Planning the Ultimate Vacation

I just arrived home today after traveling from Manila (and the surrounding provinces) and Cebu in the Philippines and yet my mom and I are already planning and thinking about our next big trip in the future. Our destination? No other than the United States of America. Sure it's just at the bottom from us (Canada) but it has always been a Filipino's dream to set foot in USA. And the city that we're going to visit? No other than the home of the Hollywood Stars, Los Angeles! The City of Angels is sure the best place to be because it's a place filled with entertainment and great shopping centers. And who knows you might just be lucky enough to bump into Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in a shop somewhere.

I have a friend who saw Elijah Wood in a video store and she immediately bought a Lord of the Rings DVD to have Elijah sign it. She approached him and asked him for an autograph. For a while Elijah stared at her with a sort of curious expression. But he did sign it and when my friend read the autograph it was signed: Daniel Radcliffe! hahaha! What a blooper but they do somehow look a like right? So if you plan to visit Hollywood be sure that you got their (Hollywood Stars) names right.

Another city I would sure like to visit is Las Vegas so I could try my luck at those slots and maybe visit the Grand Canyon afterwards. There are so many places in the US that I sure would like to visit and since I'm not good with directions and all I would have to rely on the services of Trusted Tours & Attractions to help us plan our vacation and not to mention that they offer discounted tickets to 23 cities in the US.

So if you're interested in sightseeing tours it's best to check out Trusted Tours & Attractions for ideas on what to do like Things to do in Boston and the like.

So if you're still planning your vacation then you should sign up for the Trusted Tours & Attractions Newsletter so that you could get new ideas for your planning and you might as well win a $150 itunes gift card just for signing up! I sure did sign up and it just took less than a minute to complete. No credit cards or anything was needed.

All that's left for me to do is save up for that trip!

The Stench of Death

I could not be mistaken. I know that smell very well and I know that life must have just been taken from some poor creature.

When I was at our living room I sensed this strong pungent smell and I wanted to get rid of it immediately. I asked my father if he smelled but he said no.

Was I hallucinating? Was I the only one who smelled death in the air? I knew that it must be a rat or something but then why don't they smell it? This must be an omen I thought... a bad one.

I feared the most for my family and my safety because if this was an omen... well you get the point.

But a few days later the smell was gone and I was right as my father discovered the carcass of a dead rat (probably killed by Missy the Doggie).

After that happening, I started to fear death as I still don't want to die. Not yet. We're this close to fulfilling my mom's dreams so not yet...

I used to want to die before when I didn't have any dreams at all. But now that I have some purpose in my life, I don't want to die yet until I have the sense of fulfillment that my life was actually worthwhile. I still want to know my potentials...

***
Photo Credits:XIII: Death by *SilentReaper

I Hate Computers!

I don't actually hate computers. I just hate it when they break down! Our PC which we were supposed to sell wouldn't boot and keeps on restarting after the Windows XP logo appears. Grr! I have to do something about it when we return from Manila and Cebu. I have already contacted someone about it but that someone hasn't replied yet but I'm sure that there are several computer repair shops down town.

I could try fixing it myself but guess what? My darn Windows XP installer CD is missing! I hate it when some stupid people come meddling with my belongings and then fail to return it as it was. I was really stressed out when I couldn't find that darn CD.

What added to my stress was my loud-mouth father who has no knowledge about computers (he doesn't even know how to save for crying out loud!) and then here he goes why this happened bla bla bla. I wished that he would just shut up because it was my mom who I was speaking to as she practically owned almost everything in his old crummy house. He did not even own the computer so he had no right to lecture me about it.

God! Why don't they realize that sooner or later the computer does break down even if that darn computer cost a lot! Like relax people, all I need is another installer and that software problem will be as good as new ok? Or I could just send it to a computer repair shop and for Php 600 ($15) problem solved! So back off my case!

Grrr!

I swear I wouldn't meddle with computer system settings again!

I Love You Jollibee

If you ask any Filipino what fast food chain they love, the majority would perhaps say Jollibee. Jollibee has a long history and it has already been part of the Filipino culture. You wouldn't be in a mall in the Philippines that wouldn't have Jollibee in it.

So why would people love Jollibee? Here are some reasons I came up with:

1. The prices are very reasonable and affordable. For as low as Php 39 you could already have a decent meal. The meal does not have any drinks but you could always request for free water (a healthy choice too!).
2. Wide menu selection. One has a variety of food to choose from from pasta, chicken, steaks, and not to mention their yummy desserts! And guess what? They still are innovating and adding more selections to their products!
   
3. It's a trusted brand. What began as a modest start-up in 1978 is now one of the most remarkable success stories in local business. What is now known as Jollibee started out as an ice cream parlor founded by the Tan family, led by Tony Tan Caktiong. However, the company knows how to adjust to its customers' tastes, and soon it was serving more of the hamburgers and spaghetti that were added to the menu. It eventually incorporated even more food items into the menu, including everyone's favorite Chicken Joy, the chain’s #1 selling product to this day.
4. Great Customer Service. The store team are very friendly and accommodating. I am going to share a personal story that proves the great customer service of Jollibee.

So here is the story. I was waiting for my mom at a Jollibee in Divisoria (Cagayan de Oro) because that's where we always met before Jollibee-XU opened up. I ordered a chocolate sundae and as I was carrying my order to my table on the second floor I dropped it and it fell to the ground making such a mess. Of course I was quite conscious with what happened and quickly escaped. Some Jollibee crew members saw this and cleaned my mess up. A little later I was amazed because they gave me another chocolate sundae to replace the one I dropped! It was my fault that the sundae fell but they replaced it anyway! This is why I love Jollibee so much. Every time I have to eat out or have an early breakfast (before 6 am) I always go to Jollibee because never have I been disappointed with them.

I told myself that if ever I would set up a business in the future I would like to franchise a Jollibee food chain, well that is if I have 15M to 30M (USD266,445.00 to USD532,890.00) in the future.

I Want Eyeglasses!

Yup I sure do want eyeglasses! Yeah that's me but those glasses aren't mine, they belong to KC, the one you see at the back hehehe.

We actually went to an optometrist to have a check up to see if I need glasses and to my dismay I had a perfect 20/20 vision. Darn perfect eyes hehehe.

Yeah I actually want to have eyeglasses becuase of the following reasons:

• people with eyeglasses look smart and sophisticated
• I think it's fashionable
• I don't want anyone to see my eyes (but I'm not talking about sunglasses already, Lol!)

Oh well sooner or later I will have to get glasses since I'm always in front of the computer (I'll just cross my fingers hehehe). Other people who have eyeglasses don't really like wearing them and some kids think that it's nerdy and geeky looking, but for me I'd rather be a nerd hehehe.

Fashion Schools

Nobody knows this but I am into fashion and studying this art in a fashion school has been one of my dreams. Well I may not become a famous fashion designer in the future but at least learning how to mix and match colors and decide what looks best for me is one good reason why I should enroll in a fashion design school. Not only will I save a ton of money for image consultations I will also save my self from frustrations of not being able to find the clothes that matches my style and personality.

