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It is 4:02 am in the morning, and I just can't sleep. It may be to the fact that I had been sleeping most of the day or that my body had adjusted to the nightly hours since I started my overnight shifts at work.

Therefore, I am taking an opportunity in this restless hour to rant about the lack of appreciation in an office environment, namely my own.

When I first started my first job, I had seen a lot of people come and go at a workplace. Some people quit before they even started. Some didn't work past a month. Some worked as little as 3 months, while others worked as long as years, trying to support their families or themselves. Now, I don't mean to be offensive but I want to make a remark about the fact that I thought people ought to give it a little bit of effort to last just a little bit longer when getting a job . . . Half a year, even. Although I know that that they are positions out there people come to find out they do not like after a certain period of time.

Having said that, it is true that for all the job positions I've held in the past, I'd worked for at least over a year. True to myself and YOU, I can honestly say that I value my job, even when I DO NOT ENJOY doing certain things at work. Those things usually only occur after a given time-frame when I have become accustomed to the pace.

It really upsets me that lately I came to realize that my director don't really give much of a damn about us at work at all. She told one of the girls that they are a lot of people looking for a job if she doesn't do a certain task. What does that mean to you? To all of us, it clearly implies she would fire anyone of us, regardless of HOW LONG or HOW GOOD you are. Is this a threat. When our coworker told us of what my director said, it surprised a lot of us. IT APPALLED myself. When she came to replace our previous director, I thought she was cool. She would literally try to jump in and hold friendly conversations with us. Then suddenly, people were fired and new rules were implemented -- NEW rules that to us who have worked there much longer were not fond of. Such as cutting hours and cutting staff when things when tasks were heavy, having new tasks added on the work load, and constructing a list of hourly check-ups for everyone.

Excuse me, but we have 8 hours to work and it'd be nice to work at our own pace. It is not like we slack off and just sit on our butts. In fact, we are not even supposed to have a little chit-chat like we always had.

Then the other day I was told if I couldn't do a certain thing (after a mistake of mine, I have to admit) she would have to let me go. It was as if it was a mistake I had done a million time. I cann't not help it when I am scheduled during the weekends when there is no damn nurse on the sight (only on calls, and sometimes he doesn't pick the phone up until LATER -- crucial in urgent situations). So what the hell do I do? Not to mention the fact that I'm often the one IN CHARGE of the facility during the weekends because neither the nurse nor the director herself are at work. If anything goes wrong, instead of dealing with the people involved and tries to make whatever situations better for everyone, she tries to pinpoint anything she can on you for BLAME. If there is a mistake, it is your damn fault and NEVER does she back you up for minor mistakes. GOD, I can even go on and go on about an incident in which she tried to write myself and a few coworker up for doing something that possibly prevented the resident from DYING. Did anyone answer our calls at 7 in the morning? NO. So in the end, she didn't have anything to write none of us for. Damn, there are way too many incidents to count and I'm sorry for those who got in trouble for things they weren't supposed to be accounted for. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVER LISTENING TO YOUR EMPLOYEES.

Really though, if you are the director, PLEASE not only look after your income and the patients. You are not only forming relationships with them, but you also have your employers as well. If a place lacks honesty and appreciation for the staff, there won't be a single kind, amiable relationship between the employee and the director/employer.

Much like it is now, everyone has something to say about her. Everyone does not agree to the things she does but only comply because there is nothing else to do. No one likes her. We wish she wouldn't show up on our shifts, especially the weekend. And that is just sad.

It makes me frustrated to think about even going in there and work. There were way too many times where I walked in to work for merely 5 minutes and felt like I wanted to leave so bad. There is drama everywhere.

There is absolutely NO job security there and after what happened the other day I feel less inclined to work. I feel as though I must watch my every step because tomorrow might be my last before I go unemployed, which I hope never happens.

I hope my two-week vacation will clear my head up a little and that when I return it won't be so bad. That's the reason why I had moved to night shifts, the hours where everyone's asleep and all you do is to watch over everyone. That way I can better avoid interactions with her and others that may cause trouble and focus on my duties during the night.

