novelcsanchez - Tumblr blog

[novelcsanchez]

Thank You and Merry Christmas!

I have been staying home for the past few days as I caught COVID-19, again. I could moan all day, but this isn’t  what this post is all about. I am writing today to say THANK YOU. This year has been really challenging. I have to admit, at the beginning of the year, I did put too much on my to-do list. I moved jobs, I moved home, wedding planning, etc. My mum also had a medical emergency towards…

[novelcsanchez]

Aortic Aneurysm Awareness

On my previous blog post, I explained that my mother is diagnosed with Thoracic Ascending Aortic Aneurysm and had undergone repair for it. Her surgeon and attending physician were quite happy with my Mama’s progress considering how delicate her condition was post-surgery. Mama had a prolonged stay in Surgical ICU due to some respiratory complications. The doctors were all saying the same thing,…

[novelcsanchez]

Hi guys, my mother had an emergency repair of a thoracic ascending aortic aneurysm last Thursday. She just came out of Surgical ICU and is recovering well. Myself and my fiancé Raymond are raising some funds to help with Mama's medical bills. We are incredibly grateful for those who are sending their love and support to our family at this time. To those who came and donated blood, my heartfelt thanks to you and may God bless you. If you are considering donating to help my mum's medical bill, many many thanks❤️❤️😘. Please follow the link below. GOFUND❤️

#aneurysmawareness #aneurysmrepair #gofundme #fundraising #help #medicalbills #philippineheartcentre #heartcentre #bigcase #majorsurgery #aorticaneurysmrepair #aorticaneurysm #incentivespirometry #expandthelungs

[novelcsanchez]

24/7 Bedside Nurse. Please donate to our gofundme for Mama's medical bills. Thank you!

view from my makeshift bed at the ward in PHC https://www.gofundme.com/static/js/embed.js They found something on my 2D – Echo, I need to have a CT Scan. – Mama My Mama, she’s only 63 year old, Hypertensive but not diabetic, she’s also a non-smoker. She’s been preparing for her first travel to the UK to attend my wedding to Raymond on the 18th of November. Her visa’s been sorted, she have…

[novelcsanchez]

Applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain in UK? What do you need to prepare?

“Union Jack flying at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, UK” by Roy Tanck/ CC0 1.0 If you have been living and working in the UK for more than 5 years, you can now apply for “settlement” or “Indefinite Leave to Remain”. This is the next step before applying for British citizenship. ILR will allow you to live and work here in the UK for as long as you like! A lot of Filipino nurses, like myself,…

[novelcsanchez]

My Last Day at King’s College Hospital

[novelcsanchez]

Do you still want to work as a nurse in the UK?

Do you still want to work as a nurse in the UK?

Stay safe, stay home. As of yesterday, 1,348 more deaths have been recorded in the UK, which brings the total number of deaths to 97,329 (source: BBC UK). Admittedly, the government is not handling the situation well. They just brought up swabbing people in the airports and putting up quarantine hotels…which I think is several months behind than other countries. Heck, even a third world country…

[novelcsanchez]

What's your latest Netflix binge?

What’s your latest Netflix binge?

“Dear reader, if there is a scandal, I shall uncover it.” — Lady Whistledown, Bridgerton This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. Thank you. What are you watching on Netflix these days? In the past years, I barely watch any TV series because I had so many things to do. It doesn’t help that I don’t have a telly, or a Netflix…

[novelcsanchez]

Happy New Year!

I know, I am late to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year, but, its better late than never! I took some days off (because I have plenty of unused annual leaves) and I finally, have some time to sit down and make an entry here. It’s been a while since I blogged. I have been busy for the past few months with work and other things. 2020 was indeed a very challenging year, but it looks like…

[novelcsanchez]

Nursing during COVID-19 Pandemic

Hello fellow nurses, I hope you all are doing well. I know some of us are down for the count because of being exposed to patients who are COVID-19 positive, please get well soon!

COVID-19 is spreading quickly across Europeand the continent is currently the epicentre of the pandemic. Panic buying everywhere. I went to my local shop early this morning and the shelves are bare. No pasta was spared…

[novelcsanchez]

Beware of pickpockets in London!

Last night, on the way to Tottenham Court Road Odeon, I got pickpocketed! I lost my mobile phone and 2 cards. Although I was quick to freeze my credit card, my Revolut card was used twice in a store in Tottenham Court Road. I’ve never imagined this ever happening to me, ever! I thought I was smart and careful enough, since pick pockets are just as rampant in Manila,I thought I knew how to avoid…

[novelcsanchez]

Brexit? How does it affect foreign nurses?

Brexit? How does it affect foreign nurses?

I worked with a lot of foreign nationals, mostly Filipinos like me, but the NHS employs plenty of EU nationals as well. Now that the UK officially have left the EU, how does its affect the foreign nationals who works for the NHS?

Since I’m Filipino, I feel like I’m not directly affected by Brexit. Although in macro level, everyone is affected because of the ramification of Brexitto the economy,…

[novelcsanchez]

The Eiffel Tower at night. Paris, France.

I’ve been to Paris many times and people may think that it’s my favorite city, it isn’t. I kid you not. From the moment we arrived in the city, my train pass just wouldn’t work and I had to queue four times to get it working. At one point I verbalized how I hated the Metro and that very same day, there was a bomb scare at the same station where my ticket quit working. Anyway, despite my unfortunate experience at the Metro, we had a pretty fun 24 hours in Paris.