I really love clothes and I love to look good so that I could also somehow feel good. They say that first impressions are important and wearing the right kind of clothes may attract new friends to you or repel them away. Fashion is one good way to express one's personality. "What you wear is who you are," as one saying goes. And what's the best place to learn about what's new and what's hot and be a professional fashion designer? No other than fashion schools!

WiFi Detectors

My friend and I always get fed up whenever we have to boot up our laptop just to check if there is a WiFi connection or not. It's quite tiring really and a complete waste of time when there is no WiFi network available.

So I searched the WWW and guess what I found. Check these amazing gadgets out! These babies are truly lifesavers and very valuable to on-the-go netizens like me:

But be warned when buying a Kensington WiFi detector!

It may look good but several people who bought it thought that it was crappy because it doesn't work.

If you really want a WiFi detector that is good please make sure that your WiFi detector has these features:

• Backlight LCD screen shows signal strength, network ID (SSID), encryption status and channel
• Provides specific information about each network when multiple networks are present
• Detects Encryption (WEP and WPA)
• Shows channel used (1-14)
• Coverage: Up to 200 feet (60m) open environment
• Identifies 802.11b and 802.11g networks
• Dimensions: 2.5" x 2.75" x 1" thick (65mm x 70mm x 24mm)
• Batteries: 2 x AAA (included)
• CE approved and FCC compliant
• Auto power off

And what WiFi detector has that? No other than DigiWifi:

Like it? Then buy it! lol! ^_^ Check it out at Amazon.com.

Midnight Snacks Won't Pack Fat

Ok I have been guilty of sneaking into the kitchen to grab a midnight snack (but only once, I'm so defensive hehehe). What can I do? I was going to bed and my stomach was begging me to eat something. So I did grab something from the refrigerator a Del Monte made recipe "Pizzarap (coined from the words pizza and masarap (yummy)". It was really yummy, it was made from cheese and ham rolled into a pan de sal (a type of bread) but it was more of a taco looking than a sandwhich... I actually had two slices...

Anyway I was guilty and all saying that I'm trying to loose weight but all I do is eat and eat and I ate at midnight when my metabolism is lower. But! Hear me out peepz! I have a scientific research to back me up!

According to Daniel J. Denoon, Midnight Snacks Won't Pack Fat! Activity and not meal timing is the key to weight control. You see they did these experiments with monkeys (since they are very similar to us) and they compared if nighttime meals made the monkeys heavier as compared to monkeys who have midday snacks.

Guess what? No change at all. Both monkeys still became fat. But some stayed lean because they were more active (monkey exercise, Lol!). And for those who believes that eating late at night makes you fat, that is a myth!

"If it were true that nighttime eating made you fat, everyone in Spain would be obese -- because they don't eat dinner until 10 p.m." as said by Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD

So hurray for me! A scientific study saved me from my "lapse of judgement" hehehe. Anyway I still have to look at what I eat though... I just hope there's an easier way to loose weight.

Update: Anyway, although you can have that midnight snack, please do try to sit awhile and don't go to bed directly as you might have another problem and it's not gaining weight... it's gastric reflux. It's when what you ate goes back to your esophagus because gastric acid (which is stronger when there is food) burns the esophageal sphincters which then leads to our heartburn. Also try sleeping lying at your left side so that the normal anatomical position of the stomach would help prevent the sphincter from being burned.

I'm Loving Natasha Bedingfield

The first time I have heard Natasha Bedingfield sing was on a Pantene commercial were Ruffa Gutierrez was saying she was beautiful and glamorous (which she really is) and the song was "Unwritten" by Natasha and the song was perfect for the commercial. It showed beauty and it really sets the mood.

But recently I have discovered another Natasha Bedingfield song that I have fallen in love with. Listen to this song and guess what song this is (oh you can click in the pause button at the upper left corner of my blog to hush little David Archuleta for a while hehehe):

If you haven't guessed what that song is then here's the lyrics:

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine.
Oh.

Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
No.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine.
Oh.

Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
No.

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine.
Oh.

Wish that you could, but you ain't gonna own me.
Do anything you can to control me.
Oh, no.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.


There's a place that I go,
But nobody knows.
Where the rivers flow,
And I call it home.

And there's no more lies.
In the darkness, there's light.
And nobody cries.
There's only butterflies.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.

Take me away: A secret place.
To better days take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A hiding place.

The sun is on my side.
Take me for a ride.
I smile up to the sky.
I know I'll be all right.

The sun is on my side.
Take me for a ride.
I smile up to the sky.
I know I'll be all right.

I love it! It really sets the mood, it's so empowering. I love the way she mixes soul, R&B, and Pop just like little David Archuleta. I can't wait for their duet!

Don't Fear Your Problems

Fairy tale endings where the princess and the prince charming live happily ever after will never happen in real life. Why? Because what would they be doing when they’re just happy? What would they do if everything just works out for them? The answer? They would get bored to death! As one friend of mine said, she wants to look for problems because life with out problems would be plain repetitive! At first I thought that she was out of her mind and she probably needs to talk with a psychologist quick! Why would anyone look for problems? But after thinking over what she said I suddenly realized that she was such a genius!

As one very smart friend of mine wrote, people nowadays are getting more indolent. It’s a known fact that we only use a few percentage of our maximum brain capacities. Our desire and motivations to learn and gain more knowledge is put to halt because we find no use to think at all. Our scientists do all the thinking and we just sit around and just enjoy life. What’s the use of trying to learn something new when it’s all just prepared for us? Everything now happens so quickly and we can satisfy our wants just like that! We love the convenience that’s why we are so addicted to it. We become so attached with our gadgets and lifestyle that we sometimes have great difficulties living without them. But this is not the point I want to discuss about. I don’t want to talk about the fact that we should be careful and not to allow technology to take over our lives and how we should learn to manage even in its absence. I also don’t want to talk about how we should invest in our minds so that we can actually have the chance to evolve into a more sophisticated and superior specie.

What I really want to talk about is that we shouldn’t blow a fuse when problems and hardships come our way. We should learn to take charge of the situation and actually create something positive out of it. Let’s not be afraid to make mistakes and take chances because if we do we may never learn anything. Let us not allow one failure to delay us on our way to success.

A utopian world is impossible because problems exist so that we could apply all the things that we learned in our experiences. Having problems can also spice up our boring lives.

Down the Road Song

Here is a song that I composed. It doesn't have any accompanying music since I don't know how to play any musical instrument (Lol!):

Down the Road
by Edgar Bautista

I'm walking down the road
This cold and rainy evening
Haven't got a clue
To where I should Be Going

This wind upon my face
And the rain that's pouring down
Is washing all the pain
That's driving me insane

How can I go through
A life without you near me
I don't know what to do
Cause every thing's beyond me

Why'd you have to go
And leave me here alone
With only the memories
Of you and me together?

