Black Friday a HUGE disappointment

I went out early with my wife to hit up a few Black Friday sales. We headed out as an entire family excited for what we were going to be able to grab together and hoping to have a bonding experience. The race started out at Wal Mart where we stood in line hoping to grab a few big title DVD's for 2 bucks, No real issues here, That is UNTIL I see a woman over in the gaming section who had been pushed down, She is laying on the ground across a cardboard pile of Xbox games, the contents of her purse, meds, phone, etc scattered across the floor.. I could not believe what I was watching as people attempted to roll her over to get to the games underneath her and nobody stepped up to offer their assistance to this woman who was very obviously in need of someones helping hand.. I could barely  make my way over through the crowd of people throwing elbows and walking over anyone who didn't have the strength to push through the crowd. I didn't make it and luckily a few good people stepped up and helped the woman to her feet. I doubt that she got the items she was after. My only thought at this moment: "When did the need to save a few bucks on a game overcome our natural human ability to show compassion to someone in need".. I was literally blown away..  The next terrible experience came as my wife and I left electronics and headed over to TOYS to find an item that my daughter had fallen in love with and sat down in the isle to play with for 10 minutes a few days prior, It took us standing for 30 minutes before we were able to move at all towards the toys section because people with carts were blocking the isles and would not move their carts stating that they "Don't want to lose their place in line" This is where my wife stepped up, and I love it! "MOVE" she yelled, a variety of negative comments came her way about how shouting wasn't going to do any good, They didn't want to lose their place in line for items that wouldn't be going on sale for another 2 hours... An older woman in front of us in line had been asking very politely to have a few inches to squeeze through for several minutes and nobody gave her any attention, It wasn't until my wife shouted that people began to recognize another simple need.. It didn't take much to move the carts and let those of us who just wanted to get through room to squeeze by. I stepped in when people started yelling at my wife saying that "Shouting wasn't needed" by saying something along the lines of "Well, Asking politely wasn't working very well for any of us, Was it?"
 Wal Mart on Black Friday: I won't EVER be returning.. That is unless I return as an EMT on a Truck or Ambulance..

Next we went and joined my brother in line at Shopko, We had fun standing in the freezing weather for the next hour and a half waiting for the doors to open, It wasn't until about 10 minutes until the doors opened that I again saw a general lack of respect or decency by people attempting to save a buck or two.. The lines wrapped around the building in both directions. We were near the front, At 10 minutes to, families and people started gathering in the parking lot in front of the doors giving no respect to anyone who had been standing in the freezing cold waiting in line.. People were getting roudy and a chant was started by everyone in line. "Get In Line! Get In Line"... The people in line behind us grew more roudy and I saw several people come up and start calling people out: The doors opened and the rush came in, My pregnant sister stepped up, stood there and started calling people out directly.. I wanted to stay there and make sure that she was going to be OK but I was being pushed through the door: My wife stopped in front of me, planted her feet, and put both hands up on the standing theft detector systems she was standing between. In front of her 3 young girls had been pushed over and she was trying to protect them.. In the meantime and in an attempt to join my wife in slowing the crowd, my hand was smashed between the doors and is still swollen. Once inside the madness seemed much more organized than Wal Mart, Still I was disappointed at the reaction of people in general..
 We finished our shopping experience at Kohls with the family, standing in line and laughing at jokes we were telling and this was the best experience we had all night long- Perhaps due in part to the fact that door-busters were already inside.. We were at Kohls for what seemed like endless hours but made friends with the people in line around us, Overall: Kohls wasn't bad, Just terribly boring..

To top it all off: I was on-call through out the remainder of the day- Every ambulance in the valley was out simultaneously due to a huge demand for EMS services, I ran several calls related to Black Friday, and a few other general medicals.. I'll sign up to cover EMS for Black Friday any day, But count me out in the future when it comes to any shopping!

