Minor Panic Mode

I keep all of my keys together on one carabiner. One ring for car, house, and FD keys. The second ring for my narc keys for work.

My narc keys have disappeared from the carabiner, possibly on the way home from conference. I'll begin searching a 250 mile corridor from here to Bend...

I'm in minor panic mode...

Edit:
Keys located--they're only 90 miles away...

Conference Day 2

So I started the day with a great lecture on "Dirty Little Secrets of EMS," all the little things we do that we don't want to admit to. A little expository and embarrassing, but very funny and insightful. I continued with an ECG class by Bob Page--another excellent class with lots of information I'll be able to use in the field. I spent a lot of time with my dad today (who attended the conference and awards dinners with me) taking some BLS classes.

At lunch today, a ton of door prizes were given out--about $10,000 worth. I walked away with a new Littman stethoscope. Boo ya!

We go home in the morning with a 6 hour drive back to the coast, so I'm headed to bed.

New Word of the Day

Parapup: (par-a-pup) noun - a paramedic student or one waiting to take their paramedic certification exam

Conference Day 1

First day of conference started at 0800 with a presentation by Dr Broselow (that's right, of Broselow Tape fame). He spent two one hour sessions demoing a new Color Code Kids system that is designed to provide a computer based, bedside reference for all things pediatric. He's even experimenting with syringes with color coded dose markers and bringing the color coded system to consumers (color coded car seats, OTC meds, etc.) Very interesting stuff.

I spent an hour with Bob Page in Slap the Cap! learning so many things about capnography that I didn't even know. There's an aweful lot scheduled for tomorrow that I'm looking forward to.

Tonight was our awards dinner which started with the presentation of colors, then a little-too-over-the-top rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The food was good (much better than last years) and the program went somewhat smoothly. One of the presenters kept messing up his little speeches, skipping or changing important details about the stories. The medals weren't available as they hadn't arrived by FedEx yet. Oh, and my award plaque had me listed as an EMT-Basic. Oh well.

Long day ahead of me tomorrow, I'll be going to bed soon.

Pre-Conference

The wife and I are headed off to EMS Conference in the morning. We're headed to Bend, in eastern Oregon, which is high desert country and absolutely beautiful. I'm looking forward to the trip, lots of good lectures, and maybe some golf. We'll be back on Sunday with lots of pictures.

Eliminated

Overheard on the radio tonight while returning from a transfer...

Medic: "Medcom, Medic 1."
Dispatch: "Medic 1."
Medic: "We've eliminated our 3rd rider." (That's right, lots of emphasis on eliminated.)
Dispatch: "Copy medic 1, clear your 3rd rider."

Laughter ensued...

I Didn't Ask For A Lifeboat

I don't blog about politics because I think there is so much of that on the internet already. Really, the most political thing I've done with this blog is slap an Obama banner up. But with the passing of the financial bail out package, I feel that it's time to rant a little.

The biggest thing I have to say is that I agree with Gov. Palin:

"Let's do what our parents told us before we probably even got that first credit card. Don't live outside of our means. We need to make sure that as individuals we're taking personal responsibility through all of this."

I understand that the country is in an economic crisis, much of which as a result of a failing mortgage industry, again as a result of lenders baiting borrowers into deals that were too good to be true. The burden for this crisis rests just as much on the American public that keeps borrowing as it does the banks that keep lending.

I have to love Gov. Schwarzenegger's quote about the bail-out:

"The federal rescue package is not a bailout of Wall Street tycoons -- it is a lifeboat for millions of Americans whose life savings, businesses, retirement plans and jobs are at stake."

I don't know about you, but I didn't ask for a lifeboat. I just bought a house--responsibly. I have a 30-year fixed mortgage. I'm able to make my payments on a monthly basis and yeah, sometimes it's tight, but my wife and I made sacrifices to make it work. And if even if I wanted a lifeboat, cut me the check.

