Wedding Photos

I'm reaching my upload limit for the month for Flickr, so I'm going to post the wedding photos here. BEST WISHES TO AC AND FLORA AS THEY START THEIR NEW LIFE TOGETHER!

Fitness Madness

WARNING: LONG POST

So, it appears that most of us at church (at least the guys for sure) are all working towards becoming either healthier or stronger or both. It's great to see everyone trying so hard to improve their lifestyles and to have everyone work towards a similar goal at the same time will only help to keep us all on track and hopefully we'll all reach our goals!!

My goals... cannot be categorized into numbers lost or gained but just an overall healthier lifestyle and an improvement in overall strength. Perhaps that is why I have procastinated from doing so for such a long time because it lacks a concrete goal... but I find that there is no clear-cut end result that I wish. Therefore, I will try to work under a schedule that will focus on gaining new habits for a healthier lifestyle instead of aiming for a number loss/gain. Thus, my objective/schedule will be:

1) DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Water is a liquid that I have detested all my life and have only been able to force myself to drink while exercising in abundance (ex. Playing Hockey Friday nights or working out at the gym at UofA) or during meals at a restaurant. However, water is a necessity and it also means I will be drinking less of everything else. It will also help to cleanse my system of junk. We're supposed to drink up to 8 cups of water a day... and I would have been lucky to have drank 1 cup of water a day before, so time for a change. As I write this, I have just finished a bottle of water... so that is 2 cups right there. :P

2A) EAT LESS MEAT! Meat is... something I just LOVE (possibly an understatement right there) and it will be tough to stop eating it in large quantities, but it is something that needs to be done. This also means more veggies... possibly even, dare I say it, ordering salads when we go out for food!! ACK!!

2B) COOK HEALTHIER! Since my parents are rarely home these days and I am providing my own food for the majority of days... I need to stop with the bbq and start up with the healthy cooking. Which means... time to learn how to cook. I find that I cooked healthier when I was at UofA (but that might be because I bought my own groceries as well...) whereas now I am just cooking with whatever I find at home which is usually not a recipe for healthiness.

3) REGULAR EXERCISE! Something I have lacked since gym class was no longer mandatory! Actually, probably since elementary school as I stayed clear of most sporting activities in Junior High and thereafter. Relying on Hockey every Friday night during fall/winter and relying on sports/rollerblading every Sunday afternoon during spring/summer will not suffice at all. Therefore, I will now utilize the treadmill that sits in our basement gathering dust for ages to come. I will aim to use it at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 40 min. per time (hopefully, perhaps even once a day for a minimum of an hour).

4) STRENGTH TRAINING! Something I probably DON'T need to become healthier but it will benefit my health either way. More muscle, less fat = healthier... I think. Also, more strength = better suited for an occupation as a paramedic! So, time to utilize my bench and weights and possibly even hit the SAIT gym once school starts since I'm paying for it now, lol. Benefits of being back in full-time study!!

5) SLEEP LESS! Okay... I admit... I sleep a TON... and I think I'm making it worse on myself by sleeping so much. It's a vicious cycle that I need to break out of. I sleep a lot... and then I lose sleep because I'm having difficulties falling asleep at night or staying asleep during the night and then I end up being tired in the morning and wish to sleep more... bad habit that I have had since I went to UofA. So... time to work on a sleep schedule. I won't plan on sleeping at a certain time every night or anything like that... but I will make sure that I do not sleep for more than 10 hours ever again and that if I CAN go to sleep earlier then I should instead of staying up till late night doing not so important things like chatting or playing games or watching movies.

6) IMPROVE MY MENTAL CAPACITY! I have poisoned my own brain with useless junk for so many years that I find I have started losing track of who I am. My memory is horrible, my intellect level has fallen drastically and I think even my personality has taken a hit from it. I need to limit the game playing, sleeping, watching TV/movies, etc... and start focusing more on using my mind on such things as studying and doing things that will stimulate my brain such as keeping up with current events or something... any ideas here to help me stimulate my mind better?

7) IMPROVE MY SPIRITUAL WALK! Last, but DEFINITELY not the least is that I need to get out of my downward spiral and find my feet and keep my eye on Jesus once again. I find that I have not been doing devotions as often anymore and have been praying less these days than ever. Can't wait for cell group to start up again: I find that I am lacking lately... though I know that a cell group is to supplement my own spiritual growth and not to maintain it but it definitely helps.

Okay... I think those are my main objectives for this next year, lol. None of them have a end result that will prove that I have reached my objective. BUT I should be able to tell whether or not I have improved or not for all of them.

DVBS Week 2

Well, there's the group photo for week 2. Week 2 photos have also been uploaded to My Photos. So go check it out if you wish.

I'm also working on trying to find a way to post videos... I have the YAC ones from Fear Factor... and some other interesting ones to post. Stay Tuned.

Edit: I have created a MY VIDEOS link to the right... that is where I'll be posting videos (courtesy of Google) so check them out if you wish. YAC: Fear Factor Videos are up!

Otherwise, Stampede is here and photos are underneath, lol. It was too hot at first and we all fell asleep at church. Then we finally went and it rained, lol.

DVBS Week 1

I realize that Week 1 is not over yet... and there is still a chance of me taking more photos tomorrow, but to start us off... here are some photos that have been taken thus far during DVBS.



The rest can be viewed under my links: My Photos (on the right side --->)
Keep checking back (to My Photos page) for new photos as I probably will not post about new photos as the weeks go on and I'll upload as they come...

Also, I mentioned that I would upload a photo of my paramedic uniform once I received it back from alterations and here it is.



And on a sidenote: According to an online test (sent by Yona)...
My ideal girl-type is: THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Cute, fun, and sweet, your ideal girl is just a stone's throw away - she's the girl next door. She's Sandra Bullock, Billie Piper, and Meg Ryan all rolled up into one. Naturally pretty rather than glamorous, she's unpretentious and generous. She loves animals and children, and is great with both. You're attracted to her strong values and traditional ways. Although she demands great respect, she's not particularly high-maintenance. Her ideal date is more likely to be dinner and a film than heading out for a night on the town. She's careful yet spontaneous - a bit of the guy's girl, a bit of a cover girl (the nice kind), and just a hint of the hippie chick. But she's got an appeal that's all her own, which is why you can't stay away. Her winning smile, bright eyes, and loving nature make you want to hold on tight and never let go.

If you're interested, you can check for yourself as well. And if you even wish, you can leave a comment as to which is your type. :P
http://uk.tickle.com/test/whosyourtypef/select.html

Flames Update II

So... what's new with the Flames since my last post about hockey... Alex Tanguay has signed a 3 year contract for about 5mil per season (so now he's the 2nd highest paid player on the team). We also signed Andrei Zyuzin (a defenseman) to help strengthen the defense after trading Leopold away for Tanguay (2 years at 1.4mil per season). And now we've signed Jeff Friesen as well (1 year 1.8mil). So this is my prediction for what the lineup will most likely look like.

Friesen - Tanguay - Iginla
Huselius - Langkow - Kobasew
Lundmark - Lombardi - Amonte
Nilson - Yelle - McCarty
Richie

Compared to what we had last year, this is a much improved forward combination as we've got a bunch of lines that are capable of scoring (something we have definately lacked in years past).
- Tanguay is an extremely crafty player that is capable of setting up plays and will definately help Iginla out and Friesen has the ability to support that line extremely well with his strong 2-way play and scoring touch as well. Tanguay also has speed that will strongly benefit that line.
- Huselius and Langkow showed great chemistry together last year and that should improve this season and Huselius is skilled enough to set up a pure scorer such as Kobasew (possibly Amonte) and Langkow is a steady 2-way centerman with above-average playmaking skills.
- Lundmark and Lombardi are both young players with potentials that have not been reached yet but have showed steady improvement. Amonte's steady 2-way play and speed and energy should benefit both youngsters as well. Though if Amonte gets bumped up to the 2nd line... Kobasew coming down would make it a "kid" line that would benefit the team as a strong energy line.
- Nilson, Yelle and McCarty showed great chemistry last year and was a formidable checking line before Nilson was moved to center and strengthen an extremely weak 4th line.

Regehr - Phaneuf
Hamrlik - Warrner
Ferrence - Zyuzin
Ri. Regehr

Tough to call how the defense pairings will look like because I don't know what each players strong side is. I'm predicting Robyn Regehr and Phaneuf will play together because Sutter stated that those 2 will get a ton of minutes. Hamrlik will definately be on the 2nd pairing and as long as he stays injury-free this season should rebound nicely. Warrener and Ferrence can be interchanged easily though Ferrence does tend to have weaker seasons compared to his strong play in the playoffs. And Zyuzin is from all I've heard a strong, steady defensemen that will probably be capable of playing on any of the pairings as well. So, it seems our defensive corp will be one of the stronger ones again in the league.

