Point of view

When I lost my job last June 18th, I felt a little nervous thinking how many people are unemployed and very few jobs are available since alot of companies have closed and some are either laying-off or holding off on their hiring process due to the present economic situation. And the big question is: how long do we have to endure this crisis and will the economy be able to bounce back? And will I be able to find a job soon? No one knows for sure.

I remember on the drive home, I was thinking of a good strategy to break the news to my husband. I knew for sure that he'll get upset. But to my surprise, he took the my bad news lightly and gave me a big hug and told me not to worry. I guess, I'm lucky for having such a loving and supportive husband.

It's been three weeks since I've lost my job and I'm really enjoying my vacation and unemployment benefits for the first time! Aside from recuperating from my carpal tunnel surgery, I go to lunches with friends, spend more time with our 3 dogs, go to the gym for light cardio excercises, and watch all my favorite shows that I have on TiVo. It's just so good to have this free time for myself and practically do anything that I want at my own pace!

And then one day a call from Kaiser came regarding a possible job. Within two weeks I had 2 interviews and a job offer to start work with them on Sept 21.

Two days later, I had another job interview this time at Western University of Health Science in Pomona. And as the day goes by, I had more calls for interview coming in. I declined and accepted Kaiser's offer.

Looking back, job isn't so hard to find after all. Or did I just get lucky? There are available jobs out there but, the question is ...... is it your field of expertise? Do you have an excellent track record of your past work experiences? Do you have connection within the organization to get the job? There is a great number of qualified unemployed people and that makes the competition very high. And these reminds me of the saying "survival of the fittest" and "may the best man wins".

And remember, patience and timing are key factors in job hunting. Don't give up easily and market yourself the best way you can.

Lessons learned

Three weeks had passed since my surgery and still recuperating. Finally, I've finished my antibiotic medication and my surgeon advised me to be very careful with my left hand movement as it is not fully healed yet. Infact, I still have 3 more weeks to recovery with 24/7 splinter/wrist guard. The pain has lessened although without the splinter it still hurt when I try to do some movement to exercise my fingers.

Sometimes, it is so frustrating not being able to use my left hand. And I experience frequent pain and discomfort. And there are alot of things that I can't do. And, it takes me so long to type.....for obvious reason that I'm only using my right hand.

These experience has taught me a couple of things.........extreme patience and pain threshold(thanks, to carpal tunnel!!). But, I have to re-think if I really want to undergo the same procedure for my right hand. Maybe, never again.

Finally, I did it....carpal tunnel surgery

After 8 years of pain and sleepless nights, I finally decided to go ahead with the carpal tunnel surgery. Unfortunately, I have it on both hands but, thought I should do the surgery on my left hand first since it is the worse one.


After almost 3 months of doctor visits and nerve testing I was finally scheduled for the surgery last July 9th.


Morning of surgery, I got out of bed early and gave myself a good bath. Scott drove me to the Inland Valley Empire Surgical Center in Pomona and checked in at the nurses registration at exactly 10:30am, July 9th, 2009. Half an hour later they called me in to the prep room to put on OR gown and socks. They hooked me up to an IV and waited for my Anesthesiologist. Scott was called in to be on my side and met my doctors 30 minutes before surgery.


At 11:00am they rolled me in to the operating room and was given the most controversial sedative Diprivan through my IV tube. The surgery that lasted for 30 minutes went well....no pain and discomfort. My surgeon made sure that my left hand was wrapped beautifully in white bandages.



We arrived home around noon and the anethesia was slowly wearing off. The discomfort was sipping in and can't do much but rest. A few hours later, inspite of the increasing discomfort, I managed to dressed up and we started our drive to the Greek Theater to see my favorite jazz trumpeter, Chris Botti in concert.

This could be a blessing

Today is not a good day. Because, today is my last day at work. Due to the financial challenges that a start up company experiences in this time of economic hardship, my employer have resorted to cut back on employment. Unfortunately, my position being the Executive Assistant to the CEO has been affected with 7 other co-workers.

I'm an optimist. And every time something bad happens I always look at the brighter side. Everything happen for a reason. It could be good or bad. So, this move might be a blessing to us all.

