I really want pho.

This week made me happy. I only had a few classes this week because some ended last week. For one of my classes, our instructors treated us to pizza. I only had one day of clinicals because the other day was used for our patient presentations. The presentations were fun because we had a breakfast potluck, and we were all acting kind of crazy. My last day of clinicals was kind of disappointing because I didn't get to do much, although I got to D/C and NG tube.

Last night my clinical group decided we should all go to BJ's for some pizookies. We had been talking about them for the past quarter, and it was a good way to end our time together.


I really should be studying for my life-span development final which is in about two hours. Ah, I guess I'll do that now.

Oh, what a week. It was an incredibly hectic week. Although I didn't have class on Monday, I still had to get my patient information from the hospital. We had to start doing a more detailed patient information. It was really confusing because no one explained it to us. Tuesday was a very difficult day for our nursing class. We had due on Wednesday:

- resume
- cover letter
- assessment of the job market
- research paper on an influential nursing figure
- seminar folders
- incident report
- quantitative nursing research assignment

And to top it off, we were unable to turn in our research papers on time due to the LLU website. I was really happy when I finished all of those assignments, but my stress was just beginning. I had my head-to-toe assessment today. I planned to study and prepare for it during Thanksgiving break, but of course that didn't happen. Last night I was going to prepare for it but fell asleep. So basically, I had this morning. It was my own fault. I was stressing out the whole time. While in class, I wasn't playing attention because I was preparing. My friends told me I looked stressed. Arlette happened to have a stress ball in her bag and let me borrow it. The person who was observing my assessment was 30 minutes late, which did not help my anxiety at all. Luckily she was really nice, and I think the fact that we were both Filipino helped. =D It felt so good to get that weight lifted off my shoulders. Honestly, 50 minutes for a complete head-to toe is pretty difficult for those doing it for the first time. And the fact that someone is watching your every move while you are assessing the patient is really intimidating. But from here until the end of the quarter, it's going to be smooth and steady. I only have one paper due, but it's a reflection paper.

4 more days of class... 2 days of finals... =D

This year's Thanksgiving break was very much needed. On Wednesday I got a double dose of soondooboo. I ate soondooboo with Bryan and Megan, and we circled Santa Anita Mall. On my way there, everything reminded me of high school and made me nostalgic. It especially reminded me of going shopping for Sadies freshman and senior year. My second dose of soondooboo came at dinner when I went out with Blossom, Jen, and Khaing. We went back to Khaing's house and played Scattergories. Woohoo. Aren't we some wild and crazy girls. But honestly, I love that game. =D

Turkey day was spent eating and watching movies with my family. We watched a Filipino movie called A Love Story. It was the most confusing/frustrating movie I have ever watched. The whole time my family and I were trying to figure out what was going on. We're still not sure what happened in that movie. It was got really cold at night so my aunt made Tom Ka Gai. It was delicious.

Black Friday was tiring. My mom and I went to the mall around 7:30 so we could get out of there by 12. I managed to buy:
- two cardigan
- one dress
- one tunic
- three tops
- BCBG flats
- one pashmina
- one eyelash/eyebrow comb

And Saturday Jen and I went to the mall. I bought:
- one dress
- one Obey thermal
- one Obey shirt
- one bag
- BCBG pumps

On Saturday Jen, Khaing, Kristina, and I went to eat sushi and went back to Khaing's to play more Scattergories. It may seem a little nerdy, but board games are fun!

As for today, I spent it watching old TV shows and thinking about starting homework. I am very thankful that I don't have class tomorrow which gives me a chance to do some catch up on homework.

I have 16 more days until winter break, but only 9 days of classes. I am very excited to start my 26 days of winter break.

It's been a fun 24 hours. Last night I went to La Sierra to visit. My first stop was Calkins Hall to see Giselle. I kind of wish I had lived in Calkins Hall because it is a lot quieter and peaceful there. Then I went to Briggitte's house because she was going to cook for me! She made this really good chicken. Then we went to rent Kung Fu Hustle and No Vacancy and buy ingredients for the cake we were going to bake. I'm really glad I have a membership to the video place next to LSU because I get new releases for 99 cents and everything else for $1.99. Sweet! We got back to the house and baked devils food cake. I don't want to brag, but mine and Briggitte's cake was awesomely delicious! Andy came over with some Korean food, then we watched Kung Fu Hustle while pigging out. It was a very productive night.

