• Update my blog more often. I have sort of moved to blogspot to give beauty blogging a try, but I am still keeping my livejournal for more "personal" entries
• Ask my photography-lovin, SLR-ownin friends (hahahaha) to teach me how to use my regular digicam to make the freakin eyeshadow colors pop.
• Try not to be late for work. I don't really get reprimanded for arriving after endorsement (and at times after rounds hahaha), and there's no salary to be deducted from as penalty for being late, but it wouldn't hurt me to try to show up for work on time. Like once a week maybe? Hahaha just kidding.
• Lose weight and do a bit of lifestyle modifications. I did not feel so good after the AIF christmas party wherein I scarfed down on 2 palm-sized slabs of beef, lots of chocolate, alcohol, and junk food. Plus I went home around 3:30 am and I had to go to my cousin's daughter's baptism the next day. My blood pressure shot up a bit  during the baptism's after party which I was not able to enjoy much because I couldn't participate fully in the activities, i.e. drinking and overeating. I know this has been on my new year's resolutions list every effin year but instead of losing I seem to be gaining weight but it has become a tradition of mine so here it is again.
• Stop spending a huge chunk of my allowance on beauty products
• Start Odesk already. Seeing as I won't be getting hired as a regular, salary-earning employee anywhere anytime soon. The waiting lists are so long, it'll be a miracle if I get hired before my volunteer experience turns a year old. I need money!!!
• Read 50 books

I AM, bitch. Hahahaha courtesy of pearsonvue.com's quick results. I paid $7.95 just to know the results 2 days after my exam date.

Anyway, so on my exam date, I was 2 hours early. Weirdly enough, I was calm. I just wanted to get the exam over with. At that time I was so tired of reviewing that the mere sight of my laptop sickens me. Not to be cocky or anything, but while I was waiting to be led to a computer, I felt pretty confident because eventhough I answered and rationalized about a 100 questions per day (and on some days I cheat and do only 75 hahaha), which was half of what most people suggested that I accomplish per day, I have had a lot of encouragement from my family and friends. Visiting the Manaoag church also helped boost my confidence. I think I even smiled dorkily when my picture was taken, which was a requirement before going inside the testing area.

I sat down in front of my computer. Finally! Question number one was hard, but I decided not to worry about it because I still have more or less a hundred more to go. But then by the time I got to question number 10, I could feel my smile fading. I was cursing under my breath with every question. By the time I reached number 50, I wanted to run out of the testing area. Hahaha. So anyway I was hoping that my computer is going to stop at number 75, but then I got to 76 so I resigned myself into answering 200 questions more. It's a good thing I had a heavy breakfast. I was not really looking at the item number after I reached past 75, so I was a bit shocked that my computer suddenly went blank after I submitted my answer for the question I was currently working on. And then I suddenly mouthed FUCK!! It's over. I didn't even get a chance to fight until number 265. I'm not sure but I think my computer stopped somewhere between 85-90. Hahaha. So I left the testing area and went to get my things from the locker that was assigned to me. I was still in a state of shock. My cousin won't be picking me up from Trident (where the testing center was located by the way hehe) in about an hour so I just decided to head over to Cityland, which is about 2 buildings away, where there's a Booksale branch. I didn't even have a chance to browse because the moment I stepped inside the store, I had the overwhelming urge to cry. So I went out again and just headed over to the nearest Ministop, sat down in a table for four, and tried my very best to calm down. A few tears escaped. It must have been awkward for the guy who I was sharing a table with. Hahaha. When my cousin finally came, I wanted to tell her to just take me home because I wanted to cry and cry and cry. But I saw that she made an effort to look nice, because we were planning to have a lunch at Circles in Shangri-La, then to Booksale Makati Cinema Square, as a sort of celebration after my exam. I didn't have the heart to tell her that at this point I won't be able to tell the difference between SM's shawarma and the one in Circles, because I was feeling crappy. So I forced myself to eat. By the time we got to MCS tears were forming at the corner of my eyes so I hastily ran to the bathroom and cried there. Hahaha. I went back 15 minutes later after I have calmed myself down. I tried to browse through the Booksale shelves, I really did. I agree that it was the awesomest Booksale branch I have been to so far, but like the buffet lunch, I was not able to appreciate it. I think I just bought some 35 peso Marion Zimmer Bradley book just so we can finally go home because my cousin won't let me leave the store without buying anything.

When we got home, there was no place for me to wallow and cry because all the rooms were occupied. So  I just locked myself in the bathroom. My tita called me over to her room to ask how my exam went but I just gave her two word answers and then just told her that I have a headache and I'm super sleepy because I am not used to waking up at 6 in the morning. And then I cried some more. I kept on thinking about the $400 I have just wasted and the other $400 mother and father would be forced to shell out when I retake the exam. My lola has been in the hospital for about 3 weeks at the time and I really can't afford to waste that kind of money. I thought about how I am going to tell all my friends and acquaintances about how I stupidly failed an exam I studied almost more than 3 months for.

