Kat's Notebook » self-help tips

My boyfriend blazer

Katkat — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:58:00 +0000

I’ve recently blogged that I’ve been looking for the perfect boyfriend blazer. Even though I was discouraged that a literal boyfriend blazer design doesn’t compliment my frame really well, I still look for it every time I shop for jackets. However I’ve finally realized that a boyfriend blazer is not for me after the 10th jacket that I bought…and returned. So I switched to a dinner blazer or an all-around-except-office blazer. In my previous post, I have enumerated the things I like in this kind of jacket. To wit,

1. black

2. not cheap fabric – no jersey, rayon, office blazer fabric

3. cropped sleeves – this kind of sleeve is just so sexy

4. good cut and hem should fall just above my hips

5. good lapel – not too narrow and not too wide

6. not super padded shoulder because I don’t want to have man-shoulders.

7. nice frame and structure/silhouette

My search is finally over! I have found the perfect blazer! I bought it at Nordstrom’s BP for 58USD plus tax. And before I contradict myself, this is not part of the shopping challenge – I bought this on May 31. It has all the characteristics I have mentioned and it fits well in my frame too. Although I would like its fabric to be a little bit matte shiny and the sleeves slightly longer. Does this wishful thinking still make the jacket the perfect blazer? I think so…unless I see a better one *wink wink*. To view the item, click here.

This is my take on amateur modeling. Please bear with me.

My shopping challenge

Katkat — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:56:00 +0000

Shopping is the biggest stress reliever activity for me. I don’t go out much or eat out or do any activity outside work and home; in short, my social life is almost non-existent. So to keep my sanity, I go shopping at the mall or go online shopping. I’m not much of a mall-shopper rather I spend a lot of time browsing through internet shops and do my shopping from there. It’s easier and fuel-saving for me.

My shopping activity has increased over the past few months. I have boxes of items delivered to my house almost every week. My brother who always receive my package for me joked that he’s now best friends with the UPS guy. And the UPS guy will make a comment that with all the stuffs I buy, I could have set up a store already or buy my own house. In defense, I return most of the items because they don’t fit me well so I really don’t have too much stuffs.

To convince myself that I don’t need to go to shopaholic anonymous yet and to curb my credit card spending, I’m taking a stand and set myself up a challenge.

For 2 months (June and July) I won’t be spending anything on apparel, shoes, accessories and cosmetic. Absolutely no spending but window shopping is allowed. It will only make me yearn though. I will have no referee but my conscience if I fail to win this challenge. It has been almost 2 weeks since I last bought anything and I’m feeling the itch. But I feel good that I’m not spending.

So what will be my punishment or reward if I fail or win this challenge? I haven’t thought of it yet. It would defeat the purpose if I reward myself a shopping spree after the 2-month-drought. Although there will be lots of benefits while this self-imposed challenge goes on: my savings will go up, my self-discipline will be reinforced, I will be credit card debt-free, my budgeting will be back on track again, and the money I spend on clothes will be set aside for fun stuffs like travel or gym or classes or bucket list activities. I will also be able to focus my energy to other worthwhile endeavors like studying and improving my baking skills.

Will I keep my sanity? I hope I will. I will still keep on browsing online shops and looking through fashion magazines to satisfy my inner fashion shopaholic. However for the meantime, my credit card is off-limits. Wish me luck!

Ready cure for indigestion

Katkat — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:18:27 +0000

Lately, I’ve noticed that I get indigestion more frequent than before. Twice now eating at home during my 1 hour lunch break, I will return to the office with a bloated and uncomfortable stomach. It’s an indigestion attack again. I usually pride myself of having a good metabolism. Before, I could eat a very big meal during dinner and still be able to sleep comfortably in the night and having no after effects in the morning. But now it’s a different story. I get indigestion. My body is starting to fall apart. I’m old!!!!!

Indigestion aka dyspepsia is a stomach problem. Indigestion takes the form of gas, bloating, heartburn and abdominal pain and can cause a great deal of discomfort for the sufferer. What causes indigestion? Ruling out any pre-existing medical condition (meaning for healthy people), indigestion can be brought about by: eating too much, eating too fast, eating high fat foods, eating during stressful situations, and swallowing air. It is aggravated by smoking before meals, exercising after meals, and drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Cure/Prevention for indigestion the bloated kind (Note: some doesn’t have medical basis but it works!):

1. Avoid smoking after meals – smoking increases the air you may swallow and can cause bloating.

2. Exercising after meals – wait at least 2 hours before exercising as 2 hours is the gastric emptying time. One morning I decided to go jogging and because I was hungry, I ate half a donut. During my jog, my stomach starts to hurt and all I could say was next 20 minutes on the way home was so uncomfortable. Not going to exercise again. hehehe.

