The Story Of Enriqueta

A little dark-haired girl with noticeable dimples and bright dreamy eyes sits at the bottom of the old wooden staircase and solemnly peeks around the concealed corner of the kitchen as if waiting for something to come out but there's none. Few steps away on an intricately patterned tiled table, a cheap candle glitteringly illuminates the dark small room solely with a flickering amber glow as the dismal night gradually approaches. The girl was still seen there staring blankly at the dim lighted room, alone and thinking hard about something.

The dinky room is sweltering yet balmy coming from the radiant heat of the antediluvian stone fireplace nearby. Mother and Father are assiduously reviewing their meager finances just few weeks before their 14-day journey by ship to the Americas. There, Enriqueta will finish school and eventually attend college to become a teacher, a dream she wants to chase with unabashed passion. She will be the first ever in the family to leave this tiny village on the island of Sicily, Italy and receive a formal education.

As the years pass by, this only child of Italian immigrants graciously enjoys an extremely long and fully rewarding career heartily teaching literature. At times, she surprisingly finds herself teaching the children of her previous students. Her face radiantly and enthusiastically reflects with much pride each time her former students accidentally stop by to tell her about their fruitful accomplishments.

After years of teaching, she has masterfully built an incessant life-long and indelible friendships. She takes habitual daily walks, determinatively stopping to visit with the neighborhood grocer to belligerently haggle over the price of his newly hauled fresh bread. Every Sunday, she attends church with her amiable family and loyal friends. Her primary physician is a former obliging student who once convincingly wrote a very powerful essay about how he strongly wanted to fortunately grow up and "be a respectable doctor and take care of old helpless lonely elderly people."

She excitedly looks forward to her retirement when she can spend her wonderful days writing important solid memoirs of her childhood in Sicily and her unforgettable and memorable journey to America. However, the unanticipated arrival of Alzheimer's disease cuts her retirement short and cheats her existence all of a sudden. Little-by-little, she gradually notices that things do not seem to make sense anymore and seems extremely strange and odd. Enthusiastically devoted to her esteemed profession and her beloved students, Enriqueta had no children and never tried to get married. Her wonderful life revolved around her students, her books, and her church.

Now residing in the special care Alzheimer's unit, in a well known nursing care center in Hollywood, is a difficult and bitter adjustment for her, filled with unassuming doubts, unknown fears, and forlorn reluctance. The hundreds of collected books she had in her home have now become a neat stack of six on a small bedside table, arranged in alphabetical order by author. The top drawer is full of unopened cards and letters from former students wishing her well. Big numbered calendar and an enormous round wall clock adorned the wall at the foot of the bed for her to see.

An old faded black and white photograph of Enriqueta and her doting parents, taken just few days before their expeditionary trip to America, hangs on the wall next to her bed. A bright ceiling light over the single bed remains lit after remaining on throughout the long, lonely cold night. For the first time in her life, Enriqueta must share her space with someone else. It is confusing and frightening at times, but she tries to adjust and cooperate. She continues to smile with those noticeable dimples and bright dreamy eyes, although her face is laced with wrinkles at her fragile age of eighy-seven.

In the morning, the staff helps Enriqueta choose her outfit to wear for the day. They remind her to come to breakfast in the dining room. She routinely makes a stop to use the bathroom, slowly washes her hands in the sink, and then cautiously retrieves her hairbrush from her customized top dresser drawer. As she brushes her wavy, brittle silver hair, she regularly sees the staff hustling and bustling past her door providing breakfast and daily care to all of the residents.

Her 5 foot and 2 inch frame, perfectly groomed, and dressed conservatively in a light blue skirt, wearing discretely her pantyhose and shoes, topped with a white blouse, and cream colored cardigan, walks painstakingly into the hall. When someone had unconsciously spilled coffee on the dirty-white-colored vinyl floor, the haggard looking Enriqueta sluggishly bends over to clean it up with her white-embroidered handkerchief. She suddenly slips and fell on her right side, seriously fracturing and injuring her right arm. She immediately returns from the emergency room wearing a thick-looking immobilizer and a hugging sling. Upon arrival she is then transferred to the non-dementia unit in the same care center.

Two weeks had pass by, the feeble-looking Enriqueta loses eight pounds and the smile has inescapably left her wrinkly face. Her eyes were a dull stare, void of emotions, which appears expressionless and had no affect at all. She quietly sits in her wheelchair equipped with a self-release belt restraint and wears an uncomfortable incontinent brief under a pair of bright pink (her favorite color) soft velour sweatpants that are marked "Victoria Secret" across the waist. The wheelchair is permanently locked as she unassumingly sits across from the deserted nursing station, next to others in a semi-circle formation, all lazily and nonchalantly dozing in their respective wheelchairs.

