Visa Woes

Paid the fees in full

because they told me they had already

filed my passport for

visa stamping even if I told them 

to hold it a few days

because I needed to secure the money first.

Isinanla namin yung memorial/burial lot

namin para mapunan ito,

bale good for one year at 6% interest per month.

This is a photocopy of the said visa,

I blacked out my details.

My passport is still at the agency.

I am posting all my experiences from 

my application onward so

that others may learn.

If I still have any readers at all hehehehe.

Emo Panda Amigurumi

I crocheted this amigurumi panda

for my mama's birthday.

It turned out creepy -  emo panda.

Was not able to take a pic

of the finished product.

Yes, my barbie sheets are there again.

Paborito ko sila, 

Pagkatapos labhan,

ginagamit ko agad.

Mang/Ma'am Inasal

Everybody knows Mang Inasal right?

E ang Ma'am Inasal?

Of cars and travel expenses

My tita helped me with a transaction yesterday,

afterwards she invited me 

to tag along with her

because she had to drop by her

company's headquarters in Manila.

We used her own AUV

which was driven by their long time

company driver.
(Siya ang sa mga relatives ko
ang may sasakyan)

It is fun when you have your own car,

you are free to roam,

free to go to wherever place you want to visit.

But my gosh! 

Ang gastos! 

Putcha as in!

P650

Dahil pinakargahan ng freon,

at nagluloko ang aircon.

P1000

Gasolina, pinapa-top-up ni tita

pag pauwi na dahil nga kung may

emergency dapat may laman

na gas ang sasakyan.

P200

Average na bayad sa toll fees,

at dalawang toll fee dinaanan namin.

Wala pa dito yung libre

sa amin ni tita

sa Yellowcab.

(2nd time ko lang makakain ng Yellowcab)

hahahaha, inosente kasi ako

at namamahalan sa food.

Isa pa pagdi ko alam umorder
hindi ko pinapasukan yung establishment

Eto pala ang kapalit ng convenience.

Ang mahal!

Thank you kay tita

at dumaan kami ng Tutuban

(first time ko rin dun)

para makabili ng tarha at abaya ko.

Buti may nagkasya.

XXXL kasi ako 

haahahaha.

KC Interview

“Pagdating ng eighth chance, parang na-realize ko, hindi lahat ng problema, nadadaan sa kilig. Hindi lahat ng problema nadadaan sa tawa, hindi lahat nadadaan sa kilig. Kasi ang galing-galing niyang magpakilig,” KC admitted.

See Yahoo Article here

At least may respeto pa din sa isa't-isa

at hindi isinuwalat sa kalawakan

ang katauhan ni Piolo o ng

pagka-obsessed ng KC.

Ano nga ba

ang

katotohanan?

Sa kanila na lang yun siguro.

Sundan ko na lang ang saga ni 

Mo at Rhian.

Ang Computation

Eto daw and dapat kong bayaran

sa agency bago nila ako i-apply ng visa

at irequest ng plane ticket.

Nakakapanghina.

Kitty Chronicles: Of Cotton Clouds and Cats

These are old photos of kitty,

napost ko na ata ang iba.

Bagong paligo,

kitang-kita ang scratches sa ulo niya.

He had a severe case of over grooming!

I managed to have kitty sit still

for several seconds, enough time to put

a cotton ball on top of his head.

Voucher

These were the vouchers issued to me

by my agency instead of 

official receipts with their 

printed business name.

I paid for the documents

that were to be filed in the

KSA embassy for my visa.

Each document costs P1,200,

I passed 6 documents.

Kabitenyo

So many Kabitenyos have been in the 

limelight as of late and not in

a glamorous or flattering manner.

Try notoriety...

The Revilla Clan - 

Tao lang sa bundok ang hindi nakakaalam

sa istorya nila dito.

Pati nga mga taga-Turkey alam e.

Atty. Ferdinand Topacio - 

Legal counsel ni Cong. GMA.

Defense attorney siya at medyo

high profile cases ang nakukuha niya.

Ang kapatid niya ay lokal

politiko dito, mayayamang pamilya sila.

Best Writing Exercise I Ever Had

This is the best writing exercise 

I ever had.

We were just prompted to

write non-stop for several

minutes about anything.

Then we were asked to

organize our thoughts into something

readable like an essay.

I ended up with this.

With wrong punctuation and

misspelled words and

grammar errors.

I miss school,

but as I have said earlier,

its time to toughen up!

No more marshmallows!

Referral Slip

This is a copy of the referral slip

for my 2nd physical/medical examination

at Bartolome Clinic.

I was not given a receipt yet again,

I was issued a voucher which they also took

and replaced with this referral slip.

This blasted piece of paper

costs P2,600 !

Mahal pa din considering ikalawa ko na ito

at tinaga na kami dun sa una naming medical

na halagang P3,600 kung di ako nagkakamali.

Grabe, I am scanning and posting it here,

para naman may paper trail.

Click the images to enlarge.

This was the slip for my prior

medical/physical exam.

The edited photo is an additional P50,

hindi ito kasama dun sa bayaran sa agency,

(scanned printout with logo background)

I took the liberty of

editing my face and details out.