Kipprusoff
Edit: McLennan

I think with the drafting of Irvine in the first round of this years draft shows that Sutter is planning ahead incase the Flames are unable to keep both Iginla and Kipprusoff around when their contracts end... which means that Krahn will likely move up to be Kipprusoff's backup to gain experience. Though, then again... knowing Sutter... if the opportunity arises for the Flames to sign another more experienced backup for cheap, then they will. Edit: Jamie McLennan just signed a 1 year contract worth ~500k.

Summer Update

Oh man...
One week of allergy induced amnesia + a weekend of only 6 hours of sleep per night = 15 hours of sleep Sunday night... and I'm still exhausted (no, not the overslept exhausted either... I can feel it...) Also, the lack of sleep in the past week has gotten me sick as well... and sickness and allergies is a horrible combination. So horrible that I had no appetite for SUSHI tonight!! You know you're exhausted and out of it when you don't have an appetite for sushi... especially when you have not eaten anything in 24 hours... but then again... that 1kg+ of steak last night might have something to do with that... but oh well... either way... nothing much to update on... so... lets see. what to update...

1) I bought my Paramadic Uniform last week and the alterations and reflective striping will be done by this thursday... :P That's going to be cool... but it was expensive to get the steel-toes, two pair of pants, two shirts and a police jacket and the striping for them. I'll post pictures of it when I get it back. But buying the uniform got me pretty excited about when school starts. :P There will be a practicum this year as well... clinical and ambulance practicums... so that should be extremely interesting!!

2) VBS is starting up tomorrow!! Yeah, going to be pretty great. I'm not teaching this year, so I should have a lot more fun, lol... none of the extra responsibilities as I don't have to keep an eye on the other volunteers now either or have to handle all the major problems or even have to yell at the kids anymore, lol, cause it's simply not my job. :P Hopefully I don't become too lethargic though, lol, got to be an example to all the young volunteers still... and my camera isn't in the shop this summer, so TONS OF PICTURES THIS YEAR!!

3) Watched Superman Returns at the Imax on Saturday night as well. First time I've seen a movie at the Imax and it was pretty cool. There was about 20minutes of 3D in the movie.

4) Otherwise, rollerblading was great yesterday. Kinda slow... but at least everyone made it to Licks this time. :P A nice change from playing football every week. And the BBQ afterwards was good as well... the Southgate peeps came over to Sam and Sarah's as well, so it was a nice bonding time, lol. Sam and Phil wowed them all with their magic tricks, lol. And my steak was huge... don't think I'll be doing that again anymore, lol... Quantity is great and the price was great, but it ain't so good for the body, lol. And my allergies kicked into full effect because of Shadow as well, :( but at least she didn't come hiss at me this time, hehe. Anyways, here are some pics I took at Sam and Sarah's.


Are those Wasps coming at us??


Hey wait! Philips not a Chan! Stop the picture!


A game of Taboo: Crystal can't breath and Kenric's all red - must have been an extremely funny game!


Sam wows the crowd with his special magical tricks!


The 3 Dwarfs and the Beast!

Stampede Is Coming!!!

So, the Stampede is almost upon us... which means... I can finally wear my cowboy hat without being laughed at or ridiculed, lol!! It also means, great times as we always head down to the Stampede on Family Day (because it's free if you get in before 9am... which is right before church anyways, lol) and it will be great again as usual. Fun times, Fun games, Fun Rides (though I never go on any... to save money) and great memories. For Example: 'Someone' puking on a poor kids shoes after a ride... 'someone' and 'someone' getting caught 'gambling' by Pastor 'someone', etc. If you have more memories, feel free to comment about them! :P (names are optional, :P)

Not much of a blog... just looking forward to Stampede... and trying to get some blog points, lol... so posted below is a photo of a CocaCola Bear that I won at the Stampede a couple years past. It is the largest prize I've ever won at the Stampede (from the break the beer bottle game) and therefore is my most memorable prize and favorite prize I've ever won. Which means it is one of my favorite bears! And ofcourse, Pooky from Garfield!!

Hockey News! *SHOCKING*

1) Todd Bertuzzi along with Bryan Allen and Alex Auld have been traded to the Florida Panthers for Roberto Luongo and a prospect! We knew that Bertuzzi was out of Vancouver for sure... but for Luongo? WHOA! Looks like a good trade for both teams. Vancouver had to get rid of Bertuzzi (salary and team/coaching chemistry wise) and ended up with a world-class goaltender (the teams weakest position for years) though this brings up a question of... what will happen to Clouthier? Assuming that Mika Noronen will end up being the backup for Luongo because of salary. Good trade for Florida as signing Luongo for a long-term deal was out of the question and this way they get something back. An all-star power forward (and the Eastern Conference can really wake up a sleeping giant), a top defensive prospect that will be a top 4 dman in his career and a decent number 1 goaltender. Not a bad pickup at all.



2) Chris Pronger has REQUESTED to be TRADED from the Edmonton Oilers for "personal" reasons! Edmonton looked like it had just turned a corner with finding a dependable number 1 goaltender in Roloson (if they can re-sign him) a number 1 defenceman in Pronger and a good mix of forwards... but now that Pronger... basically the cornerstone of the Oilers team this season wants out... oh man... luckily, Pronger's stock is quite high right now and the Oils can still get a good return from the trade.

More to come after the Draft is over today! Expect more to happen!



3) JORDAN LEOPOLD this years 2nd round draft pick and a conditional 2nd round draft pick for ALEX TANGUAY! Well, we definately needed an offensive lift and we got one! Not a centerman like we thought, but will definately be a boost to our team no matter what. Losing Leopold is tough... but we are really deep defensively, so it's not as big of a loss. But we sure like dealing with Colorado, lol... Yelle... Drury... Reinprecht... Tanguay... lets just hope he ends up like Yelle and stays long-term and performs well instead of like Drury and Reinprecht! Problem also with Tanguay is that he is not under contract still. He's a Restricted Free Agent, so let's hope he signs quick and for long-term and for not TOO much money!

4) Not so shocking... but interesting nonetheless. Minnesota, a team known for building up their team through draft picks has traded a 1st round draft pick (from the Dwayne Roloson trade) and a top prospect for Pavol Demitra. Different move for Minnesota as they are now bringing in experienced and expensive players instead of just building a team through the draft.

Stanley Cup Update

Edit: NOOO! Joe Sakic has re-signed with the AVS!! DOH, there goes the possibility of Sakic signing as a Flame! lol, knew it was too good to be true.





THE CAROLINA HURRICANES ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
Would have been much better if it were the Flames and not the Canes... but oh well, what can you do?
Great game though, great game. Both teams played hard and it could have gone either way, but great job Canes and great job to the Oilers as well!

And I called it:
Cam Ward = Conn Smythe Trophy Winner! First Rookie Goalie to win the award and the Stanley Cup since Patrick Roy in '86! First Rookie Goalie to win the award since Ron Hextall in '87!

Flames Update

Kristian Huselius has re-signed with the team for a rumoured 3mil for 2 years (1.5mil per season). That is good news for us cause he has skill that we need.

Rumours also have it that Kipprusoff will be a no-show for the NHL Awards this week because he is enjoying his timeoff in Finland too much to make a trip. This doesn't go well with me... shows that he lacks class. But oh well... as long as he plays the way he is then he can remain a Flame. :P But still... don't want another Patrick Roy around... all skill and buster but nothing going for personality.

MY current projections of the lineup:
Huselius - Free Agent TBA - Iginla
Lombardi - Langkow - Kobasew
Nilson - Yelle - McCarty
Nystrom - Lundmark - Amonte
Ritchie
Problem with this is:
- Will we be able to sign a top-knotch number one centerman?
- Will Amonte regain his confidence and be worth his 1.8mil salary?
Ro. Regehr - Leopold
Hamrlik - Phaneuf
Warrener - Ferrence
Ri. Regehr
Problems with this is:
- Will one of our top 6 dman be used as trade bait to get a number one centerman for Iginla? (Leopold and Hamrlik topping the dmen as trade-bait)
- Will Sutter bring back Marchment or Hulse?
Kiprusoff
Krahn

New Glasses

Well... there they are. Pretty similar to my old pair... except I think it's a bit more sophisticated?? Either way... new glasses cost way too much money. Sigh... I think I'm going to go and buy a second pair when I'm in Hong Kong during Christmas just incase and because it's so cheap in HK! :P
Also... seems my nerves were damaged in the hit as well... so... in 2 months time I have to go back and do a check-up again to make sure it isn't permanent! I sure hope it isn't... that would suck if they were. But it seems my left eye doesn't react as quickly as my right eye right now. So... give it some time and see if it heals... or... I'd have to get specialized lenses for my left eye to counter the slower mobility. Sigh...

Poll

How would your friends describe you (this case, being me - Geo)?

Aggressive and focused

Cheerful and easygoing

Dark and moody

Fun loving and wild

Hard to figure out

Indescribable

Quiet and shy

Steady and reliable

Hockey Rumour Mill

HOLY BALONEY!! If this were to happen, I would be extremely happy!!