It hurts me so
This pain is unbearable
I cried out loud
And went down on my knees

I looked up at the sky and said a prayer loud
That you'll come back to me one day
And say you love me.

I'm Not Here

I have a confession to make. My last posts about my doggie, Missy, and even this one are all "future-dated posts" meaning they were made in the past but only published now. You see I'm currently offline right now and I am somewhere in the middle of nowhere with no internet connection. But don't worry I'm not stranded or anything just happens that WiFi hotspots are not that hot in the Philippines (lol!).

Anyway I'll be gone for two weeks I guess. My family and I flew to Manila last May 7, 2008 and it's the 10th now so were still in Manila somewhere attending some seminar as a prerequisite to our flight to Canada then at May 16 we're going to fly to Cebu for another seminar. Wow what a week this would be. Plus we have to visit our cousins in the provinces who we haven't seen for a long time and we won't be seeing them again for another long time. But the best part of moving is buying new clothes (lol!). I just hope that all my clothes stays at my baggage limit.

Oh well. You'll hear from me soon guys and in the mean time I bring to you more of my "future-dated posts" hehehe.

To My Beloved Readers

Hi guys! If you're reading this then I might be away right now and have no access to the internet... NO! I'm not stranded on a deserted island nor am I dying at some hospital bed (lol!). I'm currently in Manila or Cebu depending on what day you're reading this (but most probably Manila).

Well as you may have guessed, this is a post that I've written way ahead a few days ago and just published today (as I have written here). Well I have already written some posts before hand so that my blog will still be updated even when I'm away. I'll try to be online though, I'll bring my laptop alone but i don't know if I'll get a WiFi connection (not all hotels in the Philippines have a WiFi hotspot).

So to people who leaves a message here, a million thanks! I promise to get back to you guys when i get back home. But until then, I'm off to vacation (hehehe).

The Reunion

Here are the three special doggies that I have been talking about in my precious posts:

This one is Puppy. She's the mother of all doggies (joke ^_^). She's Missy's and Polly's Mom:

And here is Polly, Missy's Sister:

And of course my beloved angel: MISSY!

The three doggies were just like people when they met each other. I don't know why but it seems that they had forgotten that they once played with each other. Maybe their scents already changed or what. But anyway just like humans, they were checking each other out and trying to size each other. Puppy, Missy's mom was very aggressive towards Missy but a little later Missy barked back at Puppy and that instant Puppy knew that Missy is not to be belittled. She may be the skinniest but she's the most experience d fighter (joke! Missy is a lover not a fighter, Lol!).

But unlike people who talk behind each others backs and back bite each other, dogs tend to express what they truly feel. Missy does not want to be sniffed around and licked so she tends to bark out if she's irritated. But they don't bite each other, so that's good.

So my beloved Missy... hope you have fun in your new home. Don't worry about us ok? I love you my Missy pooh! ^_^

The Love of a Dog Part 2

Just recently the new owner of Missy sent my mom a text message and told her that Missy was ok. She was eating well and she was getting along well with her mom and sister. But there are times when she gets lonely and she sits in front of the door crying and sniffing expecting that my mom and me would return and pick her up.

It's really sad to know that Missy is lonely but I know that in time she will slowly adjust to her current situation. And she has her mom and sister to play with so she will never be lonely plus her new owner (also her original owner, took care of her as a puppy) loves her so much and will take care of her well.

David Archuleta Wants to Sing with Natasha Bedingfield

Little David Archuleta was asked who he would like to have a duet with in the future and David sheepishly answered, "Natasha Bedingfield".

It had been known long before in previous interviews that David admires the amazing Natasha Bedingfield and if you watched the previous episode of American Idol we have seen that Natasha Bedingfield likes the young singing prodigy as well (like hugging and giving David the "special treatment", lol!).

It really would be amazing how these two would sound and I know very well that their duet is very close to reality. Both would have a great mix of soul, R&B, and pop and their work will be quite enjoyable indeed.

I am quite looking forward for David's duet with Natasha. But don't get this wrong guys, if you think that there's something going on between them then you guys are just being too malicious (hehehe).

Natasha has a boyfriend and David has... (I'm sorry girls but he's taken!) well a G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D!

That's right the 17-year old is off the market and say hello to public enemy no. 1:But in fairness little Archie has a good taste in girls. The alleged girlfriend sitting next to Mr. Archuleta (David's dad) does look like a sweet little girl to me. Go David! Hope American idol won't tarnish your relationship with her (like many female Archuleta fans would wish, Lol!).

A Long Week Schedule

Hey this is my first tag ever for this blog and I have to thank the Taong Ninja na si Sendo! This tag is about making a list of things to do that's expected go get criss-crossed anytime this week.

I had a hard time coming up with a list because although I know what to expect but I don't have a clear schedule as to when these things will happen.

But enough chit-chat and on with my list ^_^:

• Fly to Manila
• Get picked up at airport by uncle.
• Go to Makati to leave our baggages at my mom's cousins condo
  
• Go to Quezon to visit my cousins that I haven't seen for a long while
• Go back to Makati
• Attend a 2 hour peer-counseling/seminar by the Canadian embassy
• Explore the city.
  
• Go shopping for new clothes c/o Mom (yeay!)
• Fly to Cebu
• Don't know if we'll go and stay at a hotel or at my Aunt's house.
• Attend another seminar
• Explore the City
• Fly back to Cagayan de Oro
• I'm home!

Well I really don't have a hectic schedule as Sendo does but it's quite hard to look forward to things that are unexpected. Plus I'm going to be stressed out at meeting new people (in person) hehehe. Yup you guessed it, I'm not that social hahaha but not to the point of being antisocial hehehe. I like people I do, well if they're nice and respectful to me but I'll save this for another post. ^_^

And for this first tag in my blog, I'd think I'll actually tag other people hehehe. I'll tag Juliana, Zhoe Wynz, Julia, Tweety, Ijal, Marie, and anyone else who would like to do this tag. Hey at least you get to plan what to do right? hehehe. Happy Planning everyone! ^_^

The Love of a Dog

Last May 4, 2008 (Sunday), was the day when we would return my dear Missy to her original owner. It was still 8 am and Missy never knew that this would be the last time that we would ever see her. Our neighbor was very kind enough to help us bring Missy down at Cagayan de Oro. Missy was never used to traveling so she was very afraid indeed. I could notice that she was very stressed out because she was salivating. I have noticed that when she gets stressed or tired (from running around) she always salivates. She was very restless and just stuck her head out of the multicab (a 4 wheeled vehicle here in the Philippines) for some air. I was afraid that she would jump out so I placed my arms around her and to my surprise she actually cuddled into my arms. It was here that I knew that I was really going to miss her.

