My Comforting Songs

There are times when I just couldn't understand what's happening in my life. So for me to escape my problems, I resort to listening songs that lift my soul up. When listening to each music and its lyrics, I feel it's as if God is talking to me. He reassures me that he's always there in good times and bad times no matter what.

My life is a mess. Tough times really made me feel like I'm alone and I wonder if I could go on. Sometimes, I find myself crying in the middle of the song. Truly, music is my medicine. Without these meaningful songs, I wouldn't overcome depression, the darkest period of my life when I always thought of the negativities in the world.

When I feel down, I quickly open my playlist. Although these songs are old but they never fail to encourage me. It's really true that you'll get to understand the meaning of the lyrics when you're sad. I thank God for the singers, who delivered these beautiful songs to enliven the weakening spirit of mine.

Aside from my Hillsong worship songs, these are what I call my 'comforter songs' because I can feel God's presence comforting me when I'm in the verge of surrendering.

Here are my comforting tracks:

My Love will see you through by Marco Sison
- I always hear my father singing this song wholeheartedly. This is one of his favorite karaoke piece. God knows how we faced the turmoils in the family but with Him as the center of our faith, we hold on to His promise.

When the future is bleak, the song gives me strength to work on my dreams, to beat the odds, and to conquer my fear for I have God beside me.

My every success is not possible without God at my side.

I will be here for you by Michael W Smith
-At first, I thought that this is a love song but when I tried to understand the lyrics, I realized that God wants us to know that he's always there watching over us. I love listening to this song most especially at the middle of the night. I think of God as my protector, he will never forsake me. I just knew that Michael W Smith is a Christian worship singer like Don Moen.

Kung Kailangan Mo Ako by Rey Valera
- A well known OPM that never gets old. To an introvert like me, Papa Jesus is my bestfriend, my confidante to all my problems. I just felt relieved listening to this song. Rey Valera's relaxing voice adds the emotion of sincerity.

Take me I'll follow by Bobby Caldwell
- Following the path to God has never been easy. We have to undergo hardships and struggles. Each passing day, I want to follow God. I want him to lead my life. 

I see you Lord by Aiza Seguerra
- The first time I hear this song was from an invocation. The song is soothing. It makes you feel God's wonderful creations and be thankful of His amazing grace. This is a constant reminder that we should feel him.

That ends my Top 5 comforting songs.
I hope that my selection of songs could deliver the same message to you as it had inflicted on me. These songs are inspirational and it should be valued by the generations of today. It will be a constant reminder that we are not alone as we continue to wander into this world.

My Quarantine Diaries

Binge reading my favorite author's books

My days during the quarantine period have been very productive.

We never say we are bored staying in the house since there are lots of things to be done in the first place. It’s like every single day, we need to accomplish goals and I found myself planning what to do for the next day. Set aside tiktok and netflix for a while, here are the things that kept me busy:

1.       Household Chores

·         Having a two-story house isn’t easy to clean. With seven spacious bedrooms (dusting and rearranging furnitures and organizing stuffs) it’s impossible to finish all of it in one day. Also, it is not nature of our parents to just sit on the couch the whole day since they are always up to something, most of it cleaning. So as their children, we take initiatives to help. I need extra hand to get it done so I always ask my siblings to help me with the activities. These take the whole morning until lunchtime comes.

·         We take turns in washing the dishes as well. One has to sweep and mop the floor and another has to wipe the dishes before we watch TV.

·         As for the laundry, I and my sister do it every other day.

2.       Reading books

·         Being a bookworm, I made sure I allocate time for reading. I do this in the afternoon. I challenged myself to read as many books as I can. I’m more focused on books bought from Big Bad Wolf since I was impulsive in buying it last year. I just thought that this is the right time to make use of them. As of this writing, I am starting to read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Made finishing touches of my song compositions 

3.       Awakening my musical interests

·         I started tuning my guitar and doing song covers once again as my stress reliever. There’s always music whenever we wash our clothes too to take away boredom.

·         I completed my unfinished song compositions

·         I saw improvements in finding my vocal range. I want to be an opera singer!

