21

 

Keep true to the dream of thy youth. 

– By Friedrich Von Schiller

(21st birthday, 1:20AM,05/22/13)

27/50

27 days to go before school year starts. I decided not to go to work to spend some time for myself. Got to jog around the UST campus and enjoy the sun as it breaks in the blue sky. How I wish I get to spend all mornings like this before June 3. :)

The most important lesson I learned from Maam Famorca

It's surprising how tides can turn in just about any second. One day you feel so proud about a person's feat and mourn for one's death the next. That is exactly what happened to one of our beloved professors in the UST College of Nursing, Asst.Prof. Zenaida Famorca, RN,MPH.

I fondly remember the day when she first spoke about having the big C in class. I was in first year back then, taking up Fundamentals of Nursing. She was our facilitator for that subject and had been on leave for several days already. When she finally returned, that was one of the saddest days we had in class. As a jolly and light natured person, that day was an exemption. Before we ended the class she told us that she had to undergo some diagnostic tests since she felt a lump on her chest while taking a bath. It flowed like a regular class discussion, introducing some basic nursing concepts here and there, while she was narrating her experience. Of course, we were in first year back then so we weren't  able to follow the train of thought that much,not expecting that it was what it was. Then she proceeded in lecturing us about breast self examination.

What passion this teacher has, I said to myself after thinking about that day again when she tried to lecture us about a topic using herself as the example. It's like the book Tuesdays with Morrie on a different scale sans the daily personal visits to their home and the sappy life learning blahs. She continued to break it to us slowly with tears starting to build up in her eyes and those much needed pauses to collect herself again. Wiping her tears after telling us the whole story, she said that she needed to take another leave of absence for her own personal fight with cancer.

A year or so came and we were all jubilant about the news that Maam Famorca was already cured of cancer due to some foreign experimental drug that seemed to be effective. A few weeks after, we saw Maam Famorca teaching again with her new hippie curls (see picture above).

Fast forward to a couple of years, she became one of my reviewers for the local board exams. She was teaching Community Health Nursing (CHN), the admitted waterloo of UST Nursing graduates. Some of our batchmates for some unknown reason didn't attend/arrived late during the review sessions with her. So she spent some few good hours in expressing her frustration with our batch's attitude toward the review. She was so frustrated that not attending seemed like a personal fault to her.

The following day was the other instance that I saw her in tears. Before the review started, she told us how she felt so bad yesterday after the review having wasted some time sermoning those who didn't deserve to hear such a speech intended to those who weren't attending. She told us that she should've appreciated those who came since she was focused too much on those people who weren't there. She kept on saying sorry to those who attended. It was a perspective changing experience. I saw Maam Famorca's clarity of thought and humility in that seemingly commonplace experience. That is probably the most important lesson I learned from Maam Famorca, which is to appreciate whatever God gives to you and mind less those what you do not have.

Roughly after year I took the licensure exam, I heard that her cancer recurred and has metastasized (spread) to other parts of her body. On the 4th of May, she suffered complications and then shortly passed away. Maam Famorca is one of the humblest and most inspiring people I know.  May she rest in peace with our Creator in heaven.

 ****

Maam Famorca authored a community health nursing book entitled Nursing Care of the Community by Mosby Elsevier. As Sir Loa would put it, "This textbook provides a comprehensive set of concepts, cases, trends, and issues in community health nursing, as well as new public health programs. Exclusively distributed by C&E bookshop."

Endangered (48/50)

It is ideally an expectation for someone to exchange their own little comfort for the comfort of others, especially to those differently capable, since time immemorial.   This was hyped up during the Medieval times where the respect got by ladies can be equally juxtaposed to the treatment of kings and masters. As we venture further into the coined era of postmodernism, common acts of chivalry seem to be diminishing.

Everywhere you’ll see ladies left to open doors, the elderly unassisted as they try to board a moving bus, and the differently-abled made to adapt to the lay person’s lifestyle without much consideration.  The point here is not to highlight how these people should get extra attention rather to see what we, the more able people, can do to help them.

