Maelos’s Maelstrom

Today was rugby day. As exciting as it would be to play, I take a bit of a more passive approach. As part of my job with the university recreation center, I standby as a first responder/EMT for the game. The first hour or so was quite calm, the only worry being the vanishing shade. As the guest school arrived the home team began to warm up, no big deal. Things even began to feel better - a few clouds blocked out the sunlight for a few satisfying minutes. It was all fun and practice until the game started…

Wow rugby is vicious. I attended a few of the rugby practices before, but never had I seen a game. The way the players moved, hit, and threw one and other around became much more violent. Even the sidelines grew into a pack of rather lewdly tongued cheerleaders. All of this was merely entertainment, if you will, while I waited for any incidents to occur. Oh boy did I get my fill.

…after an attempt of telling this story with some sort of interesting narration I have found that my will is lacking. Therefore I shall present to you my workload in a freely created list.

• Wrist injury - hospital via teammate car, confirmed fractures
• forehead laceration (nice and bloody) - cleaned and bandaged but will definitely need stitches
• rain - 10 minute, moderate shower (with minor injury in the middle)
• wrist injury - hospital via teammate car, not confirmed
• blurry vision, unable to focus right eye - hospital via parent car
• + at least 5 other injuries - cuts, open scabs, sores, spasming muscle, etc

= awesome

At the end both teams thanked me, which I felt was very nice, and the guest team even had a cheer (well, part of the huddle). They offered me a drink of beer, which I declined, and suggested I join them at the ?state? tournament down near their university of origin. Amongst the chaos, rain, and blood, I had a really great time. I might not have done everything perfectly, and I made note of where I can improve, but I did my best and seemingly helped better more than a few people’s day. I really enjoyed my time at the field, there was never a moment to lose, and though I may not wish it every weekend, I hope there are more memorable moments such as this.

Well that is all. Peace be with and around you.

The last two days have been…interesting. I believed that the week was winding down and I would be able to relax, but this was not so. It began with confusion at work, I tried to do the right thing, but everything became confusing and the end result was just ugly. Again on Friday I had two slips. I slept through two alarms, waking up with only minutes before an exam, and later I missed a shift that I never even knew existed. It was my fault both times, but each felt as if nearly everything had to go wrong to create it. I had to wake up twice, fumble with the cell phone, select the dismiss function on the annoying alarm, and then head back to sleep. For work…well that is another matter. I already was in a bad mood, coming from the confusion presented last shift, so being reprimanded on my day of relaxation just put my mind further into a buzz. I was quite angry at myself for not noticing this shift, one of two days this semester that I was designated to cover the event. And all of these disruptions set off even larger breaks in my plan for the day, just adding to the frustration.

I suppose this is a “woe is me” post, but I felt like writing. Recently a few of my stories (topics of interest and discussion) have just gotten really old. There is either little more I can learn or the subject seems impossible to settle. It just seems that everything has lined up perfectly against me this weekend, each gesture I make to help is countered by a greater gesture to complicate things. Perhaps if I became a soldier, learning to help through indirect means, I (Murphy’s law) would be the cause of world peace. Too bad that will be a few years away, if ever….hopefully.

“UV Sun Monitor wristbands warn when to re-apply sun screen and when to seek shade.”

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=164021&catid=12101

Amazing. I was looking up sunscreen for my upcoming, all day, shift watching Rugby players, as an EMT/first responder. I just thought these were amazing little devices. It reminds me of an episode of Battlestar Galactica where the pilots, while exposed to radiation, wore watch looking devices to show their level of exposure. Anyway, I thought this was an entertaining product which would suit the “tan, I just burn!” group well.

Well I hope you enjoyed, I certainly got a laugh out of it.

I am already finished with classes for the day - its only 10am! Though I have a bit of work to do, I feel slightly less pressured due to the vast amount of time available. I head out to work my shift starting at around 8:15 tonight so I have plenty of time to relax and take a break. I even have high hopes for the weekend, reviewing strategic academic goals, and perhaps even taking steps toward them. All in all it seems to be a bright day. I hope everyone out there is having a great day too.

Peace.

So let me try and focus on one particular topic for a second. Ohhhh, here is a good one. This is one of the reasons that a few of my health classes are getting on my nerves. Either I believe their ideals to be just plain wrong, or they seem inevitably flawed. Here is a little something I wrote in response to a question proposed on a homework assignment:

The answer to the American Healthcare System’s woe is simple. It is an ideological change. We need to stop taking care of the people who won’t take care of themselves.

We are far too concerned about the care of the few minorities, special cases, and other special interest groups that we sacrifice the good of the majority. It sounds cruel, but in a way we are only ensuring our own destruction. By caring for those who don’t care for themselves we cultivate a culture that accepts disease as something that is “ok”. Again, it sounds cruel, but the most deadly virus is the one which is able to last the longest and spread the farthest. By allowing the virus to live longer in its victims, we are only boosting its effect on our society. Perhaps this view is ignorant, arrogant, and horrifically skewed, but from what I have seen in other countries there is a completely different mentality. If you cannot deal with the situation, the society won’t make it easier for you, you will have to adapt. This method helps to “root out” or “exterminate” any who cannot keep up with the curve. Why do we spend so much money on executing criminals or the millions of dollars we spend on surgeries for a handful of people. I am sure it is amazing and may lead us to a greater place, but can the money not be used in a better way. This is an oversimplified view with many faults, but some of the Health care systems woes seem to be created by its directives.