Several core staff members passed by, but there is no active interaction or even a bit chance of coincidental eye contact observed, not even a hint of validation that those peacefully sitting residents lining up in their wheelchairs were actually existing at the corner. While she may be able to personally propel the wheelchair around the care center unassisted in the past, it is now temporarily locked and she is unable to unlock it by herself at that moment due to generalized body weakness. She appears defeated and helpless at that instance.

Across the hallway, a petite young fairly-complexioned nurse is on the phone intently talking with Enriqueta's physician, "Citalopram 100 milligrams, PO daily for depression. Lorazepam 1 milligram, IM PRN prior to care delivery for anxiety. Change dressing on coccyx pressure ulcer every other day. Is that correct doctor?" And so it begins...... loneliness, darkness, helplessness, worthlessness, and boredom... until she drifted away and couldn't remember everything.

Another Filipina Beauty

I was at work last night when I stumbled on an article about Megan Lynne Young competing in the recently concluded Miss World Pageant in Bali, Indonesia amidst the protest of the hardlined Muslim extremist group in Jakarta where the pageant was supposed to be held at its outskirts and was eventually moved to the exotic island of Bali for the safety of the contestants and the organizers. I've heard that she has a fat chance to bag the first and very elusive Miss World crown for the Philippines. And that I was excited to see as well.

Megan was a famous and beautiful actress in the Philippines and also a very bright, talented, and competent TV and program host. As a Filipino, I first saw her in GMA Starstruck and then I followed her when she joined the Pinoy Big Brother. From then, I noticed her unusual beauty considering that she was still a teenager at that time. I grew as an avid fan for her, dedicatedly watching her shows. I never heard of her for several years due to the fact that she went to college and had crossed fences from one network to another and my Filipino TV subscription was only limited to TFC which was her former acting and show hosting backyard.

Not until last month that I've seen her again, at 23 years old, very mature, beautiful, and queenly when she joined the Miss World Philippines and had won the said beauty tilt with ease. She appears very mature and professional on the stage. She was a stunning beauty and brain package and she was my sole bet for the entire program which she eventually had won easily without any hindrance. Piece of cake! After that, I thought she had a chance to win the international competition which was only few weeks away, to be held in the nearby Indonesia.

Her preparation for the international stage, after she won, was very short, but she appeared very confident and determined. I had also sensed her readiness for the said contest. I can see how ripe she is for the said event and very professional as well as very prepared for it. Amidst her glory and victory some people had blasted her because of her American heritage and her undying confidence.

There were some comments about her racy stint in the Rouge Magazine (an artful male magazine in the Philippines) wherein she showed some skin, in an artistic way, as a woman under the capturing lense of a famous professional Filipino photographer. I can't believe people will go through that extent to stain her reputation. But still despite of that, she was extremely steadfast to face her detractors. I myself believe in her cause.....

This whole month of September, Megan went to Indonesia to represent the Philippines for the 63rd Miss World contest. It was a month long campaign to find a lucky girl with a purpose, to represent the Miss World for its worldwide cause of promoting peace and goodwill around the world. There were rigorous selections along the way and my Megan had successfully emerged to be one of the early favorites. Needless to know that Megan had tried her utmost best to represent her country and make her countrymen proud of her.

Today, September 28, the final pageant was held in Bali, Indonesia (although it happened twelve hours ago because of the time difference here in the United States). The contest was held in the beautiful island of Bali wherein security was very tight because of the threat of the various Muslim extremist groups to disrupt the contest. The pageant was a great success and was televised by BBC (Miss World was a British franchise of course) and was been seen by millions of people worldwide but not here in the United States (I don't know why) so I just relied on the updates from Facebook by my "kababayans". I thank all my "kababayans" for all the minute-by-minute accounts. I lost some much needed sleep because of that and went to work half asleep but it's all worth it, because Megan won. Hahaha.

Megan was doing well in that beauty contest and was eventually qualified to the top 20, then to the top 12, then to the top 6, and then finally she was crowned as the New Miss World 2013. Jubilations were seen and heard inside the hotel building as there were a lot of screaming Filipino audiences attending the pageant show, and jubilations around the world as well as the news broke on Facebook first and then thousands of Filipinos responded to the pages on Facebook, sharing the site and commenting in it.

Now Megan, had conquered the world on her own right. She has beauty, brains, and class. I never failed to believe in her and she had made it to the zenith. She is an achiever and I salute her for her confidence and determination in eyeing the first Miss World crown for our country, which had remained extremely elusive to all our beauty contestants for so many many years. Megan, had filled that long drought with her stunning win today. She is an epitome of a true beautiful Filipina..... steadfast, intelligent, and determined. That's why I love this girl so much..... and now I love her more.

