101/1001 Update
Sep. 13th, 2020 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grim23Let no man's ghost return to say his training let him down. - Firefighter saying
Body/Martial Arts/Physical Improvement/Testing Myself: I'm continuing to add the Spartan bodyweight exercises to my pushup challenge. At a friend's suggestion, I'm adding 30 minutes of yoga.
Mind/Spirit/Centering/Health: I'm back to reading Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind from my permanent library, and Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz. Almost at random, I picked up and read nonstop Make Change, a book about social movements and sociopolitical/sociocultural change from one of the BLM movement leaders, Shaun King. A very appropriate book to read in these challenging times. I'm still training mindfulness with my eating patterns. Haiku!
Maintenance/Shit Got To Be Done: I will still be scheduling my yearly physical this week, with all of the subsequent lab work, including my yearly STI/STD screening. I also need to get my Firefighter's Physical.
In Case of Zombies/Disaster Preparation: No progress on goals. I spent eight hours at the fire station, assigned to Engine 481, giving a break to some of the firefighters who have been at the station for 4-5 days straight. I spent the morning getting all of my annual training done: defensive driving of fire apparatus, Confined Space (Awareness Level) and Marine Fire Safety (Awareness Level) and HazMat training, as well as COVID-19 protocols. After lunch, we went around Engine 481 and opened every compartment and reviewed what was where and how to use and maintain it. We also pulled out the RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) bag that has extra masks and air connections and how to use them and access them, as well as the buddy system connections of our SCBA, for a downed or trapped firefighter running out of air. Then we ran Minuteman hose deployment loads out of the Engine and sprayed some water for a basic fire attack practice.
Unfortunately, my Firefighter I certification taskbook expired (it's only good for five years), so I have to start over and try harder - I was close to getting it done, but some of the tasks needed are rare for a volunteer in a small rural fire department. Oh well. At least, the training officer let me go back to the Burn to Learn in late May and use those tasks, as least, in my new taskbook.
I had to return to the Staging Area because I have a heavy week of anxious clients and I needed to be able to ensure a good phone connection and internet. I'm sheltering in place. Evacuation and backup options for the current wildland fire situation at the Staging Area are still ready and enhanced. I'm monitoring both the official and the unofficial reports, and there are some differences. I've offered a friend without a vehicle a transport option if needed. I expect that I will be back this week volunteering at the station to supplement some of our paid firefighters that have deployed down South.
Base Station/Ol' Number 3: Everything is delayed due to the air quality from wildland fires. The internet and phone line subcontractors for Base Station completed getting the line under the road but didn't finish burying the line from the road to their box. *sigh* The excavator was delivered, but the excavator operator couldn't make it. While I was at the station on duty, The Old Man and Faye finished clearing, leveling, and re-staking the Pump House, and we're ready for concrete. We're still watering the drainfield daily, keeping the soil damp and compressed around the Gate House and the large vehicles. No washing of Ol' Number 3, yet.
Travel/Adventure/Doing Stuff: I found two geocaches on one of the two days in September I still needed to complete the Found by Found Days Challenge. I need one more day in September, and one day in February to complete this goal.
Haiku
Land on fire,
red and grey skies
shelter in place!
failing leadership,
pandemic, fire, protests -
stay ready, calm
nothing is normal -
training about to be used,
almost a relief
Body/Martial Arts/Physical Improvement/Testing Myself: I'm continuing to add the Spartan bodyweight exercises to my pushup challenge. At a friend's suggestion, I'm adding 30 minutes of yoga.
Mind/Spirit/Centering/Health: I'm back to reading Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind from my permanent library, and Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz. Almost at random, I picked up and read nonstop Make Change, a book about social movements and sociopolitical/sociocultural change from one of the BLM movement leaders, Shaun King. A very appropriate book to read in these challenging times. I'm still training mindfulness with my eating patterns. Haiku!
Maintenance/Shit Got To Be Done: I will still be scheduling my yearly physical this week, with all of the subsequent lab work, including my yearly STI/STD screening. I also need to get my Firefighter's Physical.
In Case of Zombies/Disaster Preparation: No progress on goals. I spent eight hours at the fire station, assigned to Engine 481, giving a break to some of the firefighters who have been at the station for 4-5 days straight. I spent the morning getting all of my annual training done: defensive driving of fire apparatus, Confined Space (Awareness Level) and Marine Fire Safety (Awareness Level) and HazMat training, as well as COVID-19 protocols. After lunch, we went around Engine 481 and opened every compartment and reviewed what was where and how to use and maintain it. We also pulled out the RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) bag that has extra masks and air connections and how to use them and access them, as well as the buddy system connections of our SCBA, for a downed or trapped firefighter running out of air. Then we ran Minuteman hose deployment loads out of the Engine and sprayed some water for a basic fire attack practice.
Unfortunately, my Firefighter I certification taskbook expired (it's only good for five years), so I have to start over and try harder - I was close to getting it done, but some of the tasks needed are rare for a volunteer in a small rural fire department. Oh well. At least, the training officer let me go back to the Burn to Learn in late May and use those tasks, as least, in my new taskbook.
I had to return to the Staging Area because I have a heavy week of anxious clients and I needed to be able to ensure a good phone connection and internet. I'm sheltering in place. Evacuation and backup options for the current wildland fire situation at the Staging Area are still ready and enhanced. I'm monitoring both the official and the unofficial reports, and there are some differences. I've offered a friend without a vehicle a transport option if needed. I expect that I will be back this week volunteering at the station to supplement some of our paid firefighters that have deployed down South.
Base Station/Ol' Number 3: Everything is delayed due to the air quality from wildland fires. The internet and phone line subcontractors for Base Station completed getting the line under the road but didn't finish burying the line from the road to their box. *sigh* The excavator was delivered, but the excavator operator couldn't make it. While I was at the station on duty, The Old Man and Faye finished clearing, leveling, and re-staking the Pump House, and we're ready for concrete. We're still watering the drainfield daily, keeping the soil damp and compressed around the Gate House and the large vehicles. No washing of Ol' Number 3, yet.
Travel/Adventure/Doing Stuff: I found two geocaches on one of the two days in September I still needed to complete the Found by Found Days Challenge. I need one more day in September, and one day in February to complete this goal.
Haiku
Land on fire,
red and grey skies
shelter in place!
failing leadership,
pandemic, fire, protests -
stay ready, calm
nothing is normal -
training about to be used,
almost a relief
