Living In the World, Not on It

We had two emergency runs tonight, which means that there was one less call from last week. Last week we had three runs, each with 20 minutes of downtime in between, just enough time to catch your breath and remove your shoes, but not much else. They were, surprisingly, all medical calls and all emergent... So often we are taking completely non-emergent patients (much like call #2 tonight). Tonight's call #1 was over on Califon Drive, on the other side of town (this is normally Car 65's area, but their primary rig was out and had only one person respond to the backup call. He remained onscene in his personal vehicle and helped us when we showed up, but it was our call.) The patient, an elderly lady who fell while attempting to go to the bathroom, conveniently fell into the bathtub... I'm not sure how that was convenient or to whom, since it took the collaborative efforts of all of us to get her extricated safely from said tub. The husband mention a history of Alzheimers, b...

It is 27 December. Of 2007, a very short span of time now. I can't believe that, how fast the time goes. And so it is that I find myself surprised by the fact that people have long said that time goes faster when you are older. As a kid I certainly wasn't buying. Of course, that saying went along with, "You should appreciate this time. These are the best years of your life." What idiot came up with that? And were they born adults that some how they missed childhood? I did not find much in my kidhood all that and a bag of chips. Time moved so slowly for me and maybe for me more than others. Now, it moves so fast that I have learned to slow down and look at things. I love appreciating the stars as they dance in the sky. I see sunrises and sunsets. I love holding my kitties. I love driving and seeing the seasons change the scenery. Smell the smells, see the sights, hear the music, feel the different fabrics of anything, tastes the flavours. Enjoy my family, my friends, m...

This took place on Wednesday, 19 December. I awoke around 0800, jumped in the shower and spent some time on their, taking my off the hunger issues. I wasn't too hungry, but it was definitely getting to be time to eat something. I went into the doc's office and he immediately commented on my smaller size. I was appreciative but when we did the new weigh in against the old one, I'm down from 205lbs to 170lbs!! How much did I love that? The nurse checked most things out and took blood from one arm, and then did the turberculosis titer. I was hoping this wouldn't be so obvious.... but crazy nurse drew a huge red circle on my arm! Like I couldn't find the titer mark! Well, everyone knew it was there. But it was negative, as I knew it would be, and I can only assume that this is the case across the board. No one's called. Still... 30lbs! Everything else is gravy!

I had said earlier in the winter that I'd like to end out the year with 365 or more postings to average out to one post a day over the course of 2007. I'm not too far from doing it, but amusing, I will have to put up roughly four posts a day to pull it off. I can manage that, although some of it will undoubtedly come from articles and what-have-you amoung other things to allow me to manage that number. Sadly, it is not a lack of materials that ties me up but time. Isn't it always time... The fulltime job and the volunteer job and the insanity of the holidays and all the normal stuff in between, like ebaying and yoga and a multitude of other things... all contributors to lack of time to do this. Still, I love my life, I'm finally right where I want to be and -oh, did I mention? - 30 pounds - that's right, POUNDS! - Thinner! Wahoo! Is that honking great or what?! Yes, there has been a lot going. And I will put in separate posts to illustrate the many things!

This one-on-one yoga stuff is too good to be true! I really have grown to love John, the instructor; he's warm and fuzzy and fun, and still gets the job done. It is always a very positive experience and I enjoy his tutelage and talents and he has a great sense of humour. He always tells us/me to do the pose, what exactly we need to do to accomplish it and then tells us/me to breathe and smile! It is fun, but it is hard work, too. Which is as it should be. Although there was a hilarious moment, when we were doing the relaxation part at the end... the music (by Loreena McKennitt, a personal favourite of mine) had some man who was make a speech (or more likely soliloquising...) and suddenly he was going on about fire and brimstone and hell... and I just couldn't help it - I burst out laughing. How relaxing is this to hear? It was quite funny. None-the-less, I think I am going to be feeling this in my shoulders tomorrow. Good! I need to be a lot more aware of where my shoulders are...

Boxing Day is a traditional celebration, dating back to the Middle Ages, and consisted of the practice of giving out gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class . The name has numerous folk etymologies; the Oxford English Dictionary attributes it to the Christmas box ; the verb box meaning: "To give a Christmas-box (colloq.); whence boxing-day." Outside the Commonwealth, the day is still celebrated but just with a different name. Folk etymologies The more common stories include: It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas box to those who had worked for them throughout the year. In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December , the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, ...

It was a record-breaking year for astronomy. Astronomers identified the most planet-rich known alien solar system, clocked the fastest flows of matter, and discovered the largest cosmic void. They were also surprised by some celestial oddities, including a star with a tail like a comet and an enigmatic blast of radio waves whose source is still unknown. Many of 2007's most remarkable findings were about alien solar systems, including a system boasting five planets – the most populous system known besides our own. This is a measure of how far astronomy has come in recent times, considering that just 12 years earlier, not a single planet orbiting another star like our Sun had been discovered. The Hubble space telescope detected what some scientists interpreted as a sign of water in the atmosphere of an alien planet, though the searingly hot gas giant it was found in is highly unlikely to support life. Astronomers claimed that another newly discovered planet, called Gliese 581c, was...