|
vikingkitten
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Naomi
Interests: Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him; Family; Friends; Horses; Firearms; Music; Freedom; EMS; many other things that I could list here in single words/acronyms and make seem utterly boring and totally cliche
Expertise: Getting [un]lost
Occupation: God chaser and big sister
Industry: Life
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
5/26/2004
|
|
| Today, I ran rescue. We had one call in Round Hill because their ambulance decided to be whacked out. Didn't matter; we left with a waiver and then loaned 14-1 to Company 4 so they could cover their own calls. 
That's not what I'm going to remember about today.
Today will be remembered as the day when half paying attention to TV, half paying attention to my computer and half paying attention to pretty much nothing was abruptly changed by a panicked sound over the radio.
My confused question of "what was that??" was answered with silence as everyone gathered around the CAD and changed channels of their radios. Two words: firefighter down! And the world screeches to a rapidly rotating halt.
We listened while dispatch scrambled to figure out what happened, while command accounted for all units and personnel and while a medic requested authorization for administration of morphine. We listened, and we heard the agonized screams of a man in tremendous pain.
Those screams are something I won't soon be forgetting.
Making it especially eerie is the fact that I'm trying to get an actual job in Fire Rescue.
And then I came back to the station after the waiver-signed to find "United 93" playing. I've never watched the movie for a reason, and today was not the day to change that I guess...basically...my reasoning and motivation found a different degree of clarity today.
Prayers for the firefighters injured in today's incident would be greatly appreciated. There were a total of six injured; two were flown out and a total of five were hospitalized. You can read a little bit about the incident here
| | |
| It's been a long weekAnd next week is going to be longer. Not in actuality, of course, but just...insanely booked. Oy. I will be so incredibly happy when conference season is DONE. Of course, then I'll be bored, which is . . .boring. Nevermind.
Yeah, so for those of you who don't know...I'm posting this on a multitude of blogs so that no one feels left out...I've applied for jobs with INOVA Hospital in Leesburg and Lansdowne. We'll see if I get accepted to either place. God seems to be having a lot of fun with the whole "not a moment too soon and not a second too late" aspect of timing everything, so I'm just going to let Him handle it and do my best. At this point, there are two options in front of me: a job with a hospital and then getting into nursing school to earn my BSN in three years (hopefully less than that, actually, considering how many credits I already have) and becoming a career Firefighter/EMT with Fairfax or Loudoun. (Loudoun's application process hasn't opened up yet; guess I should check the website again, it's been a couple weeks. ...nope. nothing. Though the Field Deputy position is tempting . . .) Within the next few weeks I have job interviews, entrance exams and various other applicationy things to take care of. Like I said; I have no idea where it's all going to go, I'm just praying and letting Abba lead the way. He seems to have more of a clue than I do....
Aside from that, EMT class is going really well. There's just over a month left and I love it!! While I'll be a little sad to see the class end, it will be nice to have my life back. Of course, I'll be spending quite a bit of time at the station trying to get released, but that doesn't involve the risk of super long and boring lectures O:~)
My job with HSLDA is absolutely crazy. In the month of May we have over 30 conferences, and that's a lot of paperwork and shipping and other stuff to keep track of in my department. Of course, there's the inundation of graduation supply orders that are coming through, too. I don't know what I'd do without Emily....and everyone inside covering phones. If you think I'm nuts now...ha!
And that seems to be the majority of what's keeping me occupied these days. Somehow in the midst of it all, there have been some really great conversations with incredible friends and a few fun trips, too. If you have the chance, zap me an email or text me or something. Let me know what's going on in your life and how I can be praying for ya 
| | |
| InsomniaWritten last night...er...this morning, around 1AM I cannot get myself to sleep. Today started before 5 AM and my body will not just SLEEP. What is wrong with me??
Maybe there's just too much in my head to get out. Ok, fine, here's what's in my head*:
EMT class is amazing. I want to do medically related work all the time. I love it. For years, I swore off the complete dedication bordering on addiction that results in having no life, and it's finally to a point where that doesn't matter any more. This stuff is AWESOME! As incredible as the level of excitement I have is . . .heh, it's not like we're actually doing anything all too wonderfully thrilling. We just went over patient assessment some more this evening, as well as a couple of specific skill sets - MAST pants and special soft tissue injuries (yay for making donut rolls out of cling! do you know which types of wounds require a moist dressing?  ) I'm getting to know some people in my class, and one of my classmates asked me to cover for her later this month while she's gone on a business trip. Hopefully that works out, because getting some time in at different - and busier - stations would be great.
Of course, all of this comes at a cost. I don't know what is happening with my life at all right now. Hopefully I'll go to NOVA and get into the nursing program, and I really believe that'll be the smartest thing to do, long term. But at the same time? Man, I'd really just like to get into Recruit school and do Fire/Rescue (ok, so mostly just Rescue...) for the rest of however long.
It's annoying to need to have a job that pays money. Honestly, if it weren't for my car...or the fact that I need to pay rent...or that whole insurance thing...or tuition...life would be a lot simpler.
