2010

Let me wrap up the whole year real quick.

January and February, clinical pharmacy internship at Ovada, FPGEE review with Dean Eva

March, end of Ma’am Eva’s FPGEE review, completion of online modules, and graduation from BS Clinical Pharmacy

April and May, self-study at home and part-time bum, processing of necessary papers from PRC

June, departure to the US, application for FPGEE

July, PTCB exam

August, nothing much

September, took the FPGEE at Colorado

October, took the TOEFL iBT, applied for California Pharmacy Technician license, got hired by CVS/pharmacy

November, passing result of FPGEE and TOEFL iBT, got hired by Ross Stores, Inc.

December, received FPGEC certificate, got hired by Walgreens, applied for California Pharmacy Intern registration and got it in the mail on this very last day of the year

I’ve gotten so many blessings and met so many wonderful people this year so I’m ending it with a smile.

Dreams Update: DECEMBER 2010

Can you believe it’s been a month since I started at Ross? And it’s been nine days since CVS formally hired me. I was supposed to attend my training classes at CVS this week but didn’t, simply because Walgreens also hired me! And since I couldn’t work for both, I’ll be signing my termination papers at CVS on Monday.

Has anyone noticed how I always talked before about how I wanted to become a doctor and work in a hospital? Today it’s different. I now imagine myself managing my own branch of Walgreens Pharmacy and then being promoted to a district pharmacy supervisor and then district manager and so on until I reach the top of the management ladder.

I just realized I love working with customers and doing business with them. I could no longer imagine myself dealing with sick people in the hospital.

BTW, I counted the days it might take me to become a full pledged pharmacist here in the United States, starting with the date I’d probably receive my intern license:

March 15, 2011 – Pharmacy Intern License
January 15, 2012 – Completion of Internship
February 15, 2012 – NAPLEX after a month of preparation
February 29, 2012 – CPJE after two weeks of preparation
May 15, 2012 – Registered Pharmacist (RPh)

I’m almost there, right?

I’m so excited about my future. God, help me.

Dreams Update: SEPTEMBER 2010

September is up, and my exam is up! We took the FPGEE this morning in Colorado! The questions were generally simple but I guessed most of the time. The results won’t be out until after 8 weeks. The moment we got out of the test center, we were smiling.

Last week, after watching Charice’s cover of Beyonce’s “Listen” on Glee, I browsed other vocal covers on YouTube and concluded that Charice’s cover was the best, even better than Beyonce’s original. Then I stumbled upon zeldaxlove64‘s YouTube channel and got impressed by her beautiful voice and covers. I suddenly wanted to take voice lessons and build up my own channel too. I also saw a vocal cover of “Listen” in Spanish, which has “Oye” as its title. It sounded so nice, I wanna learn Spanish too.

But before all that, I shall take TOEFL iBT first, apply as a pharmacy intern, take the NAPLEX and the MPJE, become a registered pharmacist, and earn big time!

Sacrifice

“God works in mysterious ways sometimes.”

That was what Ma’am Eva (our dean) told me when I was complaining about NABP taking a very long time to evaluate my FPGEE application papers.

“It’s already been 8 weeks and they haven’t sent me my approval letter (test permit) yet, as opposed to their ’4-6 weeks’ promise. If I don’t receive it ‘til September 16, I won’t be able to sit on the exam on September 30. What’s worse, the next exam date is not until April 14, 2011!”

Good thing, my dearest Mommy (who is in the Philippines) faxed a letter to Carmen Catizone, the executive secretary of NABP, pleading to expedite the evaluation of my papers. In addition to that, she prayed a novena to the poor souls in purgatory which would end on September 8, birthday of Mama Mary.

So yesterday, September 7, (September 8 in the Philippines) I checked our mailbox, and OMG my NABP letter was there! I can’t anymore describe right now how I reacted yesterday upon seeing that letter, but, I swear, my reaction was epic! I was so happy I could cry!

I’ll always look back to that moment as a miracle, a miracle from Mama Mary. I believe Mama Mary prayed hard enough for my NABP letter to come that her son Jesus Christ wasn’t able to resist.

God really works in mysterious and, should I say, surprising ways sometimes.

Prayers really work. Not only my NABP letter arrived yesterday, but also those of my classmates’ (even the ones who applied only 3 weeks ago).

PS:

Prayers really work, so if you have a moment (even just 10 seconds), please pray for me or at least make the sign of the cross for me to be able to pass that test which is on September 30, 2010 (only 22 days from now).

We’re having a difficult time in the house right now. Our water heater leaked Monday night; the carpets got soaked and need to be replaced. The water supply’s cut off. Police came and tagged our house as “inhabitable,” and that’s what it’s gonna be until the water supply’s back and the carpets brand-new. We’re spending the night in someone else’s home, just like evacuees hit by a terrible storm. It’s very difficult to study.

But Mommy never fails to be one of my biggest sources of strength. She texted me a while ago and told something about sacrifice, which suddenly reminded me of Sam Witwicky’s quote in Transformers:

“No sacrifice, no victory.”

FPGEE Packet!

Guess what! I already got my FPGEE packet! Great heavens! I never expected it would arrive this early. I just ordered it online last May 15 at the FPGEC Application Site, and the prompt told me to wait for 4-6 weeks to receive it. But here it is, sitting on my desk.

Thank God. All I’m waiting for now are my transcript + diploma, and I’m good to go!

Forty Days: Day 34

Not even a year ago (March 26, 2009), I was walking down this school hallway in Ovada, still lost and confused. I was about to graduate then from my 4-year BS Pharmacy course in my university in Manila. We just took a visit in Ovada to take a look at the school and consider the chances of me studying here for yet another year. I never really wanted to study here. What I wanted at that time was to go straight to the U.S. or stay in the country and take up Medicine. Studying in Ovada was so out of the plan. Now, as I’m walking down this hallway again, no longer am I lost or confused. I’m just so confident and thankful that I made the right decisions. Thanks to Dean Eva, the gates are open. Everything’s up to me now.

***

Meet Auie, the Red Doggie!

Auie, the Red Doggie!

Because we’re already flying back home tomorrow, Goldie gave Audrey and me a farewell gift. To Audrey, she gave little Breadou, and to me, she gave a red stuffed doggie which from now on I will call Auie!

***

Have I really been kind? Last week, Ate Inday told me that because I’m the kindest tenant in the dorm, the landlady won’t anymore charge Mommy a transient fee. Now she won’t let me pay the electricity!

Forty Days: Day 33

Guess what! I graduated from college…AGAIN!

For those who do not know, a pharmacy graduate from a foreign school (that is, outside U.S.) can only take the pharmacy board exam in the U.S. after he/she has completed a certain number of hours of internship in a community pharmacy in the state where he/she wishes to practice his/her pharmacy profession. But before he/she could have the internship, he/she should pass the Foreign Pharmacy Equivalency Exam (FPGEE) first. And before he/she could take the FPGEE, he/she should first be a graduate of a 5-year BS Pharmacy program from an accredited foreign school.

Here in my country, the BS Pharmacy program consists only of 4 academic years. Among the numerous schools of pharmacy in the country, only one university offers the 5^th year, and that is the university here in Ovada where I just graduated from.

Thank You, Lord. I can take the FPGEE now.