So I'm back. I've not been blogging for a while, and I've decided that today is the day to re-enter the atmosphere and get back to the blog.

I haven't actually been anywhere other than to work, but it's been a little hectic the past few days, and I don't usually blog at home. I just don't have the time. I swear I have more work to do at home than I do at work. Considering my occupation, most people are happy with that. I love being a paramedic - it's the only job I've ever had where members of the public are happy to see a government employee doing not much. I actually try not to be visible doing nothing. Some of my colleagues are happy for the public to see them sitting around reading mindless magazines, but I'm not. I don't think it makes us look good. I'm not a huge fan of tabloid magazines (Space aliens took my daughter - she now opens for Elvis!), and I certainly wouldn't want the paramedic I saw reading this magazines to be the face I see when I've been in a car wreck. I personally don't see this as inspiring a lot of trust or confidence in their abilities.

We're pretty much allowed to use our down-time as we see fit (and there are a lot of things that we can't do, but I see that list as being reasonable), and I don't begrudge anyone a bit of relaxation. Our job is pretty stressful at times. I just think that we should NOT be doing stuff like reading tabloid magazines whilst sitting on the front fence at work. Looks tacky. What do you think?

I try to spend my down-time productively. I will study each day if I can, and I spend a bit of time researching new/interesting things. I don't think that I can ever know too much about what I do for a living. Being a paramedic is important to me, and I would like to be as good at my job as I possibly can be. I think that the public deserves that much from me.

My pet hate about my job is the pay. I don't think that paramedics anywhere get paid nearly as much as we deserve. Yes, I make enought to live on. No, I don't make nearly as much money as your average bus driver here in Australia. Think about that - I am expected to save someone's life in the middle of the night or day, rain or shine, and I get paid less than the guy who drives the bus you take to work, school, or to the movies. HE isn't expected to save your life if you have a heart attack - he calls ME! I save your life, and he gets the big paypacket!

Hmmmmm