Target Shooting

After Thanksgiving Day, the kids were scheduled to spend the weekend at Mom's. So while we waited in the morning for them to pick up the kids, Gary thought to make use of the time to practice shooting. When Mom and Dad came, we let them get the younger kids first, since they are not old enough to be responsible in handling guns.


It had been a long time since we did this (last year, actually). Gary loves collecting guns, but hunting never appealed to him. Of course I was excited to have my turn too!




Now it is Patrick's turn. Gary made sure that the trajectory of the bullet is such that it would not hit anywhere near our neighbors, and that it would either hit the pile of firewood or go deep into the forest (which is part of our property).


Gary is re-loading the guns now, where on the same spot lies the target sheets .


So now he is trying his .480 Ruger, his favorite handgun (because it is powerful, and the kick gives him a high.

Josh even tried to shoot from a farther distance, using the flat boulder to make a good stable aim.


When he stood, Patrick was mimicking him.


Here Gary tries to check how he did with the AR 15.


Shannon and Ann, upon hearing the gunshots, came over to join the fun, using their muzzle loaders.


Now they are loading their guns,


with these different bullet parts that they have to load piece by piece into the muzzle.




Gary checked out their guns. Both guys were saying gunshooting is a sure fun way to spend cold days, rather than sit in front of the TV or do drugs or drink alcohol.


Dad also heard the gunshots and joined in, himself tyring that muzzle loader. I myself tried it upon Ann's coaxing. The magnifier was cool, but it was so hard to stabilize my hold of the gun that I would easily lose the target at the center, I had to rest the gun on the big boulder.


That was a fun day! It made me think whether I would want to work in the future...

AOS Interview Notice

Received it yesterday, set for February 16 at 2:00 pm.

AOS interview notice



Guess I will have to have a medical examination by a civil surgeon before that...

Luncheon Meeting with 2 Filipino Doctors

I am so elated! I have been corresponding through emails with the Filipino doctor couple, DR. and Dra. Amurao, and they agreed to meet me tomorrow for lunch!

While Dr. Guillermo Amurao works as a hospitalist/pulmonologist at the Redington Fairview General Hospital, Dra. Christine Amurao works as a senior medical researcher at the Occupational Health Research near the RFGH. She also used to be a stay-at-home mom, and when their kids got old enough for daycare services, she volunteered as assistant to well-known dermatologists here (she is a certified dermatologist in PI, with PGH training). Then both of them got a master's degree in Public Health. She was then given the position in the Occupational Research Hospital, as they were too happy to have a clinical doctor doing research.

I still don't know where I am heading, but this is a good start. I don't even mind being at an entry-level position, be it in a clinical, teaching, or research setting. The important thing is to start working, put my talents into use, earn some money, and personally GROW!

*******
UPDATE (o eto na, MsT):

I went first to Dra. Cristine's office at the Occupational Health Research (it is a company started by a Dr. at the Redington GFH to develop a software which would be usefule in occupational health applications). Then we went together to the RFGH to meet Dr. Amurao at the canteen.

Small world. Dr. Guillermo Amurao is the son of a couple, Dra. and Captain Amurao, owners of the Airlink Aviation school in Malibay, and are good friends my with uncle-employer in the clinic where I used to work. I even joined twice the medical missions that they regularly sponsor in Lubang! They introduced me to the other Filipino doctors who also had their lunch there: Dr. Cielo Maca, another hospitalist like DR. Amurao; and Neurologist Dr. Amelito Malapira, who was surprisingly quite young for his specialty. All of them are probably around 3 yrs my senior, or probably just the same age as me.

They were simple, down-to-earth. I told them what I wanted to know (where I could possibly fit it given my background and experience), what I wanted to do (can start with an entry-level position; would be willing to be trained even with low pay just to get me started, but would rather end up working from home). I asked them whether a medical practice was worth the investment in exam fees and the troubles of residency training, given the high malpractice insurance costs, not to mention the malpractice lawsuits. Dr. Amurao actually had an experience on that, but it was dismissed because the complaint was misdiagnosis, yet records showed he was the first to make the correct diagnosis! Dra. Amurao said that the pay is good even at the residency level, $30/hr, which, of course, will go up the higher I go up the ladder, but she herself did not pursue that for the children's sake, despite the coaxing by colleagues. I told her I have the same considerations, and that that was the reason why I still would want to pursue medical transcription in the future, when I have enough money to enrol in the online course. Well, we were both mothers, and we understood one another. She said her husband works daily from 7am to 6pm and still on-call outside of those hours, that if she decides to be on the same boat, she could not imagine what would become of her kids.