4.       Rosary

·         Improving our spiritual life is essential. With the cases of COVID-19 rising, we seek intervention of our heavenly father with intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us win this battle. We do this in the evening, when we’re done washing the dishes. I thank God that the whole family is participative where aside from reciting the rosary, we also offer our heartfelt petitions for humanity and for the whole world.

5.       Relax

·         Every once in a while we tend to rest and relax. Since I’m out of work, an eight hours of sleep is what I really deserve. With so much hatred and negativities in social media, I tend to cut down my internet usage and instead, I spend time with my family by watching movies or sharing jokes with them.  

·         Of course, I use Tiktok once in a while. I also watch Youtube and Netflix videos if I have enough mobile data. Of course, I’m reviving my blog site as well by writing drafts.

At the end of the day, I realized that things are worth it. Maybe this outbreak is an avenue to keep families closer together but again, I hope this pandemic will end soon and everything will be back to normal. After all, I still hope we can go to malls and enjoy outdoor activities before I fly to the US. I hope your quarantine days are as enjoyable as mine. Keep safe and stay indoors!

Ticket to American Dream: Documents that a medtech should have

Are you a medical technologist ready to achieve your goals in working to USA? This blog might guide you.

These are the documents that I secured to apply as a medical technologist in the United States. All fees may be subjected to changes so better check their official websites for updates. So brace yourselves for a number of documents, these are:

1.       ASCPi Certificate

·         PRICE: $200/10000 PHP

·         VALIDITY: 3 years

2.       IELTS

·         PRICE: 10250 PHP

·         VALIDITY: 2 years

3.       CGFNS/ Visascreen

·         PRICE: $540/27500 PHP

·         VALIDITY: 5 years

4.       JSILNY and Associates- for course evaluation and American grade conversion. You need to mail your original TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS and a filled out application form from their website.

·         PRICE: $140 (8100 PHP) to be paid thru credit card  

                                                               i.      1460 PHP as courier fee (thru LBC) to be delivered to JSILNY Miami, Florida

·         DURATION: may take at least 3 months

·         Advantage: No expiry

5.       Passport- not expired of course.. J

6.       Birth certificate- Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) authenticated

7.       Current employer (Philippines)

·         Certificate of employment

·         Job description

·         Payslips

8.       Future Employer

·         Resume/CV

·         Soft copies of all files

Once you’re hired by an American Employer, this is what you’ll need.

9.       H-1B VISA (to be processed by the employer)

·         Labor Condition Application

·         Offer letter from the Future Employer

·         H-1B petition draft materials

·         Approved Notice of Action Form I-129 by the USCIS

·         H-1B working Visa (approved by the US Embassy)

10.   POEA COMPLIANCE SHEET (I’ve made a detailed blog for this so please check it out)

·         POLO verified contract

·         Overseas Employment certificate

11.   PLANE TICKET TO USA J

·         To be shouldered by you or the company

Reminder: Please make sure to give your complete address most especially to your Visascreen certificate, JSILNY and Notice of Action to ensure that the documents will be delivered to you.

This might seem a very long and costly process but once you complete requirements number 1 to 7, you can now seek employers via internet or an agent. At first, I thought that the whole process was hilarious since I’m not from a well-off family. So I worked hard by taking part time jobs to earn the fees.

No matter what happens, hold on to your dream! You’re now up for visa sponsorship! Be patient and ask God’s guidance that someday you will get to the Land of the Free. Kaya mo yan!

Ways to apply as a medical technologist in the USA

While I was still working on my documents, I already started looking for jobs in the US. At that time, I was really determined to look for some ways to pass my resume. I thought seeking employment abroad is easy when there were times I felt like giving up because I see no positive responses. But you know what, what kept me going on submitting my application is to help my family.

Of 3 years working in the hospital, here are some of the ways that I tried in hopes I could get a job offer abroad. Who knows one of these options might work for you so don’t be afraid to try. Your bright future awaits you!

1.       Thru referral

-          Good for you if you know of someone who is already working in the US, maybe a relative or a friend.  You might ask him or her if there is any job vacancy in the company that she’s working and if you’re lucky enough, submit your application right away. You might put the person in your character references. This will be an advantage since you let the recruiter know of someone working in there. In my case, I don't have a relative who could petition me and even though I have friends who are already working in there, they are not yet confident in referring other medtechs since they're still new in the company and they come from an agency so I undertand them.