Last night, like all other workday nights, I rode a bus from Espana Blvd. to Sct. Albano St. I was running late (Or probably it was just in my mind that I was running late. I'm a huge paranoid over time) that’s why I rode a ordinary bus. Not that there are extra-ordinary buses but you know, ordinary buses are the ones with al fresco ala pollution ventilation system. The ones more often than not boarded by the usual manggagawang Pilipino. These buses are not the most convenient ones to ride, mind you. And I am in no way advertising these. 

So I rode an ordinary bus whose seats are all were occupied. Most of them in the middle aisle were occupied by, ugh, Male Manggagawang Pilipinos (they shall be referred to from this point as MMPs) whose skins are sticky you don’t wanna touch them after you just took a bath. Everything was going smoothly until we passed E. Rodriguez where several passengers were boarding.  Among the band was a female. I was seated at the back, observing the chaos as the new passengers clung to the hand rails and found themselves a spot in the middle aisle. From my seat, I clearly can see the woman, probably in her early 20’s, trying to reach one handrail which with much effort. This is along a scene where the MMPs are seated comfortably near her watching Bente Kwatro Oras on the TV.

I was feeling very uneasy with that kind of set up. It’s actually one of my pet peeves, watching a girl stand in the bus while males are resting their asses comfortably. It was just not right. So I, without much thinking, offered my seat even though I was at the back to the lady standing on the middle aisle. She immediately took the seat in silence (a.k.a without a work of thanks). Now this is where another problem surfaced. As someone who volunteered to give up a seat, I guess I should not expect anything in return for that. A simple “thank you” from her would highly suffice for giving up a comfortable seat and standing for the rest of the trip amid paying the same fare as she was. But no, she took the seat like it was her right to claim such while I was standing at her side. I don’t regret giving up my seat and as much as possible I tried to understand her paradigm. It was no big issue but this made me reflect on the thought that  if chivalry, as they say is dead, is common courtesy going to follow soon?

 

50/50

This day marks the start of my last 50 days of freedom. I'm both excited and nervous about the whole leaving the independent yuppie life and going back to school thing. For one, I actually enjoyed the feeling of freedom in choosing what to do after your shift ends and what to buy with your salary. Then again, in those roughly eight months of working in a BPO industry, I realize that there is more to life than being on the phone. Inside me, there is that growing need for learning and fulfillment. I am not saying that I do not get the slightest sense of fulfillment from working but probably I thirst for a different kind.

I am so looking forward in wearing the white uniform below, reading medical books, and studying in the wee hours of the day to exhaustion. This will all start on the 3rd of June but right now I would like to enjoy my last 50 days of freedom. I'll try my best to keep you updated. :)

Goodbye, Agent rn064p

A couple of nights ago, I went through another milestone in my life - I submitted my first resignation letter. 

As I was heading to the office that night, I felt ambivalent about the whole thing. For sure, I'll miss the people who I worked with in the company and to some extent, the workload as well. I can't believe I won't be troubleshooting anymore with aggravated customers, cursing when there's an outage, EOP-ing when the comm coach is around, and delivering the same spiels ever again. I know this is what I wanted: to leave, look for a job with higher pay and lesser stress. In the first place, I don't plan to stay long in this industry. As soon as the next school year starts, I will be venturing in the faraway land of medical education.

But why this feeling of ambivalence? If I choose to stay, I'll see myself going back to the point where I eat my heart out, asking myself why am I doing this to myself while I have the option to pursue greener pastures. That would've been more pitiful. 

In the  7 Ways of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey emphasized the need for man to be proactive in his life to become more effective. For man to take action and control over his own life, one must be free from external pressures and opinions. This is probably the best time to practice that.

Most likely, this ambivalence might just be brought about by the bouts of uncertainty. Uncertainty over the new workplace, people, and salary. Hopefully, the next company I'll be in would put me in a less stressful account and if possible, gives out a higher basic pay.