Would be burglers deturred:

The following is a true-story: This is a story that I have NOT shared with my mother yet because she frantically locks up her home every night just to avoid such situations: If you know her, I ask you to please NOT share this story- And.. Hopefully she doesn't read my blog:

I work a graveyard shift at a local Juvenile Justice center for troubled youth. This is a job that I am certainly excited about because it is above any pay grade that I've been able to get locally in a downed economy plus it comes with excellent benefits for my family: The downside is just that: Its a graveyard shift.. I get to sleep with my wife 2 sometimes 3 nights a week and at this point we've both grown somewhat accustomed to sleeping alone and hogging the bed. At any rate, as a result of working the graveyard shift, I sleep throughout the day and I often get much less sleep than desired: Sleep that I happily sacrifice to see my daughters smile, I also still carry a personal fire-department issued pager with me throughout the day and I respond accordingly to emergencies during the daytime. I am "On-call" to respond to fire and medical emergencies several days a week, Something that I LOVE doing and would sacrifice sleep for any time - any day...
 I live in an apartment complex directly across the street from my fire department and as a result I often make it there quickly, however this complex has its downsides: One being that kids run around and play in the park next door, We have single-paned windows and our room is right next to the parking lot and local storage sheds.. (Don't get me wrong, I love living there and most days I can sleep through the noise) However on one particular day this last week, I was absolutely exhausted and I chose to leave my pager at home and go to sleep in my parents dark basement where no light or street noise for that matter can get in for a few hours of sleep before I had to return to work..
There I was; Sleeping like a baby in the spare basement bedroom: I hadn't let anyone know where I was because I didn't wish to be disturbed... I was woken up to a doorbell ringing, which I ignored twice until it rang a third time. Reluctantly, I threw the covers off the bed and went to the front door of my parents house thinking that something must be important, "Maybe Amy needs in" I thought to myself, I opened the door and stood behind it for a second, expecting Amy to just walk in, It was then that I noticed a gray bag of tools sitting on the doorstep and a skinny unshaven man standing on my parents doorstep, It appeared as though he and I were both perplexed at the situation, I observed him reach down and sluggishly attempt to cover his bag of tools and then I managed to mumble through my bagged eyes and half awake mentality the words "Can I help you?" Still perplexed the man looked at me and introduced himself as "Stan." Stan was soliciting services for a local lawn chemical company, He quickly handed me a card with his name and company info, gave a brief although not very thorough statement of his services and then he turned around to leave without offering anything to sign up for; having worked sales before I began to grow suspicious,  Nobody comes door to door selling subscriptions to a service and leaves before even asking me if I'm interested in that service... I watched him grab his bag and walk back to a truck parked on the corner across the street- He didn't knock on any more doors, and he jumped into the passenger side of a trashy white truck with what I assumed for a brief moment was another salesman.. I didn't really think much about it until I tried to lay back down to sleep.. I got to thinking about his tool-bag, I used to work maintenance and I like to think that I'm familiar with tools- I haven't seen these types of tools before and I began to recall the entire situation... "What does a lawncare service salesman need with a bag of tools?" "Why didn't he try to actually SELL me anything?" "Where was his company shirt" I asked myself these types of questions for a few more minutes. It all seemed quite fishy to me now. I began to recall a situation a few years ago when my parents had a vehicle parked out front of their home and somehow over the course of an evening, thieves had managed to steal all 4 tires and rims off of that vehicle and had the car propped up on rocks! I decided I'd figure it all out in the morning...
 I looked over the sales card that he gave me and decided to call the number the next morning. "______ Lawncare" a woman answered.. "Hi, I received a card yesterday from a salesman for your company, I just had a few questions regarding your service"... (Long pause).. "Yesterday" came the reply" "Yes, Yesterday, A gentleman named Stan came to my parents door selling lawncare services and I just had a couple of questions about the services".. (2nd LONG Pause) We don't have any salesmen in the field anymore, and Stan no longer works for the company, Are you sure it was _____ Lawncare" "Yes, This is the card I recieved, It was pulled out of a stack of cards for your company" Again came the reply "Well we no longer have any salesmen out in the field but I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have".. "Strange, but I got the info I was looking for, thanks for your help" and with that our conversation came to an end... I have since come to the realization that somebody was about to attempt robbing my parents home, and I would assume judging by the size of that stack of cards handed out that their home wasn't his only attempt." I have no way of knowing for sure... Perhaps Stan was out there and bitter towards his ex company... Who knows... Luckily I have yet to hear any stories of anyone in the immediate neighborhood getting robbed, and perhaps my conclusion is off: But.. My advice: Lock your windows and doors when you're not at home because I live in a small community where crime is few and far-between and I think that the lawncare was just a cover...