They were very kind and accomodating. They accompanied me to the HDR to hear first-had whether there was any way I can fit in any of the vacant positions. Understandably and expectedly, since health-care professions are highly-regulated, I still have yet to acquire some sort of certifications for them to accept me.

There, I heard what I needed to hear straight from the people in the trade. If I will consider the nursing path, I will have to start at the CNA level, but I will try to see if I can make use of my credentials in nursing to bypass that stage, probably start at a higher level. But I will have to wait first for my friend in PI to send me those credentials. I will do some research first on scholarships/supports for such.

I have also submitted an application for scholarship in Med Trans. I am quite nervous as to what effect my being an immigrant will be, and my being a medical practitioner (they might think I can easily find a job to have the money to enrol in their course).

meanwhile, I intend to study the driving handbook and hopefully get a permit. Gotta learn how to drive around...Hopefully by next spring I will have my driver's license...

Hay...konting tiis na lang...

My Blog on Our House...

...is a way for me to document how we slowly build our house, with our own hands, using our own skills (well, primarily my husband's).

But hubby, upon knowing that I am blogging about it, and whenever I report to him how another person has been impressed by it, his eyes would glow...So it was another way for me to show to my hubby how proud I am of him. He might not be a professional...he's "just" a high-school graduate with some college courses in engineering robotics, yet I can honestly say that he has a brain that has a lot of stored knowledge and still has lots of potentials. He can learn anything that he puts his heart into. That, to me, is a very good gauge of intelligence: the capacity to learn and retain information. There was even a time I blogged about me telling my kids to try to learn as much as they can from us (their parents) while they are with us. I never told them to study hard to be a professional. I just see that education is another screwed-up institution wherever.

Another purpose is to update my family back in PI how we are sloooooowly building our house. Initially, just so we can share our excitement with them, but now, also so that they may know that we have our own expenses to think about. Recently my sister and mother informed me that they have renovated their house upon the prodding of several relatives from the province. They borrowed money from my aunt and grandmother in California and spent around P100,000 already. Now they want to rent out spaces to students and are contemplating on offering laundry job and cooking to them, asking now some money from me and my sister in Canada for capital. I have no work yet, and we are still tight financially, especially with our unfinished house which we also want finished. Did they think I could just dip my hand into my pocket and pull out a thick wad of $$$??? Even if I did work, I would not work for them, but mainly for my family, so that we (especially my kids) can live a decent (not luxurious) life.

One offshoot of my tahanan blog is that Gary seems inspired to work on the house as rapidly yet carefully as he can, knowing that people all around the world might get a glimpse of it. This is the best part for me.

My hubby may not always be able to take me out because of our house...he always apologizes and promises that when it is done, we can spend more time going out. I don't know if he understands that whenever I go out and come back to the house, I stare in amazement and wonder of how my hubby could almost single-handedly build this "castle". My chest swells and almost explodes with unexplained elation (words will never be enough to convey the emotions I feel) thinking "THIS IS MY HOUSE..."It may not be much to other people, but to me, it is probably the best gift a husband could ever give to his wife.

And he wonders why I almost never ask him anything aside from groceries kept to the minimum...

Oh I love my husband so much.

Plans for the Immediate Future

Wow...I went out to mail some letters, one for Dr. Guillermo Amurao (an introduction of myself and asking if I could visit him at the hospital for a friendly chat), another to a decline for a promo offer, and another my complaint to SS using their survey form. It was soooo cold outside. I could feel my facial muscles stiffening.

If Dr. Amurao agrees to see me by next week, Gary will drive me to the hospital, then probably we can also apply for a driver's license on the same day.

Can't wait to explore my work options. I badly badly need it to maintain my sanity.