Manila, Manila

So I had a rough day at work yesterday, went home, spent the rest of the day in front of the computer, had my devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and was about to sleep when I had visions of a familiar place that used to be my home: Manila.

Wikipedia.org defines the City of Manila as the capital of the Philippines. It is also one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world, with a population of 20 million people.

For probinsyanas(someone from the suburbs) like me, Manila can just be the key to our brighter futures.  Why?  Because the most well-respected educational institutions in the country such as the University of the Philippines- Manila, University of Santo Tomas, La Salle Taft, Ateneo de Manila, San Beda College and Centro Escolar University(my mom’s Alma Mater) are all located here.

As for me alone, this place cannot be just an ordinary one because it has been a witness to some of the most significant events in my professional life.  I reviewed for the local boards in one of the nursing review centers in Espana, took my licensure examination at the University of the East, had my oathtaking at the SMX Mall of Asia and took my IELTS exam at the British Council in Manila.

me and Mara with Ralph and Shem, our high school buds at Manila

picture-taking at Trinoma

In every sense of the word, this place made me closer to my dreams and while this place is just a boat ride and a bus ride away from Oriental Mindoro, it takes a lot of effort to be on it. However, despite of all these, I am still feeling a sense of longing for this place.  I miss Manila and everything about it.

I miss waking up in a review day, choosing an outfit to wear for classes, walking the streets of Bustillos, riding jeepneys at Espana, and buying food from 7/11 stores.  I miss Tuesday afternoons at St. Anthony Shrine and the famous Thursday novena masses at the St. Jude Shrine.  I miss Friday DVD marathons with my sister and reviewing.  I miss going to the internet shops and paying 15 pesos just to get a glimpse of Facebook.  I miss Sunday masses at the San Beda Chapel and Sunday movies at theaters.  I miss Starbucks, Pan De Manila, Kamiseta, National Book Store and FullyBooked.  I miss LRT(Light Railway Transit), Divisoria, the DVD stands, Lianas, and Recto.   I miss the sunny mornings, the rainy afternoons and the cold evenings.  I am definitely missing out on M-A-N-I-L-A.

Manila: Mahal Kita!

Hence, as I opened my eyes this morning, I saw a small green room, lots of books,and my nursing uniform.  I didn’t hear noises from jeepneys and vendors.  I didn’t see beggars, lots of newspaper stands and shrines.  All I saw was our humble home, my siblings and the familiar television set in the center of our house.  I was breathing the fresh air of Mindoro, hearing noises from the computer that my brother was using  and living the laid back life of a Mindorena.  I am definitely home and Manila is just a dream away.

Lovelots,
Maica Angelle

Some Photos Copied from:
http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=manila#/d18khy6
http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=manila#/d14g2zv

Marking My Way Through Nursing

I had my first operation when I was nine.  It was performed in the emergency room of a local hospital in our province in front of bystanders, patients, and the rest of the health care team of that institution.  Yeah, I was that popular and so were my ugly warts that were removed.  It was bad ass.

I cannot remember what exactly happened but I had some visions of a small room, lots of people, and a nurse beside me.  (The doctor did not allow me to look at him, the needles and the equipment that burned my warts so I cannot remember those.) I could even hear some people say: “Grabe, ang sakit naman nyan.” Translate: “Ouch, that seems so painful.  

However, I can still remember the stinging sensation that the local anesthesia brought when it was injected onto my warts.  Back then, I could barely feel my legs because those were numb from the anesthetics.  I could also feel the fire coming from the doctor’s equipment burning my skin.  It was so painful but I didn’t cry, scream or made a scene.  I was that brave, huh?  Not really, I just had a nurse beside me who lent her helping hand.  Could I have made it without her?  I do not really think so.  Without her, I could have opted to go home, cry and look at my warts for the rest of my life.  Without her, I could have looked like a bratty little girl who cannot endure a common medical procedure.  Without her, I could have not have made it.

I only had my warts removed that day.  Little did I know that  the memory of that moment will be a significant one in my journey throughout my chosen profession.  It is not exactly comparable to the day Spiderman got bitten by a spider and acquired his super powers or the night Harry Potter discovered that he is a famous wizard.  It’s just the  time when Maica Angelle felt the warmth and care that only a nurse can bring.

