OF SIN AND INNOCENCE (IGNORANCE)

I would like to emphasize that I have written this article not to question the Almighty nor be blasphemous but for the sake of seeking answers.

In the Genesis account, God created man and woman. He allowed them to live in paradise, The Garden of Eden. He entrusted all of His other creations to man. He also permitted man to eat all kinds of edible fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts that is found in the garden, including the fruit from the Tree of Life. However, He specified that they should not consume the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge for they will perish.

Then one day when Eve was walking in the garden, she encountered the devil, in a form of a serpent (not necessarily a snake). The devil convinced her to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, that there is nothing wrong with having knowledge, and that they will not die; the woman succumb to the temptation. To her surprise she did not die (well not instantaneously), and she shared her discovery to her partner, Adam, and he also ate the fruit. After it, there innocence was shattered and in less than the blink of an eye there was an influx of knowledge. Right there and then the first sin, malice (in my opinion^_^), manifested and they were conscious that they were naked.

From what I have understood, prior to the fall of humanity, sin did not exist due to the reason that Adam and Eve don't know what is right and wrong; they were in a state of innocence or should I say ignorance and because of that they can't define sin thus they were spared from it. So my question is does innocence or ignorance from the law excuses you after all? Also can the stage of "purity" be compared to the infancy to toddler stage wherein innocence is somehow manifested (does that statement makes sense)?

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF A BROKEN HEART

Lucky for you if your first partner was your last, but I know that almost everyone have already experienced the "pain" of being heart broken. Yes the pain, and this article is all about it.

I am really wondering why it hurts so much when a special person abandons you. The sensation felt is something different from the physical one. The experience crushes your heart literally. It is often precipitated on situations when we are already alone since it stimulates us to remember the moments that was shared and automatically tears will shed out.

Maybe it hurts so much because of the betrayal, but for me that is not the essence that inflicts pain the most. What really hurts us are the shattered dreams, plans, and hopes that was built together. Love is like cocaine which makes us high and gives us delusions of having a wonderful future with the special person, thus thrusting our expectations about the relationship to the next level. And on the faithful break-up day those expectations nose dives and along with it are us.

NURSE'S NOTES

Before there were only few student nurses that you can see, but now nursing is the most sought after course in the country. If you will ask the students why they enrolled in such course, most of them would say it is a ticket abroad and to a more comfortable life. But is it really worth it and how about the risks? Before you consider nursing as your course read this article first so that you will really be enlightened about what it offers.

To be a student nurse, you must not only be mentally prepared but physically as well. You are expected to stand for several hours while watching someone slicing up another's body. Lifting heavy objects like an oxygen tank or your 200++ pound patient is part of the job as well. But aside from all the physical effort, you must also be analytical and must have a great deal of common sense. You will be constantly bombarded with decision making and a wrong one will be fatal.

Accuracy is also another qualification to be successful in this course. You can't just afford to have a room for error especially in the chart and in your nurse's notes or else you'll end up paying (if you are lucky enough to have just entered your mistakes in the practice sheet) or worse you'll end up rewritting the whole thing and looking for unfamiliar persons who had done entries in the chart. Accuracy is also needed in administering medications. You must know the 10 or some say 12 rights of giving medications if you don't want to see your patient's eyeballs rolling up or your patient's mouth forming gooey froths.

If you have a night life then expect it to be cut. There is what they call noc shift a.k.a graveyard shift and you must dedicate the whole 8 hours to your duty - meaning less than an hour nap time. Then there are the endless overnights for group works wherein you will see nothing but your groupmate's annoying faces and endless piles of books as reference.

Nursing does not offer a room for the faint hearted. Expect that you will encounter brain busting questions, nerve wracking comments, and heated debates (formal term for arguments ^_^) from your classmates and clinical instructors. Add up the toxic doctors who will show off their expertise by asking you endless questions that came out from nowhere. Also don't forget to learn the "docking maneuver" so that you will not be hit by the unidentified flying instruments.

If you love to answer questions or love watching game shows then that is a plus points for you. A student nurse undergoes hell lots of examination before he/she will be recognized as a professional. To name a few of the exams there is the national board exam, national council licensure examination (if you want to work in the US), state board (again in the US), commission on foreign graduate nursing school exam (for those who wants to work in Europe), and the international english language testing system (for those who wants to work in english speaking nations).

Lastly, you must be very competitive and the competition is really tough; just imagine the Philippines produces thousands of nurses annually and you have to compete with all of them. So if you can't top the professional examinations then another way to be competitive is to study, study, and study again. Take endless seminars to perk up your resume or if you can afford, go back to school again and take a master's degree. But in the end, it will still not assure you of having the best job or position that the nursing world can offer.

So now that you know the things that you're gonna face if you'll enter this course are you still willing to take the risks???

STRENGTHENING CURRENCY - WEAKENING ECONOMY

Okay, I may not be an economist to give a detailed analysis about the country's economy, but I am a FIlipino, a consumer, who directly feels the economic situation and I have common sense, enough to make my perspective on the real score of the Philippine Economy stand.

Lately, I have been hearing news that the Philippine Peso had increased in value and strengthened against the US Dollars (or other foreign currencies) and according to the president it is just an evidence of a strengthening economy. But is this really good news and an indication of a better economy?

Surely it is good news for the politicians, since they can foolishly brag on how great they handled the country deceiving millions of people as a result, but it is actually bad news in disguise. Also it is not an indication of a strengthening economy, rather we should be worried if this trend continues. It is worrisome the fact that the purchasing power of the Philippine Peso still remains weak and prices are soaring high despite its strengthening status in terms of exchange rate, creating an imbalance. A lot of industries and individuals will surely be affected with this like the OFWs, exporters, and other businesses that are dependent on foreign currencies like call centers. The situation is a cancer in the economy.

In order to make my point clear, let's consider this case. Let us say before the exchange rate between US$ to PhP is 1:48 and with it an individual can buy 2 kilos of rice (considering that the rate is 24 per kilo). Presently in the economy with the "strengthened peso" let us assume that the exchange rate between US$ to PhP is 1:42 but since the latter still has the same purchasing power or worse if the prices soared up, it is not enough anymore to buy the 2 kilos of rice.

If this will continue it will surely lead to currency collapse. The real strength of an economy is not measured in the currency's value against other foreign currency, rather it is measured on the amount of commodities that a currency can buy; on its purchasing power.