When I see stories like this, about a woman who's debt was forgiven because she shot herself twice in the chest after sheriff's attempted to evict her, I get really upset. It doesn't matter that the woman was 90, it matters that the women took out a $46,000 dollar mortgage and an $11,000 dollar line of credit in 2004, it matters that she kept missing payments, it matters than she had been served eviction notices 30 times before this incident. Don't get me wrong, I feel for anyone who's home is taken away from them, but where was this woman's sense of personal responsibility? And where was this woman's common sense (she had 90 years of it) when she refinanced and took out a line of credit. Now she's a damn national hero.

This sort of stuff upsets me. The government has rescued the banks and now those individuals that are defaulting on their mortgages, those actually in financial need, are going to want their own bail out. The average American in mortgage trouble is now going to feel entitled to money in hand, for someone else to fix their financial problems.

I think my biggest bother about the whole bail out is that we're not looking for accountability here. The banks over-stretched themselves with the amount of money they've lent and the American people have over-stretched themselves by borrowing too much. And all that we're learning from all of this is that it doesn't matter, we'll just buy your debt, forgive what you owe, or print more money (oh wait, that's our next rescue plan).

Good News

I had to stop in at headquarters on my way home from work this morning to fill out my time card and such. As I was leaving, actually pulling out of the parking lot, my boss flags me down and calls me into his office. This was unusual and he was looking pretty severe.

I stepped into his office and thankfully he didn't close the door behind me. He turned to me and said, "you remember that call in December, during the storm?"

"Yeah..." The Great Coastal Gale of 2007, not something I'll easily forget. I wrote about it here.

"Well, it sure made for a good story. I wrote it up and sent it into the state for a Meritorious Service award."

Great! I'm thinking, my partner and I are going to receive a Unit Citation.

"Turns out," my boss keeps going, "they thought it was worth a Medal of Valor."

That's right, my partner and I are receiving the highest honor for EMS uniformed service personnel in the state. According to Oregon's EMS awards handbook:

The Medal of Valor recognizes acts of personal valor or heroism in the delivery of emergency medical care, which results in the saving of a life under extreme conditions and in extraordinary circumstances.

Just as cool, the Pacific Power & Light utility worker that helped clear the highway for my partner and I will be receiving the same award. We'll all be going to the Oregon EMS Conference in October and receive our awards at a banquet dinner. I can't tell you how excited I am to be receiving this award.

What did you do tonight?

I just got home from fighting a very large, fully involved structure fire.

Lots of flames, lots of hard work. I am very tired and I think I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder.

I'll write more later.

It was a good night.

Today

... I didn't forget.

Seven years ago, I was asleep in the upstairs loft of my parents place. I had just graduated high school a few months before and was sleeping in late until I had to work my shift at the movie theatre later that day. There was a knock on the door, then it opened. "Jeramy, wake up," it was my mother.

"What is it, mom?"

"Hun, you need to turn on your TV. Planes just flew into the World Trade Center."

"Hmmph. Okay." I started to roll out of bed as my mom closed the door. What the hell is the World Trade Center? I thought.

By the end of the day, I knew.

***

That day, I saw my father cry, after the realization struck that 9-11 was 911. My dad to me is a stoic guy, I'd never seen him cry before. As my family sat around the TV that evening, watching CNN, and the estimate of FDNY firemen lost went to over 300, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I sobbed, shoulders shaking and tears streaming my face. Dad got up from his chair, set a hand on my shoulder and said to me, "son, it's okay. We've all got to be strong, okay?"

***

Today, I didn't forget. Never once have I forgotten, not the 343 firefighters, 23 NYPD officers, 37 NY Port Authority Officers, and K9 Sirius, 8 private EMS workers, and the 2,564 civilians and military personnel killed at the Towers and the Pentagon.

I have to say how proud I am of my fellow blogging community for the 9/11 tributes that I've read today, they have truly lifted my heart.

Everyone, take care today and keep those that were lost in your hearts and thoughts.