____________________________________________________________________________________

To the former company I worked for:

Thank you so much for considering me to work for such a renowned company in the BPO industry. If I had the plan to climb up the ladder in this kind of industry, I would definitely choose to be with your company. I love the culture and the values you uphold and those you have instilled in me. As I've said in my resignation letter, I would continue to speak highly of your company even to the day I become a doctor/nurse.

To TL Marleen:

Even though the team was in a rocky start when I first entered, I never would've imagined my stay in the company without you as my TL. Thank you so much for the coaching and the best practices you shared with me every time I plead you tell me to press Aux 6. I'll definitely miss you, the team. and the team chat room. I would also like to thank you for the validation you gave me when I enter those moments of self doubt. And thank you as well for making things lighter by your hilarious outbursts even though it is highly distracting when you're in a call. But still, I love you TL! Good luck sa future stats and sana maibalik ulit ang team sa No1 spot :)

To Bogs, Maui and the FA Team:

Basically, I want to thank you for the VGHs. I know it's also your job to manage the queue and send people home as needed. But still, you can't imagine how VGH has made the account more tolerable. :)

What's in My Bag?

You usually see this kind of post in fashion blogs. For the longest time, I’ve been thinking of a logical reason on why people would post what they have in their bags. I resigned to the idea that it might be either just a trend or a way for them to boast whatever they have. But then again, it also seems to be a nice way of letting people more about you. So I will try to join the bandwagon this time. Let’s see whats in my bag! (like you would care)

The first part is for my grooming kit since it actually occupies most of the space in my bag. I put everything in a clutch bag from Penshoppe (1) which someone gave me a couple of years back. For my hair I use the Gatsby Harajuku style wax (2) since it holds up my hair firmly and it’s easier to wash off since it’s cream based compared to the other brand I was using before which is literally wax based.  For that quick fix to a fresh breath, I use Oracare mouthrinse (3) since it does not sting at all when you use it. Then I have the usual Colgate toothbrush, toothpaste, and shaver, which I do believe are must haves.

For the Carmex lip balm (5),  which was given to me by a friend, aside from its moisturizing properties it also has an external analgesic effect.  I don’t know how you’ll  able to utilize its pain killing effect but it tastes good and feels good that’s why I use it. Since I have poor eyesight, I use contact lenses (6) and glasses alternately (14). For the feel good vibes to come on, I use Clinique Happy for men on a regular day and Bvlgari Aquamarine on special occasions. I just love the happy feeling that Clinique Happy gives (forgive me for being redundant) and the overall fresh and clean smell of Bvlgari Aquamarine (7). I use Celeteque for both of my facial care needs. I have the Celeteque Hydration facial wash with Natural Moisturizing Factor that leaves my face squeaky clean and oil-free. After that, I use the Celeteque Suncare facial moisturizer with SPF 15 to, uhm, moisturize my face. What I don’t like about it is that it may leave your face shiny since it’s an oil based moisturizer. That’s why I use the other variant during the day, Celeteque  Hydration with Triple moisturizing system, since it’s water based and doesn’t leave your face looking like a fishball which was fried in oil that was used three times already.

Enough of the vanity. As a popular saying goes, substance must always go with style and character. So I bring some things that I believe are very important to me. First is the Neocentennial rosary, which has the logo of UST as one of the main beads (9). It was given the day before my board exams in Nursing and I never removed it from my bag ever since. I’m not the most religious person but it brings some feeling of security as well as nostalgia when I see it. I am quite obsessive-compulsive with my time so a planner is necessary for me. I bought one from National bookstore. It only cost for 300 pesos and it has a very nice dark green hardbound cover with faux snake leather. It screams Valentina! LOL

I also have a notebook (11) where I jot down my thoughts as they come spontaneously. I also love to do my reading. I usually carry two books at the same time. The first one would be fiction and the second one would be a either a self-help or a textbook. I usually alternate those when I get bored. Of course, I also have a highlighter and a pen to be used in writing and I have a pad of post-its for extra space in my planner.

