Welcome 2009!

 

A few more hours and calendars will change. Gather all your round fruits, open all the windows, put coins in your pockets, fill the jars with grains, and turn all the lights on! 2009 is here! It’s going to be another new year.

Well, just like the last Christmas eve and Christmas day, I will not be celebrating the coming of the new year tonight with families or friends. I’m working tonight, and two more nights after that. Business as usual. That’s why I posted this quick greeting now.

In the Philippines, it’s a great time to be with your loved ones. I miss my last year’s celebration – the fireworks, the noise, the loud music, the happy greetings. Families would gather around the dining table for a midnight feast we call media noche.

But tonight, it’s going to be different. It’s not going to be a countdown of how many more minutes and seconds before the year is finally over. It’s going to be a countdown of how much more medications are to be given, how much urine the patient has passed, how many more call bells I need to attend and how many more charts I need to finish.

I may wish it’s going to be fun, but it does not sound that way.

I just wish that I get a patient tonight who will appreciate my nursing care to him. I think that would be enough consolation. And as the old belief would say, I would then get a whole year of appreciative patients. That would be fun!

Allow me thank all of you who never got tired visiting this site. Thanks for a whole year of blogging fun and interactions. I really appreciate the fact that you spend time reading my thoughts. I appreciate it more than you know.

“See” you next year, guys! Have a great new year!!

Cheers!!!!!

 

Chef of the Year!

My batchmates held our Christmas Party last night. We had lots of parlor games, dancing, singing and gift-giving.

I won the “Chef of the Year” award for my dish, vegetable pastel. It’s the first time I received recognition for my cooking!

We had a nice time! Merry Christmas everyone!

Addicted to Iñigo

Going Around Dubai Again

Here I was again joining other people on their out-of-town trips. This time, I joined some 10 Malaysians and 3 South Africans in their Dubai trip and mall-hopping last December 18. I was the only Filipino, and was the only worm among the roses who joined this trip.

My newly-found friends posing at Jumeirah Beach, with the magnificent Burj Al Arab Hotel as backdrop.

Entrance of Burj Al Arab, the world’s only 7-star hotel.

This is the tallest operating hotel in the world (not counting mixed-use building like Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai and the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea). This  building is also the world’s tallest building with a membrane facade.

 

  

Front of Wild Wadi Water Park, one of the world’s most technologically advanced water parks.

This water park has heated/cooled wave pool, multiple water slides and two articial surfing machines.

 

 

 

 

 

I was here: Souk Madinat, 5th Dubai International Film Festival, Jumeirah Festive Market, Man-made river in Jumeirah, Sinbad Antiques.

We needed to cross an underwater subway to reach Atlantis Hotel on Palm Island, a stunning billion-and-a-half dollar resort complete with aquarium, aquapark, 17 restaurants and a $26,000-dollar-a-night suite. The hotel opening night last September was the most expensive private party ever staged, with Kylie Minogue’s one-hour performance paid at $4 million dollars, making her performance the best paid in entertainment history.

Mall-hopping: Lunch at Ibn Battuta Mall, the world’s largest themed shopping mall; Mall of the Emirates, the world’s largest shopping centre outside North America; and Dubai Mall, also one of the world’s largest malls. Dubai Mall’s opening last November 4 had 600 retailers,marking the world’s largest-ever mall opening in retail history.

In this picture, the giant white Christmas tree reaches up to the 5th floor of the mall.

While the world is being hammered by the global financial crisis, it seems the economic woes is a world away from the excesses of Dubai in the UAE.

What oil can do.

Merry Christmas!

Last year was my first Christmas in the Philippines in 5 years, my second in 7 years. It was one of my happiest Christmas having celebrated the holiday season with my loved ones. I remember attending lots of parties, giving gifts, and putting up Christmas decors. I had so much fun especially since I missed all those things for a while.

This year, I am back to celebrating the season away from my family. I am again abroad, working in another country where Christmas is but an ordinary day. There’s not much of those huge Christmas decors and not much of those parties. Just a few to keep the spirit alive, at least.

But then, who am I to complain? I may not be with my family this Christmas, but there are still lots of things to be thankful for. Watching the evening news, I realized I am still so blessed.

I am not one of those recently laid off from work because of the global financial crisis. I have a decent job, earning enough for my family back home.

I am not one of those affected by the fire that hit some residential places in Manila recently. I have a very comfortable flat on my own.

I am not one of those who lost their loved ones recently. Many died in some accidents recently. My loved ones may not be with me, but I know they are all safe.

I am not one of those bank depositors whose banks recently closed. I am financially stable at the moment in God’s grace.

I am not one of those chronic patients lying on the hospital beds just waiting for their time to come. I am healthy, and my family as well.

So is there a reason for me to be sad just because I am alone and not with my family during this time of the season?

I guess, there is none.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Our Baby, Our Life

Just a few more weeks, and I’ll be seeing my baby, Iñigo – for the first time in person.

He’s going to be 5 months old this month.

Check out this latest video I made for him.

Salad Day

I have gained a lot of friends here in the UAE. We would meet almost weekly in my flat and sing our hearts out on my Mediacom videoke system. We call our gathering “salad day” (which came from the song, Gold, which would usually be part of my repertoire . I think this is our way of getting rid of homesickness.