3. Drink warm tea/water when eating or after meal – warm beverage (not the alcoholic or soda kind) can cause blood vessels to dilate and make the stomach work better. During an indigestion, warm water/tea can cause the air to expel.

4. Don’t take antacids for bloating because bloating is not caused by hyperacidity.

5. Lay flat on your stomach – this was very helpful and effective advice from a friend. Lying on the stomach can cause air to expel easier and faster.

6. Put hot compress or liniment oil on your stomach to alleviate the discomfort.

7. Chew gum to facilitate burping. But if you don’t have indigestion, beware chewing gum can cause swallowing of lot of air.

8. Avoid overeating, especially high fat content foods. These are difficult to digest and are likely to cause some degree of discomfort. Overeating causes the stomach to work harder and makes digestion more difficult. The result may be bloating, gas, or heartburn.

9. Avoid eating too quickly. Your stomach needs time to adjust to the food that is being eaten. Eating quickly can also trap air in the stomach causing excessive gas and bloating.

Have a happy stomach!

The Toyota Recall

Katkat — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:21:19 +0000

I love Toyota. Actually my first car was Toyota Coralla SLE 2007. It’s a family car and I was a late bloomer when it comes to driving. I started in my mid-20’s. I love driving that Corolla. It’s compact and economical in gas. I can zip in and out of traffic. It was a really good car.

Now my dad changed it to Toyota Camry 2008. It’s heavier and slightly larger than the Corolla. I didn’t like it because it eats up gas quicker and it’s slightly larger built makes it hard for me to maneuver the car as I wanted to.

Now there is this big hoopla of recalling certain Toyota car models, Camry included. Toyota is recalling a list of it’s car models because of a problem with the gas pedal. The list of involved models are:

Certain 2009-2010 RAV4*,
Certain 2009-2010 Corolla*,
2009-2010 Matrix,
2005-2010 Avalon,
Certain 2007-2010 Camry*,
Certain 2010 Highlander*,
2007-2010 Tundra,
2008-2010 Sequoia

According to the Toyota pressroom,

“The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable.

This friction device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position or, in rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open.”

I partially understood what they meant. And I think it happens in our car too. When I stop, it takes a long time to halt completely even though I’m pressing on the brake pedal. Sometimes there’s a slight increase in speed even though I’m hitting the brakes. My dad says that it happens most especially when you use the Cruise Control. When you switch off the Cruise Control, instead of slowing down, the car still accelerates.

Whatever the issue is, this will of course pose a big worry for the driver since there is no guarantee or confidence that the car will always be perfectly running. Because this issue has exploded, Toyota is now totally recalling the affected vehicle models. They will completely pay the repair and actual repair will only take 30 minutes. That’s good news because I have to drive to to work. At present, Toyota is suspending its sales on the affected models.

If you’re a Toyota car owner and your vehicle is any of the models stated above then your car is affected by the recall. Take note certain Prius models are now also included. In the meantime, when you experience a sticking accelerator pedal when driving, here are recommended actions to take:

1. If you need to stop immediately, the vehicle can be controlled by stepping on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal as it will deplete the vacuum utilized for the power brake assist.
2. Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.
3. If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.
a. If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.
b. If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Click here for more information about the Toyota recall issue.

Drive carefully!

Warning to Shoppers

Katkat — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:54:38 +0000

“A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn’t fit, you can’t exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags…oh yes… oh yes.”

-Rebecca Bloomwood, Confessions of a Shopaholic

The thrill of the hunt. The anticipation of the reward. The euphoria of acquisition. Don’t you just love to shop? Nope. I’m not a shopaholic. But I’m afraid that I’m heading there. Lol. But I would like to say I’m more of a careful shopper. The things I buy are “necessities” or “investments”. What’s wrong with having more than 10 pairs of shoes or more than 5 watches when they can be complemented on different outfits? I look for quality, price and need-slash-want.

But not all of my shopping experiences are good – some are bad and some are cached in “lesson learned”. Here are some of what I learned:

1. Be careful of scams.

Unsecured marketplace/community forums such as craigslist.org offer no protection to the buyer. There are a lot of scams happening in this kind of site. My motto is “If it’s good to be true then it’s false.” Interact only with locals and those with direct communication. It is better if you can pick it up and examine the item first before buying. Red flag anyone who’s offering a good price but is only available through shipping and payment through wireless transfer. Remember, most items here have no return/exchange policy.