-Sakic to Calgary is very possible. According to one source, "The idea of playing with Jerome in Calgary is really appealing to Joe. He'd like to finish his career in Canada, and since Vancouver isn't an option due to cap reasons, Joe is very interested in Calgary. Him and Iggy have played so well internationally together, it seems like a perfect fit" - http://hockey-leaks.blogspot.com/

Sigh... if only. Come on Colorado... screw up the negotiation process!! They'll probably still retire your number in Colorado regardless of whether or not you retire with them!

Shattered

My heart has been shattered... well... actually... my glasses have been shattered. Never have I seen plastic lenses shatter before, but now I have. Up close and way too personal!! But yeah... the story goes like this:
The event for YAC was Friars and Nuns (Guys and Girls separate and fellowship together without the other distracting sex). The friars (guys) ended up playing ping-pong baseball and at the end of the night, Jack and I were both going for a pop-fly... He had jumped into the air for the ball and when I saw him I braced for impact. But when he saw me, he got spooked and quickly pulled his arms back to protect his body and hence I received an elbow directly on my left glasses lens. Which then shattered into 4 peices and cut my cheek right below my eyes (LUCKILY it wasn't a couple centimeters higher, or else I'd be at the hospital with a lacerated cornea). And I was just wondering this past week whether or not I should get new glasses since these ones don't seem to be as strong as I need them to be. I didn't want to get new ones because I'm not insured anymore and a checkup and new glasses would no longer be covered, but I guess God's saying that I need new glasses, hehe.
Anyways, I fixed up my glasses as well as I could... but do you guys think it's obvious that they are broken? :P

Almost Certified...

Well, I passed my provincial certification. Better than expected as well. I ended up with an 87% on the written portion of the exam, which is decent. And considering the highest mark was only a 93%... 6% off from the top isn't that bad. But then again, when you actually look at it... I was only 12% away from failing. Low margin of error in this business. BUT, like the title says... ALMOST certified. The pass only means that I can now APPLY to be certified, sheesh, haha. Now, all I need is:
1) Complete and sign an application form
2) Send an original transcript of marks (which I need to get)
3) Copy of current CPR/Basic Rescuer Certification (need to do)
4) 2 Character declaration forms (need to find 2 people to write one for me)
5) Police Clearance Letter (another $30 to the police)
6) $222.00 registration fee. (and I think this is a yearly thing... but supposedly cheaper after the first fee)

Oh well... better than failing and not being certified. Which reminds me... I need to upgrade my CPR soon (expiry date is June 18th). Guess I'll drop by SAIT tomorrow and double-check my acceptance into the EMT program and get a transcript and see if I get my certificate or not... or do I need to apply for a certificate of graduation from EMR?? hmmm...

Results

Wow, God is awesome. It's just great how God has everything under control and under His perfect will!

Anyways, so I dropped by SAIT today to check on what my conditions for acceptance into the EMT program were and to pay my tuition deposit to ensure that I keep that spot in the class. And guess what the conditions for my acceptance were? They were simply:
1) Pay my $250 tuition deposit. (I was on the way to doing that anyways)
2) Give them a copy of my drivers lisence (They took a copy of it when I went in for my interview... but whatever)
3) Give them proof of completion of the EMR course. Well, all they had to do was check my file and it said right there that I passed. Sheesh, haha.
So, that means that I am in the EMT program for sure now (knock on wood, cross my fingers). Unless something else pops up, I have completed all the conditions required and that means I'm in!! YES!! Haha, sigh, quite happy now. That answers my education questions. Keep going for paramedics as I'm on the right track and am being accepted into the programs. :P

Now to keep waiting on my job applications and my EMR provincial certification results.

Oh, and I told some of you that we got a new BBQ and that it required assembly. Well, I assembled it yesterday easily enough. My dad was helping, but all he really ended up doing was helping me lift the grill out of the box and lose a washer for the handle for the side-burner (I had him search for the washer the entire time thereafter so I could finish the assembly without anymore trouble. :P). AND the best news of all is... my dad asked for a PROPANE BBQ and they ended up giving us a GAS BBQ... so now we have to return it and get one that is built for propane. Sigh... talk about nobody having a clue about what they're doing. They knew we wanted a propane one cause they even got us a propane tank... but NOBODY and I mean nobody even noticed that the box said GAS!! Sigh. Assemble it... then have to return it... and possibly have to assemble another one. How upsetting, haha.

Oh, and golfing yesterday at McCall Lake. Got my first birdie ever (as far as I can remember). Driving and Chipping were decent enough but the problem for yesterday was my putting. But overall, an improvement from last week. +10 compared to the +30. I was only 3 and 5 behind Philip and Andrew respectively too.

Edit: I've been trying to play along with Take It All on the bass... and boy is it fast. Does anybody know how you can speed up your plucking speed?? I can find the proper places on the frets fast enough (kinda) but I can't pluck fast enough without it hurting. :P

Answers

So... seems some answers to my options are already slowly revealing themselves. Quite interesting how fast things happen. :P What answer may that be? Well, I received a letter stating that I have received conditional acceptance for the EMT program for next september. GREAT! That's a great step. It means I'm off the waiting list. However, it is conditional... so I still need to wait for my results from my provincial certification. BUT, it's a good start. If I passed then I'm in (I think that should be the only condition for my full acceptance into the EMT program). So... still need to play the waiting game, but at least my options are a bit clearer now. No need to worry about getting into the program if I passed, cause now I know I'll be in the program if I passed. One clearer step helps that much more. :P Now, I just need to go into SAIT and check on what my conditions are and pay the $250 acceptance fee.

And no word on any of my job applications yet. Though, that might be a good sign too considering they were all part-time or full-time positions. Cause if I get those, then I'd have to quit or re-arrange my schedule in a way to fit schooling in as well. But God will provide!! Though a job over the summer would still be nice to have. The experience, the money, the time well spent. But I guess we'll see what opportunities present themselves. Perhaps, I will pass my provincial certification and I'm meant to get a temporary summer position as an EMR somewhere and then go into the EMT program in September. That would be the ideal situation. Well, guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Oh, and 6 days in a row now. Crazy. I'm usually checking everybody's blog more than I post my own blogs. But this week has been different. hehe

Event-full Day

So, to keep my record going... it is now 5 days straight. CONSIDER THIS BLOG POSTED ON FRIDAY!! hehe, it's really saturday morning, but I just got home. (It is now 1:30am)

Anyways, pretty event-full day, maybe not so much eventful, but event-full.
-Went to the bank, got cash.
-Recycled newspapers.
-Mowed my grandparents lawn (with an OLD, OLD electric mower that is faulty. Their yard is probably half the size of mine, but I worked doubly hard for this yard. Because of the stupid extension cord you need to bring along with you everywhere. Because of the faulty-ness of the lawn mower, where it wouldn't cut properly. Luckily, Philip has agreed to mow the lawn next time and we'll alternate that way. Oh, and I guess the grass was kinda wet because it rained a bit right before, oh well).
-Went to Wal-Mart (and bought bug-spray and sunscreen, now I won't be eaten alive as much on Sunday and I won't end up turning into a "huck-gwai" over the summer. :P)
-Went to Future Shop (and bought a ton of movies: The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire, Lock-Stock-And-Two-Smoking-Barrels, Snatch, Serenity, Super Troopers, MIB II and Young Gunz and seems my dad bought Munich today too).
-Went to CP (and bought the new Starfield CD. Havn't listened to the entire cd yet and it's seems a lot slower than their first cd stuff. But I have a feeling it will be a cd where the songs will grow on me. Kinda like their first cd, cause I didn't like them at first, then I started to like them more and more after a while).
-Got a haircut
-Practiced bass for worship practice (I think I'm improving, but I need to get further than just the top 5 frets).
-Helped out with KFC (though... how come both teachers had to go make snacks for over half-an-hour DURING KFC and leave the two volunteers to lead the kids in crafts? And how come it took so long to make snacks? And how come it wasn't just prepared before KFC started? Oh well... guess that's how they do things).
-Played with Elijah during worship practice... boy he's hyperactive and never stops! And he keeps changing his answer on me... is it going to be a baby sister? or baby brother? haha
-Went to BPs (and drank 3 cups of ice-tea in 15 minutes)
-Played hockey (and got no goals, sigh... stuck at 11 for the season. I really should shoot more instead of always looking for the pass. But I still havn't gotten used to my new stick yet and my shot is always off the mark. Guess I should bring out the street hockey net and start practicing my shots again. Though, I think my skating has improved to a point where I think I should actually sharpen my skates. There have been more opportunities these past 2 weeks where I should have been able to do something more, but couldn't because my skates arn't sharp enough for me to cut hard enough without losing traction and me either falling down or not able to do what I meant to).

Anyways... sorry Jenny. I didn't think anybody actually wanted to go rollerblading today. :P Probably next week though. The cleaners are coming next week so I'll need to be out of the house by 8 (cause I feel like I'm in the way when they're around). So, yeah. Anybody interested in rollerblading next friday? Sometime afternoon. 1ish... 2ish... 3ish...