So basically that’s it. Aside from chocolate which most of the time finds its way to my bag, that’s all I       usually bring everyday. :P 

Habit 1: Be Proactive

After the previous workweek, I ended up unmotivated with my work.  Probably it was just the stress of handling customers. Plus the bad survey that precipitated the whole drama.  You see, as an agent we were trained to troubleshoot with merely cooperative customers who are, in the best possible term I can think of, aggravated due to the loss of their phone/TV/internet service. Their technical concerns are highly variable. Once you log in to receive a call, it’s like being in a raffle of concerns. Lucky if you get the ones you’re familiar with.

But then again it’s all not that bad. Based from experience, customers will only get irate for only three reasons: (1) They are extremely inconvenienced due to the loss of their services, (2) You do not seem to be willing to help them, and lastly, (3) You do not know how to help them. For reasons 2 and 3, I probably learned the ropes on those areas. For the last one, all you can do is apologize and take the heat.

So I felt that everything became a routine. It’s like saying the same things all over and over. Delivering the same scripts. Promising the same bullshit. I realized that working in this kind of post is very far from something I want to become and do. I would like a job that would be fulfilling. Something that would foster personal relationships rather than a 15-minute conversation over the phone.  Something that would get me somewhere.

If we were to review basic Physics, the work is a product of force and distance. Let’s try to correlate it to my point. Let’s say force (energy that allows something to move) equates to the ability/effort you put in your work. Then for us to consider that work is present, there must also be distance or movement. There must be displacement form the original location to the final location. There must be advancement or growth into it, or an endpoint. The mere absence of distance in the formula Work= Force x Distance is enough to kill the very essence of work. This is exactly how I feel about my work. I have to work because it pays the bills. I do it for neither growth nor fulfillment.

I went back to reading Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People earlier. Like a gospel sent from the heavens, the 2^nd chapter which was about Habit 1: Be Proactive made me realize a lot of things. It reminded me that we are the ones who can choose how we react to whatever is happening in our lives. We can focus on the things that we have influence on and accept whatever is already present. I might just apply this starting today. I will be more proactive.  

Adik-adik din.

I'm very obsessed with gaming lately. And it's not one of those new games that keep on mushrooming all over the internet cafes. What I' m currently playing now are the addictive games of yesterday. Like those of obsolete platfoms such as Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, and Playstation 1.

I got to play those game consoles when I was a child and then suddenly lost interest to the latter versions as I grew up. But still the memories of playing those games all crept in one day and I just found myself downloading emulators and ROMS. 

Right now I'm stuck on playing two games: Poy Poy 2 (Poitter's Point 2) and versions of Pokemon (which I was big fan as a kid)

Poy Poy 2 is a game I used to play in PS1. It's a strategy game where the characters are transported into an arena where they kill each other by throwing rocks, bombs, and rockets for three rounds (think of it like hunger games) The player with the highest number of points at the end of the match will be declared the winner. I was a sadist-masochist kid. This explains it all.

Picture by Moby Games

Pokemon was one of my favorite games/TV shows as a kid. I had both a Gameboy Color and a Gameboy Advance and played Pokemon version from Red/Blue/Yellow up to Crystal/Silver/Gold. Ever since my addiction resurfaced, I already finished Sapphire and I'm currently working on Emerald. I tried downloading Pokemon White/Black but it kept on lagging on the Nintendo DS emulator that's why I gave up completely on those. Then again, the new set of Pokemons from Emerald and Sapphire satisfy more than my cravings.

Ang Na-Sotto. Bow.

Imitation is the best form of flattery. That is how the old saying goes. However, the story gets a 360 degree turnaround when it’s being done unto you.  It is like taking an exam where someone copied most of your answers and got a higher score.

I am annoyed, not with the fact that my work was plagiarized, but rather with the idea that this blogger can’t think or feel for herself.  It’s such a sad, sad situation when you copy the lines verbatim, edit the information to suit your liking, and add some more lines to make it at least personal. Voila! A blog post!

I’m really am thankful for Verlene of http://funkyjunkienars.wordpress.com (please do visit her blog by clicking the link) who blogged about the issue even before I knew about this. She even left a comment on the blog post itself which went like:

Probably, that’s the reason why the blog was set to “invite only” afterwards.

