Time to find new focus

So here it is 4:00 am. I'm at work in a hospital wing sitting in a hospital chair. My client was hospitalized Saturday so I'm doing a few shifts here. This is my third night of this my eyes are heavy and the chair is uncomfortable and my client is sound asleep. The good news is I am supposed to do this again on Thursday, but I asked for the day off to go spend some quality time in Santa Barbara with family. I was asked to be back on Friday and go back to my regular 48 hour shifts after my client returns to her residence. I suppose I should be thankful that my small sacrifice is rewarded with a blessing in disguise.

I began Marathon training last week and I'm going to complete a marathon in February. I have a 4 mile run scheduled later today and all I can focus on is the fact that my body needs some rest in order to train and recover adequately. I planned on reading and journalling in my marathon training book but I've been reading a fiction novel instead.

I'm really enjoying running with a new focus again and having a great time running with new and old friends.

Time to give

I had an amazing day today. It began by returning to yesterday's running route to collect the empty drink containers. I ran into a couple when I did my beach route that had seen me at a previous stop I had made and they made the comment I was a really fast runner. Of course I chuckled a little and told them I drove, but would continue to work on the fast runner part. Today's trip was almost just as fun as the run last night.

I then traveled to pick up my friend's puppy that is a lab/border collie mix. The pup and I traveled to the beach and had a great time. He needs a lot more attention and some work on listening, but we had a great time chasing the rope ball in the surf. I followed that up with a little trip to Shine Cafe to pick up veggie spring rolls. I seriously think that cafe makes the best vegetarian food I have ever tasted and I'm not even a vegetarian. It always seems so healthy and so full of flavor.

Its the first Friday so it was another Art After Dark opportunity. I looked on the event schedule and saw that one of the pottery studios was doing the empty bowls benefit. The food bank donated clay and materials to the pottery studio and customers were allowed to come in and donate $5.00 and paint or throw a bowl that will later be sold for $20.00 at a luncheon being held for the food bank. The $20.00 gets the bowl and the lunch. The money raised at the event will translate into nearly $200.00  in food for each bowl sold. I thoroughly enjoyed glazing the bowl I chose knowing that it is going to benefit many others long down the road.

Time spent with a positive influence

My time has been well spent this month.

I enjoyed art after dark in SLO with a group of friends. My friend Em and I got our eyes dramatized and brows waxed compliments of savvi salon. I learned to play a congo drum. I ate sushi and I drove a new friend home.

I went to Santa Barbara and spent time with the running group there. I got to see JT and Chan and make them popcorn and eat pbnj sandwiches. It's the little things that easily please me.

My 33rd birthday came and went. I worked on my birthday and received many well wishes. My mom sent me a really personal card that took time and thought it was much appreciated. My best part was the text message I received from Chan wishing me happy birthday. He knows just how to melt my heart. I love that kid.

I was privileged to meet a really incredible person just one week ago. Shortly after meeting the words of a song by Cary Judd kept repeating in my mind. "Did I cause a difference or was the difference in me?" How many times do we go throughout our day not giving time to pause and reflect or even appreciate moments like these? I feel things are given to us for a reason. Timing is everything. Both the good and bad timing. How many times have you heard that was really poor timing? How many times have you heard that timing was impeccable?

I turned in my application to SLO Ambulance on Friday. The newspaper article I read last November about 7 kids going to the hospital via ambulance was what prompted me to pursue my emt certification. I'm now elligible to do ride alongs and have my first one scheduled in just more than a week. I'm looking forward to brushing up and getting some much needed practice. It's surprising how quickly the material becomes lost when it isn't utilized each week.

Today was wonderful I took time to enjoy the unusually warm day and just enjoy the abundant opportunities in the area I live. I went to sunshine health foods for lunch and discovered a new delicious snack. Tamari pumpkin seeds. I then went hiking and did uphill sand drills as well as some free climbing. I met Em for a run at Morro Bay rock and that was more time well spent. Em is such a beautiful person both inside and out. I finished my day in a great quiet country area with a perfect friend and his dog.

Life will give you both expected and unexpected opportunities the key is taking the time to enjoy each one and expect the best and go for it.

Time to catch up

A small amount of time has passed since I've posted to my blog. I guess that's indicative of how focused and busy I've been.

Here's an update.  I passed my NREMT exam and got my county registration. I am officially a certified EMT.

I finished my EMT internship program over the course of the summer. It was a good experience never to be repeated.

