Wednesday 2 March 2011

Nakabilanggong Kagandahan!

Nasa recreation room ako ng hapon na iyon, day off at walang magawa, nang bigla na lang nag ALARM ng emergency itong aming bahay, at wala pang sampung segundo, ang aming telepono ay panay ang ring. Nakakabulahaw talaga, grabe! Siyempre, ang beauty ng inyong lingkod, nataranta. Di malaman kung ano ang uunahin, ang patigilin ang alarm thru entering our pin code which would take some confirmation and reconfirmation kapag sa mga ganitong klaseng alarm... o sagutin ang telepono. Siyempre, for some reason naisip ko kaagad, tumakbo sa telepono kahit napakaingay at nakakabingi itong wang wang sa loob at labas ng bahay. Buti na lang, kung nasaan ang telepono, nandun din pala ang fob key ng alarm ( o soyal di ba? ang aming bahay ay katulad na lang din ng kotse kapag iniiwanan, at a touch of a button, armed na siya. High tetsh, ay mali, high tech pala)

Kaya ang beauty nyo, answered the phone while turning the alarm off. Hay, relief! Di na maingay...... Hello, sabi ko. This is the monitoring department from ARPEL Security. Can you tell me your passcode, please. Aba, ang bruhang 'to, inuutusan ako, sino ba siya, lokaret na yun a. Nagkarambula ang mga numero sa aking ulo, di ko maalala kung ano ang kanyang tinatanong, meron ba 'nun?, Bigla akong nanlamig, kapag di ko nasabi ang tamang passcode, magpapadala sila ng mga pulis sa aming tahanan, nakakahiya, ay naku, worst, magbabayad ako ng fee kapag naabala pa sila sa isang false alarm lang, patay! Anyway, mabuti na lang nakapag - isip agad ako, sa totoo lang, di ko talaga maalala ang passcode namin with ARPEL kaya naisip ko kaagad kung ano ang ginagawa ko sa telephone banking kapag di ko masabi ang tamang passcode with them, ibinibigay ko na lang ang aking buong identity, sino ako, anong birthday ko, anong mga posibleng question and answer words ko kapag kinakailangan kong mag reset ng password, na sa tingin ko ay yun din ang mga posibleng password/passcode ko with them. It worked, pero di nya kinonfirm kung alin dun, sabi magpapadala na lang daw sila ng another passcode by mail. Medyo nakumbinsi ko naman yung babae sa kabilang linya, na ako talaga ang may-ari o nakatira sa bahay na minu-monitor nila, kaya habang nasa phone, sabi nya sa akin na tseken ang area ng bahay na nag trigger ng alarm. Ako naman, while on the phone, pumunta sa basement rec room katulad ng sinabi niya, dahil dun daw nagmula ang trigger. Eh sabi ko, ako lang naman ang nandun kanikanina lang, nag lalaro ng tennis with WII. Sarado ang dalawang bintana, well sealed at di siya nagagalaw. At this time, my kids who were in their rooms went down stairs with me at ang mga mata'y nagtatanong kung ano ang nangyayari, kaya inginuso ko na lang sa kanila na everything is okey.

Anyway, ito na. Kinakailangan kong i reset ang alarm para makasigurong secured na ulit kami, aba, ang letcheng aparato, ayaw gawin ang pinagagawa ko sa kanya. Laging ibinabandera ang CHECK 18....NOT READY!, makailang beses kong ginawa ang pag enter ng pincode, ganun at ganun ang sinasabi. Siyempre, tawag ang beauty nyo sa customer service na ipinasa naman sa monitorig department, at pagkatapos ng mahabang paliwanag, sinubukan din nilang i reset from their end, pero walang nangyari, dedma ang system, at matigas pa kaysa bato ang puso ng alarm system namin. Gusto ng personal na attention and touch, kaya sabi ng security company, kinakailangan nilang pumunta ng personal dito ulit sa bahay namin para sila mismong mag check ng kung anong kababalaghan ang ginagawa ng aming malditang alarm. Sabi pa, ang nakadownload daw na info sa kanila ay tampering daw ng seal sa 18, which is our rec room. Tingnan mo nga naman, di nga nagagalaw yun, eh. Tinanong pa ako kung pinalitan ba namin ng baterya, pero di naman, in fact, wala nga sa amin marunong makialam nun kaya di namin ginagalaw, at kung baterya man, sana nung binuksan ko yung bintana, tapos isinara, hindi magtsa-chime ang bahay, which just tells us that an access to the house has been opened, etc.


