Veritas Liberabit Vos: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Ever since I started going to a Jesuit institution, I was always told of the saying "Veritas Liberabot Vos" which some of you may know is Latin for "The Truth Shall Set You Free". I am an advocate of being honest. My conscience always bothers me whenever I lie, especially when I know that there are no lies that will forever be kept secret.

Although, there are several occasions when you have to lie to protect people from getting hurt and these are our so called "white lies". White lies have saved my relationship with several people especially when I have nothing good to say to them. I can't just tell someone in the face that they looked terrible if they wanted my personal opinion on their physical appearance. 

Well the most common reason why people lie is to protect themselves. I myself have a lot of skeletons in my closet and I do not want to reveal these secrets out of fear that my friends and family will turn their backs on me once they've found out my dirty secrets.

Lies are inherently evil because they are meant to deceive people but there are times when one has to commit a necessary evil for the greater good. I will continue to hold on to my secrets and the secrets that other people has trusted to me. Although I want to share my skeletons to the world, I have to create a different blog under a false name. This might be the best idea after all. I want to create a blog under the cloak of anonymity so that I can truly express my true self with out fear of retribution.

I just hope that my dirty secrets won't haunt me in the future.

***
Photo credits to Eternal Stickers

I've Grown Up

As I was looking through my older posts, I can't help notice how different I was back then. It amazes me how different I am now from my high school self. I can't believe that I'm already 21 years old and boy oh boy, experience does change a person's perspective on life.

Back when I was a naive 16 year old boy, I was sheltered and lived a privileged life.You can say that I was a semi-bourgeoisie. I studied in one of the most prestigious school and I was placed on a pedestal. I was made to think that the world was at my fingertips and that I, being a person who is more fortunate than others, had a responsibility to the less fortunate people. I had accustomed myself to the title of being elite and my world rotated around studying and getting great marks. You would notice in my early posts that my rants were always concerning school.

My world crumbled when I had to move to Canada. One huge mistake on my part was working for a fast food chain, Tim Hortons. I have to be honest, I was never a humble person. I had always taken pride over the fact that I wasn't one of the millions of Filipinos who lived in poverty. I was different, I actually had a great future ahead of me. This pride has caused me great misery and depression. As I said, I foolishly worked at a fast food chain where Filipino contract workers are well known for. I unfortunately didn't take this into consideration and I was always confused for a contract worker. Naturally, my pride kicks in and I blatantly tell people off that I'm not a contract worker. By people I mean other brown-nosed (they like sticking their noses in other people's shit) Filipinos, and they then retaliate with the "If you're an immigrant then why do you work here comeback". Although it's none of their business, the only reason why I stayed with Tim Hortons for two tormenting years is because I loved my co-workers and that I had huge difficulty finding a job that doesn't suck as bad. Let's face it, I was a Filipino landed immigrant who didn't have any job experience so employers would over look my resume. 

I'm just glad that I now have my old life back. I'm back to school finishing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and I don't have a job where I am looked down at as a loser (well only fucking Filipinos does this). I used to be a person who was an idealist who had principles guiding my life. After seeing and experiencing the real world, I realized how impractical my old values were.

Right now I am a person who has a level head. Like any other Canadian, I don't see people based on social status or how rich a person is. I see people for who they are and I treat them the way the way that I want to be treated (Platinum Rule).

Thinking of You

I was supposed to study today but my "creative side" was begging me to make a cover of Katy Perry's "Thinking of You". If I fail this Thursday's final, at least I have a good excuse. It beats being lazy and not doing anything the entire day right?

I did an "Improved" version but I think it's a bit over done.

Win a NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nestle Nescafe Dolce Gusto. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

I have always been a huge fan of coffee. It's my pick-me-upper especially during the cold winter mornings. I have always been a Nescafe lover and this new product from Nescafe is amazing!

How would you like to have your very own coffee house machine in your house? Well you can with the new NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine! It uses the same high pressure system like the well known coffee places use, so you can enjoy a great cup of joe right at the comfort of your new home.

What's even more exciting (if you haven't seen the huge banner in my post) is that you could actually win a NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine! Yes that's right! I've actually joined the contest. I want this machine so badly. You don't even have to buy anything to win, you just click on the contest banner or this link. Better hurry, because this contest ends on June 24, 2010.

I actually have a coffee maker at home but it's bulky and clean up is a hassle plus I tend to make too much coffee that they just go to waste. With the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine, it uses coffee capsules so you can make a perfect cup of coffee each and every time. Guess what this machine can do that other coffee makers can't. It could actually make cold coffee beverages! Isn't that fantastic?! I could always invite friends over for coffee and we don't have to wait in a line-up or anything.

Another awesome feature of this machine is that it seriously looks amazing. It's a fantastic work of art that you can display on your counter top.

Well if you don't win or if you miss the contest deadline you could always buy your very own NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Machine at The Bay, Home Outfitters, London Drugs, Sears, Wal-Mart, and other fine kitchen stores across Canada. Two models are availablem the Krups for $179 and the T-Fal for $159. The coffee capsules are sold at your favorite grocery store or online at http://bit.ly/aUVwOe.

Ga-Gym Ka Part?

I could honestly say that I go to the gym regularly. I paid for a monthly gym membership so it's forcing me to go to the gym everyday (I want my money's worth LOL!). My gym visits would consist of doing 15 minutes of cardio then strength training for 30 to 45 min.

I've been going to the gym for two weeks now and I've been eating healthy and have deprived my sell of junk food but I seriously don't see any major weight loss especially in my stomach area. People weren't kidding when they said it's easier to gain fat than lose it. And boy, I have been packing fat in ever since I was born. I always had an excuse not to be active and exercise but now that I've joined a gym that's open 24 hours, 7 days a week, I have no  excuse not to exercise. 

