excited does not even begin to describe me

Only two more days of duty, then I'm off to my long awaited vacation. I could surely use the break. I've always known that being a nurse is hard work. Aside from dealing with patients with different kinds of diseases, we also get to deal with their significant others who are much, much more difficult to handle.

We're going to Beijing, out of the country this time. The last time my passport was used was when we went to Hongkong for my 18th birthday. God, that was such a long time ago. Last year was Palawan, and the year before that we went on a road trip that covered Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete and Antique. We hit the locals, finally time to do some international.

We travel, every year, with small trips in between if we have the time - and the budget to spare. In my 22 years of living, I've been out of the country four times - twice to Taiwan (I was around 8 the first time I went there), once to Singapore, and once to Hongkong. And although I've enjoyed my visits there, nothing compares to the pride I feel whenever we go to somewhere local. Seeing amazing places and awesome sights in my own country gives me this giddy feeling of pride and joy, and it never gets old. (I love the Philippines, so sue me.)

Anyway, as I've said, it's Beijing this time. I was a bit (only a bit) disappointed, though. We usually pick places famous for it's beaches or some sort for the summer, and I was looking forward to it. I miss swimming, snorkeling, jet skiing. This time of the year, I usually whip out my swimsuits and get tan (ok, not tan. I burn baby, burn!). But hey, a vacation is better than no vacation.

I'm thinking of packing tonight. I usually leave it during the last minute, but I've got duty tomorrow and on Saturday, and I leave early on Sunday. I suppose I could do it after duty, but I'm usually beat. When I come home from work, I just basically lie down and fall asleep right after, waking up during dinner, check my FB and my mail, then fall asleep again. That's how tired I am.

So, should I start packing or what? =)

recently read - april 2011

I may be busy, but I'm never busy for reading. And with my Kindle, I can read anytime, anywhere!

• Can't Stand The Heat (Louisa Edwards)
  
• On The Steamy Side (Louisa Edwards)
• The Sisterhood (Michael Palmer)
  
• Marley & Me (John Grogan)
  
• The Angel's Game (Carlos Ruiz Safon)
  
• Ice Cold (Tess Gerritsen)
  
• Fatal (Michael Palmer)
• I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Ally Carter)
• Cross My Heart & Hope To Spy (Ally Carter)
• Private Pleasures (Bertrice Small)
• Forbidden Pleasures (Bertrice Small)
• Sudden Pleasures (Bertrice Small)
• Dangerous Pleasures (Bertrice Small)
• Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy (Leslie Langtry)
• Guns Will Keep Us Together (Leslie Langtry)
• Stand By Your Hitman (Leslie Langtry)
• Twenty Boy Summer (Sarah Ockler)
• Kindred in Death (JD Robb)
• Sprinkle With Murder (Jenn McKinlay)
• Buttercream Bump Off (Jenn McKinlay)
• Just The Sexiest Man Alive (Julie James)
• Practice Makes Perfect (Julie James)
• Something About You (Julie James)
• The Demigod Files (Rick Riordan)

after a long period of quietness..

..I'm back with a vengeance.

I haven't been posting much, obviously, mainly because I'm either tired (usually), or just plain lazy. I frequently surf the net when I come home after duties, but I don't really feel like writing, so.. No blogging in the meantime. If there's one condition between me and writing, it's that I write whenever I feel like it. When the mood strikes, the words just flow out of me. But if not, then zip. Nada.

So, I'm on my 5th month on my 6-month volunteer training. Ma'am Fe, our Chief Nurse, prefers to calls use trainees, rather than volunteers, because of the issue that hospitals are charging the volunteers for their services. And to clarify things, our hospital never asked us money, nor do we receive compensation for our services.

I'm now rotated at the NICU, or the Neonatal ICU, which used to be my 2nd favorite duty area when I was a student (the first was the DR, or Deliver Room, but that's another story for another blog), but now, I don't think I like it very much. Sure, the babies are all awesome and adorable, but I get to do more work now that I'm a nurse, and trust me, going around the hospital to give meds to the roomed in babies is no fun. Plus, it's too depressing to perform postmortem care on a baby.

I'm done rotating at the ER (Emergency Room), OPD (Out Patient Department), Orthopedic Ward, Surgical/Trauma Ward, OR (Operating Room) & PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit), Medical Ward, Isolation Ward, Philhealth Wards 1&2 (for patients with Philhealth). My last three areas would be Pediatric Ward, Obstetric Ward, and finally, DR (Delivery Room).

I'll be glad when it'll all be over. Frankly, I'm so damn tired, but in a good way. I never thought I'd like being a nurse. It's not something I'd like to do forever, but for the time being, I'm content. Happy. And in my book, that's all that matters. Hopefully, I'll get hired in July. There's no other hospital I'd like to work in. *fingers crossed*

And since this is my first blog in a long time, I'll put everything in one long post. =D

I went to Manila last April 27, and I came home right after the following day. just had to put in an appearance at the Chinese embassy, because I was applying for Visa. We're going to Beijing this May! Vaycay time, yey! China is not my ideal vacation spot, but I really wanna see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I can't wait. I am in dire need of a vacation, and this is it!

