My Blog

Checking In

2012-01-08T21:25:00.001-05:00

Not much going on right now...just work, work, work....I might be getting some extra hours in the next few weeks...we'll see.

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-29T00:37:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I was able to score a week off from work to drive to the 603 for some family time. I hadn't been up there for about a year and a half. I forgot how cold it can get up there in the winter time.

One of my cousins is with child. She announced it is a girl and they are naming her after my grandmother. That's pretty cool. My 99-almost-100-year-old great-grandmother wants to know when I'm going to start bringing her some great-great-grandchildren. I told her I need to find a good girl that can put up with me. Havn't been able to find any yet. Maybe in the new year.

Anyone have any New Year's Resolutions? I don't have resolutions, but I do have 2012 goals. I read somewhere that you have a higher chance of completeing goals if they are in writing. A couple months ago I wrote out 10 goals to complete in 2012. They are as follows:

2012 Goals
Complete by 12/31/2012
1. Get in shape
2. Obtain CWP (completed 11/2011 CWP card by 02/2012)
3. Complete Berlitz Spanish program
4. Pay off Car
5. Become CCEMT-P (have textbook and registered for class 3/12/2012-03/29/2012)
6. Become Dive certified
7. Start Excelsior college
8. Start relationship
9. Roll retirement to stocks
10. Get house ready to rent out

I have already completed one goal and am signed up for a CCEMT-P class already. Maybe there is something to writing your goals down.

JailBird

2011-12-10T23:49:00.002-05:00

My partner is a southern, country gal. She talks southern and she acts southern. She is from the Anderson county and has lived there all of her life. She is one of the nicest, sweetest people I've ever met.

I just walked into the Day Room at work and my partner was sitting on a chair reading the newest version of Jailbirds. I jokingly asked if she was looking for her kinfolk. She burst out laughing and pointed out all of her friends and relatives mugshots.

I was joking, she wasn't.

Occupy a Job!!

2011-12-05T06:08:00.003-05:00

The whole Occupy Wallstreet thing is getting pretty old. I, for one, am getting tired of hearing about it.

I have no problem with people exercising their right to free speech, but their right ends when it interferes with the majority. They can protest all they want, but they need to start applying for the appropriate permits and taking the necessary steps.

In D.C. yesterday, police had a standoff with protesters perched on top of a hastily erected building in the middle of a public park. There were no permits obtained, so it was built illegally. Also, looking at the pictures, it didn't look very safe.

Again, I have no problem with someone's right to assemble and right to protest, but these inconsiderate buffoons are costing tax payer's money. Instead of trying to actively correct a problem, they are actively creating a problem.

Enough is enough!!

Time for an Update

2011-11-25T01:03:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I spent some time before work with my sister and her roommates. It was quite tasty.

I took another hand gun class this past week at Allen Arms. It was Defensive Handgun Level II. What an excellent class! We had small simulations which included shooting from a seated position (in a car or ate a table), retention shooting, low-light and moving targets. Unfortunately, the next class I would like to take, Defensive Handgun Level III, is a significant price increase. Since overtime has dried up at my place of employee, I am currently looking for a part time job. I am also reading an excellent book called "Tactical Pistol Shooting." I'm hoping to get techniques and tips out of the book that I can incorporate at the range to improve my shooting. I'm going to try to compete in the Action Pistol match December 15th at Allen Arms.

I will be going to my hometown in less than a month!! I havn't been to NH since August of last year. I am looking forward to seeing mi familia.

Busy Week

2011-11-15T01:43:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I did take, and successfully pass, the Concealed Weapons Class. Now I just need to wait until February to receive my permit. I scored 50/50 on the written exam and 48/50 on the range. The only reason why it wasn't 50/50 on the range was because somehow, 2 of my 9mm rounds ended up in my .40 cal magazines. Oh well.

H.R. 822 is scheduled for the House of Representatives floor later today. For those that do not know, it creates a national CWP reciprocity. If you hold a CWP in one state, you can carry in any state (similar to a driver's license being recognized). I definitely want this to pass!! You better vote for it Congressman Gowdy!

Busy Weekend

2011-11-03T05:43:00.003-05:00

I am planning on taking a CWP class this Saturday. I'm so excited!!!

This Sheriff has my vote. http://www.wyff4.com/news/29632726/detail.html

Ammunition

2011-10-19T22:10:00.008-05:00

Not much going on at work right now, so I'm looking online for some good ammunition so I can start stocking up for the coming zombie apocolypse. This might get expensive...

Open Minded Irony

2011-10-17T20:54:00.006-05:00

I was working with someone a few months ago and had an interesting discussion. He and I do not think alike and we do not have the same beliefs or opinions. He told me that we need to be open minded to other people's beliefs. I told him I am open minded. In my opinion, people can believe whatever the want. It doesn't matter if I think they're wrong, they still have a right to believe it. He didn't like that statement. He told me that by my belief someone's opinion is wrong is being closed minded.

That got me to thinking. Is he not experiencing the same close-mindedness by saying I am wrong to say someone else is wrong? My beliefs shape and define who I am. Many ideologies today leave no openness for oposing views. For instance, I believe action "A" is wrong. My friend Bubba, believes action "A" is the right thing to do. If Bubba ask me my views on action "A," and I do not tell him I think it is wrong, does that not belittle my convictions?

I'm Back

2011-10-15T00:15:00.006-05:00

I'm back to writing on my blog.

I have completed my Associate in Applied Science Degree in Emergency Medical Technology. I also will not be working as many hours as I did before. I also have more time to invest in blogging because I am working night shift, which is much more relaxed and can be slower.

We'll see how I do.

Reform

2010-01-14T11:05:00.003-05:00

I went to the local Walmart the other night after getting off work late at my second job. I am overweight, but I'm trying to correct that. I bought about $60 worth of food to last me the week. With the exception of a multi-pack of Tombstone single pizzas, everything I bought was healthy: eggs, milk, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, celery, etc. It took me 20 minutes to collect all of the items I intended to purchase. I spent the next half hour standing in line waiting to pay for my purchases. Oh, did I mention this was 8:45 pm?

I was standing behind a young lady, I would say late teens, early twenties. She was three times the size of me. Each thigh was bigger than my waist. I know this is hard to believe, but I'm not exaggerating. She had an over-flowing cart. Everything in her cart was a name brand item. She had 8 bags of chips: Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos (and others not ending in -o's). She had 2 packages of Oreos. She had a multi-pack of Good Humour ice cream (in January, no less). Six boxes of unhealthy, name brand cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Captain Crunch, Fruit Loops, etc. Nothing in her cart was healthy or even generic. Grand total: $327. How did she pay for it? She didn't. She used her EBT card, also known as food stamps.

I am a vocal person. Usually I call it as I see it. It took every bit of my will power not to call her out to say how disgusting she was. Am I being cruel? I don't think so. She has probably never worked an honest days work in her life and thinks we, the productive members of society, need to support her.

Now, because she is a young, grossly-morbidly fat lady with food stamps, I'm going to assume the following. She has Medicaid. This means, unless she loses weight, she is going to have problems with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and a myriad other health problems. All paid for by the same people that paid for her groceries. We probably also pay for housing and utility subsidies. Can anyone else see how all of this is adding up?

President Obama is spouting health care reform. Why not have a federally mandated welfare reform? First, there needs to be mandatory drug testing for all individuals on welfare. There should be a law stating that only generic products can be paid for by food stamps. Furthermore, anyone on welfare should not be allowed to reach 300, 400 or 500 pounds. There should be mandatory weighing and weight loss counseling.

