The Journey Begins

One week and two days have passed since the beginning of nursing school. It's not joke when it comes to long, full days of lectures, group work, and quizzes. The 6 days in total (I have classes from M-TR) have been packed with information. And ever since school began, I've just been trying to keep up or catch up. I should actually be reading a chapter about inflammation right now so I can take another quiz (my second one for the class thus far). We just got our quizzes back for another class and I've really been cutting it close getting 90% on the quizzes we've had so far.

But rewinding about a little less than two weeks ago, we had our nursing orientation and induction. To make it short and sweet, we sat for hours on end, listening to people talk about what we'll be "looking forward to" in the next 3 years. Quite possibly, the most interesting thing during that orientation was listening to nurses in the field share with us their experiences with patients. I wasn't able to take any pictures during the orientation, but here are a few that were taken of the whole class:


I'm somewhere in the middle.

My parents caught a bit of traffic on their way to the ceremony, so they got there pretty late. They weren't able to get any pictures of the ceremony's process, but we were able to get some pictures, albeit the blurryness, this was the only picture of me, my mom, and my dad. My brother was taking the picture:

We headed back to the west side of the island to find a place to eat and "celebrate".

We ate at Phuket Thai to celebrate. After that dinner, I've kind of deduced Thai food has instantly become one of my favorites. :) Sadly, I wasn't able to get any pictures, one: because I didn't have my camera on hand, and two: because my phone camera was not working at that time.

I might be able to post something tomorrow, but I'm making no promises. Until next time...

Music Monday: July/August Mix

Everyone loves playlists, right? With that, I decided to do a bi-monthly playlist (since 3-5 songs won't exactly make a good playlist) to feature each Music Monday from the last two months, including the day's feature. So, click play and enjoy! The track listing is located under the player.



Track listing
1. Your Hand In Mine - Explosions in the Sky
2. How Deep Is Your Love - The Bird & The Bee
3. There Are Many of Us - Aska Matsumiya
4. All Summer - Kid Cudi, Best Coast, and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend
5. Go Outside - Cults
6. The Fragrance of Dark Coffee - Godot
8. Fireplace - Haardvuur
9. Talking To The Moon - Bruno Mars

The second time you listen to the mix, the track will be randomized.

Music Monday: Count On Me

Hailing from the wonderful group of islands I call home is Bruno Mars, who is today's featured artist. It's a cute song, letting us all know that we all have someone to count on and what better way to describe a song than using a part of the lyrics itself??

If you're tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep,
I'll sing a song beside you
And if you ever forget how much you mean to me,
Everyday I will remind you, oh
Find out what we're made of
What we are called to help our friends in need

You can Count On Me like one, two, three
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two
And you'll be there
Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

College Life

Sorry for the lack of updates, I haven't had as much time as I had expected. I moved in and settled in my new quarters on Sunday and had a full day of classes on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday followed suit. Yesterday, I didn't have class until 1, but with my restlessness, I slept in then had class until 5. Today, I didn't have any classes (thank God), so I caught up on some reading.

On more interesting news, and exciting news for me, the camera on my BlackBerry Storm finally decided to work! Although it takes some crappy photos, it's something. I don't have photoshop on my laptop, so I haven't been able to upload the pictures from my camera, resize them and edit some of it to post onto here. I'll be heading home this weekend to get some laundry done, during this time I'll upload my pictures, do the etcetera, and upload them to my flickr so I can easily grab them from there and post them onto here.

In the meantime, here are some craptastic pictures of what my side of the dorm looks like, at this exact moment:

My shower curtain that I use as a regular curtain for my closet that I got from UO! :D

The view from my window: The "City"

Another view: Diamond Head

I wouldn't normally post pictures of this quality, but since you know it's from a BB camera, you know it's going to be crappy anyways. Let's hope Apple decides to put a camera on the iTouch that is supposedly making it's debut soon so I can ask for it as a birthday present, then get some apps that'll make craptastic photos look professional (yay for run-on sentences).

In the mean time, I'll see everyone soon. I'm heading to the water park for my nephew's birthday tomorrow so I'll most likely have a post about that coming up.

Friday's Featured Film: TiMER

I guess you could call me a hopeless romantic because four of the five films that I have featured have something to do with romance. Today is no different. Love has, and always will play a role in my life whether I like it or not.

Today's featured film is TiMER. Why it's spelled in that manner, I don't know. But I do know that it's about a device that is placed on your wrist, which will count down to the night before meeting your soul mate. The following day is when you will meet your soulmate, and when you do, it will begin to beep as your eyes match theirs.

