Amerika - Force of Occupation

[Edit: Someone not here on my.opera or from opera in general suggested that some might not want tho see all the content that is part of this post. To that end, a text-only version may be found by clicking here.
What is below the jump may be offensive to some, and it's absolutely Not Safe For Work (NSFW).]

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(EDIT: I was talking about the snow the other day with someone at the Co-op, and of course, they remember it snowing as much -- if not more -- about three years ago... -- 20101201)

This is the first time in the twenty years that I've lived in Washington that I remember it snowing before thanksgiving. That probably ain't sayin' much. It's amazing how much stress takes its toll on my memory. In my post about my weekend trip a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I'd bought a new camera. I bought a hunk of turd Nikon that got returned immediately, and bought a Canon SX130 IS. My complaint about the Nikon was poor low light performance. I took the pictures below last night after my grocery run to the Co-op. They were taken in ridiculously low light. I can't even describe how little light there was. The big thermometer picture was take freehand, with no support. The little REI thermometer picture was taken from about 8 inches (20,5 cm) away on a tripod, manually focused, and with a full one (1) second exposure time. Nirvana! For reference here's a picture of my bedroom from when I lost power last week. The light is coming from 2 tea candles. They were putting out far more light than I had for the REI thermometer picture. (OMG, I'm giddy!) UPDATE: A couple of days later it got *really* cold for here. I've never seen it get below 0° F (-18° C) here. The closest I've ever seen here is 9° F (-13° C). That was cold. The pipes where I lived at the time started freezing. That was pretty scary.

Being outside and shoveling snow today was great exercise and gave me some time to spend connecting with a couple of my neighbors who are great people. There's certainly plenty of it to shovel if I should feel very ambitious. My shoulders are a little sore and I can't believe how sore my hands are. That's what I get for being a computer jocky, I guess. Shoveling is hard work, but oddly satisfying. Maybe because I'm doing it because I want to, and because it brings people out to work together and share the experience.

Shot from my balcony this afternoon:


Five minutes (okay, maybe ten) after I shoveled a path:


The snow covering the patio around the walkway is less than 24 hours old. The patio has been shoveled 3 different times since Friday. I finally just stuck with creating a path:


I think I actually do have some bird seed and bread I can put out for the creators of these:


Just incredible:

The temperature is not supposed to get above freezing for the rest of the week. The National Weather Service predicts snow on Wednesday and Thursday. And I'm told that the rest or the year (all two weeks of it) will be pretty much the same. I wanna ride my bike out in it, but i can only take so much cold it seems as I get older. When I was in my 20s my bike was my only form of transportation for quite a long time and I remember many mornings when the temperatures would be 15 - 25F (-9 - -2C) in the mornings. I have a car now, but I prefer to drive it as little as possible. I don't have a job presently, so I don't have to drive around alot, and don't have to go out in the cold as much. So yeah, it's cold. Not as cold as Minnesota, I suppose, but still cold.

A 24-hour coffee house just opened up a several blocks from my house. It's totally walkable. Was down there just this morning, in fact. Took my laptop (no wireless there yet) and my textbook, and read and listened to music for a while. The textbook is called Prehospital Emergency Care. I'm enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program at a local college. The program starts Jan. 7, so I'm reading now. I already have good grasp of the course material due my training as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR). So I should do well. Whether I will be able to get a job as an EMT remains to be seen, of course. There's a lot that goes in to it besides just going through a program. Each county has different protocols that EMTs have to test on and pass to be able to work in that particular county. Those protocols are not taught in a classroom, but have to be self-studied. I've never been very disciplined in my ability to study outside of a classroom, unless it's been to solve an immediate computer-related issue. Plus, almost all ambulance companies require that people have previous experience. This is a classic catch-22 in that it's hard to get experience unless you have a job as an EMT, and it's hard to get a job unless you have experience. So, I suppose we will see.

There are four discrete levels to Emergency Medicine with Emergency Medical Responder being the first step. This is synonymous with Wilderness First Responder except that we are taught an extra set of protocols that can only be used in wilderness settings or when definitive care is hours away. EMT is the second step, with Advanced EMT and Paramedic being the third and fourth steps, respectively. Each of these steps indicate progressively higher training and responsibility. In truth, my primary motivation is not so much actually being employed as an EMT--although it is very appealing--as it is in being a better street medic. Several EMTs I've met work in clinics in poor communities around the world. I also plan to use this training as a stepping-stone to becoming a registered nurse (RN), which is my ultimate goal. However, given the cost of post-secondary education in this country and my age, I'm not sure how realistic this is. I plan to train as far as I can up the Emergency Medical ladder. My right leg was crushed when I was 19, so I'm not sure how well I would be able to perform as a paramedic working for a fire department. Won't know until I try. Once I've gone as far as I can I'll begin to study to achieve an RN degree.

It's been below freezing all day, and is supposed to be 9F (-12C) tonight... I want more coffee, damnit. Hehehe...