I just wish that my determination to lose weight and shed unnecessary baggage comes to fulfillment. On the plus side, my stamina has improved and I could see my muscles being toned... I wish my abdominal region gets toned and flat as well.

It would have been better if I had a gym buddy though, it will make going to the gym more fun and it will surely motivate me more.

Love at First Sight

I'm supposed to be studying right now for my midterm exam tomorrow but I just wanted to get this off my chest. How can someone fall in love with someone else after meeting that person for one time? By someone, I mean me of course. I don't believe in love at first sight and I believe that it may only be infatuation but why do I miss this certain someone so badly after parting just a couple of hours ago?

Is it because I'm physically attracted to this person or is it because I am totally comfortable with this person's personality? Are my feelings similar to those of someone who looks up or admire another person? What is the boundary between admiration and love? What is love? 

This person is totally amazing and I want to be like this person in the future. I admit that I don't go out and meet other people in person but this was something different. It was something special, I feel blessed for such an encounter.

The downside to all of this is that I know this person isn't really into me and it's just another one way love/admiration. It's sad but that is how it rolls, but I am still happy that I met this person today. Will we meet again in the future? Or the real question is, will this person even want to see me ever again? Who knows.

I'm hoping for the best but I won't go stalker/fan-boy with this person since by experience, being obsessed with someone won't help with the relationship or friendship. As the old cliche goes, set the one you love free, if they come back then you're meant to be.

*****
Photo credits to The Examiner

Dissapointment and Regrets

These past few days have been horrible for me. I feel like my life is slowly crumbling apart. The warmth that I felt as I was surrounded by friends feel like a dream that I am shaking off as I wake up to the ruckus of the real world. I am damaged, a person cast off from the rest of the people for being different. I'm all alone... how sad.

I know it's too late to regret and feel sorry for myself for being weak... poor, miserable, outcast. How pitiful. How I wish I had the strength and the patience. I wish I had held my tongue and kept my emotions in check, all is lost. There's no turning back, I have to face my mistakes.

Disgust. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Humiliated. I cannot let them see my shame. Ridiculed. I just want to hide under a rock and disappear.

This is why I never let people in my life, as it only lower my defenses.  I feel as if something was taken away from me and I can't just function well anymore.

***

Photo credits:

Regret... by *Mikeinel

Fixing Your Credit History

Having a good credit history is very important. Without a credit history or if you have a bad credit history, no lending institution will ever lend you money so say good bye to your dream car or dream vacation. Even getting a student loan from the government requires you to have a good credit history. If you have bad credit then you should really look for credit repair services.

I don't have bad credit right now but it helps to plan out scenarios to find a contingency plans for the "what if's".If I had bad credit then I would surely want to fix my credit right away. There are so many debt re-consolidation services out there but you have to find the right one that will help you from the very beginning by obtaining your credit history for you. Some companies would actually charge several hidden costs, when you're doing all the work.

That's why I would really consider DSI Solutions for help with my credit company. They are one of the best companies that offer a full return of payments if ever your unsatisfied with their service. This will surely give a lot of people a big sigh of relief since other companies wouldn't give a refund even if they weren't able to help you at all.

Thinking about credit history is intimidating at first, but this is why having a reliable company who you could trust changes everything.

I Want a Break from Life

I hope who ever thought of the statement, "Take a break from life... attend nursing school", isn't serious because if he/she is then he/she has a serious problem. Nursing school is not taking a break from life because nursing becomes your life: studying, classes, more studying, and if you need to work like me then you're totally screwed.

I am so tired! I don't want to go to school anymore, I don't want to work anymore, all I want to do is stay at home and sleep. Unlike most students, I actually prioritize my sleeping over studying so I'm less stressed than they are. It's just ironic that I actually skip school just so I could study.

I'm just glad that at least one of my courses are going to be over next week so I'm very excited. Word of advice: If you don't like the teaching skills of your teacher during the first few days, drop it or look for another teacher. Well I prefer, self-study over listening to someone who dwells on things that he will never quiz you on later anyway.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 as the lowest and 10 as the highest, my stress level is at 8. I'm about to cave in. If it wasn't for the few hours I have before I go to work or the free time I have before I go to sleep I would be insane right now.

I just hate it when my mom makes me do things during my "free time" because honestly I go to school the entire morning and I go to work the entire night so NO I don't want to do anything else and I just want my ME time. I don't want to tell this to her but I want to say that I want my rest and relaxation time because you were the one who placed me in this predicament anyway. I NEVER wanted an effing expensive car because I don't want to work while I'm at school but I did buy it because you said that you'll pay for HALF of it which you're NOT. Plus you've been buying stuff off my credit card and you've never paid me back. I don't really care if you don't pay me back but just stop buying useless things like a Bose home theatre system. Like seriously? I don't even want to eat out since I'm broke and you could afford to buy useless things? She also bought a barbecue grill yesterday which I'm so sure we will NEVER use. I'd love to ask for more day off's at work but I can't since I have to pay my credit card debt, debt that I didn't incur but my mom did. I tried asking money from her to pay for a course at school but she uses it instead to buy a freaking Bose speakers? Seriously?

So yes, I need a break from living. I don't want to travel anywhere cause that will lead me to more debt. I just want to stay at home and chill.