Two days later I got the results. My mouth dropped open because I was really expecting to fail. I plurked about and told my friend Rochelle on YM because there was no one to tell the news to here at home, everyone was either still asleep or at work when I was checking the pearsonvue website. I texted the news to my tita who I think cried. Tears of joy she said, but I think she was just relieved haha because based on my reaction after the exam, she was expecting the worst. I told mother but she couldn't stay very long on the fone because she had to wake up early for work the next day.

I was happy and of course relieved. I actually did it! I passed! And on my own too hehe. But then an hour later, I felt bummed. It's because I suddenly realized that I yet have to go job-hunting. One more day of being jobless means one more day of being stuck here. And that was why I spent the past few days pouting. I kept thinking that I should have tried starting the jobhunt earlier. I felt so bad that I couldn't even enjoy reading for fun.

Yeah well stuff happens. I'm feeling much better now. I still haven't found a job, but I have been going to the hospital everyday to visit my lola and sometimes the 2-10pm nurse lets me help with the tube feedings. It's boring in the hospital, even with a book and my DS in tow, but it's loads better than staying at home. I have had enough of this place when I was reviewing for the NCLEX. And that way I get to sort of practice before I get a job or be allowed to volunteer.

Please kindly excuse whatever grammar crime I have committed. I haven't blogged in exactly 5 weeks, or so my livejournal tells me. Hahaha.

Next up: book reviews for whereisaif.com. I hope. Hehehe

Kill me now. Hahahaha. I'm too lazy to review. I thought that when I finally get my ATT and an exam date I would be more serious but no, almost a month till the said date and I still take frequent 1 hour breaks and I still do a maximum of 150 review questions and rationales. That's a hundred less than what the recommended number is at this point before the exam date. I think Kaplan reviewees were told that one has to answer at least 10,000 review questions in order to have a fighting chance of passing the NCLEX. I am in trouble then because I think I have answered a little over 1000.

On the other hand, I can't wait until the exam is over. Not that I am depriving myself completely of the things I enjoy doing. I mean I usually read a non-nursing book, play Rhythm Heaven (still can't get past the Glee Club argh), Elite Beat Agents, and Mario Kart on the DS, and go online on my frequent one hour breaks, and I usually postpone my self-review for American Idol on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but after the exam I can spend more time doing the said enjoyable things without feeling guilty afterwards. And without a time limit. Hahaha.

Been reading The Zahir on my said one hour breaks. And I think I'm getting a bit impatient with it.

For some reason, I just felt like reading my old livejournal entries last week I think, after I got home from Gino's birthday/gatecrashing Faye's house, and ugh I hate my 2002 self. Shet. Ewwww. It really is a good thing that we all grow as individuals hahahahaha.

It's been an effing hot week. Literally. I went out with the AIF people last night, and while we were waiting to be seated at Chili's, I was sweating. Inside GB5. Even the mall aircon is not as efficient anymore. Or maybe it was just me because I was speedwalking. Hahaha.  I wasn't able to finish my chicken sandwich because of the bottomless lemonade and unlimited nachos. I hould have gotten an appetizer or something. Hahaha kuripot mode. I had loads of fun though. I love love love the AIF people. My cheeks were hurting when I got home last night and my throat felt a little dry. Must be from all the laughing and talking we did last night. I really wish I could go HK and Macau with you guys on November :( actually we'll see after I get a real job ok?

Been LSS-ing on Up Dharma Down's Sana. It has been played on loop on my iTunes.

There really is nothing much to blog about in my life right now. I just wanted to waste time on the internet.

Currently listening: Sana - Up Dharma Down
Currently reading: The Zahir - Paulo Coelho

From Facebook. Hahaha I was tagged like weeks ago and I wasn't planning on answering this thing but then I needed something else to do when my self-review is starting to turn my brain into lugaw so here it is! Hahaha

1. When it comes to dessert, if it's not chocolate it's not worth it. Even if it is caramel apples.

2.I love walking, and I love doing it alone with only my ipod for company. Eventhough my weight and physical appearance begs to differ. hahaha

3. I love makeup and maybe the reason I am into it so much is because I don't need a 24-inch waistline and fabulous long legs to look good in it.

4. I hate math and it hates me just as much so it's all good.

5. I'm a smeller (is there such a word? hahaha) and people who smell good oftentimes earn 50 pogi/ganda points with me.

6. I cannot resist a real good book bargain, especially if it's under 100 pesos. Dem yu booksale!!

7. I hate killing cockroaches because of the crunching sound it makes when you crush them with a chinelas. And cleaning up afterwards is messy.

