Day One.

It's in the books.

I have to say, I had a great time. Despite anything keeping me down, I couldn't help but feel a bit happy riding around in the back of that ambulance. There has been so much pressure put on us over this school year, I was beginning to second guess myself. Did I make a mistake? Can I actually do this?

As I sat there I realized that I was not so nervous, and I felt like I was doing what I should be doing. For one thing, my preceptor and his partner are great. I don't think I could have asked for a better one. That can make or break a student. Now it's all up to me. And really, it's fun to ride around and basically just hang out, until that next call comes. The calls are obviously the highlight of the day for the medics. That's one thing that I found very refreshing to see. I guess I've worked too many jobs in the past with too many other disgruntled employees. Instead of grumbling when Medic Center calls their truck number, they perk up.

That's not to say they don't enjoy the down time. I witnessed a pretty epic ping-pong match today at one of our posts. My eyes were glued to that ball. I mean, the two medics I was riding with, they are amazing at ping-pong. Seriously. Watched some movies too. I think you'd be surprised just how much of that goes on. The Paramedic Academy should put "learn to play ping-pong and become a movie critic" in their next brochure. I just wish they taught ping-pong at our school, then I might have a chance. On the other hand, maybe it's not such a good idea to beat my preceptor at his own game. Or anything.

-AM

nothing lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change