Prolonging The Misery

–

Update Soon.

Hmmm.

I think my very long adjustment period has just ended. Haha.

If a lighter feeling at work and going home is a sign, then.. THANK GOD!

And may this feeling last for a long, long, loooooooong time…

It’s Been..

Almost a month already at the new area.

There are days when I feel tired and fulfilled; but there are more days when I feel tired and sad.

The weirdest thing? I’m not usually like this. I’m always full of energy; I like roaming around and talking to other nurses and making sipsip to my seniors; but, something’s changed.

There is definitely something wrong.

The loud ‘echo’ has become quiet and reserved, and ‘un-approachable,’ according to some individuals.

…

Tinatamad ako. I am not as assertive as I was in my previously assigned area.

…

Last week, HN and I had a private talk.

And almost everything he/she said were right. Almost.

I was not asked to leave; I was given FREEDOM; a choice, to stay and exert more effort; or to leave, and find another area I really want and would feel more comfortable in.

…

And I’m still here. For some reason, I still am.

…

Struggling, trying, emotionally and physically exhausted almost everyday. If this is a test, this is a VERY HARD one. Much harder than the ones I took in college.

But then,

GOD’S ANSWER IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN OUR PRAYERS

Thanks to Pastor Bal Edora for the reminder.

…

I have more obstacles to face. More challenges to surpass.

God would not have wanted me to treat this ‘blessing’ as a problem. But Lord, please, please, please, PLEASE! Continue to guide me everyday, that I perform to the best of my abilities, and regain my once energetic and confident self. I badly need it now.

.

Sorry if this post is scarce of information. But this blog is temporarily going full time as my sounding board, my outlet of all emotions I cannot displace onto my friends, as I tread on this new journey called adult life. My apologies. I’ll be back soon (with high hopes).

I Am

Currently in a crisis state and might not be able to blog for a few more days.. weeks.. or even months. till then.

I’m Sad

And I can’t tell why.

Thank You

Lord, for not letting anything bad happen today. Please continue to guide me everyday as you entrust into my hands the lives of other people.

Sir Maxwell, for being cool. I’ll never forget the lesson I learned today.

Tsinoy!

A week at __ has passed. I survived the first 4 days, and surprisingly, did not have much trouble waking up at 4 AM. It’s got a lot to do with my review classes at Allgen, where I had to wake up early as well, and my new best friends, 3 alarm clocks that do their best to awaken this sleeping giant every morning. But this won’t last long, I can already foresee in the coming days that I will be late and be back to my tardy self eventually.

Ay teka pala di ko pa nasasabi haha.

I’m back to the medical field and now practicing as a nurse at Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center

I got the call last Saturday, that we would start on Tuesday (Monday being a holiday), and proceed to the nursing service office at Annex Up to get our designated areas at 7AM.

We (fellow new nurses) were of course excited (who could blame us, it’s been a year since we passed our application) and gathered at 630. And off to Ma’am Amor we went. She then gave us our respective areas: Jopz, Sugar, Jaynalyn, and Joy were assigned at the MS wards at the blue building. I was waiting for Ma’am to ask me to come with them at MS, because it was one of those areas I really wanted to have clinical exposure (because it’s cool, nice and clean there, minus all SNs hehe). She assigned me at __, at the new building. My heart pounded a little, but there’s no turning back now. Took a long, deep breath. Off I go!

The first person I saw as I left the elevator was ______. Yehey!!! At least I had someone to talk to and ask about stuff. If only she wasn’t on night shift huhu. Oh well.

Week long story short,

It was an OK first week. Still adjusting to the ward protocol, routine, staff nurses and demanding patients. And it’s really a long maze going to __ every morning. I practically walk through the whole hospital everyday. I come down the bus at security bank, walk up, walk down, walk up the stairs again to the employees entrance, walk through long corridors, a bridge to annex up, back the the main building, to the bridge towards the new building,  to the elevators and if I’m lucky, I might be able to use them. This, I will need more time adjusting to.

