Thanks for Wiping My Sweat

I was on EMS duty on Friday and Saturday nights, so my sleep schedule is pretty screwed up.

On Friday, I had a call for a sexual assault. I hate doing those. It’s not because of the patient. It’s the fact that you have to sit there and wait for the officer to get their report, and then for the investigator to come out and interview the victim. We end up wasting so much time just sitting there and waiting. For the time the call was toned out, to the time we were able to go back into service was over three hours. That’s just wrong.

On Saturday night, we were busy. The other crew got a call for a “lift assist”. Sounds pretty typical. They get on scene, and call our crew to come out and assist them. But was weird is that they asked up to respond “emergency traffic”. Lift assist usually doesn’t require emergency traffic, so I should have known something more was going on.

We get to the scene, and the patient is in the bathtub, wet, and his internal defibrillator is going off every couple of minutes. So, if you were touching him when it went off, you got a little jolt yourself. Fortunately, I got to play the job of gopher, so I never had direct contact with the patient. I communicated with the patient’s wife a lot so she would stay informed. I feel that’s very important. She was so calm while all this was going on. When we got the patient to the ambulance, I was standing by the side door documenting everything going on. The patient’s wife comes over to me and I let her know that we just wanted to give the patient some medications before leaving for the hospital. She had a paper towel or something in her hand, and she starts cleaning the sweat off my forehead. I just thought that was so sweet of her.

I did manage to apply online to two job postings, so that’s good. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything back.

Cereal Anyone?

Lori and my mom came over to my apartment on Saturday afternoon. They brought me two 12-packs of Diet Coke, a box of Cheez-Its, and two boxes of cereal. They also gave me the cutest card to help keep my spirits up during the job search. It was very nice of them. They stayed for a little while, and then we loaded up my desktop computer and took it over to mom’s house. Since I have my laptop now, I handed my desktop over to her.

When we get to her house, I get the computer set up. They won’t have internet access until Wednesday, so there wasn’t much more I could do. Her main question to me…”How do we play the games on the computer?” Mom…gotta love her.

Keep Prayin'

Well, I did get some good news today. I emailed the company that I sent my resume to just to follow up. I got an email back stating that they are sure they have received my resume and that they are getting quite a large number of applicants. They also stated that they will hopefully be in touch with you soon. Keep me in your prayers that my resume will stand out for the rest and I’ll get called for an interview.

Mark your calendars!

The new season of Smallville starts on September 22nd at 7:00pm

That means more of this!

I'm Alright

I’m feeling a lot better today than I did last night.

First of all, I need to thank Julie Leal (AKA Skip) for having lunch with me yesterday. She is such a hoot! She always has the funniest stories when it comes to her kids. She usually leaves me in stitches.

A big “Thank You” to Audra for calling me today just to check up on me. She’s such an angel.

Well, as a friend, she’s an angel. We won’t discuss her social life

I finally managed to create a password-protected Members’ Area for the IAAP-CLNAC web site. It’s been a thorn in my side for the past two weeks. It was a big relief to get that done. I’m very happy now.

Blues

I think I’m finally getting those “out-of-work” blues. I don’t know why, but I can tell I’m starting to fight depression more than usual. I know I’ve only been looking for a new job for a couple of days, but it seems like it’s been an eternity. I’ve done some job searching, but there doesn’t seem to be anything out there that really interests me. It just sucks.

It’s Monday…and I’m still unemployed

But, on a positive note, I did spend a few hours yesterday working on my resume. I did find a job that looked interesting, so I sent my resume and cover letter. Keep your fingers cross that I get an interview.

Gringo's

What a day! I found out that Schlumberger went ahead and deposited my vacation pay in my bank account on Wednesday. That was a huge relief since I still haven’t gotten paid for the expense report I turned in for the Washington DC trip. Since I realized I didn’t have an interview suit, I went shopping for one. I finally found one at the third store I went to.

Then, Belinda was going out to dinner with a friend of hers to Gringo’s and invited me to come along. Actually, she wanted me there as a “buffer”, but I didn’t mind. I know that she would do the same for me if needed. It was nice to get out, have dinner, and a few drinks.