But then again, even if you set your blog to private,  people are still able to get information from it. 

So I did a little research using the ever-reliable Google. And here are the results of my search.

I also have her Facebook account. I might give her a message soon for her to take down that blog post. Let’s see if I muster enough energy and time to do that. But seriously, it’s so not nakakatawa. 

New Year, New Place

Still living the independent life, I moved to another place for this year. It's around the four corners of UST but I think this one is better than the first place I moved to last year. First of all, it's a lot more aesthetically pleasing that the first one since it's just a newly renovated building.

The bedroom is quite smaller compared to the first one but its definitely cleaner with the fresh paint and all. The room is actually cozier because of the orange and peach paint. The room, even though it has no windows, is quite cool even in the afternoon. Perfect to sleep in! :)

Directly outside the house, there's a small cafe that serves coffee, cappuccino, and hot chocolate in the morning.

And yes, I am getting fatter. But who cares? I'm happy. :)

Happy New Year everyone!

Random post at 6:02AM

The government supports state universities. But why can't the Church support its affiliated universities?  As you may have observed, nearly half of the most expensive schools in the Philippines, in terms of tuition fee, are run by religious orders.

My 2012, In Summary

Please play for maximum blog reading experience.HAHA!

Looking back, I realize how this year have changed who I am, how I think, and basically how I live. And in just a short span of time, I find myself surprised with all dynamism that happened, self-induced or not.

First of all, I started the previous year as a student who was trying to balance academics and extra-curricular activities. I was the President of the college choir, Secretary of all the student organizations in the college, a writer and the website editor of our college paper, and a deputy commissioner for the Comelec. Of which the first had taken most of my time since I we joined a competition and placed fourth. Here's the video:

And if you think that's hectic enough, come February I did have a part-time job by helping my professor in his thesis for his graduate studies. I attended class in the afternoon while I go to Tondo every other morning to collect sputum from tuberculosis patients. It all paid of when he graduated Magna Cum Laude, and when I was literally paid.

Attended Aliwan Festival last January at CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard with some bloggers.

Artwork hosted a t-shift design contest. I know I really sucked at doing traditional art but tried to give it a shot anyway. Here's my entry (which lost, btw):

March came and all those positions I held were already passed on to the next batch of officers in our college. You still feel that same pang when you realize that your term is already over and was able to do only as much. I lived in hope for the next officers to take care of the organizations as I did. At the same time I felt a tinge of sadness knowing that I could've been the one to implement all these great ideas. I graduated by the end of March. Since then I was no longer a student.

But classes didn't stop after graduation. That's probably the reason why the people during our graduation weren't too emotional. We have the board exams to prepare for and we almost had review classes everyday for the next two months. Those months passed by quickly and then on July, we took the board exams at some shady public school.

The two months of review was followed by two months of waiting after we finished the test. While I was waiting for the results, decided to get myself a job.

I first applied for a call center post at Teleperformance in MOA. Still, to this day, I don't really know why I didn't get the job. They told me that I failed the online exams that consisted of only a typing test (which I know I aced) and answering some questions that you can find over the internet. And the best part is, you can use the internet during the test. So I applied in Convergys instead the following week and in just a day, I was hired and profiled as a technical support representative for arguably the no.1 internet and cable provider in the US. I quickly learned everything there is to know in the call center industry while I struggled in the product itself and other technicalities. I studied and troubleshot phones, TVs and their cables, and computers plus all the operating systems (Windows 8, I still hate you!). To this day I know I still don't know a lot about my work but I think I'm heading to the right direction having placed first, in terms of stats, in our team this December.

The money I got from my work allowed me to move our from my tita's house in Manila and live independently in an apartment. It feels different when you are already paying everything for yourself. Your buying powers increased, as well as your consciousness of the price hikes of commodities and everything. I became what I call: A Mamamayang Pilipino.

Sometime during October, the Nursing Licensure Examination results were out. I passed, got a good score, and the letters R.N. can already be legally placed after my name.





In celebration of this feat and my sister's debut, our family went to Hong Kong that month.