2.       Obtaining international experience first by working in other country

-          I’ve heard that some American companies prefer medtechs who already have international working experience. I thought of applying to Middle East countries like Dubai, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi since they require few documents. By working there, this would be my stepping stone to America but unfortunately I received no responses from them.

3.       Seeking help from agencies

-          There are pros and cons in seeking help from these agencies. There are agencies that even though you’re not yet complete with your documents, they are ready to assist you, but once you complete your requirements you still have to undergo visa lottery. Lucky for you if you’ll be picked first try but if not, you will have to apply again for the next fiscal year. Also, there are agencies that only considers your application if you’re already complete with the requirements. You need not to worry for visa lottery anymore since they will look for CAP-exempt employers. The company will be the ones to sponsor your working visa. Although sounds promising but the agency’s service costs an arm and a leg. I am so sorry I didn’t have that sum of money so I remained in their waiting list.

4.       Sending applications online

-          My last resort. Although I thought that the chance of getting my resume noticed by employers is low, I still gave it a try. Nothing to lose. God only knows how many online applications I submitted to various websites for 3 years.  What I did is that I listed all the hospitals in each state and started filling out application forms in their careers portal and uploaded pertinent documents that could support my eligibility to practice my profession. Even though I get discouraged because I kept on receiving numerous rejection letters but I still kept on sending resumes. Also, I polished and revised my resume from time to time. Honestly, I was interviewed by three employers but unfortunately some of them declined because they couldn’t sponsor foreigners for a working visa. Until September 2019 came and a certain recruiter emailed me. He told me that the company is willing to sponsor visa since they are in utmost need of medical technologists and asked me when’s the best time for me to have the interview. After reading the email, I was glad and replied immediately that I’m ready to have the interview at the soonest time at their convenience. Fast forward, the interview went smoothly and 2 weeks after, the recruiter told me that I’m already hired and gave me the offer letter to sign. At that time, I cried for joy and so I thanked them and that started our H-1B working visa petition.

I thank God for giving me this opportunity. I’m so blessed. I don’t have that large sum of money to pay the agency but he was generous. Truly, if you will just be patient then it will be given to you in the right time. When I think that the future is bleak, I always turn to God for consolation. I always hold on to his promises and always put my family as my driving force.

My advice to you is to never give up. Try what works best for you.

Platelet apheresis donor experience

Blood bank medtech and blood donor at the same time.

I didn’t expect to be an apheresis donor until June 2018 came and a patient desperately needed an aphe donor to replete his very low platelet count. The patient’s blood type was A positive and I happened to have the same blood type as his. They looked for donors but to no avail. Because of the urgency and the family was already crying and desperate, as a medtech, I felt the urge to help so I decided to give it a try and willingly offered to donate my platelets.

SCREENING BEFORE THE APHERESIS PROCEDURE

The platelet apheresis procedure costs a lot of money. The apheresis kit is expensive. In our hospital, the apheresis price is 25000 pesos so everything has to be made sure starting from the screening of donor up to the processing of the platelet concentrate.

I had my colleague who is the apheresis operator to check my veins. Since I’m a whole blood donor already (I was able to donate whole blood twice in our blood bank), she said that my veins qualified for the procedure. First, I filled out the screening form and submitted to interview right away. When I passed the interview, they took my pulse rate, temperature and blood pressure. Luckily, my vitals were okay then they extracted a blood sample for screening.

The donor’s blood sample is used to:

·         confirm my blood type

·         check my hematocrit

·         screen for malaria

·         screen for Hep B, Anti-HCV, HIV (PCR-based)

·         see if my platelet count meets the requirement of at least 200,000 (I remembered my platelet count was 342,000)

After I passed all the screening, I needed to do fasting first. It should be at least 4 hours. When the time has come, my colleague (the operator) set up the Haemonetics apheresis machine. I was glad to observe how it was done since I’m a blood bank staff too. Who knows, I could be an apheresis operator someday? Haha. While waiting, I took a tablet of Caltrate plus and drank Chuckie, a chocolate milk drink. Fresh milk will do if Chuckie is not available. It is really recommended to drink it prior donation since this will replace the Calcium lost during the donation. That’s why we remind the patient’s significant other (S.O.) to buy 2 tablets of Caltrate and 2 chuckie or fresh milk after the donor passed the screening.

