Bartender!!!

Welcome. I'm packing to go to Galveston and don't have much time but I'll bring my laptop with me. Glad to see you, how's the back

It's still back there! It's better than it was, but not where it should be. Not that I'm counting, but this is Day 246.

Great to see you, have a safe trip. I'll be around more.

Bartender wrote:It's still back there! It's better than it was, but not where it should be. Not that I'm counting, but this is Day 246.

Great to see you, have a safe trip. I'll be around more.

I sure hope so, we are new and small but with you and Rosebud here it should pick up, so glad that you came.

Bartender, check your PM's please.

Thanks, ! Great to be here! I've missed my old partner in crime! With all the sleepless nights I've had in the last 246 days, I could've really kept y'all busy with all the random thoughts and things going through my head in the wee hours of the morning!

Some of the drugs I was on tended to make me, uh... more honest?   Nahhhh, scratch that. I call 'em like I see 'em also!

If you don't want an honest opinion, don't ask me. On the other hand, I would NEVER say or do anything to intentionally hurt someone. The exception to that would be the Idiots. Idiots are just free game.

Well shoot. Time flies when you're having fun. It's already 12:30 here. I've got to get off here and get myself ready for water torture. I've been doing water therapy 3x week for a month, and the torture part is actually the very last step OUT of the pool!!

I'll see y'all later! Ditch...oops, BF, be careful on the trip. Tell the Mrs. hello for me, and we'll catch up soon. I'll formally introduce myself when I can get back on later.

Yipeee! The Bartender is here! I'll have a margarita, please! Make it a double! :[IMG]http://i2

Bartender wrote:Thanks,jw! Great to be here! I've missed my old partner in crime! With all the sleepless nights I've had in the last 246 days, I could've really kept y'all busy with all the random thoughts and things going through my head in the wee hours of the morning!

Some of the drugs I was on tended to make me, uh... more honest?   Nahhhh, scratch that. I call 'em like I see 'em also!

If you don't want an honest opinion, don't ask me. On the other hand, I would NEVER say or do anything to intentionally hurt someone. The exception to that would be the Idiots. Idiots are just free game.

I told you that she is a hoot. Esther, you are gonna love this one. We almost started a hair styling business once...

You BF, hairstyling?? Can hardly believe that one. OK whatever.

Hi Bartender, welcome. Your comment about the idiots out there. Sometimes it is easy to misunderstand something someone had posted but instead of getting it clarified, they immediately JUMP!! What a mess then.

We could write a whole thread and use just smiley icons. Thanks JW.

I guess it's time for me to introduce myself. I'm Bartender. The name actually has nothing to do with alcohol!

My job for the last 10 years has kept me confined to an 8' X 8' NON-padded cell, with lots of traffic coming and going, and everyone wanting something. I was an air medical communication specialist (fancy title for dispatcher) for the first 5 years there. We were also the emergency transfer center and point of contact for other hospitals to call when they had a patient they could not care for properly. We also arranged ambulance transport for patients requiring transportation upon discharge from the hospital.

This all meant heavy EMS traffic in and out of my office. Sometimes, the crews would have to wait for me to solve an issue about the patient, whether it be proper skill level for the medics, correct destination, or any number of things. Sometimes though, the crews would drag their feet, just to catch a break from running back to back calls. Over the course of the years, I have befriended many, many of these folks, and they have always felt as though they could talk to me about anything and know that I would not betray their confidence. I didn't/don't do gossip.

When I first started, there was a little bit of turmoil between some of my flight crew co-workers, and MY crews would ask me for an opinion when they were discussing all the crap that was going on. For an ENTIRE YEAR, I refused to give anyone an opinion on anything not directly related to my job. Thus, that is when I became known as the Bartender. Anyone could come in and tell me anything--just let it alllll out, and by the time they left, they might feel a bit better. I used to joke and say I was gonna put a tip jar on my console!

Anyway, that's the history behind the name. I got into EMS in 1994 at the absurd suggestion of my (now Ex-)husband. I went to a business meeting for the local volunteer service just to ASK questions about what was required, etc. Next thing I new, I was a member!! Within a couple of months, I was teaching CPR classes at the station at least once a month. I ran calls with them, but I wasn't actually certified until '95.

The first time I ever went to a call, I had to go directly to a scene, and I got there as the other 2 medics were bringing the patient out of the house. I introduced myself, and one of the guys said "Get in, let's go. Drive"!
HUH??? DRIVE???? Luckily, I had been driving a Trans Van when I was 13, so driving the ambulance wasn't much different. The lights and sirens were a different story!

Anyway, I am now married to my best friend. We met in 1997 and have been together ever since. I have 3 children: my oldest son is 26 and lives in The Woodlands, TX and is a credit analyst for Capital One. My twins (boy/girl) are 20, and are as different as day and night. Girl Child lives in a town just north of here and works as an assistant auditor for our county. Boy Child is still at home and just recently works at a tire/automotive shop by day, and weekends he works as a bouncer/security at the Dixie Dance Hall-one of two mainstream honky tonks in Beaumont. He makes more $$ doing that, but Mamma ain't likin' it too much! He had worked at Abercrombie for 3 years.

As for animals, I am down to a cockatiel named Coco (DO NOT LISTEN to anything Ditch, eh, Bullfrog says about my bird)!!

Ten days ago, I lost my other best friend: my Kitty. He was at least 18 years old, and I had him for 14 of those years. He was my little shadow, and since I've been off (239 days that day), he kept me company and from going insane with all the solitary confinement since I've been at home day in and day out. I miss him so terribly!! I know he is much better off now, but I just have a huge hole in my life now. I look for him when I walk into a room, and I expect to hear him telling me it's time to eat every 2 hours... I had a small breakdown tonight when Hubby and I came home from going out to eat.

Oh well, I didn't actually mean to write a book, sorry! If I've left out anything you want to know, just ask.