8. I haven't worn nail polish for the past 4 years thanks to nursing. Even on my toes, but that's because I have ugly feet and the polish will emphasize their ugliness more

9. One of my closet ultra baduy fave songs is Alipin by Shamrock. And yes, I have more than one hahaha

10. I love animated movies and tweener shows and apparently the love for non-age appropriate media runs in the family because my dad loves to watch the shrek movies, fresh prince of bel-air, and the peanuts cartoons everytime the said movies and shows are on tv and my mom loves the hills. hahaha

11. I cannot leave the house without eyeliner or mascara on (save for the times that I wear my glasses instead of contacts) because I have a kuliti scar on my right eye that I'm a wee bit self-conscious about

12. I'm not really a beef person except when it's in tapa form or sliced into really thin strips like in Yoshinoya or Pepper Lunch

13. I don't know how to put on blush on or bronzer correctly because I never use those things on my face.

14. I almost always make sure that I have a book in my bag before I leave the house that's why I never did like tiny bags.

15. I love nanay games like Diner Dash, Luxor, Cake Mania, 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

16. I sometimes go on dates with myself. Who else would know the right way to treat me but me? hahaha

17. I talk too much like most of the time but there are two fail-safe things that could shut me up: one is hunger, the other one is a super hot boy. Hahahaha

18. I do not like using text shortcuts. I like spelling out my words. That was before. Now I am forced to utilize this way of texting especially if I am in a hurry because I'm on prepaid now, I'm paying for my own load, and the 5 and 2 buttons of my fone are faulty.

19. My seatmate in first year high school was getting tired of me asking what was written on the board that he made me wear his glasses and that was when I realized that I needed a pair of my own. I have been wearing glasses since then.

20. I sometimes judge a book by its cover. That was why I bought the book Twilight in the first place. I didn't like it by the way. No offense to the people who did.

21. When I was in DLSU, I would always dress up during Wednesdays because of U-break. It's weird I know I mean the AIF guys and I don't even leave goks during the university-wide break anyway hahaha

22. I hate my hair, hated it since I was in grade 6. Oh I did love it on the two years that I had it rebonded though.

23. Majority of the bands/singers on my ipod are chicks. Because chicks rule! hahaha

24. I get insomnia attacks at least once a week. They always happen whenever I had to get up early the next day and I think that stresses me out, therefore I find it difficult to fall asleep.

25. A daily dose of www.fmylife.com keeps the doctors and the national center for mental health away.

Currently listening: Under My Skin - Rachael Yamagata
Currently reading: Girls in Pants - Ann Brashares

So I'm back in Manila, been back for almost a month now. I'm actually neither happy or sad about being back during the first few weeks that I got here. I'm just really, really sick and tired of moving. But lately I have been leaning towards being not happy because it sometimes feels like my house got burned down or something, and what meager stuff I have managed to save from the fire was stolen by your friendly neighborhood akyat bahay gang. It's just that when I left last September, we all thought that I was not going back for at least 5 years, so almost all my clothes were sold in a garage sale held shortly after I left, and my nursing books donated to some charity. It's nobody's fault really and I'm not blaming anybody but it really sucks having to wear the same 8 shirts over and over again when I had to go out. And since the parents are on tipid mode and won't be reinstating my student allowance till May, I can't buy new stuff. Or go out a lot for that matter. Which oddly, at this point in my life is actually a good thing because of the clothes situation. And no, I was not able to go shopping when I bummed around in Illinois for 5 months because I just felt like I didn't need to do so because I rarely go out when I was there anyway. So yeah, life pretty much stinks for me nowadays.

Even my self-review is disappointing me. My scores on the end of chapter questions were horrible. But the good news is I am finally done reading my Saunders book after 75 million years. So fine I cheated and skipped a chapter and a half but I think I'm ready for my qbanks now. I managed to get hold of A LOT of them when I was procrastinating at the  public library so even if I am planning on taking the exam in May, I won't be running out of questions to answer even if I did a minimum of 100 questions a day. And knowing myself, I won't be reviewing like everyday from now til my exam date anyway. hahaha.

Anyway, turns out I need to get me some hospital experience while waiting for the stupid retrogression to go away. And with our country's current economic state... hay good luck. My fellow RN friends have submitted their resumes and stuff to a couple of hospitals a few months ago and nobody has called them back for an interview yet. So yay another reason why being back here stinks.