All was set. I sat on the comfy phlebo chair and relaxed. I conditioned myself that this will be the same as whole blood donation. After my colleague cleaned my arm, she inserted the 16-gauge needle to my vein. So glad the pain was bearable and the drawing of blood started.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The apheresis procedure consists of cycles. The number of cycles depends on the donor’s platelet count. A higher platelet count means fewer cycles and few cycles entail faster time of donation. The donor’s hematocrit could be a factor on the number of cycles as well. Each cycle has two stages: the drawing and returning of blood. It is really recommended that the donor should be oriented first about the whole procedure and to raise any concerns if there is uneasiness felt during donation. Take note that the machine processes the blood. The platelets are only harvested in here and the red cells are being returned inside the body.

During my first aphe donation, I had 6 cycles. I didn’t feel anything on the drawing of blood part but there was this cold sensation by the time the machine returned the blood into my body. In returning stage, the blood is mixed with the anticoagulant ACD (Acid Citrate Dextrose) to prevent blood from clotting. It was as if I could feel the ACD penetrated into my knees and I felt a little bit nauseous but it was manageable.

I never felt bored as the television was turned on. What I was worried about every cycle was my vein. What if it collapses in the middle of the procedure? While I was squeezing the pumping ball during the drawing stage, I couldn’t help to think of collapsing vein and needle dislodge but my colleague was considerate, she adjusted the pressure to around 85.

I kept on praying that the procedure would be successful when the returning of the 6^th cycle came and the machine beeped that the process is done. It was a relief when my colleague took the needle out and I applied pressure to the puntured site. The whole procedure took 2 hours.

AFTER CARE

Since I lost a considerable amount of platelets, I needed to replenish it as well. I would like to thank another co-worker for recommending Mott’s apple juice for me to drink after the donation. In one week, my platelet count went back to 300,000. I also drink milk before bedtime to replace the Calcium lost.

COMPARISON

Being a platelet apheresis donor is okay as compared to being a whole blood donor. I didn’t feel anything after the procedure! For the first time, I saw my precious platelets ready to extend another person’s life. The bag of platelets was transfused to the patient right after and when there was considerable increase of the patient’s platelet count, the family returned to the blood bank to see me. What a joy to see the patient’s mother smiling as she thanked me for helping her son.

After that successful procedure, I felt the need to help more people and decided to include myself in the roster of donors. Since then, my platelets have helped several patients with dengue, cancer, and those who undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Over time, I got used to apheresis procedure. I prefer the drawing stage, honestly.

Donating platelets is fulfilling. When families contact me for help, I’m always ready to have my blood screened provided that I’m in good health also. Who would have thought, I could be an apheresis donor. I don’t have much money in my pocket but I’m so thankful to God for giving me such an opportunity to help my brothers and sisters in need through my platelets.

Ang Dating Daan and Bro. Eli Soriano

I’m a proud Roman Catholic but my faith in God was strengthened with the help of this one-of-a-kind preacher, Bro. Eli Soriano.

For me, Bro. Eli is a blessing God sent to us. He is the true evangelist of this generation. Even though he comes from another religion, the Members Church of God International (MCGI), but he earned my respect. I've learned so much from his bible exposition program, Ang Dating Daan at UNTV Channel 10. Many people from different religious sects ask him about their confusions of the bible and His answers are always based in the bible. His explanation is crystal clear!

You can catch Bro. Eli's bible studies on youtube or facebook.

Bro. Eli is full of wisdom. He is so familiar with the scriptures. Not only was I able to understand the context of each bible verse he points out but he is also shares his knowledge on science and history. Although he is praised by his impressive knowledge about the bible but he remains humble and attributed his talent to God. I also admire him for being so brave in protecting the teachings of the bible. He isn’t afraid to attack pastors and to correct the wrong doctrines taught by other religions.