Now that she had proved herself to the whole world I hope all her detractors will stop pestering her. Posting nasty comments about her to dethrone her. She and Mutya Datul had brought pride for our country and they were both women heroes to me and to my countrymen. This year two beautiful witty Filipinas had made their mark in the annals of beauty pageants. They were Ms. Megan Lynne Young, the new 2013 Miss World (the first crown ever bagged by a Filipina in Miss World) and Mutya Johanna Datul, the 2013 Miss Supranational (whom I made an article before), who also won the first Miss Supranational crown for the Philippines. They were the first "First" and the country is very proud of them both.

To Miss Megan Lynne Young, I salute you for your determination in bringing home the bacon and giving pride for your countrymen and country as well. For sure, people will be excited to meet you at the airport when you go home. Congratulations hija, and continue to inspire other people and achieve your goal this year as the new Miss World 2013, educating people about loving humanity and the world. Thank you for the instant pride you've brought to us and for our country. May God Bless you on your endeavours as the new Miss World 2013.

"Mabuhay ka Bb. Megan Lynne Young! Saludo and mga mga kababayan mo sa yo, pati na ako na hangang-hanga sa yong angking ganda, talento, talino, kapakanan, at galing." Please stay humble and keep yourself grounded. We love you very much!

Foiled Rim Job

Last Tuesday I left my car at the Toyota dealership because one of the tire in the front right keeps getting flat after several days of having it filled up with air. It kind of puzzled me because it's always on that side all the time. It's been like more than a year already.

Last April when I left for my 14-day vacation to Mexico, I wasn't surprise to come back with a flat front right wheel. It always happens like that and I suspected that something might be wrong of the tire or maybe the rim. I had my four tires changed last December and the problems still persisted until now.

Not until I made a drastic decision last week and had the car dropped off at the dealer to have it examined and diagnosed. After few hours I got the result. They've told me that the front right rim was broken and that they needed to order the new rim and had it sent to the company that can chrome it. They've told me that they will call me once the job is done.

They've arranged me the rental car while having my car sitting at the dealership because it is not advisable for the car to be driven because of the problem. And I have to pay the rental car because they've told me that the damage was self inflicted and not due to factory defect. I didn't see this coming but I have to face it.

It's been past a week already that I had the car left there and until now the chances of having my car back is really non apparent. The agent just called me today that the chrome company was been overbooked this week so it may take another week for it to be done. Like I'm tongue-tied upon knowing it.

I know it only takes few days for the rim to be available but it took several days for them to do it just because my car's rim is chrome? I don't know about it. But oh well, I think there's something fishy about it. But oh well, shit happens.

I'm just not happy about this and yes I am frustrated about this foiled rim job. Dealership always takes advantage of their customers and I myself is helpless because I have nowhere to go to ask for second opinion. My car was been pampered ever since I bought it on day one and I don't want something to happen to it now that I had it for seven years.

It just sucks though that I'm still fanatical about the care of my car but honestly that car was been very pampered. And now, I am suffering about the consequences of having it taken cared of well. I am crushed though that the dealership was been taking advantage of my naïve situation.

Haist.... what should I do? I am not really ready for this. But oh well, I will give them few more days again. Hopefully, they will expedite the process. Crossing my fingers a thousand times. Huh!

Clinical Laughs

I've been doing clinical rotations with Batch 3 (from Medical Allied Career Center), in the Sub-Acute Ward at Los Angeles Medical Center. This is our second day already. This is also their first week back from a three week hiatus doing their Fundamentals of Nursing return demonstrations in school.

We've been here before for four weeks and it was really a drag because the students were been exposed to the hospital without doing any return demo of the fundamental nursing skills. It's just like sending a bunch of troops to war without proper training. All they did before was just change G-tube site dressing, do oral care and suctioning, and help the CNA for the patient care. Now that they're back after doing all the skills return demonstrations for three weeks, I felt that they're 110% more ready and well equipped with nursing skills.

Yesterday was their first day. And as I've observe them doing patient care and passing medications they're more adroitly improved and much much more better than the first few weeks that we've started here. We've done a lot of things now compared to before. Aside from changing G-tube site dressings, doing oral care and suctioning, and helping CNAs doing total care, they've been doing various injections now, calculate medication dosages, suction tracheostomies, change tracheostomy cannulas, dressings, and ties, insert foley catheters, do pressure sore dressing changes, perform finger sticks for blood sugar determination for those who are diabetics, assess patient from head-to-toe thoroughly, document patient findings on the MAR and progress notes with precision, etc. Oh my God we did a lot of things now.

Although there were students who were very slow at comprehendingand assimilating the process, I am happy with their overall performances. I can deal with those who are weak and help them improve more. I might need a lot of patience in order to tackle this dilemma but for now my focus is to make them establish a routine so that they can train themselves on what to prioritize first. So far they've been assimilating and applying what I've been teaching them and I am contented with the results.