Today Briggitte, Heidi, and I went to Tyler Mall. I miss that mall, but somehow it felt strange without Connie or Giselle there. I bought a necklace that I have been wanting for over a year, and it was only $4 (compared to $19) at Metropark, thanks to it going on sale and Briggitte's employee discount. I FINALLY got my face brushes! MAC only comes out with them twice a year, and I always miss it. But luckily I didn't this month. The case has a somewhat Juicy Couture feel to it. It's been long enough having to use random rough brushes that I had lying around the house. It was time for an upgrade.


$48 may seem a bit steep for make up brushes, but if you know anything about brushes, it's actually really cheap. If I were to buy all four of them separately, it would come out to be $124.50, excluding the bag.

We also signed up to watch a MAC fashion show in December for $15. With that $15 we get a makeup bag worth $75, our choice of a MAC product, and have our makeup done. That's about $130 worth of stuff for only $15. How awesome is that!

OK, I'm going to wrap up this entry because I'm sounding like a real girly girl, which I am not.

The highlight of my day was watching the Mercy Air helicopter take off from the heliport next to my unit. That's so sad. But for the next two weeks I don't have clinicals. Sweet! Don't get me wrong, I love clinicals and patient care. But waking up at 5 AM and all the paper work kill it for me.
This week is pretty relaxed. Nothing is due, and the Fundamentals test was easy and didn't require much studying. One more week until Thanksgiving break. I can't wait! And I just realized I also get Monday off because I don't have that specific class until the following week. It just sucks that I have stuff to do over break.

Happy 11/11 at 11:11!

This weekend was fun. Giselle and Ardrin had their 20th birthday party at James' house this weekend. Lori, Connie, and I went together. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of SGA people there. It was like a mini reunion! A lot of stuff happened on Saturday that Connie and I found so entertaining. Ah, good times.

This past week I've been reconnecting with some friends. I've been talking to people on the phone for hours, just catching up and venting a little. It was really nice to reestablish that connection. I'm really trying not to disappear and get sucked into LLU. I'm really trying to work at my friendships and just calling to say "what's up." Friendship is really important, especially in those times in life where everything sucks, and you just need a shoulder to cry on.

To Connie: Please send me pictures from Saturday. =D

One and a half more weeks until Thanksgiving break. I am so happy. This past Thursday night I stayed up until 4 A.M. working on my Care Plan and had to wake up at 7 A.M. to head for home. I really shouldn't have procrastinated on this assignment, but I'm getting better. So far this is the only assignment this quarter that I've procrastinated on.

For the past 7 weeks I've been using my mom's old stethoscope that is really heavy and kind of sucks for auscultation. So for Christmas I want a Littmann stethoscope. (Is it lame that I want a stethoscope for Christmas?) I found some online for $60, which isn't bad compared to the $100 and over ones. I'm excited!

"Have you ever had one of those days where nothing all that monumental happens, but by the end of it you have no idea who you are or what the hell you are doing with your life?" - Robin from How I Met Your Mother.

Robin sums it up perfectly. Yes, 'twas a tough day. It lapsed over from my tough night yesterday. I don't know what's going on with me lately, but I haven't been on my A game. This is probably the worst I have ever felt about my school life and personal life. Maybe I just need to vent. Or maybe I should just push past this and get over it.

I can't believe it's already halfway through the quarter. I honestly didn't think it would go by this fast. It's been a little difficult to adjust to LLU standards, but I think I'm coming along OK. This week was not too shabby. My patient this week was just so awesome! I really wish I didn't have to have a different patient every week. My first care plan was due this week. It wasn't so bad, but the Plan of Care part was a bitch!

