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It's a journal!
12 years ago
I figured it's time to write up a journal about what I've been up to in the fandom and life in general. I'll start with a few quick things:
--I'll be at BLFC!! Go carts, sushi, high-class hotel and cheap everything!! It's cheap so that you can blow all your money at the in-hotel casino, which I probably won't even visit, haha.
--Some stoopid swaggerdog stole my heart!! It's okay though, I kinda stole hers in return.
I mean, I really think she likes me. ;3
--
keeko-chan is my roommate! At first I hated it SOO MUCH because he made everything smell like strawberries but then he ran out of hair product so all is well again. xP
So, about my life.
Last summer I graduated from college with a degree in diagnostic ultrasound technology. I was immediately hired by a large and well-funded hospital in the Pacific Northwest. It has a busy emergency department that runs 24/7 where I get to work with ER doctors and radiologists in order to help diagnose the varying ailments that bring people in.
The work is intense but I love it. It's incredibly fulfilling to be part of the process that helps people who are in pain or are otherwise "unwell". It's a lot like fursuiting in the sense that I'm doing something positive and helping people and my community.
The gratification is a bit different though. When I'm suiting I can see the smiles from the people around me and feel their hugs. It's a wonderful experience. As a technologist in the ER the gratification I get comes from answering the question about "What is wrong". It's tougher to get because the answer isn't always there for me to find or isn't always seen by ultrasound. Sometimes people just hurt, and other times they're lying. You never really know. Still, it's the coolest thing in the world when I'm able to use the technology and expertise I have to essentially paint a picture about my patients by describing the condition of their internal organs and the anomalies I'm seeing in them.
'Answering the question' isn't always fun. Large metro hospitals draw in people from all walks of life. Sometimes my patients are kindly old ladies with simple complications from diabetes and other times they're drug addicts looking for their next fix or suffering from the effects of their last one. You'd be surprised at where junkies are willing to stick themselves with dirty needles after all the other good spots have rotted off. Even worse is when it's a pregnant junkie. I had a gal come in the other week after taking a major hit of heroin. She didn't know she was pregnant, and you couldn't tell by looking at her because she was so skinny, but that baby was at least 20 weeks along (women generally start to look pregnant much sooner than that). I can't begin to describe how disturbing it was to put the transducer down on her belly and see that kid thrashing around inside of her like it was in a washing machine while it's heart raced at near tachycardic levels.
It's a sad fact that you will see terrible things like that if you work in an emergency department. And you'll see them regularly. Still, I've managed to hold on to that genuine sense of optimism and cheer that has come to define me since I joined this fandom, and I owe a lot of that to you guys. I don't post much but I check FA regularly and I try to keep up on trials and victories of my friends and a few other furs who popped up on my radar as being interesting or inspiring. Tracking wolfgem's recovery has been especially inspirational and I absolutely loved her Candy K9's project (They looked incredible at FC!).
It's a fun fact that my cheeriness and optimism occasionally rub folks the wrong way. I'm regularly told things like "the world isn't all sunshine and cheer." as if I were ignorant to the pains and treacheries of the real world and due for a rude awakening. To be honest I'm kinda proud of being chided that way. It's one thing to be happy because you don't know how bad things can be out there, but it's something else to know full well and be happy despite that. If I'm able to be this way after all I've seen in Iraq and the ER then that's pretty amazing, and I have you all to thank for a lot of that.
Friends, keep being awesome. :)
Oh yeah, and I'm starting to get back into Parkour after a 1 year hiatus. ...Let's just say it's been a rough start but the challenge is just as fun now as it was before. Hopefully some cool stuff will be coming of it!
--Cheers!
--I'll be at BLFC!! Go carts, sushi, high-class hotel and cheap everything!! It's cheap so that you can blow all your money at the in-hotel casino, which I probably won't even visit, haha.
--Some stoopid swaggerdog stole my heart!! It's okay though, I kinda stole hers in return.