I've worked there for 1 year and 4 months, and I think it is time to look for another job.]]> 1325222705 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:25:05 +0000 http://living-prints.desertlullaby.com/?subaction=showfull&id=1324097767&archive=
And thus it is over

I am forever more GRATEFUL that finals week is finally done, completed, over with! No more late-night studies, no more killing brain cells over lectures, no more going to the bathroom a hundred times during the night because you've just drunk all the tea or coffee (whatever you drink) that you have. NO MORE FINALS AND PAPERS AND DEADLINES.

I am quite proud, however, of my accomplishment -- that is, I wrote a 14-page research paper for a class within one day. And I mean about full 7-page, 10-pt font, 0.5 margin of nothing but text... Uh, of course what are good friends for? They help you with research when you are just that desperate. Yep.

I think all of us were too lazy to read it over once it was done, though. Heck, I didn't even have the brain or energy to read it over.

Anyhow, this entry is pretty much a summary of the fall semester. Overall, I enjoyed it. My classes were pretty interesting compared to many other ones that I had in the past. Biochem & Nutrition, taken these two together, was a smart idea (though, it was only coincidental, shhh). Medical Anthropology was very eye-opening and intesting; the topics were something to ponder over and what actually happens in real life. Psych of Language -- the class was ok...It was nice because I made friends and my research group was just awesome. Stats class wasn't all that great, but at least it was stressfree. And a Developmental Biology class, which I never attended beside for exams, and got an A. (Not without hard works, though!)

In retrospect, I think the semester went by too fast. I didn't even realize it was almost over until it was December and right before finals week. It truly felt like November, to say the least.

Next semester will be awesome as well *Optimism* -- I will be having classes with my friends, except for maybe 2 classes. But that is alright. I have so much to prepare and the schedule works out just great -- only 4 days of school, hell yeah. Though on the other hands, I will switch to night shifts at work and have Sundays off. Oh, having Sundays off is the icing of top of my sundae ~ That means, shopping time and I'd really like to attend church at last once in a while.

As for winter break. There's much to plan and do. But that is for another time ^^


- Location: @ work
- Thinking of getting a new layout for the site. Again.]]> 1324097767 Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:56:07 +0000 http://living-prints.desertlullaby.com/?subaction=showfull&id=1318416870&archive=
After reading the first 2 chapters of the book, I became very interested on such the variety of areas that cadavers can be used for. Also, Mary Roach (the author) did venture into the history of cadavers, starting from Ancient Egyptian where King Ptolemy allowed dissection to be performed on dead bodies, which also aided the knowledge and practice of mummification, so not to rot the body completely. The history went on to many well-known anatomists, and how the cadavers were used as commodity: doctors paying body snatchers to obtain corpses from graveyards, people killing those who are "poor" and were dying to get the bodies, as well as certain medical schools having students pay tuition in terms of how many bodies they could bring. Once life deceased, the bodies became much more valuable.

There are so many aspects of the lifeless bodies. Medical students' first exposure to dead bodies not only for the purpose of studying anatomy but also to the concept of death. However, on the latter part, one argument that Roach brought up that this could be equally effective as introducing students to grieve counselors AND hospice patients. Do you agree with this? Do you think these are relatively the same or different in terms people come to learn and be familiarize with the concept of death?

How about the concept of objectification, where doctors and medical students have to learn ways to view the bodies as objects to distant themselves from emotions associated with seeing lifeless bodies laying in front of them that so closely resemble the living bodies? If so, one argument that I can bring up is how this desensitization is somewhat ironic to the concept of adding living qualities to the dead bodies, as Roach described "the cadavers I have seen were not depressing or heart-wrenching or repulsive. They seemed sweet and well-intentioned, sometimes sad, occasionally amusing" (pg. 11). Some medical students even name their cadavers and some look at them as though the cadavers are "just merely sleeping" (pg. 39). What do you think of this?

What about respect for the dead? Once dead, the body is lifeless. In societies such as America, generally, the dead possess no soul = no life. Does this contribute to the disrespect one might observe? Even through history, Roach described a scene where a journalist was invited to an anatomy lab. Upon the site, the journalist was terrified at the scene in front of him in which bodies part where scattered around the room -- intestines hanging by the tables, organs were left on the floor for rats and other animals to devour, human heads on boiling pots, etc. So what about respect and disrespect when it comes to human bodies after death. Is it easier to become disrespectful when the body is devoid of emotions and personality?