My Next President (kinda long, but worth the read)

2008-07-20T10:17:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I really have to ask you to seriously consider what you’ve heard, and now this is the end of the evening so to speak. I heard a prize fight manager say to his fellow who was losing badly, “David, listen to me. It’s not what’s he’s doing to you. It’s what you’re not doing.
Ladies and gentlemen, these people set, they opened the doors, they gave us the right, and today, ladies and gentlemen, in our cities and public schools we have fifty percent drop out. In our own neighborhood, we have men in prison. No longer is a person embarrassed because they’re pregnant without a husband. No longer is a boy considered an embarrassment if he tries to run away from being the father of the unmarried child.
Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic and lower middle economic people are [not*] holding their end in this deal. In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on. In the old days, you couldn’t hooky school because every drawn shade was an eye. And before your mother got off the bus and to the house, she knew exactly where you had gone, who had gone into the house, and where you got on whatever you had one and where you got it from. Parents don’t know that today.
I’m talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was two? Where were you when he was twelve? Where were you when he was eighteen, and how come you don’t know he had a pistol? And where is his father, and why don’t you know where he is? And why doesn’t the father show up to talk to this boy?
The church is only open on Sunday. And you can’t keep asking Jesus to ask doing things for you. You can’t keep asking that God will find a way. God is tired of you. God was there when they won all those cases. 50 in a row. That’s where God was because these people were doing something. And God said, “I’m going to find a way.” I wasn’t there when God said it… I’m making this up. But it sounds like what God would do.
We cannot blame white people. White people… white people don’t live over there. They close up the shop early. The Korean ones still don’t know us as well…they stay open 24 hours.
I’m looking and I see a man named Kenneth Clark. He and his wife Mamie…Kenneth’s still alive. I have to apologize to him for these people because Kenneth said it straight. He said you have to strengthen yourselves…and we’ve got to have that black doll. And everybody said it. Julian Bond said it. Dick Gregory said it. All these lawyers said it. And you wouldn’t know that anybody had done a damned thing.
50 percent drop out rate, I’m telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse, I want somebody to love me, and as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother, and great grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them. All this child knows is “gimme, gimme, gimme.” These people want to buy the friendship of a child….and the child couldn’t care less. Those of us sitting out here who have gone on to some college or whatever we’ve done, we still fear our parents. And these people are not parenting. They’re buying things for the kid. $500 sneakers, for what? They won’t buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics.
Kenneth Clark, somewhere in his home in upstate New York…just looking ahead. Thank God, he doesn’t know what’s going on, thank God. But these people, the ones up here in the balcony fought so hard. Looking at the incarcerated, these are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! Then we all run out and are outraged, “The cops shouldn’t have shot him” What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?. I wanted a piece of pound cake just as bad as anybody else. And I looked at it and I had no money. And something called parenting said if get caught with it you’re going to embarrass your mother. Not you’re going to get your butt kicked. No. You’re going to embarrass your mother. You’re going to embarrass your family.
If knock that girl up, you’re going to have to run away because it’s going to be too embarrassing for your family. In the old days, a girl getting pregnant had to go down South, and then her mother would go down to get her. But the mother had the baby. I said the mother had the baby. The girl didn’t have a baby. The mother had the baby in two weeks. We are not parenting. Ladies and gentlemen, listen to these people, they are showing you what’s wrong. People putting their clothes on backwards. –isn’t that a sign of something going on wrong?
Are you not paying attention, people with their hat on backwards, pants down around the crack. Isn’t that a sign of something, or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up. Isn’t it a sign of something when she’s got her dress all the way up to the crack…and got all kinds of needles and things going through her body. What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans, they don’t know a damned thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed and all that crap and all of them are in jail. When we give these kinds names to our children, we give them the strength and inspiration in the meaning of those names. What’s the point of giving them strong names if there is not parenting and values backing it up?
Brown Versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem. We’ve got to take the neighborhood back. We’ve got to go in there. Just forget telling your child to go to the Peace Corps. It’s right around the corner. It’s standing on the corner. It can’t speak English. It doesn’t want to speak English. I can’t even talk the way these people talk. “Why you ain’t where you is go, ra,” I don’t know who these people are. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. Then I heard the father talk. This is all in the house. You used to talk a certain way on the corner and you got into the house and switched to English. Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t land a plane with “why you ain’t…” You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. There is no Bible that has that kind of language. Where did these people get the idea that they’re moving ahead on this? Well, they know they’re not, they’re just hanging out in the same place, five or six generations sitting in the projects when you’re just supposed to stay there long enough to get a job and move out.
Now look, I’m telling you. It’s not what they’re doing to us. It’s what we’re not doing. 50 percent drop out. Look, we’re raising our own ingrown immigrants. These people are fighting hard to be ignorant. There’s no English being spoken, and they’re walking and they’re angry. Oh God, they’re angry and they have pistols and they shoot and they do stupid things. And after they kill somebody, they don’t have a plan. Just murder somebody. Boom. Over what? A pizza? And then run to the poor cousin’s house. They sit there and the cousin says “what are you doing here?” “I just killed somebody, man.” “What?” “I just killed somebody; I’ve got to stay here.” “No, you don’t.” “Well, give me some money, I’ll go…” “Where are you going?” “North Carolina.” Everybody wanted to go to North Carolina. But the police know where you’re going because your cousin has a record.
Five or six different children, same woman, eight, ten different husbands or whatever, pretty soon you’re going to have to have DNA cards so you can tell who you’re making love to. You don’t who this is. It might be your grandmother. I’m telling you, they’re young enough. Hey, you have a baby when you’re twelve. Your baby turns thirteen and has a baby, how old are you? Huh? Grandmother. By the time you’re twelve, you could have sex with your grandmother, you keep those numbers coming. I’m just predicting.
I’m saying Brown Vs. Board of Education. We’ve got to hit the streets, ladies and gentlemen. I’m winding up, now, no more applause. I’m saying, look at the Black Muslims. There are Black Muslims standing on the street corners and they say so forth and so on, and we’re laughing at them because they have bean pies and all that, but you don’t read “Black Muslim gunned down while chastising drug dealer.” You don’t read that. They don’t shoot down Black Muslims. You understand me. Muslims tell you to get out of the neighborhood. When you want to clear your neighborhood out, first thing you do is go get the Black Muslims, bean pies and all. And your neighborhood is then clear. The police can’t do it.
I’m telling you Christians, what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you hit the streets? Why can’t you clean it out yourselves? It’s our time now, ladies and gentlemen. It is our time. And I’ve got good news for you. It’s not about money. It’s about you doing something ordinarily that we do—get in somebody else’s business. It’s time for you to not accept the language that these people are speaking, which will take them nowhere. What the hell good is Brown V. Board of Education if nobody wants it?
What is it with young girls getting after some girl who wants to still remain a virgin? Who are these sick black people and where did they come from and why haven’t they been parented to shut up? To go up to girls and try to get a club where “you are nobody..,” this is a sickness ladies and gentlemen and we are not paying attention to these children. These are children. They don’t know anything. They don’t have anything. They’re homeless people. All they know how to do is beg. And you give it to them, trying to win their friendship. And what are they good for? And then they stand there in an orange suit and you drop to your knees, “(crying sound) He didn’t do anything, he didn’t do anything.” Yes, he did do it. And you need to have an orange suit on too.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for the award and giving me an opportunity to speak because, I mean, this is the future, and all of these people who lined up and done... they’ve got to be wondering what the hell happened. Brown V. Board of Education, these people who marched and were hit in the face with rocks and punched in the face to get an education and we got these knuckleheads walking around who don’t want to learn English I know that you all know it. I just want to get you as angry that you ought to be. When you walk around the neighborhood and you see this stuff, that stuff’s not funny. These people are not funny anymore. And that’s not my brother. And that’s not my sister. They’re faking and they’re dragging me way down because the state, the city and all these people have to pick up the tab on them because they don’t want to accept that they have to study to get an education.
We have to begin to build in the neighborhood, have restaurants, have cleaners, have pharmacies, have real estate, have medical buildings instead of trying to rob them all. And so, ladies and gentlemen, please, Dorothy Height, where ever she’s sitting, she didn’t do all that stuff so that she could hear somebody say “I can’t stand algebra, I can’t stand…and “what you is.” It’s horrible.
Basketball players, multimillionaires can’t write a paragraph. Football players, multimillionaires, can’t read. Yes. Multimillionaires. Well, Brown V Board of Education, where are we today? It’s there. They paved the way. What did we do with it. The white man, he’s laughing, got to be laughing. 50 percent drop out, rest of them in prison.
You got to tell me that if there was parenting, help me, if there was parenting, he wouldn’t have picked up the Coca Cola bottle and walked out with it to get shot in the back of the head. He wouldn’t have. Not if he loved his parents. And not if they were parenting! Not if the father would come home. Not if the boy hadn’t dropped the sperm cell inside of the girl and the girl had said, “No, you have to come back here and be the father of this child.” Not “I don’t have to.”
Therefore, you have the pile up of these sweet beautiful things born by nature raised by no one. Give them presents. You’re raising pimps. That’s what a pimp is. A pimp will act nasty to you so you have to go out and get them something. And then you bring it back and maybe he or she hugs you. And that’s why pimp is so famous. They’ve got a drink called the “Pimp-something.” You all wonder what that’s about, don’t you? Well, you’re probably going to let Jesus figure it out for you. Well, I’ve got something to tell you about Jesus. When you go to the church, look at the stained glass things of Jesus. Look at them. Is Jesus smiling? Not in one picture. So, tell your friends. Let’s try to do something. Let’s try to make Jesus smile. Let’s start parenting. Thank you, thank you.