Don't get me wrong, I like being back sometimes too. My cousin has a Wii, which I haven't even touched yet because I promised myself I'm not gonna until after my NCLEX. And add to her sort of new toy, she's a total booksale shopaholic and she has managed to acquire about a hundred new books while I was gone. Her dibidi collection has also grown. But the best part about being back is that I actually get to see and be with my friends again. uy. Yikee. Hehehe. Seriously though, I really missed the planned and unplanned lakads, and the drinking parties! I haven't had much practice for 5 months that I got tipsy/drunk so quickly and threw up after a few drinks on the two inuman sessions I've been to. Such a shame, I know this is not something to be proud of, but I am actually one of the few ones left standing on times like those.

I still don't know when I will be able to go back to the US but I'm quite optimistic that it wouldn't take me 2 years, that's why I decided not to have my old globe number reconnected. Hahahaha

Yeah well gotta go and do a hundred questions now. Actually just 75 because I already did 25 on the Mosby's Prioritization workbook. Hahahaha

Things are not going too well for me right now. I have already cried a little, out of frustration, and those tears and this entry are all I could manage right now. Too many things to do. I just decided to follow one of my LJ friends' example and made a list of 5 things I am thankful for everyday, to make myself feel better.

1. Canned whipped chocolate frosting. That thing is pure evil but oh so yummy.
2. My bed, the awesomest (hahaha) bed in the entire world, especially after a few hours of rebyu mode.
3. Tweener shows like Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and iCarly. Oh, and Sonny With a Chance too even if it's a new show and there are only 2 episodes out.
   
4. Having the apartment to myself for an average of 6 hours per day.
5. The internet. Sure I complain about it all the time because it's hella slow and it gets disconnected everytime somebody tries to call our land line (dem you telemarketers!), but at least I have an internet connection and I can plurk. Haha

Kayo na po ang bahala Lord.

It has been a review-free day. For the past 2 weeks, I have been trying to read my saunders book as fast as I can. I'm done with med-surg and pharma, the 2 subjects i have had the most difficulty with in nursing. So today is my dad's birthday, I woke up later than usual, and grabbed a non-nursing book, there's a boy in the girls' bathroom. It's a book from the children's books genre, written by Louis Sachar, the same person who wrote Holes. I just found the book lying around here in the apartment and I think it was from one of the residents at the nursing home my dad works at, and the lady gave him that book because it was one of her faves. Or something like that. Anyway I finished reading it in less than an hour. It was about the same length as a sweet valley kids book. I liked it. It almost made me cry, but then again I am such a sap so I cry at the slightest provocation. Hahaha. It was refreshing to read something that does not have assessment, symptoms, drugs, nursing interventions, etc etc on it. I'm just glad that reviewing and nursing has not ruined my love for reading. Anyway I finished the book in time to get ready for my dad's birthday lunch at some japanese resto. Food was good, we got free dessert (green tea mochi balls yum) and in an hour, we will be doing the laundry and preparing for dad's birthday dinner (just yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing and pancit hehehe). It looks like I won't be getting any rebyuwing done until later tonight.

Funny, I just noticed that the paragraph above looked like bullets but placed side by side and separated by a period so that it'll resemble a paragraph. Dem you plurk. hahahaha. Anyway the good news is that the ground hogs are waking up from their hibernated states and that means winter is almost over. Whee. I can  take the garbage out in my slippers in a few days or so. It's been a hassle having to wear a hat, snow boots, pants, and a heavy coat whenever it's time to empty the trashbins here in the apartment.

I think I'm getting tired of the bum life. I know that even if I did pass the NCLEX (which I am planning to take around late Feb or early March), I would still have to find an employer willing to sponsor me, and then join the uber long queue of nurses waiting for their green cards. Hay. When will the waiting end? I am getting impatient already. Anyway, there's plenty of time to worry about that. Chelle did tell me to take it one day at a time. Maybe if I waited long enough I will wake up one day and I would be bitching about work instead of my unemployed-ness. Hahaha labo I know. For the meantime I think I would be better off doing a few questions on one of my review softwares instead of complaining.

Currently listening: Remember These Moments - D'Sound

I have a short attention span. And one bad habit of mine is that when I start something, I always end up quitting after a week, a month tops and then that something is shoved at the back of my mind, never to be remembered again. I am quite the opposite about books though, but that's entirely a different story. Haha so needless to say my new years' resolutions have a predictable shelf life. So this year, I decided to give the list another name. Who knows, maybe this time it can actually hold till march. Or even later than that.

For the year 2009, I plan to:

• Pass the NCLEX in one take and become a USRN. hahahahaha i wish sige na please
  
• Get used to eating without a spoon. I can never enjoy orange chicken from Panda Express or any rice meal whenever I eat it in the resto because I am used to shoveling both the ulam and kanin on my mouth at the same time.
  
