Too much of a good thing....

I don't mind OT, really I don't. After all, money is money. But 2 days out of 7 (so far) where I got off on time is beginning to become a bit ridiculous. I submit (once again) that dispatch really needs to learn about traffic in the DC/Baltimore Metro areas.

Today my partner was off, doing his interview for the Balt. County FD. Hopefully he did well. I got to work with someone else, which was nice, but I do miss my partner. It was nice to have someone driving who knew their way around though.

This morning we took a young woman from DC to Baltimore for in-patient psych treatment. She was deaf, and was able to read lips only if I spoke very slowly. I was able to sign a bit (I know the alphabet and a few things like please, thank you, sit, hungry, etc) but I felt really bad for not being able to talk to her effectively on the hour long drive up. I always wanted to learn sign language and just never have. Perhaps something to do when I'm in medic school?

Because, you know, I won't have enough to do.

We had some pretty gnarly storms here this morning and evening. The morning ones woke me up, and I realized just how scared poor little Kaylee is of thunderstorms. She's actually almost as afraid of the lightening as she is of the thunder. I really need to start working her. She's beginning to get those neurotic border collie characteristics, and that needs to be nipped in the bud.

The evening storms caught us as we were leaving Baltimore. Heavy rain (the kind you can't see through), winds, lightning, hail....it was crazy. Add that to the fact that the GPS took us through Baltimore (though I'm not sure the highway would have been much better), and the O's were having a game tonight, and you can understand why I got almost 2 hours of OT tonight. It makes up for the half hour I got off early last night.

I went to the firehouse last night and started getting stuff done for my 'probie book.' It's not hard, and the other EMT's find it amusing to be asking me things like 'change the O2 bottle,' or 'demonstrate use of the portable suction.' All I really need to work on is where things are on the ambo. I was planning on going tonight, but with getting home so late, I really didn't want to. Hopefully tomorrow night is better.

And now, bedtime. Got lots to do tomorrow before work.