Passed My State EMT Exam

Got an email this morning from my EMT teacher saying I passed the state exam! yay!

Aren't I On Holiday Yet?

Twice today my cell phone has mysteriously dropped a call. I have been on the phone, sitting at my desk, and then my phone beeps and the screen says "CALL LOST". Irritating, especially when I am on a work call. The worst part is that I now have a land line, well, sorta. I have a vonage line. I can't give a review of this service as I have yet to use the phone. You may ask "why are you using your unreliable cell phone when you have another option?". The answer is that people are calling me, and I have no idea what my new phone number is. I have admitted this twice today and know I sound like a complete dumb-ass.

I have watched two episodes of the History Channel's Human Weapon. So far I love this show. Two fit men with some sports and martial arts experience travel to the country of a martial art's origin to learn/dabble-in a specific martial art. Then after their training they fight a local master. The part I love the most: they get their asses handed to them, just as they should. This program has a light veneer of learning about martial arts history, just enough that you forget it really is reality tv, but enough that I feel I learned something. So far I have seen the Eskrima (Phillipino stick fighting), and the Muay Thai. The eskrima show was especially fun as Rick and I have some experience.

Took the State Exam Last Night

Last night was the Virginia State EMT exam. The exam has three pass/fail stations: a medical practical that you pass/fail with your partner, a trauma practical that you pass/fail with your partner, and a 100 multiple choice written exam that you pass/fail on your own. You must pass all three to receive your certification. Your partner leads one practical and you lead the other. The lead EMT takes charge and basically tells the "second" to do all the supporting tasks: administer O2, take vitals, assist with splinting, etc. The practicals are timed: you have 10 minutes to get the patient in the ambulance, and 5 minutes to get detailed history and vitals in the back of the ambulance. The ambulance is simulated.

I did take the exam with my original partner, who had shown promise on Tuesday. I thought he knew his stuff. I thought he could handle the script, and it really is a script. You do the same thing, just managing and airway, breathing, bleeding, shock, deformities as you find them. The state exam doesn't throw too much at you that is difficult as there are between 40 - 70 students to test in a night and the examiners don't want to be there 6 hours.

Well, I know I passed the written, and I know I passed the medical (which I led). We will see if we passed the trauma. My partner lead the trauma, and a few things did not go according to plan. One of which was caused by me being stressed because I could see the proverbial gears grinding to a hault in Felton's head.

I get my results in 2 weeks. And I can retest trauma in January if need be. Fingers crossed that I either passed this time, or get a good partner in January.

Man-Made Tornados And Little-Old-Lady Battery

Saturday was spent realizing I am going to abandon my EMT partner as he is incapable of passing the state exam this Thursday. I am extremely conflicted about this decision and can't quite write about it yet.

Sunday we rented the most amazing piece of lawn equipment. It is a gas-powered, pushable leaf blower. I know, I know, leaf blowers are a good way to make your neighbors hate you, but we waited until 11 am to start using it, and in 3 hours we were able to clear our entire yard of the layers and layers of leaves we have allowed to build-up. This machine moved 3 feet of leaves into the woods behind our house without a problem, AND was very pretty to watch.

I also went to my first League of Women Voters event: their annual holiday party. The Williamsburg League (and yes, when I say, write, or think "league" I imagine some super hero group in an underground bunker with costumes that involve capes - this is very very far from the reality) is primarily made-up of retired or semi-retired ladies. Many are over 70 years old. I had the unfortunate experience of being pulled aside at the party and having a 4'9'' woman tell me in the kindest way possible that I need to shake hands more gently with older folks as my pressure is vice-like and will cause their hands to bruise. She showed me her hand, and sure enough I had caused some redness and swelling. Damn those blood thinners they all take. The thing that makes this story even worse is that I found out later that this women is the mother of one of Rick's co-workers.

Busy Last Few Days

December, as usual, is turning into a busy time. Since last posting I have had an all-day pediatrics class, complete with a video on "high tech kids" documenting three toddlers and the various high-tech health gadgets installed at their home. These children are most accurately described as cyborgs; many depend on technology for breathing, eating, and sometime even simple movement. With all the high tech gizmos these children can live at home, with their parents and other siblings.

Also had dinner at our place with friends Nick and Melody. Nick is a co-worker of Rick's, and also plays an online shooting game with Rick. For the first-person-shooter they use microphones to communicate with each other , and also to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are super-nerds. Both men left their microphones and software on for a week without playing. During this week Nick's girlfriend was convinced that their neighbors had adopted a new, very noisy dog. The dog kept barking beyond the wall where their computer desk was located. But low and behold, their neighbors had not gotten a pet, Nick and Melody were forced to listen to our dog, barking loud and long over our microphone. Those of you who have met Osa will know that it is a miracle that Nick and Melody still want to be our friends...hmm, they might have just come over to eat dinner and watch the Oklahoma/Mizou game on our HDtv...

Rick's mum is also in town, last night we attended the Colonial Williamsburg Grand Illumination event that kicks-off the CW holiday festivities. The Grand Illumination is an enormous fireworks display done in three locations around the park: the Governor's Palace, the Magazine, and the Capitol Building. The fireworks were awesome. Better even than Avon, CO, which was my previous winner of best fireworks display.

Work is also ramping-up like crazy, and all I want to do is sleep til noon.