SO there, it’s been a very tiring week, and it’s just the start so I shouldn’t be complaining. There’s no reason to complain when I think about the other thousands of RNs out there still patiently waiting for a chance to be able to work in a hospital and practice the profession we’ve all studied for 4 years in college. I am considered a lucky person, despite these small troubles. ^_^

View from New Building (skyscrapercity.com)

It’s about time I change this blog’s tagline hehe

Updates (August)

I feel like I need to write something new haha.

Hmmm. Alright since everybody seems to know already. I planned on keeping this a secret but man, news travels so fast.

Update # 1.

I got the much anticipated call from CGHMC. I’m already done with the initial interview with the chief nurse, and the medical and physical examinations. I learned from my medical examination that I have lots of antibodies for Hepa B, and from my PE that I’m already 6 feet in height, and ___ in weight. Tangkad ko na yehey So right now, just waiting for the last call, informing us when we’ll be starting.

I think it’s about time I start to choose and train (Naks!) people in the church who can replace me with my technical/computer duties, on occasions that I am unable to attend due to work related issues (double Naks!)

Update # 2.

Facebook hiatus day # 20. I see no point anymore why I shouldn’t log in, because I’ve now proven that I can last this long, and that it isn’t a necessity any longer. I’m free from FB dependence! Yehey again

Update # 3.

I got my eligibility to take the NCLEX-RN examination from the California Board of Registered Nursing. It is valid for 2 years, and I still need to pay for the ATT (Authorization To Test) and Scheduling. An additional $350 burden. No hurrahs for that. But I did receive the eligibility notice approximately 1 month after I applied, and that’s a good thing.

That’s all for now. More updates soon.

Bra-Ba-Li-Bin-Ta-Wan!

My whole body is still aching, but for a loved one’s comfort, it’s all worth it.

Sunday, the usual routine: the worship team up early to prepare for Sunday Service, breakfast, and choir practice. I was late as usual and had set-up the laptop and DLP projector as the morning rehearsal was almost over.

The Service went on smoothly. Everyone was on their usual places: I was seated in between the pianist, and the sound technician; the singers on the opposite side. As the third song started, something smelled really bad; the electric fan behind us was burning, and it released an unusual, unpleasant odor. The pianist was not her usual self and I felt her discomfort and slight panic (she has great fear for anything that uses electricity; she can’t even plug in electric appliances by herself). And then, I felt that something was happening at the other side.

My aunt, who’s a choir member, was on her chair and people around her were slightly panicking. She fainted at the middle of the song, and some people came to her to assess the situation and help. I was operating the PowerPoint slides for the song (that was still ongoing) and kept observing her at the same time. As the song ended, they took her outside and I stood up immediately to follow and left my post to the sound technician for the 4th song.

I asked my cousin if they had breakfast, if she was monitoring her blood glucose, but before I got answers, my aunt started moaning and had generalized body weakness; I carried her immediately and asked mom which car we were taking. The nearest the entrance volunteered to take us to the clinic, and we were rushing off in seconds. I assessed her inside the van: her RR and PR were both within normal limits; but she stated that she had DOB so we kept her at high fowler’s (sorry for the medical jargon). We tried to keep her calm, asked her to take deep breaths and kept reassuring her we were almost there. As we reached the clinic, my other aunt who’s the clinic physician rushed towards us and immediately assessed her, took her blood pressure. 130/90. No signs of respiratory distress, no chest pain, but still with body malaise and facial grimacing. Dr. Aunt reassured us that she was going to be fine but she had to do some tests first. With that said, we were slightly relieved and left her with my cousin at the clinic.

Service was still ongoing and mom and I were still able to sit in. Fortunately, someone had occupied my post and I was able to rest for a while. My arms were starting to ache, but becoming Superman even for just a while is something not everyone can be entitled to.

We visited her after church, and she was already home, with all my cousins present. It seems, the smell from the burnt electric fan motor triggered something inside her, caused her to feel weak and nauseous. (I can’t explain the pathophysiology eh hehe). She looked better but obviously needed more rest. She was also able to joke that she did her best not to moan inside the church, because everyone would think she was possessed or something haha.

My body is allergic to strenuous activities and exercise, so now comes the consequences. It’s been over a day but everything still aches. Parang masel na nagkapilipit pilipit. Brabalibintawan! I need Alaxan!

