Just some random stuff to blog about
Papa's recovery:
Papa has been doing well - the urologist removed the suprapubic catheter last week, and I've been in charge of cleaning the wound every day with peroxide and saline. It's healing well - so far no signs of infection. Papa hasn't been with any bowel or urine troubles, which is such a relief (I don't want any potential problems). What we're worried about now is seeing the oncologist (cancer doctor - remember, there's only one on Guam).
We're in the process of getting an appointment with the oncologist. So, we'll see what he has to say about Papa's cancers (lung and colon) - and we'll figure out what kind of treatment can be done, if Papa wants treatment at all.
We're all scared of chemotherapy, that's for sure. It not only kills the cancer cells - it kills normal, healthy cells in the body too...which makes for some very nasty side effects. Chemotherapy basically makes you sick. I'm not sure Papa is willing to undergo a treatment that makes you sick, when you are otherwise feeling okay and well.
When Papa saw this oncologist last year, the preferred treatment for Papa's lung cancer was radiation - but Guam's radiation machine was broken at that time, and a new machine has not been acquired yet. So Papa was told to go off-island for radiation treatment - in Hawaii or California - and Papa's insurance would have covered the medical costs, but honestly, we don't have the money for the other expenses - such as lodging and airfare (which the insurance does not cover, unfortunately).
When Papa went to California in 2004 for his heart attack, his savings was exhausted, so he would not be able to afford another stay at a hospital stateside this time around.
I've been thinking lately that maybe I should try my best to fund Papa's future medical treatments, if possible - because I will be making more money in the near future as a Staff Nurse, so maybe I can afford to help Papa go back to California for treatment...of course, that's if Papa wants to treat his cancers at all. Because we lack the equipment here on Guam, Papa has just been sitting idle with regards to his lung cancer.
I have a feeling that Papa is just gonna let his cancers go untreated. But we still need to see the oncologist to find out how advanced is Papa's colon cancer.
Our next check-up with the surgeon is in 6 months - I don't know if he plans to do another colonoscopy at that time. We'll find out.
Work, work, work:
I finally turned in my application for Staff Nurse I today. I'll still have to undergo the usual interview process and stuff, but I so look forward to a bigger paycheck.
I'm not necessarily happy about the expected increase in responsibility, but I guess that's just what comes with the job. I'll just keep trying my best to do my best at work.
Home life:
I realized today that my room is such a mess. There's things I need to throw out, organize, move around, etc. But, I hate cleaning my room. I just let everything accumulate and pile up until I can't stand it anymore - and soon it will come to the point where I'll have to clean it, 'cause it's hard for me to find what I'm looking for.
Any volunteers want to clean my room for me? I'll pay by the hour :-P
Being a consumer:
I took Papa out to get some ice cream after one of his appointments this past week. I tried the Dreyer's stand at the Century Plaza in Tamuning. I stood in line (second in line actually) for about 20 minutes, waiting to be served. The first people in line was a large family with many orders. There was only one person available to serve customers. The family, realizing that I had been waiting for a long time, were kind enough to tell the server to please accommodate me in between their orders, and I thanked them for thinking of me - and then I proceeded to tell the server my order - but he stopped me mid-sentence to tell me that he can't serve me at the time, because he'll get all the orders mixed up. Then he turned his attention back to the first customers and got more of their orders.
Now, that really pissed me off. My order was small and simple. And he chose to continue serving a more complex and lengthy order, and keep me waiting. It was already 20 minutes that I was patiently waiting. I decided to look behind the counter after he brushed me off - and guess what I found - someone cleaning up in the back! I thought - okay - this guy in the back must work here, otherwise he wouldn't be cleaning and organizing things, right? So I step over to the back and kindly asked him if he also worked at the stand, and he said "no".