--Dr. William H. Cosby

Three AM Funnies

2008-07-04T18:39:00.002-05:00

I have lived in the south for several years now. Although I have had much interaction with native southerners through work, I realize that I still have much to learn about these delightful rednecks.

I was working with one of South Carolina’s native sons recently. He has lived in the area for forty some-odd years, and so I am thankful to have been working with him.
You know the Geico commercials where there are two people? A regular guy says something and a celebrity interprets? That’s almost what it felt like on a recent call.

We went out for a “breathing problem.” First, let me say something about that. The original reason why the individual called EMS was not that they were having difficulty breathing, but that they were hurting all over. However, one of the call takers questions asked is “Is he/she breathing normally.” Now, the patient can be talking a mile a minute—“I’vebeenhurtingallweekanditsnotgettinganybetterandIcalledthedoctor
yesterdayandhaveanappointmenttommorrowbutIcannotwaitthatlongso
Iwanttogotothehospitalrightnow”—but if they say they are having a hard time breathing, we, as the call takers, have to record the call as a “breathing problem.”

Anyway, so we go out to this nicer section of town. We get to the door with our hands all filled with all of our equipment (heart monitor, oxygen, and ALS bag). The spouse of the patient is at the door when we arrived, but by the time we got to the front door, had disappeared. So, we had to struggle with the door while having our hands full. We then go inside this nice looking house and find that we should actually be in a trailer. The house has nice, wide halls that are stretcher-friendly, yet is so full of junk we have to crab-walk down it.

We make our way back to the patient’s bedroom, where the patient is in bed. It is my partner’s call (a good thing, since he spoke that specific version of red neck). He does the usual greeting, “Hi, I’m so-and-so with the ambulance and this is my partner. What’s the problem today?” That is pretty much all I understood of the conversation.

The patient responded, “Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha” while flailing arms about wildly.
My partner then replied “Whanh wha?”
The patient then continued, ““Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.” My partner again replied something as equally unintelligible.
The interview continued. ““Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.” The patient then slapped their butt. (Here, I had a hard time keeping from laughing). And then again, from the patient, “Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.”
My partner finally responded with something that I understood, “Well, would you like to go to the hospital?” The patient then replied, “Wouldn’t you want to know what’s wrong with inside you?”
Finally, we transported the patient to the hospital. When we arrived it was just like a scene out of a Geico commercial. The patient would say something and my partner would interpret.
“Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.”
“The patient’s hurting all over and thought they were going to leave here” (e.g. the patient thought they were going to die; this was also where the patient was wildly flailing their arms at the house).
“Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.”
“The patient had the virus on Monday and kept running back and forth to the bathroom with vomiting and diarrhea.”
“Whanh whanh wha, whanh wha, whanh wha.”
“The patient tried to clean themselves by taking a shower. When going to get out of the tub, the patient fell backwards, landing on their backside.” (This was where the patient slapped their butt earlier.)
“Whanh whanh wha.”
“The patient got the sinus.” (Congested)
“Whanh wha, whanh wha.”
“The patient got the nerves.” (Anxious)

Throughout this entire call, I had a very difficult time keeping my composure. I am normally a pretty serious guy when I need to. However, when I was in the ambulance after leaving the hospital I could not stop laughing. That just goes to show that a lot of people can speak American, but still not speak English.

I'm Back

2008-06-01T16:44:00.001-05:00

After another lengthy time away, I am back blogging again. This time I fully intend on blogging at least once a week. However, unlike certain people I know, I will not deal in absolutes....Except for that last one.

Week

2008-02-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

It has been an interesting week so far. Today is the only day I am working, and it is an overtime shift. I just got back from an unexpected trip to NH for my Uncle's funeral yesterday. We left in a blizzard so it was a little nerve wracking driving to Boston and then on the tarmack. After a five hour lay over in Atlanta we finally flew back into Charlotte and drove home.

Now I am back to work. I walked in this morning at the start of my shift and was told I did not have a truck. I was just about to walk out the door when they found one, we just needed to put all of our equipment and supplies into it. Two hours later, we were finally out and about. Now I am anxiously waiting to run some calls.

Blog

2008-02-07T20:01:00.000-05:00

Wow, I have not been on here for a long time. I really don't think many people actually read this other than my Aunt Roseann. I will definately attempt to post more items in the near future.

Moxie and more

2007-11-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

My baby when she was ~8 wks old.

My baby playing frisbee today.

My baby playing frisbee again.

An interesting car.

I PASSED!!!!

2007-08-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

I PASSED MY WRITTEN EXAM!!!!!

Now I'm just waiting for the card to come in so I can start working as a paramedic.

New Save

2007-08-08T05:35:00.000-05:00

Usually when a local fire department has a structure fire EMS will standby. Once it is determined there are no patients in the house, we stay and conduct firefighter rehab (basically look out for the firefighters).

Yesterday I was working an extremely busy truck in the city and went on a structure fire with Wade Hampton FD. Below are a couple of pictures from the scene.

As far as know the kitty survived. (Even after getting thrown out of a second story window)

New House

2007-07-12T06:02:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of my new house.

Living room with furniture. A friend gave me the recliner, a co-worker gave me the sofa, and my parents gave me the end table and coffee table (I bought the sandles, lamp, and coke).

I'm still working on an entertainment system.

This is a picture from my front door looking down the hall to the bathroom. This was taken when I first moved into the house (prior to getting furniture).

Spare room/office/storage room.

Master bedroom when I first moved in.

Back foyer by bathroom.

Bathroom.

Well...it has a stove so I'm pretty sure you can guess what it is.

Hallway by bathroom looking towards front door.

Living room while moving in.

Living room & roommate.

I will be adding new pictures here over the next several weeks.

2007-06-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

Giving up caffeine

2007-05-31T09:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I attempted to give up caffeine. I was actually doing pretty well, I had gone about 60 hrs on juice, water, and milk. I was talking to my partner this morning and telling her everything that was going on right now and she said I picked a bad time to stop. So, I am drinking a 20 oz diet coke. Maybe after I get everything with the house squared away and am done with school I will consider dropping the caffeine again...we'll see...

2007-05-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

Site of Interest

2007-04-19T09:13:00.000-05:00

Hello again. The former director of the Criminal Justice Dept. at BJU is now working at Wisdom in Living Life Ministry. It is a ministry to drug addicts. I was just looking at the site and thought it would be great to get the word out about it.

http://www.wisdominlivinglife.org/

Update

2007-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Yea! I finally have an update.

Not much going on for now.

Still in school (only three months left!)...still at work (only 27 1/2 years left!)...

My return...

2007-04-01T12:09:00.000-05:00

I am attempting to return to the blogging world after a long sabbatical. (They say those that blog do it because they don't have a life. I have a life, therfore, I don't blog...)

I have just celebrated my 25th birthday and am looking forward to cheaper car insurance and cheaper car rental rates. I enjoyed my 24th birthday better. I spent most of the day in the hospital doing stuff for class with someone that I am not a big fan of. I did complete some requirements for my program that night, though.

School is about the same. I am happy to report I only have four months left until I graduate (again). After which time I will take a long, long, long, long, (you get the idea) break from education (which also includes a vacation to the Bahamas).

Since this week is spring break, I decided to take advantage of my time off and...work. I am in the middle of a long shift this weekend. Unfortunately, I made my 1st partner sick so I now have another one.

A Dangerous Job...