It's your typical chick flick, and I loved it. If you're interested in watching this film and you have a netflix account, simply search for it and add to your instant queue, or watch it right then and there. If not, you might be able to find it at your local video store. It came out in May of this year, so I'm not too sure about where you can find a 'hard copy' of it.

Music Monday: Rest & Relaxation

With school starting up across the country, we'll be seeing a lot of updates pertaining to stress levels, and more so out about projects and exams. It's only been one day, and I'm already feeling a bit overwhelmed. One way to make stress less of a problem is good sleep. But, with so much on your mind, sleeping comfortably may be a bit hard.

If you're like me, the sound of rain, a fireplace crackling, and some smooth jazz will always loosen up my body and mind, leading to a relaxing night of sleep. And so, I've put them all together in one place. With it being summer, rainy days are not as apparent in other season and it can be a bit too hot for a crackling fire.

http://www.rainymood.com/

Other than rainymood, here are links to endless loops of the two videos:
Jazz Track: http://www.endlessyoutube.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k
Fireplace: http://www.endlessyoutube.com/watch?v=DIx3aMRDUL4

Another option would be to just press play:
Sleep by tflozano

Lastly, to make it a hell of a lot easier, I created an mp3 of these three tracks using garage band. I've uploaded it onto my iPod so I could easily listen to it in bed, rather than having my laptop on and running it until my laptop until it dies. You can download it HERE.

Sexy CPR

This week is gonna be a busy one. It's a week before school starts up again, and I have a lot on my plate. I still have yet to complete some online training to begin clinicals and studying for my CPR certification. Besides that, I'll be looking forward to:

Wednesday (it will take me all day) - Packing
Thursday (08:30am - 05:00pm) - Nursing Orientation
Thursday (05:30pm - 06:30pm) - Convocation/Pledging Ceremony
Thursday (07:00pm - ?) - Check-In (get dorm key, move in a few things)
Friday (all day) - Move in everything else
Saturday (07:00am - ?) - CPR certification
Sunday - Rest
Monday - School starts

With that said (typed), updates will be sparse, or possibly non-existent from Wednesday on. I might try to fit in a few things, but I'm not promising anything. Since I'll be going through CPR certification on Saturday, I thought I'd share you a video I found online that some of the guys would enjoy.

Music Monday: Go Outside

Looking for new music is always fun, almost like a treasure hunt with 'mp3' marking the spot. Today's find is Go Outside by the New York duo Cults. Their sound can be described as modern with a touch of an older era. They're quite simple, which I love and I'm sure you'll love too. The duo is quite new to the scene to my knowledge, so they only have a few songs out. Check them out when you have the chance!

Friday's Featured Film x Family Movie Night

I've decided to include Family Movie Night posts into FFF posts on occasion as I usually don't have time to post anything on Sundays. There will also be times when I won't have time to post on Fridays, and so FFF will be moved to Sundays with Family Movie Nights if necessary. These types of posts are closely related and so I thought they would go well together.

Today's Featured Film is Paper Heart. A bit different from the usual featured film in that it's a full film documentary rather than a short film. Combining elements of documentaing and traditional storytelling, reality and fantasy, Paper Heart brings a fresh perspective to the modern romance and redefines the classic love story.

The documentary follows Charlyne Yi who doesn't believe in love. To help rid herself of this thought, she brings along her good friend, Nicholas, on a journey across America to search for answers and advice about the four letter word. Everyone she talks to, strangers or people she may know, all offer different views on romance. Shortly after, Charlyn meets Michael Cera whom she develops a relationship with and the documentary takes a turn for the better. But to continue with the film, Charlyne risks losing the person she finds closest to her heart. Watch the trailer for the film below. If you have a netflix account, the documentary is free to watch instantly.

Family Movie Night:

Shutter Island is one of those movies that like to mess with your mind. Same with most films Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in, especially Inception. You really have no idea what's really going on until the end. I came in watching this film thinking I would be terrified and scared, but I thought wrong. The film may be a thriller, but I wasn't exactly thrilled. I don't quite know the right word to explain what this movie is, rather than a thriller, but I really enjoyed the movie. Leo has made his way to my list of great actors. He seems to go for roles that involve having a troubled past, and it fits him well. I'm really bad at giving any type of rating to movies because I enjoy all movies, except for Lady in the Water which exceptionally sucked. So watch the movie for yourself and you decide whether you like it or not. Personally, I loved it.

