No life or death today, just nothing.

I spent most of my day off internally debating the pros and cons of getting up and going to the gym. The con list eventually won out so I stayed home and shopped for shoes over the internet. Mr Steve Madden and Chinese Laundry got a large chunk of my paycheck today. It was storming most of the day anyway so it put a bit of a damper on my regular day off schedule that includes taking my camera out to take a few shots and going to the beach to burn my fair irish skin. I did stretch a few canvases, however that took much more energy than I planned to use today and I lost my interest to paint. It was late in the afternoon, after my nap, that I decided to at least take a shower. I probaly should be more motivated to do more things on my days off. But why? I spend my days working way to hard doing back breaking work, putting myself at all kinds of risks for a small wage. And yes, it is a fullfilling job and yes I enjoy it very much, it's just hard work. So I feel that I can spend my off days doing absolutly nothing.

I'm in the process of reading two books (Cat's Cradle and The DaVinci Code) and just bought several new CDs that I have promptly uplaoded onto my iPod. There just is nothing better than laying on the sofa while it rains outside, reading and listing to new music. I have a bit of a music and book addiction anyways. I am told I have an impressive collection of both, many of my friends tend to come over if only to "shop" in my library of both music and books. I guess It's because Music and Writing are two art forms I just cannot excel in so people who can have my upmost respect. A good book can make the whole world dissapear. I never understood why my father would sit at the end of the dining room table for hours on the weakend reading unitl I was older with a reall big girl job. Its a realese form the harsh reality of the world. ANd let me tell you nothing brings reality crashing down on you like than walking into a house crawling with roaches (not palmetto bugs, but nasty trash roaches) and not knowing where to put you gear bags down for fear of renagade bugs crawling into them. I have been in a house that the health department had to BURN TO THE GROUND because of all the animals dead and alive had rendered this house unsuitable for living. This woman had (and I'm not exagerating) 150 cats, 75 dogs, 2 ducks, 4 squrrils, 3 racoons and a rabbit living in her house. The floor had four layers of carpet and it was squishy Dishes in the sink from , if I had to guess, circa 1975. However the most upsetting was a dead cat under the dining room table. The ammonia levels in this house rendered the womans son unconscious which is why we were summonded. After that call was over my partner and I had to but our unit out of service and go get our ammonia and other blood levels checked. And my friends wonder why I drink. And why, pray tell, do I put myself through all this? Two words...KARMA POINTS (Actually, Read my Artist in the Ambulance post and thats the real reason.) I love what I do. I get to drive a three ton truck fully equipted with sirens and an airhorn through rush hour traffic at break-neck speed ( well ten miles over the posted speed limit if my supervior asks). And there just is nothing more fullfilling than receiving a thank you from a patient or patients family. It's a rush that you can't get from any other drug.