On Indefinite Facebook Leave

Someone asked me, why take a break? Can’t you just control your Facebook activities, say 1 hour a day? My answer: No. I’ve been a certified FB addict for some few months now. I play almost all the games that most FB users have. I’m always updated via the wall feed, I get to know the latest on my friends’ lives, and I get to meet lots of new people who share the same interests with me. But,

This has got to stop. Whenever I’m done with my regular games and activities, I still hang around FB and go search for other games I haven’t tried out yet, answer quizzes, and do other time consuming activities.

I’ve lost lots of precious time; time I could have used to review, to go to church earlier, to practice pieces. But I have got to change this routine, this lifestyle; I have other important stuff to focus on right now, and an important exam to prepare for.

Therefore, I’ve decided, to take a break from FB. No I’m not deactivating my account. But I trust myself to not log in for some few weeks. Can I do it? I think I can.

So, for the meantime, goodbye to…

Farm Town

FarmVille

Crazy Planets

Roller Coaster Kingdom

and my well-loved,

Mafia Wars

…see you as soon as my hiatus is over.

Yee-haw!

Today was officially the 17th day, the last of the live lectures given at Allgen. Thursday night, we were told that we were expected to come in a Western-themed costume, and that prizes await those will make efforts haha. Manga-ngarir in other words hahaha. I just bought a 20 pesos white bandanna after I went down the bus that night, and went straight to bed, I was too tired to decide on what to wear tomorrow.

Morning. I saw J, C and J sporting cowboy costumes and taking lotsa pictures on the entrance at Allgen hehe. It seems everybody is well prepared and pretty excited for the closing party right after the Psych lecture from Ms. Page, and everyone kept on talking about how well prepared some of our classmates are, even when they expressed they weren’t going to attend. Nyahahaha! [Hi ate Rhejie ]

5PM, the party started with a speech from the Allgen boss, (Mr. Ross if not mistaken), then a video, another speech from Ms. Suzette, and games! Pinoy Henyo haha! And now, a secret to tell.. haha..

I cheated and pretended I didn’t hahaha. No, technically, I didn’t mean to cheat. But what was I supposed to do, when J.A. kept on giving me clues behind, even when i didn’t ask for it haha. The peace sign clue was too obvious for me to miss, and because I didn’t want to be KJ and make things awkward and complicated (and also I didn’t want to lose of course hahaha), I just pretended that the peace sign didn’t help and kept on making up other questions, for about 20 seconds more haha, and blurted out “Cory?” Hahaha. Maybe I felt guilty for 1 second, but Ms. Page also helped out the other group so I thought it was just fair hahaha

[I don't think any of them will be reading this haha. Except for Doc Gelo. And maybe Ms. Page soon hahaha. Hi Ma'am! ]

Next game was find the safety pin. I was the only player who didn’t find the 5 pins in the allotted time haha.

Kainan na!

Oh I forgot to say, that in between everything that was happening, we didn’t fail to take pictures hahaha. Even when our topnotcher was in the middle of her speech, there was a photo-op happening at the opposite side hahaha..

Kainan na talaga!

Thanks Allgen for the yummy pancit, lumpia, puto, ice cream and refreshments.

Of course, thanks to all the instructors who were with us for the live lectures, the review was tremendous help to awaken the sleeping data in our heads hehehe

When I have my schedule, I’ll make sure to attend everything all over again. Intay ka lang jan Allgen, I shall return hahaha.

I’ll miss some of my new friends, but hopeful to see them soon in the workplace in you-know-where haha

Batch 16 US-RNs

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Addendum:

The following story may or may not be true. I might have conjured imaginary stuff while on the elevator from Allgen. Actually, you really don’t need to read this. Bye!

Brother bear, a student at a review center somewhere in UN Ave. corner TM Kalaw received news from her Mom, Mama Bear, that they were along Taft. Brother bear’s sister had a recognition ceremony at CSB in Vito Cruz, and the program was about to finish. Brother bear, wanting to save more money, waited for them so he could get a free ride home. Around 30 minutes later, Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Sister Bear picked him up near Medical Center Manila.

