Category: education

Hello, I’ll Be Your EMT Today…

My mid-term is next week so I am hella-studying. I spent about 4 hours at Starbucks in the Castro cranking out the work. I’m not even close yet. Over a 100 questions on the test covering about 30 chapters. All that said, I’m very excited about my training. I can’t wait till I finish so I can start seeing patients! I can’t believe I waited this long to do it. This swedish couple from Holland saw me studying at The Cove last night and started asking me all these questions. I discovered the husband is the equivelant of a paramedic over there. Too bad he was straight.

I won’t be doing much blogging for at least a couple of days. Today is my last day off this week and I’m hoping to cram 4 more hours in.

Over the past week, I’ve been updating the blog and fixing broken links, images, etc from back when I made the switch from Blogger. A lot of the old pics weren’t displaying properly. Now they show up. I haven’t resized all of’em yet so if you use IE to view my blog you’ll get an annoying gap on the middle column on any of the old pages where a pic loads. The pics are too wide for the column so IE just forces the whole column down. @#$%! (Hint, if you click on the “photo” category you can see every post w/a picture in it. Haven’t finished all of’em but most.)

Anyway, I’ve also been reading some of my old entries and I really felt better after reading this one. I was sorta down and whining about my lack of direction. I’m really proud of myself for getting shit done. Even if my debt has gone up a little instead of down, I’ve taken care of so many things that were nagging at me. I have this intense feeling of accomplishment.

Oh! Speaking of debt, $450.00 later, I got the scooter back yesterday. It purrs like a kitten again. hehehe. It needed so much work I really can’t complain about the cost. Another task I’d be delaying that was driving me nuts.

I’m feeling better so I’m off to the gym to work my “musk-uls”.

A Fond Fairwell

Not much time today, work is busy. My class from work got together this morning for a small memorial to our friend and coworker F. It was great in that no one tried to make her into something she wasn’t. We talked openly and honestly about the person we all knew and loved. We laughed and had a great time. We also caught up w/each other on our lives etc. It was a good morning.

Otherwise, just busy. This is my last day w/my trainee and I am so happy. I love her to death and she is doing fine but I’m just tuckered out. I’m looking forward to a blissful weekend (my weekend starts Sunday) of doing absolutely nothing. Well I shouldn’t say nothing. I have a big test this Tuesday and I haven’t had any chance to study. I plan to spend all day Monday studying like a fiend!

School House Rock II

So my classes are moving at an incredible speed. I’m learning stuff so quickly it’s hard to assimilate it all at times. Last week we started covering the human body and this week we covered “patient assessment”. I’m amazed how quickly you can assess someone’s entire state fo well being w/just a few quick checks. To say I’m enjoying my classes would be putting it mildy.

We lost a few more bodies again this week. I think we are almost down to a core group that is gonna stick it out. I don’t think some folks really understood how fast paced the class moves. I do have a bit of an edge as I work in the biz and have some familiarity w/the emergencies. Of course, talking to someone on the phone and seeing them in person are two different things. A lot of my classmates are more interested in being firefighters than medics but I’m going the medic route for sure.

How would you feel showing up at your door? “Hi my name is Moby, I’m here to help, what seems to be the problem?”…I like the sound of it already! lolol

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star…

On a happier note, I got my TB (Tuberculosis) test this week. I had to get it done for my certification. Here is my pretty star I got. lol

Pretty!

My doc is gay and his assistant is this incredibly charming and funny English PA. I haven’t been in to see them in about 6 months so it was giggles all around. Not to mention, he hired a very handsome new front desk clerk. Woofie.

Afterwards, I ended up bouncing around downtown looking for sales on clothing. I’m still trying to replace the ruined clothes. I managed to replace a fair share of the stuff that got pinkified (yeah I know it’s not a word). Speaking of laundry, I had to break down and do the deed again. I was so low I was wearing club wear to work. No ruined batches this time thankfully.