Kaya today, 48 hours pagkatapos nung mapan intrigang alarm, darating yung technician para tseken ang aming system. Yet for me, that's a two-day imprisonment, dalawang araw at gabi akong hindi mapakali, nagigising ako sa dis oras ng gabi and get up to check on the two kids in their rooms, tapos saka hihiga at mabubwisit kay Alfredo kasi sarap ng tulog niya, habang ako disturbed na naman. Mahirap ang kalagayan ng ganito. And if I have to diagnose myself, it's easy to say I have PTSS (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) which of course sakit sa utak... Mental o Psych, kumbaga! Aray, nababaliw na ba ako??????.Well, nanakawan na kasi kami minsan dun sa isa sa mga naunang bahay na aming naupahan. Catastrophy ang dating sa akin nun. Tinangay ng mga robbers halos lahat ang aming mga kayamanan, ahehehe, kung meron man at ang mga importanteng papeles. Sabi ko sana, tinangay na lang nilang lahat yung mga bagay na sa tingin nila eh may value, wag lang yung mga documents namin such as passports, visas, birth certificates, etc. Pero talagang mga halang ang bituka ng mga magnanakaw na iyon, mga bastos at walang konsiderasyon. It took us nearly a year to get our new passports and the rest of the documents. At kahit na meron na kaming mga new documents, identity threat is still there. The British Consulate dito sa Canada could not guarantee (yes, we're British citizens) us that those stolen passports could not be used by the robbers. What they assured us is that, those passports could not be used for traveling outside of the country because once they have presented the said documents to any immigration officer, it will be taken from them, and necessary investigation will be done, but should those culprits use those papers in opening accounts and what have you, they may still be likely to succeed. And in the western world, identity and credit history is critical. Kaya ever since, I don't take chances.I've done what's needed to minimize their chances such as informing the credit bureau, police, etc. at kahit nasa loob kami ng bahay, we set our alarms on to keep the perimeters of our property secured, at kahit malaya kaming nakakakilos sa loob ng teritoryo namin, kapag may nagbukas ng bintana o pinto o kahit anumang access na hindi namin alam, our warning alarm goes, meron din kaming panic button sa aming fob key, which we could press at any point necessary, whether the system is on or off. Paranoia, you may call it, but for me, it is the least I could do to stay safe'r. I know that the area we're in is safe and secure. We are in a Cul De Sac with less than a dozen houses. Our neighbours are great and professional people, and in fact two of them are doctors in the hospital where I work and we are in a neighborhood watch program. Pero para sa akin, iba pa rin ang may extra precaution.

Friday 25 February 2011

On to careers and plans, I Digress.

As a nurse, you've got to work shifts, and as I am full time nurse in intensive care unit, I have to have a fair share of days and night hours.

Working nights is not that bad, if you are used to it. Aside from feeling like a zombie, you work like without brains. Everything is autopilot. Due to years of experience, working with the multidisciplinary team comes as second nature to me.

But lately, I have to think deep and hard about my practice. I have been audited by the CRNBC (College of Registered Nurses in British Columbia) before I was able to renew my license, and in there I have to satisfy the requirements of updating my professional practice and development, and pair it with their practice standards. It wasn't a hard audit, but really, in reality, we do more than the practice is asking, and we sacrifice a lot, our health, our brains, time, and effort, and even our personal beliefs and relationships. Nursing is not like any other jobs monday to friday 9 to 5 pm where you have a set of days off and time automatically without having so much of a fuss with your planner. Nursing is indeed complex, not only to the practice but to the one that practices it. Guess what, I love it, but if I have a choice, I prefer becoming a part time only, the other part time would be farming. Would it not be great?

When I finally made the decision to become a nurse (wish I had other choices) I am aware that night shifts are there to come. That was in 1992, I qualified in 1996, and I was only 20 years old then. I pledged to myself that I would be good and break my time in five years intervals. I have rounded around specialty wards such as maternity, neurology, respiratory, medical, and surgical by 25. Then I got my specialty in intensive care by 30, teaching/mentoring at now when I am 35, aiming to become an educator by forty, and hopefully a consultant at 45. Currently, I am at my goal, and perhaps I could easily switch to some kind of managerial jobs of sort, but I am not that kind of person. I am passionate about my bedside care and the patients that I treat therefore I knew that being in skills and practice level is what will give me job satisfaction. Another thing I have learned in this work life is that, establishing a network is necessary to let your goals achievable. Talking to your manager from the very start and outline to him/her your career goals is a very clear indication that he/she could not hold you should you want to leave or move when the time comes when you feel like it's time. Personally, I am a very loyal employee and love to become part of the group at most times. But a few occasion I have broken from my comfort zones to try new levels and tastes, and so far, I have not once a regret yet, any kind of major career decisions I have made. Hopefully, I am trained and continue to be trained in each obstacle I have yet to face.