They were nearing Manila City Hall, when Papa Bear suddenly got confused and followed the pedestrian jeeps on their route towards the waiting sheds, and realized that private vehicles weren’t allowed in that lane. It was too late. There was already a traffic enforcer, hiding a grin (from brother bear’s assumption) who motioned for them to slow down and stop alongside the fence dividing the lanes for public and private.

Kotong bear: Ah sir, uhm kasi may violation kayo na nagawa, ung lane sa kabila eh para lang sa mga PUVs, eh dapat hindi kayo dun, kasi dapat dito kayo. (Onga naman may point sya) Kaya sir, mapipilitan kami na kunin ung lisensya nyo, kasi ayon sa batas,.. na makukuha nyo sa City Hall ng Manila bukas..

Papa bear: Nako sorry talaga sir, eh bihira lang kas kami tlaga lumuwas, wala talaga ako alam dito sa Maynila, eh recognition lang kasi ng anak ko kaya kami lumuwas, pasensya na tlaga,

Mama bear: Sir, wala talaga kami alam dito, pagpasensyahan nyo na, taga Bulacan pa kasi kami eh,

Kotong bear:… kasi nga, ayon sa batas, meron kayong violation, kaya ayun, you have to abide with the traffic rules.. (may selective deafness din sya)…

Papa bear and Mama bear: Ang layo pa po namin tlaga, sa Bulacan pa kami, di talaga kami sanay dito

Kotong bear:… so ayun nga, may traffic violation kayo, kailangan namin kunin license nyo, kasi nga it’s against the rules…

Brother bear: (kumakain ng bucket of fries galing sa KFC. consciously waiting for the next couple of interesting lines)

Kotong bear: Ah, ang layo pala sa Bulacan pa kayo,  minsan lang talaga kayo ma-luwas? Nung isang araw may hinatid din ako dun eh.. San pala nag aaral ung anak nyo na nag recognition kanina?

Papa bear and Mama bear: (unsure whether to answer, but gave in anyway) sa DLS-CSB

Kotong bear: oh… (eyeing the newly car-washed vehicle that carried the 4 bears).. oh….

Papa bear and Mama bear: (patay tayo dito. di yata tayo makaka discount)

Kotong bear: nako, hassle pa noh pag bumalik pa kayo dito.. eh ganto na lang po,

Brother bear: (this is it)

Kotong bear: Ganto po, titiketan na lang namin kayo, pero ibibigay na din namin sa inyo ung license nyo, parang normal na processo pa rin, pero kami na lang ang magdadala nito sa City Hall, ngayon, hihingan na lang namin kayo ng fee para di na kayo mahirapan, bali ganto, pirma kayo dito blah blah… dito po, in Bold letters… blah blah.. Uhm ganto po talaga ung normal process, parang pinadali lang namin sa inyo

Papa bear: Oh…. wow, thank you really, you know, mahirap talaga kasi bumalik pa dito, saka di talaga kami lumuluwas, so layo nga kasi and ang hirap

Mama bear: (naghahanap ng small bills, napilitan ng humingi kay brother bear)

Kotong bear: So sir, mam sir, Kami na po mag foforward nito sa city hall, bali may tiket pa rin kayo pero ayos na.

Bear family: Allright, thanks kotong bear, we hope to never see you again

Kotong bear: You can never be too sure. (grunts evil laugh:D)

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Kapagod un ah. Haha. Antok na ko. Sana may mag upload na ng pictures. Good morning!

Must Post Something New

But lazy as usual haha.

Ok then maybe updates. This week is a blast. Am preparing for 2 important things: the first, i shall later reveal. the other one, I’m playing at church again this Sunday, since Ate Garche has an important business to attend to. Tomorrow, last day of live lecture at Allgen, have to find something Western to wear.

Keeping myself busy. Hmmm. Must be a good thing.

June 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination Results

Before anything else, congratulations to:

May M. Lucero, RN (Ate May!!! Excited na kami sa treat mo!)
Maria Ellaine L. Santos, RN (Ayan, pwede na lagyan ng RN ung certificate sa NC-CLEX hehehe!)
Isaa Faith S. Jacob, RN
Romina Lisa M. Monfero, RN

And to all the new Registered Nurses from Batch 2009 of Chinese General Hospital College of Nursing and Liberal Arts!!! 99% overall passing rate and Ranked 2nd (100 and more examinees) among the Colleges of Nursing in the Philippines–for 3 consecutive Nurse Licensure Examinations! From a proud alumnus, I congratulate you all, colleagues!

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Saturday night announced that 32,617 nursing examinees passed the June 2009 Nursing Board Exam, with a nursing graduate from Cebu topping the list.

PRC commissioner Ruth Padilla was quoted in a radio report as saying that the latest nursing exam had a 41.87 percent passing rate. The test was taken by 77,901 examinees on June 6 and 7.

Topping the list was Golda Manto Yap of the Felipe R. Verallo Memorial Foundation in Bogo, Cebu.

from GMANews.tv

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Click below for the:

Complete list of top 10 examinees — Nurses Pad
Complete list of passers — PDF File (from PinoyRN.net), Inquirer.net, GMANews.tv
Complete list of top performing schools — PDF File (from NursesNotes.info)

Filipino Nurses FB Link

Saw the link on my homepage, and I could not help but comment on it.

I added my fearless comment to the hundreds already there. And moments later, I saw…

lol. nag comment si snooky after nyahaha

When The Love Falls

I’m too lazy to re-make an error free video haha. Anyway, try to enjoy

Nurse Talk With The Experts

I had 2nd thoughts on attending this event. First, it’s a better feeling to just stay in bed and worry about nothing. Haha. Second, I’ve been having a hard time asking for money for non very important matters. But my sponsor was in a good mood the night before, so it was all good.

The poster says the program starts at 10. And I was sure I was gonna be late haha. I kept making excuses until I met with my friends. Oh wait, friend lang pala. Mas late pa kasi sakin ung isang friend na itago na lang natin sa initials na QMBT.

Before entering, we filled up some forms for the raffle. Wow, sana manalo ko haha. We arrived at the packed Cinema 9 of SM City Manila as the 2nd speaker from NEAC was about to end his speech. He just made an announcement that those who are Cum Laudes and NLE topnotchers automatically get free NCLEX eligiblity processing assistance from his office. We weren’t in that category so we ignored him (haha) and found seats at the 2nd to the front row. The next speaker, Mr. Alex, USRN from Allgen talked about NCLEX, some tips on reviewing, the usual what-to-do’s and what-not-to-do’s. And then it was lunchtime haha.

[The raffle prizes included: $69 worth of assistance from NEAC; 50% discounts on NC-CLEX post-graduate programs; and NCLEX-RN Review discounts from Allgen and Universal Worker. They picked out winners almost every after each speaker finished his/her time]

We rushed towards the exit for lunch, and then saw familiar faces: Angel and San! After lunch, we got to bond with them inside the Cinema while the others were still out. And then another batchmate from Chinese Gen came into view, MC! It was sort of an unplanned mini-reunion and as suspected, all of us are Registered Bums hahaha.

We had to leave them as the venue was starting to get filled again, and we were back at our original seats. And then, another familiar face appeared at my side, it was Bea hahaha, all in white, nurse na nurse! Dami na tsinoys sa Venue haha. Next speaker was from American English Skills Development Center Inc. I sort of felt like I was at an English class hahaha. He discussed some common mistakes made by Filipino nurses working in the US, due to inadequate training. It was actually funny haha, but of course, I wouldn’t want it to happen to me. And then came the promotion for his company’s IELTS Review offering.

Next speaker from IDP Australia. Ms. Siozon discussed the major points of the IELTS exam, what to focus on, how some tests are different for nurses and for other workers, and other important stuff haha. She had a really cool accent by the way. Following her was the manager something for British Council. She made clear that only IDP and British Council are authorized to administer the IELTS exam all over the world. That, they both share the same examiners here in the Philippines, and that it is a myth that the exam is easier in other countries. The same pool of questions are used for tests administered by the different countries at the same time. But why they had 2 companies adminstering the test was undiscussed and remains a mystery haha.

Raffle time! San-san won a 50% discount on post graduate trainings from NC-CLEX! Galing! As usual, none in our row won anything huhu. I told Bea I really wanted to win a free eligibilty processing from NEAC.

Oh, by the way, I was too lazy to blog the past couple of weeks, I forgot to tell I enrolled at Allgen for the NCLEX review. Because I’m bored at home. Hahaha. The review starts on July 13, but I still haven’t applied for my eligibilty haha. And that’s why I wanted the free assistance badly.

Anyway, back to the seminar. Ms Koren of the Law Offices of Gali Koren was pretty impressive as she talked about the issues of retrogression, US immigration, the different kinds of Visas and other stuff I really can’t explain to you hahaha. The last speaker was from HCCA International, and.. ayun tapos na (di ko lang kasi ma explain kung ano nga ba ung inexplain nya haha). Uwian na.

Unexpectedly, one of the organizers (I think) just in front of us, handed me a rectangular-shaped, semi-thick glossy paper. She was extending out her arms so I had to accept it haha. (But kids, remember, in the real world, don’t always accept what strangers are giving you hahaha).

I examined it carefully and a big smile immediately grew on my face. It was exactly what I was wishing for since the start of the seminar hahaha, she handed me this:

Yahoo!!! She was so so nice to have given it to me out of nowhere, no raffle draw, no nothing. Bea and I had a theory, that I MIGHT HAVE expressed a little louder than intended my desire to get the free NEAC assistance, and she just sat in front of us, so she MIGHT HAVE heard me. Anyway, whatever the reason, super thanks, miss lady in black!

We took some more pictures, and then Angel and MC had to get home ahead of us. But the surprises for today was never ending, as we saw 2 more CGH friends as we made our exit from the venue, it was Inderal and Shem hahaha. We had a lot of catching up to do, so we found our way to the food court and talked and ate and talked some more hahaha. And thanks again to Indira, for treating us frosty! (Ung isa dyan nagmamadali kasi, hindi tuloy nakasama sa libre. Hi Quennie!

That’s all for today. It was really fun and I learned new things I would not have thought of Googling haha. Till the next reunion!

Addendum:

I found out that it was Ms. MJ from Allgen who gave me the free eligibility assistance. I only found out after I’ve finished the live lectures at Allgen haha. Thanks Ma’am!

Dear Bro,

Ayaw nyo ba talaga ko pumayat? Sabihin Niyo na lang po.. Nahihirapan na ko.. Sa church pa to galing kanina ah..

But wait there’s more.. may nag pledge pa na magbibigay next week.. Oh hindi… XD

Happy 21st!

I’m 21 today. So old. Hahaha!

Last year, June 11, 2008, I had just taken the board exam, anxiously waiting for the results, jobless.

This year, June 11, 2009, I had already passed the board exam, waiting for my future employer’s call, jobless.

Nothing much has changed. Except for my weight. Haha.

Next year, June 11, 2010, If I am still jobless, I will have to resort to illegal means to earn a living. Wahahaha!

This cake was suuuper delicious by the way. Thanks Jun, Cathy & Tita Amy!

Dulce de Leche

Unbelievably Unlucky Day

Can’t even start this properly. I’m totally exhausted.

Friday last week, an online buddy told me that the Philippine Air Force held a mass hiring that day, and that he was one of the lucky nurses to have been hired and scheduled to be dispatched to his preferred location. Although he emphasized that the slots were already filled that day, I still had to try. And he also encouraged me to, because there were applicants next to him who were asked to return on Monday. Who knows if by some chance, I might be still able to get a slot. I txted Iya and she agreed to come with me, although there was a very thin chance.

So Sunday night, Iya and I talked on the phone about Plan A and Plan B. I was more interested in devising Plan B (NCMH, MMC, TMC), googling some hospital infos and ways to get there. We agreed to meet up at 7-11 Plaridel @ 4AM. I was already on my first sentence on the autobiography required at NCMH, but instantly fell asleep no more than a minute later.

OH HINDI! Was my initial reaction when I opened my eyes that early morning hahaha. I forgot to set the alarm of my more trustworthy motorola phone. I checked the clock. 3:30, good. But I slept some more and was able to leave house at 4:00 haha (sorry na iya ). Around 4:30, We were ready for take off. Or not haha. Today was the first day of classes in some schools in Manila, so there were no seats available for us. There was no choice for us but to stand on the bus, until it reached Quezon Ave MRT and many passengers got off.

I was well aware that the chances of getting hired today was one in a million, but still better than zero. The bus dropped us off somewhere in Pasay, and we rode a cab up to Villamor Air Base.

Philippine Air Force
Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City
http://www.paf.mil.ph

 

Requirements: Resume and Picture

We were told to go look for A1 once we were inside the airbase. We were lost. Hahaha. Good thing there were plenty of friendly people in the area; after a few wrong turns, we finally found the HR, but had to wait a few minutes more because it was around 7AM and they were still not open.

Around 15 minutes later, other applicants started to appear; t’was unfair because we were the earliest, but some of them got to the HR ahead of us. Not that it mattered. Because the moment the lady officer found out that majority of the applicants in the room were nurses, she stated in a big voice that “slots for Nurse 1 position has already been filled last Friday. Even in Zamboanga or Sulu, we have nothing for you at the moment.”

Us nurses (specifically the jobless ones) are known to be persistent, so we got a deal with the person at the HR, that they will keep our resumes and will contact us in case someone decides to back out, or if ever they will have vacant positions.

Oh c’mon. Sayang naman ung tulog ko. Makapamasyal na nga lang muna hahaha.

From Villamor Airbase, we rode a taxi again up to Glorietta, because we were both very hungry and planning on applying at Makati Medical Center later. The mall just opened when we arrived.

Off to McDonald’s. Finally, we get to sit and plan the day ahead (Because we both fell asleep last night without laying out any concrete plan haha). From where we were eating breakfast, we saw that there was a job fair about to start, and a line for the registration was slowly starting to form. (I was tempted but the nurse inside me was stopping me from applying for a call center job haha). While eating, I was thinking whether to start on the autobiography required at NCMH. Maybe we stayed there for an hour or more. And my paper was still blank haha. I called Clifford, my friend who’s working at Makati Med, and he said he’ll just submit my papers  if there’s an opening.

We started looking for a computer rental shop so I could start on the story of my life hahaha. Iya also said she might edit out her resume so it’ll be appropriate when applying for a customer service representative position. I can’t remember how we got there, but we did find one near the electronics shops. I started writing, not really sure where to start. I was done with my 4 page autobiography after 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Mahal naman dun. 1 peso per minute. tapos 15 pesos isang page. booooo)

So the maze begins. We found ourselves standing on G4 after we left the rental shop. Our destination was MRT. And then we reached the job fair. We went back to G1 and National Bookstore. I saw an escalator but ignored it. The security guard told us to go the opposite direction. And so we did. It was a very long walk. Hay actually naguguluhan na rin ako. Basta. We reached Landmark and the bridge to Greenbelt. Anu ba!!! We went back to Glorietta and found ourselves staring again at the job fair. Is this a sign? hahaha. No. We finally decided to go look for a map. Why we didn’t think of it in the first place, is beyond me. So. Sa SM Makati and daan. How to get there? Take the escalators beside National Bookstore. Arrrgghh!!! Bwisit na security guard!!!

We found our way to SM Makati. And the path towards MRT. It was lunchtime and we were hungry again. We asked the saleslady near the exit if there’s a KFC near MRT. She said none.

I believed her at first, and so did Iya, but I remembered the guard at Glorietta and decided that no one can be trusted today hahaha.  And I was correct. I asked another person and there really was a KFC in the MRT station. There are forces sabotaging our trip today.

I ate the oriental something at KFC. Ung may talong. Ano ba un. Hahahahaha!

We reached MRT Shaw in no time. I tried to recall the way towards NCMH. After looking around, we reached the terminal where I would ride the tricyle as a student nurse. Only, there were no tricycles around, only jeepneys. Iya asked the manong who was standing how to reach mental. The guy told us to make tawid to the other side. Iya was ready to go but I wasn’t. I was sure we didn’t need to make tawid. And I was kinda sure this guy was friends with the security guard at Glorietta and the lady near the exit at SM. Syempre, tama ulit ako. Hahaha! We found the tricycles after walking for a few meters, they were slightly hidden and had moved from its previous location.

