Life Under Construction

Back from Bataan - the Mariveles Mental Ward;p  Great relief that I wasn’t left behind hehehe… Spent 4.5 days there.  Very scenic the place was - just check out my multiply site - http://eise.multiply.com/ =)   All four groups that came were assigned to one room - yes, both sexes in there…  We even had one extra student who just happened to go with her boyfriend.  Haay, what is youth?  Anyway it was kinda fun kidding around with my groupmates 24/7.  Had trouble sleeping even though I brought romance pocketbooks… Tsk, tsk, tsk…  I should’ve brought nursing books - then I’d be down after reading one page hahaha… Got assigned as leader but forgot what was supposed to be done half of the time - jeez, that’s why I hate getting assigned as one=P Buti na lang nakakaalala ang mga groupmates ko  - what is ulyanin?!  Lemme tell you about my patient - since I really can’t divulge his identity, let’s hide him by the name of Taguro.  Yun kasi yung best friend nya;p  He was a bit tall - around 5′10.  He had these repetitive tongue movements you’d have to see to understand.  He answers questions with a monotonous voice when asked - even requested for Fudgee bar and hopia on their socialization day.  I was quite lucky having him.  Other students’ patients wouldn’t even talk.  At least I get a sentence or two out for every question asked.  He can sing along in song therapy even if a bit out of tune.  He prefers singing to dancing.  We had this pass-the-bottle game where you choose a consequence for getting stuck with the bottle and it’s always a client-student tandem.  From the start, he told me he’d rather sing ‘Pare Ko’.  In fairness, I’ve prepared him for it so that helped.  Wouldn’t want him to freeze later on…   When we went through dance therapy, I finally understood why he’d rather not dance.  The movements were uncoordinated and slow.  For a guy who used to be MVP back when he was a teenager, he’s having trouble following steps.  He must’ve gotten quite a hit…  What got him instituted?  A history of violence.  There was a case of homicide which was dismissed.   He was reported to have run riot inside his house damaging appliances.  He even strangled his own mother who was the one who finally brought him in.  And now won’t take him back reasoning that she doesn’t have enough money to support him even though he’s already behaved, improved a lot and even willing to work at the neighbor’s bakery.   It’s really sad seeing how our clients draw and talk about their families and their homes.  They don’t have to say it.  You just need to look at the drawings.  It’s quite surprising how some of them seem really ‘normal’.   There are some who are quite talented and intelligent.  It may have been abuse -  drugs, alcohol or rape…  I could only wonder how far you can stretch your brain to take trauma…   How did we prepare for meeting our clients?  We had a self-awareness session, which drove several of us to tears.  It was nice to let personal stresses out before dealing with clients - kinda cleared the air.  Made me really grateful that I’ve had quite a great life compared to others.  It can be boring at times but perhaps study and work would be the only things I could deal with right now.  Anyway I’m back here in Manila.  Finally got some rest in my own bed.  Watched the whole 3rd season of House in 3 days…. Man, I can’t wait for Season 4.  As usual, binitin ako sa ending….  Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 4 starts in a couple of days.  I’ll just wait for a dvd copy.  Really need to catch up on my studies.  It seems like I’ve gone through a vacation when it comes to reading nursing books which I’ve been able to do since the start of the sem… yep, i’ve been bitten by the sloth bug…  double time it is…  Work?  I’m not sure if I could raise my Kept% by 3%.  Now that’s gonna take a miracle.  Maybe, it’s really better luck next month…  Freeze or fight?  We’ll see… This Friday, Roj and I will both be 26=)  Kinda freaky isn’t it?  Well, this is as long as it gets…. I think I better give myself a rest… Ta-ta!

Yep, I’m officially a lola;p  Got my rest the other day and went to Ideal at Festi.  Turns out that both of my eyes had problems.  75-100 itech w/ matching astigmatism.  Kumusta naman?  I was relieved to hear that I’ll be getting a 50% discount on my glasses… I was choosing between the Dickies rectangular all plastic light weight glasses and  Theme’s  quirky  shaped glasses w/o  frames  but had the  metal  sides.   Doc Rica said the Theme glasses would be sturdier and the shape of the glasses were quite unique, but I thought the Dickies pair were safe, made me look well… younger;p Ahehe, what is vanity?  Anyway, Ma was going to pick up the tab so I let her decide.  We went with the Theme pair and multi-coated lens.  It looks okay, I guess… Getting teased is something to be expected especially from my bratty sis….  They said it will take a week for me to adjust - hopefully faster since I’ll be at Bataan by next week.  Haay, my right hand’s dead tired so I better finish this.  Why? I just finished my MS2 outline for finals - what an accomplishment hehehe…  1 night’s work.  Pwede na;p  Now off to packing.  I’ll be staying at the apartment.  Yep, I’m now a transient boarder at Luisa and Emilie’s place near school;p  This week is sure full of first times… Sige, gotta go=)

