Hi.
And by hi, I obviously mean "is anyone still reading this?". According to the graph on this site, people actually have been. Which is actually kinda cool. I have actually gotten over 600 views total since I started this blog in late 2011 and then stopped posting in late 2011. May not seem like a lot, but to me that is awesome.
So here I am. A lot has been going on since I last posted. I am now officially in the military, I am finished with almost all of my training, I have an actual career (which is kinda weird), and I have goals for the future. Real, legitimate, achievable goals. I am currently working at a hospital in Tacoma, WA. I work as a medic in the ER, which is similar to an ER technician in civilian hospital, except we can start IVs, do blood draws, toenail removals, NG tubes, Foley catheters, and sutures. Basically, the fun stuff.
This is a teaching hospital, so I work directly with Emergency Medicine residents here in the ER. Since they are new, they are quite eager to share their knowledge with others because teaching helps you remember things better. So far I have learned about/how to:
-Read chest x-rays, recognize fractures on other x-rays
-Insert and manage chest tubes
-Insert both internal jugular and subclavian central lines
-Intubation
-Perform a FAST exam
-Insert an ultrasound-assisted IV catheter
-Read EKGs and recognize irregularities
-Suture (horizontal and vertical mattress, running, single interrupted, internal single interrupted)
-Recognize an aortic dissection and determine the type of treatment needed
-Recognize the six deadly causes of chest pain (Aortic Dissection, Tension Pneumothorax, Myocardial Infarction, Boerhaave Syndrome, Pulmonary Embolism, Pericardial Tamponade)
-Treat for anaphylaxis
Which is a lot for only having 2 months in the ER. Especially an ER like this one. Unfortunately, due to this being a military facility and everyone having free health care (thank you TRICARE), people tend to come in for conditions that are not what most would consider "emergent". Perfectly healthy children that have a runny nose, people whose cat lightly scratches them and are afraid of cat scratch fever, contusions (yep, bruises). So I would say I am learning a lot in a place where we don't get a lot of crazy stuff.
Aside from that, I have decided that I want to fly. That is the goal as of now. I have two specific aircraft in mind, although according to a couple people one of those may no longer be an option. Every since I was little I have loved the A-10 Warthog. It is the most bad-ass aircraft the United States has (although the Apache and AC-130 "Spectre" Gunship are both tied for a close second). Unfortunately the military has been trying to retire these for years and due to budget cuts, it seems like that is now very likely. A few people have told me there has been some AFN commercials stating that as soon as the current A-10 deployment is over, they will be grounded. Which is terribly disappointing. Luckily, my second choice is still pretty amazing. The HH-60 Pave Hawk is the United States Air Force's primary search and rescue platform. It is a variation on the widely used UH-60 Black Hawk used by the United States Army. A lot of people tell me that if I want to fly helicopters that I should switch to the Army and be a Warrant Officer. The main issues with this are:
1. Getting accepted to the Warrant Officer program is very difficult
2. You do not get to choose your helicopter and I do not want to fly Chinooks
3. Even if I was able to get UH-60s, getting in to a Special Operations Aviation unit is very difficult
4. I would have to join the Army over the Air Force
If I become a Helicopter pilot in the Air Force, I would be a regular officer (not Warrant), I would automatically be placed with AFSOC/ACC due to the Air Force only using helicopters for special operations, and I get to stay in the Air Force. In my opinion, that is a win-win situation. So that would be my second, and as of right now, most likely choice. However, in order for this to happen, I would need to obtain my 4-year degree in order to commission as an officer. So as soon as I am done with training, I will be attending WWU in Bellingham, WA to get my degree in Russian while simultaneously attending Western's paramedic course. That way I can remain in the medical field, which I love, and make some money during the summer/breaks/weekends due to paramedics being in high demand right now.
That is my professional life right now. Which happens to take up most of my time. On my days off I usually sleep, play some video games, and watch Netflix. Although I have started taking trips to Bellingham to visit old high school friends and enjoy the college life minus the classes. I feel like I am in a good place again. Although I am sure I could probably be working out more. Which would definitely be a smart thing. Other than that little hiccup, I feel very healthy. I have been in a very creative mood as of late and have been wanting to write something for the past couple of weeks. I settled on a Sci-Fi story set in the Halo universe. I have been re-reading the extended universe material surrounding the Halo video games and have fallen in love. It is surprisingly in-depth and interesting, as well as very entertaining. Right now I am looking at two different scenarios for my story. The first is a fairly straight-forward special forces story based around ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers). I love things like that and would love to write something based around it. The other was inspired by the "Agent of the Empire" line of Star Wars comic books. It is centered around an ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) operative and his AI embarking on secret missions and whatnot. I have a couple of neat ideas for plots and I think I will be writing this out first. So keep an eye out for that.
As for former projects that I posted about on here. I gave up on the Riot War story. It was a cool premise at the time but I lost interest quick. It also ended up dying down on the forums pretty fast. Diary of a Mad Bio Engineer could still happen. I just have to be in the mood to write about it more. I am sure that mood will crop up sometime in the near future. Regardless, I will be writing more here as I have seemed to re-discovered my love for writing. I would like to write at least one entry per week. More if possible. We shall see what happens.
A few things before I go. If you came across this blog, please drop me a comment and let me know how. I am not good at advertising and have absolutely no idea how to get my blog out there more. So please tell me how you found it. Also, if you have any ideas for promoting my blog, regardless of the reason you want to help (you really like my writing, you "believe" in me, or you want to watch people laugh at my incoherent ramblings), then let me know. Either way I don't mind. Also, if you liked what I write, tell me about it! Feedback is always welcome.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@Punk_roc).
Now go outside and do something productive.