Today, it's been quite better than yesterday. We started the day right with a very intimate pre-conference reviewing their first day performances and also tackling them some of the important points like interacting with the patients professionally, observing proper infection control and transmission-based-precautions, interacting with the staff in the unit professionally, and also observing proper HIPAA guidelines pertaining to pertinent patient health informations, in short observing proper confidentiality issues which they've been used to do all the time.

At one point, I assigned one of the student to give insulin shot to a young patient in 107A who is extremely obese. The patient is alert and oriented but was connected to a vent via a tracheostomy. I don't know how he ended up being trached but it seems that the patient can able to communicate through gestures but he cannot talk, and can participate in his care.

At the time when we came into the room he was eating graham crackers. He was signing or signaling to me and Yarid, waving his left arm holding a cracker. I thought he was offering it to us so I told him, "No, thanks! You can have it. It's your cracker" I thought he was just sharing the crackers to us. After that he got upset and keeps waving his hands at us indignantly. I looked at Yarid and immediately we bursted into innocent laughter. It never dawned on me that he was asking for more graham crackers. I am so naive about it.

Yarid and I were still smiling at each other and we just couldn't stop giggling and bursting into laughter. I told the patient that we will be getting more crackers for him and then we went out of the room still laughing. I just can't get over thinking about the whole situation. The patient is overweight and always has food at the bedside. I didn't even thought that he was still hungry, we'll he's always eating all the time though. That was a substancial involuntary humor that had gotten me. Some kind of a mild misunderstanding but it brought us to enjoy the moment by laughing and smiling. Oh God, we needed that.

Despite how busy we are we still managed to enjoy those precious and tender moments. It's good to have those sometimes. A chance to unwind and think that our job is not always about being serious and hurried but we also have a time to unwind in the middle of the rambunctious situations. And we have to savor that situation when it happens.

We actually finished early today. Some students were very thorough about their drugs studies, some were not prepared so I have to make sure that they knew what they were giving to their patients. I have one student preparing her meds for thirty minutes because she don't know how to calculate doses and also don't know the vital properties and information about the drugs she was preparing. She was very slow and I made sure that she knows what she was preparing by letting her do everything and not me spoonfeeding her.

I knew that she got irritated and frustrated at me but I have to do it for her sake. I hope she understands what I am doing to her. Hopefully, things will be more better next week I suppose. Can't wait to be back there again and probably encounter more challenging situations that can unwind us from the harsh reality of being a passionate nurse and a loyal caregiver.

Multitasking

Yeah... as a modern person, things needed to be adaptive. Adapting to changes in the environment must be an innate quality. Can't think of something else that made me invincible but things came out so well most of the time. Performing some tasks sometimes entails a lot of talent and creativity and it is quite challenging, mind-boggling, funny, anxiety-provoking, easy, hard, and a lot of superlatives you can think of....

Driving on the busy and crowded major freeways or super highways of Los Angeles can be boring. And I've been quite very multitasking inside the car just trying to beat up the nagging traffic. I'm quite very prolific on what I do and I didn't quite dig it most of the time. Driving is a one task that needs a lot of focus. Paying attention on the road is of paramount importance so as not to get involve in any accident that can be very devastating when it happens.

I can't believe myself doing a lot of things while I'm driving when the traffic was at its greatest peak. Driving and listening to music can be very relaxing as well as can lose your focus and concentration especially when I'm magically drawn into the music. Sometimes I can mislook somebody honking on me because I might have cut them at the wrong time. It's very dangerous.

Listening to classical-soothing-soft music was my number one passion and I have been doing that while I am driving most of the time. Paying attention to the details of the classical music was my forte trying to identify what kind of instrument is beeing played, blended, and mixed. I am always in awe especially when the music titillates my inner senses and core. And that really will put me in a trance or out-of-this-world haze thus forgetting that I am driving actually. It is very scary!

How much more if I added meditating while driving and listening to classical music. Hell yeah.... it is very scary indeed. I think I've been reciting the rosary lately while driving and listening to the classical music at the same time. Odd huh? Upon exiting on I-10 taking an eight-mile stretch going to I-405 was a drag. It took me more than thirty minutes to get out of that stretch every morning going to my clinical site in Playa del Rey.

That little stretch was the slowest traffic I've ever encountered every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning. So in order to beat the nagging boredom and irrevocable suffering of the perceptible effects of coming tardy to work, I intently focused myself concentrating to pray the rosary everyday, multitasking while driving and listening to soothing classical music. It had worked sometimes.

It just amazed me how wonderful the brain functions, absorbing all those untoward and inevitable stimuli. Listening, driving, moving, praying, picking my nose, blinking, singing, sneezing, fidgeting, holding the rosary, stepping on the gas and break pedals, looking side to side, looking over the side and rear view mirrors, feeling my numb feet on the pedals, shifting my weight from side to side, adjusting the volume of the radio, trying to check my notifications on Facebook, and a lot of things to do. It's kind of hella crazy.....