2. Read the fine print of the store’s policy.

I usually go online shopping. I go for those with free shipping and returns. If there’s no free returns, I make sure first if I can return it in-store. That way I won’t have to pay for shipping fee. Take note of the allowable days for return, the condition of the item for return, and the credit type for return. Some stores require that the item should be in original packaging and sealed. Other stores can only give you store credit and not a credit back to your card. Electronic items usually have a restocking fee deducted from your refund.

3. Always save your receipt.

The receipt is your evidence that you purchase something. I always save it just in case I want to do return/exchange. Save also your return receipt so that if the credit didn’t go back to your card immediately you have that receipt to show the credit card company. I saved a 1-year old return receipt. The amount hasn’t been credited back to me and after a year I complained about the unrefunded credit. They were able to trace back the transaction by the transaction number I have in my receipt but unfortunately they cannot credit it back to me because they only have a 2-month policy for complaints.

4. Buy with confidence.

I love paypal and ebay. They truly protect both sellers and buyers. If you’re not satisfied with your purchase and it’s the seller’s fault for not being truthful, you can return the item and have your money credited back to you. Not only that if the seller proves to be problematic, ebay can suspend their account until your issue with the seller is resolved.

5. The problem with faux.

A lot of us like me try to look for an expensive item but has a lowered price. If it’s a very low price and you know that it’s originally expensive, chances are it’s fake. I can never tell which is fake though unless it’s staring at me straight into my face. A lot of items in Ebay sell fake fragrances, fake watches, fake electronic items, etc.

The problem with fake items is…you get what you paid for. Don’t expect an electronic item to function without a hitch knowing it’s not branded. There’s also news that report about the ingredients of fake fragrances. It says that some contain urine in it for color and acidity. Fake fragrances can also cause contact dermatitis.

6. Did you purchase a return?

People exchange or return items frequently. Some will return an item after using it. Now the stores of course will not just throw it away. They can’t lose money so they return the items back to the rack. Reports show that lab findings in returned items include bad bacteria, feces, and other bad stuffs. Before you buy something, inspect it closely. At Macy’s, they stick a return label stickers on the tag for purchased items. Look for this to know if you’re buying a returned item. If you want it really bad and you don’t mind a little scratch here and there, ask for a defective item discount to get a good price.

7. New clothes NEED to be washed first.

Purchasing a new item doesn’t mean that the item is sterile and clean. If you smell them closely, new items have a bad odor. Like from the warehouse kind of odor. I bought something for my mom from Victoria Secret online and when the product arrived we oohhed and aaahhed over it. But when we put our nose onto the fabric, it smelled bad. Not human odor bad but it’s like delivery odor bad. These clothes are not exempted from germs or filth gotten from shipping, restocking, and handling so better wash it first before you wear them.

8. Online quality.

I always canvass items before I buy them. I find that I can get better and lower prices online than in-store. The problem with online items is first, you can’t inspect them closely or try it on. 2nd, usually it’s made from third-world country. If you don’t mind things made in China, then this wouldn’t be a problem for you.

One time my dad and I were searching for a wedding gift for my cousin. We decided on a cutlery set. We went to Williams and Sonoma and got a set that it’s Germany-made. It was expensive. Later, I went online to compare the price for that similar set. I saw a cheaper one but I have a strong feeling that it’s made in China. A similar story is when I bought a good-priced Baby-G watch from Amazon. I thought Baby-G is Japan-made. But when I got mine from Amazon, I was disappointed to discover it was made from China.

I hope these tips can make you be a more careful shopper.

XOXO,

Shopaholic-to-be

The perfect boyfriend blazer

Katkat — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:39:32 +0000

I’m still in search for the perfect boyfriend blazer or just plain trendy black blazer. I gave up on the boyfriend blazer (although a part of me is still looking) because my height won’t make me look good with long blazer. I’m only 5” 1’ and long blazer makes me look smaller and dwarfed.

When I say perfect blazer – it means tailored cut, sophisticated fabric, right size, and fashion forward. Scratch out those jersey type blazers or something that will make me look that I’m going to the office. What I wanted is a perfect accessory for my sleeveless top, dark wash skinny jeans, and 4 inch stilleto shoes.

A casual outfit is made trendy and sophisticated with cool looking jacket. As they said an outfit is plain and boring without accessories.