Yes it is highly skewed, deranged, and probably ill willed. All that together hopefully will provoke a though or maybe even some laughter. I don’t know why it makes me angry, but it just does. When I visited Russia one of the biggest hassles was transporting one of our American tourists. She was a rather large lady who seemed to like the label of handicapped. Said lady would constantly demand and order special attention and help. The thing is, Russia was not built for people like this. Russia, from my brief experience, is much more utilitarian. If you cannot keep up with the curve set by the general populous, you fall behind, wither out, and leave the population. Here in the United States, a country I love and will defend given the drop of a dime, we are somewhat ruled by special interest groups. These groups are those that can gather the passion, funding, and influence in Washington to create a customized country. In a way we are a country ruled by the minorities. It has helped a great many things, but sometimes it irks me.

Like with healthcare. “We don’t have the money to pay for the thousands of simple life saving surgeries, but we have the money to pay for one extremely complicated, expensive, irrelevant surgery for one patient who can grab the attention of the media”. If all of this doesn’t explain it…I shall try again later.

Current situation: college undergrad in midst of undetermined future

• previous experience in a variety of fields
• focus to go far…I hope

Possible paths that are of quality in my mind:

• Nursing
• Doctor - EMS related (ER or Trauma Surgeon)
• Possible Police/Fire/EMS
• Possible Federal
• Possible Armed Forces or Coast Gaurd

Nice things

• lists are helpful
• still young
• next post is list of awesome things
• friends
• family
• hope
• being able to bare with it (spelling on the bare)

The end.

Peace.

So it is nice and calm now, I made it through another day! Well I suppose there are still a few important bumps to get over, but I already feel the week slowing down. Mondays are always my craziest days, I have the busiest schedule and each errand keeps getting listed on the growing to-do list.

Anyways, what is there to talk about? I guess I can give a few quick links to http://pandora.com for its computer science genius. Yes, the site is about music, but the background program is a nice little algorithm that compares music and creates similar play lists for your listening pleasure.

Peace.

I suppose I have the time, once again, to reflect on where I am and where I would like to be. I am currently in the labyrinth known as college and I wish I could be outside with a steady job, a happy life, and a little bit of luxury - all earned of course. I am still settling at the new college down here in VA. I originally went to a college up in NY for computer science. I had long had a dream of working in a computer field, which I would still like to hold onto a few aspects, but I feel that the path was no longer for me. I look back at the paths I left behind, the experiences I tossed out the window, and the potential the school might have unlocked in me. But alas, no need to worry. I am here at my new college with the intent to get a degree, yep, a degree. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, and I don’t know in what, but hopefully at some point. I can say that I have experienced a pretty diverse set of fields - from athletic, technical, personal, and medical - and know a few of my interests.

I really just like to help people. It sounds simple, and hopefully it will stay this way, but I find it hard to apply. Whenever I try a new field there is always a snag. I am currently a pre-med student looking to continue my interests in emergency medicine, but I feel that I am not getting a real medical experience. One of my teachers, before I withdrew from her class, said that I was “too serious” about my studies. I try not to be, but when I get focused on an objective I am out to get it and sometimes my personal ambitions may be too strong for those with a lighter hold. Anyway, a lot of my major seems to be directed toward those that do not want to be doctors…which I find to be odd. I am in a health sciences major of sorts. I chose this intentionally so that I could get a glimpse of other health fields and so far my tongue has been rather dissatisfied.

Ok, well enough of those rambles for now. I apologize if my writing is too directly a reflection of my thoughts -rather jumpy and disorganized- but hopefully it will improve. Perhaps I will try another post with the use of bullets. I love to be organized too.

It simply is aggravating. Yep, I think I am to that point. There must be so many deep stressors in my life that some type of anger has taken over my subconscious. No, I’m not going to go on some crazy yelling spree or pop an artery, but I can certainly feel it there. Sometimes even the smallest thing seems to upset me. Whenever a lecture contradicts with previously acquired knowledge or experience I mentally frown at it. It seems silly thinking about it now, but I suppose there is stress from all that is changing in my life. I have made a drastic change in my environment and area of study. My character, while slowly adapting, is being overwhelmed from time to time by all of these new tasks. I usually like to live a somewhat routine day, throwing in special events when I can plan them. All of these disruptions and randomized taskings are throwing me off balance. Sometimes I can barely concentrate because my focus is bouncing all over my growing to-do list.

Ahhhh! But alas, sometimes this anger is a gift. Eventually it causes action, for better or for worse, that just puts me on another boat in this vast sea of possibilities. And wow, I’m not even going to start on where my ship is headed. My future has been tossed around for one day me thinks. There are several possibilities but the logistics involved are too much to think about at the moment. For now its time for me to concentrate on the week, the semester, and trying to keep open eyes and open arms for tomorrow.

Peace for now.