Oh, I almost forgot! I have a date. And he’s a blogger! I’ll be stingy and hold onto the details for now. More later, wish me luck?! And… I may have found a roommate. I’ve sorta been hoping to find a roomie come November (my lease is up) to cut back on expenses. So a buddy here may buy a condo soon and he was very excited about the idea of having a roomie. So cross both fingers that it goes better than the last fiasco!

I have more “stuff” to talk about but it’s late and the sleep monster is attacking. Ni’night.

Busy Bee

It’s been a busy week. I have a new trainee at work, on a new shift, recovering from food poisoning, moving furniture, and going to school. OY! I’m tired. I’m normally not a nap person but this week I’ve had to invest in some well deserved naps. I’m waaay behind on my blogroll too.

*The following rants are about my boring domestic details. Feel free to skip this post if you’re looking for something juicy*

I’m still adjusting to the new hours at work. Getting up earlier isn’t the problem, going to bed early is. It’s been playing havoc w/my gym schedule as well. I haven’t been consistently in two weeks. Last week was a bust due to my surprise case of food poisoning. (…like getting it is ever planned. I found out two of my classmates got it too. It was definitely the chinese place. Today, I stuck w/Subway.) Needless to say, I’m feeling all limp/flabby this week. Tomorrow I’m back at it and can’t wait. Hopefully, I’ll be feeling all beefy again real soon! Oh and my new trainee is off to a fine start. She is first rotation radio and really picking it up quickly.

Switching subjects, I often speak of Karma and any regular readers know I’m a big believer. I’ve been needing a new entertainment center. The old one, besides being busted, just wasn’t cutting it. I had crap stacked all over the floor. Right when I’m at my moodiest over it, I get a call from my friend Bobby. A distant relative of his is moving into a new house and wants to give one away. Now my first thought, ‘well if it’s free, it’s probably a piece of crap’. Bobby assured me it wasn’t and seemed to think I’d like it. Knowing how persnickity he can be about furniture, I went w/it and was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be the perfect size for my needs. It’s a light shade of pine which wouldn’t have been my first choice however, beggers can’t be choosers. Considering, I was about ready to plop down $700.00 for a new one from IKEA, it was a blessing. Getting it moved and setup was a whole other story. I’ll skip the details but the ordeal took way longer than it needed too. I also used the opportunity to exchange the DVD recorder I bought a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t working.

School is going really well. I ace’d the quiz today. And, I’m learning a lot very quickly. As I predicted, we lost a few more people. We’re down to about 20 people. Today, we learned how to take “vitals” and it isn’t as easy as the doctor’s make it look. Especially the diastolyc measurement. I had to do mine several times before I got the hang of it. We did a lot of hands on stuff today and I think the whole class got a kick out of it. I can’t wait to learn it all so I can start doing it!

Feeling blue, school and tagged

I’ve been pushing myself a lot this past week. So much so, I think I’ve sorta worn myself out. I’ve been feeling cranky the last couple of days. To make matters worse, I got a light case of food poisoning last night. I had some funky chinese food while on lunch from class yesterday. Last night, I was achey and feeling like shit so I went to be early. I woke up around 3:00am w/the chills and some tummy rumblings. Today, the chills are gone but the stomach is not happy. blech.

So, I’m sitting here in my towel blogging away and waiting for the Safeway delivery guy to show up. I forgot I scheduled my groceries to be delivered today. Of course, I scheduled the delivery the same time as my meeting at work. (I can be such a dunce sometimes). I called to see if he could be here early but no luck.

And speaking of class, it’s off to a great start. As expected there is a lot of reading and work I’m required to do on my own. We lost two people mid-day yesterday. No loss, as all they did was yack during class. It’s hard as hell to listen when someone is yacking incessantly in the background. I have a feeling we’ll lose a few more by next week. Yesterday was the first day we really got into the material and the instructor made a point of showing some of the negative sides of the job.

On a different note, I got tagged by roblog. He was tagged by addaboy.

