December update

Not much to report lately. I've been working my "day-job", still dealing with the governor taking almost 15% of my salary under the guise of "furlough". Yeah... what its done is to cause me and 200,000 other State of CA employees major problems financially. We don't have the money, so we don't spend it. Less spending is less sales tax money for the state... see where this is going? And he calls it a "haircut"... I call it something else. Oh well, the courts will sort it out... eventually.

Still working EMS (always!), both at events with my own company, and also for the Sacramento Rivercats. Yeah, I know it isn't baseball season. Corporate events... fantasy baseball, meetings, etc. I was supposed to go out of town tomorrow, but that event was canceled due to inclement weather. In the world of mountain bike racing, that is a rare event. Its a little wierd being on a first-name basis with some of my patients, but I treat many of them over and over... kind of a "frequent flyer" system that many working on an ambulance see. One thing I do like is the follow-up I do tend to get. My patients come back and let me know how they are doing, or they email me with updates (Facebook also!). Its nice, actually. Most people working a rig just deliver their patients, never learning about how they did.

Oh... we got snow this week! I know, those of you in areas that get snow frequently are thinking... wow... not. Well, its a rare event here. Monday morning, about 2:00am, it started snowing here in the Sacramento Valley. Most areas got a dusting. We got about 1 to 1-1/2 inches. Didn't stick long, though. The last time it snowed this much was in 2002. Mike had never seen snow falling, so at 2:00am, he was out playing in it like a little kid. I wish I could have seen that, but there are pictures to memorialize it! Here is a picture of the ambulance with snow on it. Temps have been REALLY LOW for this area most of the week. Finally, the temps have come up a bit, but only due to storms that are bringing rain, and the occasional lightning strike. I wish it would snow again. Two pictures I took:

Altamont Pass

The Fremont/Milpitas foothills

What I saw on my laptop Sunday evening... 100% chance of snow in my area.

I'm not going to be traveling anywhere for Christmas. Finances are just too tight. So, I am working on decorating my apartment a bit. Found most of my decorations. Can't seem to find the ornaments for my tree, though... They have to be somewhere... I thought they were in my green and red box, but alas... I am going to be working on Christmas cards tomorrow. So, Mike, Mary, and I will spend Christmas and Hanukkah here (Mary is Jewish, and I am learning about Hanukkah from her, and she is learning my traditions, including the lighting of the Advent candles, and the prayers I make when I light them).

I do hope that the holidays bring great things to all of you. May the Lord bless all of us this coming year, as many are still working on getting back on their feet with the economic issues still facing a lot of us. If any of you are traveling in my neck of the woods, please feel free to let me know! I'd love to have you over!