Is this the real life?

I would like that question answered as much as Mr. Mercury did.

If it is, is this what I wanna do for as long as I live? I’ve been asking myself these questions since I started nursing school. First off, I never ambitioned to become a nurse. Truth be told, I did everything I could to turn away from becoming one. I have a lot of relatives who are nurses, and 95% of my highschool friends pursued nursing. When I was 16, all I wanted to do was to become different from everybody else. Wore non-matching socks to school, started up some oh-no-you-gotta-be-kidding-me fashion trends, etc. So when I filled up my application to some universities (I actually just applied to two: UP and SLU), instead of filling in “Nursing” on my desired major as my relatives kind of expected, I put Fine Arts for my first choice and Interdisciplinary Art Studies for my second (for UP, I can’t remember what I applied for at SLU).

What I’m trying to say is I can’t imagine how nurses do it. I mean, how they could juggle family and social life, and still able to work their asses off on the floor (sometimes they only get to sit down once in 4 hours!). And the bad thing, sometimes, they don’t even get appreciated by some snooty physicians, who think they’re the kings/queens of the world because they went to school all their lives. I will be going to medical school, too but I will make it a point not to be like that. I’m developing a very high regard for nurses… because truly, they are the ones who get to spend a great amount of time with the patients.

To ate Rem, Gay, Nica, Rhea, Annajho, Jhoanne, and to y’all nurses and student nurses alike, I salute you!

BEACON class

Okay so I was lucky enough to get chosen as one of the 24 students to pursue the accelerated nursing program at Wright State University. But heck, what have I gotten myself into? First of all, it costs a lot, well, not as expensive as the tuition at my previous university, but I am no longer eligible to receive Federal financial aid because I already have a bachelor’s degree. Secondly, the supplies we have to have (PDA & medical softwares, uniforms, stethoscope, etc) cost an arm and a leg! Lastly, I will not be able to get a part-time job, since my whole week is all booked up. This is an intensive training that goes only for 15 months, so there’s no enough room to make mistakes! I have to work my butt off each and every day. And yeah, not to mention that I will have to work with my 23, obnoxious (most of them described themselves that), over-achiever classmates. Goodluck to me.

My Favorite Commercial: Honda Accord Spot

No camera tricks, just plain human ingenuity!

gimik sa Kentucky after World A’fair

Pati sa parking lot, picture pa rin!!!

Kainan na!!!! antakaw namin hehehe

Go Regie, GO Jackie, it’s your buhday! We gon’ dance like it’s ur buhday!

Ang galing ni Regie mag-DDR! Sige Regie, hataw pa! Dance instructor ko na nga yan eh

DDR! hindi marunong si Chukok!
Ang haba na pala ng buhok ko!

Si Charlie… naging ate Chucky!

Rod and Rizza

World A’fair ’06!

Breakdancin’

Tinikling – The national dance of the Philippines

Little kids dancing the Kumintang

They’re so cute!!!

Philippine Folk Dancers dancing an Igorot dance

L-R: Regie, Jackie, Chukok, Rizza, Mylene and Ronald (front)

at the Philippines’ booth

L-R: Rizza, Rosalyn, Ronald, Jackie, Reyna Elena, Erick, Regie, Mylene

(parang pansin ko, parati nyo akong tinatakpan tuwing naggro-group pic hehe)

Before graduation…

Sasamahan sana ako ni Bryan today na bibili ng gagamiting damit for graduation pero tinopak ako eh. Ayokong pumunta. Then I decided not to go to the graduation ceremony. I wanted mom to go with me to the mall… pero may gagawin daw. Si Erick naman, he can’t drive me to the mall daw kasi may problema daw yung car nya. Kainis. Naalala ko tuloy si Auntie Jul… how she went searching with me for the right fabric to be used for my HS graduation. We searched all the boutiques in Candon and Vigan for this sheer/transparent, silverish white for my long-sleeve blouse (see image), we eventually found one at a boutique in Vigan (I forgot the name). Si Auntie talaga, she always goes with what I want. For sure, she didn’t approve of the blouse, she’s very conservative! But she still wanted me to use it… Ang bait talaga nya!

I was on the phone with Dexter… pauwi pala sya sa Pinas bukas. Ano ba naman yan, ngayon ko nga lang nakausap tong taong to paalis pa pala. Sayang din daw kung hindi ako dadalo sa graduation sabi nya, which my other friends seconded. But I don’t know… we’ll see bukas.

Finally!

Pagkatapos na pagkatapos ng final exam ko sa Art History, my last final exam at UD, nagmadali akong umalis ng room. Usually, I would be rechecking my answers, making sure I didn’t miss any page or I didn’t skip any question… but this time, talagang palipad na akong umalis ng classroom. I started humming Pomp and Circumstance #1 when I got to the door. haha. Crazy talaga. I already know my grade in BIO 427 (Immunology) and HSS 295 (Nutrition and Health)… I dont have my final grade for BIO 440 (Cell Biology) yet but I only need 80 points to get an A… so I’m not really worried about that. I already took care of the missing documentation for the Child Psychology Field Experience and I hope my professor got it in his mailbox. I already talked to the dean about the requirements for my degree… and she said okay na. Thank goodness, I’m really going to graduate this time. I hate it that they had to postpone my graduation. I was supposed to graduate last December… tapos ko na lahat ang requirements para sa B.S. Premedicine. The thing though is that, as a transferee from a community college, I’m required to take at least 55 credit hours from UD to be awarded with a bachelor’s degree. I couldn’t do anything about it, it was the policy, so ayun, I had to take classes that are not really required for my degree. I could’ve taken easy-A classes but I chose not to. Walang thrill. Well, sabi nila, yung art history, it’s an easy-A, but it was more work than I thought! The class that got me all worried is BIO 427, Immunology. I was so freakin scared I wouldnt be able to graduate because of it! Muntik nga akong nagka-mental breakdown kasi when I was studying for my final exam for that class, bina-bother ako ng mga kasambahay ko! Ito kasi yung class na kahit mag-aral pa ako ng every day, for weeks, I still wont get an A! But, good thing, everything went well naman in the end… nakakuha pa ako ng B.

