2011 is gonna be My Year

After a long hiatus from blogging and bumming around, I've finally regained myself for being back to nursing duties again! Yes, folks, I am employed again. But not quite. A nurse reliever like me always hopes she gets hired in the hospital in spite of everything. Such as the number of job vacancy versus the number of hopeful nurses vying for the position. We're 20 in our batch competing for just 8 job vacancies. Imagine that.

I am on on-call basis. The Nursing Service Office will call us hours prior the duty time. That means you have to drop everything and be there in the hospital if you want to impress the "judges" (i.e., that nursing staff, head nurse, supervisors, HR manager). They have a list of those nurse relievers who are always available versus unavailable. That's why I'm trying to impress them. And I succeeded! I made the supervisors happy and praised me for being on duty before and during the New Year's Eve.

They said they will recommend me to HR and they would escalate my ranking from ## to #!

Yehey! Happy New Year indeed!

What's your plan?

Friends often ask me what my plan is when I chat with them. They are those who have already migrated abroad. These immigrant friends have successful careers back in their native land. I wanted to ask them why they bothered to go to another country where there are blizzards and bland foods. But I dare not because they have already spent hundreds of thousand pesos just to seek greener pasture.

But not all of us can take living in a foreign land. You can't buy happiness. Furthermore, it's more expensive keeping up a decent lifestyle abroad. If you want to have a decent life there then you must work like a dog. I know some people abroad who needs subsidy or owes money from their relatives here in the Philippines. Sila na nga nasa US, sila pa nanghihiram ng pera dito sa Pilipinas. But if you work there as a nurse, your future is safe.

So, what m I waiting for? Review time for NCLEX!

Virtual Assistant

I am looking for a home-based job and stumbled upon this Virtual Assistant thingy. I was actually applying for a web developer at bestjobs.ph but the HR staff directed me to this position. I honestly have no idea what it actually does. I've already undergone a sort of series of tests via email and audio recording. I still have to wait for the telephone interview if I pass the recent test which is the audio recording. The remote kind of hiring process alienates me. I don't see them, they don't see me. If ever I get this job, my Christmas list will be granted.

So help me God.

Ideal Job/Employer

My ideal employer is a very compassionate and understanding one. I mean, s/he doesn't scold me when I want to take a leave out on a whim. Plus s/he doesn't count how many absences I make in a week and doesn't ever ask the reasons behind it. I want a job where I could sit throughout working hours with a laptop with an internet connection, playing all my games in Facebook and just surfing the net all day long. I also want an employer who provides me and my family insurance, education, diapers, milk, nanny, laundry, food, hospitalization, etc.

Are you wondering if there's such a job/employer? There is one I know of =)

Corny World

Firstly, my favorite rock radio station NU 107 changed its format a few weeks ago, now playing mainstream music instead of its former format of cool genre like rock, alternative, and grunge music. Second, The ex-girlfriend of our country's president Noynoy Aquino, Shalani Soledad, has joined Willie Revillame in the new noontime show Willing Willie as his co-host without prior training or rehearsals. Shalani is now ridiculed or mocked for her somnolent voice. Third, the new slogan of the Department of Tourism is now "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" (Philippines so Beautiful) which to me sounded like the title of the morning show in one of the biggest networks in my country. Thank God, I heard in the news that Pres. Aquino ordered that the slogan will be changed since so many Filipinos are not in favor of this.

Things to Do

1. Time to renew my passport, but first, I must find it :(

2. Get a part-time job, i.e., a home-based job, preferably

3. Pay the bills. My insurance agent already texted me about my premium balance. Good thing I don't have credit cards anymore (I used to have 3 credit cards) and no loans.

4. Brush up on nursing concepts. Maybe one of these days, I might be called for an exam or interview.

5. Look for a job online.

6. Control my diet. I want to look good, as always :)

Sembreak

My 3-months contract as a nurse reliever ended last month. NSO said our batch will be called for duty by next year when the census starts to increase again. Hopefully, I would be hired as a staff nurse to be able to fulfill the 1-year hospital experience as required by my prospective employer.

I was enjoying the first week of my vacation. But the following weeks became monotonous and left me penniless. I have so many plans in my mind to improve my career as a nurse. I want to apply for NCLEX and IELTS while I am on "vacation" mode. I could use my personal savings for those expensive exams.

Meanwhile, my father wants me to go to Saudi instead of "wasting" my energy for a minimum wage in my recent hospital job, because Saudi do accept nurses even without clinical experience. How cool is that! But my all my closest friends do not want me to work in Saudi because of sexual harassment experienced by them or their loved ones or acquaintance or other scary stories about male arabs chasing/abusing/raping women and men.

It's hard to imagine how my life's gonna be in that country with that kind of scenario. Does it mean I have to go out with a group all the time to protect ourselves from those potential danger? What if something happens to me (knock on wood, wag naman sana) in that country and the Philippine consul can't fight or can't even protect my rights and I would end up in jail or lose my head like what happened to Flor Contemplacion, or be scolded by our own consul just like what Philippine consulate in Hongkong, Mr. Labatt did to a distressed OFW who sought Mr. Labatt's help in HK?

I promise to myself to stop procrastinating my plans. I talked to my friend, Steph, about those stuff and gave me encouragement and inspiration. Thank you, tsong!