Options

So, thanks everyone for your responses to the Vicious Circle blog. It helped a lot. It brought things back into perspective, which is hard to do on your own when your head keeps spinning in circles. But it was enlightening. It's funny how going back to the basics can always solve something that seems so complicated, but it's great how God is like that. But I guess it's time to put everything into perspective and see where I'm at in life.

Education:
Crys and Karen brought up a point over dinner on Monday. There is the option of going back to Uni and finishing my degree. I'm turning that option down right now because I feel that it will be wasting my time doing something I don't enjoy or most likely won't need later on anyways.
Another option is to keep going in the direction I have chosen, which is towards paramedics. However, I'm starting to feel depressed about it because of the waiting periods needed. I missed the fall registrations for EMR last year and had to take it in winter. I'm now on the waiting list for the EMT program, sigh. But, as some of you have pointed out, nothing comes easy. Sometimes you need to stick it out for the things you want.
And another option altogether is to start in whole new direction like electronics or something, but those thoughts can wait.

Work:
Well, started applying for jobs again. All in health-care again. I applied for 5 jobs at the Childrens hospital and Rockyville. If I get one of them, it will be either part-time of full-time, so it will help me there with a set schedule instead of working casual again. Let's hope I get one, cause it will be great having something to do and look forward to again.
Also, I'm still waiting for my provincial certification marks... if I pass, I'll pay for my certification and then I'll have more options open for the type of jobs I can apply for. I'm thinking that working in the field for an industrial company would be good experience as an EMR, but we shall see how that turns out.

So, with prayer and time... let us see which of these options come true in a couple weeks to a couple months from now. Or perhaps another option that I am not seeing currently will be the result of prayer and God's will.

Golf

So, today was the first golfing outing for this year. For first time this season, not too bad. It was SUPER hot for the first few holes, but then the wind picked up and it was pretty good after that. We didn't have time to hit the driving-range before our tee time because it would have been an hour wait if we didn't take that tee time. But, driving came back pretty fast. I still need to work on my woods though. Irons were pretty good. Chipping is horrible still... I either chip it too lightly or too hard, I need to find that balance. And putting came back to me after a couple holes. Couln't putt worth ... a penny ... for the first few holes. :P And on the last hole, some of the sprinklers were going... and naturally my ball ends up right smack in the middle, haha. Oh well, I got a nice hit in there, even though I ran in and hit it without aiming and ran back out without even knowing where my ball went. :P
Also, the stupid group behind us never seemed to have the patience to wait for us to exit the green completely before hitting. EVERY single hole, the stupid guy would land a ball within 5 yards of where we were. And when I mean land, I don't mean he lands them perfectly a couple feet away where there would be no potential danger, but they were flying past us at times. There were a couple times where the ball was pretty much within hands reach when it flew past. Another time, if I had gotten to my ball earlier to chip in, I would have been hit by their ball because it landed right beside my ball. Sheesh, what jerks, stupid people. :P And no, this isn't because we were slow. We were caught up with the group before us as they would always be chipping or putting when we got to their hole.

But yeah, need to practice with the Woods and Chipping. Mario Golf, here I come!! haha. I mean... driving range here I come!

Vicious Circle

No, not the lounge (where I somehow ended up as a minor after a hockey game with Judy, Monica and Dick)...

But man... You know what sucks? Thinking. Thinking too much. You ever have those times when you really want something, so you start to think about it? And then you start to analyze it and realize that it's not meant to be. But because you started analyzing it, you start to want it more because you're thinking about it. And then you're thinking about it and you start to analyze it and realize that it's not meant to be. Sigh... I've had those days a lot lately. And it's driving me crazy. Wanting something and knowing that it's not meant to be... and yet not able to get over it with simple reasoning because the time and thought used on analyzing and reasoning makes you think about it and want it even more. But knowing that it's not going to work, you start to reason with yourself that it won't work, but now you're thinking about it more and sigh, it never ends...

Any suggestions on what to do? How do you shut your mind up? Or can you? Is it just me that has a mind that goes a thousand thoughts per minute? Or is that everyone? And if that's everyone... how do you shut your mind up?

Work

Well... I received notice that I'm on the wait list for the EMT program for next september. Which, in my opinion, most likely means I won't make it in to the program as it is a highly competitive course. SO... that means I should start looking for other options. PMA (Professional Medical Associates) has EMT classes in Calgary as well... so I'll look into that. But they don't have any dates open right now, so I'll have to wait. Perhaps, I might need to start looking at out-of-town centers for my EMT training?? Sigh... so complicated. I guess nothing comes easy... but when it doesn't come easy, it sure makes you doubt whether or not you're heading in the right direction. So, I passed EMR... so, I possibly passed my provincial certification... but didn't get into EMT. Does that mean... what? Sigh... too many questions in my head again. Too many doubts.

Either way, back to applying for jobs on the possibility that I won't be in school starting September again.

Wisdom

I have gained wisdom today... well, actually, I guess it's the opposite. :P I got my final two wisdom teeth pulled today (the top 2). No sleeping, just freezing this time. But yeah, that's it. Short blog. Shocking, I know!! Okay, maybe I'll type some more just cause it feels weird having such a short blog.

Anyone up for rollerblading this friday afternoon? Hmmm... what is YAC this friday? Anyways... maybe... 2:00pm?? Rollerblade from church to Licks to grab some icecream and then rollerblade back? On my own, at a faster than our average speed when we go as a group, I was able to finish in about an hour and a half. Well, let me know. Hopefully the weather will be nice, I havn't checked yet.

Stressful Weekend

Warning: Long Blog. Read At Your Own Risk

Man, oh man, what a stressful weekend. So, it all began Friday night when I had to drive up to Red Deer to write a multiple choice exam for my EMR provincial certification. So far, so good. The drive up is pretty nice and relaxing. Exam is scheduled to start at 6 and end at 8, and registrations open at 5. So, I head out of Calgary at 3:30 and get in line with about 500 other people by 5:15. I end up standing in line till quarter till 7... and don't get to write my exam till 7! An hour later than the scheduled start time. Okay, that's not that bad, but you really start to psych yourself up when you're standing around waiting for an exam to start, haha. And what some of my classmates and I have discovered is that SAIT does not prepare you all too well for the ACP (Alberta College of Paramedics) exams. Sigh... so I hope I passed the written portion of the exam. But, I finish my exam at 8:30 and got back to Calgary around 10, cause I figured the extra trip would cost about $30 in gas and hotel for a night would be about $80.

The next day, Saturday, I have to go back up to Red Deer for my practical exam which is scheduled to begin at 2:30. So, I leave Calgary at 12:30 and get in line with about 150 other people at 2:00 and end up sitting out in the hallway waiting for REGISTRATIONS to open because the 1:00 group was running behind schedule. We end up waiting till 3:15 for registrations to open. After that, we all get set up in a waiting room where we all get called out one at a time to get tested. I wait till 6:00 for my turn. And I blew it, haha. Oh man, that 4 hour wait really psyched me out. I over-analyzed the entire scenario! I mean, it was a simple unconcious, choking patient. Sound simple? Well, it was. So simple that when you look at it, it's really a First Aid scenario. BUT, I was in EMR mode, so I figured I should do chest compressions, but WAIT, he still has a pulse, which means that his heart is still beating, which means that I can't do CPR, and chest compressions is within CPR!! So, I decide not to do chest compressions. Well, suffice to say... I can't clear my patients airway any other way and I decide to do a rapid transport to the hospital, but regardless, the patient dies, haha. and I fail. The sad thing is... I KNEW I failed, but I still had to wait another hour in a sequester room to wait for them to tell me I failed!! haha... man... you get really depressed when you have that much time afterwards to think about what you did and what you could have done before they tell you how you did. I woke up at least 4-5 times that night thinking about what I did wrong and what I should have done. I killed a PLASTIC DUMMY and I was this stressed out! Man, I need to get stronger mentally, cause what happens when I can't save an actual person?? It better not be out of incompetence!! At least I'll have a partner with me at all times.

So, retest is scheduled for Sunday at 1:30. So, I end up not going to church cause I left Calgary at 11. Which meant I had to ask Tony to usher for me as I couldn't replace Andrew as usher anymore. :P I don't think he prayed hard enough, haha. But yeah, I end up getting there at 1:00 and stand in line with about 200 other people. Registration starts early for once at 1:15 and we get set up in the waiting room by 1:30. Looking good so far, way ahead of schedule this time. But nope, I end up sitting in the waiting room till 6:00 again for my turn. Man, another 5 hours sitting around thinking about what type of scenario you might get and what you need to do and how you should do it and at what order you should do it in!! So psyched out!! And the scenario for the retest?? Patient is having a stroke. Simple. It is, really. Administer high-concentration oxygen by Non-Rebreather Mask at 15l/m, do a quick primary survey and gather history. Package and Transport. Simple. HOWEVER, the patient decides to have a seizure en-route to the hospital. AND THEN decides to code on me (go into cardiac arrest)! So, now I have to get my partner to pull the ambulance over and come back to assist me with the patient (luckily, somehow, we end up in front of a firehall and firefighters come out to assist as well. :P). He is now pulseless, so we have to do CPR and defib him. He comes back to life, but by now we've had to size and insert an OPA (oropharhyngeal airway) changed the NRM to a BVM (Bag-Valve Mask) with assisted ventilations at 20bpm (1 breath every 3 seconds) moved him from a semi-fowlers (sitting-up) position into a supine (lying flat on back) position. Man, the retest was so much more complicated than the initial scenario!! And I passed, haha, but I had to wait another hour afterwards stressing about what I might have missed or what I might have done wrong!