Last December 8 was one of our longest gigs. I cooked white spaghetti and potato-tuna salad.

Check out this youtube videos from the November 16 session. Kulitan lang!

A Saturday Adventure

My laptop is fixed! After several days of being off the cyberworld, I just missed blogging! And I have lots of stories to tell

Last December 6, I was invited to join a “Desert Safari” trip. The activity reminded me of the movie “Dubai” which starred Claudine Baretto, Aga Muhlach and John Lloyd Cruz. There was a scene there where the characters also went on a Desert Safari. We went on the same place where they shoot the movie.

But before we proceeded to the desert, we went for some mall-hopping first because it was still too early. The first stop was Dubai Mall which housed the “Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Center”.I think this is similar tothe “Oceanarium” that we have in Manila. There was a tunnel where one would feel like he was under the sea, as he would be seeing all sorts of marine life through the transparent underwater tunnel. This place holds the Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Acrylic Panel.

Dubai Mall is just beside another Dubai icon, the Burj Dubai Skycraper, which is currently the tallest freestanding structure on earth. The building is still under construction, and when completed, will stand around 800-950 meters. The building is due for completion by August next year. Forgive my picture, for I took it while I was on the car.

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was the Mall of the Emirates where we had our lunch. The mall houses Ski Dubai Snow Park, the world’s largest snow park. Lying on 3000 square meters of snow, this indoor park is one of a kind and just left me breathless. Imagine a snow park in a desert country where  there is no snow! How money works!

We did not try strolling on the snow as we did not have much time. We walked our way to Kempinski Hotel where we would be picked up for the Desert Safari. Kempinski Hotel is a 5-star hotel and one of the country’s largest hotel guestrooms.

We were picked up by the representative from Knights Tours at the hotel lobby around 4pm. We then went to the desert, near the Oman border.

The Desert Safari is a popular tour here in the UAE where one experiences the thrill of a roller coaster ride on the sand dunes. Our driver, Aseef, was well- experienced in driving on the desert and gave us 4×4 exciting ride.

After the vomit-inducing ride, we visited a small bedouin village where I was able to try Arabic life for a short time. I took a short camel ride, posed with an arabic falcon, tasted arabic coffee, tried smoking shisha and had henna tattoed on my arm. In the night, we feasted on arabic food served on buffet. Supposedly, the last part of the activity will be watching a belly dancer. Unfortunately, Hajj started and it was not allowed in the religion for a belly dancer to dance at this time.

After these tiring trip, we went to Dubai Outlet Mall for a night cap – a quick shopping while waiting for our service car to bring us to Al Ain.

We had a nice time! Life is great!

computer crash

My computer crashed! I am using a friend’s laptop at the moment.

I may not be able to post for a while until I get my laptop fixed.

My apologies.

Will be back soon.

An Ambulance Trip

0300pm. I was sleeping when I was informed by phone that I need to come to work early. I needed to accompany a patient that was going to be transferred to another hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, which is about 3-4 hours away from Al Ain. I came from a night shift that is why I was still sleeping, was supposed to come to work for a second night shift at 7pm only.

0415pm. Got up and got ready to come to work. Ate heavy dinner.

0520pm. Arrived in the hospital. Received endorsement from the nurse-in-charge of the patient – an ESRD patient complicated by a fractured humerus and femur post fall. The thing with this, I get a few seconds of endorsement, but then I am expected to know everything when asked in the other hospital.

Reading the file, I found out the patient was not Hep B positive as written on the medical report! He’s Hep C positive! Good I found that out, otherwise, I’ll be giving wrong information to the other hospital!

0600pm. Wheeled the patient to ER where the ambulance was waiting. To my surprise, I  will be alone with the transfer (I thought I’ll be with the EMS). I will just be with the driver. I had to figure out quickly how this techie stretcher works. We have a different one in our unit! Ambulance left our hospital.

Another surprise came to me when I reviewed the patient’s xray films. Written on the report that I will be submitting to the other hospital was that the patient was having a fractured LEFT humerus. Looking at the xrays, the fracture is on the RIGHT humerus! The xray report accompanying the films also says RIGHT humerus! Gosh, I will look so dumb when I reach the hospital there. Thanks to the people who prepared this medical report! I just made the corrections myself…

Inside the ambulance, the patient was stable. But then I had to figure out by myself how the equipments inside work. Although I have worked as an ambulance nurse before, I still felt that I need some kind of orientation about the stuffs found in this ambulance particularly. It was my first time to ride on this hospital’s ambulance, and this one’s kinda high-tech. Lots of machines, and buttons around me. 

Since I have accepted this job of accompanying a patient on a long trip, I was expected to know everything inside the vehicle and that was even without anybody teaching me. Haay… and I was supposed to save a life when an emergency inside the ambulance occurs! I just love this kind of job!

0900pm. After breezing through the traffic and a heavy rain, we were able to reach the hospital in Ras Al Khaimah safely, with the patient remaining stable. Thank God! I was received by some ER personnel who were mostly Malaysians and Filipinos.

0930pm. After the patient was endorsed to the nurse who’s going to look after the patient, the driver and I left the hospital and made our way back to Al Ain.

1230am. The ambulance brought me home directly to my flat. After staying inside the ambulance for almost six hours, I am just so thankful to be home and be back to a very comfortable and familiar place!