Problem is… how can I handle this while I am attending my MA classes?  The schedule they gave me is from 3 pm to 11 pm. Since my MA classes are in conflict with my training schedule, they allowed me to have Sunday duties. I will be the only trainee on that day since regular training days are from Monday to Sunday. I have no training during Fridays and Saturdays to attend my classes in FEU. Thursdays would be very tiring because I have a class at 9 am to 12 noon then duty from 3 pm to 11 pm. No rest day. I will be working 7 days a week. =S

I know that the people concerned about my health is mad about my plans. My parents can’t even decide for me… I don’t know. I will try this new set-up and let’s see how I can handle this. Wish me luck.

I may not have gotten a job yet in the hospital but at least, I was given a chance to be a volunteer nurse in a public hospital, which is a first time for me because I always “work” as a trainee in a private hospital. (February – May 2009)

By the time our contract as a volunteer nurse ended, I was able to get a job as a teacher for Korean students. It didn’t last as well because I decided to quit to focus more on my master’s class. Being a teacher to Koreans was helluva fun. I was able to see their culture and mingle with them and at the same time, I was able to share my Filipino traits with my Korean kids. I wonder how they are now. I miss those kids. (June – August 2009)

One thing I liked about this year is that I was able to go back to school. I met new friends, gained a lot of knowledge and learned more about my chosen field. I also get to learn more about being a good teacher. My favorite subject in my first semester as a master’s degree candidate is our Instructional Supervision. Our professor truly touched my life as a person and as a teacher. I also learned how to work on my own now. Back in college, we were always given group tasks. Now, you have to work on your own  although I know how to work as an individual but this time I don’t have subordinates (because I used to be a leader) whom I can ask for help. And oh, I am really happy that I got good grades. (June – October 2009)

I think one of the achievements I’ve gained this year is being one of the finalists in the Philippine Blog Awards 2009. I may not have grabbed a single award even though I was a finalist in four different categories but at least I was included in this contest as a finalist because not all bloggers are given an opportunity like this. I’m thinking about joining again next year. (October 2009)

Second semester is much more challenging because this is the start of our major subjects but I guess I can handle this because this is where I am more interested in. There are so many tasks to do and until now, I am trying to accomplish them all. I am enjoying it anyway so no complaints about this one. :) (November 2009 – December 2009)

In life, there would always be changes. And these changes would also help us to be strong. My December 2009 is the toughest month of all. I encountered personal problems that I thought I couldn’t handle. I was able to get through those 18 days of sadness and longing. God is really good because He answered my prayer. I guess, God really gave my boyfriend to me because I told him that if he’s not for me, then he wouldn’t come back. But he did. This year is a tough year for both of us but I am glad we’re ending this year TOGETHER.

I thought everything would end normally but something happened to me that’s really unexpected. But because of this shocking event in my life, it made me stronger. It helped me to become a fighter. I thank God for giving me this kind of strength. And I also thank God that because of this emergency surgery, I felt how much I am loved and supported by the people around me, even those people I really do not know.

So many things happened this year. It is, indeed, my productive year but also a very, very challenging one that I was able to surpass.

Anyway, my second semester has already started. I’m loving my subjects because they are very useful for my future career. Plus, they are really challenging and it requires hard work, critical thinking and analysis. My brain will definitely be exercised this semester.

On the other hand, I was told that I’m going to start another training (yes, training again) in another hospital. It’s a paid training and it’s a GRADED training because there’s an assurance that they would hire us so we need to excel. I’m really excited about this.

Now, can I handle training + MA classes? Let’s see.

I left home an hour and a half early to prepare for my demo. I was prepared but still, I felt anxious about it. When I reached school, the series of unfortunate event started. My brassiere was trying to show off that I decided to buy a safety pin to partially close my blouse. But the cloth of my blouse didn’t allow the safety pin to penetrate into it. So what I did, I stapled my blouse! I was so sweaty inside the comfort room. It was totally embarrassing to the students around me. Then, the blazer that I’ve been using for ages also didn’t cooperate with me! The zipper didn’t work as well. Argh! After letting go the thought of zipping my blazer, I tried to check the projector we borrowed. I found out that it was a different projector. We had to go back to the office to borrow the projector for laptops and not for acetates. When we were setting up the projector and my Su-Ji¹, we found out that Su-Ji was not compatible with our school’s projector. We went down to the office again to borrow their laptop. But still, it didn’t work. We went back to the office for the third time to borrow another projector…  We were wrong when we thought it would already work. So, we had to think of another plan. Good thing, my classmate suggested that we divide the class into two groups and provide one laptop for each group to watch the slides we prepared.

You know, when I started my demo I was sooooooooooooo nervous! I didn’t have the time to rest, to breathe in and breathe out, to relax… I had to start right away because we already took 30 minutes of the time just setting up the whole damn thing. I tried to relax in the middle of my demonstration and I thank my classmates for cooperating.