Pasukan na naman!

It’s been a (not really terrible but…) baaad Winter break – Christmas day was boring as hell, and so was New Year. Don’t ask why. Instead of making a fuss about the holidays, I engaged myself in doing community service, so I could at least get out of our stupid house. I spent two weeks working for an epidemiologist at Cancer Prevention Institute, Dr. Elhefni, gathering articles about pancreatic, breast, colorectal, prostrate, and other neoplasms. That has been the only consolation from my otherwise boring break.

My classes at Sinclair started Wednesday, Jan 4th, and at UD, Jan 5th. I’m still enrolled full-time at UD and part-time at Sinclair, as before. Some people are getting bothered by this, I just respond to them “the government is letting me study for free… I might as well grab the chance.”

I’m enrolled in crappy classes this semester (Anatomy & Physiology II, Pharmacology, Immunology, Cell Biology, Venipuncture, Medieval Art History, Nutrition, and Child Psychology) and I hope my professors are not as terrible as my first impressions of them. We’ll see.

Ramblings

• Yup, I’m up and running again, after almost a week-long hiatus. Fawk, I did not do all the stuffs I wanted to do over the break. If only I wasn’t craving for a 10-hour uninterrupted sleep… *moans.*
• To hell with my [general] ethics class! Today we’re talking about capital punishment and its morality or the lack of it. Honestly, I don’t really give a crap about it…
• And yeah, my medical ethics class is even more messed up… the professor is soOo lazy to teach
• Chael said I can post his pic here at friendster… yey. The first time I posted his pics, he got mad at me! [damn my bf... so maarts]
• Jhoanne texted me awhile ago, I was in class… something terrible happened. Her grampa had an accident and unfortunately did not make it. Again, twins + dominic + the rest of your family, my condolences guys.
• I watched “sylvia” last night… i’ve been meaning to watch it for, i dunno… years? i dont have high suicidal tendencies but in a way i resemble sylvia’s paranoia about a third party. now it scares me that something that i only created in my mind might turn out to be real.

Ramblings

Nakakatuwa ang auntie ko, nagpapaturong mag-internet. Ngayon alam ko nang mahirap nga talagang turuan ng bagong trick ang matandang aso. Not to mention na sa telepono ko lamang sya binibigyan ng mga direksyon. Maarte pa ang lola dahil cable pa pala ang kinuha nyang subskripsyon, samantalang dial-up lang ang gamit ko [Auntie, pahingi ng pang-cable!]. Anyway, tinuruan ko syang magsign-up sa yahoo mail, kaso parati namang napuputol-putol ang tutorials namin dahil kailangang nyang pumunta sa trahabo. Nafru-frustrate talaga sya dun sa verification code – nakailang ulit din hanggang nag-give up sya. I ended up creating her e-mail(which I actually planned on doing in the first place, ngunit gusto ko sana syang matuto kung paano magsign-up sign up).

Ang sarap ng tinolang niluto ni mamang. Yum talaga. Gustong-gusto ko pa talaga ang sayote, lalo na yung pagkaluto nya – hindi masyadong hilaw, hindi rin overcooked. Nagugutom tuloy ulit ako.

Kaasar, nalate ba naman ako ng 45 minutes sa tennis. Grabe talaga. Nakakahiya sa instructor. Aapat pa naman kami sa class. Pero mabuti mabait naman sya.

Palamig na ng palamig ang panahon. Naka-short shorts pa naman ako kanina.

Pagkatapos kanina ng tennis, pumunta na ako sa library para sagutin yung study guide sa Psychology. Gusto ko kasing prepared na ako para sa test on Wednesday para yung Healthcare ethics na lang ang proproblemahin ko.

Natapos ko na rin kanina yung project ko para sa Interviewing, now I can cross it out of my things-to-do list.

Hay naku si Michael, mahilig mag-send ng “missent” messages. If I know…

Call me a weirdo but I’m collecting my fallen hair… Binibilang ko rin kung ilan ang natatanggal each day. I’ve read na natural lang yung malagas ang 100 hibla ng buhok per day. May nagcomment noon sa buhok ko sabi, “Naglalagas buhok mo?” That time kase pinaglalaru-laruan ng dalawang bata ang buhok ko – tinitiri-tirintas nila. So, there were few strands na nasa sahig. Nakakairita lang nung pagkasabi nya… To me it sounded like: Eww nalalagas buhok mo? Sasabihin ko sanang, “hello? mahaba po ang buhok ko kaya po natural lang na malagas ang iba… kasi alam nyo po ba na ang lifespan ng buhok ay dalawa hanggang anim na taon lamang?… yadda yadda yadda.” pero naunahan ako ng nevermind-they’ll-not-gonna-understand-it-anyway side of my brain. Ngumiti na lang ako ng pilit.

Nakikinig ako kanina ng Asia 4 CD, The Last Promise na hiniram ko sa mga kaibigan kong taga Vietnam. Okay naman yung voice nila. Maganda rin ang melody ng kanta although hindi ko masyadong nagustuhan ang version nila ng Right Here Waiting. Gusto ko pala yung kanta nilang See You Again. Feeling ko kinakanta ni Mike sa akin. By the way, si Mike lang ata ang cute guy na gustong makinig sa pop music. Ayan, there’s my hasty generalization again.

Gutom na naman ako… makababa nga at kumain ng left-overs. Sana nag-uwi sina mamang ng foods. lol.