Long overdue post....

Wow! Everything seems like it has happened so fast the past few weeks. Bringing you up to speed, if you are still following: I completed my EMT course on July 25; I've been LiveScanned (fingerprinted) for volunteer fire fighting, EMT certification and Ambulance Driver license; I've taken and passed the National Registery; I've begun training for my local county fire department as a Paid Call Firefighter (PCF).
My son has returned home after spending the summer with my sister and losing, on purpose, 28 lbs! My wife and two youngest are back to school now and my oldest will begin next week. We are scheduled to visit DMV on Monday, me for my A.D. license exam and him for his learner's permit exam.
I'm trying to clean up my diet and get back to exercising again and finding it EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT to get back on track with that. I'm also trying to get the farm in tiptop shape for harvest before I hopefully land a job with an ambulance company.
Otherwise, it's been kinda slow around here. ;-)

A new path....

Well, I finally did it. Tuesday I put in my paperwork to volunteer at my local fire department. I expect to hear in two to three weeks whether they've accepted me and when I go in for a physical. After that, orientations begin the first weekend in August and the "academy" begins immediately after on Wednesday nights and all day Saturdays and Sundays for about 8 weeks. That's convenient of course because Saturday, July 25th is my skills final for the EMT-B program. No rest for the weary, right? And of course, the first few classes will be on medical first responder skills! More practice!!! That's fine, the more I practice the better I feel about it.

Anyhow, just wanted to share this new path and that my EMT program is rapidly nearing an end and I'm still hanging in there. This fast paced summer is looking like it is going to last into at least the early part of the fall too!

A little over half way through...

my EMT-Basic program and I'm @_@!

The pace is very fast but my experience with the skills due to my 40 hour first responder course last summer is paying off. I'm doing fine on the tests and the skills are coming along fine. We get this Saturday, the 4th, off; that helps. I'm getting a little burned out but that week we'll also do our ride along. Not sure when or where yet but it's supposed to be that week. Hard to believe that I'm ready but so many of the others seem totally unconcerned with the ride along or their skill level. Of course, I'm practicing my skills sans skill sheets while many of them read line to line. Some do seem very good.

Started the program with 26 and appear to be down to 22. Last check I was 6; not bad but not where I want to be. Anatomy, at least on crappy black and white photocopies, continues to do me in on quizzes/exams but knowledge and reasoning seem to come pretty easy. The needs and timing of the skills seem to be coming easier for me, finally!

Thanks for following. I'll try to keep you posted a little more frequently.

Stay safe!

One week down....

So, I've got a week of EMT class under my belt. The first quiz, and homework assignment due, is Wednesday night but I've already re-certified my CPR skills for health care professionals and have been placed in a team with 5 other students. Class began with 25 or 26 students and was already down to 22 last night.

I'm juggling family errands/chores, farm chores, and classwork. The course feels fast but hasn't covered that much yet. I've enjoyed the people I've met so far and look forward to the remainder of the class. I'm one of the two oldest people in the class. The other one is 10 years older than me but also possesses two masters degrees in science and has been doing genetic research for many years now. Most of the rest of class are young men with military backgrounds interested in getting into EMS/fire fighting too.

I hope the quiz goes well and that Saturday's hands-on training goes well, too.

What would I have told them....

Tonight, I begin my EMT certification training. This is a good thing! However, tonight is also graduation night for the high school students at the very small charter school that I taught at for three years. I left there two years ago when funding for my position ran out. It was a very tough time in my life and to leave the students, so many good kids that I'd grown so close to during my tenure, was very difficult.

Well, fast forward to graduation this year, two of my students contacted me asking me to be at the ceremony. My feelings about going back are mixed at best but these were two of my closer students and it felt really good to be asked to be there for that occasion. If I could, I would.

Then I registered for this course. A good decision; I couldn't put off taking the course for a couple of months because of something at a school I worked at two years ago, right? I just have had a hard time not feeling bad about letting down these students. So, anyhow, that was settled; until I received a phone call Sunday from a former colleague who is in charge of the ceremony. Apparently, not only did these two students contact me but several had asked for me to speak at the ceremony! Now, let me explain. I was a teacher who hated to lecture/speak publicly. I did everything I could to minimize my "front of class" time and get the students working in groups or on projects and then mixing with them. That was my style, what I was comfortable with. For the most part, it worked well for me and I believe them too. This request was received with disbelief and dread but also with a bit of interest. I do have things I'd like to tell these kids, one last time, while they are interested in listening. But what would I say to them, in that time and place?

Perhaps I can string together my thoughts into something coherent and share it here at a later time. Now, I need to go to class and I'll report back tomorrow.

Trying to get back on track.

Yesterday, I met with Lana at NCTI to sign the enrollment forms for the upcoming EMT course I'll be taking this summer. 64 hours of lecture, 64 hours of skills training, and 8-12 hours riding along in an ambulance. By late July I'll be eligible to take the National Registry exam and earn my EMT certification. This will hopefully open up some employment opportunities for me in my area in emergency medicine, in a hospital or pre-hospital.

I originally began this journey a year and a half ago with the intention of becoming a fire fighter. I haven't abandoned that goal but bumps in the road along the way have opened my eyes to other possibilities that I'm trying to explore and prepare for as I attempt to move forward again with my plans.

I'm working on my conditioning, again. Having lost nearly 60 lbs last time only to put back 70 lbs, I now find myself needing/wanting to lose about 90-100 lbs to be in the condition I believe I'll need to be in to compete and operate successfully in this industry. I'm eligible for the fire academy at my local junior college; well, technically I was. My physical agility test has expired so my conditioning has an urgent purpose too; although my dieting sabotage would suggest otherwise.

While I continue improving my conditioning and earning my EMT cert, I'm exploring local fire departments to volunteer for. Otherwise, I'm keeping busy farming, chasing my three kids around, and occasionally even helping out around the house. I try, anyhow!