After my demo, which exceeded the allotted 30-45 minutes, our professor asked for their comments. I was surprised when they said that it was amazing that I was relaxed and I was well composed. Wow! Does that mean they didn’t notice how nervous I was? Then, I am a great pretender! Haha! Here are the other comments I received: “Her topic is well organized…” “She was able to carry herself well as a teacher and was able to motivate the students to apply what she was teaching…” “She was able to connect with the students using humor…” From those comments, our professor even told me that I owe them something for those positive comments because there were more positive comments than negative ones. Well, the negative comment was that I wasn’t able to explain some of the important points. Yeah, I was quite in a hurry then. Haha! But still, it was unbelievable that I received such positive comments. I thank my classmates for the constructive criticisms. I know that it would help me to improve my teaching skills.

Despite the series of unfortunate event that happened before my demo, I thank God for helping me to survive my teaching demo with a positive outcome. Our professor told me that she graded me SUPERIOR which is second to EXCELLENT. That’s a great news. :)

So there, one down and three to go: thesis, theory and abstract. Oh no! I wonder how I will be able to do this in 2 weeks!

1. my notebook

September for me is another the-start-of-something-new month. I am back to being unemployed. Well, I hope this lasts for just a week because I received a good news from my dad.¹ Anyway, this day of September 01 is the official day that I am out of the international school I used to work at. I wonder how my students would feel today. I wonder who would be their new teacher. I wonder if they miss me… because I miss them so much! I treated them like my own sister. If only I could kidnap them!! Haha! I hope they answer my email as soon as possible. I hope that I’ll see them again once I visit Korea. (Oh, did you know that I really wanted to go to Korea before because of the Koreanovela, Full House? Haha!)

To Stella, Elly, Mina and Denise, bogo ship po²!

On the lighter note, my research problem was finally approved. The topic is hard though because it requires experimental design. But I am being optimistic, so aja fighting! I feel sorry for overestimating master’s degree. Now, I feel so stressed about all these paperworks. So many things to do! Formulate our own theory, finish Chapter 1-3 of our thesis, and prepare for our teaching demo³ (for those students who take 12 units including me). Thank God, Statistics is easy. I actually got a 100% score in our midterm exams. Haha. I love math. And as a result, I got flat one for our midterm grade. :) I thank my dad for the genes he shared to me. He’s a math wiz. :D

So there, quick updates of my life after a month! Now, I have to get back to my powerpoint presentation for my teaching demo this Saturday. Wish me luck!

P.S.

I received an email from Philippine Blog Awards 2009 saying that I am an official nominee! Oh-em-gee! XD

1. I won’t spill about it for now.
2. I miss you
3. It was moved this week!

I want my study to be approved because I worked hard for this. I had pimples and zits because of this. I just want all my hard work to be paid off. That’s all.

You know, for the past few weeks, I had a hard time thinking of what to write for my Chapter 1 and 2. I tried to ask God for help and I think he answered my prayer. He gave me a lot of ideas and now, they are overflowing; that’s why I need to write everything that pops in my mind so I won’t forget. I just wish that God will also answer my other prayer – my study to be approved.

Right now, I am trying to polish my Chapter 1 and 2. *sigh* Wish me luck. This is a non-sense blog entry that you can disregard. I just needed to vent out this anxiety. Kthnxbye.

My MA classes are killing me. Paper works here and there! On August 12, we will present our Chapter 1 and 2 of our unapproved thesis. Until now, I am not yet done with my Chapter 1. It is driving me crazy. Really. The next day would be our exam on Nursing Theories. This is the subject that I neglect most. So, good luck to me!

On the other hand, I am getting lazy with my work as an English teacher. Maybe because I suddenly missed working in the hospital. I miss writing on charts, regulating the IV fluids, pushing IV medications and interacting and caring for patients. I know that I truly belong there.

One of my students asked me if I would still be her teacher when she gets back in November. I told her with all honesty that I won’t be staying that long in the school because I want to go back to the hospital. She felt sad. She told me, “Teacher… Don’t go back to the hospital. Stay here. Please?” Aww. I didn’t know what to answer right then and there. And you know what? Almost everyday, she asks me if I would still pursue my hospital come back. I guess, she’s really that worried.

My old college classmate is enrolled in the same subjects that I am taking. We were both delighted to see each other again after all these years. And what made us more giddy is that we both experienced the same thing in the last three years: failures, rejections, and the like. It’s nice to have someone who underwent the same experience as you did. It’s like you found someone who could understand you because he or she had the same situation.

So, anyway, I attended my first day (or should I say night since it is a night class) in graduate school last Saturday. Our first subject was Statistics. That’s my only class for that day but I decided to enroll another subject when I learned from my classmates that they have another subject on Saturday apart from Statistics. Since I’m free on Saturdays, I enrolled in the Pedagogy class. So starting tomorrow, I’ll be attending two classes.

Yesterday, I attended another class, my Nursing Theory class. And I was like, “Oh no. Here we go again with the theories!” Our professor is old so we have to sit close to her because she speaks softly. When our class ended, she gave us topics that we will report next week. Grr. I hate reporting but I like the topic that was given to me. It’s about Human to Human Relationship Model. It’s about giving sympathy and empathy to our patients to be able to build a rapport with them. I think it’s easy because as you all know, that is what I usually blog about here – treating the patients right.

So this is really it. I am back to school. I am working as a part-time English teacher. I wonder if I can handle this all… I hope so!