Man. Going into this profession, I was afraid of getting a patient that was too complicated to handle and because it was so complicated that I couldn't save them. BUT, it ends up that the patient was TOO simple for me to even save him!! Sigh... I need to be more confident when I go into situations. But SAIT sure doesn't prepare you enough for real life or even ACP exams!! Anyways, that was my weekend!! Who actually ended up reading this far? Without just skipping to the very bottom to read this paragraph to see if I sumarize the entire blog? But, here's the summary. Long Weekend. Too Much Time Waiting For Exams To Begin. Psyched Out. Stressed Out. Failed First Scenario Which Is 100% Easier Than Retest Scenario. Passed Retest Scenario. Now Waiting For Written Results. 6 Hours Driving In One Weekend Is Crazy!

Frustrating

Sigh... the game isn't even over yet and I've already given up, haha. How frustrating. I knew they had it tough to win the cup this year... but at least show up to play... sheesh. No emotion whatsoever. No energy. No mojo. Haha. Sigh. Oh well... another season done with nothing (other than a division title) to show for it. Another year of too much time wasted on watching Flames games and not enough time on studying or working, haha. And I was looking forward to a Battle of Alberta too.

Guess there will be some big changes over the off-season now. Maybe not on defence, cause they're pretty steady. Not in net, cause you can't get much better than Kiprusoff. But the forwards?? Man, we need some leaders like Gelinas man. Somebody who shows up day in, day out and never gives up. Always plays with energy and leads the team that way. Oh, and maybe a game-changing centreman which we've lacked for quite a while now.

Oh well... can't cheer for the Flames... who should I cheer for now? Lots of good teams out there. Guess cheering for Canadian teams (Ottawa and Edmonton) never hurts. San Jose and Buffalo are good teams to cheer for as well. Who to cheer for, who to cheer for...

Okay. San Jose in the West (not because I won't cheer for the Oils, but who can't cheer for Thornton?? haha). Ottawa in the East.

But an interesting fact:
Top 4 teams in the East advance to the confence semi-finals.
Top 4 teams in the West are upset in the confence quarter-finals.

Rollerblading

Man, today was such a beautiful day that I decided I should do things outside. So, first off... I decided that since we have a pressure washer, I might as well use it. So, out I go fiddling with it, since my dad seems to have lost the instruction manual already. Takes a while, but I finally get it to work and I rinse the highlander. But it was such a nice day and really, a rinse doesn't really clean the car. So, out came the bucket of soap and water and there I am in my bikini... errr... I mean... in my shorts and t-shirt washing the car. :P Then I washed the garage floor and when I finally finished... I decided I would rollerblade to Marvin and Julia's house for cellgroup instead of taking that 5-minute drive. Wow... I havn't rollerbladed since 1st year U and it felt really strange. I kept on trying to stop like I was on hockey skates and my ankles hurt really quickly and it felt extremely awkward to rollerblade around, so I need practice. But strangely enough... it took me exactly 5 minutes to rollerblade to Marvin and Julia's house... what the... it takes me 5 minutes to drive there. Strange.

Anyways... I want to get out of the house tomorrow, so I'm going to go do some chores and whatnot in the morning and then I'm thinking I'll probably be going rollerblading along the river in the afternoon. If anybody reads this before Friday afternoon and wishes to join me for some rollerblading, please come join me. Give me a call or try to bump into me at church or whatnot. But it should be a nice day tomorrow. Good warm up for gym nite. :P Maybe... or we might be too sore for gym nite, haha. Either way, that's the plan. I'll go alone if need be, but if anybody would like to join me, that is welcome as well. :P

God Is In Control

So, why do we still worry and stress over every little thing so much?? I mean, come on, God is in control. I guess there is the sense that we should still do our part and check things out as well... but man... why do I bother even stressing, haha.

I stressed over the final week of class becuase I had been way too lethargic over the entire semester, as I rightly should have cause it was my own fault. I tried to pull a semi-allnighter to get things together (semi as in sleep at 11, wake up at 3) but I slept in, haha. Guess God knew that I would need the sleep more than the cramming. But sleeping in sure made me stress over my exams. :P

I stressed over the final lab exam, especially after hearing that people failed and saw people crying... and I actually went pretty tunnel-vision while doing my scenario and was still worried going back for my review.

I stressed over the fact that I havn't received any information about my provincial certification exam at the beginning of May and others had already received their schedules. I mean, the application said that if the application is late or incomplete, they won't send you anything, so I was kinda worried that maybe my dad faxed my registration to the wrong number or forgot about it or that I had filled the registration in wrong. Oh man... so, I end up calling them today and what do I find out? I'm already scheduled and it's in the mail. Sheesh. Why bother stressing, haha.

Guess I should stop stressing about getting into the EMT program next september as well. I havn't heard anything back from them yet... and they said I would probably hear back from them by early to mid april. Ack. One of my classmates got told that they were on the waiting list, so maybe the fact that I havn't been told anything is a good sign, haha, and that they're just waiting for me to get provincially certified.

Oh, and stressing out for the stretcher-lift test a month ago. Figured I wasn't going to be strong enough or something... but I glanced at my results during my interview and it was excellent in all the categories. YEAH! And I'm lucky too... a friend of mine in my class got her whole back torn out because her stupid partner decided to just give up halfway up the stairs and dropped the stretcher on her. Sigh... I feel so bad for her. All her back muscles torn because some girl gave up halfway and dropped the stretcher... now she can't even bend over to pick things up and/or even continue to be a paramedic... sigh. Why are there so many stupid people in the world?? Who the heck gives up halfway because they find it too heavy and just drops her side of the stretcher halfway up the stairs without even warning the other person. ARGH!

Wow, I thought this was going to be a nice and simple blog... guess I end up talking more and more when people don't interupt me to tease me about something. :P Anyways, time to go get an allergic reaction and cut the grasses. :P

Wow...sers...

Man oh man oh man... So, I'm officially done my EMR class now. Though I still have to take my provincial exam May 5-7... hopefully my registration went through and I will be able to write it then. I havn't heard anything about it yet. But let's pray it all works out, cause if I get provicinally certified, I'm pretty sure I'll get into the EMT program for next september.
Oh, but I'm done my EMR class, haha. and I'm so HAPPY! Giddy really, haha. There were 4 exams total... and since this is a learn on your own course and come in to take your multiple choice exams whenever... I ended up leaving 3 of my 4 exams till this last week, haha. But my average for all 4 exams was 87%, so I'm really happy about that, haha. 92% on the final written exam. OH YEAH!!
Okay, so doing well on multiple choice exams isn't really why I'm so giddy, haha, I mean, they are multiple choice exams. :P But I was so freaked out about my LAB EXAM today... the scenario test... the application test... oh man... I was so freaked out and most people were. But my lab test was today and I passed!! And it's not that easy... we go in as groups of 4 to be tested... and 2 of the other 3 people I went in with failed and now have to do a re-test. One of the girls that was in the group before ours came out crying... and I heard at least 2 others failed from earlier groups... but seeing that girl (who from what I saw during class was decent with her scenarios and knew her stuff fairly well) come out crying was like, oh man... panic time!! But I passed!! and I passed with... wait for it... wait for it... 100% HOLY CRAP! When they asked me back into the room to give me my mark, they were like "how do you think you did?" and I was like... ahh... good?? and they asked "do you think you missed anything?" and I was like, well, I missed this and I missed that... and then they dropped my exam booklet on the desk and it said %100... and my jaw just dropped and I was speechless, haha. Then they were like "I don't think you missed anything" haha... oh man... so very happy right now. :P

But a good sign that I'm on the right track. I'm enjoying it. I like what I'm learning. I like what I'm doing. And I seem to be understanding what I'm learning and appear to be capable of doing what needs to be done!! And man, I think this might be my first A out of high school, haha. YES!!!!

Edit: So, I checked online and my final overall mark was 94.43%!! I believe that comes out to be an A+!! WOOT WOOT!! Ha, I better not screw up on my provincial certification exam, haha. That would really suck.

DIVISION CHAMPS!!

