Traveling Nurse: A Goal for the Future

I have been thinking about my future and my career and I have already decided that there is no turning back for me and no more seconds thoughts because I am going to be a nurse for sure. But as I have been exposed to the clinical area as a student nurse I have realized that there are different areas in nursing and there are several career paths that I could take as a nurse.

I could be a clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, nurse administrator, or even a military nurse. But the nursing career option that is very enticing right now is to be a traveling nurse! Yup there are so many travel nursing jobs out there since there is really is a high demand for nurses.

Being a traveling nurse is great because not only do you get excellent pay and invaluable work experience in notable institutions, you get to travel all around the world too! Imagine, you can work in New York for example, and when winter comes and it becomes chilly you can travel and work in Hawaii!

I have to admit that I love traveling and being able to see all the sights and sounds of different cities and communities is better than having to live a life that is monotonous and just filled with daily routines.

I know that it's too early to really decide what I want to do in the future but becoming a traveling nurse is one of my top three career choices!

How To Lose A Friend in One Second

I have to be honest and admit that I have a very nasty temper. I rarely get mad but when I do I really lose my composure and calm. I'm like a bullet fired from a gun and nothing can stop me until I hit someone in the heart head on. But it's not unusual for me to blow up like that because I tend to keep all the frustrations, anger, and tension with in me so when I get the chance to rant and rave I will not stop until the scene is bloody red.

Fine I have an anger management issue but my co-worker can testify that I had a reason to be angry. Imagine, I was left all alone to take orders from so many people and then I make one tiny mistake of applying a discount to an order and then here comes my other co-worker telling me that I made a mistake yada yada in front of the customer who I served in a very scandalous manner. So if she wants a show in front of everyone then I'll give her one. I took her head on with her complaints and told her to just give that customer his order and I'll pay for the discount that I've applied and then she asks me why I'm mad?! Geez... seriously!

Well I could have just shut up and let the issue blow away like always but it's just that I was tired, grouchy, and I was sort of angry with them for leaving me in front while they just stayed at the back talking and all. I was angry because my job would be easier if they did their jobs too! Although she was assigned to do the dishes that day, there was absolutely no reason for her to just stay at the back when she's already done with her dishes. I was angry because she just ignores the fact that there is a big line up and she just passes by the customers and leave me to deal with them alone.

I was told by a co-worker that she only said those things she said because she cared about me adn she didn't want me to do that mistake again so that my manager and other supervisor won't be angry with me but the thing is she already played their part by shouting at me, "Why did you do this and bla bla bla!" She's always like that, blaming everyone except herself because she's always right and all perfect.

But guess what? Even though I feel bad for what happened and even if I did consider her as a friend, I am not hesitant to lose her as a friend because enough is enough. Friends don't leave their friends alone stressing out in a long line up and then just tell you "Why didn't you call us when it's busy?" Why? I'll tell you why. If you weren't staying at the back chatting and all I wouldn't have to call you right?

Geez... some people... SERIOUSLY!!!

My Future Is Brighter!!!

I am so happy today! I was thinking that my school documents were still flying around the world in some plane but when I tracked it down with the FedEx website I was thrilled to discover that the University of Alberta has finally received my papers and now I have a brighter future!

I'm very happy because I feel that finally everything is coming together great and if this keeps up I can finally be at ease and give out a sigh of relief. But I know that the challenge does not end here and having to re-study everything that I already learned and take the tests which were so hard to pass all over again is a huge challenge.

But I am prepared to take those challenges head on because I really want to finish my university and I want to finish my BS Nursing because this is who I know I can be and who I want to be someday.

Christmas Party

I am quite excited for this year's Christmas Party. Well I am excited for Christmas each and every year but this Christmas is very different from other past Christmas celebrations because this is our first Christmas here in Canada. In my 20 years of existence it is only now that we will finally have our very own white Christmas.

But what better ways to celebrate Christmas but with other people right? All Kagay-anons or Filipinos from Cagayan de Oro are going to have a get together and enjoy Christmas with each other's presence. Being with other Filipinos makes the Christmas less lonesome especially for those who miss their families and friends back in the Philippines.

I'm not in charge with the planning and logistics of the party but I do have great ideas for a Christmas party! Well the ideas are not originally mine. If you really want great ideas and if you're looking for inspiration then you might want to visit celebrations.com.

