Testing, Utah, Friends

Our EMT class is definitely wrapping up. Today we took our two class finals: our Urban EMT final and our Wilderness EMT final. The rest of the day was spent doing practical skills sign-offs to get ready for our National Registry and California state practical exams tomorrow (they're actually the same test). It didn't hit me that we're done until we started clearing the room to get ready for testing which for most of us meant packing up the books and paperwork that hasn't moved since the beginning of this month. I'm scheduled to take my practical exams tomorrow morning at 0900. When I'm done, I'm planning on going into the park with my friend Haley to climb for the rest of the day. Friday I take my National Registry written exam and then head out to Cedar City for the rest of the summer. To be honest, I'm not too worried. This class really has prepared us for the testing we're about to go through tomorrow and Friday. I passed both written tests today and I have no doubt that I'll pass the tests to come.

It's weird to think that I start work next Monday. I have my pack test first thing Monday morning, then a lot of training for the rest of the week. On the 12th I start at the air center. I have a lot to catch up on, physical training wise after that 24 hour bug completely wipe my system out. I am ready to switch my mind from the Emergency Medical Services mindset to that of fire suppression though.

I'm really happy to see that a lot of my friends are doing more and more adventurous things with their life. My friend Charles is planning to canoe from Lake Superior to the Hudson bay via Lake Winnipeg. If I was fighting fires, I'd join him for the entire trip. My friend Heather is driving from Cancun to Believe to work with birds of prey for 6 weeks. It's a relief to hear these types of stories from my own friends. It's a drag to hear people think that what you think is normal or crazed necessity (i.e. working out west or working in Antarctica) crazy and impossible to do. Anyone can work in Antarctica. Anyone can travel across the country or the world. All you have to do is tell yourself that you're going to do it.

Last Week, Sick, and Antarctica

It's our last week of class. I did my clinicals this past weekend in the hospital and on an ambulance and the only thing eventful that happened was me coming down with some sort of food poisoning. Today I haven't gone to class just because I've been too sick to get out of bed. Around lunch I managed to muster up the strength to take a shower and anser 10 voice mails. One of them being my job offer for a Lieutenant's position next Austral Summer at McMurdo which I'm pretty excited about. This week, I have a lot of tests. I have two more class tests, our final Wilderness test, the California state test and practical, and the National Registry written and practical tests. Next Monday, I take my pack test and I start working for the fire season. Asides from being sick, this week isn't turning out too bad....

This Week

By this time in our class, we've learned most of what the course encompasses and our scenarios are getting crazier and more realistic every time. Today we did a scenario involving 8 passengers in a train which involved a smoke pot, a mock "train car", seats, and a lot of moulage and drama. Despite not wanting to be a patient, I had a lot of fun participating in that drill. I'm ready to move on with class. I'm ready to start the fire season and stay busy. I'm waiting to see if I can play my cards right enough to be put through Intermediate or Paramedic school.

I seem to be nursing a back injury from Lord knows what. The past couple days have been hard on me sitting down, bending over, and walking downhill. I've been doing a lot of hiking to get ready for the grueling PT's we'll be going through next month and I'm not sure if they're the cause of my back pain. At first I thought it was kidney stones until I realized the extent of the pain moving my back in weird directions. Thank God they were not kidney stones.

This week, I head into Fresno for my clinicals: 12 hours on a Paramedic ambulance and 8 hours in Regional Medical Center in Fresno which means a weekend full of trauma, blood, and gore. I can't wait...at the same time, I can't wait to get this week over with. Oh well, 7 classes to go. Not much else is going on...

The Weekend

A fun weekend with a filled schedule. I visited my friend and old boss from HTO, Tom Nadzam, this weekend in Marina, CA which is on the Monterrey Peninsula. I went to a party where he was DJing, crashed at his house over night, and hung out on the beach and around town before driving 3 hours back to Yosemite. I enjoyed visiting Tom and I definitely enjoyed spending the weekend in that area. I forgot how wonderful the smell of saltwater is. I got me thinking of other places to do or live in the winter. I don't know about Marina (it actually isn't a bad place though) but I'm definitely thinking along the lines of something on a coast. I don't know. I have time to think about that.

