No Title...just a new post.

I need to apologize for my last post being so "gloomy". I can't get through Christmas without remembering that old man, so I shared it...but I didn't mean to be so "glum" for the Holiday! It was just a very moving moment for me.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday, and have a safe and happy new year. Christmas was good here, and as far as New Years...I'm working a 48-hour shift on the ambulance, New Years Eve and New Years Day. So, I know that I'll be behaving, and can only hope that the residents of Swampscott will be behaving as well! hahaha

Patriots. Giants. Will the Giants play all of their "Starters"??? I say, they START all of their starters. By half-time...I say the Giants starters will be out. They have some "limping" players. And if by half-time, they don't think they have a chance to knock the Patriots out of their perfect season...I say Coughlin rests his players. He's on the cusp of being booted by the Giants...so if there is any coach in the NFL that has to play for their job...it's him! I say he TRIES to beat the Pat's, and if by halftime, it doesn't look good...then I say he sits his starters, so that they will be ready for the Playoffs. That's my $.02, anyway.

Have I mentioned lately how much fun it is to be a Dad to an almost 2-year old and an almost 3-year old??? hahahaha

Anyway...that's another story (or many stories) for another time.

Merry Christmas (a day late!)

I'd like to hope that everyone had a very happy and merry Christmas. But...that is not always the case.

It was not but a couple years ago...that I worked a 24-hour shift on Christmas Eve, and we were awoken at about 6:00am to respond to a house for a "man not breathing". Well...no shit, he wasn't breathing...because this 82-year-old man had hung himself from the second-floor balcony with a piece of rope...but when we got there...to "assure" the Police that he was absolutely "dead"...in the background, on his stereo, this old man had 1 song playing, looped, over and over, Con te Partiro", by Andrea Bocelli. The song is popular, we've all heard it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhh8MaRnzMc). I knew the song, but didn't know what it meant, or why he would have it playing, so I looked it up online. And then I cried. Basically, the song means, if I translated it correctly from Italian, "I lost my love, so I have nothing else to live for". I realized how sad this whole situation was. This old man (as I have summized), had recently lost his wife, of a long time...and this was his first Christmas without her. And he couldn't handle the whole ordeal. Being without his wife, of many years, on Christmas. It made me truly realize that the Holiday Season is not always happy for everyone.

Anyway...time for bed. Sorry to leave this hanging. I'll post soon. :-)

EARLY MORNING 12/24/07

Good morning all.

Yes, it's VERY early on Christmas Eve morning. I have to be at work in just over 6 hours (yes, I'm working a 24-hour shift on X-Mas Eve. What's up with THAT??? :-) ) But...I haven't posted in a couple of days, so here we go...

Let's talk first about the Patriots. Yes, they beat the Dolphins. And yes, I know that I was worried about this game, when the Dolphins had still not won a game. After last week, when they won, I calmed down a bit. Yes, the "Don Shula" groupies wanted nothing more than to see the Dolphins beat the Pat's...but the players themselves had won a game. Which is almost as incredible as that High School Football Team (I don't remember what team...I saw them on NFL Network earlier...who has not lost a game in 5 years!). No...I take that back. That High School team's record is MUCH MORE incredible than the Dolphin's record! But "The Tuna" will turn that team around! (hehehe)

Anyway...the question that will be talked about with every sports-writer in the Northern Hemisphere this week: Will Bellicheck "rest" his starting players in the last season game of the season, against the Giants (who may likely "rest" their players). I'll answer this right now... NO! I don't care WHAT Bellicheck, Brady, or Moss say in their post-game interview's...Mr. Bill wants to see Brady beat Manning's record, Moss beat Jerry Rice's record, the Patriots beat the Viking's season record for points scored. Talk about the biggest "*&%$#@! YOU!" that Bill could say to the world, but to break all of these records! And EACH AND EVERY ONE of these records are VERY breakable next Saturday against the Giants. And if the Giants buy into the "let's rest our starters in the last game that can't help us to win" babble, then all of those records should be "gimme's". We shall see.

OK...that's all for now. I'm tired. I need to sleep. Merry Christmas, Happy Harmonica, and all that good stuff! :-)

Is it Spring-Time yet???

OK...Willard Scott...can you take a breather and send some warm weather up to the Northeast please??? I know...I know...how can I bitch? This could be Colorado, that gets 300 feet of snow every December. But this is MASSACHUSETTS!!! How often do we ever see a White Christmas (and I'm not talking about going to the Wang to watch the Musical!)??? Let's take a break already! One of the ONLY things I miss about living on Cape Cod, where I was born and raised, is that no matter how much snow a storm would dump on you...2 days later, it would rain like a bitch, be 45 degrees, and you'd be back to bare ground. Most times, the snow never even got the chance to get all dirty! Oh well...

