#this is what i do for FUN

[mashupofmylife]

I've been in fire/EMS for almost 17 years (since 2007!)

I got my first state EMT card in 2009

I applied for medic class in 2011, but dropped out before it started because it conflicted with my college classes

I finally started medic class in 2021

I officially got my NREMT-P in 2022

Today, 3.5 years after medic class started, I finally got cut loose to operate independently as a paramedic. Right now, there's only one other volunteer medic in our whole jurisdiction.

It took way longer than expected. There were barriers and heartaches that I never could have imagined. I'm not working in the same system that I was when I started medic class anymore.

All the time, people ask me why the heck I still do this. I don't need to. I'm not trying to get hired as a firefighter/medic anywhere. I definitely didn't need to use vacation days to work a 24-48 shift schedule for the past several months, on top of my full time job where I'm a physician. I'm definitely not the best firefighter or medic out there, but I love this. I love the work, I love the people, I love the community. There are some other big fire department goals that are sitting on the horizon for me, but right now I am so excited that I've finally achieved one of the biggest goals that I set for myself when I first started volunteering. There aren't too many goals from that time left that I haven't yet achieved (and fewer that I still want to!).

[ratbugs]

having writers block so here’s a poll to peak my own interest

take your pick of some stereotypical (but wlw inclined) romance characters:

(1): a woman in knightly armor. she’s vicious - but righteous and good. where she once fought for her kingdom, now - she fights for you. she bends at her knee to cherish you, and cradle your safety behind the arc of her sword.

(2): this woman is a classic, with her red eyes and sharp fangs. she’s the only one who can truly offer you the promise of ‘together forever’. it sings so sweet when she speaks it to you. the taste of a long, long love.

(3): or perhaps you prefer, the proper and the pert. a woman who bends society to her at the tips of her glittery nails. She might be a little cruel, but what’s the harm? When she says those things to you, those mean mean things, they sound so lovely on her tongue.

(4): a fairy, maybe? but there’s something warping about her edges. something sinister and wrong. the facets of her wings are tinged in a rot so pretty it'd be hard not to notice it (though not for what they are). and there's a longing noise there when she speaks to you. it's there when she begs you for your name. it seems so easy to just give in to her. to eat what food she offers you. to let her sweep you away.

(5): this woman, the sweat that gathers under the brim of her hat gives her a bit of devilish flavor. it slips down her temple and sits on the bow of her lips, shines under the hot desert sun. she's a woman tied to the wildness - but when she meets you there under your little blue-tin roof, you can almost pretend that for the moment she belongs just to you.

(6): or maybe for the more mundane, she always has the most infuriating smirk on her face. leaning hip-cocked on the edge of your desk - wearing that sleek, tailored suit which would look so much better in tweed. if she wasn't your coworker, you're sure you'd never have even met the woman. but something about it all has you entertaining the idea of her. you let her into your life over, and over again, until nothing makes sense without her.

[tearsofthekabak]

Hang out with me for a quick shading session? (⏰x4 no sound)

[mademoisellesarcasme]

is there anything as delightful as reading snarky academic subtext in footnotes? maybe, but i'm having such a good time

[faeassassin]

Huh.

Local authors I know have peer pressured me into logging in to the NaNoWriMo website again for the first time since 2020, when I was editing Abomination for Camp NaNo in April.

I stopped tracking my progress on it because a family friend had died of COVID and my uncle was in an assisted living home where he caught it and died a couple of months later.

I'm doing a writing conference in a couple of weeks, so I'll be out of town for a week, but I might give NaNo a stab if a title and opening scene grab me by the throat. That's how all my wins have started, after all.

Anywho, this'll probably be the last time I mention it here unless a novel ensues and I'm about to publish it.

[princessbelix]

I have decided to make (and keep up with maybe) a fanfic spreadsheet for the year. Ive kept up with it decently well but i am getting secondhand embarrassment form my past self. its almost cringe but not. what is this???

[celery505]

I should start my Dave lister analysis. There’s not as much as Rimmer but there is ALOT to cover.

[intercrusher]

this is their foreplay

[shesmore-shoebill]

"I had choice paralysis :(" is a KILLER line.

He's such a comedic powerhouse, I'm glad more people are getting exposed to him :'D

[daisywords]

One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.

Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.

It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?

Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.

[persimmontartkisses]

Moved this handsome dude and his 16 little friends to their outside coop today. Productive day so far, but that also means I have to clean the brooder for the quail due to hatch this weekend. There's 70 eggs in there 😵‍💫

[qiinamii]

we'll do fine.

[foolsocracy]

identity reveals are always fun

[areyouscaredyet]

im not particularly religious but i think it’s very cute that Trans Day of Visibility and Easter are on the same day this year :)

its no question that something like this could be triggering or upsetting to a number of queer ppl given the current sociopolitical climate, so i want everyone to remember that u are loved! Regardless of what u or others believe, there are ppl who will love and support you always. Give yourself patience and treat yourself with care!!!

happy and peaceful TDOV everyone!! And Easter to those who celebrate :D

[lemongogo]

life of regret

[exculis]

and now i made it so the station tuner is hidden unless you hover over the now-playing area. so its a great clean 2nd monitor look