• Lose weight. Yeah yeah this has been on the list since like forever. Although thanks to the sore throat and flu that has been plaguing me for the past few days now, I seem to have been eating less than I usually do. Unfortunately for me, all the weight that I will be losing because of my temporary girly appetite (hehehe), can all be gained back within a day once i return to my normal eating habits.
  
• Read more books. I have 4 unread Palahniuks, 2 Anne Rices (hehehe), 2 Gaimans, 3 Chick lits and a Classic. I left the rest back in BF and I may never see them again :(
  
• Do less nanay gaming. I know, I know, the DS is such a waste on me. But but but nanay games are easy. And brainless. Waaaah.
  
• Take more pictures. My cousin says pretty pictures are possible with my benq, I just gotta learn how.
• Spend less time on the internet.
  
• Learn the bus and train routes. When the winter season is over. So I can stop feeling like I am Rapunzel. Or Princess Fiona. Hahahaha
  
• Watch other tv channels besides Disney and ABC.

I know this entry is a few days late but I have been a little busy "trying" to speed read my saunders book. Anyway I could start this entry by whining about the bad things that has happened to me this year. And believe me, at this point in my life those were all I could remember. I could say that I felt like I was in high school again, in the year 1998 because I still use a dial up internet connection, I don't have a cellphone, I am not allowed to go out whenever I want, and the parents' word was the law. I could say that it sucked leaving half of my life behind (my friends! my second family! almost half of my books and 3/4 of manila wardrobe!). I could say that 2007 was a better year because I partied harder back then and 2008 party-wise was bleh. Oh wait I think I just said all those things here. Hahaha anyway my point is that I am not here to say that 2008 stank. Inspite of all these things, 2008 has been nice to me, because this is the year I graduated from college after n years of studying (hahaha ang magbilang panget!), I took the boards, did a little bit of asskicking (81% baby hahaha I know it's not that great when you compare it to the topnotchers' scores but still this grade really exceeded my expectations because I was totally thinking that I'm going to fail), became a registered nurse, became a nintendo ds owner, had numerous parties, huling hirits, and despedidas thrown in my honor, had a change of address, and was able to visit 2 other US states (Michigan and Wisconsin). So yep, I did have a great time in 2008, all the good stuff just kinda happened at the middle of the year and eventually ran out near the end.

Good haul this christmas by the way, I got 50$ from the parents, 50$ from my 3rd family (hahaha), a new study desk, a 25$ gift certificate from gap. Oh and 20$ more from father because he thinks that I "fixed" his broken fone. He just forgot to charge it that's all. Hahahahaha.

Well 2009 has been a bit of a downer for me. Hahaha the past 4 days anyway. Whatever. Happy new year to all of us, may it be more awesome and kick ass than the previous one.

I can't believe it I actually got something that was on my christmas list! Haha I checked my status on the CGFNS website yesterday and it says there that they are done evaluating my credentials and copies of the report has been mailed to the Illinois Board of Nursing and to me. So technically I still don't have the report and it's going to arrive through snail mail in 1-2 weeks' time but hey at least something's happening with my usrn application. Finally. Now is the time wherein I am going to give myself a mental kick for not taking my self-review seriously for the past 2 months. I have acquired a couple of review softwares before I left Manila last September but some of them refused to work. Maybe it's because the software is not vista compatible. Or maybe it's because it's just copied. Hahaha. Demmet I should have bought one of them 20-in-1 (parang game cartridge lang hahaha) cds in front of PRC. Here's to hoping that a kind stranger would somehow stumble upon this blog entry and would gladly share his or her vista compatible resources with me. Hahahaha.

Anyway christmas was almost a non-event for us. Father was not feeling well and mother is sort of in a bad mood because of uh, sister issues. But i still enjoyed our noche buena at 12 mn because all I had to eat during our usual dinner time was a bowl of cheerios and milk.

Happy holidays everyone!

Currently listening: The Reason Why - Rachael Yamagata

I went on a walk this morning. I have been on house arrest for two weeks and I am getting really really bored here at home so i decided to do it eventhough the ground is covered with 2 inches of accumulated snow. Besides it's 35 degrees out and father did tell me to take advantage of the nice weather and took advantage of it I did. I hiked over to a christmas tree farm near our apartment, a 15 minute walk away. Today it took me twice as much time because walking on the snow is hard. It's a bit similar to walking on beach except it's really cold and a bit more difficult as my fugly black snow boots and winter coat weighed about 2 pounds each, and I weigh quite a lot without my winter gear to begin with so my legs were feeling sore by the time i got home. Well the hike was worth it. I took pictures of the real live snow covered christmas trees and as much as i wanted to post them here to make this blog entry a bit more interesting, I won't because they suck. My camwhore pics were worse though because i look like a boy in a black penis mascot costume. No kidding. I was wearing a black beanie and my coat was black as well that's why. And i realized earlier today that people here tuck their pants inside their boots power ranger style not because it looks good that way but to prevent the hems from getting wet from the snow. I had to do the same thing because i was sweeping the ground with the bottoms of my pants and I didn't want to at first because my boots were ugly but it's either change my pants or  get frostbitten.