Well, now I realized that doing all those things while driving was quite a scary thought, which might endangered my life or someone else's life. I once was caught by a police holding my phone trying to lower down the volume of the music which I had connected on the car's sound system. And I got ticketed for a wrong offense of texting while driving which cost me $258.00 as penalty.

I tried to contest the charge and until now it's still being litigated. It was a pain but having someone stepped on my rights had given a big toll on me. That policeman was biased because he didn't even gave me a chance to explain myself. He just shunned me inside my car, moved to the back of my car, scribbled something on his clipboard, and flashed me the charged ticket which I obediently took. Shame on me though .....

Well, lessons learned from the past and still will have more lessons on the way. General rule is, don't multitask while driving because it can divide your attention and will put you in grave danger as well as lots of trouble you can't imagine of. Don't imitate me because I myself doesn't know what I am doing sometimes. I am not a superhero so I am also extremely vulnerable to anything else as well as any challenges, which I will honestly or hesitantly accept.

Learn everyday and try to internalize what you've learned. Don't just leave it in a corner as if nothing had happened. Don't just ignore it but face it boldly and end up victorious in the end. Always explore the meaning and consequences of all your actions and for sure you'll be going somewhere, where you'll experience blissfulness and feel big someday. Aim high and not just be contented of the effects of the present because there's still a future for us to experience and enjoy our most prized freedom.

I think I'm quite straying from my main ideas......... uh-huh... might probably multitask again. Haist... I have it though but when I lost my focus, something bad will happen. Geez... I super super hate it when that happens. Oh well, I must have cut back on my multitasking practices from now on for it won't give me any good. What d'ya think.... huh?

Excellent Tips About Money

This I read from an article in a Magazine I've read. I forgot about the name of the author but this is an excerpt of her interview with Mr. Warren Buffet which had given me a lot of insight about saving money. Some of this were very true that's why I wante dto post it here in my blog to share it to all of you.

On Earning: "Never depend on a single income. Make investment to create a second source."

Yes this may hold true. It is appropriate to save money and put up an investment in order to double that money. Some people nowadays are not setting aside for an investment. Instead they spend all their salary to some things that are not even necessary. And in the future it will gonna be late to save money. Saving money early by setting aside some for investment purposes will be helpful in the futue. And I firmly believe that. Despite how labile the market is yet it is still safe to invest as long as you don't touch that money. It will double up by the time of retirement.

On Spending: "If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need."

Yes, this is true again. Things we buy that we are unnecessary just piled up is our cabinets, storage, garage, or warehouse. And if we need money in the future and we don't have any sources at all we we will end up selling the things that we needed. Some will sell their houses because of overspending on teh things that is not even needed piling up our debts and had no means to oay it off because of our grave mistake of buying things compulsively which can destry our life and future.

On Savings: "Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving."

This is also very true. In reality people do save the mone that they left after spending. And this is a bad practice among us people. We can only spend the money that we earned after segregating some money for our savings. And this should be the safest and appropriate way of saving money. It helped us ave for the future thereby giving us a comfortable position that our future will be more secured financially and all aspect of life will be maintained well.

On Taking Risk: "Never test the depth of the river with both feet."

Definitely a very facttual statement. In venturing for another challenges in life we should not be very confident on some people because even the ones closest to us will hurt us. Always leave something for yourself just in case the situation will give you something to think of. It's hard but we are only responsible for ourselves and not others. We have to leave something for ourselves and not to be all out because if something will happen it is very difficult to pick ourselves up form the shattered pieces that the situation had brought us. always be smart and observant.

On Investment: "Do not put all egs in one basket."

Exactly yes. We have to be prudent where we invest our money. And in investing you have to remember that there are a lot of fishes in the ocean and that you don't have to feed on one forsh. You have to have the initiative to think about the future and the worst thing that could happen anytime, you'll never know. Putting on your money in one agency will probably put you at risk and that it will be irreparable if some major damage will be broken. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

On Expectations: "Honesty is a very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people."

On the other hand we have to trust who we talk to about money. Being honest to a person you just meet on the street will give the other people an idea that you can be fooled. Always leave some dignity in you. Do not bare your self in someone that you could not trust especially this investment people. It you're an open book to every body then at least leave 1% to yourself. Always guard yourself and not be so trusting to anybody. This will just open some doors to people who wanted to milk some money on you.

I was once taking risk to come here to America and it was a great opportunity for me to enjoy the unfaltering challenges everyday. I'm glad I did not falter. Life is always full of promises so always take each day a learning process. It's much better to save for the future. Thanks to Mr. Warren Buffet, the great economist, to have shared your vast knowledge to teach us things that we needed to know about money.