The fires around the Inland Empire have caused our air to be dry and smoky. On Tuesday, we were coming out from clinicals and ash was falling from the sky. It kind of looked like a scene from "Silent Hill," except the ashes weren't so big. The air is just so dry! I've been drinking bottles and bottles of water each day because I feel so thirsty all the time. Ontario is the worst! Their sky is completely brown. Last Sunday I was driving back to Loma Linda and was passing through Ontario. Out of nowhere it became extremely windy, 40 mph. I could feel the car shifting towards the right. And all these pieces of rocks were flying at my window from the wind. After I passed Ontario, it died down. That was not very fun. Luckily the air quality in LA is a little better, but you can see the smoke starting to cover the city.
They evacuated the Wild Animal Park this past weekend, and they put them in a mall. How weird is that! They have evacuated so many people this past week. One of my classmates was almost evacuated from her home so she had to rush out of class one day. That's scary.

Post-its are awesome! They help me plan my week. I've just never had to use so many for a span of four days. =/

Today I reached my breaking point. Everything that has been going on around me just got to me. This came a little later for me than most people. People in my class had their's about two weeks ago. There is just so much to do for school and on top of that there are other stressors outside of school. (Ooh, stressors... a fundamentals word. Haha!) It all just broke me today, which is strange because I had a really good day. I just need this week to be over. Once 5 o'clock comes around on Thursday, it'll be OK.

My Loma Linda responsibilities have prevented me from blogging as frequent as I used to, but I'm back to it. This past week was the first week of clinicals. I must admit that I was really scared to do anything except sit there and do paperwork. I managed to take vitals and change linens. I didn't have much time to do anything because of certain events. The second day was much more productive and efficient. I also got to know my patient better. We talked about various topics, from chemistry to apple picking. But I had a little incident with my shoes on Wednesday. I bought some new shoes for clinicals and am still trying to break them in. On Tuesday they kind of irritated my ankles. But on Wednesday, they broke the skin and blood exploded onto my WHITE scrub pants. The stain was only about an inch and a half in diameter, but it was very noticeable. I really hate white pants. The bottom of mine are already black.

It really sucks to have Fundamentals of Nursing right after I have clinicals. I am tired from clinicals and have food coma from lunch that I can barely stay awake for such a boring class. Tuesdays are the worst. I got from 6:30 AM until 6:40 PM. When I get to my dorm all I can do is eat, shower, and sleep.

I am so thankful for the weekends, especially Sabbaths. From sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday, I just relax and don't think about school. But when that sun goes down, it's back to the books. I've been kind of a hermit over the past couple weeks, but I finally got to go out today and just hang out. Kevin, Khaing, Kristina, Marvin and I went to Twin Palms today for brunch. Then Kristina and I went shopping at Old Town Pasadena. Now I'm back at LLU studying.

And the vicious cycle continues...

Tonight was fight night at my house. My dad ordered the fight between Pacquiao vs. Barrera on Pay Per View. A bunch of people came over to watch the fight. The fight wasn't that exciting due to the fact that there were no knock outs. But Pacquiao won so it's all good. So much for studying tonight.

I have survived the first two weeks of nursing school, and I am so relieved. It was not as bad as I expected, but it was hectic. I think now that my mind knows that it's done, my body is finally getting a chance to feel exhausted. I slept for 10 hours last night, took a nap this afternoon, and now I'm really sleepy again. I won't have too much time to catch up on my sleep because this weekend is all about studying. I understand how people can disappear once they get into LLU. It's only the second week of school, and I haven't really talked to anyone outside of Loma Linda. Disappearing seems to be inevitable.

Ugh. Tomorrow is going to be a busy one.
I'll be gone from 7:30 AM until 7 PM. This week is just getting ridiculous.
8 AM - 12 PM: Skills Lab
12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch/Study for medical terminology test
1 PM - 3 PM: Fundamentals of Nursing
3 PM - 4 PM: LAP (I have no idea what that stands for. All I know is that we sit in a room for an hour while Dr. Condon talks to us about how to study and our classes.)
4 PM - 5 PM: Run errands
5 PM - 7 PM: Developmental psychology
Then I have to eat dinner and study some more for the medical terminology test which I should have studied for a long time ago but procrastinated for. Damn it.