So...if you don't work there, what the hell are you doing cleaning and organizing things in the backroom? By this time, Papa was getting irritated and was even telling me, "nevermind, let's go". But I don't back down so easily. I know what I want, and if I promise someone ice cream and I'm already at the ice cream stand, I'm not leaving until I get that fucking ice cream!
In seeing my disappointment, the guy in the back room surfaced to speak to the server - and they were speaking in Tagalog so I didn't understand what they were saying. But soon after the back room guy decided to serve me - and he appeared to know what to do - he prepared my orders without difficulty - two shakes and one junior scoop of ice cream. Now - what did that mean...did he purposely tell me he didn't work there just so he can get out of serving me? That made me even more pissed.
But, being the good consumer I am, I held back my frustration, proceeded to pay for my orders and even smiled in return. But deep inside I felt mistreated and inadequately served. Needless to say, I will not be returning to that stand for ice cream in the future.
The point I'm getting at - as a consumer, I feel that most times, we are at the MERCY of the businesses we patronize. Why? Well, being on this isolated island, we have NO CHOICE but to patronize those stores. And I think sometimes the businesses know this and thus don't try hard to provide basic customer service. These businesses have what I want or need, and I have to bend over backwards for them? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Well, at least in this case, I do have a choice in where else to get ice cream. But generally, I think businesses should do more to please and keep their customers, and not just rely on the fact that we need them no matter what.
Another thing that is surely becoming a pet peeve for me:
What island do we live on? Guam. What are the official languages of Guam? Chamorro and English. If you are not speaking either of these languages in the workplace, then you are doing a disservice to your customers.
I HATE...ABSOLUTELY HATE it when workers at stores and such speak a language other than English or Chamorro right in front of you. It makes me feel uneasy, for what if they are talking about me in a bad way? I wouldn't be able to know, because they are speaking a different language.
This also happens in the hospital. We can put up as many signs as we want, telling us to speak English only at the nurses station, but STILL, people are NON-COMPLIANT. It's getting to me. We are not a Filipino hospital in the Philippines. We are on Guam people. Speak English or Chamorro.
Okay, that's enough blogging for one day.
Papa has been doing well - the urologist removed the suprapubic catheter last week, and I've been in charge of cleaning the wound every day with peroxide and saline. It's healing well - so far no signs of infection. Papa hasn't been with any bowel or urine troubles, which is such a relief (I don't want any potential problems). What we're worried about now is seeing the oncologist (cancer doctor - remember, there's only one on Guam).
We're in the process of getting an appointment with the oncologist. So, we'll see what he has to say about Papa's cancers (lung and colon) - and we'll figure out what kind of treatment can be done, if Papa wants treatment at all.
We're all scared of chemotherapy, that's for sure. It not only kills the cancer cells - it kills normal, healthy cells in the body too...which makes for some very nasty side effects. Chemotherapy basically makes you sick. I'm not sure Papa is willing to undergo a treatment that makes you sick, when you are otherwise feeling okay and well.
When Papa saw this oncologist last year, the preferred treatment for Papa's lung cancer was radiation - but Guam's radiation machine was broken at that time, and a new machine has not been acquired yet. So Papa was told to go off-island for radiation treatment - in Hawaii or California - and Papa's insurance would have covered the medical costs, but honestly, we don't have the money for the other expenses - such as lodging and airfare (which the insurance does not cover, unfortunately).
When Papa went to California in 2004 for his heart attack, his savings was exhausted, so he would not be able to afford another stay at a hospital stateside this time around.
I've been thinking lately that maybe I should try my best to fund Papa's future medical treatments, if possible - because I will be making more money in the near future as a Staff Nurse, so maybe I can afford to help Papa go back to California for treatment...of course, that's if Papa wants to treat his cancers at all. Because we lack the equipment here on Guam, Papa has just been sitting idle with regards to his lung cancer.
I have a feeling that Papa is just gonna let his cancers go untreated. But we still need to see the oncologist to find out how advanced is Papa's colon cancer.
