- a tale of mis-adventures and uber-randomness -
I had an absolutely ridiculous day today.
Last week, I texted my classmate and asked her if she has any "sideline" / "reliever" jobs for me for the month of April. Don't get me wrong. I'm actually contented and very happy with my job right now in Malaybalay Polymedic General Hospital (MPGH). But the thing is that's only a fixed schedule for 12 days, so for the rest of the month, I'm a full-pledged BUM. And when I'm BUMMING around the house all I do is sit in front of the PC from morning until the next morning (cos I tend to forget the concept of sleep when I'm glued to the PC), and so I pretty much do not accomplish much in my life except to grow fatter and fatter each day. So I'd rather be out there working, because at least I'm not "useless" (and I get paid). Besides most of my friends have 2 jobs, and so I thought it's about time I also find another job. The past few months my schedule has been filled up because my co-residents in MPGH asked me to fill in for them, but I don't think it's gonna happen again in April. And so that prompted me to text my classmate, Jen.
Jen, who's working in Don Carlos and Camiguin, told me that they have an opening come April at the Catarman District Hospital where she works. It's the slot of my other classmate, Amalyn, which falls on the last 10 days of the month. But for some reason (maybe for training or something), Amalyn is already resigning. So Jen asked me if I wanted the slot cos a lot of other moonlighting doctors would be interested in it. It's 10 straight days of duty at a primary hospital. Jen said it's totally benign and it pays really well. And whatever cases we can't handle, we simply refer to Camiguin General Hospital in Mambajao, where 8 out of 9 of their doctors are also my classmates/good friends. So she prodded me to hurry and apply.
I've actually been invited several times to work in Camiguin by my friends there in Camiguin General Hospital but I've politely declined primarily because of the travel. Camiguin Island is 2 hours by bus PLUS 1 hour by barge away from my city, Cagayan de Oro, and I simply can't imagine lugging around my ENORMOUS travelling bag to work (I really don't know why it's always so BIG and FULL and HEAVY). Plus the sked in Camiguin General Hospital is in conflict with my schedule in MPGH so I really had no choice. But in Catarman District Hospital, the 10-day straight sked is just perfect for me. But I still have the problem of travelling with my ENORMOUS bag.
So anyway, I really didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to accept this challenge and quit yapping and just get my butt rolling to Camiguin (plus the pay is too tempting!!! XD). But part of me just wants to be a lazy bum and sit in front of the PC the whole day and night.
I ended up going anyway, and so here we begin my ridiculous tale of mis-adventures and uber-randomness...
Last night I was really not sure if I wanted to go to Camiguin to send in my application. I had no idea what their requirements were and heck, I didn't even know to whom I should address my application letter to (I later found out that I have to address it to their Chief of Hospital and *ulp!* the Governor XD). And I realized that I didn't have any pictures so I had to
So I was supposed to wake up early (target time to leave was 5am) but I woke up at 7:30am already. I was greatly distressed and frustrated and had tears in my eyes and I was tempted to just give up since it was already so late, but I convinced myself to still go. After taking a bath and hurriedly dumping random stuffs in my bag, I left the house at some minutes past 8am and went to buy a clear folder and a Jollibee burger meal. I also went to have my resume/application letter printed at Kopya de Oro where I had to pay a whopping 50 bucks for FOUR MEASLY PAGES (I totally went, WTF!?! 0__o). I was already so late so I didn't complain anymore but I swear to God I will never print my documents in Kopya de Oro ever again.
Then I took a taxi and went to the bus terminal. It was already 9am when I went to the aircon bus bound for Butuan City but it was already full (WHAT!?! 0__o). But the driver said I can sit in the "extension" which is a foldable chair adjacent to the driver's seat. It was comfortable enough so I didn't mind. What made me dumbfounded though was the fact that the bus was already so full yet more people were still willing to ride in it, not minding if they sit on the floor or stand up for more than an hour. I was glad though that I got a seat. As the bus was leaving, I saw tensai queuing for the next bus, and he saw me too so I texted him and asked him where he was going and he said he was also bound for Camiguin. Cool.
I ate my Jollibee burger meal, and then for the next two hours, with my mp3 player in my ear, I dozed off in the bus until I reached Balingoan. The conductor, by the way, deliberately did not give me my ten peso-change which irked me a little but I didn't want to argue with him anymore because the bus was so full of "extra" people. So when I got off the terminal, I flagged a motorsikad (a motorcycle with a side car) to drive me to the port. But because I was the only passenger, the driver asked me transfer to a trisikad (bicycle with a side car) instead. I was quite horrified, but I didn't want to waste time anymore so I just complied. I arrived at the port around 11:15am.
To my delight, the barge arrived around 11:30am, and I was one of the first passengers to board it. My delight was short-lived however, when I learned that the ship's captain/driver and staff were having a lunch break, so I was stuck there wasting time and imagining the possibility of being stranded in Camiguin for the night without any extra clothes (and without a toothbrush). I thought that in case I do get stranded there then I have to beg my friends to adopt me for the night and let me sleep in their hospital quarters. It was a miserable possibility but at least I already had a solution in my mind.
It was already 1pm when we left the port! And I arrived in Camiguin at exactly 2pm. In fact, because of the delay, tensai was able to catch up and was riding the same barge. I talked with him for a while before leaving the boat.
So Camiguin is an island province which is filled with exotic tourist spots and resorts. I've been there twice before but I was with family and friends and we had guides. This time I went alone. I felt really mature although I was also quite afraid cos I might get lost or duped. But thank GOD, nothing bad like that happened. When I got off the barge, I took the van to Mambajao and the driver was nice enough to drop me off the hospital (well, it was pretty much along the highway so I guess that was his normal route...).
