a passer's grievance (a write-up i made in the 2006 leakage drama)

A passer’s grievance….

Now everybody’s calling for a “retake”...

PRC and its subordinates dragged all graduate nurses into this embarrassing mess that until this point, not one of them has braved their way in clearing up the trouble they recklessly fashioned.

Releasing the results of the board exams right after the PRC admitted that the examination contents were breached, was no more than a vintage move of the board of nursing to silence the crowd of examinees. It silenced me, a board passer, but those who failed the exams roared off like mad mobs demanding for a recount, and now a retake. But I can’t blame any of them, not that it is their right, but because there’s a wild reason to do so.

I passed because I worked hard. I passed without a share of the “leak”. I passed, and I’d pass it still given a retake. But in all sense it is unfair, not to mention the expenses that we will have to burden our parents once more, and the stressful experience that we have to go through again for the preparation. I made it through the cut-off passing rate and I deserve this victory.

Let those who are responsible for this “crime” suffer the consequences, not the graduate nurses. I’ve ventured on a 4-year course for an exam that will judge my competence, and the board of nursing has one little thing to do in their profession, to make a 500-item licensure exam and they did not deliver, more so, they gave out their manuscripts for a price… a price that we instead are paying.

I’ve watched the news here and there and the PRC, the NBI, the CONGRESS have not given one sensible statement about the issues that even an uneducated vendor could have solved by now. These authorities have shut their mouths too long that they have angered a lot of people concerned. I am hung up in this clutter and so are the other 42 thousand graduate nurses…

Of course a “retake” is all that there is to resort to. But for many, it is not a fair deal. Not for me, not for the majority of the 17 thousand passers. At one side, it is a selfish thought, but a retake is just too much to ask from those who did pass it. I do share the grief of the victims of the leakage, but as a passer, I also have my own grievances for everybody to hear out…like most of those whose names appeared on the broadsheets, I worked 2 grueling months browsing my books, I woke up at the earliest hours to attend my review sessions, I had my part in prayers…and I passed it..i earned it…I should be by now a registered nurse, no less…

Let’s face the truth, a retake is a redemption of those who failed, and a threat on those who passed…

But if we are indeed left without a choice but a RETAKE, we will cave in if it’s for the sake of recovering the dignity of the nursing profession…in the condition that those seated in the board of nursing waive their resignation over and have credible people man the commission. If they demand a retake, then we demand a reboot of responsibility.

This is a crime done many times over, and this is the worst it can get…

We couldn’t disappoint ourselves more…

This is a crime of greed, of cheating…

And this is no longer acceptable…

The leak was true..

2 BON members should be behind the bars right now…

The PRC keeps making endless alibis

And they have gone deaf even…

The NBI has not moved a muscle to solve any of this...

The congress is too busy to listen …

UST has gone mad fighting over a number of petitions…

17 thousand or so passers are just without jobs…

The other 20 thousand are fighting for a retake…

And job offers from all locations have died down…

And yet, just like any other case…

Another hopeless tragedy…

This is History….

All over again…

a-cook-by-luck..by one minute...

i had such a craving for fishballs.. I've been waiting in our block for vendors who could satisfy my hankering, so much as they can profit from the hunger I had.. as much as I'd hope.. no fishballs. no nothing.. so I let it pass.. one time I dropped by the grocery store and saw in their huge rectangular fridge a number of uncooked packs of fishballs.. i never wanna stage a cooking stunt in our kitchen..but what the hell.. 47 pesos.. not bad right? so i bought just a pack to feed me for a week maybe..or If im really hungry..a day.. i searched the net..thank God for google and a few forums as they got almost everything that i need to know during this pressing need of mine.. I typed.. fishball sauce.. and there I got unanimous answers to perfect a sauce for my fishball..pretty much like how Manong Fishball could have made them.. The list includes.. sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and flour.. and you could add spices of your own.. oh and sprite too.. so I mixed them up.. and first sauce came out with too much vinegar that it smells like puke.. so out to trash it went... 2nd batch. came out quite too sweet which my sister loved.. but I persoanlly didn't so I let her have at it.. 3rd was rather too salty.. hmmm.. I fed it to the dogs.. and the 4th batch as I was getting frustrated.. I added a few more spices like garlic.. onion.. some seasoning.. I served it hot.. I then fried the fishballs.. and it was phenomenal.. PERFECT! and when i say perfect.. I mean it was like how Manong Fishball could've made it.. my brother and little sister could testify.. it was delicious.. i nailed it this time.. we finished it in less than half an hour.. i craved no more...
the next day.. we still have half a pack of fishballs lying around.. so I fried them.. then I had to cook my phenomenal sauce again.. and as luck would have it.. i've been to my 4th batch yet again. and i couldn't get the same exact taste.. it just went either too bland or too tasty.. and i tried mixing both and it's a taste of disaster.. I guess i just got lucky... by one minute.. one time...

my NCLEX experience...