In fact, I think, money makes the world go round. So be sure to be careful of the allure of money. Spend wisely guys!

Objectives To Achieve

I am so burnt out lately. Thinking that it's helpless for me to lose weight was a very scary thought. I am desperate to lose weight but it seems that I am not very disciplined and submissive about it. I am just being so lazy submitting myself to exercise. It's frustrating but it is very true.

I kind of stay away from weighing myself lately because I know it will just frustrate me. It's my fault though but it's just a big fiasco on my part. I know I have gained weight enormously because everytime I see myself in the mirror my belly looks so prominent. Or should I get rid of my mirror also? Hahaha. It is very scary....

As I aged, the more I get lazy. This should be the age that I have to be doing a lot of exercises to burn all the calories that I accumulated in a day, but by the time I got home from work I am very tired already and so I have to go to sleep and nurse the fatigue. I have no energy as well as discipline to make myself move and do activities that can burn the calories.

It seems that this is a helpless situation on my part and I have to act early because I don't want to die early or stroke out there and then lose some functions of my body because of paralysis. It is a scary premonition....

I've been taking my antihypertensive medications religiously for most years already and thanks for it because my blood pressures were been well maintained all the time. I do hope it will go away though. And hopefully somebody it will.

In couple months, I will set out for a one month vacation in Mexico. This vacation will be the turning point or the answer to my dilemma right now. I intend to lose my weight on this long vacation by observing what I eat and exercise for at least one hour each day. I will regulate my diet, limiting fatty, salty, and sweet foods. And hopefully, this will work for me.

I did a lot of things before with the goal of losing weight. I took a lot of diet pills, from Xenical, Hydroxycut, etc. but still my weight just bounced back. I had a liposuction in 2007 and still my weight bounced back. Of all the things that I have done in the past that had great progress was intense exercise, either outdoor or indoor. It had helped me lose a lot of weight but since I've been working graveyard shift almost everyday I didn't have time to do it that's why my weight was unmanageable.It was my fault though, so right now I am on a mission again to do it.

I wish I could have a steady stamina so that I could engage in running and hiking again. But it seems that my illness and hypertension had hindered me to force myself to do it. I have to do it slowly because my body is not the same as when I was young. It is really hard to do it, having a lot of aches and pains. Old age had given a lot of toll on me. Aaaah..... I think I'm still in denial.

I hope this will work out and from there I will continue doing it despite how difficult it is. They say you can't gain if you cannot feel the pain and yes I have to endure the hardship in order to achieve my goals. And this I will do with determination and will power. Good luck to me.

Couldn't Be Prouder

Lately, I've read from the news that a Filipina had won the Miss Supranational Pageant held in Minsk, Belarus. Her name is Mutya Joanna Datul, an Ilocana who hails from Santa Maria, Isabella. I've seen her before in an interview with ANC's Anglique Lazo and she always prefers to answer in Tagalog rather than in English. Her stunning beauty was strikingly Filipino which also, I think, was her finest asset. This is the fifth year of Miss Supranational owned by a talent firm from Panama.

Mutya brought home not only the coveted crown and major prizes of Miss Supranational but also the distinction as the first Filipina and Asian to have won the crown. That was a nice shot for her. I mean she was an underdog in the Binibining Pilipinas and look at her now. She had worked hard to deserve where she's at right now. Without hard work someone's dreams could not be achieved. So they say, 99% will be a man's work and 1% will be God's mercy. And this really had good promises and had worked for Mutya when she fought her best during that pageant night.

Since most if Belarus' beauties where blonds, it's also intimidating for Mutya to get in the mix. In fact, she was the early favorite during the pre-pageant night. The one that really had made her famous was her signature "salagubang" walk matching with a quarter turn leaving a flirty look that had captivated the judges. She was stunning doing it on stage and it worked for her as well. Her "kayumanggi" complexion had added a more unique beauty that the judges in Belarus had envied of her.

In the end, she ended up taking the crown and had brought honor to my country. I couldn't be more prouder for her, as a Filipino. And lo and behold is the bacon she brought home, the pride that the country could forever treasure. Now her bashers from the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant will close their wide mouth shut and eat up their degrading words because Mutya had just proved them enormously wrong about their predictions and beratements. Hopefully, Mutya will come back as a hero and will received a lot of well wishers when she comes back to the country on Monday.

Recently, another beauty pageant is ongoing in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Miss World Pageant which is another famous and prestigious beauty pageant. The Philippines had send somebody who is very capable of plucking that greatly elusive crown. And hopefully, this will be the best time because the Philippines had send a very strong contender in the person of the talented and beautiful actress, the 23-year-old Megan Lynne Young, who feels that she is mature and ripe enough for the pageant after being interviewed post-winning of the Miss World Philippines just couple weeks ago.