She surrendered everything and I know that she completely trusted me and she just laid there on my arms. This was one of those moments that I know that she actually had affections for me. I'm not sure but I guess somehow she knew that this would be the last that we would see of each other.

To be continued...

My New Signature

Hi it's been a while since my last post. I have been a bit preoccupied with packing and all (packing daw, hehehe). Anyway as I have been saying before it is really great to visit other bloggers because:

1. You learn some new and interesting things.
2. You meet new friends.
3. You get fresh and new ideas on how to improve your blog.

Well I had done all of the three listed above and the new improvement in my blog may have to be this signature at the end of my post. Yup! i have seen several bloggers having their signatures at the end making their posts more personal and more human so I thought I'd try it and I have to say that I love this addition to my blog's design. ^_^

If you're wondering, that's not really my handwriting (mine looks too bad to show hahaha). Why don't you guys try mylivesignature.com to get your own personalized signature at the end of each post. ^_^

The Angel of Death… The Grim Angel

Grim… It means depressing, severe, gloomy… the total opposite of happiness and joy. Grim… Kind of ring a bell right? Yup, it sounds like the Grim Reaper, death. But did you know that there is such a thing as Grim Angel, the Angel of Death? I’m not sure my self if there is such a thing as an Angel of Death but I sort of heard of it from a game that is so cool! It’s a Gameboy Advance game and it’s entitled, Riviera – The Promised Land! It is so cool! It’s about the war between angels and demons! Grim Angels are suppose to be angels with black wings and their sole purpose is to pass judgment on the sinners and on the fallen angels, the demons! I so wish I had angel wings, even the wings of a grim angel. And in exchange to be a grim angel I exchange my emotions… Wooh! A sudden chill down my spine! But really… Emotions makes humans weak and it also makes them strong in some weird sense… Hehehe… I’m talking in the third person again. Pathetic human Hehehe…
I am fascinated with Grim Angels but I don’t want to see one any soon. Until then I will have to research more about these angels…
To all sinners… Repent your sins! The end is near! And I will judge you! Hahaha!

Winning Lottery Number

We all have dreams of winning a lottery right? Well with Dream&Win you might just catch you're lucky star and that winning lottery number could be yours right now! With Dream&Win your odds at winning the price that you desire are very good! Dream&Win is the no. 1 online prize games where you could win cars, paid vacations, or other electronic gadgets like iPods!

It's very easy to join and win! Just sign-up, choose your prize, buy 1 up to 20 tickets and if your lottery number matches the one drawn online at the draw date then you win! It's as quick and easy as that!

Do you know why your odds are better at Dream&Win? Well at other online lotteries, there are thousands, if not a hundred thousands, of players. How do you win at that many number right? well at Dream&Win you only compete with 499 other tickets because only 500 lottery tickets are sold. And so how do you win easily? Just buy a lot of tickets and from all your winning lottery numbers, one is the golden ticket to your price!

How to irritate internet Trolls

If you have read Anah's Troll Proofing article then you may have a clear picture of who these internet trolls are. But for the benefit of those who haven't read her article (and you should), internet trolls are "people" who attack you or anyone for that matter using words that are degrading and foul. The best term would this would be "verbal harassment".

We see all of these people in places like YouTube and if you're unlucky enough, you may have a troll visiting your blog and doing what they do best: express to you how pathetic and pitiful they are using second-person pronouns instead of first-person pronouns. Example: You're fat and ugly and your mama hates you! What they really mean is this: I'm fat and my mama hates me!

And one way to distinguish an internet troll is that they usually don't leave traces like names or contact e-mails or whatsoever because their ego is poor and shattered that they can't endure a rebuttal statement. But internet trolls don't know is that even when you don't leave a name and be anonymous you leave prints behind. And these prints are what we call as an IP Address. Trolls don't know this but we could actually trace this IP address to their computer and this could be used in court (together with their ill message) as proof in a hearing at court.

But if you don't want to go to court because you have evaluated the situation and realized that the troll is just a nuisance and that you have better things to do than go after useless creatures like these trolls one good way to do it is to ignore them!

Trolls hated being ignored because they know that they are treated as if they don't even exist and that their pathetic attempts to catch your attention is not working.

A Tour to Toronto, Canada

We haven't even settled down in Canada yet but my mom has already plans of going sight-seeing in different places in Canada. One place that we have our eyes on is Toronto, Canada! Toronto is the entertainment, financial, and cultural capital of Canada so going to Toronto is a must!

I've already did an online search on hotels in Toronto and there are quite many to choose from. I've also looked at some pictures and scenes of the city and I tell you, it's a very beautiful city! So I thought that why stay in a hotel when we could stay at a bed and breakfast Toronto where we could really experience life in Toronto first hand. Oh for those who don't know what a bed and breakfast (B&B) is, it's an establishment that offers bed accommodation, and breakfast. return for payment.

What's best in a Toronto bed and breakfast is that you not only experience life at Toronto first-hand, you only pay for it at a fraction of a cost meaning more money is spent exploring the city rather than spending on it for paying the hotel when you're not in it the whole day.

The Filipino Subject

I had always thought that my Filipino classes were useless. For those who don't understand what I'm talking about, Filipino is a language class (just like English) were we learn how to speak and write in Filipino. I am a person who is practical and studying 2 classes in Filipino was the most impractical thing that I had ever done (well it was required of me to take Filipino classes).

I believe that taking the subject, Filipino, in elementary and high school was adequate enough because writing and speaking in Filipino fluently will not be required in my future career. I say this because even in the Philippines, all formal business transactions are transacted in English unlike other Asian countries like Japan and Korea where they transact business with their own language.

I had brought this topic up before at my university's forum and the people there said that I was selfish. Selfish? Selfish in what way? It pains me to know that some Filipinos are not open to change and change ladies and gentlemen is required for progress.

I am not saying that Filipinos should stop wasting their time learning and studying Filipino. What I'm saying is that in the college level, education should be more focused on teaching the students things that are related to their future career.

You see at our university we are thought a lot of things (because they want students to be well-rounded yes) but some of these subjects are impractical to me (Filipino is one). Other subjects that I find impractical is Physical Education (PE). I know that exercise is important but the only thing we do at PE is dance. My minor subjects tend to take up all of my time that I am not able to focus on subjects that really matter like Pathology, Physiology and Anatomy, Biology, and other subjects that are related to nursing.

I honestly believe that I had wasted my 2 years of college because these two years were only focused on finishing all of my "minor subjects". All my nursing subjects only began at second year and we only were able to set foot in the hospital at third year. Because of minor subjects I feel that there wasn't enough time for me to learn nursing concepts at all.

That's why I'm glad that I'm going to start studying again as a freshmen at Canada this coming school year. Imagine, all the major nursing concepts are already being studied in the first year level. I really can't wait to begin studying.

And oh yeah guess what, studying Filipino will not be of any help in Canada.

