Aaaarrrggghhhhhh....!

image from http://obeedesigns.tumblr.com/post/18553950131

     That pretty much sums up how I feel this weekend. Just three weeks into the semester and I'm already weighed down by all the readings, skills that need to be learned, exam, assignments, and online material from not just one but two different resources. And all these are just for one subject. I'm actually taking two subjects this semester but thank goodness the other one is not as demanding. Otherwise I'd be pulling out all my hair by now. I don't think bald is a good look on me. Then again, the sem's still early. I can still lose some hair by the time Christmas rolls around. Not a nice prospect when it's winter time and snow is falling.

     But this is all just venting. I'm glad I've finally started on the nursing program. Two weeks from now we'll be going on our hospital clinicals. We'll be dealing with actual patients, walking around in an actual hospital unit. It's exciting and kinda terrifying at the same time. Even with my medical assisting experience and background, I feel a kind of performance anxiety. It's going to be health care at a whole new level. At the very least I hope to uphold the directive of "do no harm". And that I don't do a face plant while on duty. Can you imagine doing that in front of a patient?

     Anyway, enough venting and goofing off. I hear my megaton textbook calling me.


© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present. 

Farewell to Summer

     To me it still feels like 2012 had just started. But as the cliche goes, time flies and now summer is almost at an end with autumn close at its heels. This summer I wasn't able to go to the beach even once, nor did I get near a pool at the least. But one of my favorite summer activities that I'm glad I did get to do is have a barbeque.

     On the eve of Labor Day holiday we finally got the grill out to do a simple barbeque for dinner with just the family. On the menu were chicken drumsticks, potato salad, steamed veggies and rice. The only thing I got a picture of were the drumsticks while they were grilling, everything else are a pleasant memory by now. These drumsticks were marinated in a simple ketchup based marinade, and happily enough they turned out ok. Next time I'll take an extra step to make sure it comes out really tender.

chicken drumstick on the grill, yum!

      What's your favorite summer activity?

© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present.

5 Ways Not to Start Your Monday (Guest Blog)

(Note: As I'd mentioned earlier, I invited two of my friends to guest blog here and they accepted. So today we have a blog from one of them - Malou of Thinking OutLoud. I have known Malou for more than ten years now, and she shares with me a passion for writing, from which her blog was born. Without further ado, I now turn you over to her.)

     I always love and hate Mondays. Like a central character in a movie, it always pulls me back to where the original plot of my life: work, home, and family. Not that I feel locked up in an imaginary box and want to go out and party. Nah, I am already 30 when I got married. So I am pretty over with lazy-ing around, or going out, or doing my hair, waxing my legs or fixing my nails...Oh god I missed them. But really there are times I wish when I wake up, turn on the news and hear...'Monday has been cancelled go back to sleep'...In the gentle-mannered spirit that am well known for (oh alright, my husband still refers to me as Attila the Hun the last time he reasoned with me) I still like Mondays, thankful that I got o a job that earn me a living, and another extra day to be thankful for all God's blessings. Then again, glitch happens. And I am going to offer a few tips how to avoid those unavoidable glitches.

1. Don't start with falling off from staircase.

     Of course it is better than being bombed, attacked or roasted in fire. But for the love of holy, what is so nice from falling off from a school staircase? As I was descending the stair, my slippers must have lost its grasp, my foot wobbled and then...crash.

     I mean CRASH.

     My purse went flying. The boots my son used in coming to school rolled away. The umbrella burst open and I got a kid surprised with an oversized adult bouncing in front of him. I instinctively tucked my arms in, landed on my side and rolled to my back, with the umbrella still open. My butt still hurts when I was writing this.

2. Don't share a ride with pickpockets.

     Well this isn't under my control. This morning while I got off from the train, I put inside my pocket my cellphone, earphone, a few coins and a train ticket. As the sky was storming, I stopped and open my umbrella (the same that burst open) and voila, the white ear plugs were gone. I didn't see anyone come near me, but what is good of being a thief if you are not as quick as the gorgeous Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, right? Good thing the cellphone didn't come with it. I am always on guard while riding a public transport but glitch happens as I said.

