More Than Meets the Eye

It's great to realize that Transformers is 'back' in the scene. Not as a TV series, but as a movie. I'm planning to watch it today before I go to class.

I'm even thinking of buying a toy robot of Optimus Prime or Bumblebee. Though I found out that it is already difficult and expensive to look for these toys in the market due to high demand. Darn!

Cheap Hotel Review

Disclaimer: This is sort of a sequel to the previous post regarding my HK trip.

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Crass. They accepted my cheap review about the Royal Pacific Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong, where we stayed from 02-05 June 2007. You can read my review by clicking here.

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P.S.: Please do not mind some syntax errors in my review.

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- Image by Carl -

NCLEX-RN Examinations, Hong Kong

Saturday, 02 June 2007. My mom, sister and I, departed the country once again for a travel abroad. The destination: Hong Kong (or HK SAR). It was my third time to go to the said SAR. The first time was in September 2005 when my mom, sister and I were treated by my dad for a Hong Kong package tour. This included visits to the Victoria Peak, JC jewelry stores, and Hong Kong Disney Land Resort, among others. The second time I went to visit HK—but this time with my officemates—was on early May 2006 (as far as I can recall). It was still winter season then, though it never rain(s)ed snow in this region. It was likewise a impeccable time for us to visit HK (and Macau SAR) as we were able to celebrate the Chinese New Year with, um, the Chinese themselves! Among our wonderful journeys were trips to the Ocean Park and yet again, Hong Kong Disney Land. Honestly, it was still okay for me had I not gone there the second time. But since I am tagging along with a different bunch, I considered this still as a different experience (including the marginal cost).

My most recent travel to Hong Kong this June 2007 had a different agenda: the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, or simply, the NCLEX-RN Exam. It is a type of test that most of our Filipino nurses take in order to be accredited both (1) as nurses and (2) as competent nurses in the United States (US). And this is only the first step in their passport to the United States as nurses. After this, a licensed Filipino nurse must also qualify for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which screens an examinee’s English language competency; and the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), which evaluates and certifies a healthcare worker’s credentials for immigration and obtaining an occupational visa in the US. Certainly, becoming a registered US nurse is like passing through the needle’s eye for a Filipino registered nurse. These nurses have to study hard, review hard and work hard just to achieve the Great American Dream. And all these require serious expenditures on books, review schools, examination fees and TRAVEL EXPENSES, mind you. Good thing there are kind agencies that are willing to shoulder most of a nurse’s expenses in the short-term.

Anyway, it’s my sister, not I, who took the NCLEX-RN Exam last Monday, 04 June 2007, at the Pearson Vue Testing Center, Grand Millennium Plaza in Central, Hong Kong (Btw, she stopped at Item No. 185; hope it’s a good sign). Somehow, I really feel sorry for my sister, my family and underprivileged Filipino families of nurses who had to fund for the travel of their nurse sons/daughters to testing sites abroad, including HK. It was definitely a serious spending for all of us. I really hope my sister passes this test, and all the succeeding exams she’ll be taking in the near future. Good luck to her!


Site visit at my sister's testing center at the Grand Millennium Plaza, Wing Lok St., Shuen Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.






Last minute review in our hotel room (The Royal Pacific Hotels and Towers, Kowloon, Hong Kong) before the NCLEX-RN test.




The D-day, 04 June 2007. With my mom along; About 2 hours prior going to the testing site. I can see tension by the way she walks.




After the test. A good time to celebrate. A walk at the Hollywood Shopping Centre and a satisfying dinner.






Tuesday, 05 June 2006. Time to go home. Last ride from Tsing Yi to the HK International Airport via the speedy Airport Express.





- Images by Carl -

Spitting Images: 8 Waves Waterpark, June 2007

PSALM Solidarity Program
01 June 2007
8 Waves Waterpark, Bulacan

Okay... our company held its summer outing at the start of the rainy season. How's that?! But generally, the program went fine. Though it did rain hard when we were leaving. Bleh.

- Images from various officemates -