Making A Difference with Boats

How amazing it would be if you could change I child's life with your old, beat-down boat. Yes, with your boat donations you could help a child stay away from prohibited drugs through promotional campaigns like animations and anti-drug documentaries. Or if you prefer that the proceeds go to another charity of your choice, that could also be arranged.

So if the thought in your mind is, "How do I donate my boat to charity?", simple! Just follow these steps:

1. Either call Boat Angel at 1-800-227-2643 or fill out an online form at boatangel.org
2. They will send you out a receipt via email and package in the mail with a form and a disposable camera so that they can get pictures of the boat
3. They get the package back from you and list it at charityboatsales.org Your boat will be picked up in 6-8 business days. If it doesn’t sell, then they will pay to have it stored!

Donate boats now and be able to make a change to the lives of thousands of children! Be a BOAT ANGEL!

Psoriasis

You know what? It was really quite an amazing experience when I was able to encounter a patient with psoriasis. It's amazing because it's my first time to see a patient with that disorder and this kind of disorder is very rare and doesn't really occur with Filipinos.

Anyway, psoriasis is a "chronic, non-contagious disease characterized by inflamed lesions covered with silvery-white scabs of dead skin (www.answers.com)" just like the picture above.

At first I didn't really think that the disorder was contagious or something like that. I was reluctant to touch the patient and aid him in going down and up his bed because he had scaly white skin and lesions all over his body and he was obese, so he was very heavy to carry. But one of my colleague really had somatic effects. What I mean by somatic effects is that he had bodily manifestations of a psychological induced disorder or disease. He was thinking that psoriasis is highly contagious so he suddenly had pruritis or itchiness on his arms and they really formed bumps. This only proves how powerful the mind really is that it can even trick itself into manifesting false sugns and symptoms of a disease that the person never had in the first place.

Actually, I also felt very sorry for the patient because I could really see my self in his position. I know how painful it is to be shoved away because they are disgusted with you and you are considered an outcast because you are considered contagious and all. This is why we should really educate ourselves with these kinds of things and that we should always be sympathetic because it is not their wish to have such conditions.

Donate Your Boat For Charity

Yup you can donate boats, working or not, to the Angel Ministries and this donation could help create anti-drug documentaries and children's animations or to any charity of your choice. What makes Angel Ministries different from other charities is that your donations goes directly to the people who need it 100% and nothing is deducted for the salaries of the employees that work for Angel Ministries.

So how does boat donations work? Well The process is simple:

• You can call them at 1-800-227-2643 or fill out their online form at boatangel.org
• They then send you out a receipt via email and package in the mail with a form and a disposable camera so that they can get pictures of the boat
• They then get the package back from you and list it at charityboatsales.org Your boat will be picked up in 6-8 business days. If it doesn’t sell, then they will pay to have it stored!

Imagine, your old unused boat could actually be able to change a young child's life for the better. If I had a boat that I don't use anymore, I would donate my boat to charity.

Ford Commercial

This has got to be the best Ford Commercial I've seen! I loved it because my favorite American Idol contestant is in it hehehe. Who? No other than David Archuleta. Who knew that David could dance? It was really cool how he grooved to the music.

I like the picture at the end when they painted the floor with the world using the Ford car, really creative.

Natasha Bedingfield Hugs David Archuleta!

I have to thank Juliana for informing me of this event since I wasn't able to watch American Idol during the elimination night. I just love Natasha Bedingfield! I most especially love her "Unwritten" song.

So you hear her singing Pocketful of Sunshine and at the very end before she exits she crosses the stage again and asks if she could say hi to David. She was approaching and David Cook stood up (they say he stood up because he's a gentleman but I guess he stood up because he though Natasha wants to say hi to him, Lol). It was so cute of Natasha to act like a teenage schoolgirl David Archuleta fan and hug him and kiss him. Guess David was a bit shocked with what just happened hahaha. To make things worst Ryan Seacrest told Natasha that David wants to take her to the prom and guess what Natasha said? She has a dress ready hahaha!

Lucky little David! If only I had his looks and his talents girls would want to hug me and kiss me hehehe.

Here's the video:

Anyway I've noticed that Paula Abdul really loves dancing, I think she dances in every song that's upbeat, it's so cute. I really like Ryan because he loves placing people under the hot seat hehehe. Imagine he asked Simon Cowell to judge Natasha's performance. I wonder how the world would react if he did? But he was smart enough to refuse, I really sensed that he was uneasy with that situation.

I Love the Rain

Raining by ~evagonzalez

I don't know if I had already shared this everyone but I love the rain! I mean the rain may be hated by other people but I love it. When it rains I feel so relaxed and I love dozing off. I also love playing in the rain and I like walking in the rain because it's the only time when the roads will be empty because almost everyone runs and hide from the rain.

When it rains I am able to think more clearly, to see more clearly, and I am able to feel more as I feel that is something spiritual with the rain. I'm not emo but:

I like walking in the rain because no one sees me cry... (char, Lol!)

Being Beautiful

In today's society, everyone is empowered to make a decision for his/her own welfare. Everyone is empowered to make a choose to be who he/she wants to be and with science and technology that is made possible. Everyone wants to be beautiful and for the bold and brave plastic surgery is the way to take control of their lives and bring out the best in them.

Being beautiful gives you an empowerment and an edge over other people. You feel good because you look good and it is this radiance and beauty that opens new opportunities for you. Your appearance says pretty much about who you are.

If you have a problematic waist line and want a remedy for this a tummy tuck in Beverly Hills will do wonders. Having a flat and sexy waistline is a dream for thousands of people and you can achieve this in a matter of hours!

And for the flat chested women who want to feel more feminine then Beverly Hills breast augmentation will bring out the woman in you. You will never be insecure over women who are endowed with larger breasts ever.

Science was made to improve man's living, and with plastic surgery science has fulfilled it's purpose. We can feel good about ourselves, we have the choice to be happy.

Excuse me? Did you say Drugs?

I couldn't help but laugh every time I remember this incident.

I was walking along the corridor in the hospital one day when my duty mate asked me to tell her if our clinical instructor would be around because she would be able to do her drugs. Unfortunately for her, interns were also passing by and overheard our conversation and reacted to the word "drugs". They have misinterpreted our conversation and thought that my duty mate was asking me to be her look out while she take some recreational drugs.

Fortunately enough the interns realized that she meant to say to do her drug study so that she could administer her medication to her patient already.

Moral Lesson: Always complete your sentences.

Taking A Break

My gosh! This day turned out to be so hectic and so tiring. I have been very busy trying to finish all my sponsored posts for my other blog and I have to say that I am so tired. Sure I'd love to earn money but I'm receiving so many opportunities at the same time and it's getting too difficult to handle! But I am still greatful because for a PR 0 blog opportunities are still flooding in. It must be because of my RealRank then. Geez enough with these ratings. I blog because I want to blog and that is all to it.

I just want to shut down my computer and don't turn it on for a while. I still have to pack my bags and weight them so that I won't exceed the baggage allowance on the plane. I don't have enough time though since I'll be flying to manila this May 7 for some orientation that the Canadian embassy has required as a prerequisite. Then the following week there's this other seminar we have to attend to at Cebu.

I haven't also blog hopped for a while so I'm sorry to my blogging friends for being absent for a while. Oh well, I'm sure that when everything is sorted out I can return to my normal life, Lol!

Garage Sale Made Easy

I really thought that having a garage sale is very easy but I tell you it's not! especially when you have neighbors like our neighbors. Imagine our prices for our stuff are so reasonable that we're practically giving them away! But our neighbors are so cheap that they still want the price lower! Imagine we have this set of vintage china vases that we are going to sell for only $20/each but our neighbors wants to lower the price to $5 for the whole set. What?

We knew that we have to make our market larger if we want to get buyers who are more sophisticated and refined who can appreciate really good china and appraise it for what it really is worth!

We thought of selling it on e-Bay when a family friend of us suggested another easier way which of course entails selling it online to reach more possible buyers. Why not try the services of iSold It? And it was such a great idea indeed!

With iSold It selling items online is so easy and you don't even have to do anything. Just drop your old item to any iSold It stores and they will do everything from appraisal, photography, posting on e-bay and all you do is watch your item online through the link that they send you and wait for bidders and when it's bought, the item is professionally shipped and your check is given to you!

If only we knew about this sooner we wouldn't have to go through the nightmare we had with our neighbors tsk tsk!

My Versus List

Yesterday I went shopping with my parents to the mall. Believe it or not I really had a great time with them and i would love to do it again. But this post is not really about the joys of shopping. You see I was having lunch with my parents and as I was waiting for our order when I got lost in my own personal space and thought of some products and services and came up with this Versus List:

Jollibee vs McDonalds
I would definitely go with Jollibee because I was always a satisfied customer with them. They always have an innovative product line and their service is excellent! Imagine I dropped my chocolate sundae and it was my fault but their crew members were generous enough to replace that product which I dropped on my own! How great is that? McDonalds however is a different story. Their burgers are bad and their products are not only old and boring (nothing new) and their food and service is not acceptable (well with my standards really, Lol!). Laking Jollibee yata ako hehehe.

Pepsi vs Coke
No doubt about it my choice would be Coka Cola! I love the strong taste that Coke has and it really is a thirst quencher even if it is a known diuretic like all sodas (lol). I just love an iced cold coke during a hot summer's day, it's very relaxing.

Orbits vs Zagu
I have been known to have a sweet tooth and pearl shakes are one of my most favorite beverages ever! I just love a shake with lots and lots of Tapioca pearls after my duty at the hospital because it just takes away the stress. and the best tapioca pearl shake ever would be Orbits! Sure Zagu has a nice non-spill container but tried their product yesterday and I regret ever buying it. Their shake had this funny after taste which I really did not like.

So people watch out for more of my Versus list hehehe. I wonder if McDonalds, Pepsi, and Zagu would be a sore loser and sue me for bad advertisement hehehe. Hey this is a review and take it as a constructive criticism. Jollibee, Orbits, and Coke never paid me to write this. This is just my way to express how a satisfied customer I am, Lol!

The Attack of the Shower Monster

I hate taking a shower at night but what can I do when I have to clean up before bed because I don't want to sleep when I'm covered with who knows what germs and bacteria from my duty at the hospital (yup I'm sort of a clean freak).

Anyway I hate taking a shower at night because this is the time when eeky stuff happens just like in the movies. And what part of taking a shower do I hate the most? It's the part where I have to close my eyes for a few minutes to lather some soap into my face. And these are the few minutes that my wretched imagination runs wild. I imagine having a ghost lady clinging at the ceiling waiting to pounce on me or a serial killer behind the curtains. There was one instance when I was imagining this when I suddenly felt a cold tentacle like thing wrap around me and I was screaming and wriggling around. Oh I did manage to rinse the soap out of my eyes and realize that it was only the damn shower curtain but it's already too late cause I also managed to wake everyone up... oh embarrassing moment alert!

Ever since that day the shower curtain was my worst enemy! My brother kept making fun of me saying, "Watch out for the Shower Monster!" Oh just shut up will you! Grr!

I had to do something about that damn shower curtain and good for me the ShowerBow was invented! Yup no more shower curtain clings so no more shower monster at night! Plus I don't feel trapped anymore because with ShowerBow my shower area somehow became larger!

It was also really easy to install ShowerBow and so I didn't have to call on my dad to do it! Yeay to independence! And hurray to undisturbed and relaxing midnight showers! As the saying goes you have to face your problems head on and I'm proud of myself because i did just that!

Making and Publishing Posts for the Future

This coming May 7 we will be flying to Manila for some seminar my parents and I have to attend some seminar or something. The Canadian embassy said that this was a prerequisite before we leave for Canada. We're going to stay in Manila for a week visiting some relative and go shopping for new clothes (yipee!). And a week later we will be heading for Cebu for another set of seminar.

With all this flying and island skipping I thought about my blog (like any concerned blogger would do, Lol!). I should really have some posts ready since I want to update my blog on a daily basis but how do I do that when I'm not sure if the places were we will go to have WiFi. My mom said that most hotels in the Philippines have WiFi but I'm not taking any chances.

Good thing I've read Blogger's new announcement about post-dated posts (like post-dated checks huh?). Yup the lovable and creative dudes and dudettes had formulated a solution to every blogger's dilemma. Nope they haven't invented a time machine but they did something even better.

For Blogger users when you create a post you would find "post options" below right? If you click that you would be given the "Post date and time" option. If you want your post published in the year 2013 or any day in the future you could easily do that by entering the desired date and time.

Isn't that amazing? This is why I love Blogger so much!

Oh come On!

I never seem to get anything that I plan done this week and it's quite frustrating! I told myself that I should be able to pack my bag and weigh my things today but I wasn't able to do it as usual and I haven't even finished the stuff I planned to do in my blogs. I wonder why time is just flies so fast!

To make things worst I realized that I wasn't able to watch American Idol last night because I went to sleep early since I was so sleepy since I wasn't able to get a decent sleep lately since I was doing some changes to my new website but at least I was able to get that done.

Oh well the day is still young and I still have the evening to finish my packing.

Being an Only Son

I had always thought how it would be like to be an only son. For those who don't know yet, I'm the eldest of two siblings. I have a younger brother (unfortunately, Lol!). But I did grow up having to experience the life as an only son. I remember that I would always be the center of attention in every family gathering and whenever my parents meet some friends on the way to anywhere. I loved it when my parents would come home from work with "pasalubongs" or gifts may it be food or toys.

I quite enjoyed the "single life" and I never did feel lonely or alone like some only children would feel because I had my neighbor who always kept me company and who I play. I really never knew that I had a brother who was about to come out into this world and if ever I did know I wonder if I would be excited. I really thought that Santa Clause had a gift for me at the hospital as my witty nanny's had said. But to my dismay my present was my brother.