I took the NCLEX last monday and boy was it hard... i thought it was the hardest thing i have ever put my self into..it was literally an agonizing battle that i couldnt have imagined..no pun intended! i got to my seat trying to convince myself that i can work past it.. computer shut off at 75.. i had like 20 SATA's. i know cause i took count of them appearing one after the other.. my 3rd question was already a SATA and I was stunned.. i wasnt prepared for a SATA early on.. but kept moving.. and kept having more of those.. i had to stop at 30 items to seek for an early break and had to catch my breath.. i offered my sincerest prayers and tried to power thru the test.. i was hoping i could move past 75 cause i knew i did terrible on those SATa's..but as fate would have it..it just had to end at 75. i left the booth stunned and speechless. i was shaking like crazy.. I wasnt prepared for such enormous stress that all i could do when i got home was curl up and cry... This stress could actually kill me. Just for information's sake.. i had 20 SATA's, tons of med questions.. even SATA's bout meds (and i thought it wouldn't get harder than that)... no math.. had one ecg tracing to point out...countless prioritization and infection control...a number of psych and peds questions... up until now i'm still waiting for the verdict of the NCLEX people.. please do pray for me and the rest of the NCLEX takers who are hoping for good results...
just a piece of advice for those who are to take the exam... NEVER EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE NCLEX... it sure is one hell of a jaw breaker....

i am in this place...

I am finally in this place.. hardly ever defined....

It's like you become so crazy that something imagined suddenly becomes so real that you'd yearn that time wouldn't pass a minute faster...

It's like making an instantaneous vow that today is a testament of your forever...

It's earning money for 22 years.. and splurging it for an object of promise.. with no hint of resentment..

It's fighting...and fighting back...and fighting some more...

It's saying forever.. without stuttering...

It's putting a grip of the fear... of losing... of exceeding..

It's staring...without undue squinting...

It's as if your heartbeat resounds beyond all borders...

I am in this place...

I am....

in love....

singing it like he owns it..

It was a gloomy friday morning, when i came up to my senses at 9am, gave out a pant as I got up to bed, and realized that Elliott Yamin is hitting a mall nearby. I dashed from here to there..my routines were cut short and made everything quick..a quick shower, grabbed a light meal, panned a couple of articles through the net and left wearing my most comfortable clothes paired with my flip flops. The mall concert isn't till 7pm but i have to hustle my way through traffic to get myself a free stub so i can get to scream my lungs out at a really close distance. Unfortunately, I got at the 'concierge booth' a little too late..ten minutes late.. i should've skipped breakfast or took a shower quicker than what I had. All stubs were given out..tough luck! So to cheer myself up I went window shopping which was a lot more distressing for I'm just plain broke.. as every store stuns me with items id die for..i just walked past each stall with a smirk on my face and left head on.. anyhow, i went home..slept..charged my digital camera! I woke up with a boost then went to 'trinoma', that's after i made all my quick must do's..like take a bath etc.. I got there 30 minutes past 7.. the crowd was outrageous. I made my way creeping through one person to the other till I came close enough to what seemed like a dejavu back when I'm just watching Elliott Yamin on AI..I shook my head and told myself this is not a freakin' dejavu..and there he is.. in the middle of the untamed crowd as he magically belted out 'A song for you' like he owns it.. great times!!!

chug a lug!

My hankering for 'margarita' is simply beyond craving. The lemon does the trick, i might say, and the salt just makes it more tempting. Drinking too much till you get that hazy and falling sensation shouldn't be your target though cause you'll probably end up making out with the least person in your mind. Not a good sight! One sip, and another wouldn't harm..and a few more is permissible. The moment that your cocktail starts kicking in, then you gotta take a breather and grab some nachos to ease down the rush of alcohol. Quench your thirst with a glass or two or more if you're a heavyweight drinker but with just enough bite for you to loosen up, but not too much to create a montage of appalling sloshed scenes. I'm telling you, you don't wanna wake up saying, "did i do something stupid last night?". And your friends will consequently give you that bizarre look till you get cranky..then they burst into laughter..and your question will remain unanswered forever..or till pictures of you start popping out in your mail..haha And if you're planning to get really jaded with your friends at a bar that offers alcohol of your choice at a cut-rate deal, please leave your cameras at home.. haha.. If you haven't tried margarita then you're missing out on the good stuff there is.. go get a sip..then tell me about it... ciao!