I will not be circumcised on that same day. To cut the long story short, on that same day, I got circumcised. I was nine years old then.

Looking back almost 16 years ago, I am thankful that I got circumcised that day. Not only for the reason that I could get away with the teasing ('pisot' in bisaya means uncircumcised; in tagalog, it's 'supot'), but because when I did my first "surgical" stint, I could empathize with my 'patient'. That surgical act was circumcision. Yes, I did circumcise 2 little boys! While doing the circumcision, the events on the day I was circumcised came back to life in my mind. And so I tried my best to make their traditional rite for the brave as painless as possible.

I had fun during the circumcision. It was at Calaca, Batangas and I was with my fellow med students from St. luke's College of Medicine. Now, I'm looking forward for more circumcision rites, and this time, I will make sure that I will do it better, surgically and aesthetically. :)