When in Rome was just okay. I think they spoiled everything for you in the trailer, fooling you to think that the whole movie would be pretty funny. But the trailer pretty much sums up the movie for you. It was very cliche and ended the way you would think it would end, happily ever after. I guess what you see is what you get, right? The movie had all the fixings needed to create the typical chick flick, and if you're looking for one of those, this is the movie for you. One of the only reasons why I wanted to watch it is because of Josh Duhamel. He is the total package. Well I haven't met him, so I wouldn't know, but he sure as hell is one of the more handsome men out there. So although the movie wasn't what I was hoping, I still got to see what I wanted to see.

And so the featured films continue, and the netflix queue keeps spewing out new movies to watch. Sadly, school starts up soon, and I won't be able to catch all the movies my dad will probably be watching when I'm gone. Maybe I'll subscribe to netflix myself, and I'll have nothing to worry about. In the mean time, it's still one week away.

Da Kitchen

For our lunch/dinner, we headed to "Da Kitchen" for a really great meal. It was the first time for all of us, and we all didn't know what to expect. We placed our orders, and waited. My fries came first, which looked delicious, then my burger. The burger was massive, and about three of my fists put together. That huge. The picture does not do it justice.

My brother got a Katsu Moco, which was a mix of eggs, fried rice, a burger patty, chicken katsu, and topped with gravy. Basically, a three course meal. My brother has as appetite, and even he was surprised at the size of the bowl.

The three others ordered a Hawaiian Plate. If you were to attend a Luau here, the Hawaiian Plate was about 2.5 times what you would normally get.

I wish we compared the size of our meals to something 'normal sized' so you'd get the idea of the meal we had. By the end of the meal, we were all under Food Coma. They had a full menu of some great desserts, but we had no room for it whatsoever. I didn't even finish my meal, and ended up taking some of it home.

On our way home we were talking about Shark Week and the awesomeness of it. We mentioned stories of seals getting mauled and stories of people surviving shark attacks and just the bad-assness of a shark in general. As a complete coincidence, we came across a truck with a huge catch in it's truck bed. It's fin and head were sticking out on both ends because it couldn't fit in the bed of the truck.

It's a bit hard to see in the picture, but it's there. Luckily, a friend of ours is the catcher's neighbor, so he was able to get a picture of the catch from his facebook.

The whole day was spent and I came home, took a long and cold shower, and went straight to bed to rest up for a while before watching Jersey Shore. I'm not a fan of the whole GTL lifestyle, I just watch it for laughs, and the drama, and trust me, there were lots of it, haha. And now I'm here, and about to lay on my bed. See you tomorrow.

Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail

This hike came unexpectedly with my mom knocking on the door of my room telling me my brother was leaving to go hiking with his friends and a few of our cousins. I thought to myself, is he serious?! He didn't even care to invite me! With that aside, I quickly packed up a few necessities and we were on our way. I live in the middle of the island and the hike was on the south side of the island. With picking up a few cousins and waiting for a couple of people, we didn't start the hike until around 10:30. The hike was fairly easy, with a few tough spots.

There were shortcuts everywhere. Although not advised, we took a few.

At the halfway point, a green shack is conveniently located for you to rest up for the rest of the hike. It seems like a nice place to camp as well. I didn't quite get a view of the shack, just the view from the table.

Hawaii is known for it's different climates. The area we were in would be considered the desert side of the island, whereas I live in a more year-round rainy area. At the beginning of the hike, the view is filled with a lot of beach trees, but as you venture further up the mountain, you come in contact with a lot of evergreens.

We finally reached the top, and the view was a spectacular 360.

We did the hike mainly for my cousin who came from England (far left), my cousin from the Philippines (red), and my cousin who'll be leaving to Nebraska for college on Monday (white tank).

The trek down was a lot easier than it was up. We came to a steep hill that was pretty challenging to get down from. Me and my cousin took a simple route and slid down. I slid down on my feet whereas my cousin took his butt down.

Afterward, we headed down to Alan Davis beach in Makapu'u near the lighthouse.

A log is conveniently placed for you to jump off of and dive into the clear water.

The location is also home to Hawaii's volcano god, Pele, and her 'chair'.

By the time we finished all of the above it was about 4:00 and we were all very hungry. We headed to "Da Kitchen" for an unbelievable meal that is mentioned in the next post...

