There are many things for which I give thanks this year. The Macy's Parade getting RickRolled by Rick Astley himself, live in New York, is not one of them. Although I do expect a good response to this event from XKCD.

It's not actually raining here–more like partly cloudy and a temperature that won't make up its mind–but this post's title is pertinent because Laura and I are going to go see Dar Williams live in concert tomorrow.

Chalk one more up on the "Si is compensating for never having been to Lilith Fair" list.

I am well-pleased.

I'm putting most of my time and effort into work these days. I have a system, and it's keeping me on track, but it means that I end up having little time for other things. Other things require energy, which I'm rationing right now for obvious reasons (plus I'm coming down with something, which means that the stock is low already). But in reflecting on my current situation, I started thinking about other things I would like to put energy into, time and money permitting. I'm going to list some here, in the hopes that public documentation, pressure, and opportunity bring some of them to pass:

1. Foreign Languages. I want to learn ASL and Spanish, out of a sense of responsibility. It only seems right to be able to communicate. In an ideal world where I had the leisure, I would Gaelic and Sinhalese as well just for the kicks.

2. Exercise. I know that it's good for me, both physically and psychologically. The problem is that I'm a lazy bum with no motivation and no discipline.

3. EMS. I want to finish up an EMT course, take the time to volunteer with an ambulance service, and spend enough ride time to determine how much of a part of my life it'll end up being.

4. Cooking. I want to take a couple of weeks and just cook, cook, cook until I feel confident about the whole affair. I know I can do it, I just need to practice enough to really be sure of myself in the process.

5. Music. I need to get back into singing, I want to pick up another instrument of two (maybe finally learn guitar, or keyboard, or just mesh the two and learn to play the keytar), and I want to have an established public outlet for said music. In practical terms, this likely means either or both of a church choir and a cover band.

Hold me to these, O people of the interwebs. Just give me some slack until I finish my papers, OK?

I'm back in the local ambulance company's classroom to round out my medical training: Vermont teaches EMT programs in modules, and it's generally expected that First Responders will take at least the first two modules, which certify you to administer an AED and pressurized oxygen (oxygen is a prescription medicine. Who knew?). It's a strange thing, conceptually, to work through the question of why the hell I'm doing this. Do I have a hero complex? To an extent, I'm sure that's a factor. There's an element of gut instinct telling me to do it. My therapist would also point out long-standing issues regarding my childhood and a subsequent propensity to view situations as crises and proceed to resolve them. I'm not sure if this is something that will continue to develop in my life, or if it's just something to do while I'm in this place and this time. But I'm definitely prepping myself now for wherever this particular call leads.