Anyway, it's December and i have been seeing snow for the past 2 weeks. That means christmas is a few weeks away. I am not expecting to get great gifts this year because my parents are the king and queen of kuripot lanI (hehehe) and we're in tipid mode because I dunno we always are for as long as I can remember. Hahahahaha. Well i decided to make a christmas list anyway because I have nothing better to do and dreams are free. Aside from money, all I want for christmas are the following:

1. My CES report. Demmet CGFNS cough it up already!
2. An external hard drive. Because I'm running out of hard disk space
3. More RAM. To speed things up a bit. I currently have 512mb on this baby and it wouldn't hurt to make it 1GB at least hehehe
4. DSL. Because like what I've said before my parents are kuripot so they don't see a need for me to get a faster internet connection since I can do basic things with our dial up one. Blech.
5. Guitar Hero guitar grip for my DS
6. Wii. But only because of the Wii Fit. Hehehe
7. Philosophy Microdermabrasion kit
8. Kerastase oleo relax. I can't find this product anywhere here :(
9. Any form of skin whitening product. Because I have stubborn blemishes on my face and a t-shirt tan on my arms.
10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I know I don't have the time (nor the attention span) to read non-nursing books nowadays but I would still love to get this one
11. A nude pink lip gloss from Lancome
12. Urban Decay Primer Potion
13. The winter coat with a fur-trimmed hood that I was wearing on my plurk user pic.
14. Baby blue or light gray Uggs.


Yoohoo calling Santa! hehehe

Currently listening: Give It - Out of Body Special

I'm bored. Out of my fuh-reakin mind. More than usual anyway. It's nobody's fault really, coz i know that the parents would have helped me get a job if they could. I mean who wouldn't want extra help financially? I know i have like tons of stuff to do here at home. I have lots of unread books (including my Saunders NCLEX Comprehensive Reviewer hehehe), unfinished DS games, neverending new replies on plurk, and weekday reruns of Gilmore Girls. It's the kind of life a burnt (burned? whatever) out working yuppie/a person going through midlife crisis could only dream about (well except for the Gilmore Girls part hehe), but I am getting tired of it. I've been living the bum life since June 3 and it's not as fun as it used to be anymore. Maybe I need a new hobby?

Anyway it's been snowing since yesterday afternoon and i just love how the snow makes everything look so nice and clean. Plus it acts as a reflector so it makes the day feel less Seasonal Affective Disorder-y than usual. Meaning it's not as "makulimlim" during daytime as it has been for the past few weeks. I actually spent like 10 minutes watching snow fall to the ground yesterday. See, I am that bored. Haha. I can't seem to take a good picture of the snowy wonderland outside my window because I only have a regular point and shoot cam and well I suck at taking pictures hehehe. Nope, can't put all the blame on the camera.

So, any anti-boredom ideas?

Currently listening: Monkey!!!Knife!!!Fight!!! - Minus the Bear

just when i thought that i was going to spend halloween in front of the tv, eating chocolate fudge pop tarts while watching disney channel shows, my uncle calls and invites me to come help hand out candy to trick or treaters in their neighborhood. whee. i did not have a costume prepared, but i did wear a shirt that has the word "Spooky" printed across my chest. the little kids were so cute! i wish i brought my digicam with me to my uncle's house. i saw a few storm troopers, firemen, disney princesses, power rangers,  grim reapers, batman, robin, mickey and minnie mouse, the hulk (with matching green hair hahaha), one of the transformers (i can't remember who hahaha), a headless person in a suit, beetlejuice, elmo, and a bumblebee with the cutest cheeks ever.

then i realized this was the first halloween since i was like 10 years old that i did something halloween-y. that time i was the one begging for candy, and now 15 years later i am the one handing them out. demmet i feel so old. maybe next year i could go to an actual halloween party?

on other stuff, things are still a bit hazy about my usrn application. but i think we have an appointment with the lawyer in about 2 weeks. i can find out once and for all if i am doing things right with my application and whether i need to go back by january or not.

