Update 10-21-09

I have been absent for quite a while. In the last month I have: taken the GREs, started grad school apps, and started a new job as an EMT in York. I had no time to post. Sorry.

I have a trip reports coming up for my recent run up Seneca Rocks in WV. That post will also involve some fall foliage from the trip.

As I mentioned above, I just started using my EMT certificate here in York. This job is really different and a much welcomed change of pace for my "year off". I didn't want to respond to a ton of 911 calls right away, so I took a position at an ambulance company that primarily deals with distance transport. Basically, I take dying patients from the hospital to their home. Sometimes I take people to dialysis treatment or a doctor if they have no one else to help them. I rarely respond to emergency calls, about one or two a week.

A few interesting observations in the EMS business of York:
1. People pronounce ambulance the way it is spelled: ambu-LANCE. Maybe I am weird for pronouncing this "ambulence" OR maybe its just a Yorkism.
2. If someone says, "I think I am going to be sick", then this should translate to "I am about to puke all over your ambulance. This should be useful for anyone considering this profession. This happens quite frequently.
3. When someone is describing their loved one as being "somewhat confused recently", then what they really mean is that this person thinks it is 1943 and has just been drafted, is extremely agitated, and threatening to flee to Canada......or something similar. As a neuroscience/psychology major, I find the things that Alzheimer's/dementia patients say to be extremely interesting. They seem to revert to either their youth or a traumatic time in their life.
4. If you get so heavy that you can't walk anymore and must stay in bed, then there is a good chance your butt, heels, and shoulders will actually rot off of your body. As if obesity wasn't unglamorous enough, these people often have to dwell in the stench of their own bodies corpsifying. At the harshest degree, the wounds stop smelling and the nerves die. After only three weeks, I have given up trans fat, high saturated fat and cholesterol items, carbonated beverages, and most candy. This is purely the result of seeing how some people are forced to resign all hope in a normal life due to obesity and sedentary-ism.

Sorry to be gross. It won't happen often. Look for more posts soon.