When I got home, for some unknown reason, I decided to give my friend Chris a call. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation started, but I remember him telling me to wait until he told me what kind of week he has had before I started talking. The poor guy wrecked his motorcycle this past Tuesday. Some stupid bitch pulled out right in front of him. He’s okay, although he does has a serious case of road rash.

That’s it for now

FridayQ

FQ TOPIC: Culinary.

FQ1: In addition to the dearly departed Julia Child, who is your favorite food personality? Does Iron Chef count?

FQ2: What meal would you have this culinary genius prepare for you if they asked? Probably some Italian dish; definitely not anything with seafood.

FQ3: If they refused, and you could eat at any restaurant you wanted as a consolation, which one would you choose? That’s easy…Dave & Busters. They have food, alcohol, and games…what more could you want?

FQ KITCHEN: Share with us a favorite recipe or cooking tip. Everyone knows I can’t cook. I can bake, but I can’t cook. So, my tip would be from something I have done several times before. Make sure if you boil water, that you take it off the stove before all the water evaporates so you don’t burn the pan.

Still going...

First of all, I need to thank Beverly for taking out for lunch yesterday. That was very nice of her.

Second, I want to thank everyone who has given me so many words of encouragement. I guess I never realized how many people actually care about me. It’s sad that I didn’t realize it before. I really appreciate it. It’s also weird that I haven’t heard from some people that I thought I would hear from. I guess when you’re cut loose from work, you find out which of your coworkers were really friends.

I had an appointment with my psychiatrist today. Just for the record, it was already scheduled before I got terminated from work. I think my doctor was in more disbelief about the termination than I was. He said I was handling it well. I told him that it has been a long, long time since I took a vacation, so I was just taking it easy this week.

Actually, I have gotten a lot of work done of the IAAP CLNAC web site. When you get a chance, you should check it out and let me know what you think. I also managed to get my resume updated (yeah!). I put together my new desk that was delivered today (which I had ordered before I got fired). I’ve also taken this time to do some major cleaning around the apartment. I think I have already thrown away seven bags of trash in just the past few days.

I am surviving. Again, I really appreciate everyone’s kind words. A big “Thank You” goes out to you!

Day 1 Completed

Well, I survived my first full day of being unemployed. I don’t feel like I accomplished anything today, but I’m not worried about it. I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation so I seizing the opportunity now. I did go by the library and get some books about resumes. I also did some work on the IAAP-CLNAC web site. I guess I did manage to get some things done. There are a lot of things that I want to get done around the apartment. I have a new desk that should be delivered later this week, so I need to do some rearranging before that arrives. Maybe I’ll work on that while I’m taking breaks from the resume writing. I really just want to go out and get hammered, but since my funds don’t look so good, I’ll have to wait on doing that.

I really appreciate those people I worked with at Schlumberger that have posted on my site and have called me. It’s nice to know that I still have some friends at that place.

Otherwise, I think I’m doing fine. I spoke with my best friend, Christine, earlier today. She asked if I was just saying that since she knows how I normally hide it when I’m not doing well. But I really feel fine, so I’m guessing that I am. Of course, anything can change, but I’m okay for now.

Horoscope

Check out my horoscope for today! It's too weird:

"After yesterday, undoubtedly you're thinking you're ready for anything. Everything becomes an adventure."

I think that's pretty accurate.

All good things must come to an end

I got fired from my job today.

Isn't life just wonderful.

Atlas

One of my managers paid a wonderful compliment to me last week. I was talking with a technician that just transferred into one of my groups. He was making sure that I was his admin now. I told him that I pretty much support everyone. As I was telling this to the technician, Manuel, one of my managers, was walking by. I asked Manuel to attest to the fact that I pretty much support everyone. He turned to the technician and said, "Atlas stands on HER shoulders". I thought that was really sweet of him to say.

FridayQ

FQ TOPIC: Ego.

FQ1: What is an activity that you can do better than anybody else you know? I can’t think of one.

FQ2: What is a subject where you are smarter than anybody else you know? Again, can’t think of one…maybe insignificant trivia.

FQ3: What is a trait you possess that makes you superior to lesser humans? I’m not a complete moron

FQ FICTION: Which of your many stellar accomplishments should be recorded in the history books? (Can't think of one? Make it up!). The fact that I made it to my 30th birthday amazed me.

