The Back of the Medic

Today marked the first day that I began my move. Had to take care of things, such as dropping a container on the property, to act as a makeshift garage to store things in until the garage is built. I went over there, and found that the owner made some improvements to the property. Little things, but things that make it look nicer on the outside. Of course, I will be improving things as well.

Tomorrow I will move more things over, and Wednesday is the big day. Rented a moving van for that. Most things will be easy to move, except the couches. They weigh a friggin’ ton. But I have my roommate, and a friend coming over to help with the move, so hopefully, we will get it done without hurting ourselves.

As you can tell, I’m changing the look of the site. When I moved to WordPress, I set up a simple (very simple) theme, one that was clean, and easy to maintain. I’ve been looking at other sites, and found a theme that I really like. Now, I need to customize it for what I want.

So, please bear with me while I make this *my* place. Thanks!

I hate rebates.

DO YOU HEAR ME STORES? I HATE REBATES.

I don’t care if you disguise them as “Member Rewards”, or just call them rebates.

Back in July, I had to replace my backpack. My old Targus backback was finally not functioning. The zipper would pop open randomly (along the closed portion of the zipper). Not good when you are hauling a laptop. Bad things happen.

So, I looked through ads, and found 3 that I thought would suit my needs. Another Targus, a Swissgear, and a ful Refugee. All 3 happened to be a OfficeMax (yeah, I’m naming you). After looking at each, I decided on the Swissgear. “Oh”, the salesperson says, “and that backpack comes with a full rebate to your MaxPerks card”.  So I ask her when will I get the money on the card to use in the store. “August 20th”. Set date. OK. So, I paid for my backpack, and moved all my gear from the old to the new pack. I am absolutely satisfied with the Swissgear backpack I purchased.

So, along comes August 20th. Is the money on the card for me to use? Nope. I waited until last night, and finally sent an email to OfficeMax customer support.  What I got back was that I had to wait 60 DAYS, not 30 DAYS to receive my “rebate”. Hmmm… And a “sorry the store manager told you that, but here is what the deal stated…” that was a cut and paste of part of it, not the whole thing. The whole deal for the backback was never posted anywhere at the store.  So, instead of having the money I thought I would have for school supplies, I won’t have it until Sep 20th.

I HATE REBATES.

Happiness - By Willow Tree

As many of you know, I was widowed 6 years ago, when my husband passed away from complications of renal failure and overt septic shock. Since then, I have grown in ways I never thought I would. I finished my bachelor’s degree in Biology (Microbiology), began work as a scientist full-time, and I began to work in EMS more and more. Starting with DMAT and the Sacramento Rivercats (both of which I am a part of to this day), and working for and eventually becoming a business partner with First On Scene EMS, a BLS event medical company.

Having really never lived “on my own” for long, initially, I had family with me: my two wonderful children and my brother. Eventually, each of them moved away. My son (and his wife) came back for a short time; my daughter (and my grandson) a little longer. Although on my own for times, even now I share my residence with a roommate, a good friend. But essentially, I am on my own, as my roommate’s schedule and mine mean we basically share the same home, passing each other periodically (He works primarily in the evenings, while I work during the day, and occasionally at night).

Over the years, I dealt with the death of my husband in different ways. I assisted a family in the grieving process of their loved one (who was a hospice patient) passing away on my watch while I was on a deployment. This occurred approximately 6 weeks after Rory died. I’ve had friends lose family members, spouses, and ex-spouses during the last several years, one very traumatically by suicide. And… I dealt with one particular evening in a way that is really not normally in my being.

Last year, on what would have been my 25th anniversary, I opened a new bottle of a liqueur that Rory and I used to share together. What was intended to be a toast to what we had became me drinking the entire 750 mL bottle, my roommate finding me VERY DRUNK, and very emotional. I missed Rory terribly, and I released that sorrow that night through the ultimate uninhibitor, alcohol. Ironically, the next morning, I wasn’t hung over after all of that. And I had a new perspective, although I didn’t see it clearly at the time. In finally spilling out emotion I had been denying myself, I literally awoke in a new light.

I really do see it now.

Over the last several months, I began to give myself permission to be happy again. Something I had not realized that I had denied myself. Yes, I was doing what I wanted to do, but I really didn’t DO THINGS on a whim. Things were always planned. Especially in the last few months, I began to do things for fun very spontaneously. I’d go bike wherever I wanted, I’d take a small day trip somewhere. I took a few weekends off from working, and not do anything work-related those days. Or I’d finish a shift out of town… and stay out of town for a while, walking in Monterey… enjoying the cliffs of Sonoma County… sitting on a beach in Capitola. Yes, there were the planned things also. I went to Salt Lake City to see my daughter and grandson, and to celebrate his 4th birthday. He and I have a special bond. I’m his “Nana Nay”. He remembers the ambulance I have. He remembers some of the time he and his mom lived with me. I very much remember it, and always will cherish those times. My kids have seen the change in me, with my son mentioning today that he liked that I was enjoying life again. He’s right. I am!

Today marks a new day, just as everyday in my past has been. A new day in the rest of my life to be happy.

This morning, I was looking at a friend’s EMS blog posting, and he got #2 on a list of Top 50 EMS blogs. So, I went to the list to see who else is on there, looking for other blogs for me to read. Wow! I got one heck of a surprise when I saw that this blog was also listed… I am #6 on the list!

THANK YOU!