He answered my confusions regarding other religion’s beliefs about:

·         God the father and God the son, Jesus

·         Tithes

·         Eating pork

·         Statue of saints

·         Purgatory

·         Reincarnation

·         Sign of the cross

After hearing his explanation about these, I was guilty since I do the sign of the cross and believe in the Saints. I was taught the Roman Catholic doctrine since I was a kid. Although, there were differences about belief but I think what matters most is that Bro. Eli always emphasizes that God the father is a loving God and that He sent His son, Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. He always reminds us to love your fellowmen and follow the will of God.

You may call me weird but it is never weird to seek the truth most especially when it talks about God. During this quarantine period, I prefer to watch his bible studies and expositions over anything else. He gives sensible advices to those who ask him about hardships that we encounter. Every day, I read the gospel. Also, I listen to MCGI worship songs every morning as I found them uplifting and make a good start to my day. Each day, I feel God is always with us.

How I wish to see him in person. I don’t care what other religions say about Bro. Eli because I know God will protect him. I hope God will give Bro. Eli long life to inspire and enlighten other people’s minds to read the bible for their salvation. We may not know the Day of Judgment but at least we are prepared by doing God’s commandments as we continue to live in this complicated world full of sin.

I recommend everyone to watch Ang Dating Daan in UNTV Channel 10 or in Youtube. We never know, Bro. Eli could answer that question boggling in your mind for so long.

Resume of a medical technologist

To get noticed by employers most especially when you apply abroad, you need to have a presentable resume. Not too flashy and long, but just enough for employers to get to know about your work experience as a medical technologist.

Note that recruiters won't take much of their time reading your resume so it must be SHORT BUT CONCISE, 2-3 pages would suffice.

Here are some tips on what to put in to your resume:

1. HEADER
The header should contain your complete name with your professional titles (RMT, MLS(ASCPi), MSMT, MPH), followed by your current address below and the most important, your EMAIL ADDRESS and CONTACT NUMBER.

Remember: Your contact details should be active. This is a MUST since this is where your potential employer might contact you for an interview. Make sure to have your phone with you at all times.
Also, have a formal email address. An email ad of your name would be better for the employer to recognize easily.

Example:
RICARDO MARTIN DALISAY, RMT, MLS(ASCPi)
34 Pulang Araw St., Sampaloc, Manila
Phone number: (+63) 912-345-6789
Email Address: ricardomdalisay@gmail.com

2. CAREER PROFILE
What is this?
A career profile is a summary of your resume. Your strengths and advantages

Example:
• A medical technologist with 3 years experience as a generalist in a tertiary hospital.
• Skilled in Phlebotomy both in pediatric and geriatric patients....

3. PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
This is the part where you put all your relevant work experiences (just related to Med Tech) with your job position, duration, and your responsibilities)

For fresh graduates, simply put the affiliated centers where you practiced as an intern.

4. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
No need to include your primary and secondary education. Instead, indicate the school and degree that you graduated from college. In my case, I have a Bachelor's degree in Medical Technology at Southwestern University. I also put the date of graduation, that was May 2015. If your pursue a Master's degree, include it in here as well.

5. SEMINARS and TRAININGS
- Indicate the title of the certificates you have received. It could be a Basic Training of the machines that you have in your lab or the CPD seminars that you attended. This will tell the employer that you are fulfilling the continuing education for medical technologists.

6. MACHINES HANDLED
- Good thing to add in your resume for the employers to have an idea if you already have knowledge on the machines that they have. It is an advantage if you have the same brand as theirs. Make sure that you can operate the machines not just for the sake of putting it to make your resume look promising.

7. CHARACTER REFERENCES
- It could be the pathologist, chief medical technologist or the section head in the laboratory where you're working. If the employer wants to know your job performance, they are the right people to consult with. Also, it could be a former colleague that is already working in the United States. At least they will have an idea that you know of someone working in the US. Limit your references up to three people and inform them firsthand before you put their phone number and email address.

How about Bio Data (birthday, Age, Gender, Height)? Will these matter?
Answer: Nope. Not needed.
Many of you might wonder where to put this portion in your resume but the truth is, it doesn't matter. What matters most is your experience. This will just eat up space in your resume. Anyway if they want to know about your personal information, they can ask you from the interview.

