HAPPY THREE YEARS!!!

Happy THREE YEARS anniversary to the most amazing, wonderful, caring, loving woman I have ever known! The time that I have known you feels like it has just FLOWN by and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I love you, Emmy!!

paramedic!

No longer a paramedic STUDENT - I am now a PARAMEDIC!! I finished my practical exams today. Graduation is monday. I'm not sure if I'm more happy to be a medic now, or happy to be done with class and start to get my life back in order! This is just a quick update to let everyone know - everything panned out, my fears were unfounded, and I did fine in all of my exams.

The most important part of everything - my relationship with Emily withstood the test of paramedic class. I think at this point we can weather anything life throws at us. Hopefully, though, life is giving it's pitching arm a rest for a while.

So very, very happy, and very very tired. Glad that it's done - and looking forward to my future career as a Paramedic!

can't sleep

I can't sleep, so the obvious thing to do is change the design of my blog, which of course eventually leads to blogging. I re-read the post from yesterday. The one about how nervous I am, how unsure I will be able to finish all of this and make something of myself. It struck me that I failed to mention the one person who has believed in me through this entire journey. Through like three different jobs, and two careers.

EMILY!

If it weren't for Emily, I don't know what I would do. I actually don't know how she does it, to be honest. She is currently wrapping up her first year of grad school, while working a part-time job that consumes more of her time and energy than any average full-time job should, while being the most amazing, supportive, friendly person I've ever met, working out multiple times a week, doing yoga, training for and running a half-marathon, and still managing to make time to see me a few times a week when I can work it into my crazy schedule. Honestly. I don't understand it. When I look at how I have to plan out my week, and the things I do are in huge 24 or 12 hour chunks I get overwhelmed. Emily sometimes has to plan her days out to the hour to make sure everything gets done - and it DOES always get done. She's like superwoman! I tell people all the time that I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world. That I'm the lucky one. That I couldn't do this without her. That she means the world (and more) to me. But I think that THEY think I'm just being emotional. Or sappy. Or boasting. Well I am, all of those, but it's also the truth. There is NO WAY I would have ever even started medic class without Emily's support. I doubt I would have ever even joined the fire department without her encouragement. I would never have made it through fire recruit school. EMT school. Job changes. Training. Unemployment. Employment. Learning. Growing. I've learned how to share my life with her, too. REALLY share it. Not just superficially. The good and the bad. Although lately, there's been so much more good than bad as our lives keep getting better and more in sync. I've learned to be open and honest. I've learned to be healthy (erm, healthiER....still some room for improvement.) I've learned that steel toe boots, blue jeans, and a black polo shirt do not constitue appropriate "date night" attire. How I managed to win her love dressed like that on our first date is a mystery to me, even today.

So I don't say it often enough, but I try. I love you, Em. We make a great team.

paramedic class update

Not sure why I felt like posting a quick update tonight. I am nearing the end of paramedic class. In fact, I have just a little more than a month left to go. I feel nervous, happy, and anxious all at the same time. I am worried about getting all of my ALS contacts in. I am worried about knowing everything for the big quizzes we have each week, the final exam, and the registry written exam. Every time I have a good encounter with a patient, and help to create a positive outcome, it bolsters my confidence and makes me believe that this is what I was meant to do. Every time I have a rough day, or forget to do something, or make a mistake, it makes me panic that I'm wasting my time and I'll never be able to make this work.

ugh. blogging.

Sorry for not updating in forever. I guess every once in a while I need to review what I've got out here on the interwebs. I really don't post here all that often, so you should probably catch up with me on twitter or facebook.

The short version of what's going on: I'm doing St. Baldrick's again this year. Go here to check out my page. I'm in Paramedic class - actually about halfway through it, and LOVING it! I also have started a new job recently with EMT, Inc. I'm LOVING that too - good hours, good pay, great people! Quite the positive change from my previous place of employment.

Emmy and I are more in love than ever, and rockin out with our new lives together in the same city now, even if scheduling around classes, work, and clinical/field hours is hard sometimes.

That's the short version. Sorry to be brief, I've just kinda gotten used to 140-character updates instead of long blog posts. I'll try to get back to blogging more often when things slow down a little.

work work work

Worked a 24-hour shift at rural/metro and then spent almost all of today sleeping. Yesterday day shift wasn't so bad, only had maybe 8 runs in a 13 hour shift, but the night shift I got spanked, hardcore. I think the ALS crews got to sleep for a good part of the night, too. Pegg and I were on a BLS-only truck and we got sent to lexington, grant county, and all over northern kentucky and cincinnati. Glad to have the rest today, for sure.

Days (and nights) like that make me wish for a higher-paying, more stable job. Mostly because working long hours like that takes away from time I can spend with Emily. Phone calls and bbming with each other just doesn't cut it. I need hugs and face-to-face conversation. Some day, I guess, right?

back to work

Went back to work today. My back held up pretty well - certainly better than it was the first day I was off. A little sore, but nothing awful. Gary was actually a big help in doing a large part of the cot-lifting today, despite starting the day off with carrying a very large woman down a flight of outdoor, uneven steps without handrails, in a stairchair that was made, I think, in soviet Russia prior to the start of the Cold War. (I'm just guessing, though...)