YEAH BABY! We beat Colorado and finally clinched the division title. Amazing really, considering how poorly they started this season off. But wow, we won the division. And what a way to win it too. Last home game of the season... against the only team that had the possibility of beating the flames to the division title... kipper gets his league-leading 10th shutout of the season... Phaneuf gets his 20th goal of the season (amazing for a rookie defenseman {new record for a Flames rookie dman [and ummm... game winning goal too] yeah, 3 brackets this time} so take that). 2 more useless games and then the playoffs begin. Can't wait. And the flames lost only 7 times at home this entire season going 30-7-4. I went to 2 games and one of them was a loss, how crappy is that!! :P

But the Oilers and Canucks fighting for that 8th and final playoff spot is going to be so tight. I feel for you canuck and oilers fans. This will be really close. Oilers beat Anahiem tonight... so if they beat Colorado for their last game of the season, then they are in to the playoffs. BUT, if the oilers lose to Colorado and Vancouver beats San Jose tonight and beats Colorado on Saturday, then the canucks will be in. Oh boy... lets just hope the canucks lose tonight to San Jose so we won't have to go through all the waiting, haha. Just let the oilers in to the playoffs already, lose vancouver lose!

Edit: San Jose 5 - Vancouver 3. Oh, and thanks for the call Milty... figured you'd say congrats on the flames clinching division, haha, but nope. :P Edmonton is IN, Vancouver is OUT.

Amazing Year Part II

So, the Flames had an amazing year the last time the NHL was around and was one game away from winning the stanley cup. And ofcourse, for those that still care... they were one goal that should have counted away from winning the cup. But oh well... not much you can do about it now.
But anyways...
This year they started off horrendously going something like 4-10-2 in the first 2 months. Since then, they have clinched a playoff spot... have a 100+ point season for the first time since '91... currently hold top spot in the uber-tough northwest division (and only need ONE more point to clinch that division title) - which they have not won since the '95 season... Mikka Kiprusoff is most likely going to win the Vezina trophy for top goalie... Dion Phaneuf may be overshadowed by Ovechkin and Crosby but is still one of the best rookie defenceman to come into this league in a VERY long time (some say he might be a finalist for the Norris trophy {top d-man in the league} but I doubt it)... and currently they will win the Jennings award for the team with the lowest gaa in the league (though they only have a 0.04 lead over Ottawa with 3 games left)...
Most of our players are coming off the injury list... so we should be relatively healthy at the start of the playoffs which will be a huge plus as we are 13-3-3 or something like that when we have all of our top-6 dmen playing in the same game. It's too bad we'll be missing Marcus Nilson though, cause he is huge defensively along with Yelle. Otherwise, we should do well in the playoffs as we have been playing well against all other playoff contenders currently. Detroit and Dallas we can match (and since there isn't a shootout in the playoffs, we'll be fine against them!!), Anaheim, San Jose, Colorado and Edmonton we can beat and have beaten as of late. Nashville was the biggest doubt for us, but now that Vokoun is out for the season, they should be easy pickings with a minor leaguer as their #1 Goalie. Vancouver, well, let's just hope they don't make it to the playoffs. LET'S GO OILERS!! just till the playoffs begin. :P And I guess, LET's GO SHARKS as well, beat those cannots in your home and home!!

Amazing Year

As I was reading over the amazing Da BeezNeez blog, I began to look back over the amazing year that has recently passed. Granted, I didn't have an amazing birthday to really say it's been a new year, but nevertheless, I was able to reflect upon the amazing year that has passed since last April. And boy have things changed, for better or worse, I can't truly say, but I can say that it has been truly an amazing year.

But first off, let us look back to where I was last year (which we'll place the starting date to be approximatly April 1, 2005). At that time, I was still attending the amazing University of Alberta (which is SO much more amazing than UofC) and residing within the walls of the newly built International House - UofA and on the amazing 6th floor - the Eye-House Penthouse! The month of April was a month of change, big changes... amazing changes... for that year. Looking back at my archives, I realized that I was finishing my not-so-amazing university career with a bang (that being with a gun pointed at my own temple kind of bang). So there I was, returning to Calgary with only my amazing life experience gained in the not-so-amazing deadmonton and with not a single academic achievement that I had originally hoped for when I first moved up there. The positives of my 3 years in edmonton? Well, ECPC now has someone trained specifically to do sound, hehe, that in itself can be considered amazing (and another amazing thing about that is that Cam was only what... 12? and he was already nearing 6 feet tall, SHEESH, now that is what I call Amazing!). I also learned how to become less of an introvert and to become more socialable and all those who know me will know how amazing that really is. :P But there I was back home with no clear idea of what I was to do, or where I was to go and really... no clear idea of who I was anymore. And really... the only clear identity of who I was as stated by everyone else was... as recently revived by Jaxsta's blog... Geo is a Blog Creeper!! :P

However, in the year to follow... a lot has happened and a lot has been learned. For instance, I realized how amazingly bad I was at Soccer and that I was only invited because I drove AJ to the games, haha (I know you were kidding Andrew). I realized that VBS is still amazing even after all these years of being there, and that it only gets more amazing every year. Also, it was amazing to see how many kids wanted to come... I still can't believe we had to turn kids away (and I still feel bad because of it) but wow, that was truly amazing. After only attending summer camp part-time in 2004, summer camp 2005 was that much more amazing, ESPECIALLY with all the youth that came out, it was a blast. :P Can't wait for Summer Camp 2006 - August 14-18, see you all there! Anyways... a year off... well... I guess a semester off of school for the first time in my life felt really, really strange. Especially since I hadn't actually graduated with anything and didn't have an occupation to focus on. It was an interesting few months of being unemployed and not a student anymore, to say the least. However, God granted me an amazing job at Samaritans Purse for the winter and that was amazing. I got a job in a field I had absolutely NO experience in (granted, it didn't require much, haha) but still... it came pretty much out of the blue... but it was pretty amazing. The group of people I worked with were amazing and fun to be with (for the most part) but it was nice to just have something to do. :P Since then I have been back at school at SAIT, taking my EMR and hopefully will end up being a Paramedic in the near future. If all goes as plans and it works out, then that would just be amazing as I was honestly completely lost last April. Oh, I also got an amazing experience when I got a job at the Foothills Medical Centre (also completely out of the blue) and got to see first-hand what it felt like working in the Health Care industry and within a hospital environment. And I would have to say it was pretty amazing, I loved it and other than the fear I have everytime my cell phone goes off now (as I had this fear whenever my cellphone would go off and I would have to refuse a shift because I was busy that day... now I guess I can see why I had that fear... because it was going to get ME FIRED!!) But yeah, it was amazing while it lasted... that whole 3 weeks, haha. Anyways... not everything has been as amazing as I seem to have made it out to be... but it has been pretty much an amazing journey for me this past year and that would be my amazing blog epiphany. All that has gone on in my life has been strange, but everything happens for a reason and God will show me the way as long as I look to Him for the direction. There are a ton of questions I still don't have answered, like why did I have to go to UofA? why 3 years? Should I have just come straight back after my 1st year when I got booted the first time?? am I on the right road? We shall see... first step! EMT.... results come in within the next 2 weeks, ACK!! Am I in? Or am I out? If I'm in, than that would be truly amazing cause I feel that I'm not as prepared as some others are for this field and if I get in right away, then that would be an excellent sign that I am on the right track.

Hmmm... I'm sure there is an amazing blog epiphany located somewhere in all that garbled mess of a blog. I know I was writing about one when I started... but with all the thoughts that resurfaced from thinking about the past, present and future... I may have completely lost track of it. So... I know most of you don't like long blogs... so well... tough luck, this one's long, haha and you're lucky I'm stopping it here and now. :P

Okay, actually, this amazing blog ends here.

Actually, right here.

Amazingly, it goes on a bit more.

Amazing... I don't think I'll be saying this word for at least a couple weeks after today, haha.

OH, and my blog epiphany which I TOTALLY got sidetracked off of was that... a year ago, I was the blog creeper. The blogger that seemed to check every 5 minutes and commented within the first minute of a blog being posted. :P However, the BLOG EPIPHANY was that as of today... LEO is the one who spends the most time brousing through the blogs (2-3 hrs per day... per workday!). I on the other hand, spend a MAX of 1 hr per day, haha!

Okay, it stops now. Period.

Interview

Yes, I had an interview today... from a Mormon evangelist at the bus stop at Dalhousie. :P Made me think... you know... what if... I was more updated with my apologetics, haha. Then I could have turned all the questions back on him and made him think. Unfortunately, my apologetics is pretty poor and I wasn't in the mood to discuss or debate since my top of the head knowledge is not as deep as it should be. So, he basically introduced himself, asked if I knew Jesus Christ and explained about the Book of Mormon and that was it and for me to think and pray about it. Also, I had just finished an interview for the EMT (Emergency Medical Technician - Ambulance) program for next fall. Which, I don't know, was alright I guess. Kinda scared that I won't get in and it made me think is this really what I want to do?? Most of the questions were based on how much do I know about the paramedic field in general? And honestly, not much, haha, oh boy. It's just something I can see myself doing and enjoy doing. So we shall see... completely out of my hands. Only 73 seats and only those who they deem are good enough are allowed in (if they don't fill up all the seats, that's fine by them). Ack. Why is life so complicated?? What if I don't get in? What do I do? I havn't heard anything back from Mount Royal Nursing either... out of school again next year?? Barely more qualified then last year... am I going in the right direction God? Is this where you want me to be? Is this who you want me to be? What am I not doing that I could be doing? ACK!! Luckily, I felt pretty calm before and after the interview (really nervous during) and I really felt that I have no control and that is it now wholly in God's very capable hands and I should leave it there and stop worrying about it. SO, I shall stop worrying about it now, haha. Though I did have to send in my Unofficial UofA transcript in right after... and err... UofA was not exactly the best times in my life academically... hopefully that doesn't affect the selection process... please please please... ack, okay, stop worrying, start praying!