I'm lucky though that I'm so blessed with a husband and family who are all very supportive and understanding.

So, I'm not stressing. Infact, tomorrow I plan to go to the gym and have a good work-out. After all, now I have a lot of time to take things easy and enjoy every moment while I can.

But, I honestly hope that this economy get better soon (or we're all screwed!).

I failed

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I have joined our company running team for the Pasadena Marathon in November 2008. Well, I ended up not running. In the last 2 months, I just didn't have enough time to train. Things just got too busy at work. In short... I failed to reach my goal. Well, I guess next time I just have to try harder and stay more focus.

For now, I need to go back to my regular exercise routine and shed off the extra pound from last Christmas.

Til the next Pasadena 2009 Marathon!

LA County Fair

The LA County Fair has somewhat become a part of our family tradition. Every year, my husband and I look forward to this funfilled event at the Pomona Fairplex.

Back in 2003 and 2004, we used to drive to the Fair everyday. Those were the days when my husband and I were working part time. And we both had all the time to go to the fair from start to finish. Things have changed since then and now we only have time to go on weekends because of our jobs. And in a way, it somewhat made it more exciting for us.

For us, the fun start at the race track watching and cheering our favorite jockeys and horses. But, the highlight of my day at the races was the Budweiser Clydesdale parade at the race track. I always find myself in awe admiring these beautiful and charming horses all dressed up for the show.

This year, part of the Fairplex Garden was converted to a dog park called "Bark Park". They have all these cute puppies ready for adoption. Three times daily they have the Frizbee dog show and, a Border Collie playing hockey. It is so amazing watching these dogs do such great shows and put a smile on every one's faces. These dogs have guested in popular TV shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Ellen DeGeneres shows, and appeared in TV commercials. The show promote adoption, neutering & spaying. And the dogs in the show are all rescued from the shelters.


We also went to several of the wine tasting sessions hosted by Ralph's. Price per person has gone up though to $16/person since they started in 2004 at $6.00/person. In one of the sessions we invited my bestfriend who is visiting from Manila. We were given 8 different red wine mostly Cabernet and one is Merlot and Bordeaux. The wines are all winners in the International Wine Competition held each year. They have featured guest speakers who give talks and tips about wine.

One thing that you don't want to skip at the fair aside from the scary rides are the food. Everywhere you look, everywhere you go there's food, food, food!! How amazing is that. You don't even have to worry about going home with empty stomach, but you'll surely go home with an almost empty wallet. You see food of all sorts from barbecued tri-tip, alligator meat to deep fried oreos. Oh boy, that deep fried oreos are really good. This year I went for something a little outrageous...a chocolate-covered bacon. Yes, it's bacon inside. You don't taste the bacon until the very end. But, I guess it would have been better if the bacon is crispy fried.

The hypnotist comedy act was really fun to watch that we have to go back and see it on the last day of the fair. It is kinda amazing how this guy can work on the minds of people....very interesting.

At 10:00pm our legs were all so tired but we made sure that before we hit the road home we go to see the animals at the barn and the Budweiser Clydesdale to say our "goodnight".

Great Friends

Last month 2 of my best buddies came to visit for 3 weeks. Doris, who is based in NY and Jing, who flew all the way from Manila are both classmates in High School. Every year, we try to always find time to get together.

This year, we went to spend a weekend with some friends in San Diego and ate a lot of Filipino food. OMG, the Mamon Luk siopao is still the best! And Uncle Bert and Rodel are such wonderful hosts that they fed us like crazy and brought us to one of the newest shopping mall. Of course, we had a grand time shopping. "If you are a Filipina, you must love shopping", that's what my husband would always say.

We also hooked up with 2 other classmates, Rollyn & Tess who are both based in the bay area. Again, all we did was eat, shop, eat, shop and eat. It was a never-ending shopping and eating spree! We went wine tasting in Napa.

We danced at the Tonga Room of the Fremont Hotel and talked and laughed alot!

It's a great feeling to have friends. Friends who really understand you well and who will always be with you in good and bad times. And these are the kind of friends who sorrounds me and make my life more colorful. That is why I always feel so sad and cry everytime they leave.

And we're all looking forward to the next year for more girl bonding and laughs.

Cheers to us, Girls!