2007-02-18T07:49:00.000-05:00

Deliverance

2007-01-20T16:54:00.000-05:00

The other day at work my partner and I were sent to a call. We had a hard time locating the address, but finally found a long, muddy, dirt road (for those that know the song Red Dirt Road, this was it). This road had deep ruts and standing water/mud puddles about the size of a small lake. We could see several 4-wheel drive tire tracks heading down the road and new that a Geo metro would sink down to the windshield in the muck. We confirmed with dispatch and the batty neighbors (that's another story), and had an idea we where at the correct location.

I was driving and my partner and I were a little hesitant to go down the road because we have an over four ton vehicle that might get stuck. Because we still adhere to the old Postal Worker adage (Neither snow, nor rain, etc.) we new that we had to do it (plus, for those of you that know me, I enjoy getting my truck muddy every once in a while).

As my partner and I drove down the road, we both thought it was something from out of the movie Deliverance. In fact, I swear that I heard the banjos playing in the background!! When we got to the shanties, my partner was scared to get out of the truck, so she blew the air horn a few times. Eventually, some people came out, drunker than a skunk, and said they did not need us.

Back out the Red Dirt Road we went. Luckily, we did not get stuck at all. We just had to head back to the station and clean all of the mud off. Not before taking some pictures (although they do not do much justice).

School

2007-01-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

Well, started back to school Monday night. I think this will be an easier semester since I will only be going to class for two nights a week. Right now, I am trying to work out a swap so I can get to my class ontime.

Will update later.

Olive Garden Adventure

2007-01-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Well...I went out to eat last night with Chris and Mike. We wanted to try the new Olive Garden in the area. There has been one Olive Garden at the Shops of Verdae off of I-85 on the east side, but this one opened up at Cherrydale the week before Christmas. We all love Italian and thought it would be a great place to try. However, because it was new, we knew that it would be busy. We decided that Mike and I would pick Chris up from work at 5pm and we would head straight over for an early supper.

When we arrived, we were seated by the hostess. She said that our server would be buy in a minute to get our drink orders. So we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, after about ten minutes, I was finally able to flag down someone to ask where our server was. She went to find out and came back a few minutes later to say he would be "right with us." After sitting there and loosing 50lbs, the waiter finally came over and asked if he could get our beverage order. We said, "Sure. While your here, why not take the rest of the order too!"

The waiter then rushed away to put our order in. About five minutes later he came back with the drinks. Chris and Mike had Dr. Pepper's and I had a Diet Coke. Well...this is where the fun begins...Our waiter gave Mike his Dr. Pepper and reached over to give Chris his. He was going to give me my Diet Coke, but it ended up all over the table and Mike. Well, Mike hurried off to the bathroom to get there before people thought he didn't make it in time (think about that for a second). Meanwhile, the waiter is apologizing, wiping up the table, and saying that the manager will be over to "fix" everything. Mike then returned and the waiter asked if he got wet. Mike was thinking, "No, I peed on myself before I came in. That's why my pants are soaked!"

Anyway, the manager came over and asked if everything was ok. I told him "Yes, we brought our boat for when the server brings out the soup!" The manager then gave us our appetizer free.

Overall, the food wasn't bad. Everytime the waiter came out I warned Mike and Chris. I had the stuffed Chicken Marsala (but mine is better). However, I don't think the three of us will be hurrying back there anytime soon. At least not until after we buy some galoshes and rain gear.

Pictures

2007-01-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Dinner with the Guys

My first Turkey (It was a deep-fried success)

Alex & Shawn ganging up on PJ

Shawn ganging up on Alex

Alex's Mom (Robin) beating up Shawn

My last poll shows Christmas being the favorite holiday over Thanksgiving 10 to 2. New Years and 4th of July did not receive any votes.

Vote in my newest poll to the right. Also, post ideas for poll topics.

Update

2007-01-01T07:04:00.000-05:00

I made it to SC without any problems. Will post again soon...

Grades

2006-12-15T02:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I had my finals this week. I had two finals on Monday night and one final (although three separate exams) on Tuesday night. I just received my grades...and I passed!!! Now, I have three weeks of no worries, just work and vacation!!!

Update here...

2006-12-03T00:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been trying to download some pictures from my succulant Thanksgiving dinner, but for some reason I cannot find it on my SD card. I can find the pictures on my camera but not on the computer. I will try to get those pictures uploaded soon.

Anyway, Thanksgiving went very well. I had seven people over for dinner including my roommate and myself. There was plenty of food, even for 7 bachelors. I had a 9lb. ham and a 14lb. turkey.

It was the first time I had ever cooked a turkey, as well as host a dinner for that many people. I must say, though, that it was one of the best turkey's I have ever eaten! I made a cajun marinade and injected it into the Turkey and then deep fried it. It was very juicy with quite a bit of taste to it. The ham was a brown sugar glazed ham and was quite delicious as well.

No that Thanksgiving is over, my class finals are about to begin in the next week or two. I am glad that this semester is just about done, and I only have two more to go!! I cannot wait to be done!!! I feel like I have been in school forever! Well...at least for the past 18 yrs. Maybe I'll just be a professional student...ummm...nah...

I will also be starting full time with GCEMS starting the 18th of December. Unfortunately, I could not get on the shift that was my first choice as they have no current open slots. I was able to get on with my second choice (which is a day shift). To top it all off, they even gave me a week and a half off to go home for Christmas!!! I am definitely looking forward to the break as I really need it!!

I think that about sums it up for now. I am going to try to be a little more faithful in updating this blog, but I cannot make any promises.

P.S. I have a new poll to the right...take a look and cast your vote.

Update Coming Soon

2006-11-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

Some say that blogging is done by people without a life. I guess it is becuase they have time to post stuff. Well, I don't have a life other than work or school, yet I have not had much time to blog lately.

I promise to update sometime in the near future.

Couple of Bummers...

2006-11-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I will not be able to go to Germany for Christmas this year due to unforseeable circumstances. I have to reschedule my Christmas break. Oh well, maybe next year.

Also, it turns out my Paramedic instructor was arrested this past week and is facing criminal charges. If he is found guilty than he loses his Paramedic license and can no longer teach. The school will have to provide another instructor to finish out the semester. With only a month left, I'm not too wild about that!

Never a dull moment...

November 7th

2006-11-03T23:21:00.000-05:00

Voting time is upon us again. I encourage everyone to go out and vote at your local elections this coming Tuesday. It is not only a right, but also a responsibility of every citizen. This is what our Armed Forces have fought and died for over the past 230 years.

If you don't vote, you better not complain about our government!

Our Taxes

2006-10-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

This is a great example for anyone who wants to argue that the RICH ARE THE ONES WHO BENEFIT FROM OUR TAX SYSTEM!!

Our Tax System

Sometimes politicians, journalists and others exclaim; "It's just a taxcut for the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact. But what does that really mean? Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope thefollowing will help. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for allten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go somethinglike this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."

Dinner for the ten now cost just$80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. Butwhat about the other six men - the paying customers? How could theydivide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtractedthat from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man wouldeach end up being paid to eat their meal. So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce eachman's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out theamounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. Hepointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar,too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 backwhen I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't getanything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine satdown and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, theydiscovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is howour tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the mostbenefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for beingwealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they mightstart eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

(from David R. Kamerschen, Ph.DProfessor of EconomicsUniversity of Georgia)

More Pictures

2006-10-26T06:57:00.000-05:00

More pictures from my travels...

The Half-Library in North Carolina

Nubble Light

Sleeping (yes sleeping) goat at zoo in Pensacola, Fl area

Lighthouse at Pensacola Naval Base

Sunset on Pensacola Beach

An actual road off of Hwy 29 in Alabama or Florida

Blue Angels display at Pensacola Air & Space Museum

More Pictures

2006-10-19T12:49:00.000-05:00

These pictures are from Hanging Rock SP in North Carolina.

This is about half way up the trail. It is a lot higher than it looks.

Andre attempting to climb the cliff.

Andre & Mike a little further up. (We had beans the night before)

Mike & I just making it over the top

Andre...ummmm...not sure what he's doing...

The first picture shows a pile of rocks. The rock I am taking the picture on is to the left in the first picture. The rock I am taking the picture of is the big one in the right.

Awesome views

Awesome views

Awesome views

Again, these pictures were taking from Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina. The park is located east from I-77 just south of the Virginia/North Carolina border. It took about four hours to get there from Greenville.

