I'm having another of those "I miss my paying career"moments -Thought I'd drag this back up.

I'm dragging this post back up with a little editig, because it is how I am feeling lately. I'm feeling nostalgic, gloomy, unmotivated....etc. I'll be using some of these "I miss 'such-and-such' topics for future posts. It's not about the income (although income is always welcome!). I don't miss the hours and I don't miss the asshole young punk dickwads who think they are God's gift to earth just because they have an EMT cert and a) are going to school for or applying to be Firefighters/Paramedics/or Cops b)think that wearing a uniform and riding around in a vehicle with lights and sirens makes them the "Culo de Gato" even though Cat's Ass is a rather accurate description c)are only doing this because they need the experience d) all of the above. THANK the EMS Gods that these few idiots are the exception to the rule. They usually get culled out early on in the game, but unfortunately some wreak havok with peoples perception of EMS workers along the way. I miss the comraderie with the ones who actually enjoy their job. I miss my old co-workers. I miss my bosses. I miss the cadillac ambulances. I miss teaching CPR and First Aid. I miss doing standbys (how else would I have gotten to be backstage at a WWF match at The Shark tank, hung out with one of my favorite co-workers, sat on the zamboni, walked through the giant shark head, met The Rock, The Undertaker , Cain and various other wrestling stars, and literally had my ASS on national TV while my partner got a face shot?) I miss the critical care transports. I miss the RN's. I miss interviewing potential employees. I miss being a Field Training Officer to the 'newbies'. I actually miss making the work schedules. I miss implementing policies, and revising the policy manuals. I miss hearing Santa Clara County Com requesting assistance. I miss working with Mimi on the South County Rig, getting called out to turnovers for transporting a 5150 patient who could turn her head like a parakeet while eating through her paper mask just so she could spit at us. I miss working with Mr.Hooks, visiting his wife at the ER she worked at and passing out pens and notepads to various ER's and convalescent homes. I miss chatting with the cancer patients as we transported them to and from radiation therapy. I miss singing to an AIDS patient (at his request) as we transport him home to enjoy his last days. I miss visiting the little girl at Childrens Hospital , because I promised her I would, after transporting her there for asthma complications. I even brought her a beanie baby of her own. I miss transporting the spoiled rich lady to her "recovery center" after her extensive body modifications. I miss transporting the injured convict/witness to another hospital, complete with armed escorts, and instruction to "stay 2 inches away from my back bumper and keep going NO MATTER WHAT!". I miss teaching Criteria Based Dispatch for SFDPH at The Presidio. I miss Linda. She has come a long way from when she first started in dispatch. I miss going to a call with my good friend Tina (WHILE SHE IS IN A BOOT CAST) in the caddy and getting the crap scared out of me by a 30 pound cat. I miss "chasing the horses and jockeys" around the track during the races at Bay Meadows. I miss the early morning track standbys and watching the trainer get bucked into the SAME pile of manure and hay, by the SAME horse every morning for a week straight. I miss the "Burn Runs" in the caddy (again with Tina) raising money for burn victims while getting to run the REALLY ANNOYINGLY LOUD mechanical siren up the entire peninsula. And did I mention I miss my old-coworkers?