Guest bathroom finished!

That's it... ! Our guests can have their own bathroom now :) The kitchen bar is also finished, and the baseboards are up and drying! We are super psyched to be done, and it's perfect timing: we are going to be climbing outdoors as much as we can in January, no more house work! Speaking of work, working in the ER for me is much better, I am getting used to the insanity there, and I can't wait for Brendan to bring me a patient in the middle of the night, hehe! I also can't wait to go climbing... I feel like I haven't touched real rock in a long time (it has really only been a few months, but it feels way too long!) Hope you guys are ready for Christmas...??! We're still waiting for the good snow dump to get the skiing season going here. I can't believe it's the end of the year already! I know it is though when I see people psychotic about the holidays! We are ready for the new year, this last year has been super busy for both Brendan and I, but I think we're set now!! ~~Chloe

Bathroom project #1: mission accomplished!

Oooh yeah: our bathroom is done! Brendan told me he "wasn't into painting"..... I should have known it was fishy! I told him I'd love to take care of the painting... It is actually into sanding that Brendan wasn't into... It's ok, I sanded, inhaled all the dust... (less cleaning that way!) and finally painted! We're still working on finishing the bar/counter in the kitchen, and the guest bathroom... so I'll put up more pics ;) -Chloe

Made It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...so I made it!! I graduated from my fire academy and am now officially a paramedic/firefighter. It was a long 3.5 months, but it has come to an end. It was a very interesting process for me, to say the least. The fire service is based on paramilitaristic type of structure in order to function effectively and efficiently in times of crisis and emergencies. This is very important and effective, but there are less desirable side effects to this situation. The academy is part of a test of one's personality and ability to adapt to a very different environment. I was very careful to capitalized on my ability to adapt to a very different environment. Especially with my background and where I come from, I did find it challenging at times. Graduation was good because it brought the academy to an end, but thankfully that ceremony only needs to be done once. Some of you may wonder why I would put myself through such a process. For one, everything changes once I go "online" (meaning start actually working in the field out of a firehouse). The academy is a place to learn a lot, but it is also a big long test. As with many tests, there are issues with the way it is run and its effectiveness, but like many tests, it basically tests your ability to adapt to that test, and inevitably, the strongest tend to come out on top, and ultimately that's what happened. Out of over a 1000 applicants, 14 were selected for this academy and 13 ultimately graduated. We work for one of the best fire departments in the nation. It is very progressive with its vision and practices, well funded and sets the standard high. We have some of the best medical, fire and emergency equipment available in the world, and this department is actually rated as the fittest fire department in the nation. I have to admit as to my hesitation about the people that I was going to have in my academy, but ultimately, I ended up with a really cool group of guys, and we did have a lot fun. Now that I am online, and actually running 911 calls, the people I work with are just as awesome, and this is an awesome job, even when I have to get up at 3am to run some guy with abdominal pain to the hospital. Not to mention my schedule now is great! I still have a lot of work ahead of me as one of the "new guys" online, and going through what is set up as a three year apprenticeship, but it's all a lot more fun from now on!!
-Brendan
P.S. Here are some more academy pics and a video of one of our "entanglement" drills.