As the pictures show, I went with two friends from school the first weekend in June. This was the first time I went camping this year, and the first time outside of New England (with the exception of the Wilds).

This state park was decently priced (similar to New Hampshire state parks). It is literally in the middle of no where. There were not many people camping there either. Sunday night, the last night Mike and I were there (Andre was a spoilsport and left early) there was my site, the park managers, and one other site. It was so quiet. I really did not want to leave. I am planning on going again next summer...maybe around the 7th of July (hee-hee-hee).

Assault & Battery of a high and aggravated nature.

2006-10-15T16:16:00.000-05:00

I was assaulted last night while at a patient's house. Now, I have been bitten, hit, kicked, spit on, vomited on, urinated on, etc. But, I have never been assaulted like I was last night!!! I cactus attacked me! It was the weirdest thing in the world. There we were, trying to load up a patient on the stretcher in the front yard, and a cactus came out of nowhere and planted itself right behind me. Luckily, it was only knee high so I was able to sit for the remainder of the evening. Now, does anyone know how to get cactus-prickley's out of one's skin?? I have a few left...:-(

Pictures

2006-10-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know what happened, but I found all of the pictures that I lost. I am going to start posting some on the site.

Heron at White Lake SP

Fox at Base Camp of Mt. Washington Cog Railway

Unknown flowers at White Lake SP

My mother's roses

My mother's day lilies

Waterfall in Hanging Rock SP area (North Carolina)

Pool that above waterfall flows into

It's a girl!!!

2006-10-13T06:14:00.000-05:00

My roommate's new cat

Very tiny right now

The other cat (she's a little jealous right now)

New Happenings

2006-10-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, am I excited!! Although, I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch.

GCEMS has been told they will be receiving more funding from the county council. With this funding will come a 5% rase for all public safety personnell (highly needed).

We are also supposed to get one 24/7 ambulance, one 24/7 QRV (quick response vehicle- Ford F-250 staffed with one paramedic as a first responder), and four 12-hour ambulances. This will give our fleet 3 Rescue Trucks, 6 QRV, and 15 24/7 ambulances + 4 power shift ambulances (19 ambulances total during the busy times).

This has tentatively been passed by the Finance committee in the County Council. All it needs is two more votes by the County Council members (it has already passed once). Since GCEMS is really underworked and understaffed with only 14 ambulances, the addition will be greatly needed (although we still need more).

The only question I have is why the GCSO (sherriff's office), which is funded by the same County Council, can get a brand new SWAT truck, a brand new Bomb Squad truck, and 20+ brand new police cruisers, while GCEMS had to turn in three ambulances to receive two...hmmmm...very interesting...

New poll to the right...

Update

2006-09-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry I havn't posted in a while. I have had writers blog-ummm...block.

Not much to report...life is kind of dull right now. Just work, school, eat, work, school, eat, sleep, work, school...you get the idea.

2006-09-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

You need to read this all the way through.

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heatall summer long, building his house and laying upsupplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's afool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. Thegrasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out inthe cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the witheringheat all summer long, building his house and laying upsupplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's afool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a pressconference and demands to know why the ant should beallowed to be warm and well fed while others are coldand starving.

CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant inhis comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can thisbe, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of theant's house where the news stations film the groupsinging, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the groupkneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Tom Daschle & John Kerry exclaim in an interview withPeter Jennings that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share."

Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity andAnti-Grasshopper Act," retroactive to the beginning ofthe summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire anproportionate number of green bugs and, having nothingleft to pay his retroactive taxes, his home isconfiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent thegrasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, andthe case is tried before a panel of federal judgesthat Bill appointed from a list of single-parentwelfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing upthe last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug relatedincident and the house, now abandoned, is taken overby a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peacefulneighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Vote Republican

Thanks to my good friend Jake for this story.

Pope Benedict XVI

2006-09-17T06:42:00.000-05:00

The Pope Benedict XVI recently made a statement that caused more violence to erupt in the middle east. He quoted a Byzantine emperor from the medieval times who stated that some of the "prophet" Muhammad's teachings were "evil and inhuman"*

I am not racist and I am not a bigot, but what actions have been done that have disproved that statement? I mean, are the Muslims trying to say that bombing five churches in response to the Pope's remarks is not evil and not inhuman? Do they think saying 'convert to Islam or die' is not evil or inhuman? I think if they thought the Pope was wrong they would have a peaceful protest.

Also, where are the democrats who state that it is wrong to be in a war in Iraq? Why are they not speaking out against the muslim reactions to the Pope's speech?

*http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214184,00.html

Is Medicaid an Insurance?

2006-09-16T04:33:00.000-05:00

I am at a dilemma right now. I do not believe Medicaid should be classified as an insurance. When I think of insurance, I think of something where the individual, or the individual's employer, pays money to an insurance company. Medicaid is not payed by an individual's employer (it's paid for by me and my employer).

I don't know how many times I have patients who say, "I have insurance," when they have only medicaid. Something they are getting for not working and not being able to stop procreating. Now, don't think I am anti-medicaid/anti-poor people. I'm not. I think someone should be on medicaid only for a max time of 6 months, unless they are under 18 (I have no problem with kids being on medicaid), or someone who has an actual illness/disability (not ADHD/ADD/depression but advanced MS or severe Cerebal Palsy) and are not able to work.

What does everyone else think? Should Medicaid be considered an insurance?

I've figured it out!!!

2006-09-15T05:35:00.000-05:00

I've figured it out! It's a government conspiracy!

The reason why people wear their pants half way down their butts is so it makes them harder to run from the police. The government knows that they won't be able to run very well if they are constantly pulling up their pants.

How to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity

2006-09-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have seen versions of this going around. I have had this on my computer for a few years and do not know how I originally got it. Some of these I actually find tempting...

1. At lunchtime, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "IN."
5. Put deceive in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over his or her caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. Finish all your sentences with, "In accordance with the prophecy."
7. Don't use any punctuation
8. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
9. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."
10. Sing along at the opera.
11. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.
12. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.
13. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
14. When the money comes out of the ATM, scream, "I won! I won! Third time this week!!!"
15. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, "Run for your lives, they're loose!"
16. Tell your children over dinner. "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

State Fair

2006-09-10T03:57:00.000-05:00

I went to the SC Upstate State Fair (or whatever you call it), and I'm afraid I wasn't that impressed.

I feel it was overpriced (food, cost for entry, and cost for rides). There were very few exhibits (no tractor-, horse-, oxen-pulls; no horse races; no 4-H animal competitions; very few animal exhibits period; and very few rides).

Also, their french fries were not homemade. They were the frozen, crinkle-cut stuff. They didn't even have any vinigar for the french fries! However, there were fried twinkies, fried candy-bars, and fried pickles.

One cool thing, though. When I parked, I parked next to a vehicle with the beautiful NH plates. They were getting out, and I found out they owned property in beautiful New Durham. They recently moved down here because the dumb zoning board wouldn't let them use their property for what they wanted to use it for.

Must get back to work...

P.S. Please vote in the poll to the left. I would like some feedback from some of my viewers.

-Leon

Reasons to call 911...(1st ed.)

2006-09-08T11:09:00.000-05:00

1. To take your temperature. ($400+ thermometer...also we only carry rectal thermometers)

2. Someone is angry at you (why not call 911 and have them committed).

3. You fell someplace, took a cab home, and called 911 to go to hospital (although the cab is still in the driveway).

4. You're fatigued.

5. You're not sleeping well.

6. You're lonely.

7. You want to be seen faster.

8. You go to one hospital, get tired of waiting, and are waiting in your car to be taken to a second hospital.

9. You're drunk (alcoholism is not a disease...it's a lifestyle).

10. You've been sick for a week (and you want to go to hospital at 2am).

11. It's your first day on your new job and you don't like it.

This is a post

2006-09-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Couldn't really think of a better title for the post.

Not much happening down here lately- just work and school. Since today was Labor Day, I actually had off from school for tonight (never had that luxury at BJU), so I am at work. It hasn't been too bad today so far. I just got done with a reverse-24 hr shift in the city last night. I was awake for over 30 hours. Everytime I went to lay down dispatch decided to wake me back up. I got off work last night at 6:30pm, grabbed a bite to eat, and was in bed at 8:00. I slept until 5:15am and went back to work. Luckily, I was in Tigerville (Post 13/slow station), and was able to nap for a couple more hours.