i love my ds! too bad i've been neglecting my other favorite hobby (which is reading for fun) because of it. i can only choose one or the other because most of the time i am busy plurking (hehehe) and reviewing for the nclex. or trying to anyway. hahahaha. i still don't have my elgibility nor have completed all of the requirements (my TOR is still on its way to the credentialling agency and processing usually takes 15 days) but a little advanced reading never hurt anyone. hahaha. i just wish i could say that i'm rockin my self review but actually i'm not. i can't concentrate long enough to finish a 10 page chapter in under 2 hours. hay. and that is why i enrolled to two review centers to prepare myself for the NLE folks. hahaha.

aww i missed the mAIFia! our first aif halloween with a poster/invitation (courtesy of jay hehehe)  and 6 cars and i was not there :(

Currently listening: what a fool believes - doobie brothers

it has been an unproductive two days. i think it's because i haven't been drinking my morning coffee. or maybe it's because of the super cold weather that's making me sleepy like all the time and when i am not sleeping i just wanted to stay under my blanket and watch disney channel shows. or maybe it's the fact that i am studying one of the topics in nursing that i used to suck at. well i still do. i didn't completely understand acid base balances when it was taught to us in class, didn't have a full grasp on it when it was sort of tackled in the nle review and i guess it's no surprise really that i won't understand it now. well there's always tomorrow. hehehe. maybe i do need to enroll myself in a review class again but i didn't want to do that yet because it's expensive and i am still not sure whether i will be taking the nclex in the next two months or not. i have just filed my application form and i think it would take weeks before i will be given an exam permit.

i actually turned down a party invitation from my cousin for tonight. that's how lazy i am. hahahaha.

last night i had a dream that somebody threw a pepsi bottle at me, causing the said bottle to break and tiny shards of glass got stuck in my arm, kinda like the first patient's case in trauma center (hehe) and i was asking cha to remove the glass bits from my arm but she couldn't hear me and the next thing i know i was lying on the floor with corbin bleu on top of me. hahaha. i guess it means that i wanted to watch hsm3 that bad and i miss my ds.

what i wouldn't give for a fast forward button right now. i hate waiting.

Currently watching: ocean's 11
Currently reading: saunders nclex-rn comprehensive reviewer

hahaha i can't believe it took me almost a month after stepping upon american soil to make a blog entry that is longer than 140 characters. so anyway what is up with me you ask? i love it here. despite the fact that i live in the suburbs so it's a wee bit difficult to go to places without a car. despite the fact that the next time i will experience a party party will be sometime in 2009. despite the fact that the only people i see aside from my parents are my aunt and uncle and my cousins and i do not see them that often. despite the fact that i am stuck with a dial up internet and i won't be given a dsl until november, at the earliest. not to sound ungrateful to the people who have been feeding me and providing a roof over my head for almost all my life, but i love that i have the apartment to myself almost all day when the parents are at work. and i seem to have gotten over my insomnia because i don't have a problem with sleeping anymore. i take afternoon naps now and sometimes i have to force myself to get out of bed so i could do something else with my time.

i just wish i could start working already. or that i would be done with my USRN application before the middle of february so i wouldn't have to go back. don't get me wrong,i love the philippines and my life there. i wouldn't have to do my own laundry or cook and stuff plus i miss my friends and how from a simple text message (or in some cases, a plurk entry hehehe), a lakad would stem from it hours later, but i really really want to stay here for the time being. i want to start earning the thousands of dollars that i was promised when i agreed to take up nursing. hehehe just kidding. seriously though i want to start working so that my parents didn't have to work so hard anymore. really. hehehe.

please do wish me luck guys, i've never prayed so hard for anything in my life. even for the local boards.

Currently listening: fine - the cardigans
Currently reading: pride and prejudice - jane austen

hahaha i can't remember the rest of the school hymn anymore. anyway, i was at manresa earlier because i had to have the xerox copy of my hs diploma certified, as it is one of the requirements for applying abroad. i got a little lost because apparently the registrar's and accounting offices are now accessible from the parking lot. and a lot of things has changed inside the school! grabe the 1st floor CR is actually usable and clean and sweet smelling now! and the library is now located on top of bsh, aka our school canteen. basta, asenso na ang manre! and then i ran into mrs faller, ms austria, and mrs midel. apparently miss pat is also still there but i didn't see her. same for miss baclagan.

anyway i tried walking from school to watson's phase 1 and along the way i ran into kyla and her hubby. chatted for a while and can i just say that i was the one who looked more pregnant. hehe.

i am already running low on tinted moisturizer. originally i wanted to buy a tube of skin food bb cream but i don't have the dough for it so i decided to get the nivea tinted moisturizer instead. i seem to have lost my favorite revlon colorstay retractable eyeliner in black brown but again i don't have the money to buy a replacement, and since i have a ton of sample sized eyeshadows (thanks to my titas' continued patronage of lancome and clinique products hehe) and an eyeliner brush, i will use those for the time being. good luck. i can't leave the house anymore without TM, loose powder, and eyeliner on anymore pa naman.