I will call my hunt the search for dinner blazer. A dinner blazer is a good investment since you can pair it with a dress or jeans. It instantly upgrades the look. Boyfriend blazers are great if your tall. I saw a salesgirl at Nordstrom wearing the boyfriend blazer that I’ve tried on which didn’t inspire my look because of my height but fits her perfectly because she’s tall and voila, with that jacket on, she’s so fierce-looking! I just envy her.

I’ve already bought 6 blazers and returned 6. Nothing fits my petite frame. Of course I haven’t considered buying those USD100plus blazers yet. I’m not that desperate for a blazer! Although that $135 BEBE jacket is making me rethink my decision. All the blazers I’ve tried have problems with size or cut – the bust area is big, my shoulder looks manly, the hem is too long, the cut is too straight and not sexy, and what’s with the coat-tail?

I’m 5”1’ and skinny. I don’t wear heels often so my blazers should go well with flats. Here are my ideal blazers characteristics:

1. black

2. not cheap fabric – no jersey, rayon, office blazer fabric

3. cropped sleeves – this kind of sleeve is just so sexy

4. good cut and hem should fall just above my hips

5. good lapel – not too narrow and not too wide

6. not super padded shoulder because I don’t want to have man-shoulders.

7. nice frame and structure/silhouette

If your on the hunt too, here are some suggested stores with dinner/boyfriend blazers at reasonable prices:

nordstrom.com

bloomingdales.com

bebe.com

Happy shopping!

My hair story

Katkat — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:46:11 +0000

A lot of people have visited my site for my post on “Hair care for Rebonded Hair” and I want to thank you for your encouragement, questions, comments, advise and visits. I’m surprised that many readers are asking me about rebonded hair and it made me feel like I know a lot about hair rebonding. That post was just a collated information from various websites. My replies and the post were mostly based on my experience with rebonding my hair. So I want to give you a report on my rebonded hair after 4 months. This is my experience and I want to share it with you.

My hair has never been treated with any chemical or hair dye ever since I was a teenager. I vaguely remembered when I was younger like below 10-years-old that I had my hair permanently curled. I also remembered playing with the hair sprays and spraying my hair indiscriminately. But after that I haven’t done anything with my hair except for haircut and one-time hair relax treatment which a salon scammed me to do. My hair is thick, slightly wavy with the waves concentrated on the middle to the tip of my hair. I had many disastrous haircuts, occasional split ends, and I find that my hair takes a long time to grow long. In one year, my hair which sits on top of my shoulder would grow just only about 2-3 inches below my shoulder.

A lot of people would say that I have very nice hair. It’s black, shiny and the waves are really pretty. But I would shrug off those comments because all my life I just wanted a very straight hair. I’ve never been adventurous with my hair and my hair cut style tends to be the same all the time. I shampoo everyday and occasionally uses conditioner. My hair doesn’t have a tendency to be oily or too dry. After that hair relax treatment scam which cost me a lot of money, I told myself that I will not do something so expensive with my hair again. For a long time I just had haircut where the interval is between 6 months to 1 year. As I’ve mentioned, my hair takes a long time to grow hence no need for ever 2-3 months of hair cut. I always end up just tying my hair in a ponytail all the time.

before rebond

When Korean and Japanese dramas became a hit, I envied the actors’ hairstyles! Their hair are so straight and edgy. I wanted that kind of hairstyle too. But I was afraid to have it done in the Philippines because I felt that the salons are not knowledgeable enough. And hair straightening procedures cost a lot. So I compensated myself by buying a hair straightening iron to make my hair straight every once in a while. My ceramic straightening iron which cost around 90USD gave me straight hair when my hair was longer. But when my hair is short and the waves are in full force, it’s just impossible to straighten my hair.

My sister who is working in Beijing had her hair rebonded in China. I greatly admired her hair. But I was still hesitant to do it because I don’t want to risk damaging my hair or worse not getting the result I wanted. When I had the opportunity of going to Beijing last year, I really planned to have my hair rebonded there. My sister said that it’s cheap and the results are great, of which her hair was a testament. So for 150 RMB, I loved my hair rebonding experience. The result was fantastic.

beijing rebond

I followed the rules: I showered and conditioned my hair only after 3 days, didn’t clip my hair or put it behind my ears, slept with my hair very straight, and ironing my hair after 3 days. But I noticed that after a few weeks, my hair returned to wavy particularly when I didn’t blow-dry it or iron it. So resorted to ironing my hair again.

