What will they think of next?

I came across this over my internet surfing and thought it was a neat idea.
http://www.ladyada.net/make/minty/

Mentally closing the ambulance doors

So everyone who is a paramedic or anybody else involved in public safety knows we bring our work home with us. It's impossible not too. We see the worst of humanity and we see the best. We see life, death, stupid and insane. We see blood, we see vomit. We get spit on and cussed at. And for the most part our friends are the same ones we work with. The same one who also spent coutless hours in the back of an ambulance, or driving a firetruck or screaming through intersections in a cop car. So it makes it impossible to leave our work at work. We vent, we need to vent other wise we would go compleatly crazy. We also make inapproriate jokes and laugh at inapproriate times. Things the normal sheep of humanity would not understand. They do not understand us. Even those who was love and care about who do not do this type of work do not understand. I don't care haw many episodes of ER, Grey's Anatomy, or Third Watch they say they have seen ( as a side note I am not allowed to watch any of said shows when my roomate it home becae I tend to yell at the TV when they do something wrong) I talk about wirk to my circle who don't understand, it can be frustratin actually, because you have to preface every story with the background, all theinformation about the acryonyms, the treatment. You can't just tell them you treated a MI with NTG, MSO4 and ASA, or the your CVA patient was unresponsive or that he was having psuedo-seizures. You have to tell the back story and that makes for a very LOOOONG story. Fuck. So when a group of paramedics get together for say poker and tequila we talk about work. The long hours, the fucked up trauma, the compleatly and udderly crazy bitch that was singing Ace of Base we had in the back of our truck.


Now, here comes the relief. We call it the time-out helmet. The time-out helmet is a blue, kevlar helmet that gets issued to the TEMS team. (TEMS is the super secret squirrl Tactical Medic Team that go out with the SWAT teams) The rules are if at said poker night that you talk about work for more than eight minutes you have to wear the helmet, for at least 45 mins OR until the next dumbass talks about work. Sometimes it works, sometime it doesn't especially if one of us has had a bad day. But for the most part it keeps us from talking too much, for the helmet is heavy and you look ridiculas with it on. So that helps.

Also you have to mentally close the ambulance doors. Slam them shut as you leave the station. Bang on the doors like they do on TV, and watch it drive away. And with it the death, the sickness, the crazy, the stupid. You have to let it go.

Music Beta. Version 2.2

More 30 second reviews of my new music purchases

Jack Johnson and Friends
Sing-alongs and Lullibies for the film Curious George

Alright...I love Jack Johnson and I really love Curious George. That little monkey brings back memories of being read to as a wee little lass, along with Goodnight Moon, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Goose Goofs off, but now I'm getting off subject, Anyways this is a fun little album. Innocent in a little kid kind of way, like the tracks "The Sharing Song" about you guessed it sharing and Three Rs" Reduce, Recycle and Reuse, A perfect compainion to the new movie about that curious little monkey and The Man in the Yellow Hat (I wonder how many more times I can say little in this review). He got some of his friends guesting on it Including Ben Harper, Matt Costas, and G Love. Favs include "Broken", "People Watching" and the White Strips Cover "We are gonna be Friends".
****1/2

KT Tunstall
Eye to the Telescope

Tunstall said it best herself, this is "Acoustic Folk Rock Girl Stomp" What fun. This Scottish import is great. Love Her...WhooHoo
****

Now frankly I haven't bought much full albums is a while. Mostly just random tracks from iTunes, however I have also discovered the podcast, a bit late I know. I have been procratinating on my acting packet listening to The Answer Bitch and SPINsider. And I have to say the Answer Bitch is quite funny, entertaining, wonderful, all of the above and I love her little bitchlings (her interns).

Thats it for me until next time...

Slow shift

It was a full moon last night and I'll be damn if we didn't transport a single patient yesterday. Three calls and nobody needed a ride to the hospital. I geuss the cold is keeping everyone inside. The firemen were busier than we were. It's been a slow couple of shifts, so that probally means a bad call is over the horizon. That how it works for me we have slow shifts then BAM a sick as shit patient. I aslo am finishing up my acting crew cheif packet so that by March I will be Acting. They want to put me in charge of a truck, what are they thinking? But I will say my partner is helping me with it. He is pushing me to be more self confident in my decision making, which is my flaw as a medic. I tend to rely on my crew cheif partner alot for decisions on transport ( should we or shouldn't we) or whether or not to treat really aggressivly on those patients that fall into that grey area of sick ( you know, yeah they might be sick, but are they so sick as to treat with all the drugs and other goodies in my arsonal, or can I make it to the hospital and let he MDs figure it out. I know my fellow medics know what I'm talking about). I have the skills down, my drug calcs need some work. I'm an artist damnit not a math whiz. But my medicine is usually right on. At least that what all my evals tell me.

I also got my tax refund which is nice because this past check was really short as I did not have any OT on it because I had a few sick days when I was down for the count with a really heinous cold. I even had some of the cash let over to buy myself one little new toy. An iPod. I had an older iPod but the click wheel quit working, so I upgraded to a new video one. I must say it is a cool little thing. I named her Lolita for she is a slick, sexy black as opposed to my old white one who I had named Lola after a Kink's song. I'm a big ol' geek I know. I really need professional help. But simple pleasures amuse simple minds.

My days off

well it's getting longer and longer between posts and I apologize. I have been expressing my creativity through other outlets recently and had a serious case of writer's block. I am reaching the end of my 8 day streach off. It's been nice, not having to think about whether or not I was going to have to dodge spit, supervisors, and any other myrid of substances that can possible get tossed at me during any given shift. I haven't even thought about my Acting Crew Cheif package for a week. I have just wondered what bottle of Yellow Tail will I be enjoying tonight. Tonight's choice the Shiraz. I have also been watching hours of the CSI francise. All of them...For hours...I just finished season three of Miami. I'm such a geek. I could sit here and tell yall all about the pors and cons of all three. I have also become a champ of the Horacio Caine Drinking game.

I also spent the weekend running amock in Atlanta GA. My best friend and I were going to go to see Brandi Carlile play at some hole in the wall joint, however the show sold out before I could get tickets. But we went anyways and saw some of her old friends and my family. I also spent a weeks pay at Ikea. Who needs electircity when I have this fabulous new duvet, right? My BFF and I take these raodtrips occasionally. Our last one was basiclly us getting in the car and driving south till we felt like stopping. We ended up in St. Augustine FL. This time we planned on see this show, but even though it was sold out we still went and hung out with my wonderful cousins. These are the same cousins that banked my trip of New Orleans last year for Mardi Gras. Took care of my plane ticket, hotel at a five star hotel on Canal Street, and pass to the Endymoin Ball at the Superdome. All just so I could go with them and expereince the whole Mardi Gras. They are wonderfully generous when it comes to me...and my friends.