****

Photo credits to: rlv.zcache.com

The Dream of Being Possessed and Dull Updates

These days, it has been very rare for me to get dreams. I usually dream when I am about to wake up and I usually forget what I was dreaming about. I had a dream this morning and it was a bit weird. I actually dreamt about my old classmates. I was never close friends with these guys but somehow I had a strong attachment to them. 

There are times when I wake up, I just want to go back to sleep, especially if the dream I had was great. Why is it that my life in my dreams is better than my real life?

My dream wasn't that all good. In my dream I saw a beast that was possessing me. I think it is my unconscious mind which is conjuring these but I guess this was my way of rationalizing why I'm unmotivated to wake up in the morning to go to school.

My life is so boring indeed. When ever people ask me what's new with me, it's always the same dull response: nothing... Nothing is happening to my life. I wish there was but if ever there was some happenings in my life, it's usually something negligible. 

I wish my life is more exciting in a way. My life is a daily routine of waking up, going to school, work, then sleep and then repeat the same dull routine. I just want to break free from it all and just go on a vacation somewhere.

Today wasn't that bad I guess. I had the opportunity of taking part in a self-hypnotism session. I can't say that it worked a 100% but I did feel relaxed and energized from self-hypnotism. I just wished I was hypnotized to act like a bird or something exciting.

But over all, this was an ok day.

****

Photo credits: http://susanhenschen.files.wordpress.com

Staying In Control of Life

Before I went back to school, I always complained how my life was derailed and how slow and aimless my life was. Now that I have everything that I've wanted (school, new job, new life), everything seems to be happening so fast and I'm afraid I can't just keep up with it.

I'm not really stressed out as I am able to cope with everything but the frequent bombardment of stress is taking a toll on my insanity.

I don't want my life to be derailed again so I need to take control of my life right now. I need to take a moment and reflect upon the things that stresses me out.

Here are a couple of things that stress me out:

1. Filipinos who can't mind their own business. 
2. Stupid customers.
3. Money Issues.

I would love to put "school" as the number four stressor in my life but it actually isn't. I just realized that from all of the things in this world, it is studying that I have control over. It is my own actions, choices, and motivation that could spell my own success or failure. I have the power over my studies and I will not let anyone take this away from me.

These days I've been complacent about my studies. I've been getting the same grades as everyone (B's) but I know that if I really studied then I would have gotten a better mark. I haven't been motivated enough to study lately but things are going to change from now on. I will make the things that stress me out as my motivation for me to study more and succeed in my studies.

Life is unpredictable, but I am glad that I have at least one thing that I could take control of.

****

Photo Credits:

Fast life by ~DuendeGotico

My Struggle to Grab my Blog Back

If you have read my older post, Blog Spring Cleaning, then you would know how frustrated I am with the entire ordeal. Never again will I have someone else register my domain name on my behalf.

Anyway, I woke up this morning seeing everything covered in snow. It felt like winter showed it's ugly head once again but I wasn't surprised anymore, this is Canada after all. So I have my classes again and I haven't really completely re-claimed and redesigned my blog the way I envisioned it to be, but I am heading at the right direction.

If you have noticed, my blog actually has more blog posts right now as I have exported my posts from my blogs,  Grim Angel and My Nurses Notes, to this blog. I thought that I might as well bring all of my posts into one blog because it's pretty weird to have my thoughts and writings scattered all over the internet.

I just really hope that I get to come up with good blog posts soon as my entries so far are complete garbage.

***
Image credit goes to Britannica.com

Blog Spring Cleaning

I actually planned to redesign my blog layout during my one week of freedom from school but I never planned to update my domain name as well. I just checked my blog yesterday and found out that my domain has already expired.

I could just buy the domain name again since it's already been released, right? Wrong! It so happened that technographx.com, my previous hosting company, has denied the transfer of my domain name to my current hosting company and renewed it for another year in their name (UPDATE: They gave me the EPP Key to transfer my domain but they still didn't release the lock on my domain name). Talk about being down right dirty. I had spent two years of my life making sure that that particular domain name that they have stolen from me obtains a page rank of 4. I'm just glad that this current domain that I'm using also has a page rank of 4 so I'm not really starting from a page rank of 0. I even tried to offer them money but Technographx just clearly wants me to suffer because I chose not to pay for hosting which I didn't needed in the first place.

I still have a lot to do to tidy up this blog of mine but before I do anymore cleaning, I should better start cleaning my study first since it's a total mess.

Hope to update you guys soon!

TY3TW72455UV

-- Post From My iPhone

Location: Ellerslie Rd SW,Edmonton,Canada

Cancun Travel Unlimited SCAM!!!

I just received a call from +8888763708 at 9 PM. They claimed to be a company called Cancun Travel Unlimited. I spoke with a Jasper Lopez who introduced himself as the president of the said company. He gave out his agent reference number as 652475L85. 

They told me that they got my number from my cousin from Saskatoon and that they currently had a 75% discount on their travel package for Cancun, Mexico for 5 days and an additional 4 days to Orlando, Florida. I will be staying at a 5 star hotel and the package has no black outs and is good until 2014. The package is good for 2 adults and 2 children only for the low price of US$ 498.

I almost gave out my credit card number if it weren't for the thought that came into my mind: "If it's too good to be true, then it's a scam!" My gut feeling was right because as soon as I said I'll think about it he told me that he can't give me the offer again and other lame excuses he made up. I firmly said that I think I'll just pass on the offer and the bastard just hung up on me with an annoyed tone. 

What the hell?! I checked out the website he gave me, www.sunsethotels.net, and it had SCAM, FAKE, FRAUD, SWINDLE written all over it. I then did a little snooping on the phone number that they used to call me and guess what I found? People who were stupid enough to trust these swindlers because they were "fellow Filipinos": 800notes, whocallsme, and  ripoffreport 

Turns out that one lady gave out her credit card for a US$100 vacation package and she was charged $500! She now is currently dealing with her credit card company to get her money back.