Where the hell was TIVO when I was a kid? Technology is, for the most part, a great thing. But couldn't some of today's technology been around 25 years ago??? Remember that stupid show, The Greatest American Hero? I missed the very first episode, so I never got to see how he actually came into possession of that ugly red suit, or how he lost the directions to show him how to fly straight. If I had had TIVO, I would have been able to come home from school, and zone out on the couch and see the most important episode! Hell, never mind TIVO, now I can log onto Fox.com and watch old episodes of 24 and Rescue Me! I, we, were cheated. But...how can I really complain? On a Sunday afternoon, while the Boys are watching Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go, my DVR is taping the Patriots game for me, so that I can park my fat ass on the couch at 8pm when they go to bed, and enjoy the game...sans-commercials! Of course, the hardest part of that plan is keeping my friends from txt-ing or calling me to ask me if I saw the play that Brady or Moss or Welker just made! So far, I've been successful at not having a game "spoiled" for me. This weekend will bring on the next challenge, as the game is at 4:15, and I won't really be able to watch it until 8. Wish me luck.

Wanna help me fix my fish tank? I have a freshwater fish tank, and I tend to kill off most of my fish. I still have 5 very hearty fish. But I've lost probably 10 fish over the course of the last 2 months, since I set the tank up. Ammonia is my problem. Well, ammonia is my fish tank's problem. I myself have many other problems. hehehe

Let's get back to football for a minute. I watched a good portion of the Steelers/Rams game tonight. The Steelers won, although if not for an interception returned for a touchdown, it would not have been by such a large margin. But...in the process...they lost they're running back, Willie Parker, with a broken leg (he's screwed...he's out for the rest of their season/playoffs). Don't get me wrong...Davenport had a hell of a game in the place of Parker...but he's no Willie Parker. He was running against the Rams. The Steelers still aren't in the Playoffs yet, but if they do make it, I think this running back issue could become a big problem for them. Oh, by the way...Roethlisberger ended the game limping, and having his ankle being wrapped up. Good thing he got hurt on a Thursday night, so that he has 10 days to rest that ankle.

Speaking of lead poisoning...does it make me a bad Dad because I have not gone through my house and thrown out every possible toy that has the label "Made in China"??? Just wondering. I'm not one to jump on a lot of bandwagons, and this is one that I have not leapt for. Yes, I have looked at the list of toys online, and have come up with none that we have here...but some people are going to the extreme...and throwing out any toy that they didn't carve out of a branch themselves, or whatever. :-)

Nighty night all. Stay safe.

I'm tired...

You know? I've been a Paramedic for over 14 years. I've fully enjoyed my job/profession/career. I really have. There are great calls...the 80 year old woman who can't breathe because her lungs are full of her own fluid, and we give her Oxygen and drugs and by the time we get her to the Hospital, she is speaking full sentences, and is pretty much "fixed". And there are not-so-great calls, such as a 14-year old being hit by a car travelling 30mph, and though EVERYONE does everything possible, they don't survive. And then, of course, there's the 20 year old heroin addict, who we arrive on scene to find not breathing, due to an overdose. Yes, I carry the drug to instantly reverse your "Overdose", and make you breathe, and live, again. So that you can do this again tomorrow/next week/next month. And don't forget the drunk at 2am, who plows into another car, injuring innocent people, who vomits all over my nice, clean pants, while I'm caring for him.

Honestly? I do enjoy my job. I just think that I'm hating working for a "Private Ambulance Company". Let's see what the heck I'm talking about...

As a Paramedic working on an ambulance, there's a couple of different avenues that you can pursue. You can work for a Municipal Service, where you work for a Town/City/County, you are publically employed, and you pretty much are locked into your job, either by a Union, or other entities. Then you could work for a "Hospital-Based" system, where you work for a Hospital, and respond locally to Towns that do now have their own ALS (Advanced Life Support) system in place, so they contract the Hospital to provide Paramedics to their citizens. Then, you have "Private EMS"...or a Privately owned ambulance company, who provides EMS services for Towns and Cities, and also provides transport between Hospitals, and other Healthcare Facilities.

Working for a "Private"...you are basically an "at-will" employee. If you show up without your name-tag on, you could be fired, on the spot. If you forget your boots at home, and are forced to wear the shoes that you are wearing, you could be fired, on the spot. If you do not treat EVERY other care-working with the utmost respect and nicety (even in the face of being chastised by Nurses and Doctors, or even, heaven forbid, being referred to as an "Ambulance Driver", you could be fired, on the spot. You are truly an "At-Will" employee. If you upset a Nurse at a Hospital, you could lose your job. You could be the worst Paramedic in the world, but when Nurse Ratchet calls your Company because you were not cordial to her...BAM! You're fired!