Score of 42...

So, according to Dr. Phil's test I am:

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

Fresh? Lively? Charming? Amusing (in what way)? Always interesting? Center of attention? Interesting. How accurate is this test, I do not know. If you wish to see the test, you can check it out at Kingstons blog as I do not feel like cutting and pasting the entire test here.

Otherwise, FLAMES WIN A BLOWOUT GAME!! Finally! haha. 7-2 against St. Louis. Granted, it was against St. Louis, but still... if we can't win a blow-out game against a team like St. Louis then that's even sadder. :P It is sad to see how far Lalime has fallen though... some HORRIBLE goals he let in tonight. But oh well, we'll take the win. I wonder if they'll play Boucher tomorrow against Columbus though... considering what happened the last time he played (granted, Columbus is not nearly as good of a team as Nashville) but still, it's a TIGHT TIGHT race here.

Stretcher Lift Test tomorrow morning. I have a feeling I'm going to be REALLY REALLY Sore tomorrow and possibly for the weekend. We have to move stretchers up and down staircases to make sure we can physically do it as part of our application process for the EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) program for September. And these will be fully laden stretchers. Oh well, should be interesting. And no, my ex-job at the hospital will not have prepared me for this, as we take the elevators at the Foothills. :P

Edit: I passed the stretcher lift test, YES! But now my forearms are extremely sore. 150lb of sandbags was placed ontop of the stretcher, which probably weighs 50-80lbs itself? Ack. Gonna have to work on that forearm strength for sure though. Anyways, now it is time for the Formal Interview next Thursday. Ack. I sure hope I can answer all the questions adequately and that my resume will be adequate as well. So scared. Got to get some references togther quickly too.

Hearts of the Innocent

The new Kutless is out!! $12.86 at Blessings TODAY AND ONLY TODAY!! Highly Recommended. :P Musically, really good. Lyrically, probably their best, IMO. As of right now, "Smile" is my favorite song on the cd.

Terminated

CRAP! I just got my contract terminated. Not because I failed my health assessment (which I didn't), but becuase they say I'm not available for shifts enough. What the crap. I've been open with them from the very beginning about being in school and everything and they said that it wouldn't be a problem that they would understand. I've refused 3 shifts so far and taken 3. 2 of them I refused because of school and one because I couldn't make it in on time. ARGH! It's just so frustrating when they say everything will be fine and that they understand and then they let you go because of the exact reasons they guaranteed were fine. Then they compare myself to the other people who have been trained at the same time I was... all of them not having school or other issues to deal with AND they say they've taken more shifts then me, NO DUH! they've also been receiving more calls to go in. ARGH, it's so frustrating... you work so hard to get work and school balanced and then they decide that you arn't trying hard enough!

Man... I didn't realize how much I loved this job until today... For the records... I'm crying again. Refuse a shift to force myself to study for 6 hours only to have that be a major reason why I get fired. Refuse a shift so I can make it to my dad's birthday dinner and get fired. Refuse a shift so I can go to school and get fired. And apparently they said that I've refused more shifts then that even though I never got those calls, what the crap. SO PISSED OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Health Assessment

Ha, it would really suck if I failed my health assessment and then have my contract revoked and end up not actually getting the job. Hopefully all goes well today... cause I'm really liking this job right now and I would dearly like to keep it for quite the while. :P Working on Sunday turned out to be pretty good. Getting past the shock of working on a weekend and missing out on Jacksons b-day party and even Courtney's b-day party was tough to begin with but by the end of my shift I was in a pretty good mood. I got to work a designated area, intead of central - which operates around the entire hospital moving everything from patients, cadavers, specimens, equipment and charts. The designated area was in Emerg XRay. So my entire day was to move patients between XRay, CT, Emergency and Minor Emerg with the occasional patients back to inpatient clinics in the main hospital area. And since the day wasn't extremely busy, I got to sit and read some books that I brought last week or watch TV (saw some desparate housewives, scrubs, the oilers get beat by minnesota!! and even some claymation Carebears, haha). But I really like working in the emerg area... everyone is on top of things, there isn't any grumpy nurses or slow nurses to deal with and the patients are usually really nice and talkative when you move them because they've been there for hours on end with nothing to do and since I get to transport them to and from xray or ct, I see them twice or sometimes even more if they need more pictures taken at a later time, and I walk past their beds everytime I have to go get somebody else. The best is when you walk by their beds and you finally dont see them, which means they finally got sent home or to a unit (sounds dumb, but it sucks having to see them sit their on their beds for hours with nothing to do just waiting for a doctor to finally get back to them about their condition). I even got my first call where security had to accompany me... kinda scary. The guy was just extremely aggressive for some reason... so he got this small cramped up room with an uncomforatable bed and a door that only gets opened from the outside, haha. And he kept on complaining about service, sheesh... you wonder why you get such poor service if you have such poor attitude.

Oh Man...

Oh man... school on a Sunday. That's a first. And unfortunately, it won't be the last. There's 2 more for sure before the end of April. And who knows what my schedule will be if I get into EMT and beyond. Otherwise, it wasn't too bad. Luckily, we focused primarily on splinting, traction-splinting and using extrivication devices. Which are all hands-on and no theory or lecture time today. And since we were all very apathetic today, the instructors decided to let us out at 3:30 instead of at our scheduled 5:00.

Oh man... work next Sunday as well. That will also be a first. However, it is a 3-11 shift, so I won't have to miss church next week.

Oh man... I went to Pearl Tea Hut today after schoool and found out that I was missing my debit card!! I've never lost a debit/credit card before and I was really shocked and scared of the possibilities and the fact that I had no idea what I was supposed to do if I lost a card (who do I call to inform it's gone?). I ended up ordering a pearl tea before calling/heading over to Cheesecake to pick it back up. :P Good thing it was there.

Oh man... I spent about $200 yesterday in an impromptu shopping trip. I got tired of studying, so I decided to head down to the Avinida Sportchek for their Store Closing Sale and ended up buying a Vic Onepeice hockey stick for $84 (regular is $130), so it wasn't that big of a deal, but I drove all the way down there and didn't want to leave empty-handed. :P I then went over to CP and bought 2 cds for $24 (Switchfoot - A Beautiful Letdown and Thousand Foot Krutch - Phenomenon) and apparently I just missed bumping into Andrew, Jacklyn, Jackson, Jenny, Kingston, Sam and Sarah as everybody dropped by Sportchek to grab up cheap stuff. :P After that, I dropped my bass guitar off at Long & McQuade for my free setup and bought a guitar tuner and a guitar stand totallying about $40. Then I drove back up to Marketmall and dropped off clothes for the Salvation Army and then took a stroll around the mall. Ended up buying 4 dvds all of them being 2 for $30 (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Dodgeball and the Goonies).

Oh man... I am now 0/1 at Roll Up The Rim. And I think I'll probably end up staying at 0/1 till this is over as I don't drink coffee or tea and the hot chocolate wasn't spectacular either. Oh well...

Oh man... I think this was the first Sunday in quite a while where I ended up at home instead of hanging out with everyone... though that's more because I lost my debit card and had to come back up to the northwest anyways and decided to just head home instead.

Oh man... I'm finally caught up with Battlestar Galactica and now I have to wait a week for every episode, that's going to be tough. Especially since Episode 19 was a TO BE CONTINUED!!

Oh man... Thursday night... All you can eat Sushi and Korean BBQ at Sushi BBQ Inn with Cell Group?? or... head in to lab and practice all applications for EMR with fellow classmates?? hopefully, work doesn't call for a relief shift on Thursday as well to complicate matters even more...

Oh man... this blog has been really pointless and getting long, so I'll stop now.

First Official Day

Yup, it's the first official day of my burps smell stinkier than Kingstons. Actually, that's probably impossible. But it was the first official day of work after training. And I guess I really need to work on my sleep habits, haha... it's not good to go to sleep after 1 and then get a call at 7:30 in the morning to see if I could go in. But it was overall a good day. Worked from 9-5 and didn't seem to make any huge mistakes, hehe. But it is definately a lot more stressful when you end up having to go on your own and do everything on your own without somebody more experienced keeping an eye out for you. But everything seemed to go nice and smoothly, so that is great. So, 40 hours down, another 1,960 hours to go before I'm finally done with my probation period. :P Now to rest my poor feet... and my friend who is jealous because I got the job that she's been after for months says that you sit around all the time, HA! Other than my half-hour lunch break and a short 15 minute break, I was walking around carrying out jobs, and man is the hospital big and when you have to go back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth and carry equipment and push stretchers and take stairs because the elevators always break down or they are always too busy to actually catch... my poor poor feet....