The instructions are:

List ten songs that you are currently digging … it doesn’t matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they’re no good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog.

I’m supposed to tag five people afterwards. *I had to edit this post as I discovered several of my choices had already been tagged.*

Filthy Gorgeous – Scissor Sisters
Don’t Cha – Pussycat Dolls
Absolutely Not – Deborah Cox (hector remix)
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Daft Punk
Pappa Was A Rolling Stone – George Michael
You’ll Be Blessed – Elton John
You Make Me Sick – Pink
Got To Give It Up – Marvin Gaye
Shiny Disco Balls – Unk Author (remix)
Nookie – Limp Biscuit

*If any of these songs are on your must have list, email me*

And now I tag

brettcajun
v-hold
Anymatic
die fledermause
Musclebeast

*these were the first five on my blogroll random shuffle not already tagged today*

TGIF II

So it’s Friday. Tomorrow is my last day having a weekend day off for 5 months. I know I gave up weekends for school but, I am not looking forward to the change. Sunday is my first day on the new shift. Blech! Because of the way our shifts change, I get Saturday and then Tuesday/Wednesday off this coming week. The following week of the 22nd I’ll have straight Mon/Tue/Wed’s off thru December.

On a good note, I discovered that I only have to catch one muni bus from my house to the campus. It goes right by my apartment. It couldn’t have worked out better! (see my afore mentioned comments about karma)

No more Eagle on Sunday’s. No more midnight mass. (yeah right, me in church?!) The only time I’m on my knee is during… uh well, “prayer”. And speaking of prayer, Mostovic, who never blogs anymore, finally got settled in his new place. He is having trouble setting up his wifi. I may try to swing by tomorrow and help him. We were supposed to have lunch today but I got up really late. (don’t ask)

It also eats into the time I devote to charities. I won’t be as readily available for fundraisers. I’ve made allowances for the bigger events but I’ll miss a lot of the smaller ones. [insert sigh of the martyr here]. lol

Bobby is driving me nuts to go to Marine World. (I don’t know why they still call it that as they don’t have marine life anymore. It’s just a theme park now.) Anyway, I haven’t really felt like going. I wouldn’t mind going up to the river but I’ve only been once and I don’t remember how to get there. I certainly don’t plan on driving up there spending hours looking for it. *sigh II* Speaking of charity, if you can afford to purchase a calendar for the BCC, I urge you to do so. It’s the best $20.00 you’ll ever spend. You can go online to purchase the calendar and have it mailed to you. They make great gifts too.

I’m very happy to report that my comm. center donated over $1000 to the family of the sheriff deputy we lost earlier this week. The money will go toward a college trust for his 8 year old son. Sometimes, people can do a good thing!

I’m doing overtime tonight so no late night shenanigans for me. *sigh III*

School – Revisited

I confirmed my registration for school today. I’ve been having trouble getting my confimation of scheduling from the Matriculation office. I’m exempt from matriculation as I know my skill level, class needed, and I certainly don’t need to meet w/a counselor about my “career choices”.

The only step now is to pay for tuition and books. I can’t do that until Aug 2nd for some reason. Otherwise, I’m all set.

The only downer is the campus is across the city from me so it will be a haul on my scooter every week. I guess it can’t be all roses. lol

School House Rock

So I registered for my classes today. I had to do a bit of finagling (fee-naag-uhling) w/my work schedule to get it to work. Not only am I losing my weekends off but I’m switching to a different shift. The one good thing is I’m on 4-10 shift now so I’ll have 3 days off. The bad news is those three days off are Mon,Tues, Wed. I know, it sucks but it’s only for 6 months. Plus, I’m working days now 11-9pm. I still get to sleep late. I just need to decide if I wanna do the gym before or after work.

As for school, I chose an accelerated training so I only have to attend one 8-hour class each week. That still gives me two days off to relax. Not bad all things considered. So much for the social life I guess. OH wait! I don’t have a social life. Problem solved.