Read my first post about the

actual process of physical/medical exam here

UPDATE:

Eto nga pala ang proof na nakapagpamedical ako

PRC Papers

My PRC Midwifery Board Exam Stub,

personal details where to be filled in with a pen.

This stub was part of a larger paper

wherein you had to write down

lots of dashes to enable the scanner

to read your details.

Mistakes are not allowed!

These thick papers have

serial numbers on them.

A mugshot is also pasted

on one corner, 

with a name tag!

Parang preso lang hahaha.

This is the official receipt that you are supposed to show

on the day of your exam, I think.

I have forgotten the details already.

One thing for sure is that you are

supposed to keep this paper.

Your name is written on the

receipt as well.

I am not sure if all the professions

charge the same flat rate.

Midwifery was P600 in 2005

and Nursing was P900 in 2007.

This was the Notice of Admission,

you have to bring this on your

scheduled examination dates because

the proctors must sign the slip

at the bottom.

The receipt's serial number is also

written on the upper left portion.

Your designated seat/room number

and school is also recorded.

You will not be able to 

take the exam without this 

blue NOA.

Our proctor then was a really

stern-looking old lady, very strict.

She was an official PRC personnel

as well so she was able to answer

all our queries.

When I took the Nursing board,

the public school teachers

were our proctors and 

they were not really trained well.

They kept on talking even 

when our exam was ongoing,

distracting kaya asus!

Mahiwagang Blue Book

Look what I found mula sa baul

ng karimlan sa tambakan ng

kalat sa kabilang kwarto.

Walang sulat nor tupi.

P2 lang ata ito dati.

Made of recycled paper

(siguro yung mga lumang project namin).

Okey ito gamitin kasi

mapipilitan kang habaan ang sagot

mo para ma-maximize ang blue book.

At pag pinasa sa propesor,

maganda tingnan kapag

naka-stack di tulad ng

mga pinunit-punit 

na yellow pad.

Hay, ang tanda ko na.

(Centennial Batch)

1998-2002 

ako nag-aral doon

at sa totoo lang

kaunti na lang ang naalala kong 

lesson kasi nga nagbago na ako ng

propesyon.

Ang hindi nawala sa akin

e yung perspektibo.

Salamat UP!

10 Rules for Being Human

10 RULES FOR BEING HUMAN

by Cherie Carter-Scott

I found this while using stumbleupon,

I am a sucker for lists, 

not necessarily motivational proverbs.

(Image source)

1. You will receive a body.  You may like it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons.  You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. there are no mistakes, only lessons.  growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation.  the "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned.  A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.  When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons do not end.  There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons.  If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better place than "here."  When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you.  You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of life is up to you.  You have all the tools and resources you need.  What you do with them is up to you.  The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you.  The answers to life's questions lie within you.  All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

Kitty Chronicles: Lazy Cat

Sleeping

Yawning

Sniffing

Flopping

and

pa-cute.

No more pictures please !

Sleeping again.

The joys of being a cat.

Poor Patient Compliance

Went in late to work

and found my friend in a disheveled state.

She had been on, straight for 2 shifts.

11pm-7am and 7am-3pm.

Yesterday we had zero patients,

today I found 4 toxic patients.

Bed 1 was the worst,

apparently she came in

with her baby probably dangling

from her uterus.

She was already full effaced and dilated

meaning she is crowning

and the baby would pop out in 

one miserable 'push'

(isang bahing na lang lalabas na yung bata)

But she came in at the lying-in 

for all the wrong reasons.

We have no resident doctors on duty.

Only midwives and nurses

attend to our patients.

This was her 7th baby,

she was already 44 years old,

her last delivery was already complicated,

she only had one prenatal 

consultation at her health center,

no ultrasound records,

plus she is a chain smoker

(all throughout her pregnancy).

All the high risk factors were there!

This was a patient

who had a death wish.

She was even caught lying,

when asked how her last delivery went,

she said she had no complications.

When her husband arrived,

he told the staff that she almost 

died during her last delivery.

If I was on duty,

I would have asked them

to find a priest

to give her the last rites

so as to truly scare them.

Ang sarap pukpukin!

When I scanned her

prenatal pink card records,

she still had the referral slips

for her lab works,

meaning she did not comply!

The usual excuse!

"Wala kaming pera!"

My friend told them - 

"Yun na nga ho e nag-anak pa po kayo.

Libre po ang family planning 

sa health center."

An ultrasound scan is worth

around P300 while

feeding another child 

would definitely cost more.

The last straw was when she admitted
she was smoking a few hours
prior to her admission -
she was already smoking
when she was in the early
stages of her labor!

Ang sarap sakalin!
Grabe!

No concern for her welfare
nor her unborn child!
Walang kwentang ina!

When her placenta came out
instead of the usual
one big mass of human organ,
it came out in pieces.

Her placenta's tissue integrity
was already compromised
from the beginning.

Not all the placental fragments came out
some adhered to her uterus
which made her bleed.

The institution has no resident doctors
on duty just on call.
My friend was not able to get
hold of any of the 5 doctors
save for one.

I could just imagine what my friend went through,
that situation was a nightmare.

