… the following should be strictly adhered to
1. Do not be a hero.
2. Do not loiter around after work.
3. Stick to your plans.
but I hate simple. Haha.
For Rochel’s birthday, MC and I planned to invade her house after duty, bring some food over, binge, and catch up on things. Since MC’s shift ended at 3PM, I advised her not to wait for me as my shift ended at 6PM and that I’ll meet up with her later at Rochel’s place. That was the original plan. But at the HD unit, nothing is definite. Our unit’s operation SHOULD be only up to 6PM, but you never know when an emergency might happen. I was about to go home when a patient from the ER arrived. The on-call nurses supposedly to receive the patient were still on their way, and someone had to receive the patient and the endorsement. I was the one nearest the station. I had a choice; to pretend to be busy at the back, or be assertive and definitely do overtime. With slight hesitancy, I approached the ER nurse.
My move had its advantages; as I received the endorsement, the other HD nurses attended to the patient, set up the machine, and assisted the doctors during the insertion of the dual lumen catheter. I was less tired physically. But the patient was my responsibility until the on-call nurses arrived. Endorsements from the ER are, at most times, medyo magulo hehe. And we had to be interrupted at times because new orders had to be constantly made. The good thing, not very long after the ER staff had left, Ma’am Kim arrived to take over the patient. The bad, I had to endorse all over again. The whole process took 2 hours.
At 8:30, we PM shift nurses who did overtime logged out, and went to the supervisors’ office to have our time cards signed. The office was empty so we decided to have them signed on our next duty. I went to the restroom and bid farewell to my colleagues. On my way out (and off to Rochel’s place), I saw the supervisor on duty and asked if she could sign my time card. She said she’ll be waiting at the office. Again, I had two choices: go back to the bundy clock and get my time card, or, get all of the 5 time cards due to be signed. I chose the latter.
I placed all the signed time cards inside my bag to return them to their respective places on my way out, when I met a friend who was on duty that night. She dragged me to her area and asked me to join a hiking trip together with another friend scheduled on February. I told her I already had plans on the said date, but she was persistent and we ended up at the other friend’s area, also on duty that evening. As if they could corner me. The 2 of them combined could not even match up to my weight. Hahaha

Si Pandak, si Pogi at si Payat
Anyway, we agreed to schedule another trip at a later time. What do you know, it’s 9:30 already. 5 missed calls.
I brisk-walked all the way to the hospital’s exit and caught a jeep towards Rochel’s place.
Her house was jam packed as expected, and I saw familiar faces also from the hospital. It appeared that 2 people were celebrating their birthdays, so the atmosphere was more festive. I was immediately handed a plate full of food and was devouring in no time haha. I forgot to have dinner kanina eh. Good thing that MC’s boyfriend was also there so she wasn’t really bored while waiting for me haha.

11:30 PM. I left Rochel’s place and went home. I was feeling uneasy and slightly dizzy. But I only had 2 bottles of Tanduay Ice haha. Got a quick shower and prepared to sleep. Checked some mails, uploaded some pictures, and then decided to inform my colleagues that they should be thanking me for having their time cards signed.
Wait.
I stared at my bag, innocently lying on the floor. With much hesitation, I unzipped it. 5 time cards stared back at me.
Argh.
I changed clothes immediately and took a cab back to the hospital as no jeeps are present at midnight in Retiro. On the way, I txted Ma’am Kim if they were still at the HD unit. She said yes and told me to pass by. So I returned all time cards, went back to the unit, got a free cup of coffee, and shared my stupidity with them. I was tired but still managed to join their chorus of laughter haha.
They said they will be sleeping at the cold, barren, dark, gloomy unit until dawn. I was tired as hell and chose a bed right next to them. At 5AM, Ma’am Kim and I left the hospital and parted ways.
I’ve been residing in Retiro for around 10 months now, but haven’t tried the famous Pares place located in between my apartment and the hospital. The timing seemed perfect to have breakfast, and the usually crowded place had more than enough seats to offer.

Pares Mami House @ Retiro
So there. I’ve learned a valuable lesson today. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, keep your distance. Don’t be a hero. Keep things simple. Good night!
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