I Love What I Do

When I was young, I dreamt of putting on a large brown hat, walking shorts and trekking boots for work --- I wanted to become an archaeologist so badly and discover the wonders of the ancient world. But my mom was greatly opposed to this idea, she did not fully understand that desire and love I had for history. In her defense, though, I agree that there are few Filipino archaeologists who are successful in this line of work and to state the obvious, archaeologists are hard workers who do not yield an average to above average compensation. My mom had a point and I immediately understood that being an archaeologist is just that dream job I will never get to do, sigh!

Okay, if being that won't do then I shall become a surgeon. It is costly but my parents were not against the idea of having a doctor in the family. A plus point for me! After high school, I was on the verge of making the biggest decision that would pave my way through life: Pre-Medicine. So, should I choose Nursing or Occupational Therapy?

Almost 7 years have passed and I am currently working in one of the most recognized 300-bed capacity multi specialty hospitals in the region with accreditation from both local and international councils, including the JCI. I work in a theater that has 10 operating rooms, an average of 40 to 45 scheduled surgeries a day and a 10-bed Recovery Unit.

Yes, I gave my dream of digging for artifacts and discovering ruins up for a more prestigious job. To care, to provide support and promote hope to patients and their families. I have become an ambassador of the present and a cheerleader for the future: I became a nurse.

I do not regret choosing a different profession. It may be stressful, burdensome and tiring at times but at the end of the day, I just expel that sigh of relief; thankful that I work in a hospital with doctors, nurses and other non-medical professionals  to save lives, heal the sick, support the dying and promote overall health.

Nursing is a calling and I have been called.

Striding on the Weekends

It was on a Friday when my good friend (who is currently back in the Philippines--- we miss you!) and I went out for a walk. Something we usually do during our days off from work.

We've walked these streets and passed it by car on our way to the mall over a million times and I never noticed this beautiful graffiti wall outside of a 4-star hotel just a few blocks away from where we live.

And it absolutely is very pretty!

Further along were beautiful structures, grandiose hotels, a look-a-like version of the sunset strip.

We headed straight for the Filipino store in the city to buy some ingredients for the night's dinner : some Fettuccine and Rice cakes!

Yumminess! What did you do on your weekend?

My Appetite For Some Hunger Games!

It has been weeks since I have posted anything on my blog... boo me! And, I am very apologetic for all the delays I have done.

I have been caught up with so many hullabaloos with everyday life  but I do promise to share the highlights of all the events that took up my time lately.

MOVIE NIGHT

Hunger Games Fever! I was caught up with all the hype and talk about this movie and I definitely had to see it during its premier night. Review? I would sum it up in a word -- AWESOME!

My friends and I headed to the emptiest shopping mall (not too many people in sight), which was really good because we knew how crowded the other theaters were on that day, and we were so glad that we did not have to stand in line for hours or reserve seats in advance just to watch the movie (considering our inconsistent and hectic schedules!)

I have had the copy of the Hunger Games Trilogy for months but admittedly, I have procrastinated long enough and the movie was finally released. Lol! My friends gave me such a hard time, calling me "mainstream", for choosing to watch the well-publicized movie before finishing the books. What can I do? I always claim to be uberly busy (not!)

The movie was fantastic from my point of view. The actors were believable and the storyline was exactly how it was with the book's plot. Disappointing, though, was how District 2's Cato died. I read that after falling from the Cornucopia, the mutated wolves left him as nothing more than a gnawed and bloody hunk of meat but in the movie, Cato died as the handsome blond man that he was. I also imagined the Cornucopia as something like this being that it was described as a giant, golden horn (silver in the film), shaped like a cone with a curved tail. The one in the film, in my opinion, lacked luster and more imagination. Sorry filmmakers! :)

Liam Hemsworth was unnoticeable in my book until this movie (laughing really hard) and Jennifer Lawrence portrayed Katniss Everdeen perfectly. Josh Hutcherson was unexpectedly  Peeta Mellark , who played the shy character very well but was not too believable with the confident side of Peeta (as described in the book). In other words, he played "shy" a little too much on this film.

Overall, the movie was worth watching but not worth being compared to Twilight. The book had a better plot than Twilight so the movie had a better storyline to work with. Hunger Games had fantastic stamped all over it and it deserves all the credit and high ratings that it did! I absolutely am excited for Catching Fire and Mockingjay! I hope they make it as good or even better than this one! Kudos!

came out from a 12-hour shift the day before and slept for just 4 hours, i was too exhausted to pick out a more Spring like look than this. pardon the dullness of this look but i tried to add color by sporting this bag from Max.

 hello, empty theater! i welcome you all the time. 

this premier seemed like a private screening! ;)

dueling with Mr. Cat

 i don't mind giving up some more hours to watch this film again.

woohoo! i'm mainstream!