The Pipe

Its been a while since I've taken the time to sit and blog about anything- Its not that life hasn't been treating me particualrly well, Mostly its that I've been preoccupied with other things that I've felt were more important and writing has taken a distant second to anything else:
 I finally received a letter allowing me to test for National Paramedic Licensure and I couldn't be more stoked about the opportunity, However, I couldn't be more nervous either.. I'm sitting here at work, Its nearly 2 AM and I've got 6 more hours in my shift, I just started a new job that I plan on keeping until the opportunity to become a professional Firefighter Paramedic comes along for me. Currently I'm working for the State with troubled youth, and the bonus to working the Graveyard shift is that I have PLENTY of time to study and prepare for the NREMT skills and written exam...
 I've also had the opportunity to be a part of a paid-call fire department where I have kept up my skills and hopefully learned a thing or two about life and emergency scene management. So: What's new? Why did I decide to sit down and write an entry that doesn't have much of a point into a blog that virtually nobody reads... Honestly, Its because I got an email asking me to post a few guest articles from a Paramedic recruitment site online based out of the UK and it reminded me that I've even got a blog. Now; I'm not much of a writer but I figure its time I get my thoughts back down on paper...

Here goes nothin...(You really haven't missed out on much) Sitting and reflectin on what to write is a bit beyond me, Its been 10 MONTHS since I last posted and for the most part those months have been great, Brooklynn (my daughter) turned 2 and we celebrated her birthday, She wakes me up with a kiss on the cheek every morning and its my favorite part of the day.. My two best friends moved on to bigger and better things, Both of them now carry the name of "DR" with them everywhere they go and landed jobs that are seemingly perfect, My congrats go out to them! I hope to join you guys sometime soon, Not that I'll ever bear the name of "Dr" but simply that I hope to be living my dreams and working as a full time Paramedic, Firefighter.. The new job is great, and I've got to get back to studying for that NREMT exam, I might as well use the time I've got... I'll attempt to write more quality posts and share stories soon.

Skittles "Skit Tels is Really Good"

I am a big fan of the rainbow, I love to taste its glory on a regular basis. I suppose you could say that (cavities aside) it makes me happy; As a rainbow should. I am of course refering to the Skittles hard candy and their slogan "Taste The Rainbow" I've seen a few good Skittles commercials such as having the ability to turn anything one touches into skittles as well as people running outside to taste the rainbow as its raining skittles after planting them etc.

However, None compare to this guy: I think his ads are the best thing Skittles ever had going for them, Unfortunately, He doesn't work for the Skittles company, I hope that soon changes...

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Stupidity and Job Security

The title says it all, Need I say more?? This is the reason why I will NEVER have to worry about NOT having a Job as a Firefighter / EMT.

... Gotta love Drunks and Fire


... Seriously, What is wrong with this guy??


... This one takes a minute to load but its well worth your time!

Garbage Burning Fail

FAIL Blog | MySpace Video


Fire doubles in size every minute, If you take or use one of these, Replace it!


... And Lastly, Seriously Folks??? Safety Hazard??


Thanks to the folks at Failblog.org for the images.

Remember when I used to post on here?

Yeah... Me too. ;0

Science: Gravity+Physics=Thrills??

