It's been a while since I've written. A lot going on, especially where I am in a crunch to be completely ready for school when I leave this coming Sunday. That said, I'm going to make an effort to write while I am there, mostly chronicling the course and my experiences there from day-to-day. We'll see how it goes, but as I said, I will try my best. It will make up for the lack of writing on my part over the last couple of months.
I'm actually able to see again! I had my eyes examined this morning, and where there were vision changes came an updated eyeglasses prescription. It was necessary - I was really having a hard time seeing, much less reading, writing, and doing my job. Not only that, but the lenses are clear. No scratches. Plus, I bit the bullet and got prescription sunglasses as well. I never, ever saw myself doing that, but I decided in the interest of doing everything I can to maintain some semblance of optical health that it was a good idea. My wife commented to me that the sunglasses look like "paramilitary cop shades." Perhaps they do, but I like them, and they are effective at dealing with glare.
Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Lisa. I hadn't seen her in quite a while, probably the better part of the past 9 months of so. It was nice catching up with her - she and I have been friends for over 12 years at this point. Our children have gone to school together, we have common interests, and we've supported each other through difficult times in our lives. It was just really nice to get to spend time with a dear friend and be able to reconnect. I truly hope we get to talk more often than we do; 9 months is too long to not see someone who is as important to me in my life as she is.
The city of Manchester implemented a new dispatch system over the past couple of weeks. It's what is known as a "system status management" based entity. Basically, what that means to me as an EMS provider in the city is that if I am out on the road somewhere and a call comes in somewhere near where I am located, I get sent on the call. In principle, it's not a bad thing, but when it happens to you three or four times in a row, it can get old really fast. That happened to us Sunday night, in fact; we happened to be near locations where calls were being dispatched to, and we'd keep getting sent. In fact, we did 7 calls Sunday night to everyone else's 3 or 4, plus 6 more during the day Monday. It was a difficult 24 hours, and when I got home early Monday evening, all I wanted to do was to go to sleep. I think I slept for approximately 12-13 hours, but I'm not certain of that.
The inherent problem with the new system, as I see it, is the manner in which calls are dispatched. Each city vehicle, whether it's a piece of fire apparatus, a police cruiser, or one of our ambulances, has been outfitted with a mobile display terminal and a GPS transceiver. So our fire alarm dispatch center has access to every vehicle's whereabouts at all times. Again, in principle, not a bad thing. I think the real problem is that there are lots of growing pains with this system as it is so new, and everyone really is doing their best to work with it. Hopefully as time goes on the usage will improve.
I am still studying - lots of material to claw through over the next few days. As it is, I am working on Friday for 24 hours (or close to it) so I need to make sure I have a lot done today. My Saturday will consist of packing up for departure Sunday, and hopefully getting to spend some time with my wife and see my kids before I go. It's going to be a long three weeks.....
I'm actually able to see again! I had my eyes examined this morning, and where there were vision changes came an updated eyeglasses prescription. It was necessary - I was really having a hard time seeing, much less reading, writing, and doing my job. Not only that, but the lenses are clear. No scratches. Plus, I bit the bullet and got prescription sunglasses as well. I never, ever saw myself doing that, but I decided in the interest of doing everything I can to maintain some semblance of optical health that it was a good idea. My wife commented to me that the sunglasses look like "paramilitary cop shades." Perhaps they do, but I like them, and they are effective at dealing with glare.
Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Lisa. I hadn't seen her in quite a while, probably the better part of the past 9 months of so. It was nice catching up with her - she and I have been friends for over 12 years at this point. Our children have gone to school together, we have common interests, and we've supported each other through difficult times in our lives. It was just really nice to get to spend time with a dear friend and be able to reconnect. I truly hope we get to talk more often than we do; 9 months is too long to not see someone who is as important to me in my life as she is.
The city of Manchester implemented a new dispatch system over the past couple of weeks. It's what is known as a "system status management" based entity. Basically, what that means to me as an EMS provider in the city is that if I am out on the road somewhere and a call comes in somewhere near where I am located, I get sent on the call. In principle, it's not a bad thing, but when it happens to you three or four times in a row, it can get old really fast. That happened to us Sunday night, in fact; we happened to be near locations where calls were being dispatched to, and we'd keep getting sent. In fact, we did 7 calls Sunday night to everyone else's 3 or 4, plus 6 more during the day Monday. It was a difficult 24 hours, and when I got home early Monday evening, all I wanted to do was to go to sleep. I think I slept for approximately 12-13 hours, but I'm not certain of that.
The inherent problem with the new system, as I see it, is the manner in which calls are dispatched. Each city vehicle, whether it's a piece of fire apparatus, a police cruiser, or one of our ambulances, has been outfitted with a mobile display terminal and a GPS transceiver. So our fire alarm dispatch center has access to every vehicle's whereabouts at all times. Again, in principle, not a bad thing. I think the real problem is that there are lots of growing pains with this system as it is so new, and everyone really is doing their best to work with it. Hopefully as time goes on the usage will improve.
I am still studying - lots of material to claw through over the next few days. As it is, I am working on Friday for 24 hours (or close to it) so I need to make sure I have a lot done today. My Saturday will consist of packing up for departure Sunday, and hopefully getting to spend some time with my wife and see my kids before I go. It's going to be a long three weeks.....
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