Sep 30, 2019
Well, I am back. It has been nearly two and a half years since I knuckled down and wrote about this career that I am so passionate about, but I feel like its time for me to sit down in front of the keyboard and just let this happen again.
I am sure that some of you are wondering where I have been. My best answer is experiencing life. I am still working the job that I left AMR for nearly seven years ago. I am engaged to be married in just over a month, and I currently live with my fiancée and our two four legged furry children. My proposal can best be described as “epic” having proposed just over a year ago in front of part of the cast of the hit NBC sitcom The Office. It even earned us our 15 minutes of fame and about 20,000 up votes on reddit.
We have been vacationing in Disney World annually, which is more addictive than I would have ever imagined. I have also dusted off my golf clubs for the first time in years, and I am hitting the links again with some of my coworkers, something that we are looking to make a regular occurrence.
My professional career has been great. I’ve been able to participate in projects like NHTSA’s EMS Compass initiative a few years ago, I am a faculty member with the Delaware Resuscitation Academy, and I have been given the opportunity to perform quality assurance and improvement on my department’s CPR cases. Those who know me outside of this blog, or those who knew me back in my AMR days probably will not be surprised by that. I have always been happiest when I’ve had my hands in more than just field care.
While I have not been writing about paramedicine and issues in EMS, that does not mean I have not been writing. A few years ago, I became a season ticket holder at Drexel University with their men’s basketball program. Drexel is my dad’s alma mater. Along with a few other season ticket holders, I have been following and covering the team for their last four seasons. It has been a lot of fun and has opened a lot of doors. The experiences I have had sitting on the sideline on press row and participating in the post-game interviews with players and staff has been eye opening. It was a nice challenge for me too, as its an environment where I am completely out of my element.
I have come to realize though that I am happiest when I am writing on this blog. This year has been chock-full of overtime for me, as one would expect, you know, saving for a wedding and all. With the day fast approaching, I am now at the point where I can throttle back on my workload and spend a little more time in front of the keyboard.
And then there is the other reason that I am writing. I started this blog nine years ago, and I am proud of what I have done. Back then, the EMS Blogosphere was thriving. The First Responders Network was filled with some great offers, some of whom are still at it years later. Still though, our ranks have thinned for several reasons. Some have moved up the career ladder. Others have gotten out of the field. Still others have started family, and just don’t have the time to dedicate to writing anymore.
What has been left behind, with some obvious few exceptions, is disappointing. Personally, I am not happy with some of the folks who have been given soapboxes and to put it bluntly, their view points do not exactly represent my best interest. I could complain about it, or I could try to be part of the solution.
So here we are. It feels good to be back writing, and while this is post #1 of my reborn blog, I think my second post on Wednesday cannonballs right into the deep end. For those who are returning readers, welcome back! And for those of you who are seeing my content for the first time, I hope you enjoy what you read.