i think it took me more than an hour to construct this blog entry. damn you plurk and your 140 character limit. hahaha

Currently listening: ikaw - chillitees
Currently reading: lovely bones - alice sebold

yet another entry about books. sorry naman it's not as if i have a real job or something. hahaha. so i have been trying really hard to read the historian by elizabeth kostova, and after 2 weeks of carrying it around, i have gotten as far as.. chapter 4, page 33. the book has 20 chapters and 816 pages. even on the days that i'm really reaaly bored, i would watch whatever crap there is on tv instead of picking up this book. that's how disinterested i am with it. hay. it's just that maybe i was expecting it to be as fast-paced as one of them dan brown books. it's funny coz i told myself after finishing kafka on the shore that i needed a "lighter" book to read so that i won't feel so bleh (please refer to my previous entry hehe). i need something from the chick lit genre perhaps? hehehe

i have been trying to "stock" my shelves on shelfari. my only problem is that i have forgotten some of the books that i have read. so what i do is that i browse the shelves of my shelfari friends (i have a grand total of 3 yipee hahaha) and i would see a book that we have both read and add it to mine. and then when i stop to admire my restocked shelf (hahaha i do the same thing to my real bookshelf or rather book pile at home) and i realized that i do not read a particular genre. wala lang. maybe it's because i don't buy my own books when i was bit younger and helped myself to my cousin's own collection. i wish i could find my own book identity. like leki did. hehehe.

so i am currently scouring my cousin's bookshelf for a book to replace the historian in my bag. i know i know i have like 10 unread books in my own collection but i am saving 3 of those for my in-flight entertainment and the other 7 to amuse myself with when i go on exile in illinois. hahaha

Currently listening: goodnight and go - imogen heap
Currently reading: nothing hahaha

i haven't blogged in ages. it's because microblogging in twitter has spoiled me. and just about an hour ago i signed up for a plurk. add me up guys! hehehe.

but the good news is, i have finally finished reading kafka on the shore after carrying it around for about a month. i am trying to start the historian by elizabeth kostova as i needed a slightly more mababaw book after murakami. he's still not on my fave authors list but after the bleh-ness that is after dark and south of the border, west of the sun, he totally redeemed himself to me in kafka on the shore. it's still kinda bleh, but after dark is much bleh-er. hahaha. bleh. hahahaha.

and while we are on the topic of books, i got 3 new ones. or rather i bought one and my cousin shari got me the other two. booksale totally rocks. i bought bridget jones 2:edge of reason (because i miss reading something from the chick lit category) for 110 pesos, and my cousin got me my own copy of white oleander by janet fitch for my birthday (still 110 pesos) and the no.1 ladies' detective agency by alexander mcall smith for 70 pesos just because she's a book shopaholic. hahaha. money is kinda hard to come by nowadays so we just ransack booksale instead of powerbooks and fully booked. hahaha. the only downside about getting "old" books is that we don't get the new book smell. hehehe.

i should really really start reviewing again.

Currently listening: first of summer - urbandub
Currently reading: the historian - elizabeth kostova

earlier than we expected and... I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!still can't believe it till now. here's the website:

http://philippinenurses.blogspot.com/2008/07/surname-s-roll-of-successful-examinees.html

wheee!!!!!!! wala lang hehehe

2 of my classmates from nursing sent me this text message about an hour ago: Nursing Alumni Advisory - GMA approved the request of BON to withold the results of the boards to avoid the reapplication of the 69.8% failed examinees of the june 2008 NLE.The tentative date of release is on August 24, 2008.

hay. wala lang. this means that only 30% of us who took the exam passed. hay naku. this also means that should i fail this exam, there's a big chance that i won't be able to retake the board exam in november but rather on june 2009. i know there's a big chance that this might be one of them text pranks/jokes, but somebody told me last week that she found out from somewhere that only 30% passed the boards.

still working on studying the forms for my application to work abroad. it's frustrating how slow the process is. everything takes a minimum of 3 weeks before the papers to come out. i know i know i am not the only one applying to work abroad as a nurse that's why there is a waiting period but it's just that i'm a very impatient person. i hate waiting. hay.

3 weeks left and i haven't started packing. who wants to buy my old laptop? i can give it away  sell it for as low as 8,000 pesos. hahaha.

hahaha i'm officially stalking armi from up dharma down. i friended her on lj, multiply, and now twitter. wala lang. don't worry, i'm harmless, i just love reading her entries. hehehe.

got a twitter? follow me! and then i'll follow you!! hahaha 

Currently Reading: kafka on the shore - haruki murakami