So I went to Camiguin General Hospital in Mambajao because my friends told me that I have to meet Dr Beja, who's the Chief of Hospital in Camiguin. But the hospital I'm applying for is a smaller institution located in Catarman, which I think is on the other side of the island. I called up my friend Janine, who was on duty that time at the Outpatient Department, and she took me to Dr Beja's office but he wasn't there. So I was told to wait. I was also told that the governor was also not around that time, and I need to be introduced to him (wow, I've never been introduced to a governor before...) because his approval would also mean the approval of my paycheck (ehehehe... ^o^;). Well, he wasn't around so I didn't have a choice so I just told them that I'll just meet him again next time. For now I want to at least meet Dr Beja. Their staff also gave me a list of the required documents, which to my horror, was quite a long list. It included stuffs like neuro-pyschiatric exam, drug test, NBI clearance, etc etc... I felt a bit annoyed because there were too many requirements, but I guess that's SOP when you're applying for work.
By the way, this is actually the first REAL job application I've ever done. And it's a job in a government institution to boot. XD
I waited for Dr Beja but I never saw him. By 4:30pm, I told Janine that I could wait no longer cos I might miss the last trip home. I initially planned to visit the hospital in Catarman where I plan to work but I guess I'll just do that the next time I'll go back there (which I think will be on April 20. Then I'll start working on the 21st... hehehe). I really have no idea what I got myself into. XD
So Janine gave me instructions on how to get back to the port, and she told me to ride a van, but there was no van in sight. I panicked a bit but I asked for directions and I was led to a jeepney, which was already full so I had to sit on the "extension" which is a bench in the middle of the jeep. I felt quite ridiculous again, but I just went with it. I reached the port around 5:15pm, and took some pictures with my crappy phone camera. XD
Before I got on the boat, I went to a pay toilet because I really needed to pee. It costs PhP3.00, hehehe Then I bought a bottle of Nestea because I realized that I was so hungry already. I boarded the barge around 5:30pm and they told me that it was scheduled to leave by 6pm. I took a seat in the far end of the boat and in a semi-open area where I could feel the sea wind in my face. A lady vendor sold me some snacks and I bought a pack of Funky. The vendor sat beside me and so I conversed with her for a while and learned that she's already 73 years old (but she doesn't look old at all!) and that she recently had a sebaceous cyst removed from her right hand for free at the Camiguin General Hospital. We talked for a while about various things and then she thanked me and eventually left. I realized again that I like talking to old people, and given the opportunity I might take up training in Geriatrics, except that we really don't need that in our country (and I don't think I would earn well XD).
So I waited for the barge to leave and it was almost 6:30pm when they sounded the horn and the boat started moving. The sea was pitch black, and I thought it was cool but scary. I don't know how to swim so I probably won't survive if someone will throw me down there. Oh, and the wind was so freezing cold, it made my feet numb. I dozed off again for almost an hour and woke up just in time to see the barge trying to dock in the port of Balingoan.
It was already 7:30pm. I hurriedly went down and was one of the first passengers to get off the boat. I hailed a *gack!* trisikad again which took me to the bus terminal, but I was mortified to see that it was deserted. And the highway was kinda dark. I looked around and saw some people waiting along the highway, near a bakery, so I also stood there with them. I was actually already quite nervous but I tried not to let it show. There were a lot of offers for a ride to CDO via a car, a multicab, etc but I refused all of those because I do not trust those kinds of transportation. I've read too much psycho stories about gory murder cases, serial killers and kidnappers who make their victims as sex slaves and deep down I was thinking that that particular eerie and semi-deserted place was a perfect spot for one of those heinous crimes. I chose to just shut off my over-reactive imagination and say a silent prayer for protection. And to distract myself, I bought some hot monay bread and a bottle of water.
Finally a bus bound for Cagayan appeared and all of us waved for it to stop. I was disappointed to see that it was a non-aircon bus but I didn't care anymore. When I boarded the bus and took the first seat that I saw, I was horrified to note that the entire bus reeked of stinky armpits and sweat and really really bad body odor. I tried to suppress a gag and wished that someone would just please open a window but I was trapped in that horrible vacuum. I thought I was going to suffocate.
The bus stopped for a while in an eatery because the driver and some passengers had to eat dinner, and I noticed an aircon bus pull over next to us, and I was so tempted to transfer to it. But I already paid my fare (which by the way is PhP70 cheaper than an aircon bus!) and I was deliberating if there is still a seat for me since the aircon bus looked full. I decided not to transfer and just cover my nose and try not to breathe so much. I held on to my bag and eventually dozed off.
I woke up several times because of the crampy space and because of the noise. There was a time when several (around five of them) bus inspectors boarded the bus to check our tickets because apparently the conductor failed to issue one ticket and they cannot balance their account. The inspectors caused quite a ruckus since the bus was already so full and their presence was making the bus more cramped and smelly (yes, they stink too...). They eventually got off. I dozed off once again, and then I woke up to find that we stopped in the middle of nowhere, and our bus driver was not behind the wheels but was walking down the street, yelling at some person. I don't know if it was another bus personnel/inspector he was shouting at, but they were obviously in a heated argument. I shook my head and couldn't imagine that something like that was actually happening when I was already in a hurry to go home. The driver eventually got back to his seat and speeded like a madman. I held on to my seat because I didn't want to die yet. I just wanted to go home safely but all these ridiculous things were happening to me.
We eventually reached the CDO bus terminal "alive", and I got off the bus, hailed a taxi and at 10:15pm, I finally arrived home in one piece.
Thank God that I lived to tell this
I hope something like this will never happen again.
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