Since all the cool kids are doing it....

You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (50% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist

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Well sum'bitch

There's a hurricane warning for Maine, something that we haven't seen here in 17 years, which means that I was 12 when Hurricane Bob left ten people dead and $2.8 billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Kyle is expected to touch kiss the Downeast coast of Maine tomorrow evening.

Considering I have tomorrow off I think it might be an ideal day to head to the coast, not to swim of course, as the North Atlantic starts to get a bit chilly this time of year and the surf gets pretty nasty when there's a storm a comin' but it does make for quite a show to see the surf and maybe a pretty picture or two if I'm lucky.

Just something to ponder.

I'm turning comments off for this one. Regardless of your political leanings, just bear in mind that perhaps experience isn't a prerequisite for greatness.

Things Not To Say In Front of a Patient

Prior to leaving my job in Pittsburgh to come back to Maine my coworkers and I started a list of things never to say in front of a patient. This of course has been edited to remove the profoundly foul things that might enter an EMS providers mind. My apologies in advance to the nurses. I'm sure you're a talented, dedicated, capable individual, but it seems that every nurse that shows up on a scene that I'm at just wants to flaunt their vast lack of knowledge of emergency medicine.

1.) You’re going to feel a little prick (followed by) here comes the little prick.
2.) Did you take the whole bottle of pills? Well why not?
3.) Here’s the gun, here are the shells, we’ll be back in five minutes
4.) It’s his first day
5.) I’ve never seen that before
6.) Here’s your sack, ma’am
7.) Do you have a gag reflex?
8.) Does he normally look like this or does he have some kind of disease?
9.) Would you describe your diarrhea as explosive?
10.) We should be okay, there’s a home health nurse here.
11.) So tell me, when was your last bath?
12.) Have you ever been told you suffer from epiglottal turbulence?
13.) That doesn’t look right.
14.) This is my partner Steve, but his nickname is HandJob
15.) Does the guy with teeth know any information?
16.) Oh you’re a nurse? Great, hold this
17.) That’s a goofy looking kid.
18.) Do I really have to touch him?
19.) (without knowing for sure if she's pregnant) How far along are you?
20.) You shouldn’t smoke, you should shoot heroin
21.) There’s shit everywhere!

Avast, me hearties!

Yarr matey, ye best be celebratin' today or you'll be walkin' the plank for forgettin 'bout International Talk Like A Pirate Day

TeeHeeHee

At my old full time (now part time) employer the director posts little tidbits of news on his page on the company website. Usually these are notices about new policies, or construction updates and the like. He also posts notices when new employees are hired. Now, I'm wondering if he realizes the Judy Garland/queer culture reference contained in his notice given the fact that I'm gay. (And yes, everyone there knows I'm gay)

And, we welcome back MedicMatthew who returns from Pennsylvania with his ruby slippers ('you can go home again') intact.

Just couldn't help but chuckle when I saw that this morning.

Home again.

Well, it appears that my timing was spot on for moving out of Pittsburgh. Apparently the remnants of Hurricane Ike have left many without power. More importantly the move allowed me to attend the wedding of a childhood friend, Jill. When I was a kid Jill's brother BJ was my best friend. We had absolutely nothing at all in common with each other- he was the jock, I was the band geek- yet we were the best of friends. Prior to this weekend the last time I had seen him was in November, just before I moved to Pittsburgh; prior to that it had been years. This wedding weekend was the perfect reminder of why I have moved back to Maine- this is where my (extended) family is. I enjoyed living in Pittsburgh. I had fun, I had a good job and I worked with some great EMS providers but it just wasn't home.

Life in Maine is a bit different from most of the rest of the country. Our winters can he harsh, our landscape is beautiful, our natural resources are amazing. I come from a rural part of the state where farms have remained in single families for generations, where there are mountains named for their residents that have been there since the 19th century. I am a fourteenth generation American and a seventh generation Mainer.

This is home.