3. Don't start without breakfast.

     Who wants to wait until lunch time? So I have gobbled up two large cups of coffee that makes me palpitating the rest of the morning. Obviously, I am not a bit coffee fan. This why I don't know what separates Macchiato and Cappuccino from Al Pacino (corny!). I can't tolerate too much caffeine. It makes me feel edgy and tensed. The way to flush this caffeine out of my body is by drinking gallons of water. Palpitating no, bloated yes.

4.  Don't start with cold, wet feet.

     I woke up this morning a little too cold. My body aches and I thought I don't feel up for work. But I came to office nonetheless. It's been raining for straight two weeks now and I'm beginning to hate it. It leaves me unpleasantly cold, the type I want to hibernate. But how can you hibernate if your house is under construction and your workers eat like three times a day?

5.  Don't start with Regine Velasquez song in your ear phone.

     Actually this is not counted. I always love listening to her. She was on when slipping off the staircase happened and she was there too when the crook took my lovely Samsung ear plugs. Go figure. May be the thief had already spotted me while still inside the train and saw how pretty those earplugs were. I don't know with others but I love Regine. Even if she is sporting a plus-size body and a big, awkward long hair these days. I don't mind if her voice is no longer clear as crystal as described by Kris Aquino before. She is to me what Adelle is to everyone in UK.

     Happy Monday to everyone!

A Summer Afternoon in the Garden

     With summer still in full scorching swing, we've often been cooped up indoors as we try to beat the heat. Our choices are the airconditioner, electric fans, drinking cold drinks, eating ice cream or taking cool, refreshing showers. I especially love that last option at night when it's just too hot to sleep without freshening up from head to toe. This afternoon however, we were forced to sit outside for quite a spell and thankfully there was a nice breeze blowing. I wasn't doing much, just looking up at the clouds, out at the street, and sitting on the stoop. Then I happened to glance at the flowers my mother in law had in pots in front of the garage. How come I hadn't noticed the vibrant yellow daisy looking flowers there which might actually be marigolds? (Yes, they are indeed marigolds - google is my best friend hehehe) Or the striking hues of the lilies? Suddenly struck with inspiration, I brought out my camera and started taking snapshots of some of the flowers in our backyard. Here's hoping the heat will end soon!

marigolds and aster lilies

 

pink and yellow snapdragons

black eyed susans

red astilbe

hedgehogs and giant fungi

Nonee frolicking among the flowers hehehe

© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present.

I Have Guests Coming!

     Just a little announcement about something I'm looking forward to. I've invited two of my friends to guest blog either here or on my other blog, In Review. They are both fellow bloggers here. Malou writes Thinking Outloud, a quirky and funny blog about life in general. Dio writes Sense and Sensibility which, in her own words, is a "view of what and how I think (even if it is scary)". I would like to thank them in advance for saying yes to my invitation. Hopefully we'll all see the fruits of this collaboration very soon!

© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present.

And the Games Have Begun

      After much hype and anticipation, the London 2012 Olympics (officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad) are finally underway. Delegates from 204 countries have come together to compete in various events that include well known sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and track and field as well as lesser known ones such as trampoline and canoe slalom. Some countries' dreams of Olympic gold have already come crashing down, but for others these have either become reality or are still in the running.

     The opening ceremonies for the 30th Olympics seemed to have a lot to live up to after the show four years ago in Beijing. Whether you liked it or not, the show the Brits put on for the world had its memorable, comedic and at times poignant moments. I personally liked the way the cauldron was lit. I think having it made up of individual flames representing all the participating nations fittingly symbolizes the coming together of all these countries regardless of whatever existing conflicts or tensions for three weeks of sportsmanship and excellence. Well done, and let's look forward to the rest of the events as well as the closing ceremonies.

© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present.

My Two Favorite Doggies

     So they are actually the only dogs we have right now, so they automatically gain favorite status. I'm not their main human, that honor belongs to my sister in law, but I'd like to think that in our "pack" I do rate a niche in the hierarchy. And although my most favorite animal is feline, not canine, I do love these dogs in all their silly, playful, sometimes neurotic glory.

     Snoopy is the full blooded beagle who arrived as a rescue at the age of three. From what my husband has told me, he was seen by hubby's coworker at a pound or store (I forget which) and being drunk at the time he took pity on the puppy and brought it home. This coworker apparently already had a houseful of cats who were pretty territorial. This sounds bad for the cats but they bullied Snoopy and used to swipe at his ears. For one reason or another, Snoopy couldn't stay with them any longer and hubby, on hearing the story, decided to take him in. Snoopy is now a very confident, rather spoiled eight year old. He's grown obese and is now on a diet that keeps getting sidetracked. But he absolutely has to lose weight so his joints won't get any more damaged. He's actually had one knee surgery already and the vet says he'll need another one later on if he doesn't slim down. He has tons of toys and other equipment that's been lavished on him over the years. He loves to eat, sleep, then eat some more (sounds kinda like Garfield the cat, hehehe). He was pretty stand offish at first when I arrived five years ago, but by now we have formed our own bond based on food and play. He's not the clingy type in relation to me, and he definitely tries to assert that he's the boss. Like when he sighs and fidgets in his sleep to let you know you're disturbing him. Or muttering and grumbling during our meal time to let us know he's getting impatient for his treat. He's one smart doggy for sure, knowing how to open cabinet doors, getting at peanut butter jars, luring you away from food so he can get at it, jingling the bells to let us know he wants to go out - those are just some of the antics that amuse and exasperate us in turns. Sometimes, the things he does makes him seem like a small human - burping after eating, snoring while sleeping, trying to sit at the kitchen table to eat. Braver than our other dog, Snoopy is also pretty chill for the most part. Just don't let him hear thunder, cracks of lightning or fireworks going off; that sends him scrambling under the bed, cabinet or into a closet to hide, poor thing.

     Our other dog, Nonee, is a mix of unknown breeds. We think he has some beagle in him, with perhaps some whippet or jack russell terrier. He is also a rescue that my sister and mother in law saw when they went to a dog show. About two years old at that time, he was shivering in his cage and looked so pitiful that my sister in law's heart melted and took him home. He was very stinky when they brought him home so they gave him a shower. Unfortunately, this seemed to aggravate a kennel cough that he already had. Coughing and wheezing, he was brought to the vet and had to take meds for a while. I guess Nonee just has a relatively weaker immune system compared to Snoopy, since he's been to the animal hospital more than Snoops. But in general, he's a happy, healthy doggy who also loves to eat and play. Thankfully, he's not like Snoopy who will do everything he can to grab any food that's within his reach. He tends to be more clingy, always preferring to be in the company of any of the humans at home almost all the time. One of his favorite things to do is lie across your legs while on the bed so you can't move without him knowing it. Although a little less playful than Snoopy, he does have his silly side, like when he rolls around the bed like a canine pinwheel til his body has turned a full 180 or 360 degrees. He can be a bit neurotic, as he will bark and his body will shake when anybody comes to our house whether it's a friendly face or not. It also doesn't matter if you've been here more than once. If even a short amount of time has passed since he last saw you, he'll bark and shake again. But he's also smart in his own way - he'll bark so you'll open a closed door for him, he'll wait and see where you'll enter the house before standing there to wait for you, he'll sound the alarm then come to get you when he sees any strangers approaching the house.

     Two dogs with different personalities, both lovable in their own ways. Life sure is livelier and more interesting with them around. Now if only we can somehow add a cat to the mix.

© Margj Castillo, Between You and Me, 2010 - Present.