Outside of Zara Center, happy and satisfied with the movie!

By the way, I got a new "do-it-my friend" do on this day! I, literally, instructed my friend to cut out about 4 to 5 inches off and the process was an unimaginable laugh trip! Thank you, MJ for being bullied to do this to me and for me! <3

 

Vanity Shots

Here's Part 2 of At The Boss':

I was on-call on this day and I was bored doing nothing so I took some vanity shots with my timed camera.

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Brown Jacket: Crissa Jeans

Laced Top:  Forever 21

Jeans:  Levi's

Ballet Flats: Concorde

Purple Clutch Bag: Parfois

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Enjoy your day, loves! xxxx
 

At the Boss'

PART 1: The Day

The past weeks have just been crazy! Work demanded most of my time and not to mention, my need to visit the mall has kept me quite occupied, as well. I am, literally, days behind of my blogging schedule and I am to relieve that as soon as I could~ oh, insanity!

So, two Fridays ago, my friends at work and I were invited for late lunch at my boss' home in the suburbs. It took us about 30 to 40 minutes ride by taxi until we reached the place (which I have called the "core of the Earth"). And to my surprise, the place was huge! Imagine a majestic view, the beautiful sunshine and the breezy air. No wonder she opted to live off of the main city. And, she has just the loveliest family!

We were treated with a local dish called "Kabseh" which was similar to fried rice except for the huge (really large) chunks and pieces of lamb and chicken; salad and yogurt for sides and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was tasty, yummy and hearty! We cleared out all the food after an hour of munching and talking and laughing!

the remnants

In actuality, I forgot to take a picture of the food before we devoured everything so this is the only proof I have that the food was indeed tasty.

We spent the afternoon on the porch running after the small kids, taking pictures here and there, enjoying our cup of tea, munching on some seeds and raisins while talking about the silliest things we could think of.

I had fun hanging out with my boss and her family. She is not the sternest of bosses but I am appreciative of the fact that she is as approachable and accommodating at work as she is at home!

#ihavesuchacoolboss :)

Below are some random shots of the day's happiness + craziness:

PART 2: Outfit Shots

TGI Friday's On A Monday

Sounds like I am promoting, no?! Haha. But I love, love, love Mexican food hence, I love TGI Friday's!

My step dad is Mexican so just imagine how often (4 days a weeks, at least) we eat tortillas and beans and quesadillas in our home. Plus, we never really run out of corn, believe me!

And with that being said, finding time to bond with friends (and with my younger sister) over guacamole and salsa is just nostalgic. <sigh!> Ogle on all the tasty food we had that night, yum!

 

My girls and I had fun celebrating the 28th of one of our friends. With our busy schedules, we hardly find time to sit down, appreciate good food together and just share the best laughs and stories around the dinner table.

I am blessed to be with great people to whom I could talk and share my thoughts with. It feels nice to have a good support system here especially because we are far away from our own families and comfort zones. Nonetheless, friendship is a great thing to have with people you trust and you are not afraid to just be yourself with.

To the birthday girl, thank you for the great food and the beautiful company. May you be blessed a hundredth fold! Stay positive in life and you know you have friends to turn to regardless of anything! Let us capture more memories together, shall we?!

 Check out the day-to-night look I put together on Monday:

Shoes: Amigo's; Jeans: Forever 21; Shirt: Terranova (Disney Collection); Cardigan: Kamiseta

the dancing tree.. em.. i mean me

The dancing me!

Haha. I had fun at work today, not because of how easy work was. Rather,  I had fun because I did not have work at all! (yay, me!)

Yup, I had about 2 hours of free time today and guess what I did....

I MOVED LIKE JAGGER!  

and took photos, of course! I had a million photos taken, thanks to the sequential shot feature of my digi! Unfortunately, I had to filter because of all the stolen, weird-looking pictures that appeared after the song was done. Here are some of the acceptable shots that you can laugh at:

Who finds time to do this? And at work?! Haha. I do!

I hope you, guys, get to do this on a daily basis, too. The world is a beautiful place to live in with so much music, time and worthwhile dancing to do. Take out your Ipod and spend a few minutes grooving to your favorite party song!

Take it easy and have a light day, beautiful people!

OUTFIT:

Shirt: Vero Moda (purchased at a Christmas bazaar) ; Cardigan and Bag: Bargain Shop ; Jeans: Exit Jeans (purchased during my trip to Thailand) ; Corduroy Jacket: Esprit ; Peep-toe flats: Celine ; Earrings: Muse ;  

Belt with wool interior: Stradivarius