It is there that I found out about different Christmas party games, decorations, and food like Christmas candy recipes! What would Christmas be with out good old candy right?

I'm sure that even if I'm not into parties that much, sharing this info would be a great contribution to a successful and fun Christmas party!

Hold On

It's now 1:40 pm and there's a snow shower right now. I have to get to work soon but I've decided to do some quick blogging. Gosh the wind is so strong, I better put on more clothing on as well as something to place on my head because I just had a nasty "brain freeze" yesterday.

I'm amazed that I'm able to hold on until this day. My deadline for my university documents was yesterday but it will be sent from the Philippines today (hopefully). I just wish I get into university pretty soon.

Oh yeah I was fired from Quizno's because they've finally found a full time employee. I'm quite glad with their decision because I don't think my sanity and body can keep up with the added pressure. I just am a bit sad that my earnings would drop. I get a $400 paycheck with them for my part-time there and it's still a loss for me.

Anyway just want to share David Archuleta's video of Hold On. This is my most favorite track from his album. Most favorite because I love every song in his album and this one just happens to stand out. I love the way he sings and how he brings life into the song with out any of those voice manipulation and sound effects.

With out further delay here is David Archuleta singing Hold On:

What A Day

Woah this day has been pretty exciting and I'm just glad that it's over. Well I woke up today at 10 om because I slept late last night (nothing exciting... yet...). So my parents wanted to go to South Common to go shopping since we already have a car we can just drive around to the far flung stores which we would never go to because they are inaccessible for people (like us before) who didn't have a car before.

Shopping was fun and all and I was somehow forced to buy another iPod Touch, this time a 16 GB one, beause my brother wanted one too and because I'm a great brother I gave him mine... well actually I sold my iPod to him since he liked it so much for $100. I was able to buy a game for the PS3, actually my brother was the one to buy it, and so I was quite happy with my day. The best part of my day today was when we dropped off at 7-Eleven since my mom wanted to buy bus tickets (yes, my parents won't use the car that much to save gas, weird huh?) so I was able to buy my mood uplifter, chocolates!

But my mood wasn't uplifted at all when my dad almost wrecked our brand new car. He's so proud that he's an experienced driver but he keeps forgetting one basic rule, always check your mirrors for any cars behind you and beside you. Plus don't occupy the middle of the road, stay at the left side if you want to continue forward and the left if you have plans of turning left. He disregarded this basic rules and so he wrecked a lady's bumper! Good thing our car just had a single small unnoticeable scratch which could easily be waxed off or something.

But we have to pay the lady $800 to $1000 to replace her bumper. We decided to have a private settlement rather than having our insurance company involved because if we did then we should expect our premiums to go way up. Geez! My dad is so stupid sometimes. How could he not see that car behind him when our car had a rear view camera?! And he's so good at passing the blame at us saying why we didn't tell him there was a car or why didn't we check. Uhm you're the driver not us so what would happen if you're driving on your own? My mom didn't allow him to bring the car tomorrow because if he had an accident after just a few days we brought the car home (an accident which was purely his fault) then there's a greater possibility that he'd have abother accident (this time a major one).

Imagine, he occupied the middle of the two-way road so when this car was going towards us there was no space anymore so my dad placed the car on reverse and drove back without checking the car behind him. And just a few minutes before that we almost had a collision with anbother car because he made a lane switch without even checking if there was a car behind and he forgot to use the signal light.

I may not have enough experience in driving but I could say that my dad could be a candidate for Canada's Worst Driver: He forgets to put his seat belt on, he has no sense of direction, he forgets to lock the car, he doesn't know how to follow some traffic signs, he doesn't even know how to use our car's features!

Thank god we have a big SUV because if we ever had an accident because of my dad's negligence then I'd know that we'd be safe but our car would be a wreck.

Our First Car: A 2009 Nissan Pathfinder SE

Today is a very special day for us, me and my family. Who would have guessed that it is only in Canada that we could get our first brand new car. Well we did have a car back in the Philippines, but we only had a Toyota Jeepey that was so old and worn-out that we don't even use it.