And then there's the whole guy thing. Which really isn't all too confusing, I guess. At least, I don't THINK it is. And so, I should just not think about it, until further interaction proves me wrong, which I don't think it will. Bleh.  Whatever. I just don't like feeling potentially confused.
All of this, of course, is further confused by this stupid sinus infection. I HATE my sinuses! Ok, so not really, but seriously. Every time I get truly horribly sick? It's a sinus infection. I'm on antibiotics for the first time since highschool and they're making me sick to my stomach. Yeah, so the whole pressure in my head thing is decreasing, but does it really have to occur in such a way that makes me think food must be the invention of Satan?
God's been teaching me an awful lot about love and trust lately. Of course, I always say that. Those are sort of the themes of life, as far as I can tell. But when you think about what it means to truly love those around us, it's rather intimidating. When God says everyone, He means just that. Sometimes, I can convince myself that I'm getting better at that, but when I step back and really look at the situation, it's pretty obvious that I'm not. In some ways, there has been significant growth -- I'm a lot more accepting of people being who they are and not expecting them to meet a certain set of guidelines for acceptableness as a human being. Having said that, however, actually presenting the truth and reality of my relationship with God in such a way that opens doors for further dialogue is something that needs some serious work. *sigh*
And I have amazing friends. That's enough for now.
*to be taken with a grain of salt . . .or several grains. it's after midnight, after all | | |
| Writers ReadI remember hearing somewhere, ages ago, that "good writers, READ"
It came across as a "duh" statement to me at the time, but recently, I've been realizing how true it is. Writing isn't something I spend much time on as of late, but reading really isn't on my to-do list, either.
Having a day of being sick in bed sorta changes that. After seeing "The Jane Austen Book Club" (which I'm not sure if I recommend or not. It's interesting ) I decided that reading the book would be a good idea. A friend very graciously lent me her copy and so I've spent the better part of my waking hours today (sparse though they've been) turning pages. Just because I can. And that's a different feeling for me.
But it's also incredible, because I'm realizing all of these thoughts popping out of my head that are just begging to be put down on paper! Watch out, world, when the muse hits again, there will be rants to be heard 
| | |
| This took me days to write and it's still not really doneGod did not see fit to move me from Northern Virginia. Again. Or is it yet? It's really hard to describe my current state of being. While it is not one of my deep and undying dreams to reside in the land of transient yuppies, somehow, it doesn't seem so bad right now. Maybe it's a lesson in contentment that's gotten drilled into my head in a new way, but there are so many opportunities staring me in the face. It's as though God just waits for me to stop running like a caffeine crazed hamster so He can actually show me what He's got. And what He's got is pretty amazing. Reckless abandon wrapped in common sense... That's a line from a song by Casting Crowns. And it is SO accurate as to the state of my life over the past few years. While my heart falls in love with my Savior, my mind tries to keep it in check. That deeply ingrained western mentality of logical reason demands that my actions "make sense." Anything, EVERYthing, must have an explanation. X + Y = Z. How do you get X? Oh, we have equations for that, too. And they all make sense. So what? What difference does it make if the semester-long program I enroll in gives me credits or not? Why should I feel obligated to logically explain my reasons for leaving PHC, or driving home for Thanksgiving, or even wearing pants instead of skirts in the winter? At this very moment, while I'm typing this, I am fighting an urge to pause and say "don't misunderstand me, I don't believe we should just go wherever the winds may take us...." Why?? God gave us brains, yes, but not to enslave us with chains of reason! In fact, I am finding that it is only when I stop trying to be logical and simply accept Him for who He is that it becomes possible for me to breathe. Not only that, but the random, seemingly incongruosities that make up my personality come into a rather pleasant sort of harmony. This ranting does have a point, by the way. Basically, I think that I'm learning to live. And being frustrated by the way we just accept "the way things are." When I say that, I mean "we." Everyone, myself included, simply goes about life accepting the plastic shapes we've made and call the real world. We accept the reality of pain and that it happens. We accept church services that don't run for the heart of God and say that's just the way it is. "Oh, we live in the every day life. Mountaintop experiences are temporary." I don't deny that, I know that it's true. Living is exhausting. Working at a relationship is exhausting. And somehow . . .even though it's hard, it's right. And even in the weariness, there's rest for our souls. Why is Christianity such a paradox? Or is it? Maybe it's just confusing because we make it that way. It wouldn't be so difficult to dance with glee before Abba if I wasn't afraid of looking like a freak. Telling people that, unless they accept Him, they're literally going to Hell would not be so terrifying if I wasn't afraid of coming across as insane. Or intolerant. Or any number of other negative things. In recent days, it has become more and more clear to me just how often I do not act, or speak, or do the right thing because I am afraid. Afraid of people and what they think. It's disgusting. So...this brings me to an interesting spot. I'm not going to just fly off and do whatever, whenever. If I'm honest with myself and God, there are parts of my life that need additional surrendering. . . and I'm afraid to actually let them go. But I find myself wanting to let go. And I'm pretty sure that if I ask Him, God will help it happen. Pray for me . . . . (and as a footnote, I would like to thank Pastor Mike, back in Minnesota. Your Christmas Eve message was EXACTLY what I needed that night. Thank you - and thank God ) | | |
|
