badger_14

Miserable week all over the place: got very, very sick after street hockey on Saturday, made a bunch of dumb mistakes during practicals on Sunday and Monday, went to the doctor to find out I have an infection in my leg for which I have had both oral and IV antibiotics (third and hopefully last session tomorrow), and it also looks like I'm not coaching this year because guy in charge is making clear he just wants parent involvement in the org. Which is totally fair and I don't begrudge them that at all, it's just disappointing because I enjoy hockey and coaching.

Our class building is on top of a very large hill...

It's about 2/3 of the class. I can only hope they won't make it to the national exams. It's totally okay to strap the offenders to longboards and just leave them in the hall, right?

Example: There's a guy in my class who is trying really hard, but just plain lacks the physical coordination to perform the skills correctly and efficiently. I wouldn't want him passing the NREMT and working on an ambulance with me, but I do respect that he's honestly trying. I don't think he'll pass the NREMT, though. I have no respect for the kids from the college (or, the 'kids' closer to my age who are also putzing around) who don't take the course seriously, assume they can breeze through, and complain when they do poorly on quizzes and exams. I don't want to be a cranky 'old' (I'm 28, I don't get to complain yet) man about the young people these days, and I think it's simple naivete as much as anything. The course is hosted by an expensive, exclusive private college and the kids don't get out of the bubble that much. Maybe a field trip to the Shattuck hospital or Boston Medical Center would help.

The instructors do know, and have collectively taken a stripe off the class for messing around. It doesn't seem to have made a dent in the offenders particularly. Luckily, they will probably fail the national exams and not certify, or even better, they'll fail this course and not even make it to the national exams. What irks me most is these are the college kids who intend to go on to nursing and medical school. I'd like to know where they plan to practice so I can avoid those areas/hospitals.

Not feeling too charitable toward my classmates tonight. They don't pay attention during lecture/demonstration - mess around on their phones and chat with each other instead. Then they don't know what to do when we're practicing, or they straight out don't bother to practice and just sit around socializing. Which is a serious wrench in the works when you need to practice, say, stabilizing a patient on a short (spine) board and transferring them to a longboard.

Tom Magliozzi, brother of Ray, co-host of NPR's Car Talk.

(Former) Boston Mayor Tom Menino (Oct. 30th)

Sweet! Let the other players know if you need to stop for a drink - when I play street pickup, at least in the summer, they refer to water breaks as 'goalie breaks'. I'd like to think they'd be accommodating if you let them know, handwave or whatever, 'hey, I need break'. If you collapse of dehydration, they have to put up with the shooter tutor again. ;)

One of the evaluators for our practical skills assessments (EMT-Basic) found me during lunch today to specifically tell me I was doing an excellent job and was among the best he'd seen in either class group. Still plenty to work on and practice of course, but it's a nice confidence booster.

An all-night ER visit for a gastritis flare-up, a sinus infection, one major migraine in the middle of EMT class practicals, a round of antibiotics and a new antacid regime, this has not really been the best week.

Ouch! That sucks. Glad it'll work out, though.

So sorry to hear that. You never do get enough time with them. :( She's not hurting anymore, but that doesn't help you or the family. All sympathy.

Seriously. I like a chance to go shoeless as much as the next person, but there's a limit. I have a classmate in my EMT class who goes barefoot (or sock-footed) in lectures and occasionally during practicals. Keep your shoes on, for others and yourself, who knows what's on these chairs/floors.

Went to the fire station to see if I could take some vitals for class, and for the first time managed a couple of successful, accurate blood pressures! Very exciting.

Extra ice time is totally one of the great perks of coaching kids. Especially with the little ones when you have to demonstrate every little thing. And as I'm sure you know, the kindergarten set are like ducklings and will follow your every move exactly, so no corner-cutting.

Thanks Optimus. The "second level" sounds like the CEP's age-specific modules, but the electives actually sound like in-depth modules on particular skills. Sounds interesting, except for the "you must take [x] of these right now even though we released them late". Best of luck on that.

Just started my EMT-Basic class on Sunday, and feeling really good about it so far, and pretty proud of myself for how far I've come since I got sick 5 years ago.

Not to derail things (feel free to go back to venting), but what exactly are the elective courses for officials? Is it the equivalent of coaches' "age-specfic modules"?

Really? I can understand no sticks or pucks, but no padding, either? That's kinda weird. I wish I could offer more advice, I'm still stuck on dry land trying to remember that I have pads on and can actually drop and cover the bottom of the net.

My dad started taking me and my brothers camping around 5/6 years old too, and it turned out to be one of our most lasting traditions. I still go camping with my dad every year. You may yet turn out to have a nature-loving kid who looks forward to each trip to the woods. ;)

Do you have any mid-day public skating (not pickup, just skating) sessions you could go to? I've seen people (kids, admittedly) skating around in new pads at a public skating session to break them in, and if it was mid-day and not too crowded you might be able to try dropping into butterfly and otherwise maneuvering in them without the added mess of full gear and people taking shots on you.

My favorite non-hockey sport/downtime, other than biking, is swimming, and I usually swim 500 - 1000 yards a couple times a week, especially in the summer. I am no speed demon (it's all about the endurance), but I finally set myself a new personal best today and achieved my goal of swimming 500 yards of breaststroke in under 14 minutes - freight-trained myself through a cool 13:55.

Finally got a chance to get on the ice again after two months off, and wasn't quite as terrible as I thought I'd be. Just a respectable amount of rust.

One of my best friends is thisclose to losing his spot in his college's paramedic program (which he's already been accepted to) because of a financial aid/tuition foul-up on the part of the school, and it's so frustrating not to be able to help him as much as I want to.