I used to be ashamed to be seen in our old jeepey but now I can be confident that other people won't look down at us. Many people have said that we won't be able to get this car because we don't have a credit history and we should go for a cheaper car or a used car instead but I guess that they will be blown away when they see us in our brand new 2009 Nissan Pathfinder. We may not have a credit history because we are still new here but we do have money from the Philippines that we brought here. All those years of having to ride the jeepney and having to live in a very small house in a small neighborhood in the Philippines finally paid off because we saved enough money to afford the lifestyle here. But even if we didn't have that much money a great lifestyle here is easily attained.

It's sad but here in Canada (as well back home in the Philippines), "If you don't have a car then you're nothing," as said by the Millwoods Welcome Center person and yes I have to agree with him because a car is not only a status symbol it is a NEED. Why? Well it snows here in Canada and waiting for the bus stop in the freezing cold is nothing to be happy about. Plus the places here are so far apart because the city here is very big.

Anyway we took our new baby home to our apartment and let me say that driving it home was a bit stressful. Since we're still new in Canada we really didn't know the way home other than the bus route so we had to ask the sales person to print some directions from Google Map so that we can get home.

My dad had some trouble getting used to the traffic signs here because the traffic rules and signs here in Canada are different from the Philippines. Plus the road names in Canada are a bit confusing. For example, there's a 50 street Northwest Bound, 50 street Southwest Bound, 50 street Westbound, and so on and the streets and avenue here are somehow confusing.

Well we did manage to bring home our SUV and park it in our apartment's underground parking safe and sound so it was really a night for celebration. Our family friends came at our house (the ones who adopted us in their home for one month before we moved in to our own place) so we went on a joyride, our SUV is a 7-seater so we had room for everyone. We went downtown to watch the Christmas lights and grabbed some pizza on our way home.

Today was really an amazing day. I can't wait for next year when I'll get to get my very own GDL Class 5 Driver's License (I only have a learner's Class 7 license)! I can take our car whenever I have a duty in the hospital or to get to school or I could buy my own car, yes by the time I get my license I could afford to buy my own car with my earnings and with my mom's help of course.

I'm glad that our lives here is getting better. Now we only have to wait a year or more then we could finally buy our own house. And perhaps I could finally go to school... my life is not over yet as I have thought. There are still great possibilities and getting a brand new car when everyone else said we couldn't proved to be a great motivation.

Missing The Philippines

I can't help but miss my old life in the Philippines. As an old saying goes, you'd never know what you have unless you lost it. Now that I live in Canada this saying is pretty much applicable to me.

There are times that I can't help but think that moving to Canada was a HUGE mistake. It feels like my life was a train going smoothly through a carefully laid track to success and happiness but all of the sudden, immigrating to Canada derailed my life and now it's a total mess and disaster... I don't know if I'd ever get my life back on track.

I never knew how happy I was being with my friends... they made me very happy and they made me feel that I was actually alive. They've played a role in helping me survive each and every single day. Studying was not easy but I just realized that I lived such a luxurious life. Back in the Philippines, I never worked a sweat and I was given money to spend. and now, I have to work to get what I want and to save up for my future. I was studying in one of the top universities in the Philippines and now I have a slim chance of getting into a good college next year (I can get into a University but I don't want to wait longer). I never did try my best in getting good grades and getting through every single day but now I have to give it my all just to prevent myself from going insane.

Back in the Philippines I had a life, but now I have nothing... well I do have my family but I feel that there is something missing in me...

I used to be happy and glad to be here leaving poverty and hardship behind but now I want to go back and be a middle class again because here we're just a low-earning family. We're not considered poor but we don't have a car and house that we can call our own yet so life can be pretty difficult.

But as usual... I am a Filipino, and I am a survivor...

Speech Recognition Is Cool

I can't believe that I had a speech recognition software in my computer. I was just looking around in my computer for a way to activate my microphone and I found out that Windows Vista actually had a voice recognition program, how cool is that?! This neat little software can transform my words into text and can understand my commands and going through Windows without the help of a mouse and keyboard was easy.

So now, all I have to do is sit back and relax and just tell the computer what to do. You may call me lazy and all but this is actually productive because I save time and effort. I can actually type more words by just saying them then actually typing them.

I actually typed this entry by just speaking. Well to be honest, typing this entry using speech recognition actually took more time because the computer needed to recognize my voice and is still learning my voice.