The pageant is currently ongoing in Jakarta, Indonesia amidst various Muslim protest to stop it from happening that's why the programs were now moved to a more open and safer Bali, mostly populated by Hindus rather than the Muslim extremists. The final pageant will be held on September 28, 2013, in Bali as well, and I am hoping and praying that Megan will win this time or at least will get some of the topmost awards. We will keep an eye on the pageant online and I will keep you all updated about it. Ciao!

Food Idioms That Are Right Under Your Nose

Sometimes, we encounter these words and we totally forgotten that it has a special meaning. That's because they are called idioms. And idioms are words with hidden meanings which makes a sentence more palatable....maybe because they are in a form of food. Without further ado here's eight words that makes your conversation more tasty.

1. Nutshell - the term "in a nutshell" refers to a short description, or a story told in no more words than can physically fir in the shell of a nut. But the origin of the term tests those limits with the most longwinded of tales. The ancient Roman encyclopeadistPliny the Elder claimed that a copy of Homer's The Iliad existed that small enough to fit inside a walnut shell. Almost 2000 years later in the early 1700s the Bishop of Avranches tested Pliny's theory by writing out the epic in tiny handwriting on a walnut-sizws piece of paper an dlo and behold, he did it!

2. Beans - English speakers have been using the word "spill" to mean "divulge secret information" since 1547, but the spilling of beans in particular may predate the term by millenia. Many historians claim the secret societies in ancient Greece voted by dropping black or white beans into a clay urn. To spillthose beans would be to reveal the rsults of a secret vote before the ballots had been counted. "Kidney he lives, pinto he dies!"

3. Pie - as many of us know from experience, it is not so easy to make a pie. A buttery crust can fal apart in the deftest of hands and around Thanksgiving many pumpkin "pies" might be more accurately deemed punmpkin "soups". On the other hand (or for our purposes) anyone can become an expert at eating a pie. Popularized in the US in the late 1800s, the most notable use of pie is to mean "simple and pleasurable" appears in Mark Twain's The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Part of our next food idion makes a home inmany pies, especially in America.

4. Apples - apples and oranges refers to two incommensurable items, ex. a comparison of things that cannot be compared. Though they are both fruits, apples and oranges are separated by color, taste, juiciness and 89.2 million yar sof evolution. The idion first appeared in as apples and oysters in John Ray's 1670 Proverb collection, and equivalent terms exist in many languages: "grandmothers abd toads" in Serbian to "love and the eye of an axe" in Argentine Spanish. What other funny fruits turn unusual phrases?

5. Bananas - not only does going bananas mean "to go crazy", the term can point to things for which you'v egone bananas, or obsessions. According to lexicographer E.J. Lighter, going bananas refers to the term going ape often used in American popular culture in the sceond half of the 1900s. Apes were seen crazy by the mid-century media, and what do apes eat? Bananas! For example, we're bananas for grammar but we go bananas when people end sentences with prepositions.

6. Tea - Though English is spoken all over the world, there are certain idioms that recall its, well, Englishness. Popularized in British Edwardian slang, cup of tea originally referred to something pleasant or agreeable. The negative usage as in not my cup of tea arose during World War II as a more polite way to say you didn't like something. "You don't say someone gives you a pain in the neck," explained Alister Cooke in his 1944 Letter from America. You just remark, he's not my cup of tea.

7. Cheese - perhaps the savoriest idion on this list, teh word cheese can refer to a person or thing that is important or splendid as well as to the delicious dairy product. The usage is thought to have origins in Urdu, from the Persian chiz meaning "thin". In common usage, "the big cheese" is a person of importance or authority, and cheese is often associated with smiling, based of the "say cheese" method of posing for pictures. Sometimes they use it as an adjective saying "cheesy" meaning the person is odd.

8. Eggshells - our final idiom is our most delicate: walking on eggshells or taking great care not to upset someone. It is thought to have originated in politocs when diplomats were described as having the remarkable ability to tread so lightly around difficult situations, it was as though they were walking on eggshells.

In a nutshell, we hope you go bananas for our foof idioms. Whether or not they'r eyour cup of tea, these terms are easy as pie to use and remember and they'll make you the big cheese of any conversation! So go ahead and spill the beans, it' sjust like apples and oranges anyway. Hehehe.

Words With A Suffix -esque

I stumble son this very interesting article about words that ends in -esque. Hope you all enjoyed it in as much as I enjoyed reading it. Read on and enjoy and thanks for hopping in just as I accidentally stumbled these words.

1. Picaresque - when picaresque entered English in the first half of the 19th century, it meant "pertaining to rogues or scoundrels." Soon after it sintroduction into English, however, it became a satirical genre of fiction dealing with the antics and adventures of knavish-yet-attractive heroes. This term comes from the Spanish term picaro meaning "rogue".