Books, Bees, Bags, and Underwear

The 2010-2011 school year is nearing, along with being broke. My parents and I took a trip to my school yesterday to turn a few things and pick up a few things. I carried a little list with me to keep track of what I needed and what I didn't need. It was pretty basic: drop of titer results, buy textbooks, buy nursing polo, get nursing badge, etc, etc. I'm really looking forward to this semester, but at the same time, I'm pretty terrified of what's in store for me.

The price of my textbooks this year are quite ridiculous, nearing about $900. Luckily, I found a few used books, but that only took off about $150. I still need to buy an eight-book pack that costs about $450 and it conveniently comes in a box (quite intimidating) as well as two other books. I'm only taking three classes and looking at the amount of books that are required, I'm not exactly looking forward to the semester (studying wise). Here are the books I've gotten at my school's bookstore so far, along with The Perks of Being a Wallflower which I had gotten at Barnes and Noble. I've been meaning to read this book since high school, but I've never gotten around to it, and now I have.

It was also a priority to get my nursing badge and polo. It was really hot, and I was walking around a lot that day, but my nursing badge didn't turn out too bad.

After finishing up at the school, we headed to Ala Moana's Barnes and Noble where I picked up The Perks and some moleskine cahiers for my usual jotting down of notes. I also picked up some Burt's Bees on the way as my tube is almost done with. Not too sure if I mentioned ordering a backpack a while ago, but I now have time to post about it. It's from Urban Outfitters, and it's great for school, or hiking even. High recommended for a durable, spacious bag. Check it out for yourself at their website.

And lastly, I needed a few pairs of new underwear! Really, you can never have enough underwear, especially cute ones! I got them at Victoria Secret's Pink. Most of my underwear is from Pink, and if not, from American Eagle, but I haven't been to AE in ages! I got 5 pairs, what with their 5 for $25 'deal'. Worth it though, I love their underwear.

The top three patterns are not what I had purchased, which is why there's a circular swatch to show you the patterns I really did get. The online website didn't have the patterns I had, but I wouldn't mind getting any of these the next time I'm there. The bottom two are the actual patterns I had bought, and are also my favorite styles. They're really comfortable and I love the lace details.

When we were done browsing elsewhere we had some lunch at Genki Sushi. Always good.

Our last stop was to Bed Bath and Beyond which just recently opened in Hawaii, so that was a little exciting. The place is really tight though, they made sure to use every square inch of what used to be Circuit City. My mom got me a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker and some utensils for my dorm.

We came across traffic on our way home, I was driving and had to stay up the whole way. Not fun, but that was my day. I took a bunch of pictures of what I got that day, but ended up using pictures from online stores. Click through each link in this post to see the respective websites of where I frequented that day as well as where I purchased everything mentioned in this post.

This Delicate Balance

Nature always has a knack of showing us things that we don't quite enjoy unless we take some time to really look at it. Living in Hawaii has its benefits, especially for my parents. Year round, my parents are able to tend to their garden and landscaping and are able to produce great things by getting their hands a little dirty. Being home this summer I was able to document some of the plants (mostly flowers) that my parents have put so much hard work into. These posts will come sparingly. In a week, I'll be back in school and not at home, so at one point, I may start sharing pictures of nature elsewhere, rather than my front/back yard. For now, I'll focus on what I have here.

Summer Sunsets

I love sunsets/sunrises. They were a lot more enjoyable at home before my parents decided to plant a few palm trees and other plants in the backyard, and during my freshman year in college when my dorm was situated in the perfect spot for sunset viewing. This past year (school year), my dorm was located in a corner, and nowhere near an area to see the sun. But this year, I made sure to get a dorm where the sun and my alarm clock are the only thing waking me up and not the garbage truck on its morning run.

A couple nights ago, one of the better sunsets graced us with its presence, and I decided to capture the moment for myself. As I said, my parents have planted a bunch of palm trees, and they have gotten pretty big over the years. This is the view from the ground.

It was a complete fail, and I was running out of time. I looked over to my neighbors backyard, who has absolutely no plants (other than grass), and he had the perfect view. We have a pretty solid wall between us, so the only thing I could do was set up an old kitchen stool on some unsteady rocks under the laundry line, and snap a picture of the sunset that he can see, but coming from a different angle and a few feet higher. I can be pretty clumsy, so I took a couple pictures as fast as I could, and wa-la, hawaii sunset magic.

When I do move, and I sure as hell plan to, this is one of the things I'll miss...