Fortunately there are people who like me will NEVER give out their credit card number online: nakedknitgirl 

Seriously! I was on the CRTC Do Not Call List and I've already filed a complaint against this company. I'm not sure if the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has jurisdiction over a Philippine based company but this issue should be resolved soon.

This incident only made me more cautious when dealing with Filipinos. They try to draw you in with small talk to gain your trust and then steal your money when you turn your back. Shame on you Cancun Travel Unlimited and the lowlifes who make up this company.

I Pledge to Be a Good Driver

I pledge to be a good driver. I swear to honor the rules of the road and to be respectful of the rights of other motorists. I swear to give way to pedestrians and to refrain from racing with other drivers. So help me God.

It's already been 8 months since I got my license, and I have to admit that I'm starting to be a little cocky when I am on the road. I love speeding and having a red, V6-powered beast isn't helping at all with my affliction. I won't deny the fact that driving gives me a sense of power, a feeling of great freedom, as I am able to go wherever I want, whenever I want.

It just occurred to me that I am starting to go over-board. I love my car, I really do, and I want to keep it for a longer period of time; but with the way I am driving my car, I'll be lucky to still keep it within 5 years. I am easily tempted to race with other cars whenever they try to speed up beside me because I know that my baby can take them on. I just realized that my actions are very immature and it only says that I am compensating for something in some way.

My car is my source of pride and joy but it also is the source of my agony. Paying for my car is expensive enough and I surely don't want to get speeding tickets or have my insurance premium increased. I swear from this day forward I will drive according to the speed limit and I won't even speed up whenever someone is tailgating me. They can drive pass me if they want but I am surely not speeding up.

I must always remember that I share the road with other drivers.

Working in Retail Sucks Rant

Working in retail doesn't really suck that much (working at fast food sucks more). My job isn't my dream job but I love working at my store since I work with great people (co-workers and SOME customers) and it helps pay for my car bills and other expenses for school.

The only thing that sucks in retail (most people who works in retail will agree with me on this one) are some weird, stupid, arrogant, obnoxious, bitchy customers. There are so many things that happen in retail that you'll never ever imagine could happen in real life. I'm pretty sure that my experiences aren't as bad as other retail associates had experienced before but I'll share some of them anyway:

> I hate it when you ask someone if they need any help and then they say "NO". Seconds later when you're already helping another customer they demand that they be helped or they complain because no one is helping them. You're not the queen of the world bitch, wait your turn. You had your chance to be helped when I asked you if you needed help. 

> I hate it when someone asks me, "Do you work here?" or "Do you know anything about this?". I'd love to just say, "Are you retarded?". Like I'm wearing the uniform and duh, I know what I'm selling. 

> I hate it when people complain why the prices are too high. Well I don't know, I just sell them I'm not the one who controls the trend in the market and I'm definitely not the one who decides on the prices. Besides, not a single business will sell their goods and services below cost. No one runs a business to lose money.

> I hate it when people demand for a discount (especially brown people). I don't work for commission so even if you don't buy anything from me, I still get paid. And this isn't the market place, this is a retail store so no. Demanding to ask the manager for a price drop won't work either. Just pick up your cheap ass and leave. Go to the dollar store or something. 

> I hate it when people act all high and mighty (especially male and old white people, and some Filipinos). I don't care if you're rich or if you have a fucking business or whatsoever. I never asked, and your card just got declined bitch. Where's your million dollars now? 

> I hate cheap people. PERIOD. If you did see that cheaper in another store then go shop there instead, no one is stopping you. Stop complaining why our prices are higher than the ones the other store is selling. Well are they even the same model. They may look the same but they're not.

> I hate it when people start opening products. No one will fucking buy them now since they're opened. Oh yeah this reminds me of those two Asians who wanted me to bring each and every box down because they "think" that the boxes are opened. Each and every single box up there is identical to this one. If you're looking for a box that's perfect and free of dents and scratches then good luck finding one.

> I hate people who asks for your opinion but then become defensive when it goes against theirs. If you don't want my suggestion then don't ask for it.

> I hate it when people ask really stupid questions; questions that they don't really care if you know the right answer but they just want to piss you off for some unknown reason.

> I hate it when people demand that they should be given a gift card or something because the product that they're looking for is out of stock. Well sorry your highness but did it ever occur to you that you're not the only person who has money and wants that? The flyer absolutely said "no rainchecks" so try being a princess at another store.

I have several other experiences but those bad experiences are counterbalanced by meeting real nice people who really appreciate the help and great service that I give to them. Follow the golden rule people. If you want good service then be respectful. Being a bitch won't get you first class service.

The Right to Die

For some mystical reason, I have been hearing a lot of things lately about the right to die. I have always been pro-life and I have been strongly against suicide and euthanasia; I see people who wants to kill their selves as weak. My whole opinion about this mater had made a 180 degrees turn when I looked at this with the patient's perspective.

Imagine your self as someone diagnosed with a terminal illness, cancer for instance. There is no cure and your condition has gone for the worst. Your organs have started failing and you are always in pain. Don't you just want to have the option to end it all? You want to die with dignity and you don't want your last days writhing in pain or unconscious.

Euthanasia and Suicide is a moral dilemma indeed. We may discourage suicide but having the right to die (when all else fails) is a fundamental right by people. I have actually written a paper regarding the moral distress and posted it here but removed it for fear of having someone else steal my intellectual property.