Needless to say, the operation left a mark on my life.  Nowadays, the statement 'What are those things in your legs? ' is nothing new to me.  While these scars make my legs ugly, these strengthen my grip on nursing.  Thus, as I make my own mark in the nursing field, I can envision the image of a beautiful nurse holding my hand and giving me the strength to go on.

Anyway, I want to share a nice video clip about nursing.  This video made me laugh, cry and love my profession even more.  It's nice to see some clip reminding me of the reason why I chose this humbling profession after all.

Video Taken from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPbGgIg0NIY

Lovelots,

Maica Angelle

Chasing Nightingale

“I want to take up nursing because my mom inspired me to become one someday.”  This is what the overweight 'probinsyana’ had to say in order to get into a nursing school. Now, five years later, this girl finds herself in a nurse’s uniform- scared, confused and unsure.

Well, I was that girl and my story is nothing new at all.  This tale took years in the making and while it still has not been concluded yet, I want to share a bit of it.

As a kid, my idea of nurses are those underpaid workers injecting vaccines while wearing white uniforms. I didn’t even know that nurses are the doctors’ partners in providing health care services.  So when my mom asked me to take up nursing, I had doubts.  I never doubted that I could make it.  I just didn’t like the idea of bathing patients, wiping out fecal material from other people’s anuses and wearing a white uniform.  I also didn’t like the idea that my mom wanted me to engage in a profession I used to belittle.

Then I found myself reading nursing books, enrolling in a nursing review center and taking the nurse licensure examinations twice.  I was confused and in doubt all the time.  I was trying to fit into the world I didn’t want to be into in the first place.  I was at a crossroads, trying to see the right path, trying to get into a road that will lead me to happiness.  I was lost.

What does it take to become a full-fledge nurse anyway?  Well, it really involves lots and lots of patience.  You have to be humble enough to stomach all the belittling words of ‘wannabe socialista’ patients.  You have to be strong enough in dealing with arrogant doctors.  You also have to have enough perseverance in living the world of professionals who work like unpaid carabaos  in order to gain this so called ‘experience.’

As of now, I am an unemployed registered nurse providing ‘community service’ to my province mates (I am a volunteer nurse is what I meant).  I’ve been applying as a staff nurse at a local hospital nearby without any assurance that I’d get in.  I’ve also been looking for slots for trainings at the Lung and Heart Centers of the country.   In every sense of the word, my career path is still uncertain and so is my life.

I don’t want to lift everything up to God because that would be considered laziness on my part.  I just want to do my best, grab all the opportunities as they come and walk by faith.  Though my life is uncertain, I know that God will be with me.

Photo Taken from:
http://www.storiesinart.com/notes1.htm

Lovelots,
Maica Angelle

On Thin Air

Have you ever crossed the line between life and death?  Have you ever taken a deep breath, closed your eyes and felt the cold, ravishing wind against your skin?  It’s like a thin air between the world we know and the one up there. It can either take our own lives or breathe new ones to it.  

Emergency Room- just the thought of it scares me.   It’s a place where death is nothing new, where dying is common.  It’s the human’s link to hope and survival and it’s the nursing area I thought I’d suck at.  Anyway, the only legitimate exposure I had to the ER(Emergency Room) is way back in my student nurses’ life.  It’s not something I can be proud of so the thought of being at it brings back bad memories of my college years I don’t want to remember.

Anyway, stepping onto the Emergency Room the first time scared the hell out of me.  I was this inexperienced nurse trying who trying to work in an unfamiliar place.  I was this lost girl trying to find my way there.  I felt alone and in doubt.  It was a scary experience but I got through with it.

After several rotations at the ER, I can finally say that this area is not as scary as it seems.  Yes I’ve dealt with pregnant women in true labor pains, cute children who are having difficulty breathing, wounded men who almost lost their feet, limbs and lives but  I’ve managed to turn my back on the ER with a smile on my face.  Why?  Because I’ve never thought that the room I’ve been scared at all throughout my nursing life might just be the one I’d like to work at.  At the end of the day, I come to a conclusion that the emergency room might just be an adrenaline-boosting and challenging place closest to home.

Lovelots,
Maica Angelle

Photo Copied from:
http://camendesign.com/blog/welcome