Marikina Riverbanks

After my duty in MVMC, I went straight to Riverbanks in Barangka, Marikina to meet up with Ron. I saw these pretty cheap things and bought them out on a whim.

A summer tote bag with a purse for only Php 110

Thongs and slip-ons

Kikay pouch for only Php 50!

I'm sure that they're durable because they're made in Marikina. I also saw some stylish nice bags. If I have money to spare, I'll buy the camel bowling bag and some more kikay pouches :)

Post-Valentine post

I was busy with my training days in MVMC that's why I'm posting late on my Valentine's date with the boyfriend. We had lunch at Singaporean Chicken Rice in Cubao. I tried the White chicken rice and the lakhsa noodle soup. Ron loved the chicken curry and he also liked the price of the food which is very low compared to Banana leaf.

He is so thoughtful and sweet to give me a pair of sneakers as a Valentine's gift! I found these shoes so comfy because it has arch support for the feet.

Thank you, honey! You're such a beautiful person inside and out :)

My new HG (holy grail)

Aside from my laptop which I consider the best deal I've ever had, I want to share with you what I've found from the stacks of books at Booksale:

For only Php 170, I get what I want in a nursing book. It is by Lippincott-Williams, a hard-bound book, contains lots of useful illustrations to better understand the various nursing procedures, and the information is direct and straight to the point.

The book is not that heavy and uber thick. The paper is glossy and friendly to the eyes. I wish I had this book when I was in nursing school so I could have better grades in the exams and return demonstrations.

Friendship

My friend Maui gave these wonderful beauty products a month ago. This is the second batch, actually of her generosity.

Maui is really thoughtful and generous to her few but great friends. I, too, have few friends. Like boyfriends, I've lost some of them for some reasons. The ones that I have now are really worth keeping. Through thick and thin, in times of sorrow, and especially in times of joy. The latter would really prove if the person is not envious of your success and happiness. The former will prove that you can depend on him/her. We may only see each other once a month or thrice a year, but the connection, trust, and care for each other would never change.

Blueberry Cheesecake

I ordered this yummy cheesecake from my boyfriend's sister. She also bakes cupcakes, cookies, and other pastries and sells them at very reasonable prices. The cake is 4 days old now inside the fridge. I'm trying to control my appetite here and so I could have of it everyday for the whole week! Got to go now. I'm on a graveyard shift tonight. Have to catch the train (LRT2) at 9pm.

ICU it is

My area of assignement is the intensive care unit (ICU). Good thing I'm with the 3 of my barkadas in our batch. At least may umaalalay sa isa't isa. I was expecting sa Ward ako i-assign kase I don't have past hospital experience. Anyways, yan ang binigay sa 'kin kaya wala na kong choice. Meron pala, kaso pag umatras ka sa special areas eh iisipin daw ng mg trainers na weak ka. So I'll just take it as a challenge. Ano bang skills to develop pag ICU nurse ka? Critical thinking and acting on it as quick as you can. Why? Kase ang mga patients sa ICU are usually 50/50 (as in 50% oxygen, 50% carbon dioxide). At pag may nag-"code" or yung may nag-hihingalo na patient at malapit na sila kay Bro, dapat mabilis kumilos at hindi dapat mataranta. Wag naman sana na baka magtago ako sa gilid pag dumating yung moment na ganyan. Dapat bibbo kid daw. Wag ipahalata na hindi ka confident or first-timer. Pero watch and learn muna ko next week. Kakabisaduhin ko na ang color ng mga IV bottles, catheters, suction tips, aalamin ang difference ng packaging ng sterile water for injection vs lidocaine kase magkamukha at magkakulay sila halos. aalamin ko ang bawat position ng mga emergency drugs or inotropics (a.k.a pampabuhay/pang-revive). Etc.