Right now I am putting off studying for my A&P exam tomorrow night. Oh well, I still have a whole bunch more exams to go this semester. Maybe I better go hit the books...

V...

2006-08-31T02:50:00.000-05:00

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.

Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

V for Vendetta

I thought this was a very creative quote.

Video Games

2006-08-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

I enjoy playing video games. I occasionally go to Frankie's Fun Park, an arcade. I own about a dozen computer games and an Xbox (not the 360) with probably 5 games. I like to play video games. I very rarely play them because I do not have the time nor the passion.

All of that said, now I have a question. Why are some people so caught up in playing video games? I'm not talking about kids. I'm talking about 50 year old, adult men.

I am working again (figure that out). I am stationed at the same station as an individual I mentioned in a previous post. This individual is 50 years old, married, and plays video games. I don't mean just play. I mean he goes online with 4 or 5 other 50 year old men, and play video games. This man has a $500 car, but a $1000+ gaming laptop, complete with a microphone headset.

I did not bring supper to work tonight, so I asked if we could go out and get something. My partner was not very happy about that, because that meant that he had to quit his game.

We got back with my supper and he started playing again. He got on his headset and told one of the other players that he was "supposed" to be able to play all night since he was at the slow station. I'm sorry, but you are "supposed" to work. Video games are for kids. They are not for adults. But wait...you must not be an adult...

Guns...

2006-08-21T05:06:00.000-05:00

Why do people carry the largest handgun that they can get? One thing I've noticed is that it seems like everyone wants a .45ACP. Why is that? The bullets are extremly expensive, usually the handgun is big so it is hard to conceal, and the kick is usually quite hard. Also, the gun is usually quite expensive.

Why not just buy a .9mm? The nine is commonly used as a back-up weapon for law enforcement officers. It is smaller and easier to conceal. Most important, the bullets are cheaper, and if you get hollow-points, is quite leathal. (Of course, it's also lethal without hollow points.) The most important thing is that the bullets are cheaper. That means that you can buy a lot of bullets and do a lot of practicing. I would rather have a lot of practice with a nine than spend a lot of money on a .45.

ADHD does not exist...

2006-08-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

ADHD (also includes ADD, ODD, and any other DD) does not exist. Now, I know I am going to get some flack with that. If anyone want's to post a comment, feel free to do so and I will post it on my blog.

Why do I believe there is no such things as ADHD? On what am I basing my opinion? As a requirement for my Bachelor's Degree I was required to take Abnormal Psych. My professor, Dr. Greg Mazak, was well qualified to teach the course. Also, he taught from a conservative, Biblical standpoint. Secondly, I have done a little bit of research on ADHD.

From http://web4health.info/en/answers/adhd-diagn-dsm.htm, I have obtained the following information. (My comments are in parentesis and italics).

To meet the diagnostic criteria according to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and statistical Manual of psychiatric disorders) a couple of aspects have to be considered to meet a diagnosis of adhd:

A. Six (or more) of either 1) Inattention, or 2) Hyperactivity/Impulsivity Symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

1) Inattention

Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in homework, work, or other activities (How many people actually enjoy homework, work, or other activities such as that? Face it, if it is something we do not like, we usually do not pay attention very well to it.)
Often has difficulties sustaining attention in tasks or play activities (If this is the case, how come those "diagnosed" with ADHD can sit and play video games for 8 hours straight?)
Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly (Let me see...this happens to me all the time.)
Often does not follow through instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions) (Please refer to my first comment above.)
Often has difficulties organizing tasks and activities (Called poor planning. It takes time to learn how to organize and plan correctly. If one does not practice then they will have difficulties.)
Often avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental efforts (Called lazy. I'm guilty of this myself sometimes. We, as humans, try to avoid difficult tasks and complete easy tasks.)
Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books) (Ummm...called childhood...)
Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli (It is not all that hard to be distract-- how about them cowboys??)
Is often forgetful in daily activities (Ummm..called childhood...)

2) Hyperactivity/Impulsivity

Hyperactivity
Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat (It's called boredom.)
Often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected (Lack of discipline in the Public School system today.)
Often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness) (Lack of discipline)
Often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly (Ok, since when have kids been quiet?? Remember, be afraid of the quiet child.)
Is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor" (That feels like me right now.)
Often talks excessively (Ever heard of a chatterbox??)

Impulsivity

Often blurts out answers before questions have been completed (Called not thinking things through. Isn't everybody guilty of that?)
Often has difficulty awaiting turn (Called selfishness. )
Often interrupt or intrudes on others (e.g. butts into conversations or games) (Called selfishness)

B) Some symptoms causing impairment were present before age 7. (Called lack of discipline)

C) Some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings (e.g. at school and at home). (Well, yeah! If someone misbehaves, he misbehaves everywhere. If someone has a hard time with one thing, he will have a hard time with it everywhere.)

D) There must be clear evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, academic or occupational functioning. (If someone doesn't pay attention in school then it will hurt them acdemically. If someone does not do his job, than his occupational functioning will suffer.)

E) Occurrence is not exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia or other Psychotic Disorder

Greenville Technical College (GTC)

2006-08-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been at a station where the internet is very tempermental. Also, for some reason, I can access my blog, but not my friend's, and I cannot access my administrator site to blog.

Well, I started at Greenville Tech last night. I am really going to enjoy my classes this semester. I cannot wait for the year to be over, though. Also, I'm not that impressed with the school. I went to the bookstore to look at my books. First of all, I never buy books at the bookstore, I go on half.com. Well, anyway, I went to GTC bookstore and looked at all of my books. Usually, the student is given a list of books he needs for class. Not at GTC. We have to walk around the bookstore until we see the class we need, and then pick up the books. So, after searching the store for an hour, I finally have all of the ISBN numbers so I can order my books. Guess what, the ISBN numbers weren't all correct. That's right, my A&P books were 1) all sold out, and 2) had the incorrect ISBN numbers.

Anyway, I have the title, author, and and edition, so I order my books online. I then go to orientation for 4 of my classes and find out that GTC has the wrong books for two of my classes. So, after already ordering the books online and receiving them, I have to go to the bookstore and buy the correct books there.

I am happy with the Paramedic program at GTC. I am just not happy with how the school conducts business.

Pet Peeves 2nd edition...

2006-08-10T04:36:00.000-05:00

1. People who have their blinker on for miles before turning.

2. People who have their wrong blinker on.

3. People who drive 35mph in a 55mph zone because they're looking for their turn-off. (Am I sensing something about blinkers today?)

4. People who put on makeup in their car, while driving.

5. People who pick their noses in their car. (It's not one-way glass folks...)

6. People who pick their noses in the hospital (even doctors and nurses).

7. People who hide their dirty plate with spaghetti sauce in the dishwasher with the clean dishes.

8. People who fart in the grocery aisle and then try to outrun it (DAD!!)

9. Wrong numbers when the people ask me who I am without telling me who they are.

10. Wrong numbers that call me and wake me up, then hang up. (I can do that at 3am too, and I have a private number...)

11. People who call their rats dogs.

12. People who call their pets their kids.

13. People who complain because their job interferes with their video games.

Still working...

2006-08-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still working. I don't think I've stopped yet. I have one of those partners tonight who said, "I'm ticked." When he was found out he was working with me. "Oh, it's nothing against you! It's just that I will have to do all of the ALS calls!."

Yeah, you are paid to work buddy!!! Also, I'm not exactly thrilled with working with you either. I know that you try to get by with as little work as possible! And, to top it off, you get paid more than I do.

That's fine, I don't care, I will do all of your skills for you. I will start all of the IV's, I will everyone on the monitor, all you have to do is sit there and take notes. Oh yeah, I'm the one working for 24-hours, you're not.

Work...

2006-08-05T02:41:00.000-05:00

I am trying to actually post something, but my only internet access is at work. Unfortunately, I have been at some very busy stations the past couple of nights. Last night I was in Berea (Westside) and tonight I am in the city itself. We have already done 13 calls and we still have another 3 hours on our 12 hour shift!! Why can't people go home and go to sleep after 10pm?? If there was no one driving right now, there wouldn't be any traffic accidents. If no one was at the bars, no one would be getting shot right now. We wouldn't have drunks being arrested by police and complaining of chest pain (really, I think it's incarceritis). At times like this I wish there was a curfew. If I'm ever elected dictator for life I think I would instill a curfew.