When a typhoon hit Manila during the mid-year, I took part in the relief operations in GMA Kapuso Foundation.

I adopted a kitten from a Russian friend two months after I started working. I name her Arie but when I brought her home to Pampanga, since the owner of the place where I stay in isn't too fond of cats, she was called them most un-generic name of a cat, Muning.

My friend, Jac, also gave me two hamsters, of which one gave birth to four. The other hamster died when I gave it to my brother and another one escaped. Now I have four hamsters! :)

Was also able to visit Puerto Galera this year with my team mates. The peace I found in this place is unforgettable. :)

I also decided to take up Medicine this year so I took the National Medical Admission Test and got a good score that would hopefully increase my chances of getting into the two schools I'm aiming for: UST or PLM.

But this year wasn't only about achievements and licenses. It's also about love and friendship. I got to meet a lot of great people in the call center industry. I got exposed to the real world where I met friendly cross-dressers, intelligent drug addicts, and tattooed moms. I believe I became more sociable. I don't know if it's a good thing or not but I now spoke more than I wrote or read. I also got to meet someone special (insert love story here. Wag babatiin baka di matuloy).

After I finished reading my textbooks for licensure and admission exams, I also got to spend some time doing leisure reading which made be feel fulfilled. Hopefully I can do a lot more reading this coming year.

At the end of the day, 2012 gave me a lot of room for growth and fulfillment. It really was a good year.  Looking forward to more challenges and surprises this 2013!

NMAT results! I'm a happy boy.

NMAT results just came up. And. I. Am. Ecstatic.

First of all, I would like you to know that the score I got is really higher than expected. Last night, when I read in twitter that NMAT results were up, I already gave myself the mindset that my score would be around 40+ since all I did during the NMAT (especially when it's a computation problem) was to cancel the lowest and highest number form the choices and then poof, choose from the two remaining ones. Not to mention that my body clock is so messed up  and had to take the exam by 7am - the usual time I hit the sheets. I wasn't also too confident about my knowledge base in the hard sciences having to study only the bare minimum since I just intersperse my review sessions with my shifts.

Anyway, I am extremely happy with my NMAT grade. Especially for the Chemistry part which was my highest. I think that was the part where my elimination powers were most utilized. Swerithan lang talaga siguro ang NMAT. Grades are but just numbers and if I should go to med school, di na pwede ang ganitong sistema.

But for the mean time, let us enjoy this little victory

Suyang suya ka na ba sa RH Bill? Eto pa isa.

Image from mypinoy.tv

I've been following the sessions on about the RH bill in the newspapers. Amused as I am with the theatrical argumentation that could pass as an season-long episode in Face to Face, I do worry about the impact of this bill. As I mention a lot whenever this bill becomes the topic, I am neither pro or anti RH. Heck, I don't even get the point of being anti/pro since I think that the best way for this to work is to hear out and reconcile the points of each of the two factions and then come up with a bill that would benefit the people. Our legislators should stop squalling and get together to pass this bill if it needs to be passed.

Then again, I also worry about the proactive stance of the government to pass this bill. While the bill may have several beneficial effects (of which I still have some reservations)  we cannot discount the permanent negative ones as well.  Will it really reduce maternal mortality rates or increase the incidence of hormone-related cancers? Will it affect the population curve positively which will allow our country to properly allocate its resources or will it trim down the population like what happened to other countries which drastically implemented birth control methods? Will it reduce STI's and HIV prevalence or promote promiscuity? Will it make parents more responsible in Family Planning and sex education for the child or will it lead the children to be knowledgeable yet unguided? Will it empower women or lead them to dependency on contraceptive menthods that are proven to be not 100% effective?

At the end of the day, I do believe that there is still much that should be discussed about this bill. These are crucial times for the country and we simply can't play trial and error since the bill has very polar effects. I am not saying that this bill shouldn't be passed but methods on how this will be implemented must be straightened out first before doing so. Because at the moment, I am not yet too confident on how the bill will be implemented if  it will be passed soon. Are you?