My life is starting to seem like a country song

As you probably guessed, I made it back from Washington DC in one piece. That almost didn’t happen. On Tuesday evening, I was walking down some steps when I slipped and the fronts of both of my legs ate the cement. It’s been a week, and I still have huge bruises.

We flew back last Thursday. The first thing I checked when we arrived was my car’s tires. Before we left, we saw a car in the parking lot with a flat tire. Beverly remarked how it must suck to come back from a trip only to find out that you have a flat tire. I was very relieved to see that all my tires were fully inflated.

Well, that didn’t last very long, either. On Friday night, I was on my way to Catbirds to meet Gil for drinks. I was in the right-hand lane when a car in the left-hand land swerved to avoid hitting something. Naturally I swerved and hit the curb. Once I did that, my tire blew out. It sucked. I pulled off on the first side road I came to. Poor Gil had to leave the bar to come find me and change the tire.

I didn’t want to drive back to Alvin on that donut tire, so I called Lori to see if I could switch cars with her for the night. Thankfully, she agreed. The next morning, I drove back into Houston to get my car and take it to get new tires put on.

On Sunday, I realized that I had lost my ATM card. That just really sucked. I called to get a block on the card. Then, I had to call my bank to order a new one. I should receive it in about 8-10 business days. Isn't that sweet.

Yesterday, I did a really talented thing. I was talking to one of my engineers when I managed to poke myself in the eye with my own finger. It didn’t take long for the redness to appear. I went ahead and took out my contact so I wouldn’t make the injury any worse.

I’m still hanging in there!

FridayQ

FQ TOPIC: Childhood.

FQ1: Where did you live out your childhood years? In the once-small town of Pearland, TX

FQ2: As a child, what were your favorite toy, book, television show, and cartoon character? I guess my favorite toy was my Pink Panther bike. I thought it was so big. As for favorite book…didn’t have one (people with ADD don’t tend to read that much). I enjoyed watching reruns of The Monkees. I also liked Scooby Doo.

FQ3: Charm us with a favorite childhood memory. When I was seven or eight
years old, we went to South Padre Island for summer vacation. While we were there, a girl got attacked by a shark. When she was pulled on shore, I had to go see it the injury. I rushed back to my mom to tell her how cool it was that I could see the girl’s leg bone where the shark had bit her. I should have known then that I would be involved EMS one day.

FQ PHOTO-OP: Show us a photo of just how adorable you were as a child. I was a bald baby. Here's a pic of my grandpa and me with my bald head.

Nothing Exciting

It’s the fourth day into the conference. The actually training classes don’t start until tomorrow afternoon. The past couple of days have been mostly business meetings (AKA boring shit). I went by the Office Expo again today to see the booths that I passed up yesterday. Then, we had to pose for the TX-LA Division group picture. Afterward, I hit the subway (all by myself!) and heading out shopping. I forgot to pack a dress for the final night banquet, so I had to go buy something. Once I was done with that, I met up with fellow chapter members for drinks and then dinner. I don’t consider myself a martini drinker, but we had these Godiva Chocolate martinis that were so delicious! We don’t have any activities planned for this evening, so it’s a nice, quiet night in the hotel room.

A Wet One

Today was the first day that it had rained in DC since we arrived. It wasn’t too bad, just some quick showers throughout the day. Beverly and Ruth left this morning to go back to see some more attractions. I opted to sleep in. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep very well here since I am used to having Ariel lay with me when I do fall asleep. I know this probably sounds childish, but I brought my hockey bear with me on the trip to sleep with. I figured as long as I had something furry by me, I would be able to sleep better.

Tonight, there is a social event for the convention that I’ll be going to. At this point, I don’t know if Beverly or Ruth will attend. It’s almost 5:00pm here, and they still haven’t come back from their sightseeing.

Earlier this afternoon, I went through the Office Expo, which is a pretty neat event. It’s a bunch of vendors showing off new and cool office stuff. I got some free samples of items I was actually interested in. Since this was the first day of it, it was crowded. Therefore, I didn’t stay too long. I’ll probably go back through there tomorrow.

I managed to upload the pictures I took over the weekend. You can check them out here.