Monthly Archives: February 2023

If you found or know someone who pushes you to stand for something, keep them. Nowadays, they are either missing or utterly difficult to find.

I write not only to remember but also to make sense. To understand. To synthesize. To expound. Or it can be to breakdown. To deduce. To summarize. Writing, to me, is a form of thinking. I write to think better. Unique ideas deserve to be written because they might never come to you again. And if you are able to put your thoughts into words, that means you understand them better--you will understand you better.

We don't expose our mistakes, the times we messed up and the moments when we felt dumb. These things are actually the important ones to remember and learn from because they can be the catalyst for our growth. The concept of "attacking the resistance" will keep us from getting stuck. Observe a person who made a lot of mistakes to someone who prevents having them. Notice that the one who made more mistakes (and realized something) are quicker to make decisions than the other who chose the "safe" route. It's because we worry a lot. The most unproductive habit I have known and experienced is to excessively worry about something without doing anything. And this boils down to our fear of asking. There is no "dumb question" when you're trying to make sense of things you are not good at. Let us practice getting ourselves out there. As long as it'll not risk our lives, go make that bet. Failure is only certain if we never tried. Today, I asked for a legal advice, I thought it was intimidating but it was actually not that bad. Now I know the details as to why it can be expensive. If I did not ask, I wouldn't know.

I was cramming to get another job after having a 4-week vacation in the Philippines. My recruiter sent me 4 options/hospitals that matched what I was looking for. Without doing prior research (as I usually don’t), I based my pick on how much the hospital pays relative to the hours worked. Plain, simple data. So I picked New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Easy decision, I thought. There was a catch (of course) and I would find it out later as I go.  After signing up with the hospital, I went to do my research about the hospital. By now, you can tell I am not good at doing due diligence at all. I usually do my research after the fact rather than before like a normal person would do. So I am a member of a known Facebook group for travel nurses and out of nowhere I’ve decided (this was my research) to quickly check on some feedback from nurses who have previously worked in NHRMC, and guess what, most of them were negative–words that are definitely not exciting. But of course, I don’t believe everything that’s said on social media as some people tend to exaggerate their experiences even though it was mediocre at best. So I am still giving the facility a benefit of the doubt.  My first week went fine. We had the usual class orientation, brief history of the facility and presentation of their policies. One of the educators seemed nice though, the other lady was…

May your soul rest in peace, uncle Nathaniel aka "Kandong", codename: Casper. He was my mother's younger brother. When someone close to us dies, we imagine the fleeting precious moments we've shared together. With uncle Kandong, it was his bright, unintimidating smile. He was happy with simple things and he always looked very content. He was not rich or famous and I have never heard of him being involved in troubles in our area. Whenever I visit my mommy Luz's place where he lives, he always had something to offer me to eat or drink. I remember back in the days when cellular phones were a thing, he would show me "new tricks" one can do on their cellphones. He would giggle after showing me that he had a text signature on every text message that he had sent--Casper. Uncle Kandong was also a father to his nephew and niece. He loved them unconditionally, took care of their needs like they were his own children. He was very protective of them to the point where I find it silly, but who am I to judge him for loving them dearly? They were his new source of smile. To our creator, we thank you for the life of uncle Kandong. I'm sure he'll flash his smile when he gets up there.