I began half marathon training again only to be derailed by my ever hectic work schedule.  My half marathon training has been replaced with 5k mud run training to do a run on halloween.

I started running with a group on Thursday evenings. I have never had so much fun running. The photographer took some pretty great pictures. I posted the one pic he took. I look so focused and the scenery was incredible.

Today I did a run on my favorite trail.  On the way back to my car I received a text message from my Godson's mom asking if I could go pick up their friend's son from urgent care at the lake an hour from my house. Of course I said I'll be there asap.  All my EMT instincts kicked in and I started sprinting back to my car. I later got a message saying all was well and their friend's son would be staying at the lake. One can only imagine my relief.

In only a matter of days I have my written exam for my ambulance license from the dmv. This seems like such a hard long process, but I am choosing to stay focused on my goals.  I was reading a book not too long ago and came across a sentence. "don't give up your identity and your goals for the sake of love". For some reason the timing of reading that book and that statement seemed all too perfect and helped me get back to where I want my focus to be.

Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.

As I patiently give the process time all will work out the way it needs to.

STRENGTHEN AND BE STRENGTHENED ONE DAY AT A TIME

Today I started my morning doing my internship hours in the hospital Emergency Room.  My heart nearly fell seeing one mother's anguish and her husband's strength keeping himself humble and tear free while consolling his wife and then seeing their young baby's strength really gave me an amazing perspective.

I had an amazing ER Tech to shadow. She showed me areas of the ER I hadn't seen before as well as showed me how to make sure the areas were properly supplied with necessary items.  Some of the tasks were indeed tedious, but at the end of my 8 hour rotation I didn't want to go home.  For me its not so much the job that defines me but the job helps me define my greater purpose.

I was leaving and a patient was being brought in by helicopter.  If I didn't have my national registry EMT exam scheduled I would have loved to see the operations of how to care for someone that is transported to the facility in that manner.  This timing couldn't have been any better it made me look forward to my helicopter internship time. I can't wait to schedule my day to ride along with CALSTAR and see the daily operations of the helicopter and its crew.

I took my exam which is a timed 150 question exam and I was blessed to only be required to take 60 of the questions.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that the news I receive is glowing.  I have to wait to receive the results.

When someone says you have great potential say "Thank You" and believe them that was my strengthening lesson today!

In time you will do it

Today is the day where I affirmed my little red sticker that I kept stuck to my emt textbook all quarter long.

Months ago I donated blood and they gave me a little red sticker that said I did it. Those were the three words I wanted to be able to say when I obtained my certificate of completion for the EMT academy.

Today I did it. That certificate is still nice and flat and has only been viewed once for errors and now it is tucked away while I look forward to the next step.  That next step is a written state exam that is only a few weeks away and I have some more studying to complete, but Im very much looking forward to the upcoming months.

I came home and went for a run.  I started academy excited to think that we would be doing a lot more running I think in 16 weeks that the academy as a whole entity may have logged an entire mile of running. We did do a pushup or nearly 200 one day, but I was expecting a much more physically demanding class.  What this academy lacked in physical demand it made up for in emotional and intellectual demand.

This is not something I thought I would ever do, but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life as I found hidden strength even as I was sitting in my room yesterday evening reflecting as the tears of mixed emotion fell. Tears of knowing all the people that were so supportive along the way, tears of knowing it was over, tears of fear of facing that next challenge, but mostly just tears that I had overcome one more obstacle.

And the lesson I learned in all of this is in time it can all be done.

I have my BSI is my Scene Safe

I started the EMS academy back in February and 2 weeks ago I got to participate in what was probably my most enjoyable day of class aside from the day I got to run and do situps and pushups and pullups.

Our class was invited to participate in a mass-casualty incident at the airport in order to assist emergency personnel in being more prepared should a real incident occur.

I was chosen to get a black triage tag which means I was a dead victim.  This was a lot of fun and at the end of class when I took a picture of my arm it actually looked very realistic. I could almost convince people I was in some sort of accident and my arm was bloody and covered in dirt and gravel.

My clothes were a mess I think I have yet to wash the white shirt I was wearing which conveniently said on it,"I eat mud for breakfast." I looked like I dined with pigs for breakfast.

I am thoroughly enjoying my EMS academy and in a short two weeks when all goes as I intend for it to I will be blessed to attend graduation from the academy and then move on to my summer internship and health class.