2. Rubenesque - the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens is the namesake for this -esque word. Rubens is well-known for painting Baroque landscapes, portraits, and religious andmythological masterpieces in the 17th century. His work often showcases plump and voluptuous women, and thi sfeature has given Rubenesque its meaning: if a woman is escribed as Rubenesque, it means that she is alluringly full-figured.

3. Grotesque - grotesque comes from the Italian word grotto meaning "cave". In Rome, the basements of ancient ruins were called grottoes, and the paintings on their walls were called grotesques. This term describes fantastically shaped and grouped forms, as in decorative work combining often ugly or bizarre humans and animals. Grotesque first entered English in the 16th century as a noun, though now the adjectival form is more commonly used.

4. Kafkaesque - Kafkaesque means "resembling the literary work of Franz kafka." This 20th-century German writer brought the world such discombobulating works as The Trail and Metamorphosis. If something is Kafkaesque, it often contains surreal, nightmarish landscapes in which characters go through existential crises. These characters hopelessly question the illogical ways of bureaucratic institutions with no hope of escape from the madness.

5. Burlesque - Burlesque comes to English from the French, which is rooted in the Italian burla meaning "ridicule" or "mockery". Since teh 17th century, the term burlesque has been used to describe art, often literary or dramatic in nature, that vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity, all for the sake of laughter.

6. Chaplinesque - named after none other than the fmaous British comedian, writer, director, producer, and composer, Chaplinesque means "characteristic of or resembling the comedy or filmmaking style of Charlie Chaplin." Born in 1889, this celebrated silent-film star started his entertainment career as a clog dancer, moving on to perform in various vaudeville acts befor ebecoming a hero of the silver screen

7. Arabesque - The term Arabesque originally meant "in an Arabian style," when it entered English in the 1600s. Arabesque deisgns are exquisitely ornamental and are distinguished by sinuous, serpentine lines, or linear motifs. From this, a figurative meaning emerged, and arabesque came to also mean "fanciful". In the realm of ballet, arabesque is the name of a graceful pose in which the dancer stands on one leg with the othe rleg in the air extended behind.

In as much as I enjoyed learning these words, I hope you all learned from it, too. isn't it amazing! Now I have seven words added in my vocabulary although I have known grotesque, burlesque, and arabesque yet here they were explained so vividly which now I've known them better. Thank you Lord!

Common Sense Makes Sense

I don't know I am always grouchy lately. I may have not noticed it when it happens but I just can't help it. I easily got irritated and annoyed when people doesn't use their common sense. It is very annoying to me. I don't know, I am just a person that expects too much perfection when I assigned someone a task to accomplish.

Okay, my job entails a lot of delegating task and sometimes I can't help passing it on to my subordinates especially when times are so high strung with a lot of things happening here and there and I have to intervene. I am a person who delegates simple tasks to my team members and I don't give those tasks if that person is not capable of doing it. I also trying to gauge the scope of their practice so I know they can accomplish it in a jiffy.

One thing that annoyed me sometimes is that when people complaints of a task being handed to them. They feel that they were being discriminated because I pass them the job. And I needed to be firm that they have to do it or else I will write them up for insubordination. My director had given me some liberty to issue them anecdotals and write ups. In short, she wanted me to be a martinet.

Yes, I am very strict and I expect them to perfectly do the task. Okay, I'll take it. Not too perfect but close to perfect may be. Hehehe. And it entails a lot of common sense if tehy get me. Problem sometimes is that they don't have common sense. They just want the easy way and that to sit down and make all their butts blow up. I hate working with lazy and relaxed individuals. I am so allergic to them.

I am a person who wanted the task done stat. And I am a constant bugger until I get what I wanted. I heavily scrutinized certain work then gave them positive an dconstructive inputs on how to improve. As a teacher and a nurse supervisor I always see to it that my students and colleagues learned from me.

There is no greater joy unless you've heard a lot of compliments. And it lifted your pride and spirit that you are being appreciated. That alone can jolt my innermost self and gave me a sense of accomplishments. I am proud to be a leader and I always use my common sense.

Yes, common sense makes sense at all. And I am proud that my students are very interactive and very willing to learn. There is no greater joy to know that all my efforts to teach and at least live simply has it's rewards. I didn't see it coming and we have to. Life is not that cruel, but it gave me a lot of intimate lessons in learning myself and others.

Gosh, I never dreamt that things will be ultimately be gone as I go near towards the end. The commencement of it all is how I've touched someones heart and got inspired by me.

Sometimes we make mistakes and it's normal. Mistakes will let us learn and it will strengthen you more as an individual. God always has been accepted us no matter who you are. In the end, it's you who will decide for your own future. Choose wisely and always make everything simple and with conviction. This is a true essence of a person with an admirable common sense. Act and choose wisely.