MVMC

All girls

My new barkada in Batch 6

Exam at DLSSTIMC

Naubos ang tinta ng ballpen kong blue sa haba ng exam. 300 items lahat. 100 multiple choice. 50 enumerations, 25 drug calculations, 50 points essay, 25 unit conversion, 10 true or false, and 50 matching type. I have 2 blanks in enumeration and 200+ unsure answers. Goodluck. That was yesterday afternoon. I had to leave my training at MVMC to give way to this exam kase pre-employment ito. Sana I would get through kase my saving's running dry na. I don't want to ask money from my Dad. Nahihiya na ako especially now that he's jobless. This is crisis. Buti na lang may lovelife kami pareho kundi mas miserable ang mundo kapag walang partner. Balanse pa naman kahit papano ang buhay. Good life pa rin. Comfortable.

Fro now, masasabi ko na super enjoy ako sa training days ko sa MVMC. Alive na alive ang batch to the point na minsan nasasaway na kami dahil sa ingay namin. Next week, deployment na namin sa designated areas. Ayoko na sa ICU and OR. Sana sa Ward na lang ako ilagay. Katakot eh. Baka manginig lang ako pag nag-serve ng gloves at instruments habang nakatingin ang buong surgical team sa kin tulad ng previous experience ko sa MCGH.

Board exam

I remember how it feels when I took it in 2008. I had 2 boiled eggs for breakfast--these are enough source of protein to feed my brain. I didn't have rice or bread because carbohydrates would only make me drowsy. I was not excited, I was kinda nervous at the time. Wala namang oral recitation, uupo ka lang dun at mag-se-shade ng letters ng mga isasagot. Hindi naman essay yung exam. Kaya medyo relax lang ako. My room assignment was in CEU, airconditioned and quiet. Wala namang kapalpakang naganap sa group namin. I only had a minor problem on my white card kase hindi daw properly filled out (blame it on the review center who processed it).

The first question in Test 1 surprised me. It was about fire hazards/situations. Puro tungkol sa sunog. WTF. Naisip ko, hindi naman kami bumbero; nursing graduates kami eh. Pero, sige patience lang sa pagbasa ng questions and patience lang sa pag-analyze and pagpili ng sagot. Kabilin-bilinan sa review center ko sa SEAMED na mortal sin ang magbura sa answer sheet kase magiging inaccurate na yung scantron sa pag-scan/pag-check ng test paper, it might affect my score.

Nung second day, I ate McChicken for lunch. Wala kase ako baon nun eh. Tutal, 2 sets na lang naman sa second day. My oh my, inantok ako sa last set. Buti na lang Psych yung exam kaya medyo carry lang kase madami ako natandaan sa Psych (thank you, Mr. Balicha).

This year is the lowest percentage of board passers in PNLE history. Maybe because of the high scores of the top 10 kaya tumaas yung benchmark ng batch. Ayun, andaming nalaglag. Tsk tsk tsk. Some of my relatives and classmates didn't make it again. Swertihan lang din kase eh. Madaming out of this world na questions sa board exams. In our case, yung tungkol sa sunog/fire. Ilang items yung nasayang ko dahil puro tungkol sa sunog. My two-cent advise to the retakers is don't give up dahil mas malaki ang mawawala pag hindi nyo ni-try ulit. Don't rush on things na kesyo mapapag-iwanan na kayo dahil madami pa ring nurses na 3 or 4 years nang hindi na-practice ang nursing dahil ang hirap humanap ng hospital jobs.

Day 1 in MVMC

Punctuality and attendance are important factors for nurses, as well as other healthcare team members. That's why I arrived 30 minutes prior call time. Thanks for the LRT-2, it saves me travel time and the hassles of traffic along Aurora Blvd. in Cubao.

Most of my groupmates in the final set of interview made it to the list of volunteers. We're 50 in total, but only 38 of us showed up today. Buti na yon para konti lang kakumpitensya. Haha. Mr. M discussed about the policies and procedures. I paid attention only on absences and corresponding penalties. 1 day of absence with prior notice is equivalent to 1 point deduction while 1 day of absence without prior notice equals 2 points deduction. I get the meaning. I won't be absent from Day 1 until the end of the program (3 months). Goodluck. We also had our first quiz which is about the mission and vision of the hospital, fill in the blanks. Sisiw. Hehe. I got all correct answers. Tomorrow is another day of challenge. Gotta study now and brush up on some basic nursing concepts.