I'm done with that. I really am. I have grown to hate the world of Private EMS. It's not my job that I dislike...it's all the BULLSHIT that comes with it!

Which is most likely why I'm now in Nursing School (that and the fact that I'll be able to make almost DOUBLE as a Nurse than I make now as a 14-year Paramedic!). And...no, money isn't everything...but providing for your family is. So you do what you have to do.

OK...I'm done babbling. What point did I actually make? I have no idea. I just know that I really don't enjoy my job right now. And I'm working hard at changing that.

Stay safe, everyone. :-)

Early Wednesday Morning

Good morning! I'm not sure why I'm still awake at 1:00am, writing this, but I guess the reason is not important!

So let's start with the Patriots. They beat the Mangina and the Jets last weekend, in a cold and rainy game. My Fantasy Football Team is so ridiculously stacked with Patriots players (including Moss, Welker, Gafney, Gastkowski, and the Patriots Defense), that I didn't score as many points last week as normal, as it was not a very good "passing" game. But I still won, and this weekend, when the Patriots play the Dolphins (who now are RELIEVED to not go 0-16), is the SuperBowl of my Fantasy Football League...and I've never made it to the SuperBowl before, so let's hope! :-) They're calling for rain on Sunday afternoon, but it's supposed to be almost 50 degrees out...so I predict that Brady will at least tie, if not beat, Manning's TD record, and Moss will grind closer to the record TD passes caught in a season. Oh...and this is for Don Shula...after the Dolphins won a game last weekend, and you got to go home, pop a Viagra, and jerk off in celebration...put your asterisk away...and watch your undefeated record go down. Of course... that's just my $.02.

So I, at 37 years old, just finished my first College Course! I "Clep"ed out of English Comp 1, and this past semester I took English Comp 2, online. I finished with a 4.0, so I'm bragging that I have a 4.0 College Average! hahaha. So...why am I in college? Honestly? Because I'm starting to get tired of being a Paramedic. Actually, I think I'm getting tired of working for a PRIVATE EMS Provider. I'm tired of the BS that goes along with working for a "Private", and I'm trying to expand my horizons. So I'm going to Nursing School. If I'm already jaded as a Paramedic, I might as well be jaded as a Nurse! hehehe

Anyway...I don't have any good stories to share tonight (or at least none that come right to my mind), but it's now 1:45am, and instead of going to bed, I just happened across one of my all-time favorite movies, "Smokey and the Bandit" on tv...so I'm going to go get all "Red-Neck", and watch it. I'll post again soon.

Rambling...12/12/07

I haven't had a chance to write since the Patriots destroyed the Steelers on Sunday afternoon. After two "squeakers" by the Eagles and Ravens (is there a "bird" theme here???)...everyone said that the Steelers were the only other real threat to the Patriots 16-0 season. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now. What do I believe???

More than this week, when Mangina and his Jets come to town to be next in line of those teams that would just love to be the ones to pull the carpet out of the Patriots perfect season...More than the younger Manning at the end of the season, playing on his own turf...I'm worried about the WINLESS MIAMI DOLPHINS!!! If there is EVER a team that has a reason to want to beat the Patriots...it's the Dolphins! They don't have the coaching...they don't have the talent...but they have the DRIVE. Imagine...doing 1-15 in a season...but that "1" was beating the Patriots, who would then be 14-0, on their way to a perfect season. The Dolphins would deserve an asterisk next to that 1-15 ranking...the asterisk standing for the fact that they beat the Patriots! (and if Old Man Shula's dream came true...and the Patriots had an asterisk next to their ranking this season...would that cancel out the Dolphins asterisk???). :-)

Let's get back to reality. I've been troubled over the past few weeks (really, ever since Sammy Morris went on IR, and Maroney has been chronically injured)...and I've been wondering why the Patriots have NOT been trying to do more to shore up their run game. But...then I listened to the man that I can't STAND...John Madden...who said that you NEED your running backs, so you can run down the clock when you're ahead. Hmmmmmm...Johnny Boy...do the Patriots not already do that by throwing the ball??? Brady through 5 straight passes to Wes Welker, most of which he stayed in bounds for. Does that not run the clock, maybe almost as effectively as running the ball?

And...of course...I can't write this post without talking about Randy Moss...can I? I've heard people for MONTHS say, "Just wait until he starts to get bored, and he stops playing. You'll see. It'll happen". You know what? You're right. He IS getting bored. That fact was BLATENTLY OBVIOUS with that flea-flicker lateral from Brady to Moss, back to Brady, and then a TD pass to Gafney. Yup...Moss is just BORED with this Patriots Offense. He's slacking, and by Sunday he should be ready to throw up his hands and call it quits...or write a note to pin to his locker and tell people to get their popcorn ready...or maybe he'll just catch a couple more TouchDown passes. Who's to say with this Wide Receiver who is NOT about being in a TEAM...and is all about HIMSELF!