National Center for Mental Health
Brgy. Mauway, Mandaluyong City
http://www.doh.gov.ph/ncmh/

Requirements:
Letter of intent addressed to:
Dr. Bernardino A. Vicente, MD, FPPA, MHA, CESO IV
Medical Center Chief
Thru: Lucila O. Espinosa, RN, BSN, MAN
Chief, Nursing Service

Resume, TOR, Diploma, Employment Certificate, Birth Certificate, NBI Clearance, Board Rating, License, Autobiography

Our instructions from Iya’s friend was to go inside the big building, go outside again at the left side, and then go down again through another flight of stairs until we reach the Personnel Office.

I didn’t want to look at the paper posted on the glass. No, it can’t be. Hindi ito pwede. Noooo!!!

Hayz. They won’t be accepting applications because of the high pile already with them. I wanted to plead but I couldn’t. I thought of the money and time I spent doing the autobiography. Arrrghh.

Better move on. Nothing will happen even if I sulk.

I called Bea and asked how to reach Medical City. She suggested that I don’t proceed anymore, because they only accepted applications up to 4pm. It was already 4:30. Hmmmm. We decided to risk it. Sayang naman byahe. We rode a jeep towards Tanay/Antipolo from Shaw.

The Medical City
Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City
(632) 635-6789/(632) 631-86-26
http://www.themedicalcity.com

Bring yourself. Haha.

The HR can be reached at the back of the main entrance. Bea already told me the security personnel can be pretty nasty, err I mean strict haha, and instead of telling them we were applicants, we told them we were only going to make inquiries. The personnel at the back was only waiting for us to say we were applicants so he could instruct us to go home. Well he was disappointed hahaha. He told us to leave our IDs at some place we really didn’t hear well, so we could be provided with visitor IDs. Before we could even find the place he was talking about, we saw this sign on the wall.

Ayun naman pala eh. Haha. We silently entered and waited until they recognized our presence. We caught the attention of the nice guy in blue and told him we were nurse applicants. He intructed us to sit and to write our information.

So for applicants at TMC, you just need to know your Name, Age, School, Board Rating, License Number, and Expiration Date. Pretty easy.

They said they’ll be calling when we could take the exam.

At least, something happened today. I got over the NCMH issue for a bit. Time to go home. Yes pahinga na on the way home. Akala ko lang pala.

From TMC, there were G Liner buses going to Quiapo. Iya wanted to take me to MRT first, because she was staying in Manila for the evening. But the airconditioned bus seemed like a more comfortable option. So from there, I thought about my options. I chose to ride LRT 2 (or 3? I can’t recall) and get a ride from V. Mapa up to Cubao Araneta, and from there ride MRT up to Trinoma. I realized how SO WRONG that decision was 15 minutes later.

Ang layo pala ng Gateway hanggang sa MRT.

Waaaaah!!! The ES bus waiting at the Trinoma bus terminal looked like Heaven to me.

Zzzzzzzzzz…….

June 2

Was on my way to Morayta, and hailed a taxi from 5th Avenue. I hated the driver so much. And I hated myself for not being assertive, when he extorted a huge amount of taxi fare from me when I reached my destination. But I intend to live with less stress as possible, so I’ll start forgetting about that.

Anyway, today was both nostalgic and weird. 364 days ago, I took the licensure exam for nurses here in Manila. And the taxi driver was somehow able to pass all places I went to on June 2, 2008. First was my boarding house. The place where I reviewed for 5 months before the board exam. My school, CGHCN. 7-11 where I met with Indira on the way to the testing center. AND I was surprised when I looked out the cab’s window, and I saw P. Gomez Elementary School, where I took the exam together with hundreds of anxious applicants. And my last stop, PRC, where we passed in our applications, and got our exam results less than 2 months after.

Ayun lang. Tagal ko na kasi di nagbblog haha.