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.

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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.

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