I mean, I really think she likes me. ;3
--
keeko-chan is my roommate! At first I hated it SOO MUCH because he made everything smell like strawberries but then he ran out of hair product so all is well again. xPSo, about my life.
Last summer I graduated from college with a degree in diagnostic ultrasound technology. I was immediately hired by a large and well-funded hospital in the Pacific Northwest. It has a busy emergency department that runs 24/7 where I get to work with ER doctors and radiologists in order to help diagnose the varying ailments that bring people in.
The work is intense but I love it. It's incredibly fulfilling to be part of the process that helps people who are in pain or are otherwise "unwell". It's a lot like fursuiting in the sense that I'm doing something positive and helping people and my community.
The gratification is a bit different though. When I'm suiting I can see the smiles from the people around me and feel their hugs. It's a wonderful experience. As a technologist in the ER the gratification I get comes from answering the question about "What is wrong". It's tougher to get because the answer isn't always there for me to find or isn't always seen by ultrasound. Sometimes people just hurt, and other times they're lying. You never really know. Still, it's the coolest thing in the world when I'm able to use the technology and expertise I have to essentially paint a picture about my patients by describing the condition of their internal organs and the anomalies I'm seeing in them.
'Answering the question' isn't always fun. Large metro hospitals draw in people from all walks of life. Sometimes my patients are kindly old ladies with simple complications from diabetes and other times they're drug addicts looking for their next fix or suffering from the effects of their last one. You'd be surprised at where junkies are willing to stick themselves with dirty needles after all the other good spots have rotted off. Even worse is when it's a pregnant junkie. I had a gal come in the other week after taking a major hit of heroin. She didn't know she was pregnant, and you couldn't tell by looking at her because she was so skinny, but that baby was at least 20 weeks along (women generally start to look pregnant much sooner than that). I can't begin to describe how disturbing it was to put the transducer down on her belly and see that kid thrashing around inside of her like it was in a washing machine while it's heart raced at near tachycardic levels.
It's a sad fact that you will see terrible things like that if you work in an emergency department. And you'll see them regularly. Still, I've managed to hold on to that genuine sense of optimism and cheer that has come to define me since I joined this fandom, and I owe a lot of that to you guys. I don't post much but I check FA regularly and I try to keep up on trials and victories of my friends and a few other furs who popped up on my radar as being interesting or inspiring. Tracking wolfgem's recovery has been especially inspirational and I absolutely loved her Candy K9's project (They looked incredible at FC!).
It's a fun fact that my cheeriness and optimism occasionally rub folks the wrong way. I'm regularly told things like "the world isn't all sunshine and cheer." as if I were ignorant to the pains and treacheries of the real world and due for a rude awakening. To be honest I'm kinda proud of being chided that way. It's one thing to be happy because you don't know how bad things can be out there, but it's something else to know full well and be happy despite that. If I'm able to be this way after all I've seen in Iraq and the ER then that's pretty amazing, and I have you all to thank for a lot of that.
Friends, keep being awesome. :)
Oh yeah, and I'm starting to get back into Parkour after a 1 year hiatus. ...Let's just say it's been a rough start but the challenge is just as fun now as it was before. Hopefully some cool stuff will be coming of it!
--Cheers!
Its so funny I see this journal from you, when I just got off of Youtube from re-watching the "Foster Kids' Birthday" video with you in it. I do hope to meet you one day, and be able to smile just as big as those two kids did in the video. =)
Keep being awesome!
~Cherry
Cheeriness and optimism will never be a bad thing. Personally I love such an attitude, better then a gloomy way of thinking. :)
Hope to see you soon! Have a good time at BLFC!
I think it's rare to find someone like you who never lets the world get to them. Even the warmist heart now a days can give into anger or stress. It's human nature. To have that type of emotional endurance is admirable. In fact, with the stress in my life I've had many "WWSD?" moments where I have to remind myself to step back and stay calm.
I'm glad you're doing good, despite the most recent family issues you've had. I hope you get through them ok. :( Hey, BLFC will cheer you right up! :)