Oh, and I thought somebody stole or towed my car after work too... but it was just because I forgot exactly where it was parked. :P So, I checked out 3 different levels of the parkade before I found it on the correct level on the opposite side. Sigh, you know you're mentally fatigued when you can't even remember where you parked your car.

Flames Talk

What the... Cale Hulse? We traded for Cale Hulse? Why? He's at best a 5th-6th defenceman. Are we stocking up on depth for the playoff run?? Which is quite possible, but now we have Robyn Regehr and Leopold, Hamrlik (once he comes back from injury) and Phaneuf, Warrener and Ferrence, Marchment, Giordano, Richie Regehr and now Hulse as well... Depth never hurts I guess and we didn't really give anything up to get Hulse...

I'm thinking that maybe Hulse was brought in to play as a 5th-6th D-man so that we can offer Warrener or Ferrence (in combination with some forwards, likely Kobasew and another player) in a trade to get somebody like Jokinen to provide us with a number one centreman to complement Iginla. Why Kobasew? Because we have to offer up somebody whose got potential and it's either Kobasew or Lombardi and I think Lombardi has stepped up more so then Kobasew. Also, Dustin Boyd is more of a Kobasew type replacement than a Lombardi replacement, so we won't be missing out on much once Boyd comes up within the next 2 years or so. Or possibly, Brent Krahn will be shipped out if Florida is looking for a goalie with good potential to replace Luongo if they end up losing him as rumours state. Oooh... going to be interesting what trades happen before the trade-deadline comes up next week.

A Triple Code Day

So, there was yet another Code Blue today, hope it doesn't happen everyday... and definately hope it doesn't happen so that I have to be the person that has to call it in. Anyways, Code Blue is Cardiac Arrest or Medical Emergencies. So, once you call a Code Blue, a response team of doctors, nurses and such rush to the scene with a crash cart and such. Code Black is a Bomb Threat at the hospital. But yeah, the second Code for today was a Code Yellow. It's a code that nobody really pays attention to, as I just kept on reading a magazine and didn't even take notice of where the Code was being called from. But Code Yellow is a missing patient, and it only affects Security and the nurses at the unit that it is called at. The third and last Code today doesn't get any attention by anyone either, and that is Code Red. Which is the Fire Alarm, and nobody pays attention to it because it goes off quite frequently as patients in the Psych ward might pull it, or somebody forgot something in a kitchen or something... so you can really tell who works at the hospital and who is a visitor when a fire alarm is going off as all the visitors stand dazed and look around anxiously, while everybody who works at the hospital just keeps on walking, talking, laughing and doing their jobs like they don't even notice it. :P The only annoying thing with a Code Red is that all the elevators get sent to the main floor and get locked down for the duration of the Code, and then you get this huge back log of patients, equipment and everything waiting to cram into the elevators on every floor immediately afterwards.

Anyways, one more day of training and then I'll be done with that. I don't have my work schedule yet though... But yeah, I really hope my scrubs come in (but there's a chance I won't get them for a couple more weeks)... but it really feels weird walking around in the scrubs that I currently have as the pants are too long and is really baggy and sometimes feel like they're going to fall off. Oh, and if you don't know, all scrubs are color coded... so burgandy colored scrubs are the scrubs I should be wearing as a porter... teal colored scrubs are the scrubs I should be wearing when I work on the lift-team... deep blue colored scrubs are for house-cleaning... and I'm currently wearing sky-blue colored scrubs, which are surgeon colors. :P So, I look like a surgeon when I'm going around. :) Clem, Kenric, Milty and Tony suggested that I pick up girls like that... by saying, "Hey, I'm Dr. Geoffrey Mah, do you mind if I give you a mole check?"

CODE BLUE!

So, who knows what Code Blue is in a hospital setting?? And out of curiosity... what is code blue at Wal-Mart, all you wal-martians?? Anyways, there was a code blue today and I was on the elevator that ended up being sent directly to the response team, so I had to rush off the elevator right away, luckily I was heading to the main floor anyways. So, the second day of training was much more interesting than the first, by far. The first day of training was walking around the entire foothills medical clinic to get a sense of where everything is located, and boy is there a lot of places to know. Today, we got sent on a scavenger hunt around the hospital to see if we could find all the places on our own, that was pretty cool... and we had to get signatures from unit clerks at all the locations we were sent to and I even got a chocolate egg from one unit. :P After that, we got paired up with experienced porters and got to observe them, though mine made me do all her work after I observed the first few calls. Haha, but it was all good, really good experience that way. Get to practice doing everything and yet having somebody experienced jumping in here and there to make sure things went smoother. :P Luckily, my first 5 jobs were all just moving folders and such to different units. Moving patients wasn't too bad... moving them on a stretcher was pretty easy to do... moving a patient on a wheelchair and having to bring along an IV pole was much harder as it requires a TON of wriststrength to move and turn a wheelchair with one hand. And no dead bodies yet, and luckily when I visited the morgue, they weren't doing any autopsies yet. :P I think the worst call ever will be to transport a dead baby... it's so sad... and you have to place them in a baby coffin for the transport too... anyways, 2 more days of training...

Kaput

So... I have now figured that nobody actually reads the 'inspirational' messages. So, Inspirational Tuesdays is now officially kaput.

And an update on my job opportunity. I received a phone call on Friday afternoon, but I missed the call because I was taking a shower, and they never called my cellphone, and I didn't realize that they had left a message on the answer machine. So, I thought nothing about it and left the house for the rest of the day, until my mom notified me of the message that asked me to give them a call back before 7pm that Friday... this was after 9pm on Friday. Sigh, so I gave them a quick call and left a message. I was informed during my interview that the first day of training was most likely going to be today, and I didn't receive a call back from them all weekend... which means that I didn't get the job, cause they didn't bother calling my cell phone, so it couldn't have been important enough as to locate me to notify me before traning, sigh... I'm presuming that I didn't get the job because I didn't put weekends down for availability (because my labs are on every other weekend)... but oh well... that meant that I ended up staying at Jacksons house longer than I would have if I were to have started training today, and I got to finish playing Gauntlet Legends. :P And I agree, that was a really short game, haha.

Oh, and I got a phone call today informing me that I actually did get the job, and that training will now start next tuesday after family day. :P So, all that worrying and checking my phone every half-hour over the weekend (especially while playing football, because I was afraid all the running would make me not notice the phone ringing) was pointless. :P

Inspirational Tuesdays Pt. 3

A little about my week again. I told some of you that I was not looking for another job (full-time or part-time) as I was content on just focusing on school for the moment. However, I received a call yesterday morning from the foothills hospital about a possible position and to come in for an interview today. While going in to the interview this morning I realized that I didn't even know for what position this was for, as I had sent in a couple resumes to different positions, haha. The closest possibility was from my latest resume sent in for a lift-team position which I had my old dad's new wife send in for me through internal sources. :P During my interview, I found out that it's a combination of lift-team and porter (a position I had applied for back in September), so that was awesome. There's apparently 4-5 people being interviewed and only 3 spots open, so hopefully I get one of them. If I do, I'll be working Casual-Relief, but I finally get my foot in the health-care door and it will be perfect training/practice for paramedics as well. Now to make sure I stay on top of my schooling while working as well, haha, oh boy, I sure hope I can handle the extra workload. I guess that's all for now.

Simple Difference

There once was a man who was deeply contemplating life. He Asked God to help him understand. God sent an Angel to take him on a little trip. The Angel brought him to an Elevator and down, down, down they went.

When the doors opened, the man saw a huge banquet table. Seated around the table were horribly miserable looking people. They were starving, not much more than skin and bone, and yet the table was full of every food imaginable. The man quickly turned to the Angel and said, "Why don't they eat?"

The Angel said, "Watch closely." The man watched and realized that the utensils the people were trying to eat with were six feet long. Try as they may, they couldn't get the food into their mouths. They would stab the food, try to flip the food into their mouths, but the food fell to the floor, the wall ..... seemingly everywhere but into their mouths. When someone tried to reach out with their hands to get the food, it instantly turned to stone.

A table flush with food and everyone was starving. Soon the man couldn't take any more of this misery and said, "I've seen enough." So they got in the elevator and shot up, up and up.

When the door opened, the man was astonished. Before them was an almost identical scene. Another table full of every imaginable food. Hugh six foot utensils, and people seated all around poking at the food. The shocking difference here was that everyone was laughing, happy, joyous and well fed. He then saw a woman seated at the table try and use her hand to catch a carrot that was rolling off the table. As she caught it, it turned to stone. She tossed it into a pile and they all laughed.

The man frustrated said, "I don't get it, everything is the same but these people are so happy. Why?"

"Watch and see," the Angel said with a gentle smile. Then at once it hit him. There was ONE SIMPLE DIFFERENCE. THE HAPPIER PEOPLE were using THE UTENSILS TO FEED ONE ANOTHER, while THE OTHERS were using THE UNTENSILS TO FEED THEMSELVES.