Well, the technology is still new so there's still more areas for improvement . I can't wait until we can speak to our computers normally like we are talking to another human being.

Notice

To Whom It May Concern:

The owner of this blog is having a temporary brain shut down. All topics, subject matter or whatever is related to life, love, money, school, work, family, etc is currently put on hold and will not be discussed until further notice.

We apologize for the inconvenience but this must be done to maintain the sanity of this blog owner.

Thank you.

From Fingers to Meteors

Ooh what a day today was. First I go out of the house with an ear-chilling -11 degrees Celsius wind and then go to work at my first job. I'm a bit down and frustrated at first because they haven't given me my paycheck for this week (hope they will give it tomorrow). My second job is better because they pay me promptly on the same day every two weeks. My only complain is that their pay is not proportional to all the hard work I'm doing for them.

Anyway, I'm hoping that tomorrow would be a better day. By better I mean getting my paycheck already so that I can deposit my checks by Saturday morning.

Today was a bad day because I cut my left thumb while I was mindlessly cutting bread. Doing repetitive stuff like pouring coffee and asking the same old questions every day like "Do you want this on white or brown bread?" makes one's sanity go *poof!*. It doesn't hurt that much but I hope it doesn't get infected because I can't afford to get sick.

So what new is happening here in Edmonton and in my life? In my life, everything is ok... boring but ok... well not really that ok. It so happened that my University from the Philippines will be late in sending my documents to my future University here in Canada. I had a gut feeling that this will happen even though I sent my request letter for my transcripts and course description way back last September. What can you expect from a school who is more money oriented than the welfare (not to mention the future) of it's students.

Anyway, one thing cool did happen today and it was the meteor shower here in Edmonton. I heard about it because a customer shared about it and here is a video about it:

http://canwest.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/canwest-globaledmonton-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=globaledmontonhomepage&maven_referralObject=3211525

Hope more interesting happens tomorrow, most especially the getting paid part bwahahaha!

Payday! My Favorite Day!

Yeay! Today was payday at one of my 2 jobs. It's actually not that big but at least I have money right? I can't wait for my payday at my other job, maybe this friday. But I guess I won't be saving much this week because I have to pay my credit card bill. I know, I know... I said that i would stop spending and start saving. But what can I do? David Archuleta made me buy an Ipod Touch.
Well he didn't told me to buy an Ipod, it's just that I can't play his album that I bought from iTunes on my Walkman Phone so I decided to buy an iPod. I wasn't going to buy an iPod Touch but if I was going to buy one, I might as well buy a good one right? I really love my iPod but I'm thinking of buying another one that's 32 GB because the one I have right now is 8 GB only. But I really don't need that much space and I really need to save up for my school next year.

Speaking of school, my friend from the Philippines who I have asked to follow-up on my school documents have e-mailed me saying that we are close to our goal. There might be delays but the guy that I've talked with from the International Office of the Registrar at my future University (hopefully) said that being late for a week is ok since I've applied for the Fall term 2009 which of course is still a year way.

So this is all of my "new stuff" that's happening to me right now. So later days!

Being Beautiful

It wasn't busy at work today so my co-workers and I had time to talk to save ourselves from dying out of boredom.

One of my co-worker was complaining how her skin is so dry and that she looks older as the days passes by because of stress. This started the never dying discussion of beauty products. We then shared our experience with certain beauty products and how they improved our skin and all. One of my co-workers recommended Meaningful Beauty as a great age-defying cream. It felt like we were in a talk show or something.

But it is true that one must rely on the experiences and reviews of others with beauty products. Reviews are needed because with the numerous products out there in the market it would be impossible to start trying each and every product out there. It would be like starting your own research which will require time, money, and effort.

Fortunately enough for us people who consider our appearance as important, there are websites such as beautifulreview.com that serves as our map in finding that miracle product that will turn our imperfect skin days into I-love-my-skin days. I'm going to share this website to my co-workers tomorrow and I know that they'll surely thank me for it.

An Update...

I kind of imitated someone's blog title right now but that doesn't matter right now. Well today I've been a very bad boy. I kind of woke up late so I called my manager that I needed to go to University today to beg and plead that my deadline for my documents and papers, which still needs to be sent from the Philippines, be extended.