Well, tomorrow night I am at a slow station. Hopefully I will be able to get to rest and update my blog with pictures from my trip up Mt. Washington.

Weddings

2006-08-01T05:39:00.000-05:00

The real reason why I came up to NH was to attend two weddings and not go camping, go on the Mt. Washington, or visit family (sorry Aunt Roseann).

The first wedding I attended was Saturday, July 22. One of my highschool classmates, Lynn, married some guy she met at school, named Mark. I never ran in the same circles as Mark, but if Lynn likes him, I guess he's ok. :-)

The second wedding was Friday, July 28. My good friends Justin and Becka decided to get hitched.
I've already been invited to dinner to sample Becka's cuisine. However, I think I'm going to let her practice on Justin a little bit first. Poor Justin...although, he did survive as a bachelor...hmmm...he is pretty thin, though...

Shooting

2006-07-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went and visited my good friend Andre. Of course, I am still trying to convince him to move back to Greenville. He even received a letter from BJU. It appears that they did not know he was not coming back. I say it is a sign that God wants him back down there.

Now, Andre's family owns half of a mountain. They have a big log cabin that they are trying to sell. (If anyone's interested let me know and I'll pass it on to them.)

While visiting him we had to do some shooting. I brought over my muzzleloader, .22, .38, and couple of bows. He brough out his AR15, shotgun, and .9mm. First time I'd ever done any skeet shooting. I was finally getting the hang of it about the time my arm was ready to fall off. Also, while we were shooting off our bows, the deer came out to laugh. I guess it was something about us not hitting the target...

More pictures from White Lake

2006-07-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

Although it is still taking a long time, I was able to load some more pictures from my camping trip.

The local loon family...

One of two Heron's that reside on the lake...

Two ducks on a log (I feel a bad joke coming on)...

A very green frog (the lake is full of them)...

Well, that should do it for now. All of my other camping pictures are about the same.

Camping

2006-07-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

Alright, it's been a little while since I've blogged anything. I have been a little busy lately. On Wednesday I flew back to NH for some weddings and to visit family. On Friday my dad, sister, and I went to White Lake in Tamworth to camp. My mother followed up a little later. The following picture is of White Lake with Mt. Chocora in the background.

This next picture is from the lake while in my kayak, looking back at the beach.

I have some more pictures to post, so stay tuned. Unfortunately, the pictures are not loading right now.

Boycott Greyhound!

2006-07-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

My roommate recently took a trip up to Virginia to visit friends, by way of Greyhound. I, personally, have never travelled by bus, least of all Greyhound. Due to my roommate's experience, I don't think I ever will.

For those of you who have never met my roommate, let me tell you something about him. He has a condition that has a really long name and ends with congenita. He was born without the proper muscles in his upper body, and as a result, he cannot use his arms. Now, most people would give up and say "poor me...boo hoo hoo." Not Chris! I have never heard him complain about his condition!

Let me tell you something else about Chris. He is an artist. He writes and paints with his mouth. In fact, he uses his mouth for just about everything. His mouth is his hand. Chris is self-sufficient and does just about anything I do without help.

Well, back to the story. Chris was riding Greyhound. He had four bus drivers on the trip up to Virginia and back. Three out of the four gave him a hard time because he (Chris) had his ticket in his mouth. One bus driver refused (yes, refused!) to take Chris' ticket from him, or hand him a re-boarding pass. Chris is extremely patient with people, so he explained that he was disabled and could not use his hands. Even after this explanation, the bus drivers were extremely rude and the one would still not except his ticket (luckily he was traveling with friends who in turn took the ticket from Chris and handed it to the bus driver).

Now, in the five years I have known Chris, I have never run into a situation where I was out with him and people were rude because he used his mouth. He doesn't even remember a time where people were rude to him because of his disability. However, three of the four Greyhound employees that Chris came in contact with were extremely rude. Makes me wonder what their training and policies against discrimination include.

Vacation and weddings...

2006-07-17T09:47:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday I will be flying back to NH for two weeks. I will be attending two weddings, visiting friends, and just all around vacationing. I will hopefully get a lot of kayaking time in. (I just have to make sure I do not drop my camera in the water.)

Unfortunately, neither of the weddings are mine. I have one friend, Lynn Casey (soon to be Lynn Rosedale) who is getting married this coming Saturday in Dover, NH. Lynn and I went to highschool together, so we go back a little ways. I am also looking forward to a mini-reunion at her wedding. About half of our class is going to show up, so that is exciting!

The second wedding is next Friday in Bedford. Two good friends of mine, Justin Ulrich and Beka Brown, will be tying the knot. Woo-hoo!! I used to work with both Justin and Beka at college, and am currently working with Justin at GCEMS. Godd luck to the both of you!!

My last post was about my parent's anniversary. Since I was not home, my sister and I will be giving them their present on the 29th. I think they will enjoy it. Unfortunately, they don't know what it is yet, and Mom reads this blog every once in a while, so I cannot mention what it is here.

Well, that is about it for now. I am on the last 12 of my 36-hour shift in Berea. Thankfully, I have only run two calls- one last night and only one today so far. Not too bad, considering it is Westside!

Happy Anniversary

2006-07-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary!!

Dad & Mom

July 15, 1978

Tips on calling 911

2006-07-14T05:51:00.000-05:00

Today, while at work answer the phones for 911, I have thought of a few tips to give people who want to call 911.

1. Give the address and phone number. Face it, if the ambulance doesn't know where to go, they cannot get there.

2. Listen to the individual on the phone. They are trained to ask the correct questions. We need to know so we can send the right help.

3. Don't get hysterical. You are not helping if you keep yelling to send help and are not answering questions.

4. Do not swear or yell at the call-taker. They already have a stressful job and are doing the best they can to help you out. I know from experience that they are overworked and vastly underpaid.

5. Answer only the questions asked, when asked. We really do not need to know if your mother's uncle's father died of a heart attack. We need to know if the patient ever had a heart attack.

6. Do not interrupt. If you keep interrupting while the questions are being asked then it delays the response time.

7. Don't call 911 for information. Due to HIPPA, the calltakers are not allowed to give out who they took where.

Survival of the fittest...and me...

2006-07-13T05:59:00.000-05:00

Well...I survived Westside the other night! No shootings, stabbings, or other types of maimings. Truama is actually the best type of work we can do. I'm not saying that because of the blood and gore (although sometimes it is kind of cool), I'm saying that because it is so easy. For instance, if there is blood or something is someplace where it ought not to be, all we do is cover it up. We don't have to think about it. With a medical call there is so much more work that needs to be done. We have to think, "ok, what kind of medicine can I give to counter-act this condition." Medical calls are so much more difficult for me, although I think it is much more interesting.

While at work the other night I went out to eat with my partner and another crew to Applebee's. While there, our waiter (a strange individual), recognized me as helping his grandmother out six months ago. Talk about embarrassing! The way he was talking it was as if I saved her life or something...and Applebee's was very crowded that night...and he was not a quiet guy... The truth of the matter is that I cannot remember half of the calls I ran last week, let alone six months ago. To top it all off, he didn't even give me a discount...the nerve!! (Just kidding :-)

I am actually going to try not to put too muchEMS stuff in here. Though this blog is supposed to be a compilation of everything that goes on in my head every day. Sort of a venting, get-it-out-in-the-open, informing-thingie. (Makes me feel sorry for all you normal people.) I guess it makes some sense putting EMS in here because it is a big part of my life.

Feel free to browse around on some of the links to the sides. I'm sure my friends would love to have other people (complete strangers) reading up on them.

Liquorcycles

2006-07-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

I am working at wonderful Post 14 tonight (go westside!!!). I was sitting outside, enjoying the cooler night, talking to my family. All of the sudden I heard a loud buzzing sound. A dude on a liquorcycle went putting by the station. Since I am on the westside and liquorcycles are very normal down here in Greenville, I didn't thing anything of it. 30 seconds later, the same dude goes by in the opposite direction. I was thinking how odd it was, but again, I'm on the westside. Anyway, about another 15 to 20 seconds later, the dude goes by again. This time, my dad asked what the noise was. I told him, "It's a liquorcycle."