I really felt insecure and the sibling rivalry was there where I really thought that he was more favored and all. But it turns out that he wasn't really favored over me and I'm at ease hehehe. My brother is the black sheep of our family and I'm the... uh... definitely not a sheep that's for sure!

But recently I'm feeling more and more that I'm an only child and I'm loving the attention I'm getting hehehe. My brother is always away somewhere with my other cousins or what ever land or place he could think of always with his stupid good-for-nothing friends. I'm not complaining nor do I miss him but it's quite irritating that he doesn't stay put like the good son that I am hehehe (so many hehes in this post, Lol). But we kind of understand him since he wants to spend his precious moments with his nonsense friends while he still can because fortunately enough for him he'll be leaving them behind. If you're wondering why I dislike his friends so much well let's just say that they are a bad influence to him (not that he's not already rotten to begin with).

So am I loving the only son situation I'm having now? Yeah I'm kind of getting used to it already. ^_^ But my brother better bring his self home before I drag him home.

Browser issues

I had always loved Mozilla Firefox but I seem to have some browser issues. You see if your using Firefox and you're viewing and reading this page now you should be seeing two other columns to the right of this post. If you don't see any additional columns you may be having the same problem as I am. The two columns can be found then at the bottom of the page. It's quite frustrating.

I have to view the browser in full screen (you can press F11 for the short-cut) to see the two remaining columns in their right position. Maybe it's just because I have a small screen on my laptop (14.1 inches wide-screen) or a lower resolution... oh there you go! I fixed my browser issues hehehe. Turns out that I just had to make the resolution higher hahaha!

It really helps when you have some know how with computers. It sure makes life easier. ^_^

Missy Stays For Another Week!

Yup you read it right! We were suppose to return my Doggie Missy to her original owner today but since the multicab we rented got busted so our plans is delayed. I'm quite happy that I'll be seeing Missy a little longer. I'm going to play with her tomorrow and spend some good quality time with her since we won't be seeing each other anymore. How I wish that we could bring her with us but it's not possible.

But I'm not sad anymore because I know that she'll love it when she's reunited with her mom and brother. Now she will have other doggies to play with.

The Boy Who Said "Dili"

Gosh I feel really old! I mean I feel that I'm already facing a midlife crisis and to think I'm only 19 years old! Midlife crisis is by the way defined by Wikipedia is "Midlife crisis is a term used to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is typically felt in the "middle years" of life, as people sense the passing of youth and the imminence of old age."

Ok I also do think about my future but what really keeps me occupied is reminiscing about the past? Talk about being old. And the thing that I remembered was the little boy who I met during one of my duties at a pediatric gastro-ward. It was my first time to handle a whole ward too! That’s right! I have only tried handling one or two patients but now, I’m the master of the whole Gastro Ward! As you might have guessed the Gastro Ward has patients (normally pediatric patients) who suffer from acute gastroenteritis and other GI problems.

Working in the gastro ward was quite ok. It was air-conditioned (it was a private hospital, thank God) and there was a TV (but I didn’t watch it because I was busy regulating IV flow rates). The patients were just adorable and the patient’s family were very nice and accommodating to my questions.

There was this 1 year old boy who was so cute and hyper-energetic. I really liked this patient a lot and I loved playing with him during my free time. I just have a difficult time in checking his IV flow rate because he always asks for attention and he regulates his own flow rate! That’s right he knows how to regulate it but unfortunately not at the right drop rate. One thing that I’ve noticed with this boy is that his love for the world “Dili” or “No” in English. I heard his mom say this word so many times to him because he was so hyperactive, jumping on his crib and throwing his ball away. Although he says “Dili” with a playful smile I just think that saying no to your child could be bad for him.

According to Erik Erikson’s Developmental Theory, a child in his early childhood (18 months to 3 years) could feel so ashamed and would lack in self-esteem if his parents keeps on telling him “NO!” Because instead of the child being able to explore his surrounding and learning (Autonomy vs Shame) the parents are trying to suppress his will to learn.

So parents out there, allow your children to explore, get dirty, and even break some things because in this way they can learn.

***

Anyway the adorable boy in the photo is not my patient or is related to my post hehehe. Photo credits goes to subterfugemalaises.

10 Stress Busting Tips

Stress is a normal reaction to our environment (our stressors). If we don't experience stress then we would be emotionless or we simply are not human or we're already dead. The point is you can never totally remove stress from your life, because stress is needed for normal functioning. All you can do is control it. We get easily stressed from our jobs, our relationships, and even other simple things like waiting forever in a line. This is normal. Everyone gets stressed out from their problems. What is abnormal is if you would turn to drugs or other promiscuous activities to get you through a bad hair day.

fighting stress is really simple and you don't have to destroy your life to get through your problems. Here are some simple steps that you could follow to help control your stress:

1. Be yourself and do not play roles. Trying to be the “liberated women” or the “cool businessman,” for example, will only create stress because you are not being yourself.

2. Seek people who are pleasant to be around with when choosing your friends. Where possible, avoid contact with those who criticize you or like to constantly talk about the negative situations around them.

3. Be confident enough to admit your fears. Find out what scares you and try to determine why. Discuss these things with a close friend or family member if necessary.

4. Work on a confident, yet realistic, self-image. Recognize that you have both strong and weak points. Build on the strong points and excel in these areas. Work at improving the weak areas, but realize that you can't do everything well.

5. Be willing to compromise with other people, as well as with yourself. This is a sign of strength, not weakness. To be rigid, to refuse to give in, or to insist on winning will create tension and stress.

6. Make time to get away, even if only in your mind. A few minutes of privacy each day, when you can relax and think, is important even for children. Find a way to do this even if it means getting up early or going for a brief walk.

7. Do not let worrisome situations drift. If there is unhappiness or concern in your life, try to do something about the problems. Procrastination and indecision only delay your stress and the problems tend to only get worse in time.

8. When you cannot decide what to do, always choose to do what is right. Cheating, deception, and unethical behavior can all produce guilt feelings which directly lead to tension and stress.

9. Slow down - literally. Practice moving more slowly. Low your speech when you talk and your pace when you walk. Eat with slower movements, putting down your fork in between bites. When you move slower you feel less pressured.

10. Avoid excuses. Blaming other people or circumstances does not help much. Take responsibility for yourself and your own actions.

***
Image Credit goes to: ~CLEMZ
List Credit goes to: Chicken Soup for Your Soul

A Few Minutes with Cheryl Brooks!

I was really surprised and excited when the lead publicist of Ms. Cheryl Brooks e-mailed me and told me that Ms. Brooks invited me for an interview with her. And what did I reply? Of course I'd say yes to such an awesome opportunity!