The gist of my paper is actually this: moral euthanasia is when you just allow the disease run its natural course and allow the patient to die without having to endure futile treatments that will prolong life but will also force the patient to endure the pain and suffering that accompanies the disease.

We should not be afraid of death. There are times when death is more comforting than living.

****

Picture credits goes to Daily Mail

Living in Poverty

At Foundations of Health today, we actually watched a documentary called "No Place Called Home". I really didn't feel like going to class today because I was just so stressed out, but I was glad I came as this documentary is very touching and it kind of makes you reflect upon certain things.

So the movie is about the Rice family and how they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. The Rice family are just one of the growing working poor in Canada. Kay Rice comes from a long generations of poor Canadians but she did a fantastic job raising 6 children who are healthy, smart, and morally upright. Society is ruthless to people like Kay and her children. She can't help it if she can't make enough money to support all of them. She does get jobs but she gets paid minimum wage she isn't educated. Society looks down on them and bully them for not wearing the clothes currently in fashion or for just being poor. Kay herself was beaten up and had to be sent to the hospital for she was wearing cheap, used clothes from the thrift store. The Rice family had been called disgusting and they weren't treated like human beings at all.

Some people would call the Canadian poor or the homeless bums; Bums who suck all of the taxpayers money, but on the contrary, Kay had never filed for welfare and she doesn't intend to file for welfare ever. The reason for this is that she'll lose the child benefits she gets and she doesn't want her children taken away from her.

One of the reasons why she can't escape poverty is that she has a hard time finding a roof over their head. Imagine, she pays $1000 plus for a home that is roach infested and unfit for residence. She is taken advantaged of because no one is willing to take her and her 6 children in as landlords fear that the Rice family will destroy the house that they will rent out to them. As Kay said, "No one wants to be poor and be looked down upon". I almost cried as I heard this because I share the same pain as her. She never did choose to be poor and she tries to get out of poverty but she just can't. Her children have great dreams and I wish that they achieve them.

Like Kay I really feel so bad and I get so angry whenever someone looks down at me. And as I have posted before, the only people who looked down at me were Filipinos.Anyway I won't go into the details of that anymore.I can on the other hand explain that in my desire to prove people wrong when they say that I'm a poor, cheap, contract worker, I actually made myself poor.

In Canada everyone is considered equal as everyone has the same opportunities and the same purchasing power. You can be just a mere taxi driver but you can afford to buy a big house. In my case, even when I'm still a university student and that I only work part-time, I was able to buy myself a 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander.Although I can afford to pay for my car, I'm considered poor because I'm using up more than 60% of my income.This is why I hate the Filipino mentality of social classes because in the end, trying to maintain a status quo will only bring unhappiness.

If people only minded their own business then people won't have to bother dressing up and buying expensive things to prove their worth because seriously: the amount of things you have don't define you as a person.

A Tribute to Male Nurses

If you are currently in the nursing profession, and you happen to be male, you’ve more than likely encountered some form of ridicule, whether it is the more innocuous, “Why would you decide to be a nurse?” to more troubling suggestions about your sexuality. In the movie, “Meet the Parents,” one of the main characters is a male nurse, and he is made of fun of throughout the film on account of his chosen career. While of course, nursing is a predominantly female-saturated profession—in fact, a national registry claims that women nurses outnumber their male counterparts 16 to 1—there are a growing number of males in an occupation that is rewarding on a personal as well as financial and professional level.

 

A nursing blog, AllNurses.com, recently talked about the history of nursing and included a list of famous male nurses. The first nursing school was founded in India around 250 B.C. The blog post quotes a primary source from the first nursing school, which was all-male, that reports men aspiring to be nurses should be “of good behavior, distinguished for purity, possessed of cleverness and skill, imbued with kindness, skilled in every service a patient may require, competent to cook food, skilled in bathing and washing the patient, rubbing and massaging the limbs, lifting and assisting him to walk about, well skilled in making and cleansing of beds, readying the patient and skillful in waiting upon one that is ailing and never unwilling to do anything that may be ordered."

The list of famous male nurses includes Walt Whitman, the eminent 19th century American poet, Friar Juan de Mena, the first nurse to ever administer service in the present-day United States, and James Derham, a slave who worked as a nurse in New Orleans in the 1700s. Derhem eventually earned enough money to buy his freedom, and he later became the first African-American physician in history.

For males choosing to pursue a career in nursing today, there are many resources that will enhance your growth in a female-dominated field. The American Assembly for Men in Nursing (AAMN) is one such organization which seeks to “provide a framework for nurses, as a group, to meet, to discuss and influence factors, which affect men as nurses.” The organization works toward promoting increased male representation in nursing as well. 

For more personal insight into the trials and tribulations of male nurses, read the article, “Male Nurses Need Respect, Too” featured recently on Travel Nursing Blogs .

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of Nursing Schools. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: kitty.holman20@gmail.com.

The Moment

As you all may have probably noticed, I'm a very lazy blogger. I am a procrastinator and a bum (I actually have work and school so that technically doesn't make me a bum, but I am LOL!). The only real times where I am able to write heartfelt and really well-thought posts is when I'm paid for it inspired to do so. Every now and then I get so engaged with my thoughts that I just think about them and when ever I deem it important or worthwhile I write about them in my blog. 

A blog for me is a way of expressing my self: a channel  for anger and happiness. Blogging helps me relieve the stress I encounter in every day life and it also helps me write "scholarly" as I always do research before writing anything (especially my nursing related posts, but I sometimes fail to cite my sources).

I have my moments when I just want to sit in a corner and type away all my feelings and thoughts but once that moment is gone blogging seems like a chore than something I enjoy...