I was talking to some of the nursing students in my class, and I realized that a big chunk of the people in my class are married or have kids. Some of the people don't look old enough to be married. I guess I just assumed everyone, or at least almost everyone, would be single and closer to my age. I feel so young in class. I'm pretty sure I'm one of the youngest ones there. It's just a little strange for me to be in college and be the minority even though I'm right on schedule.
Tomorrow we are doing bed baths in skills lab. We have to wear a bathing suit or shorts and a tank top to class so we can practice giving bed baths to each other. That should be interesting. Haha! I read the skills lab that I have to do for Thursday, and it reads "Please wear slacks and bring a change of clothes (in case of getting wet during skills practice)" Aah, I love practicing to be a nurse. =D

Today I went to the Grand Avenue Festival with Kristina and her family. It's 2 minutes away from my house and I never knew they had it. We got to see the LA Philharmonic perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall FOR FREE! How awesome is that? They sounded amazing! They Performed Northern Lights: The Music of Sibelius. The different colored lights really brought a whole new element into their performance.
There were also a bunch of other things at the festival. There was a lot of food, and nothing was over $6. There was a mural that you could put your hand print on. It will be going around to different LA locations.
My hand print kind of came out retarded looking.
Kristina and I were going to go to the MOCA as well because it was for free. But we were really tired and didn't have much time. It's OK though since the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) only costs $5 for students on regular days.
We were going to watch Avenue Q again for $20 but didn't have time. That's such a good deal! Oh well.
Los Angeles is actually a really nice city, as long as there is no traffic. Sundays are a good day to walk around and take pictures. And there are actually a lot of things to do around there. You should have to know where to look.
I thought this was funny:
Then Kristina and I went to Japanese Village to get some salmon skin roll and Pinkberry. Aah, twas an excellent day. Can't wait for next year, haha!

Aah, I have never been more happy to be at home. It's been a long week. I've been trying to adjust to my classes, and it's not exactly easy. This week I was in class for 30 hours. 30 HOURS!! I do realize that while in elementary and high school we were in school for about 35 hours a week. But college hours are a lot different. Next week I'll be in class for 29 hours. Ooh, one hour less... score! I'm just glad I'm half way through the toughest two weeks.
Monday was just orientation all day long. Sitting in one seat for hours and hours really makes you exhausted. Tuesday and Wednesday weren't so bad because my classes were more spread apart, but they were also they two days where I was most confused. Thursday was the longest day. I had class from 7:30 AM to 6:40 PM. It was crazy! But today was the most fun day. I got to take vital signs! I need to practice taking blood pressure. Anyone want to be my practice dummy?
I sleep a lot better at LLU than I ever did at LSU, even though the mattresses at LLU suck so much. They aren't even mattresses. I think they are foam with a plastic cover on it. I think I sleep better because I'm alone. I have a roommate, but she lives in Loma Linda. She goes home every night and uses the dorm as her break room. I'm not sure why she dorms. Something about getting discounts because her mom is a teacher. So I'm alone most of the time, except during lunch when she comes and eats at the dorm.
I did manage to get some relief from class by going to Target. In the past week I've gone there 5 times! The thing that I like about Loma Linda is that there are a lot of stores really close to each other so you don't have to drive a lot. And yesterday I got to go to Kristina's house and watch the season four premier of Grey's Anatomy. I'm not too sure if I will like this next season. All the characters seem to annoy me. Haha!

It has been a very very long day. Everyone I talked to about nursing school says that the first two weeks are hell. It's only the first day, and I'm already in total agreement. My day was spent in one room for seven hours straight for orientation then to the church for a school wide orientation. That gives me a grand total of nine hours of orientation. I've never been in school for that long! My brain hurts. All my classes are going to be jumbled up for the next two weeks so I'm pretty confused about when my classes are. After orientation, we had a welcome back bash where I got a bunch of free stuff. I've gotten so much free stuff in the past two days. I won a medical dictionary so that saves me a lot of money. Then I got this stuff.
It's not everything, but that's most of it. They have really cool pens and retractable ID clips. I'm most excited about getting a free scrub top because that saves me a lot of money on scrubs. Hooray! Now I have to go figure out my schedule so I'm not late tomorrow.

On a funnier note, I was looking through some whitening products my dad brought back from the Philippines for my family, and the grammar is hilarious!
"One minutes dispel horniness." What more could you want?