Ms. Brooks is a new paranormal romance author who by the way is also a night Critical Care Nurse. So she's a romance author by Day and then she's a Critical Care Nurse by night! How on earth could she balance her time, not to mention her energy?! She's really amazing. She has already written many unpublished novels but her debut novel that is very notable is SLAVE: The Cat Star Chronicles published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. And guess what she has five more upcoming novels in this series so we will definitely be seeing more of Ms. Cheryl Brooks.

I haven't read her novel yet (her publicist said she'll mail me a sample copy - yipee!) but I bet that it will really be interesting. They said that one should never judge a book by it's cover but I'm looking at the cover now and I think the cover speaks for itself how "Hot, Dangerous, and Sexy" this novel is.

Talk about being a superwoman. I really wonder how she could survive such a hectic schedule? Why not read this special interview I had with her to learn more of her:

*A Few Minutes with Cheryl Brooks*

~ Romance author by day, Critical Care Nurse by Night ~
www.cherylbrooksonline.com

Critical Care Nursing and Romance Writing seem like polar opposites. Was romance writing always a passion of yours?
I'm not sure that romance writing was always my passion, but I'm always fantasizing, and have been ever since I was a kid. Whenever I had to do something mundane or boring I'd come up with a storyline in my head and play it back just to have something better to think about. Eventually, I began writing them down.

Back in nursing school, what were some of your favorite romance novels to read? Did any of them inspire you to start writing your own?
I have always enjoyed the romantic suspense novels of Mary Stewart, as well as her Merlin trilogy. Her style has influenced me probably more than anyone's, but I'm also a big Georgette Heyer fan. I loved her humor most of all, but her heroes were very different from those I found in other books. Heyer's men were usually wealthy, but were also very human and sometimes a bit bumbling in their ways. They seemed so much more real to me than the stoic “Marlboro Man” type that I encountered in what a friend of mine used to call “Lust in the Dust” books. So often those men were too rough or arrogant for me—and had no sense of humor whatsoever! I like to laugh, and though I like a tough, sexy man as much as the next reader, many “heroes” I've read about are men I wouldn't even want to meet, let alone fall in love with, and my reaction to that was to make up my own heroes!

Do you think your writing has served as a way to “escape” the often hectic life of a nurse?
Any book can take you away from your current setting, but when you read, while you can use your own imagination up to a point, you are still at the mercy of the writer and you have to go where that person takes you. But writing a book can allow you to travel to any exotic locale you wish, do anything you've ever wanted to do, let you meet anyone you like, and fall in love with the most fabulous men you can dream up. Oh, of course! Reading.

Nurses can be put in extremely high stress situations and as a result, form close bonds and life-long friendships. Have any of your real-life relationships inspired those in your books?
The problem with branching out into a writing career has been that my best friends are all hospital workers, and though I'd love to be able to devote myself to writing full-time, leaving my nursing job would take me away from the best support network in the world! I work in a relatively small hospital, and I've met so many loving, caring people there! We're more like a family, and we know most of what is going on in each other's lives—and those who know that I write will often tell me things just so they might show up in a book someday! I've used many of my friends as characters in my novels, as well as their experiences, and they love it! Unfortunately, when it comes to their experiences with men, I've mostly used their bad ones! For example, a long-time friend and co-worker was lamenting one night that she'd give her right arm for a decent, honest, moral man, and I used that as a basis for the predicament that my heroine in the fourth book in The Cat Star Chronicles series finds herself in. Of course, the best part of being in a hospital setting is that, just when you think you've seen or heard it all, someone will prove you wrong!

You specifically write fantasy/science fiction romance. Has anything you’ve seen at work influenced some of the aliens, new species and environments you’ve created?
Actually, most of the sci-fi stuff comes out of my head, or from other books and films, but if you look closely, there's something “medical” in all of them. I've also written several novels (as yet unpublished) that aren't in the same genre as Slave, and many of them are about nurses. I have also written one novel for a respiratory therapist friend who loves cowboys. She wanted me to write a book about her, so I made her my heroine and gave her a whole bunk-house full of cowboys to choose from! I think that one is still her favorite.

Are there any similarities between critical care nursing and romance writing that you found surprising?
The stress! I thought I'd lower my stress level by being a writer instead of a nurse, but though the stress of being an author isn't life and death (and I have to remind myself of that on a regular basis!), I still carry it with me. A lot of what I do at the hospital I can leave behind when I clock out, but the writing thing follows me wherever I go, and I've probably lost more sleep because of my writing than I ever have as a nurse! However, when I've got an especially crazy patient driving me up the wall, or when the powers that be come up with some ridiculous new rule, writing for a living starts to look really, really good!

Good Bye Missy-Pooh

This may be one of the saddest posts that I could ever make in this blog. It's the post where I am going to share my good byes to my beloved Missy.

Here is a picture of the first day that we got our beloved angel. Isn't she so cute? She's very small and quite shy. I was a bit afraid that she would be sickly because she looks so weak and vulnerable. She was a bit car sick at this point because my mom took her from the city from a friend of hers (the original owner of Missy and her mom and brother).

But with love and care our cute Missy has blossomed into a full grown lady doggie. She has always been playful and she loves to jump a lot and she runs around the house whenever she's bores. She always dashes outside the gate whenever she finds it open and we always worry that she'll get bitten by stray dogs and hit by a car but we always find relief when she comes back from her adventure outside the house.

These last few days are going to be my last moments with my Missy as we're going to return her to her family because we can't bring her with us when we leave for Canada this June. If only we could bring her with us then I would have no second thoughts and take her.

One neighbor asked us if she could have Missy so that there would be someone could watch their house when they're away but my first reaction was NO! I know that they won't take care of Missy the way we do care for her and love her. To other Filipinos their dogs are just belongings who they could just neglect but for me Missy is part of my family.

That is why we opt to return her to her original family with her mom and brother (even if they live far away) because I know that my mom's friend would take care of Missy and won't hesitate to spend for her needs. You see Missy is quite choosy with food. She won't eat anything unless it's chicken or some food that is tasty. She doesn't like bland food.

Tomorrow I am going to say good bye to someone who has been very special to my heart and will always be special to me. It's quite hard to let go of the one you have hold dear to your heart. I will really miss those big brown eyes of Missy that tells me her personality. She's quite shy and a very kind dog. She does bark at other people but never has she attempted to bite anyone.

I would miss the times that I would prepare her water for her bath (she likes her water warm) and I would miss it whenever she greets me when I come home...

She has been a part of me and it's hard to let her go. These last few days a song came into my mind whenever I play with her or pet her. The best song that could really express how I feel is this:

David Archuleta - Think of Me
Think of me
Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye
Remember me
Once in a while, please promise me you'll try
When you find that once again
you long to take your heart back and be free

If you ever find a moment
Spare a thought for me yeah

Think of all the things we've shared and seen
Don't think about the things which might have been
Think of me
Think of me
Imagine me trying too hard to put you from my mind

Think of the things we never knew
There will never be a day when I won't think of you.

Good bye my Missy... I will miss you... You have been one of the greatest things that happened in my life.