Paris is only a few hours flight from London, so, it’s a very good weekend getaway destination. We got cheap tickets from a budget airline and my roommate booked an affordable hotel which is not too far from the city centre. Our only goal on this trip is to see the Eiffel Tower at night. The others are just a bonus. I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower at night once when I went to Paris with my relatives.

Here are some of my photos taken on my 24 hours trip to Paris.

It’s been raining non-stop today and the winds are too strong due to the storm Ciara. I hope you all stay warm and safe.

Thanks for dropping by!

Novel

24 Hours in Paris I've been to Paris many times and people may think that it's my favorite city, it isn't.

[novelcsanchez]

This was back in September 2018, that same week where we went to Edinburgh and Manchester…we visited Oxford on a weekend. I’ve been to Oxford once with my Aunt and I loved it. Here are some photos I took on that trip.

  I didn’t manage to get in the Bodleian Library, but we did go to the Ashmolean Museum. It’s definitely a must-see collection in Oxford.

I still have so many stuff to post! I went to LA in November 2019 and NYC last month. I’ll be travelling to Porto in two weeks time. Can’t wait to share it all here.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Novel

Day Trip To Oxford This was back in September 2018, that same week where we went to Edinburgh…

[novelcsanchez]

New Prescription Glasses!

This post is not sponsored, I wish it was. LOL. I just want to tell the world how fast and easy I got my new prescription glasses. My glasses fell apart while I was on my break last Tuesday. I had to go home quickly (my place is an 8 minute walk from the hospital) to grab my spare spectacles. My spare glasses was made in the Philippines. It was made of good quality materials, however, it was a…

[novelcsanchez]

Technically, it was one night and one day in Manchester. We left Edinburgh around midday and we traveled to Manchester by train. We found a cheap hotel that is not too far from the city center. We arrived late in the afternoon. We just had enough day light to check in to our hotel, rest, then look for a place to eat. My roommate wanted to go to China town, which, apparently was the wrong choice. We ended up walking around and found Shoryu. It’s a popular ramen place in London too, so, we are familiar with the menu. I ordered the special ramen, and it was delicious. The meat was so tender, it melts in my mouth and the broth was very tasty. It was a great meal. We didn’t walked around the city at night because we were a bit scared. To be fair, we were all girls in a strange city. Plus, it was a Friday night, people were partying and some were drunk. We went back to our hotel and slept.

The next day, we took an Uber to the Manchester Cathedral. There’s a fee if you’d like to take pictures inside the cathedral. I didn’t pay, so, I only have photos outside of the cathedral. We took plenty of photos. Most of the tourist attractions are walking distance, I don’t think we used the bus while we were there. We only used Uber the entire we were there. I remember taking pictures outside the National Football Museum and Manchester Arena. I’m not a football fan, so, I didn’t go inside the museum. We also went to the Manchester Town Hall, however, the town hall is closed due to construction. We had lunch at Yard & Coop, which my roommate found online. They have a very interesting menu and the food was good.

My favorite place that we visited in Manchester is undoubtedly The John Rylands Library. I love visiting libraries and bookshops in general, the older the library the better! The library opened to the public in 1900 and was funded by Enriquetta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband John Rylands. The books aren’t just the treasure here, the building itself is amazing. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, and the library has a magical feel. I took so much photos there, I didn’t want to leave. LOL. Definitely a must see in Manchester.

We left Manchester later that day. I enjoyed our one day trip to Manchester, but I’m not sure if I ever want to go back. Maybe if someone invites me and show me the best places where locals go in Manchester, then I might just go back. For now, I have other cities and countries to see!

That weekend, we also went to Oxford for a day. That will be up on my next blog post.

Have a great day ahead!

Novel

A Day in Manchester Technically, it was one night and one day in Manchester. We left Edinburgh around midday and we traveled to…

[novelcsanchez]

Day One at Edinburgh

My Schengen visa expired in July 2019 and our planned trip to France and Spain was cancelled because we were unable to secure a date for the visa application. It was a little disappointing but we persevered and got a visa application date that will allow us to travel to Paris. However, the visa application site is in Edinburgh. Me and my roommates requested for a week annual leave on September  intending to use it in France and Spain. We used it to travel to Edinburgh, Manchester and Oxford.

It was fall, and I thought that I brought enough fall clothes…I was wrong. I should have brought winter clothes instead. It was very cold. I had to buy a jacket in Primark to combat the cold. Edinburgh is a lovely city, colder than London but just as busy. Tourists like us are aplenty. We only stayed for three days and two nights but I enjoyed it. Our hotel is near the bus station and not too far from the centre, its just one bus ride and the rest are walking distance. We walked along the Royal Mile on our first day and took so much pictures.

Day two involved more walking and a little bit of hiking. We went so Calton Hill and did some souvenir shopping. There’s so much to see and do in Edinburgh, If you’re a Harry Potter fan, it’s a must to take a picture of the “birthplace of Harry Potter”.

  On our third day, we went to Dean Village and took more photos at Princes Street. We also had a quick lunch at Ask Italian before travelling to Manchester. It was such a great experience seeing Edinburgh. My only advise is, even if it’s summer, bring a nice and warm coat if you’re visiting Edinburgh.

I’ll post my Manchester photos next. I’m trying to update this blog as often as I could. I used to be really good….but life happened, so, yeah. Almost no blog for three months! hahaha.

Thanks for dropping by, leave some comments if you want to say hi.

Novel

Edinburgh Trip 2019 My Schengen visa expired in July 2019 and our planned trip to France and Spain was cancelled because we were unable to secure a date for the visa application.