We also got a new dog. The dog at the Sacred Heart Seminary had a litter of puppies, and Fr. Edgar gave one to us. He's a cute Mini Pinscher whom I suspect has ADHD. I dubbed him Rusty.

Isn't he adorable?

I searched Wikipedia for info on MinPins, and here's what came up that applies to my lil pup:

• Miniature Pinschers are prone to overeating and therefore should not be free fed. True, my dogs laps up whatever dog food I put in his bowl, and despite how small it is, you'd be amazed at how much food he can consume, kinda like me. LOL
• This breed has an insatiable curiosity. Rusty likes exploring every corner of our house. One time he sniffed our trash can and tried to get inside. Crazy dog.
• Miniature Pinschers enjoy having a collection of such toys, which they will hoard and spend much time in moving from one collecting place to another. I woke up one day to find one of my white duty shoes gone. Took a long time to find it. It was in his doggy bed.
• Miniature Pinschers are territorial, so they should be provided with their own place to rest and sleep. They prefer to sleep on soft objects as well as under soft objects, so a small blanket should be provided so they can nestle. I bought a small doggy bed for Rubeus before, but he preferred sleeping on the bed, so when Rusty came, I gave it to him instead. It's so nice seeing him sleep in his own bed with his head hanging on the side. Cute.
  
• Miniature Pinschers will jump onto beds and crawl under the covers. One time, my mattress got wet so I had it dried out under the sun. I had no choice but to sleep in a small folding bed. It was only about a foot high, so Rusty was able to jump on it with no problem. And no matter how many times I put him back to the floor, he'd just jump back up and sleep beside me. Which was sweet, but I was so worried that I'd squish him or something.
  

I think this is long enough. Oh, how I missed this. <3

recently read - march 2011

More this month. ♥

• Romeo, Romeo (Robin Kaye)
• Too Hot To Handle (Robin Kaye)
• Breakfast in Bed (Robin Kaye)
• The Winning Hand (Nora Roberts)
• The Society (Michale Palmer)
• The First Patient (Michale Palmer)
• The Last Surgeon (Michale Palmer)
• Salvation in Death (J.D. Robb)
• Yours for the Taking (Robin Kaye)
• Nauti Boy (Lora Leigh)
• Nauti Nights (Lora Leigh)
• Nauti Dreams (Lora Leigh)
• Nauti Intentions (Lora Leigh)
• Nauti Deceptions (Lora Leigh)
• The Sparkling One (Susan Mallery)
• The Sassy One (Susan Mallery)
• The Seductive One (Susan Mallery)
• The Marcelli Bride (Susan Mallery)
• The Marcelli Princess (Susan Mallery)

recently read - february 2011

Looks like I've been reading less ever since I started training.. Hopefully with my new Kindle, I can read more again. =D

• The Fire Inside (Kat Martin)
• Take Me There (Susan Colasanti)
• Hot Stuff (Carly Phillips)
• Hot Number (Carly Phillips)
• Hot Item (Carly Phillips)
• Hot Property (Carly Phillips)
• Dead Man Docking (Mary Daheim)
• Code Name: Baby (Christina Skye)
• Hello, doggy (Elaine Fox)
  

recently read - january 2011

Not as much as I'd like for this month.. Been busy. =/

• Dance of Seduction (Sabrina Jeffries)
• Married to the Viscount (Sabrina Jeffries)
• The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Sabrina Jeffries)
• A Hellion in Her Bed (Sabrina Jeffries)
• First Comes Marriage (Mary Balogh)
• Then Comes Seduction (Mary Balogh)
• At Last Comes Love (Mary Balogh)
• Seducing an Angel (Mary Balogh)
• A Secret Affair (Mary Balogh)
• You Had Me at Goodbye (Jane Blackwood)

pig slippers and all.

I haven't been blogging lately have been neglecting my blog lately, and I'm sorry, blog. It's just that I've been busy with duties and all. Usually I come home from an 8-hour shift tired and ready to drop. Other times, I hang out with either my Bf, or with friends, that I feel as if I'm physically and mentally drained.

So far, I'm enjoying real bad. I never really expected to actually like being a nurse. I know I would have been a pretty awesome doctor, but I guess life God had other plans for me. Not that I'm complaining. Medicine's a bitch, with the 24- to 36-hour shifts the clerks, interns and residents are putting in. Oh how they envy us nurses when we leave after our 8-hour shifts.

Anyway.. Bf and I had a huge fight over a little thing, which was crazy. But we made up, and if there's one good thing that comes out from fighting, I must say, it's the making up. *And this is the part where I go "awwwwww". =)

I'm keeping my blog short, since I really don't have anything significant to blog about, except for these cute pig slippers that Bf got me. I squeal over pig stuffies, and you can imagine my delight when I saw this at the mall. People were staring, and I was in my uniform, but I didn't care.