Let's switch gears for a minute..before I forget...after the whole "spygate" scandal, the Patriots were fined monetarily (as was Belichick), but they were also fined their first round draft pick in next years' draft. Oh...but wait...they already had another first round draft pick from the 49'ers, through a trade. And...oh...my...look...the 49'ers will most likely end up in the spot just above the Dolphins...so...PATRIOT HATERS...START LINING UP...The Patriots could possibly be lined up to have the 2nd Pick in the 2008 Draft!!!

I was going to get into talking about Anthony Smith...but I've already babbled long enough.

After the two "squeaker" games, the game against the Steelers made me think of only one thing (it's a movie)...
"Stella's Got Her Groove Back".

OK THEN!!!

Yes, this is my first post of my new blog. I guess maybe I'm supposed to use this time to tell you what this blog is about, why I'm writing it, what I'm going to write about, and all that stuff???

Well...that may be what I'm SUPPOSED to be writing...but that's now what I'm going to write about.

So what am I going to babble on about???

Yesterday (as it is now EARLY Sunday am), was my 6th Anniversary with my lovely wife Jessica. For those that know me, and know what's been going on in our lives in the past year and a half... this was a very special Anniversary. So...I set out to plan a perfect day for us.

That day started with me working a 24-hour shift on the ambulance the day before. It was a VERY SLOW shift (thankfully!), and the ONLY call we did was at 9:30pm by some 40-year old single broad (she's 40...and single...hmmmmmmmmmm)...who, wanted to scare her "room-mate", so she got drunk, and then told her that she took a "bunch of pills, just to end it all". OHHHH PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!! When I used to work in P-Town, we'd call this "Delta Delta". Try to figure it out. Ask me if you can't...I'll help. Anyway...we drag this dumb drunk to the Hospital, so she can now be confined to a 72-hour mandatory psych hold. Stupid.

ANYWAY! Got out at 7am, came home, did some stuff around the house, got all gussied up, and after Jessica's cousin Kelly and her fiance Dave (yeah Dave...I'm putting the pressure on!) came to watch the Boyz, we hit the road. Off to the Museum of Science, to do the interactive CSI Exhibit. It was pretty cool, could have been a little more "hands-on" to make it more interesting, but all in all, it was fun. Then went to dinner, drove to the Boston Commons, parked, walked around for just over an hour, then went to the Opera House to watch The Nutcracker. Now...I'm a pretty simple guy...I'm willing to broaden my horizons...I've been to a number of shows at the Opera House, the Wang, etc....but...did anyone OTHER THAN ME know that an Opera is Non-Verbal??? About 20 minutes into it, I chose my moment, when the symphony was blaring (so that no-one would hear me), I leaned over to Jessica, and whispered in her ear, "There's really no talking through this shit???". I wasn't trying to be a prick, but I couldn't understand what the hell the whole story was, without any talking!!! But...I will say... that dancing was incredible, especially the kids that were in the play.

It was a very nice day, a very nice Anniversary, especially one as special as this one.

OK...so...I started my blog talking about my bride. I actually spent quite a bit of time about our Anniversary...so...I think that means...I can now talk about...

FOOTBALL!!!!!!!

I'll write alot about football in this blog...if you don't like it, don't read it. I'm a Patriots fan. Yes. I admit it. I don't care if you love or hate the Pat's. Or love to hate the Pat's. All I know is that they are facing the Steelers this afternoon...and after the last 2 games, games against teams that were not as productive as the Steelers...everyone is calling for this to be another "close one". I'm never right about this shit...never...but I call for today to be another BLOWOUT! The team has a short week after playing Monday night...got an extra day off from the coaching staff...they know they've pulled out 2 "squeakers" from 2 sub-par teams...and now they are facing the 9-3 Steelers. They will have their game on. 38-13 Patriots (yes, 38...hey, Gostkowski is my kicker in my Fantasy Football League...he needs to kick me at least 1 Field Goal! hehehe). I'm probably wrong...it'll probably be another squeaker, or maybe they'll lose. I will say this, though. If they're going to lose...I'd much rather it be to the Steelers, then ESPECIALLY next week to the Jets, or to the Dolphins! If they did lose...then all the HATERS could finally sit around and touch themselves about how the cheaters finally got what was coming to them. yawwwwwwwwwwn...blah blah blah.

We'll see what happens in about 13 hours...