Adam Carter Blog
The daily ramblings of the eternally bemused
Cheeky Monkey
Aug 22nd
Sophie, Pepsi and me went for a walk in the woods today. It was great being outdoors again after working 12 hour shifts this week. Before we left Sophie drew a map of the woods so that we could find our way around. She remembered to draw the amount of gates we had to walk through, and the ‘Pooh sticks’ bridge.
We found a safe looking stick to throw for Pepsi, so she was quite happy. Pepsi hadn’t been up the woods for a week, as when I’m at work, Annette takes her around the roads for a walk. Not More >
Answers on a postcard
Aug 17th
Well I finally have a date for my Technician course, September 20th at Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire. The previous course, which was booked for August 9th, was cancelled with three weeks notice on July 20th. It was cancelled due to staffing levels (why did they book the course in August in the 1st place?).
Now the problem is I’m not really sure I want to go ahead with it. After passing all the exams and assessments all those months ago, I was really fired up to do it. Now however, I’m not so sure. I’ve missed two course dates, one as I More >
Why I started karate
Aug 15th
1973 saw the release in the UK of the greatest martial arts film the world had ever seen. The film, Enter the Dragon, with its charismatic lead played by the legendary Bruce Lee. I was too young to see the film at the time and had to wait a few years before I eventually got to see it.
I don’t need to tell you what the film was like, I’m sure everyone interested in the martial arts has seen it. But for me, it changed my life. I just could not believe what I had seen. The fitness, for one thing, More >
The Best Band Ever.
Aug 13th
Is Pink Floyd the best band ever?
My first introduction to Pink Floyd was when I was 17 years old. I was working for a motorcycle dealer as a mechanic, and during the summer I was sent to another branch to help out. As I walked in, the manager, who had a tape system in his office, was listening to music during his lunch break.
I was suddenly hit with this wave of sound from his office that I had not heard before. At the time I had no idea who it was or what the album was. Asking the manager More >
Guilty as charged
Aug 13th
Why are we made to feel so guilty?
I’ve pulled a muscle in my calf (again) and I’m finding it very painful to put any weight on to my left leg. I have really tried hard to walk it off as I have two shifts coming up at Wexham ambulance station. Not being fully fit for work is not the best way to complete a shift. Part of my job can involve carrying patients down the stairs in a carry chair, and trying to do this when injured is just plain stupid. Not only does it put the patient at More >
Who’s a clever boy then
Aug 10th
I love technology, especially mobile phones and computers. The recently launched iPhone 4 I just had to have. I did wait for a couple of weeks but the urge got to me in the end and I just had to have one. Luckily my wife’s mobile phone contract was about to expire and she was happy for me to order the new iPhone while I gave her my old iPhone 3GS.
I’m really happy with it. There has been a huge amount of controversy over the iPhone 4 with the so called ‘antenna gate’. This is where a user can make More >
The right crew-mate
Aug 8th
Being with the right crewmate can make such a difference. This week I have had three different crewmates. The first two were an assessor and another ECA, both of us (ECA’s) were being assessed for a new role the ambulance service has decided is the answer to their problems. Not a very popular role, but it seems we have no choice.
Both crewmates were fun to be with. I felt really nervous being assessed, as I hadn’t worked with the two guys before. I had backed up the assessor before, when he was on an ambulance car, but never worked More >
Just add more weight
Aug 3rd
I love weight training. Unfortunately I don’t get a great deal of time to do it anymore. What with shift work and trying to fit other things in. At home I have free weights and a very heavy duty weights bench. I’ve had the bench for about 25 years. The weights themselves even longer.
We have a utility room at the back of the kitchen where the weights and bench live. I can’t actually do the training in this room as its not large enough, therefore, I have some old carpet which I lay on the kitchen floor not to More >
Give it up before it gets you
Aug 3rd
Why do people continue to smoke when they are ill?
I have never been a smoker. Never tried it, never wanted to. I feel physically sick around anyone who smokes or even in a room where people have smoked. I find it disgusting and I wish it were banned. Totally. It is habitual, poisonous and a killer. Millions of pounds are spent by the NHS and other organizations trying to fix the results of smoking. Ban it now. Not just in pubs and restaurants, but everywhere. Period.
Years ago, before the politically correct and before any reasonable health and safety, I worked More >
Lost in a land of confusion
Aug 2nd
Lost in a land of confusion. That’s how I feel at the moment. I work for the ambulance service and since June 2009 I have worked on front-line vehicles with Paramedics and Technicians. Since starting this job I have felt such a lack of confidence it is unbelievable. Most people I talk to have at some point felt the same. But I keep asking myself when is this going to end. I start each shift with a certain amount of dread and trepidation, so much so that I almost feel physically sick.
I have always been reasonably confident. I have run More >