Good thing the doctor was
able to relay her orders over the phone
in the wee hours of the morning.

The patient was technically in shock,
her BP was around 60/40 mmHg.
My friend hooked a double line
and a volume expander.
She managed her patient well
and I commend her
she saved this woman's life
from her own stupidity.

Her stubbornness and non-compliance
to health related advice put
her life as well as her baby's
in jeopardy as well
as the license of my friend.

Lagi na lang walang pera ang rason,
madali yan huwag kang bumili ng pangbisyo
at magipon ka kahit lima-limang piso
araw-araw para sa panganganak.

Hindi emergency ang pagbubuntis,
siyam na buwan ito.

Imagine ang city namin na walang income,
nililibre pa sila sa gastusin ng pangangak,
libre ang gamit at serbisyo.

Compliance na nga lang ang hinihingi,
na dumating sa appointed dates
ng prenatal check-up
at mapalaboratoryo ng libre,
hindi pa din nagawa.

Aba e kung wala ka din naman palang
concern sa pangangatawan mo
at pagbubuntis e di sana
hindi na lang siya nag-anak.

Dapat talaga ipasa na yang
RH Bill para maliwanagan
ang mga mangmang.
(sorry sa harsh word pero totoo ito)

Hindi na nga sila nakapag-aral
sa dami nila hindi din nila mapapag-aral ang anak nila.
Obligasyon ng bawat magulang na magbigay
ng maayos na kalidad ng buhay at edukasyon
sa mga anak nila hindi yung
pagtatrabahuin sila at gawing gatasan
kasi tamad na sila magtrabaho.

Sus! Ad misericordiam lagi,
paawa effect!

Hindi sa lahat ng oras maisasalba
ng awa at ng Dios ang buhay mo.
Kailangan kumilos ka rin bilang tao.

The Press is Killing Me.

The Press is killing me with - 

Stress.

Every single day when

I turn on the tv

or the radio.

The news presenters

and announcers

blare their lungs out screaming

that this so and so

john/jane doe

died of:

gunshot wounds,

drowning,

stab wounds,

vigilante justice,

electrocution

(having the misfortune of standing in lightning's way),

strangulation, massacre, 

war,

suicide,

hit and run;

a hit then a short run

then was backed up again

to be run over the

second time around.

I feel for the victims

and their families,

but it does not help

when the news is sensationalized

and overly presented

in a stage theater type exaggerated manner.

Hello pseudo-journalists

(ahem biased)

you are not helping!

Especially when you guys

report the facts publicly

instead of keeping some

things private

in respect for the

authorities' investigations

and the privacy of the victims.

Shame on you guys!

You even have the nerve

to criticize them when you guys

are always crossing the line

and not letting them doing their job.

Do not cross the police line please

or act like you are the police!

I know, some of them are

really incompetent investigators

who cannot put two and two together

and would rather let a fall guy take

the blame just to end a case

but come on where are your sensibilities?

Mind your own business

and please do it ethically.

The press is not helping especially

when they broadcast that a

 so and so raid is going to

occur here

(insert imaginary google map).

I also hope that they at least

try to maintain a dead person's dignity

by not showing their bodies.

Man! At least give them some respect,

you do not want to be ogled at

when your soul is floating

a foot away from your

scattered bodily parts on the road.

Just look at this telenovela

I read on the newspaper the other day:

I sympathize with the family,

this is really devastating.

But really when you talk to the press

all the nitty-gritty details

of your life are exposed.

I find it sad though that this Magsaysay (?name)

lady who knew all along that

she was an adulteress

by being a kept woman

of Ramon Revilla Senior

managed to have 9 kids with him ?!

WTF moment for me ?!

Delicadesa is lost and long gone in this country.

One mistake is enough, methinks.

But being Kabitenyo myself

this telenovela is far from over, 

expect more killings 

and more stress.

One solution I must implement

is to stop consuming all

these garbage reports

that the sensationalist press people are putting out

and oh, learn to cross-reference.

Not all things published are true.

(Including blogs hah!)

As my life philosophy goes:

there is no one truth,

truth is just a version of

one's perspective on fact.

Visa

(Image Source)

Received a delayed text and a call

today from the agency.

We already have our visas,

and we are to report for yet

another medical exam.

Gastos and more gastos

as we are to pay for the

processing fees and the

exorbitant fees probably

carefully mislabeled by our agency.

I was in shock.

I am now 30,

starting another chapter of my life.

I cried.

I fear for my future.

 I will be far away from

my comfort zone,

miles away from anybody

I really trust.

This is the time to 

be brave

and just to generally tough it up.

I am a fluffy marshmallow

underneath my imposing exterior.

Be brave! 

Kitty Chronicles: Death of a Spider Foretold

I woke up to this

squished arachnid

on the kitchen floor.

Kitty killed him.

The poor thing was as big as a saucer.

He was also suffering for months

as he lost one spindly leg

to kitty's incessant batting.

He always managed to scramble

up the walls and the ceiling

but this time however

he was not so lucky.

Kitty ended it all.

But I know that somewhere

one of its thousands of spawns

will somehow grow up

and annoy kitty some more.

So long warrior spider!