the ?

behind the smiles and hiding in the celebrations was the anticipation for something bigger other than the big J.

i was registering for my professional id card when the PRC handed me a paper that incited my curiosity. i was supposed to just sign the paper and give it right back but i saw a handwritten "86.20" on it. i assumed it was my board rating and i started to contemplate on what it means. could it be that the glory i achieved by having an "RPh" extension has something more to offer? seeing the scores of the top 10, i knew i had a shot at the top 20. the 10th placer only had an 87.45 rating, just more than a point away from mine. this'll be interesting...

for weeks after the results were published, i tried to look for the list of the top 20. i checked every online publication, i asked friends working in the academe, anything to find answers, but to no avail. for a while, i gave up, knowing that my grade was just speculation. i also knew that the board rating and ranking would be given at the oathtaking ceremonies together with the id's and certificates. i waited for august 1 but it only answered half of the question. yes, i did have a score of 86.20, but did i make it to the top 20?

the answer, we might never know...