Big Bang for the New Year

We welcomed the new year with a big bang!!After all the things that we've been through, the curtain finally closed for 2009. And for my very first blog post for 2010, I will simply show some of the pictures I took during the new year's celebration last night. Perhaps that would be a better idea than sharing my new year's resolutions. Honestly, I hate creating resolutions every new year because more often than not, I end up being frustrated for not fulfilling a single resolution on my list. But I prefer making daily resolutions as I believe that its my own resposibility to improve myself on a daily basis. I really don't have to wait for a year to make some personal changes; That's completely absurd. So I will keep my vision forward and hope that this coming year will provide many opportunities of growth for every aspects of my life. Again, have a prosperous new year everyone!


Here we have another new beginning,
Another chance to be what we are not.
Praised be those who recognize the rot,
Portion out the guilt, and go on living.
Years change far more frequently than we,
Nor are our changes more than painted screens,
Each placed to maximize our meager means,
Windows on a world that none can see.
Yet, truth be told, we know well what's within.
Each resolution fails to touch the heart,
As in the end we are, as at the start,
Remorseful reprobates, half hope, half sin.

The Big "C": A Year Ender

I started the year '09 and will hopefully embrace the new year with the big "C" almost filling up every nooks and crannies of my own personal life. To begin with, there's nothing unusual with that as the big "C" or CHANGE, as we all know, has been a constant companion of human existence. However, this year that is about to conclude has brought me a different perspective of change, so to speak. I experienced first hand a lot of changes in my life that have helped me change my old, immature ways. Although most of them are excruciating emotionally, I'm glad to admit that they have helped me mold my personality and become a better person. That was March 2009 when my family left the apartment where I have spent almost ten years of my life. The owner was planning to change the house into a store and they thought it would be better if they will just kick us out as we don't pay the monthly rental fee regularly. From there we spent one month at my uncle's place until we finally had our new house. I was forced to stop my studies to finance the construction, which turned out to be a good decision by the way. I applied and eventually was accepted to work as a technical support representative in a Makati call center. It was my personal decision to grab that opportunity and it went smoothly, with myself learning a lot of essential values from that job, until my termination last November. Even though I encountered another setback, I'm happy because I get to spend my holidays with my family and have all the time I needed now to review for the upcoming NMAT in April, which is the first step in my dream of becoming a doctor. Certainly, I have learned how to get the best out of a life that has been on a roller-coaster ride. In addition to that, I feel more confident and equipped now to face the multitude of changes that the coming year might offer. Because of the setbacks I have encountered, I'm now more ready than ever before to embrace the pains and glories of the inevitable big "C". This coming new year, CHANGE is everything.......


A flashback......

One of my last pictures back at school:


Change is the rolling stone…
Continuous and driven by cause,
Desiring a change is not enough…
Molding oneself with the change is the game.


With my call center buddies:


Change your dressing style, change your ways…
Cut your hairs or change your name,
Get a makeover or change with trends…
The soul remains the same.


In front of our new desktop and inside of our new house (the calm after the storm):


We cry with change, we grow with change…
Longing for change still unprepared for change,
Sometimes surprised sometimes disheartened …
We move on with the change.

Hoping for a blessed life for the new year ahead. Happy new year everyone!!


Life has a call to make to the phenomenal change…
A change to meet the azure high,
Smile back to the setbacks and walk on the miles ahead…
Standing falling all these way I am a better me each day.

Tragedies of a Pinoy Nurse

I'm still ambivalent on the thought of going back to nursing school to finish my degree. I can't help but feel disappointed to the fate that most of Filipino nursing graduates have to suffer. Last November, another batch of nursing graduates took the NLE and according to Lito Soriano, executive director of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters and former president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI), those who pass will most likely join the 200,000 nursing graduates who are either unemployed, working as volunteer nurses, or call center agents. I got this information from NurseLab, which is a nursing-friendly website by the way. I have been acquainted to certain factors that have been contributing to this nursing phenomenon. It includes policy changes in countries hiring Filipino nurses, oversupply of nurses and the deteriorating quality of nursing graduates. I'm quite certain that I'm not included to those who are affected by the last one because I'm confident that my school is consistently providing quality nursing education. However, the first two factors are things out of our control. As starting nurses, we all aim for greener pasture not only for ourselves but for our families as well. But during these trying times where opportunities are becoming limited as time goes by, we have no choice but to search for alternatives to survive. At this point in time, I'm afraid to admit that if I will go back to school and still pursue Nursing, I will be like a vagabond wandering in the middle of nowhere. Before, my only dream was to finish this course and top the board exam. But accomplishing that kind of feat now will not guarantee anyone of a decent job in the hospital. I know a lot of topnochers who are still jobless like everyone else. I remember one of my co-workers in the call center who asked what course I am taking in college and then suddenly made a wild but accurate guess: Nursing. It was embarrassing for someone like me who took the course mainly because of my passion and not for the "dollars" principle that the rest is aiming for. Nurses are being typecasted as 'unemployed individuals who have ravenous appetite for dollars' That's the sad part of becoming a Pinoy nurse. Even though the government is continuously strengthening local programs, including the NARS (Nurses Assigned in Rural Service) program that allow new nurses to be trained in rural centers and hospitals for six months and serve the poorest municipalities, they are still futile in providing regular jobs for thousands of unemployed nurses. I reall feel sorry especially for all the parents who have spent thousands of pesos just to provide quality nursing education for their sons and daughters. Nonetheless, I'm still hoping that the government will find other ways to alleviate the drastic effects of this issue to the economy and to the self-esteem of Filipino nursing graduates. For now, I will weigh the pros and cons of all the options and praying to God that I will take the reasonable one eventually.