3 weeks after 1st hair rebond

So after 4 months I decided to have my hair rebonded again and I went to a Korean salon, Tony and Jackey this time. My mind is set that only Japanese or Koreans or Chinese know how to make hair straight.The difference between this salon and the one in Beijing were: Tony and Jackey dedicated a very long time on ironing my hair really straight and thin to receive the chemical and that they did the haircut after the rebond procedure. I totally loved the result on my 2nd hair rebond. My hair was so straight that it resembled a broomstick. I noticed that some ends though got frizzy and way damaged.

2nd rebond

After the rebond procedure, I made sure that I followed hair rebond care tips to make the most of my rebond: I washed and conditioned my hair only after 3 days, stayed away from straightening iron or blow-dryer, conditioned my hair every after 2 days and deep conditioned it once a week, didn’t clip or put my hair behind my ears, slept with my hair flat and straight for 1 month, and just used a leave on conditioner occasionally. I have my hair cut 2 days after only because I didn’t like my hair cut the first time but I stayed away from hot oil treatment.

The report: I just loved my rebonded hair! It’s just so low-maintenance. When I wake up, my hair is straight. I just air-dry my hair and it looks like I ironed it. I don’t need to use a brush because just hand combing is sufficient. I can make exaggerated movements with my head and my hair stays well-kept and straight. I am more confident during photo-ops. When my bangs get a little bit longer, I just trimmed it.

low-maintenance, 1 1/2months after

4 months after, I see that the strands on the sides of my face have returned wavy. My hair at the bottom of my scalp have turned wavy too but it’s not noticeable because the outer strands are straight and covering it. I don’t see any split ends unlike before when just after 3 months, I see split ends already. When I’m at work, I clip my bangs and thankfully it didn’t deform my hair after removing the clip. I’ve been lazy and I’ve been using a two-in-one shampoo conditioner and I deep condition my hair only 2 times a month. I just recently get to use a hair iron on my hair just to straighten the waves on the side of my face and my bangs. My hair returns straight. I can say that before I have broomstick hair now it has volume again. Still overall my hair is straight, shiny and silky to feel.

used a hair straightening iron

So I’m thinking of growing my hair longer before I decide to have it rebonded or try a different style such as curls! But I’m also at a conundrum because I’m here in the US and I don’t know a reputable salon that can make a very good hair rebond. If you know a place in the Bay Area/San Francisco, please suggest it to me. Be advised if you want to have your hair rebonded you need to consider a lot of things: cost, hair damage, limited hairstyle, no chemical treatment for the next 6 months, effectiveness of rebond, good salon, etc. Anyway, I hope my story can help you with your hair rebond decisions and experience!

Drooling over fall's fashion

Katkat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:49:46 +0000

I just had a revelation…I love fall! The season has the best and most chic fashion. Winter is under a bundle of clothing, spring is flowery and feminine, summer is fun casual, but fall is all about sophistication. With the mix of warm and cold weather, layering is a on-going theme. Tights and boots are the sexiest combination I’ve ever seen. It can also be tights and pumps…well you get the point. Then there are the cardigans, blazers and the light jackets/coats that you can partner with almost everything and upgrades the outfit instantly. Colors run in neutral tones indicating elegance and quiet power however once in a while putting on bold colors brings flash and glamor and is a welcome feast to the eyes.

Here are what I’ve been drooling over for fall:

Boyfriend blazer – it’s dinner jacket/cold-weather barrier/chic accessory rolled into one. Instead of going for the usual blazers, add a boyfriend blazer in your wardrobe to differentiate you from office chic to fashionable chic. There are different kinds of fabric and styles, but I go for the nicely tailored/fit, hem falling at mid-hip, and an “expensive looking” fabric that goes with any clothes. There are sleeves that roll up to reveal an different fabric and adds to style but i find it tacky. I bought a cropped sleeves and it is so sexy!
Ankle boots – leather, suede or patent. Drool. For this fall, I’m looking for a grey suede ankle boots. I’m leaning on a high cut ankle boot. I’ve been going over these fashion fantasy of mine – me wearing a long tunic with grey cardigan, black opaque ribbed tights and grey suede ankle boots. Makes me feel good every time. The only problem is I still have yet to find a nice grey suede ankle boots.
Boots – according to the latest trend, thigh high boots are in. Uggh. I don’t find that boots pretty or sexy. It’s like a reversed cropped pants/leggings with the hem falling on the thighs. For my taste, I am looking for a slouchy below the knees grey suede boots. Yup I still want a grey color. I have black boots already so I need to invest in another color.
Plaid dress – plaid goes well with fall. Pair it with leggings and cool flats or leggings and boots, you’re all set.
Tights – opaque, with designs , different colors – play up the mood of your clothing and be bold with your fashion statement. It’s fall – the season of tights!
Cardigans – invest in different colors and designs. You’ll be surprised how often you will wear them. They are timeless pieces that can be paired up with almost any clothing. Instead of donning a bulky coat/jacket but still want to stay warm, a cardigan is the perfect solution.