Something I fished out from the first two chapters. Very interesting read, everyone :)]]> 1318416870 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:54:30 +0000 http://living-prints.desertlullaby.com/?subaction=showfull&id=1317728151&archive= It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. ~Author Unknown

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~Mark Twain

It is quite pleasing to witness an act of kindness, whether in the form of a giver, recipient or observer. With a simple act, a simple gesture, kindness brings joy to the world.

I witness a very simple act of what I perceived as kindness early today. It surely made me smile. Touch others and be touched. There are a lot of things that others will appreciate greatly from you, an unmentioned gift to another.

Where I work at, I have noticed how different people react differently towards the care of their loved ones: with positivity, negativity and some are just neutral. There were times where I had been appalled by how people were simply inconsiderate, although at the same time gestures of caringness among the residents, the caregivers and families really make up the difference.

I was with a resident (I work in an assisted-living long term facility) last weekend, who will be transferred to another location for a reason. At times he does get confused and all he wants is to go home. I told him good-bye before I left my shift on Sunday and he gave me a hug, telling me to take care with his big bright smile. His son was also there and we both knew we probably won't see each other again. It saddens me to see the resident and the family gone but it will remains in my heart of how kind, friendly and appreciative they were even in rocky times.

Therefore, spread kindness around.

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how. ~Author Unknown


~ Quotes from QuoteGarden.Com]]> 1317728151 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:35:51 +0000 http://living-prints.desertlullaby.com/?subaction=showfull&id=1317338051&archive=
This week in Medical Anthropology we continued talking about the concept of disability in America. We read an ethnoautography titled Body Silent that was written by Robert F. Murphy. In his book, he described his life as a transfer from an able-bodied into a disable-bodied as a result of having spinal tumor. That greatly shaped the way he perceived his own body, as well as how others interacted with him. Pretty great insight.

So we were talking about how perhaps there is also gender roles in disability that are seen with other various situations in life. For example, is it better or worse for a man to have a disability than, say, a woman? If so, how does gender play into this?

Murphy described how at the initial onset of this disease he received quite a number of visitors while hospitalized, whereas this number sort of faded after he moved back to his home. Is there a role for hospitalization? And why do you think there were more people visiting him while he was still at the hospital than when he was at home?

Gender plays many roles in our society, although a lot has changed in the past decades with women (primarily in America) gained more rights, such as the right to vote in the early 20th century, how more women went to college and became educated. Women these days are working in fields such as in laws, medicine, and even become CEO for certain companies. So yes, the roles for women have changed. What about for men? Have their roles changed somewhat in the recent past? How does the western society view the role of men? (i.e. provider of a family, the strength vs. the nurturing side from females)

Something to think about.

Come have some fun, guys *wink winks*]]> 1317338051 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:14:11 +0000 http://living-prints.desertlullaby.com/?subaction=showfull&id=1316774063&archive=
Senior year in college is already here and there is so much that I must do to get ready! Though, in all honesty, everything isn't so crystal clear. For now I suppose I am hoping for the best. In retrospect, a lot of things have changed in the past 2 years or so that EB was "down" or on hiatus. On the other hands, nothing too dramatic had occurred *shrugs* These past years had gone by really quick though that I am almost afraid to graduate FROM COLLEGE. Only a while ago that I remember walking down the halls, waiting with my class-of-08 classmates in my old high school (which by the way, they had remodeled and set up construction and added a second floor in the process -- somewhat hard to recognize). College, therefore, seems to have flown by ~

This semester, I'm taking 20 credits, which to a lot of people is pretty crazy . . . Although this semester there is a research experiment that I will ACTUALLY have to conduct with my fellow partner. on top of that, a research paper, which probably won't be so hard as I've done that before. Just a lot of information.

Aside from school, I am pretty psyched about tomorrow as it will be my aunt's wedding. It will be a good one. I will be going to the mall later to shop for some jewelry. Why wait until the last minute, you may ask? I really do not know . . .

]]> 1316774063 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:34:23 +0000