All in all, be honest. Polish your resume every now and then. If you lie in your resume and when the employer knows about it, this will jeopardize the opportunity. You might lose your job. Be yourself

A mother appreciation post: Nelly Escoba

To the breadwinner of the family since she got her first job at the age of 20. A friend to all and a very supportive mother of 3 kids. If she had not decided to get married at 32 years old, God knows where would we be in this world.

I saw this newsletter published on January 1984. This was secretly kept in a brown envelope so that means she doesn't want anyone to see this (her short hair perhaps?). The article really says about her, hardworking and independent. That's why she definitely deserves a post in my feed.

The article says:
With her petite build Nelita "Nellie" Abriol of toiletry production division looks more like a teener than a 24-year-old woman. Nellie considers her four years with IPI as time well spent. She finished her secretarial course at Abellana National School while working fulltime.

Like other self supporting students, Nellie had her own share of difficulties but her guiding ideal of "striving consistently to reach success" helped her out.

Nellie who is the eldest in the Abriol brood turns to gardening when she's not with friends or reading her favorite magazines. She's quite conservative in her taste for music preferring classical and mellow tunes.

-----
I love you, Mum/Momsh/Mader. 😘
My 25-year old self isn't ashamed to tell.

Remembering my Flores de mayo days

Since it’s the month of May where kids are supposed to join the yearly Flores de Mayo, I will share wIth you the time when I joined this exciting activity for kids.

Flores de Mayo is a catechism class for kids in the Philippines. It happens every month of May where kids are spending summer vacation from school. This is where catechists teach children religion about Papa Jesus, Mama Mary and the Saints.

I was only five years old when my grandmother told me to join Flores de Mayo. This was my very first time to hear about the word and I really loved the idea of going to the chapel and picking flowers from our garden to offer it to Mama Mary.

At that time I really wanted to join Flores de Mayo, but the chapel where Flores de Mayo is held was far away from home so my mother wouldn’t let me and so I just listened to the accounts of my friends. They said they have learned so much from Flores de Mayo. They were provided school supplies during the culmination.

In my heart, there was that longing of joining and wonder. How I wished that the chapel is just near to us but God is so amazing! He heard my prayer. I heard that a convent, just meters away from our house called The Adoration Chapel of the Holy Face of Jesus would also be having a Flores de Mayo for the kids in our area!

I was already ten years old but I just want to experience the fun it brought to other kids as they come to learn about God so I didn’t miss the first day. That afternoon, I, together with my younger sister walked all the way to the convent.

On the first day, we were asked to introduce ourselves and expressed our expectations for the Flores de Mayo.

In there, I felt the acceptance and the presence of the Lord. I was never absent as I kept on looking forward to the activities.

Through Flores de Mayo, I learned to use the bible. The catechists gave us this homework where we were to identify the twelve apostles and since I didn’t have a computer at home and my mother couldn’t remember the twelve of them, I used the bible as my reference.

This was also where I learned to use the rosary, memorized the mysteries, and recited the prayers. There were times when I’m assigned to be the leader of the rosary.

I remember holding one of the letters of the AVE MARIA and beside me were two angel kids with their ‘feathers’ as we put it into the altar after every mystery.

I realized that the nuns are friendly. We sang and danced religious hymns. We played games and that’s where I made friends with other kids too.

We never forget to bring our bowls because after the rosary, there’s a feeding program. Foods like lugaw, binignit, and champorado were served to each one of us so we went home with a happy belly.

It was sad that the month of May ended and so is this catechism class. During the culmination, It was even fun when I was chosen as one of the Reynas in our sagala parade. They allowed us to wear the colorful dresses. I wore a light blue dress. I can’t remember which of the Reynas I was during the sagala. We also presented an interpretative dance in front of the parents who were our audience. I remember I was given a special award. I also received my own rosary, it was white in color.

Flores de mayo built the foundation of my faith in God. I really miss it. Spending vacation time learning about Jesus is exciting. I hope that this will be practiced by the children of today. This will definitely encourage the younger ones to follow Jesus as they travel this journey called LIFE.