Now, for those of you not familiar with them, I will try to explain this wonderful commodity, the liquorcycle. Let's break down the word first.

Liquor-cycle.

Liquor, of course, refers to the alcoholic beverage...usually distilled, not fermented.

Cycle refers to a vehicle with wheels in tandem (i.e. bicycle, tricicle, motorcycle, etc.)

Put them together and you have an alcoholic beverage on wheels...actually...no...

In South Carolina, a license is not required to ride a moped (open to some interpretation). Also, living in the city, you can ride a moped anywhere (except on highways). Many of the people in the city, who have lost their driver's licenses due to DUI/OUI, ride mopeds. All of us in EMS have nicknamed the moped "liquorcycle."

(I, however, am thinking of getting one. Especially since gas prices are rising.)

Verizon...ugh!

2006-07-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

I am not overly happy with Verizon right now. My cellphone (and my only phone) decided to not work anymore last night. The LCD screen will not work, the ringer will not work, if I call out I cannot hear anyone but they can hear me, etc...

I went into the Verizon store today to see if I could get it repaired. Since my warranty expired six months ago I will have to pay $50 for a refurbished new phone. OR Verizon can "replace the microphone" which will let me hear a ringer/phone conversation. Verizon cannot repair the LCD screen which has ALL of my phone numbers on it. So...I cannot upgrade my plan for another six months so if I buy a new phone I will have to pay full price for it.

I told the tech that I would go ahead and pay for the refurbished phone. She said that the computers were down so she wouldn't be able to do anything with it. She also said that she received an email about the system being down and that nothing was there about when it would be up and running again. I told her I would leave it there and pick it up when I got out of work. She then told me that would be fine, but all of the techs left at 5pm. I don't get out until 6:30 if I don't snag a late call. Needless to say...I wasn't too thrilled.

The worst part about this whole ordeal is that this is not the first phone problem I've had with the company. My last phone's data port went bad six months after the warranty ended. I also had phone insurance at the time but it wasn't good for the problem.

I have been a faithful Verizon Wireless consumer for the last 6 1/2 year, but I am becoming increasingly unhappy with the company. The only reason that I have Verizon is that all of my friends/family have it and we're all "in." I am going back to Verizon tomorrow to see what can be worked out. Depending on how it goes will depend on whether I go to Nextel or not. (I really like the idea of direct connect)

Pet Peeves...

2006-07-08T04:26:00.000-05:00

Randomly, througout my postings you will find listings of my Pet Peeves. If you ask my family they will tell you that I have many. Unfortunately, I am sometimes guilty of doing some of the things on my list.

1. (This is really numero uno for me!) Not moving to the right and stopping when an emergency vehicle is approaching you from the rear. This is extremely prevelent in South Carolina.

2. Driving in the fast lane when a vehicle is approaching you from the rear.

3. Poor people getting $20+ in scratch tickets, then standing there at the counter scratching them to see if they've won.

4. People that call me and those in my profession an "Ambulance Driver."

5. People who say they "work in the medical field" and think they can treat my patient better than I. (Oh, by the way, the "medical field" was the exciting field of medical transcription.)

6. CNA's and LNA's who think they actually know my job better than I (sort of linked to #5, but bad enough to be a separate peeve).

7. $300 car, $3800 rims.

8. People who feed bears.

9. People who consistently arrive to relieve me 1 min before their shift begins.

10. People who think of themselves as "players." (Whatever that is)

11. When I want to work overtime but none is available and when I am working and overtime is available.

12. Tailgaters...

13. People that "pace" so no one can pass them (I admit that I do it sometimes, yet only when they are tailgating me...)

TAXI!!

2006-07-07T04:55:00.000-05:00

My mother was asking me why I put "Transportation" as my career field. It is actually two-fold. First, I could not find anything related to medical/health. Perhaps I was not looking hard enough. Second, I am nothing more than a taxi for those of the lower socio-economic level.

While on this topic, let me dispel a few myths about ambulance necessitiy.

1. Going by ambulance is not necessarily the fastest way to the hospital. We do not drive with lights and sirens all the time unless the following conditions exist; a) we are a bunch of local rescue rangers that need to get our adrenaline up, or b) we are scared by what is in the back of our truck!

2. Going by ambulance does not mean that you see the doctor faster.

3. If you are getting into our truck while we are putting it in park at your house, chances are there is nothing wrong with you and you are going to triage.

4. If you are getting into our truck while we are putting it in park at your house, chances are there is nothing wrong with you and YOU DON'T NEED AN AMBULANCE!!! (duh)

5. If you have had the same condition for the past three weeks, there is no need to call an ambulance at 3:00am. You have survived for three weeks, you can survive another four hours!!

6. If you have vomiting and diarrhea you don't need to go to the hospital, you need pepto-bismol.

7. An emergency on your part does not neccessarily constitute an emergency on my part. I am not going to kill myself getting to your house, I am going home at the end of my shift. Also, it takes a little bit of time to get to your house. We do not a) park outside of your house, or b) drive around the county waiting for a call to spring up (usually I'm at the station working on my blog, watching tv, or sleeping).

8. You should not be worried that you are going to die unless I am worried that you are going to die.

9. Don't get in the truck and tell me what you need. Chances are, I'm not going to give it to you. (If it's drugs, chances are I'm not going to give it to you even if you don't ask. I know when my patients are faking).

10. If I'm onscene and not doing anything, there is a reason for that. Don't jump in and try to do my job for me. I know what I am doing. After all, I am a highly trained, highly paid, professional. (One of the two is correct...)

Suits

2006-07-06T20:03:00.000-05:00

Well, today I did it. I went and got fitted for a new suit. How demoralizing that was! I swore after leaving Bob Jones I would not wear another suit. Unfortunately, I have three weddings to go to this year so I figured, for the sake of my friendships, it would be best to get a new suit. Somehow, I don't think that shorts and t-shirts would be considered appropriate attire for the events. (Especially the wedding I'm going to in December!)

I did find out something interesting though: my left arm is slightly shorter than my right arm. Interesting! I had never known that before. Well...that might have to be it for today. I am at work right now. I'm not too thrilled about it...I am working a straight 36-hr shift at a very busy station. Oh well, maybe I will get a little bit of sleep tonight...or tomorrow...sometime...maybe...

Procreation...

2006-07-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

Should require special classes, permits, and fines.

I just love it when someone has a little snot-nosed rugrat and they panic when the kid sneezes.
What is even better is when a two-foot tall imp is trying to step over his parent and trips and falls to the floor. Not down the stairs, not out a window, to the floor. He becomes dazed and (as often is the case when the wind is knocked out of you) he has a moment there when he is so shocked he cannot catch his breath.

What is the parent's reaction? "Oh my goodness!!! We have to call an ambulance and get the kid checked out!!!" How did we survive before the ambulances were around!?!?

I don't know about you all, but when I fell my parents would tell me to get up and stop crying. (It would be a slightly different response if I fell out of a tree...I hope.)

Listen folks, if a kid is crying it's not a bad thing. Little kids fall, it's genetically engineered into them to fall and get bumps and bruises and cuts and scrapes. Kids often stop breathing for no apparant reason. No need to call an ambulance unless it persists for long periods of time. Furthermore, if the kid is balling his eyes out he is perfectly fine.

Remember, be afraid of the quiet child.

Hey...another blog...

2006-07-05T10:53:00.000-05:00

Alright, I am brand-spanking new at this blogging thing. I was roped into it by a few friends I saw yesterday at a party. Because they talked me into it, I will pay them back by sending their email address' to random spaming companies.

Anyway, today I am in dispatch answering the phones. I was bumped off a truck and yanked into dispatch. I was just having a conversation with someone yesterday on how no one is every bumped from Post 7. Hmmm...guess I would be the first. Oh well, at least I will get out on time today.

I am registered at Greenville Tech for the fall semester. I am hoping to receive a Paramedic degree. We'll see how that goes...

Well, I think I am done with this posting right now. I will try to have some better, more interesting posts in the future.

My Blog

2006-07-05T10:28:00.000-05:00

Ok...well...this is my blog...I'm blogging...ummm...