The moment is gone... END

Home Made Pizzas Are Better!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony's Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

To be honest, I have never made pizza from scratch all by myself. On the other hand, I do know how to bake a warm, cheesy, and mouth-watering pizza right from the freezer. That's right! It's so easy to take all the credit when preparing Tony's Pizza because you will never expect frozen pizza to taste so good!

The nice thing about frozen pizza is that you can always have one prepared eat your own convenience at home. It's like having a girlfriend, even better, since frozen pizza will be there for you 24/7 and it will give you that warm feeling you crave every now and then.Well having pizza delivered is great but let's face it, it's more expensive, the pizza guy is sometimes late, and you can't always get the extra toppings and some other stuff you want in it without having the delivery guy judging you for it.

And I've got to say, there is absolutely no difference between a frozen pizza and a delivered one. I've actually tried cooking the four cheese one from Tony's Pizza and boy oh boy it was really good! To my surprise, it actually looked like the picture on the box and it tasted as good as it looked. It doesn't take long to prepare so it's a perfect meal for those unexpected get together with friends.

Well if you did want to try Tony's Pizza for yourself, then you might want to get one right now since they have the promotion were you can go bowling for free for every purchase of Tony's Pizza. Sounds like a fun event!

An Open Letter: Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

How are you? It's been a while since I've shared anything worthwhile with you. I'm sorry, I've been pretty busy with school, work, and basically life. I have a lot of things to say to you but I just don't have time anymore to just sit and be able to think.

I hope that you're not angry at me for neglecting you for so many months now. You've been such a good friend to me. You have listened to all of my problems and worries and shared with me my moments of great happiness and sadness. I know you don't have a choice since I sort of own you but still, having you here by my side is comforting.

But come on Blog! What happened to you? Your recent comments aren't even recent and you just look like a mess. I know that it's partly my fault that you're in this state but come on! You didn't have to resort to blog suicide. I still need you blog, so please don't die on me.

Your Best Friend,

Vincent

Intellectual Rights

If you have visited my blog earlier this week or the weeks before, you would actually notice that my two blog posts about euthanasia and a comparative essay between Shooting an Elephant and A Modest Proposal has been deleted. No, no one deleted them because only I can delete them and no one requested or asked me to delete them. Well the last statement is partly true.

It so happened that those two entries were my papers for my nursing and English subjects. My teacher found them here on my blog and she told me that I should be careful about posting my papers online since someone could actually steal my ideas. Although at first I thought that having someone plagiarize my work would be awesome since it means that my paper was good enough to be copied. It then dawned on me that I might be the one charged with plagiarism and then they could keep all the credit. That would really suck.

This is the main reason why people should place patents on their products and acquire copyrights to their works. Take a look at James Cameron who is being criticized for plagiarism.For someone who took several years to create a movie and be accused of plagiarism is very hard. I don`t know the entire story behind this so I won`t comment that much.

Writing a Memoir

When I grow old I plan on writing a memoir or an autobiography. My purpose in writing an autobiography isn't for the hope of earning millions of dollars in book sales but it is my way of sharing my life experiences with the future generations of Bautistas. I want my son or daughter, my grandchildren, and the entire future lineage to know who I am and for them to learn from the many mistakes that I have done in the past and what I will do in the future.

The only problem with this plan is that my life is pretty much dull and I don't have any clue how to start writing my life story. Perhaps I could try and take up autobiography writing lessons from LifeBio.com. The great thing about LifeBio.com is that they ask more than 250 thought provoking questions in 35 categories that you can dig up old memories which you may have forgotten with the passage of time.

If you're not vain and narcissistic like me and you do not want to make an autobiography, creating an autobiography is a great way to commemorate the life of a loved one or capture memories. Sure we have pictures as one way of preserving a moment in time but having a narrative that explains who are the people in the picture and what was happening during the picture could give us a more in depth understanding of what the picture stands for. A picture may say a thousand words but it's even better if there are actual words like an autobiography.

Well LifeBio.com doesn't just offer preserving memories in autobiographies because you can capture memories and be able to share that event to the future generations by creating a digital scrapbook also.Or you may give a love one a memory journal so that they can be helped remembering past events. The possibilities are endless so have fun!

Go Canada!

I should be doing my Nursing 170 paper right now but I guess I have to express how happy I am that CANADA WON GOLD IN HOCKEY!!!

Ok, I'm not technically a "Canadian" (I will be next year, yeay!). I was born in the Philippines but I live in Canada, I will grow old here in Canada, and I will probably die here in Canada. So basically Canada is my home and I love Canada. I share the passion and the pride that many Canadians feel right now.

I am not a huge fan of sports and I was never interested in hockey, but I support Team Canada and my country. I wasn't able to watch every event during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as I had midterms and work but I really tried to watch the hockey game as everyone knows, hockey is Canada's game. It was very depressing the way Canada lost against the US during the pool play but in the end Canada was victorious and it just brought life in the streets.

I was driving downtown and all I could hear were people screaming in celebration and people waving the Canadian flag with pride. It was just crazy!

Anyway, that's about it. Go Canada!

By the way, I just wanted to share the Canadian olympic theme song "I Believe" which is sung by Nikki Yanofsky:

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Photo Credits to Sarah and Tim
Video credits to puddlehooper25

Overwhelmed

This is an excellent description of what I am feeling right now. I just have too much to do and there`s just no time for it. I wasn't able to study for my midterms because I was flogged with papers and I needed to work so that I could pay off my car and credit card debts.So yeah, it sucks to be me.

I've been stressing out myself a lot lately and I've done several positive and active steps to fix this:
1. I quit my other job as a home care aid as my gas expenses was too much and I didn't like travelling to other people's homes.
2. I'm actually going to make a schedule and I'm actually going to follow it... I hope.
3. I'm going to adopt a carefree attitude.

I'm going to begin practising my care free attitude right now by sharing David Archuleta's new song "Zero Gravity" which I am so loving right now.



Sorry, my brain isn't functioning well right now... it never has, LOL!

On Decorative Mailboxes

When moving in to our new house the first thing that became a concern for me was how we were going to get our mail. My worries went away when I was told that Canada Post would just redirect all of our mail to our new address which is good.

We then started getting new mail after a few days. All went well except when we realized that our mail wasn't really safe as the mailman would just leave our mail at the door because we didn't have a wall mounted mailbox yet. All of our mail would be left in the front porch and we were afraid that the wind might blow our mail away or worst have someone stealing our private information.

This is where our need for wall mount mailboxes started. With a mailbox you are ensured that your mail will be secured under a lock and key. I saw these mailboxes that looked like vaults so talk about extra security. You can also be assured that your mail will be received even when no one's home because some shipping company will never leave your package in front of your home unless they consider it safe to do so.

Another reason that we wanted a mailbox is that it adds style and beauty to our home. There are a lot of styles and designs of mailboxes ranging from the classical mailbox design to those artsy modern mailboxes. I really liked the mailboxes at Mailboxixchange. They have a huge selection of residential and commercial mailboxes and you won't believe how reasonable their prices are.

I especially liked this wall mount mailbox that had a maple leaf design. This design is fitting as it showed how much we love Canada. 

 

There were other awesome designs that caught my eyes too and they were just too beautiful to be used as a mailbox. 

Health is Wealth

We all are familiar with the cliché, “Health is Wealth”. It just happens that this statement is fairly accurate and has been supported by a study done by unnaturalcauses.org. We were talking about the Social Determinants of Health at my Foundations in Health class and I just learned that there is a direct relationship between health and one’s socio-economic background. The documentary that we watched proposed that the higher your income is the healthier you are as compared to those with lesser incomes. What surprises me the most is that the reason why this phenomenon is occurring is not because the wealthier people can afford better health care (because in Canada everyone has equal access to health care) but because wealthier people has actually more control over their work and basically with their lives.

Let’s take for example the CEO of a company and a regular employee. The CEO can come to work anytime he wants, he doesn’t have to report to anyone, and he can basically write down his personal to do list without having to think about work or anything else interfering with his plans. The regular employees on the other hand have a lot of stress and face tremendous pressure in their job. They don’t have much control over their job and if they aren’t being paid enough, they have to worry about making their budget fit or if they will have a job the next day with the recession.

Having power to control one’s environment has huge impact on one’s health. But again, income isn’t the only main factor as race and culture will also play a huge part. It is said that if you belong to a minority, even if you have a very big income you will have a lesser level of health as compared to a Caucasian.

So if you want to be healthy, then be a rich white guy/girl. And as my teacher adds, if you are poor don’t be poor too long. It’s funny but this holds some truth in it.

My Personal Definition of Health

The meaning of health is: Personally, I define health as the ability to perform daily tasks without difficulty or pain. I don’t see health as just an absence of disease or illness. I see health as an overall state of well-being where a person is able to cope with all the stress of day to day life and be able to do and finish regular routines. Health is subjective and only the person can dictate whether he/she is well enough to perform daily tasks. Good health is whenever you forget about your toothache while you are busy conversing with a friend. Although one is in pain, this is overpowered by the satisfaction that one gets from socializing with peers.

The meaning of illness: If health is the ability to function and perform daily tasks, then I see illness as a severe imbalance in either one of the physical, mental, emotional, and social aspect of a human being that it totally inhibits or hinders a person in doing things that he/she likes or routinely does. For example, I know if I am ill if I am unable to eat food that I love because I have a severe case of pharyngitis or I am unable to go out with friends because I am depressed for some reason and I don’t want to see anyone. I see illness as something that cripples you and hinders you from being happy and enjoying things that you love to do.

I know I am healthy when: I know I am healthy when I don’t even bother thinking if I am healthy or not because I just do my daily activities as I usually do. I am healthy when I can get a good night sleep because I am free of lower back pains or when I can walk or run normally without limping because of an ankle sprain. As long as I am able to do all the things I need to do then I consider myself as healthy. I may not have a personal experience of being diagnosed with a disease and still be able to live a normal daily life but take for example people with cancer. Just because they have a terminal illness, you can’t really say they’re unhealthy because they seem just like any other cancer-free people. They can even have better and healthy lifestyles as compared to cancer-free people.

Exploring the Local Spotlights

I really love travelling. I like seeing new places and eating new cuisines but I can never call myself as someone who is equipped with the right skills to travel. I still need my GPS to get around Edmonton and I've been here for 2 years now. I still don't know what the local stores are, the good places to eat at, or simply where to go to have fun.

It's just a great thing that I've recently found this neat little website called qype.co.uk. It's a great website to check out if you want to know where the local people go for fun. Sure you can always check out other reviews from travel magazines and such but nothing beats having to know the facts straight from the people who weren't paid or bribed by establishments to write good reviews.

For example, if you want to eat at an authentic English Restaurants , don't go to the highly commercialized restaurants because they charge you a fortune and the atmosphere and the food won't be the same. If you want to experience London as how it is seen by it's local people then you should just enter the keywords Restaurants London and read about the personal reviews of people who frequent those restaurants. Those reviews weren't sponsored or paid in any way so you'll be getting unbiased and honest reviews.

And here's a bit of a trivia for you guys. Pubs in London isn't just a place to get beer. Pubs, or Public House, is actually a place to eat and also a place to socialize with the community so if you want to know the local people and get to know more about their culture then searching for Pubs London to find the pubs which has a great historical importance and which is a center of the community.

I Don't Care! I Just Work Here.

One thing that I hate about being a sales person is having to deal with the B.S. of customers. I was trying to help this couple because they were looking for a desktop with an i7 processor that was made by HP. I looked up our inventory and told them that we don't have it yet because it's not yet released in the market because the computer model was very new.

Then they started complaining that we were a big store and that we should have it if our website says we have it (our website did also say that it was going to be released at a particular date by the way) and how come we are more expensive than this other wholesale store bla bla bla. I just hate it when people like this keeps telling me how my store should operate and how we should price our merchandise.

I know that I shouldn't take it personally but I really hate it when someone slanders a company that I'm affiliated with. I really wanted to tell them that if they really wanted to shop at a competitor's store then by all means go for it. I don't work on commission so basically whether they buy anything from me or not, doesn't really make a huge difference.

Stupid people fail to realize that I work for a huge enterprise and that I can't just sell things that we just don't have and sell the items at a lower price just because they asked me too.

Gosh this is why I hate working at a store that entails customer service. I can be very helpful and accommodating but I'm not someone who can take someone else's B.S. just like that because my God I won't back down.

I really need to find another job before I strangle people to death.

Time Management

Ah! Alas! I wish I was an expert on this but I'm not. Even when I wasn't going to school yet I never had good time management skills. In fact I often tend to procrastinate and just do what I can when I feel like doing it or if there is still time to do it.

Now that I went back to school and now that I am getting buried with tons of school work I have no choice but to pick up the slack and really start working hard. I even had to cut down my hours of work so that I can focus more on my studies... I wish I can quit work altogether but I have to pay for my car so it sucks.

Anyway I was supposed to allocate this time to studying and doing my online quiz but I guess it got replaced by Facebook, checking e-mails, and of course blogging. I realized that although school and work should be my priority but I should also allocate time to my blogging because my blog did help me get through my dry spells and basically depression phase.

Time Management is actually a great skill! Something that not everyone has. I did do some reading and there are three essential components of time management:

1. Remembering

2. Prioritizing

3. Motivation

It's easy to forget things that we need to do so it's always important to keep an agenda. I always have my student agenda with me and I always set long term and short term goals.

There are times when even if we remember all the things that we need to do, we still can't do it because we don't know which one to do first. This is when we should place certain things in priority. There are times when we simply can't do everything that we need to do, this is when we have to weight which of the tasks that we need to do is really important.

So we remembered what we need to do and we already prioritized tasks but we simply aren't in the mood. DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!! Do everything now so you don't have to worry about anything else tomorrow. I am guilty of this vile deed. I always put things off until it's simply too late. What's the moral lesson? Even when you're not in the mood just do it. You'll end up finishing what you started.

Maybe this could be my New Year's Resolution! Manage my time wisely!

On Group Works

One thing that I hate (well more of dislike) about my current nursing classes is the great amount of time which is dedicated to group work. When in class, we have to form groups to discuss things, and when we're not in class we have to do group work.

I don't have anything against group work but I just dislike it because I'm a loner. I love to get things done at my time, on my terms, and in my way. I also dislike it when I feel alienated because people already had formed their own groups and there is nowhere for me to go.

There are pros and cons to group work. Lets start with the cons:

1. Group work alienates some people. People who knows each other flock together or people who have more to contribute to the group are basically chosen or wanted in a group.

2. Not everyone in the group contributes to the group work. What's worst is that they become more of a liability than an asset.

3. More people means more conflicting ideas or it may also mean, the more people, the less people there are who really does the work.

But there are also pros, which I will admit:

1. Forming groups will give you opportunity to get to know your classmates and thus help establish friendships and will make everything less awkward.

2. When everyone in the group actually contribute to the group project, all the inputs would sprout into a creative mass which would gain great marks and praise from the instructor.

3. There are times when having more people to solve a problem or do something is way easier than doing it alone. With more people you are able to divide and distribute the work so in turn the work load is manageable and less time is used to finish the project.

Well I did end up finding group mates who I like so let's take it from there.

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Photo credits goes to www.learnercentereded.org

I'm A Student Nurse Once Again!

Wow! It's already 2010 and A LOT has already happened! This is already old news but I'm officially a nursing student once again! Finally my life is back on track! I'm not a loser anymore and all of my self-esteem and self-worth has finally come back.

2010 has been a very great year so far and all the luck and blessings have suddenly flowed in. So let me begin by thanking the Lord for these blessings that I have recieved:

1. First of all I'm so ecstatic that I've finally been accepted and is currently studying BS Nursing at Grant MacEwan University. After one year of turmoil and self-loath, my time to shine has come!

2. We're finally moving in our new home! Yipee! No more living in a cramped condo! Now we have the basement, main floor, and second floor to move around in.

3. I've finally bought my own car! It sucks to have to work to pay for it but it's life. You have to work to have money.

4. I'm thankful for my job at Best Buy and for my co-workers who makes my life so easy. Working at Best Buy is perhaps the greatest choice that I have made.

I'd actually love to expound more on these stuff but now that I'm already a student nurse, I tend to be so caught up in both school and work that I seldom find the time to update my blog anymore but again, now that I'm more exposed to the real world, I now have the opportunity to share more interesting bits of tidbits and information.

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Photo credits goes to topanmoon