... and twins

Well Sean finally manned up and got a truck... almost. He got a Nissan Xterra, which is not quite as manly as a truck, but it'll do. At least they're twins

Proud

Co. 20 seems to be having an excellent time at the conference. So far I've received over 30 pix messages of the antics, and it's only day 2. With night 2 coming up, it's sure to be a conference to remember. If only I could be there. Oh well...

Have fun, kids!

on my day off

i don't think it's going to get up and do itself

a familiar SNL skit

You all know what they're doing. Just laugh.

THON 2007

THON 2007 raised over $5.2 million for the kids. Simply amazing. Here are some good pics of the weekend.

Katrina loved the "table." I am the table.

I look really good, huh? This was the first year at the BJC.


Katrina did some really good dancing!

That's all for now.

FTK

the THON 2007 line dance

college pizza monday!

this is for you, Sharpie!

Say Hello to Dana!

After weeks of hardship in researching trucks, a very heartfelt goodbye to La Bamba, and a few terrible days stuck in the 16" of snow in state college, (drum roll, please...) I would like to introduce you to my new baby: Dana.

2007 GMC Sierra Extended Cab.

She's got 310 horses powered by a 5.3L V8.

Z71 Off-road package, rear locking differential, 4WD with auto-sensing slip-control.

Needless to say, she's no joke. Rides like a dream. Everyone say, "Thank you, Penn State employee discount program!" All for now.

A bad day, a sad day

What a bad day. I should have known this morning at 8 AM when I put my pants on and my toe caught the tiny minuscule hole in my pant leg and ripped the whole damn pant leg off.

It got worse. I was leaving my apartment to hand over La Bamba to her new owner when I decided to put the window down. Good news: the window wouldn't go back up. Seriously, whose car breaks 10 minutes before it's to be sold? Mine. Thank you, Murphy's Law. I hate Murphy. So I had to take $200 off the sale price, but he still bought it anyways.

So now to the sad part. Today I said goodbye to my car, La Bamba. She was a great car, and because of her departure, I'll soon be driving my new truck. But, as all gentlemen should do, I had to buy her a drink before she left.

la bamba, baby

Does anyone else think La Bamba is a bad ass song? No? Just me? Ok.

I test drove a few trucks this week. Getting close to buying one. Meanwhile I have a buyer for my Honda. It'll be a sad day when she leaves me, but unfortunately I can't afford 2 cars.


Goodbye, baby. You've been awesome. Beep beep.

saving lives

I've been working in EMS for a little over 5 years now. I've never really "saved" a life. Until today.

I've been on a lot of calls. I've seen a lot of different things, and I know I've helped people. But I could never really pin point a time in which someone was dying and I helped make the difference between life and death. Today that changed, albeit unfortunately. Today I was on a BLS crew who saved a 79 year old woman from cardiac arrest. We got there and she was dead. When we left her in the ER, she was breathing on her own without assistance. Unfortunately, this was not her wish. Shortly after we shocked her with the AED twice, the nursing home staff informed us she had a valid DNR. At this time, she was already attempting to breath on her own, and her heart rate was strong and steady. It felt really strange. I wanted to be proud of my first save, but I can't be with this one. I don't feel bad for what I did, everyone knows we were only acting on the information we had at the time. So I have no feelings of remorse or regret. I just wish I could feel good about the save. There's a good chance I'll never be on another call like this when the person is dead when you arrive and alive when you leave. I was hoping it'd be more fulfilling.

Oh well. At least I'm pulling a double and working tonight at the U. Great.

moments that take your breath away, for better or for worse

Some people believe in fate. I don't. I really believe that everything in life has a purpose, but I don't agree that every little thing that happens to you - or even yet every little decision you make - is pre-scripted and set in stone before it occurs. I liken God to a Dealer in a casino. He sure as hell controls the game, but the deck isn't fixed and he has no stake in your fortune. Life is pretty similar to gambling: if you make a crappy decision, you're going to lose. The Dealer didn't make you choose poorly, you made your own choices. Furthermore the Dealer usually doesn't mind when you win, in fact it makes His job more enjoyable when He's got a table full of winners. And most importantly, just like any gamble - because every day, life really is a gamble - sometimes no matter what you do, and no matter how much the Dealer really wants you to win, you get dealt a shitty hand with which you just can't win. That's life.

I'm praying for a friend today, and these were the thoughts that came to me. I'm really sorry, my friend.