I am a Thrill Seeker, I'm certainly no math genius, Nor do I claim to understand the laws of physics much at all, I would love to give this a try, However, I'm not sure if I'd be able to trust my friends to get the calculations exactly correct. Living for and working in Emergency Medical Services, I've seen plenty of stupid acts and responded to several serious falls. Were it not for 100% Pure calculations in this example here, This guy would have been seriously hurt!
I tip my hat to these German Scientists and to the man brave enough to try flying. This video is pretty amazing. Check it out!

Joy Riders Dump Vehicles:

Well, It has been over a week since I have sat down to blog about anything, I suppose one could say it was a busy week, But in reality, That would be an over-statement, Although it has been busy and filled with excitement, I've had plenty of time to get on here and blog, I just haven't bothered to. I guess I figure that nothing really "Funny" or "Cool" has happened this last week. However, I figure I'll share with you some recent local news:

Speculation has it that a group of teenagers have stolen TWO cars over this last weekend and ended up dumping them off of cliffs at then end of their "Joy Ride" in what could only be described as "spectacular fashion"..

Both cars being SUV's and in both cases, rolled right of the edge of a large cliff in the local mountains, I can only imagine how this must have looked to a group of teenagers, Pretty dang sweet I'd imagine, but with extremely dire consequences, I almost have no doubt that we will soon see a video show up on "Youtube" and find another piece of the "Idiot" gene pool as described in my last post... (Police are currently investigating)


This makes me think of a few things, 1: I wouldn't ever dream of stealing a car and pushing it off a cliff, OK.. OK.. I might have a dream about it but I'd never ever do it in reality! 2: I grew up with a love for pushing boulders off of cliffs and watching them take out trees and shrubs on their way down, A feat that can unfortunatley land some, such as a close friend of mine at a local hospital with a broken ankle, (Forcing us to realize it was time to grow up) 3: A time when once, my friends and I dreamed about blowing up his broken moped up the canyon... We ended up not doing most of these things because of safety issues, which brings me to my point, What is it with teenage hell-ism these days? Stealing and wrecking cars, for fun, Blowing up bags of poop in a microwave at 7-11, etc... These things are far worse than anything I'd have ever thought about doing as a teenager.. And I thought I was a pretty hellacious kid...

Source: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6981995

Officer Down!

I have driven past a billboard several times in my recent journeys and travels with my wife and one billboard in particular managed to always catch my eye. It is a billboard that was posted by The State Highway Patrol, The billboard, Used to grab peoples attention about drunk driving always caught my eye and a good laugh thinking of what someone could do with such a billboard.

I grew up playing several pranks which shall remain un-named for now on the general public with a few of my close friends, and I can't help but think, that back in our rebel days, This is exactly something that we would certainly talk about doing and unfortunately, we never actually got around to doing anything this big.


Above is a picture of the billboard titled "I see you Drunk Driver" It has a mannequin on the top, Dressed in Highway Patrol clothing... It has always been obvious to me that this particular guy would be subject to some kind of genius prank, and or vandalism as he was fully dressed in Highway Patrol Gear, First his badge, his cap and his clothes were stolen. Possibly a disgruntled driver who received a ticket, or a teenage kid looking for the opportunity to play the prank of a lifetime. As I stated earlier, It began when trooper was violated by having all of his clothing stolen, Highway Patrol then replaced the said clothing and bolted the trooper down to keep him there. It couldn't be done... Our friendly drunk driving trooper was shang-hai'd and taken completely off the billboard despite Highway Patrol's efforts to bolt him down.


Above is what is left of the billboard, Highway Patrol has no intent of re applying the trooper. Who I ask, is left to watch for Drunk Drivers?? Whomever it be.. I say Props to the guys who had the balls to take this trooper down! ..... I also have to laugh at the fact that UHP has handed some punk 2 free Highway Patrol Uniforms... Ah, The things that could be done!! Hands Down, Hilarious!

Source: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6827241