Hospital rotations are back on track for us little nurselings. Our group is supposed to be (the schedule still needs a little tweaking) doing RMC OPD come Monday until the end of the month. Then we'll move to RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine) for our pm shift there for November. And finally, Ospital ng Maynila, medical ward for the December rotation.

Two weeks ago, I was hoping that we were to be assigned at the Kawit hospital, as claimed through text by Kuya Mike, where delivery cases are plenty. It turned out that I was hoping dearly in vain, as accurately predicted by [info]aisushi . There is still Curative II, however, so my hopes are still high that before the end of the school year, our major and minor cases would have been completed by then.

My books for this trimester will not be included on the list of money issues to be tackled. Thank God for Ate Grace and her daughter's books. The books are one edition behind but I'll make do with them. I have to. Besides, it's never been my problem if my books are borrowed and old. Heck, I got 1.25 in my pharmacology by feeding off photocopied pages with the colored one at the library. The two books will instead go to another list which is the still-to-be-bought-books-even-after-graduation. Pharmacology, Fundamentals of Nursing (borrowed an old edition from Apple), and Suddarth and Brunner's Medical-Surgical Nursing. From time to time one's got to do his homework and remember theories.

...

That would be all, I think. ^_^

I think I should make a new blog, a private one, and move all my current digital diary entries there.

Always like this, my head
held high against heaven
my hands against your chest,
ready to push away. At any
moment, I would cry, pull
you close, against heaven -
against me. Again and again.

-RCA

The Chess Mess Test

I found the site while browsing Ate Jo's blog. ^_^ It's a nice quiz.

Your result for The Chess Mess Test...

The Rook's Citizen

The Rook’s Citizen is the guardian of birthdays, holidays and celebrations. They are generous hosts. They observe joyfully the traditions and are very liberal in giving when custom suits. Don’t be fooled by the pleasantry – they enjoy running the show. They are astute in seeing problems and aren’t afraid of delegation. They work hard and play with zest. They provide service and expect others to contribute.

The Citizen is wounded easily because their hearts are on their sleeves. They have a strong sense of right and wrong but are torn between that and the overwhelming need to rescue others. This can result in a swift action – often as motherly reprimand. As a caretaker the Citizen is vigilant. The world can be seen as a hostile place, one that cannot be trusted. They serve as great protectors and are perfect for the nurturing of young in education.

The Rook's Citizen prefers living with a focus on the world around them. They take in values via the five senses in a most literal and concrete fashion. They work hard and with efficiency. They maintain great relationships because of their cooperative natures. They will keep everyone informed and attempt to reach decisions through consensus. This is another ‘Pawn’ that is needed for their providing natures foundations of society. They bring the best out in others because they value everyone’s input and needs. They are the pleasant type and make others feel good about themselves. They will find it hard to accept flaws in others because they are the kindest and most giving of individuals.

Check out my other tests!

Changeling Type | Mage Sorter

Take The Chess Mess Test at HelloQuizzy

Ian asked me to host the tribute for him and I couldn't turn the favor down. I already asked a lot of favors from him, like sleeping over at his place when my supposed to be moving day to my dorm got canceled, and he's too busy to host the tribute itself. It's high time to return them and help him. Poor guy was forced to be the ex-com president, thanks to our coercive efforts. Well, he's not failed us once. Ian gets the job done. He deserves anyone's help. Mine for instance.

Last term, I also hosted the said event along with Therese, who's from another class, and we nearly, yes nearly, made fun of ourselves by being so clumsy at first, then a little throughout the event. Our inexperience and obvious lack of preparation showed and I'm pretty sure a lot of the older students and the faculty members noticed. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be the last tribute's rerun.

I'm not new to the stage - or being in front of a large crowd. I was very active in the drama club when I was in high school, though I didn't write about it much here on LJ. But I find acting different from emceeing/hosting, however. You have to be formal and tactful at all times. And being the funny man doesn't seem to work on octogenarians. But this time, Therese and I are a bit more prepared.

Hehe.

You can't say hehe on stage by the way.

~~

Finals is on Friday. And I have yet to re-read my notes. Heaven help me

I wrote this way back in 2005. This is one of those poems that only I could fully understand. It holds a strong personal touch so it has little or no value at all when it comes to the communication part.

Kuya Neil views poetry as a form of communication with the same elements as normal verbal discourse. Do I even remember his views right? Up to this day, I still stray from his views. I'm still so young after all, rebellious. Maybe one day I'll come to appreciate them. For now, I'll settle with free free verse.

~~

Untitled
by RCA

He waited for such
a long time under
the heavy clouds, only
to be caught in floods
that made impassable folds
of tears and frustration.
Smiles seldom bloomed
when the rain fell down.
But his did, without preamble,
for he waited. And it shall
quench his thirst,
drown him even, in the
company of sky water.

#

On personal journals

This was written for my speech class last year.

**

On personal journals
by RCA

It all started one balmy sophomore day when I got envious at a classmate who insisted on christening his journal, his notebook to be exact, the most feminine of names a boy could choose - Coraline. I fumed every single moment he blurted out “Dear Coraline” here and “Dear Coraline” there not just because he looked like a total idiot while doing it but because he teased me with it. I couldn’t do a thing but to puff my cheeks scarlet out of annoyance. Then one fateful day a brilliant idea popped into my head telling me, “Why shouldn’t I make a journal for myself?” Keeping a personal journal has been my passion since then and I have reaped myriad a benefit as far as keeping it alive is concerned.

The first noticeable change that I observed was the slow but sure maturation of my penmanship. My ugly and almost unreadable scrawl was transformed into more dignified cursive strokes. It also had a direct effect on my attitude in note taking. My hand endured more during long hours of taking down notes from the blackboard that looked down ominously upon me. It had been an arduous task but with my journal by my side, I said goodbye to note taking depression.

Then, the issues of my tear-streaked early teenage life came in. The wars I waged against my parents for rebelling against them, the grades that I had flunked and secretly kept away from my parents' noses, the cold shoulder from my siblings and my small – or big – squabbles with them were all inked into my trusty journal. To put things short, neither morsel of emotion nor a thread of fact of my florid teenage life escaped the venomous honesty I upheld for my journal. Writing down fervently on it gave me a sense of security that had never been false for all I care. I cannot say that it was an outlet where I vented all my anger at when other ones had been always available. It had been more of a Canopic jar that kept my sanity closely under control.

Finally, keeping that journal made me realize that there was more to life than what it ultimately offers us – money, power, material wealth. We can satisfy our hearts' desires but we can never be wholly complete without satisfying the underlying equation of life that is happiness. I learned, through the crude observational skills that I had along with journal writing, that putting up a positive outlook in life is never enough. You have to live that optimism in your life – in your actions, the way you speak, deep down to the very core of your being – in order to find that shard of happiness that you so long for.

As for you, my dear audience, it's up to you to decide if you should keep a personal journal for yourself. You can try it out for fun or take it up to the next level. As for that journal, it eventually got filled with my constant scribbling and for once I never got tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Up to now, I still have that hardbound book safely cradled somewhere in my closet, albeit old and dusty, carrying with it the melancholic and the joyous songs of my youth.