The last pair in MY size.
It's destined for me. ♥

Pardon my ugly fat feet. =D

kindle. nuff said.

So.. In my last post, I was debating on whether to get a Kindle or not. Guess what? I DID! Woohoo. =)

While my Mom was in Singapore, she called me using my cousin's (who is based there) phone. She asked me if I'm familiar with a Tablet. Our conversation went like this:

Mom: You know what a Tablet is?
Me: Yep. Why?
Mom: Kasi Edzel (my cousin) is suggesting na instead yung iPhone, tablet na lang daw.
Me: Ma, I texted you, di mo nabasa?
Mom: i left my phone at the hotel, mabigat.
Me: Sus, nag-roaming ka pa. I texted kanina saying na the iPhone was a joke lang.. I don't want one talaga.
Mom: So ano yung gusto mo?
Me: Alam mo yung Kindle?
Mom (talking to my cousin in the background): Kindle daw. Ewan. Kayo mag usap.
Edzel: Hello? Tinatanong ng Mommy mo kung gusto mo daw Galaxy Tab, kasi it's cheaper than iPhone, tapos with better features.
Me: I told Mommy na I was joking lang about the iPhone.. I don't want it actually.
Edzel: So ano na nam?
Me: May Kindle jan? I want the Kindle 3 kasi, ung WiFi lang, not the 3G.
Edzel (laughing): Mas cheaper pa un compared to Galaxy Tab ah.
Me: Kaya nga eh.
Edzel: Nakatipid pa Mommy mo sayo.

So there. Because Bookworm-Me is more dominant than Techie-Me, I said no to Mom's offer of the Galaxy Tab, a decision I'm sure to regret sometime in the future.But I didn't walk away empty-handed, oh no. Because I did get Amazon's Kindle 3 WiFi in Granite. Woohoo!!

Comes with a Certified Frustration-Free Packaging =)

It changes it's wallpaper everytime it's off.

More wallpapers - not just authors.

I can now stop buying way expensive books because I am running out of place to put them in.
Jane Austen - my favorite classics author ♥

And Mommy, i cannot thank you enough for being fully supportive of my one true love - reading =)

Oh, and Happy Hearts Day everyone! ^^

is the kindle 3 worth having?

I know Amazon's Kindle 3 was included on my Christmas wishlist, and I know it'd be a perfect gadget for a book freak like me, but I started to wonder if it's worth buying. I mean, I saw the prices of eBooks being sold at Amazon, and I can't get over how freakin' expensive they are - that's the jobless, almost always broke part of me saying that, though. The book-hungry,I-don't-care-what-the-price-is-I-wanna-read-it-so-I'm-buying-it part says it's gonna be worth it - I mean, think of all the books I can access in one nifty gadget.

My Mom is currently on vacation in Singapore, along with my uncle, my cousin, and my cousin's hubby. Mommy asked me what I wanted for my pasalubong, and I said I wanted a car. She just laughed at me, and since I've been begging my Dad to get me a car, but to no avail, I know that was a lost cause, but hey, you couldn't blame me for trying. *big grin* I asked for an iPhone 4, mostly as a joke, since I don't really want one, she just said "We'll see." So if an iPhone 4 (which is way more expensive than a Kindle, I might add) gets the "we'll see" tag, I'm guessing the Kindle 3 we'll get the big OK. And therein lies my problem.

So.. To buy or not to buy? Or rather, to ask or not to ask? =D

So.. What do you guys think? =DI can't get over how slim it is! ♥

my ER experience

Tomorrow's my last day of rotation at the emergency room (well, technically not, but I'm only there for half of saturday, so..). I wish I could stay in the ER forever. It was fun there, although tiring, plus the staff, even the doctors (mostly the surgeons) are great. And just when I'm finally well-adjusted to the things at ER, my rotation is over and I'm being shuffled out to the Out-Patient Department. Boo.

Of course, it's not all rainbows and butterflies. We have to deal with annoying significant others of patients, impatient one who can't seem to understand that when the doctor is at the operating room, the doctor can't just pack up and leave whenever we call them because we have a patient waiting at the ER. And don't get me started on the ones who think their cases are emergencies. God. You think they're bleeding to death they way they argue with us when we tell them to go to the OPD.

And while we do try our best to save all our patients, dying is sometimes inevitable. We lost 2 patients (on different days) while I was on duty. It's a sad thing, knowing full well that we all did what we could, and yet unable to help. Watching the family cry, not knowing how to offer comfort. I hope they are contented, and not in pain, wherever they are. God bless their souls.

I never thought i'd enjoy it this much. When I applied for my volunteer training, I was thinking that if I don't like being a nurse, I'd just get on with my Med plans (yes, I still think about it every now and then) and become a doctor. But here I am, 8 days on the job, and I'm loving it! It's really gratifying to hear our patients thank us, even though it's the doctors who treated them and all, because we are the ones they constantly see attending to them, even if we do scold them if they kept pestering us.

And well, I'm glad I became a nurse. ♥