Fiasco

Fawk, I flunked the ERI (for fundamentals of nursing) again. What is wrong with me?
I bet my bestfriends Rhea, Annajhoanne, Gay, and Jonah could have passed it with their eyes closed.

I have survived 3 quarters of physics, aced 4 quarters of calculus and analytic geometry, and aced 3 quarters of anatomy but I could not pass a standardized test for basic nursing concepts. And to fail it for the second time, OMG! How dumb could I be?

I have never gotten a C in my entire life, let alone fail a course/class. But the thing is, if I will not pass this ERI, I will not pass the class! It doesn’t matter if my pending grade is A. This sucks. I feel like a total failure! So now, instead of enjoying my vacation, I am at the library studying my butt off so hopefully by the time I take it next week, I will pass the damn thing. *crossing my fingers*
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Addendum:
11:22 am DEC 27 Student Union Cyber Cafe

I finally passed the ERI. Whew. I can now enjoy the rest of my vacation. I think I’m gonna be doing a movie-thon.

Chicken wings & meaty conversations

As promised, Beatrice treated us (Janet, Louie & I) to Rooster’s right after the finals. We had some hot & donkey hot chicken wings and some potato skin fries and boy were they yummy!
Janet & Beatrice are originally from Kenya, and Louie was born in the US but he is of Hispanic descent (mestizo). So we had this cultural diversity going on. We talked about our native delicacies – Kenya’s ugali (dough-like substance made of corn flour or maize and water) & nyama choma (burnt meat); Authentic Mexican dishes and how they are different from the ones sold at US restaurants like Don Pablo’s; and of course Filipino dishes like adobo, sinigang (my fave), etc. We had a conversation about the cultural shock we went through when we moved to the states and so on. Janet mentioned her observation about how people here in the states easily open up to other people. They tend to overshare information even if you just met them. And she mentioned about this lady she met one time, who matter-of-factly said she got crabs. We were like “oh no, she didn’t!” And then there are those morbidly obese individuals who dress up with all their flabs flying all over the place. I don’t mean to be rude or anything but come on now. And then there’s this thing about people here who just pass gas in front of other people. And Beatrice was like “in our place, that would be unacceptable!”

And then we talked about environmental policies: the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, SUVs vs. hybrid cars, energy-efficient homes, etc.

And of course, we ranted about our 304 class and how incompetent our professor was.
Beatrice invited us to go to their house in Columbus for New Year but I don’t know if I’ll be going.

Consummatum est

It’s true, for the final examinations this quarter at least.

F@%# it! The pathophysiology final exam was a killer!

I wasn’t really prepared for the finals, or will I ever be. I was just like, “give me the test questions and let’s get it over with.” I breathed a sigh of relief after the Adults ERI.

My classmates and I went to Applebee’s right after the finals. There were 19 of us who went. Five of our classmates didn’t come. I ordered baby back ribs, fries and a strawberry smoothie. They were calling me “baby girl” for not ordering an alcoholic beverage. I told them I have a really bad hypersensitivity reaction to ingested alcohol – urticaria and/or pruritus. When my order came, OMG, I got so embarrassed! It looked like an order for 3 people! It was only 10 bucks so I thought it would be just a small quantity.

Jill started a whisper relay. The message was “Louie went out of the room 2 times during the test.” When the message got to Micah (who was drunk) it became “Louie is a bisexual.” When Jenny whispered the message to me, what I heard was “Louie buys sex” you know, like in prostitution. Then finally, when the message reached Louie, the message went back to “Louie is a bisexual.” LOL my classmates are crazy. And to think they’re supposed to be professionals (all are 2nd- or 3rd-degree-takers).

Presentation

Did my presentation yesterday on Nursing Research and my classmates were teasing me that I’m not such a mute after all. One of my classmates said something like “that’s gotta be the longest time you ever talked this quarter.” LOL. But no, really, I don’t talk that much in class, I only speak up when asked by the professor. I don’t usually ask questions or make comments on things we’re discussing in lecture. Some of my classmates are probably thinking how stupid I am. But you know, I’d rather not ask questions than ask a question the professor just discussed a minute ago or something. It just shows you’re not paying attention. And then there’s this intro my classmates ALWAYS make when they ask a question. It goes something like this “this might be a stupid question but…” (Which is usually responded by: “the only stupid questions are the questions left unasked” by our professors). Well, I’m thinking, if you think it’s a stupid question, WHY BOTHER to ask??? Most of the time, when I have questions, I just research em myself. That’s what google is for, is it not? Of course you just have to be careful with your references. Oh shit, I have to go to class.

Tutoring

It’s the last week of tutoring for this quarter, and probably my last ever, at Sinclair. Last Wednesday, one of the students I tutored, Paula gave me a gift, a coffee mug! With a really sweet note thanking me for helping her get an A for Chemistry. She’s such a really nice person, very appreciative. She wanted me to tutor her on College algebra during the Fall quarter but I told her I will be going to Wright State and won’t be taking any classes at Sinclair. I also saw Rahmat, another student I tutored, on my way to the library. I learned she also got an A in chemistry! I was like, awesome!

Graduation!

Yeah, I decided to attend the graduation ceremony… I found something to wear. Natakpan din ng gown, so it doesn’t really matter. Napaka-bland naman ng ceremony… ni parang walang stage. Yung marquee lang na with the “156th Commencement Ceremony” ang parang pinaka-decoration. Kaloka! Una, hindi ko mahanap-hanap yung mga ka-major ko. I knew I was supposed to stay at Row 20… but I wasn’t sure kung saang wing yung sa amin. I thought it was east wing ng arena… tas yun pala it’s on the other side. Ayan kasi, hindi nagbabasa ng instructions. Then, eto namang nanay ko, my bro and sis, hindi ako mahanap-hanap. Tawag sila ng tawag. Sabi, i-wave ko daw yung kamay ko para makita nila ako. Eh lahat naman ata ng grads dun nagwe-wave ng kamay. Tawag sila ng tawag… txt ng txt. Hindi ko rin sila makita-kita dun sa audience. Sabi ko hindi talaga nila ako makikita coz antangkad ng mga katabi ko… Nahanap din nila ako after an hour siguro. Then I wondered kung saan ko ilalagay yung cellphone ko when my turn to go to the stage comes. Wala kasi akong pocket sa slacks… so ayun, isinuksok ko sa left sleeve ng blouse ko. Buti meron namang button sa may wrist kaya ayun… hehe. Antagal pa ng ceremony! Around 2000 graduates ata (undergrad, grad, doctoral). Almost 5 hours ata! Hindi na kami nagpicture-picture sus! Pano, gutom na mga kasama ko… at tsaka marami pa daw kasi aayosin for the party. In fact, they were bugging me to take off before the ceremony ends. Naku, nakakahiya naman… Kinanta sa huli yung school hymn… ni hindi ko pa nga napapakinggan yun ever!