It was time for our annual checkup.  Regular VS.  Yes, yes, I’m 9lbs heavier than before=p Giving out blood has never been my thing… Mind over matter…  Buti na lang magaling yung medtech.  It wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be.  Really ridiculous for a future nurse to be scared of needles.  No scary lumps. The doc with the sniffles gave out the regular advice— just needed to hear it from a pro.  Then, what do you know?  The ophtha was the only one who gave me unexpected news.  Apparently my right eye is going down.  Man, this news would have Faiye rolling…  I guess it might seem unfair that I’m as addicted to reading as she is and still not need glasses.  Lemme see, i think she’s been wearing glasses for 10 years already.  I’ve finally caught the bug that bit.  Left eye’s still good and is doing the compensating for rightie over here.  Kumusta naman ang 25-100 na grado?  Very big difference but the ophtha assured me that it can still be corrected and prescribed glasses.  No debate from this corner… I’ve been wondering how it would be to wear glasses since I was a kid thinking it was sometimes a pain being ridiculously healthy.  You know how you’d rather stay home sick and do what you want to do instead of being at school all the time.  That’s me as a kid- no gratitude for God-given health hehehe…  And then it hits me when I don’t need the extra cost but of course would choose health over my pocket.  Wow, something new — eyeglasses, cool;p  I got the multi-… whatever that was.  P1600 for the lenses and P2300 for the glasses.  The ophtha has great taste.  Very light pair and matched my big face and cheekbones.   I got back home and  Mama starts shrieking over the price.  Haay, naku…. so here I go cancelling first to check my options.  Sayang, four gives pa naman.  Ma says that’s probably why it costs so much.  Jeez, now I have to check Ideal for all these other options… What is katamaran?  Makatulog na nga muna… nakakapagod lang isipin;p

1/2 kilo beef, 1 kilo chicken giniling cooked in garlic, white onion and olive oil. Don’t forget the rosemary as AmRose suggested. Pepper and salt to taste. Leave for a few minutes.  Then put in the tomato spaghetti sauce (whatever flavor there is… it’s probably gonna be four cheeses again;p), stir in the olives, bell pepper and mushroom… the veggies are optional, of course, but I’m a people person — go figure…  Italian seasoning - as much as my nose can take=) Leave the sauce cooking over low fire for an hour or two.  I usually put in a bowl of shredded cheese.  The more the merrier… kumusta naman ang mga kidney stones?  Or a little red wine should do the trick. 
Another option would be seafood.  There’s your regular mix - lapu-lapu filleted, rings of squid, crab sticks, squid balls, shrimp (probably not for me) marinated in lemon (or vinegar) with salt and pepper to taste.  Fry in butter and garlic.  Set aside.  Cook regular white sauce.  I’m not sure if I should do the mushroom sauce thingy or just plain cream.  No milk please…  After white sauce is cooked, put in the seafood mix. I think it should be good to go after 5 minutes.  Herbs are optional.
Now this one is something I’ve missed back from my college days… Uh, yes, I’m back in college but the one way back so and so.   I believe it was dulong sauce - yep, those little fishies.    I think it was cooked in olive oil with just pepper and lemon to taste.  Pretty simple, huh?
The mind tends to dwell on the next recipe right after cooking… Well, it has been months since the last time I cooked spaghetti so forgive me for making stomachs grumble hehehehe….

Man, midterms sure bummed me out… Even with advance reading, it was still hard.  Iba na talaga ang ulyanin;p  Yesterday right after the exams, I went to Makati to have lunch with LM.  I was supposed to go home but went around with her - nevermind the alalay uniform…  Got to meet her officemates - Marie, Dempsey, DG, Brenda, Kay, Francis, Paolo, Ian, Hasam.  Suddenly the characters of her stories had faces…  So that was how work was for my sis.   Turns out that her work day ends also as a bummer.  A project was not turning out as planned.  I was thinking of going out to relax, but LM still had work for today so we just bought crabsticks to fry and watched the House series DVD Kiko her bf lent her.   Friends have recommended watching House.  In fairness, ibang-iba siya sa Grey’s Anatomy — kelan kaya magkakaroon ng Season 4?   Back to House, ang galing ng mga diagnosis and their examination of the symptoms.  I kinda like how rude House can get. Such a horrifying bedside manner;p  Not much of love stories here although they do have relationships unlike in Grey’s which is more on the surgeons’ relationships.  I find myself nodding to medical terms - some of them I just learned recently.  It would be nice to go back and make notes to research the disease again.  I so loved the series. I finished 11 episodes - only because the DVD hung on the 12th episode.  What is obsessive?  What can I say?  I don’t have much time to watch these things… Kaya kung nuod, nuod! Just slept the whole day - kasi naman puyat sa pag-aaral at lakad kahapon.  Did I mention I was given the wrong directions to go to Krispy Kreme at paikot-ikot ako while LM and her team where going thru discussions?  Ok lang naman I haven’t exercised that much in months;p Pero dedbol na ako pagkatapos ng lahat-lahat.  What is deep sleep?  So back to work tonight… Ooooww, yes we have to go back for the pay and friends. Nevermind that I’m gonna have to work harder for a stat that’s just slipped a few notches lower than acceptable— arrgh….