As one author quoted, “a woman dresses for a woman and not for man.” Yes I think that will be my motto this season. I’m going to love experimenting with my clothes into fall’s style and hopefully so do you!

Getting CPR/AED certified

Katkat — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:28:45 +0000

Being a healthcare provider or someone who works in the healthcare field, I’ve decided to get my certification for CPR at Red Cross. Back in the Philippines, my professor has given us a rundown on CPR and effective emergency response but it was all theoretical and there was no practical demonstration involved. Dentists in our country aren’t also required to get certified or needed to have first-aid kit in their clinics. Not that I know of.

I took the initiative to get trained for CPR because I really wanted to be prepared and effective when it comes to medical emergencies. So there I was in a Red Cross office taking a full day training along with 11 other people from different professions. Some had already taken it and needed to retake it because CPR certification expires after 2 years and information changes. I was impressed that people in the US really take time to get trained and prepared for emergencies. The age group in my class ranged from 20-50.

The class tackled infection control, CPR, choking, and automated external defibrillator (AED). The lecture was very straightforward. We got to watch videos of how things are properly done. We also get to perform the procedures on a mannequin. I must say that it’s really hard to do those chest compressions and 30 presses at a time! The lecturer expounded on the manual provided and it was basically common sense and he didn’t dwell on many different case scenarios. There was a written exam after the class which was in multiple choice format and was fairly easy. There was no return demonstration exam which I didn’t expect. I was also able to get a manual, a breathing valve mask (mouth-to-mouth is not done anymore to protect the caregiver from infection), and a certificate card good for 2 years.

If you want to get trained for CPR, Red Cross has different classes for different professions and varying prices. I chose the class CPR/AED for the healthcare provider. Red Cross is not the only agency providing these classes and you might also want to check other organizations like the American Heart Association (AHA) but make sure those agencies are certified to train you on CPR. To learn more about taking CPR classes, visit www.redcross.org.

Tips on Job Hunting

Katkat — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:25:03 +0000

For the past week, I’ve been looking for a job. I thought I would have an easy time getting a job because my field is in healthcare. No recession there I believe. I’ve been searching for job openings at Craigslist.org and they do have a lot of jobs posted well-suited for my qualifications. I’ve been to 2 job interviews already and I would like to be picky on where to work however I find myself evaluating the economic situation here. I am beginning to find out that it is really difficult to find and get accepted for a job. My previous interviews just give a response of “We’ll just call you back.”

I confide this circumstance to my aunt. I’m really impressed with my aunt. She is able to get a good-paying job so easily even though she leaves the country for 3 months every year. And it’s a different job every time. However she told me that she has been unemployed for a long time before she is able to get her current job. She shared me her tips:

Be resourceful. Even though she employs a lot of job agencies, she still on her own look for work in the internet even advising her agency that there’s a job opening.
Put on your best personality during the interview. There are a lot of unemployed and more qualified people out there looking for the same job you’re looking. The only thing that will separate you from them is your personality. A good team player and a great work attitude can give you a boost in cinching that job. I’ve met some of my aunt’s coworkers and they absolutely love her. She is very friendly, sweet and easy to work with, they described. Even though my aunt’s job is contractual and renewed every month, she still retains her job and gets to renew her contract because her employer loves her attitude.
Adjust with the economy. With the economic recession going on right now, a lot of businesses are either closing down or downsizing. If the job interviewer asks you what your desired salary is, don’t answer outright your value. You can roundabout ask “What is the budget you have alloted for this position? I can work around that rate.” You can or cannot get the same or a higher salary rate than your previous job. My aunt started at a high rate and her current job gives her less than her previous salary. This is because the company might be downsizing. So stick with the job, they may give you a raise in a short time. I always frankly tell in my interview my salary rate. I would base my salary rate on my qualification, my previous salary and of course the gas expense. I think because of the rate I’m demanding, their response is “We’ll just call you.”
Pray. Pray that you get accepted for a job. Prayer works. Faith works. That’s my aunt’s secret weapon.

So I pray we will all get that job we want. Happy job hunting!