Well what I said was actually true, the bad thing is that I didn't go to University today but I just called up the Office of the Registrar. So I could have went to my job but I felt lazy and I wanted to stay home and clean the house. The good part of this all is that the guy that talked to me on the phone said that it would be okay for me to send my documents a week later after the deadline since I'm applying for Fall Term 2009 anyway which is still very very far away.

So I was bumming around the house until 3:00 pm. I decided to walk down to the bank to deposit my check (yes Quizno's did pay me, my manager said he forgot to give me my check, yeah right).

I arrived home started cleaning and everything was going on. I decided to take a picture of my house when it's still clean and nice looking but I wasn't finished because my stupid brother and his friends came. Like it would be okay if we had a huge house so that he and his friends could just stay at one room or something but we only have a small apartment. So our (more of a "my") privacy is compromised. I was going to arrange and organize the kitchen stuff but I didn't want to be seen cleaning by strangers. Sometimes my stupid brother don't know how to think adn is selfish enough not to care that we need our privacy too. It's not like he calls up and tells us his bringing friends so that we could tidy up the place right but hell, he's my parent's problem not mine.

Anyway that pretty sums up my day. I just realized that I should have went to work in the morning since I totally wasted that time typically doing nothing. So ta ta, later days!

Listening to David Archuleta Right Now!

I just downloaded the whole album of David Archuleta's new debut album (legally from iTunes Store of course!) and all I can say is that I'm loving his songs right now. every track has this catchy beat that is great for chilling out and relaxing!

And I blame David Archuleta for buying myself an iPod touch online. I just realized that my phone can't play songs downloaded from iTunes store since they are protected or something... tsk tsk... But I guess buying an iPod is a good idea. Almost everyone here in Canada has one plus it can double as my organizer and portable gaming console. iPods are really amazing devices!

I just bought myself an 8Gb Ipod Touch since I really can't use up all that space and I'm pretty sure that there will be new iPod models in the not so far future so I don't want to buy an iPod that has too much memory than what I really need.

I just wish thay Quizno's give me my paycheck this week so that I can have oney ready in my bank when I need to pay my credit card but I'm sure that my paycheck from Tim Hortons will cover my credit card bill. I swear if Quizno's don't pay me this week I will quit. I don't work for free.

David Archuleta's New Album

Some of you might know by now that I am a huge fan of David Archuleta. That is why I will support David Archuleta by pre-ordering his debut album at iTunes!

I'm not usually the type of person who buys albums or songs (because you can just download them for free! *evil grin*) but because I am a fan and I want to hear more of little Archie's songs in the future so I bought his album which will release this November 11! I can't wait to download his songs on iTunes!

Anyway I have been using iTunes to download songs because I find it more convenient than going to the music store to buy albums. On iTunes I can preview the song and check it's rating and popularity before I buy a song. I love how I can pick the songs I like rather than buying the whole album.

Since I'm loving iTunes it kind of made me think that I should also buy myself an iPod Touch but then I'm thinking that it would be a waste of money since I don't listen to music that much these days since I'm working and that I already have my 8gb W960i Sony Ericsson phone to serve as my mp3 player...

I really hate it when I have a credit card. It doesn't compliment my being a compulsive buyer. There was this time when I was in a store with my credit card and then I had the urge to buy a Wii gaming console. Good thing I thought it out and I was able to prioritize my needs and instead of spending money I was able to save money.

Anyway, I am sure that pre-orderinbg David Archuleta's album is money well spent!

Gift Ideas

I was on break at the staff room and I was thinking of an excellent gift to a very dear co-worker, who has just recently had her early retirement, when a fellow co-worker came bringing with him his snack.

I couldn't help but notice the tempting bowl of pistachios he was carrying. I was helping myself with some pistachios which my co-worker generously offered to me when a great idea struck me. Why don't I give my co-worker nut gifts?! I know that she'd love an assortment of her favorite nuts since she also shares my love for nuts.

I know that nuts would be a great gift for her because aside from her love of nuts, it's also a great source of protein for her since she is vegetarian. I just know that she'd love the gift package that I am going to give her. Not only will she be able to eat what she loves, she'd also be able to eat healthy because nuts would be a healthy snack plus it's very low in calories. I think that I'll also get myself a few bags so that I can enjoy those awesome pistachio nuts anytime I want.