While driving back, I couldn't happen to notice that it's definitely getting drier and the fire season is right around the corner. I passed two fires, and saw hordes of CDF fire trucks all over the highways. Between that and the fact that I start working in 2 weeks has got me really excited for the fire season.

WEMT Class Life

The days are getting warmer. Yesterday was hot! I actually regretted wearing pants in place of shorts for once. I made it into Yosemite park for the first time this weekend. Man, what a beautiful place. Seeing in person El Capitan, Half Dome, Quarter Dome, The Nose, and a slew of other climbs that have plagued my dreams and aspirations was absolutely amazing. A bunch of us hiked up to Upper Yosemite falls which turned out to be a 6.8 mile hike both ways with an altitude gain of 3,000+ ft. I nearly destroyed my knees but I'm thankful that I went on the hike. Being around so many hikers and climbers is exhilarating. I have a new found enthusiasm for where I'm at, what I'm learning, and with whom I'm taking this class. Yesterday was spent recovering from my hike and swimming in the Merced River which runs along Hwy 140 where the Yosemite Bug Hostel is located. It's weird knowing that by the end of this week, the class will be half done. 4 more weeks till I start fighting fire...

WEMT Class

It's been 3 days since I've done anything electronic: talked on my cellphone, check my email, or surf the web. To be honest, it's been great being disconnected from the outside world. Our class is pretty intense. What would have taken 2 1/2 weeks to cover in my last EMT class, we've covered in less than 4 days. The one thing about this course, though, is that the people I'm in the class with are amazing. I'm having a blast learning new wilderness skills as well as refreshing my urban skills. To describe this place would be like saying that I'm at a month long EMT camp. My "room" is a canvas tent with a wooden floor and electricity. Mornings are cold waking up. We're right in the Merced River Valley outside of Yosemite National Park so we're right in the middle of no where in the forest. So far I love it and I'm sure it will get better....

A Week of Driving

I feel pretty shitty that I didn't write any posts throughout one of the most important weeks of this year. I've made it to Cali. I left DC at 0700 Tuesday morning and made it to Flagstaff, AZ by 2000 Wednesday...now that is a lot of driving. I made sure to drive from Flagstaff to Cedar City during the day as I did not want to miss seeing that country in the daylight. Driving through northern Arizona was amazing. Marble canyon (which turns into the Grand Canyon within 100 miles from where I was) was pretty cool to drive over. I started passing some amazing geology as I inched closer and closer to Utah and Zion. To my surprise I made it to Zion NP to find out that I would have to drive through the park to get to Springdale, I-15, and eventually Cedar City. This, of course, was not an issue. As I've yet to venture into Yosemite Park, Zion remains one of the most amazing places I have ever physically laid my eyes on. The color of the mountains, the size of the rock faces, everything. That was the best 45 minutes of the week, driving through the park. Surprisingly, it's not a long drive from the entrance of Zion to Cedar City. I finally made it into the place I had been talking about for months...Cedar City. I met my boss(es), explored the town, and explored the mountains nearby which are only a couple miles from the end of town. I left Cedar City for Mammoth Lakes to pick up a friend of mine from Antarctica Saturday morning and headed across nothingness, Nevada. The only thing remotely interesting about my drive across the Nevada desert was driving on The Extra Terrestrial Highway, a 90 mile stretch of highway that supposedly receives a lot of UFO sightings. Considering not shit can be found along that high way, the excitement of being on it died off after about 20 miles. I made it to Mammoth Lakes, California after 6 hours of driving. It turned out to be a pretty cool little mountain town that revolves around skiing/snowboarding, biking, and climbing. I was sad to see it go. I even thought about living there for a bit. After a week of traveling, I finally made it to Midpines, CA to start my WEMT class. It's already turning out to be better than expected with the amount of friends I've made by today, day 3. I was looking forward to this class being over and the fire season beginning but I'm looking forward to drawing this class out...