Wow...Life is fast

Everything's been moving so fast lately that I didn't realize quite how long it had been since I updated. Tonight I had a student ask me what was up, had I quit?
Ahhh! No!

So, I'm working security at the Royal Alexandra Hospital now, which is fun. Plus I've still got a lovely girl named Jazz. Life is looking up.

One of the interesting things about my job is that it forces you to be the agressor at times. You can't just run away when Joe Drug Overdose needs to take his meds or when some rambling drunk is making trouble. You've got to act, and sometimes get physical. At the same time, you're not allowed to hurt them so you have to get good at joint manipulation and using pressue points.

Funny story though, and a good, humbling, learning experience was on one of my first shifts equiped with a stab vest. Two of us got sent to assist with restraining a patient, whom shall be named "Steve". Steve had a nasty headwound and needed to get freezing injected to kill the pain before they patched him up. This is done via needles, which hurts. I can see why he was having trouble holding still. We didn't end up having to assist, though, since he managed to tough it out like a champ.
The nurses asked us to stick around, just in case, and so we did. Having nothing to do other than chat or watch Steve be worked on, we chose chat and the subject was injuries. We went over what injuries we've had and eventually came across to the worst ones we've ever seen. I really haven't seen many, but my partner on the call has seen a bunch. She began telling me about when she was first on scene of a car accident. The last part of the story I remember is something about a car grill and a girl's chest before feeling really odd and then waking up on the floor.
I had fainted, and even broke a table on my way down. Woo, tough guy! My partner didn't poke much fun at me, but the nurses did, and so did I. I'm sure Steve would have chuckled too, under different circumnstances. Why? Because it was funny.
Now I know what it feels liek to faint, so I can avoid it.

I'm leaving in a few days for a trip around the east coast and to see Rammstein in concert. I'm excited.

Ben Davies
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada
www.silentriverkungfu.com