Our next check-up with the surgeon is in 6 months - I don't know if he plans to do another colonoscopy at that time. We'll find out.
Work, work, work:
I finally turned in my application for Staff Nurse I today. I'll still have to undergo the usual interview process and stuff, but I so look forward to a bigger paycheck.
I'm not necessarily happy about the expected increase in responsibility, but I guess that's just what comes with the job. I'll just keep trying my best to do my best at work.
Home life:
I realized today that my room is such a mess. There's things I need to throw out, organize, move around, etc. But, I hate cleaning my room. I just let everything accumulate and pile up until I can't stand it anymore - and soon it will come to the point where I'll have to clean it, 'cause it's hard for me to find what I'm looking for.
Any volunteers want to clean my room for me? I'll pay by the hour :-P
Being a consumer:
I took Papa out to get some ice cream after one of his appointments this past week. I tried the Dreyer's stand at the Century Plaza in Tamuning. I stood in line (second in line actually) for about 20 minutes, waiting to be served. The first people in line was a large family with many orders. There was only one person available to serve customers. The family, realizing that I had been waiting for a long time, were kind enough to tell the server to please accommodate me in between their orders, and I thanked them for thinking of me - and then I proceeded to tell the server my order - but he stopped me mid-sentence to tell me that he can't serve me at the time, because he'll get all the orders mixed up. Then he turned his attention back to the first customers and got more of their orders.
Now, that really pissed me off. My order was small and simple. And he chose to continue serving a more complex and lengthy order, and keep me waiting. It was already 20 minutes that I was patiently waiting. I decided to look behind the counter after he brushed me off - and guess what I found - someone cleaning up in the back! I thought - okay - this guy in the back must work here, otherwise he wouldn't be cleaning and organizing things, right? So I step over to the back and kindly asked him if he also worked at the stand, and he said "no".
So...if you don't work there, what the hell are you doing cleaning and organizing things in the backroom? By this time, Papa was getting irritated and was even telling me, "nevermind, let's go". But I don't back down so easily. I know what I want, and if I promise someone ice cream and I'm already at the ice cream stand, I'm not leaving until I get that fucking ice cream!
In seeing my disappointment, the guy in the back room surfaced to speak to the server - and they were speaking in Tagalog so I didn't understand what they were saying. But soon after the back room guy decided to serve me - and he appeared to know what to do - he prepared my orders without difficulty - two shakes and one junior scoop of ice cream. Now - what did that mean...did he purposely tell me he didn't work there just so he can get out of serving me? That made me even more pissed.
But, being the good consumer I am, I held back my frustration, proceeded to pay for my orders and even smiled in return. But deep inside I felt mistreated and inadequately served. Needless to say, I will not be returning to that stand for ice cream in the future.
The point I'm getting at - as a consumer, I feel that most times, we are at the MERCY of the businesses we patronize. Why? Well, being on this isolated island, we have NO CHOICE but to patronize those stores. And I think sometimes the businesses know this and thus don't try hard to provide basic customer service. These businesses have what I want or need, and I have to bend over backwards for them? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Well, at least in this case, I do have a choice in where else to get ice cream. But generally, I think businesses should do more to please and keep their customers, and not just rely on the fact that we need them no matter what.
Another thing that is surely becoming a pet peeve for me:
What island do we live on? Guam. What are the official languages of Guam? Chamorro and English. If you are not speaking either of these languages in the workplace, then you are doing a disservice to your customers.
I HATE...ABSOLUTELY HATE it when workers at stores and such speak a language other than English or Chamorro right in front of you. It makes me feel uneasy, for what if they are talking about me in a bad way? I wouldn't be able to know, because they are speaking a different language.
This also happens in the hospital. We can put up as many signs as we want, telling us to speak English only at the nurses station, but STILL, people are NON-COMPLIANT. It's getting to me. We are not a Filipino hospital in the Philippines. We are on Guam people. Speak English or Chamorro.
Okay, that's enough blogging for one day.