My Halloween Day

Ok today was Halloween and it was ok I guess. I was tired from work but I was glad that my co-worker gave me a lift home so I wasn't drenched from the rain. I was on my way to our apartment when guess what? The elevators were busted so I had to walk to the end of the building to take the stairs. Good thing that we're just at the second floor.

Anyway when I entered our apartment I saw my whole family in the living room, which by the way is very rare because when I come home at 11 pm from work they are usually asleep. We were just watching TV when my mom asked if my brother's Playstation can play here VCD then I told her that we should just use the DVD player instead, yup they all forgot that we had a DVD player, geez...

Anyway you thought that Halloween's Day would be scary movies night or something but instead of watching the standard Halloween flick, we decided to watch my mom's VCD that she had received from the Philippines entitled: A Very Special Love.

I actually am not a fan of Filipino movies (especially lovey-dovey movies) but I really liked this one for some weird reasons that I can't really understand. Well the plot was generic if you asked me, poor girl makes a rich self-centered guy a softee and falls in love with her, they fight and then he wins her back. But I did enjoy watching the movie. It was really funny and uhm... romantic? Anyway it's good, well worth the freight and all. It's been a while since I've watched Filipino shows since we don't have The Filipino Channel. All shows I see are either Canadian or American.

Anyway I'm getting dizzy and sleepy right now because it's already 2 am so off to bed for me.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Longing For God

I have to admit that I am a Christian... a Catholic to be exact but I am recently not practicing my religion. I haven't been going to mass and I haven't been praying to God. But as they say, a lost sheep always finds his way home and that is with God.

Out of the blue I felt longing for God and I felt that I was spiritually empty. But with some good Jesuit songs I was revived and I have once again been reminded that no matter how life is bad and too hard to bare, everything will be alright and with God you can live life to the fullest.

Let me share one Jesuit song that is memorable to me (my high school graduation mass song) and I can totally relate with: The Pilgrim's Theme. I can relate to this song because I am a pilgrim to my new home, Canada.

Tired of weaving dreams too loose for me to wear
Tired of watching clouds repeat their dance on air
Tired of getting tied to doing what's required
Is life a mere routine in the greater scheme of things?

Through with taking roads someone else designed
Through with chasing stars that soon forget to shine
Through with going through one more day - what's new?
Does my life still mean a thing in the greater scheme of things?

REFRAIN 1:
I think I'll follow the voice that calls within
Dance to the silent song it sings
I hope to find my place
So my life can fall in place
I know in time I'll find my place
In the greater scheme of things

Each must go his way, but how can I decide?
Which path I should take, who will be my guide?
I need some kind of star to lead me somewhere far
To find a higher dream in the greater scheme of things

The road before me bends, I don't know what I'll find
Will I meet a friend or ghosts I left behind?
Should I even be surprised that You're with me in disguise?
For it's Your hand I have seen in the greater scheme of things (REFRAIN 1)

BRIDGE:
For Yours is the voice in my deepest dreams
You are the heart, the very heart
Of the greater scheme of things (REFRAIN 1)

REFRAIN 2:
Why don't we follow the voice that calls within
Dance to the silent song it sings
One day we'll find our place
For all things fall in place
For all things have a place
In the greater scheme of things

On the Love of Watches

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved watches. Ever since I was a toddler, I already had a watch on my wrist. I remember having a digital watch first so that I could easily read the time. And as I grew older my mom gave me a watch as a gift on very significant occasions that is why I love my watches because they hold so many memories and sentimental value.

I would never feel complete if I left my watch at home and it worries me if my watch is not on my wrist. One of my favorite watches is my men's Omega watch. Many of my co-workers praise me for having such a beautiful watch and this somehow boosts my confidence. It's great that I have a functional piece of jewelry that gives a first impression that I am someone of good taste and class and it's also an essential part of my life because without it I would always be late.

You may call me a watch collector or fanatic, but I am really not an expert on watches. But for sure, I do know where to get fine watches at very low prices and this is CertifiedWatchStore.com. They have a huge selection of watches from all the top brands in watches and I can't wait to buy myself one to add to my collection.