Father's Eyes

This is a story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played. This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.

Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on." Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon. "Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted is worst player in this close playoff game.

But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star.

His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard.

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"

He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

Kirsten-Wave: Acceptance Letter vs Offer Letter

What's going on now with Wave Training and Kirsten Recruitment?

Kirsten claimed that they've changed the scheme on how they will be able to send students to UK for National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) since they have established a new partnership with the just built Wave Training but still, to my point of view, issues arose and some still unresolved. When I attended their orientation before, Kirsetn informed their applicants that a student should stay in U.K. and will finish two NVQ courses within 2 years (NVQ 2&3 for caregiver level, NVQ 3&4 for nurses); however, here comes the new scheme of adding an additional year (that makes it 3 years) for the students to stay in U.K. to continue their studies. The question now is, what course are they going to take? Will the nurses able to take NVQ 5 already? Guess not. People in Kirsten claimed that it would be a "theoretical" subject, a lot reacted for it. Whatta!? What could be that theoretical subject? Kirsten answered that they don't know yet but it will be disseminated soon. Say what? Why implement something that is nothing? Just a suggestion for Kirsten, try to put everything in black-and-white.

Regarding the additional year, how about those applicants that have already offer letters but they haven't departed yet? Will Kirsten bother to change their contracts?

I heard some info from people that Kirsten is already giving "acceptance" letters so that the applicants can start their UK Visa application. Now, a UK Visa is good only for three months, beyond that it will be forfeited. Now don't tell me that an acceptance letter is the same as an offer letter. What will happen to an applicant that has already a UK Visa but doesn't have yet an offer letter from his/her possible employer and it's nearing the 3-months period? Will Kirsten going to force that applicant to go to UK and find an employer by himself/herself to support his/her studies? Or, will Kirsten backup the re-application of the UK Visa when it's forfeited?

When I went to the office of Kirsten the last time I was able to see on their visitors' log book that a number of people were going there to withdraw their applications. Maybe this had triggered the people of Kirsten to gather those applicants (who don't have offer letters) in a meeting. Hmmm.

I overheard someone saying yesterday that an applicant (A) was contacted by Kirsten regarding the availability of the acceptance letter; but A is actually withdrawing the application. However, here's the catch, Kirsten told A that the $500 deposit cannot be withdrawn anymore because A has already an acceptance letter. What!!! Mehn, the acceptance letter is from the school or training institution (Wave) not from the employer. The employer sends 'offer letter'. I still remember what I heard during the orientation that once an applicant had already an offer available then he/she cannot retract the $500 even though he/she will withdraw application.

What is the purpose of the acceptance letter? For formality and technicality sake, I believe. If you've decided to pay the $500 deposit then that means you're already accepted by the training institution. But why pay first to be accepted? Hmmm. There is a big difference between Wave's "acceptance" letter from the employer's "offer" letter. Correct me if I'm wrong and let's grab a beer.

Euphoria and Prednisone

One of the main symptoms of falling sick is feeling bad - the technical term for describing the basket of symptoms including pain, inflammation, possible fever, problems breathing, and so on. It can be really depressing to feel sick. So when a drug makes you feel good, does that mean you're getting better, or is this one of those adverse side effects you hear so much about? When people take Prednisone, it usually has an immediate effect in reducing inflammation and easing many of the physical symptoms. This improvement naturally lifts your spirits. You're starting to feel better. However, some people find their spirits getting slightly out of hand. The medical expression is "euphoria". Some older patients experience a sense of the years falling away. It leaves them feeling ten or more years younger. Although this may not sound a bad thing, you need to be cautious. Even though you may only be taking a small daily dose of Prednisone, there are other side effects. In older people, the most dangerous is osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones caused by a loss of calcium. You may miss the signs of muscular weakness because you feel good. Similarly, in younger people, the sense of happiness can mask other symptoms that would warn you of problems. So, if the euphoria persists, you should go see your local health provider and get sad again. Although Prednisone is an excellent drug, you need to be able to monitor your body accurately for other side effects.