Music Monday: All Summer

With summer coming to an end and school coming to a start in a mere two weeks, all I can look forward to is fall/winter. But that's not what this post is about, it's about summer! Earlier this summer, three great artists, Kid Cudi, Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend, and Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast, came together and put down a track exclusively for Converse's project "Three Artists, One Song". All Summer brings along a great, nostalgic, feel good, let loose feeling of freedom that comes along with Summer.

Listen to the track, download it for free, or watch the accompanying music video all at the website HERE. You can also watch how great these three artists flow together in the video below.

My EQ (emotional quotient) results

Emotional Intelligence, or EI, describes an ability or capacity to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, and of others. Our EQ, or Emotional Quotient, is how one measures Emotional Intelligence.

Your Score: 42

---

35 - 44

You have slightly above average EQ - with room to grow! You are likely sensitive to the emotional climate of the people around you - your peers, friends, family and key clients. You are well aware of the effect your behavior has on others. Still, while you may be adept at tuning into others and their needs - you must remember your own! Don't be afraid to honestly communicate these difficult needs and feelings. The world is well stocked with martyrs - it doesn't need any more! Think also about your passion for work (or whatever constitutes your main roles in life - manager of people, doer of tasks, 'meeter' of clients' needs, etc). We spend countless hours in our given roles - sometimes without much joy or satisfaction. In the process we become tranquilized by the trivial. Sedated by the small details of life. Sure, the laundry needs doing, the groceries need getting, the kids need chauffeuring, the deadlines must be knocked off, but we also need to stop and remember what gives us great joy and meaning. If we fail to remind ourselves (on a regular basis), we risk becoming hostile and cynical. We lose our purpose. And this translates to a diminished ability to be effective, at ease and fulfilled. Areas to work on: Ask yourself: - What situations generally create tension and stress for you? How are you handling these situations? - What negative thoughts play over and over in your mind on a regular basis? Are these a true picture of reality? - Are you afraid to share your needs and feelings with others? Is it because you are taking care of everyone else - being a martyr - or acting 'the strong, silent type'? What 3 things give you the greatest meaning in your life? If you work on gaining clarity in these areas, you will move toward maximizing your full potential and finding greater effectiveness, happiness, and fulfillment in your life. As William James said: I have no doubt whatever that most people live, whether physically, intellectually, or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness... much like a man who, out of his whole body organism, should get into the habit of using and moving only his little finger... We all have reservoirs of life to draw upon, of which we do not dream.

Don't know if I necessarily believe in all of this or not, but it did help pass time, haa. Find out what your "EQ" is: http://www.ihhp.com/quiz.php

Prayer for Patience

Just a little prayer I've found after browsing through tumblr (no, I wasn't logged in and no, I did not spend more than 10 minutes on tumblr). The author is unknown, but whoever wrote this surely knows life:

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Friday's Featured Film: The Longest Way

Taking a few steps away from the love fest that is my previous featured film posts, and a few steps toward something I hope to do one day, at a smaller scale of course.

Here we have Christoph Rehage who had a goal of walking, yes walking, from China to Germany. He didn't complete his goal, but he did end up walking one-third of the way. It took him one year, from November 8th, 2007 to November 13th, 2008 and he grew a pretty epic beard and jewfro along the way. Watch it for yourself:

Breakfast Parfail

No, there is no spelling error in the title. Just a name I've given to my first try at making a parfait. It doesn't look too bad, right? It was delicious, I just didn't layer it correctly (or so it seems). From the bottom: bananas, yogurt, bananas, strawberries, granola, strawberries. Not much variety, but it's all we had.

Summer is a great time for a parfait, so next time you're thinking about what to eat for breakfast, try a parfait! :D

Flickr 365: Parker Fitzgerald (Part 1)

I feel like I've heard his name elsewhere, like this guy is famous. He's not, but he should be, and his name just happened to remind me of the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. I wonder if they're related, because they're both quite talented, with Mr. Parker Fitzgerald specializing in photography rather than writing.

I found out about this talented photographer from tumblr (where I recently announced a hiatus; it took up too much time). You'll see a lot of these on that blogging platform, typography displayed on photos. In this case, it comes in the form of a 365. If you don't already know, a 365 is a photography challenge where people attempt to take a photo a day, for 365 days (a year). There are many takes on this challenge, most of them with just photos in general, whereas others may go for the 365 self-portrait challenge. I love what this dude is doing, and I've decided to share with you a few of my favorites from his 365 Polaroid Quotes challenge: