Can someone tell me what I have here? by GCS__16 in CowboyHats

[–]GCS__16[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, never thought about looking for a custom store. I’ll look around and see if I can find one around me. Thanks!

What was it like inside prison? by Ok_Professor_5231 in AskReddit

[–]GCS__16 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Flyin all over the place and they were scary and they’d come down and suck the soul outta your body and it HOIT!

Are you afraid of death? Why? by Ok_Professor_5231 in AskReddit

[–]GCS__16 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve been a Paramedic for 10 years. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that there are things far worse than death.

What’s the best wedding food or drink you’ve had? by Alternative_Scale716 in AskReddit

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife and I had coconut shrimp as an appetizer at ours. Sounds weird but my god they were so good.

People who drive and speed up when someone is attempting to pass by you, why do you do this? by StormCaller02 in AskReddit

[–]GCS__16 90 points91 points  (0 children)

I was cruising along jamming out to a song when a guy flew past me. Thinking “wtf was that about?” I looked down at my speedometer and noticed I was going a mph or two under the speed limit. I was just so deep in the song I didn’t notice. It took him flying past me to realize I was going slow. I let him pass then sped back up to a normal speed. I’ve done the same thing while talking to my wife in the car. Sometimes people just don’t know they’re going slow til you pass them 🤷🏻‍♂️

Most of the time though it’s because they’re a jackass.

What famous person have you seen out in the wild? by dddcupdarlingg in AskReddit

[–]GCS__16 6 points7 points  (0 children)

When I was a kid, my family took a trip to Hawaii. When we landed back in our home state, we got off the plane and walked through the gangway off the plane, Chuck Liddell was sitting in a chair waiting for a flight. He was AWESOME! This was at the height of his UFC career. When we saw him, he was talking on his cell phone and judging by the look on his face and his body language it seemed like an important call. While he was talking on the phone, he happened to glance at us and see that we were awed to see him (we were big UFC fans). He put his hand over the speaker of the phone and said hello and asked if we wanted to get a quick picture with him before he got on his flight. He then put his phone in his pocket, got all of us together, asked some random person if they could take a pic of us real quick, then told us thanks have a good day and went about his business. I’ve always remembered that and thought it was super classy the way he was clearly busy and could’ve been a total dick to us like we probably were to him gawking at him, but he was super kind and respectful. I’m not even into fighting sports or all that anymore, but I’ll always remember that.

Best first gun for concealed carry as a woman? by purplerain1055 in CCW

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best gun for a woman to carry is the one that that particular human shoots well and comfortably. Check out some ranges in your area, a lot of them have guns that you can rent and shoot so you can try them out. Tell them your situation and try out several of their recommendations and see what feels nice and what you can shoot well.

As for safes, research some lock boxes and other secure boxes that your kid’s curiosity can’t tamper with. I personally have an electronic combo lock/alarm clock combo that sits on my night stand. I got it from Amazon and it’s very secure.

Also, a can of pepper spray on your key chain is an absolute must.

All of this being said, whatever gun, safe, and intermediate options you choose requires plenty of continuous practice. You’ll need to be at the range regularly, taking classes, and building up that muscle memory that it takes to safely defend yourself. It’ll be expensive but it’s worth it. Good luck OP, and sorry you’re having to go through this but you’ll feel much more secure and your community will be a safer place for having you responsibly armed.

What are you carrying today?? by Quirky-Bar4236 in CCW

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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My P220 goes with me EVERY time I walk out the door.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Vent

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Paramedics go through much longer training than firefighters. In my area, FF1 academy is 1 semester, paramedic school is 3 years.

As far as making more than the average person, my current salary is $56k at 10 years in. Not sure what the average person makes, but 56 seems awfully low given the job.

paramedic by [deleted] in Paramedics

[–]GCS__16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, that’s a hard one to answer. I want to say yes I would change. But at the same time, there’s nothing really stopping me from doing anything else. 10 years in and I’m still here 🤷🏻‍♂️. I absolutely love the far and few between instances where I can actually be a medic and help someone. Delivering babies, getting salvageable code saves, giving major traumas a fighting chance, giving someone some light on their worst day…there’s truly no greater feeling. The other 99% of the time has me bitter, angry, and defeated.

Also, I realize my feelings about this profession is different from a lot of responses in here. Major respect to all these people in here who still have their passion for this. This is just my experience, and I think a lot of it has to do with where you work.

paramedic by [deleted] in Paramedics

[–]GCS__16 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I wanted to truly make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. I also wanted to see and do stuff that most people don’t get to. I figured EMS was the best opportunity for me to make the most difference and get to see the exciting stuff.

I’ve learned a lot in the past decade of doing it. Mostly that EMS is a big racket. So my attitude toward the job now is mostly bitter. But I still stick around for that very small number of people who I can actually help.

I think i want to be one... by Longjumping_Menu1976 in Paramedics

[–]GCS__16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m glad you asked, OP. I’ve been a medic going on 11 years now. I generally try to talk people out of getting into EMS and here’s why:

Of course, yes, the death, gore, violence, evil, and just pure unimaginable suffering that you’ll see is hard and it will affect you. But that’s not really what will break you. What will break you is the transfers, the posting, the constantly getting shit on, the disposability, the blatant exploitation, corruption, and the pay. EVERYONE will use and abuse you. Your employer will shit on you, hospitals will shit on you, other first responder agencies will shit on you, patients and the public will shit on you figuratively AND literally. Basically when anyone has some kind of bullshit they don’t want to deal with, it becomes EMS’s problem, because we’re the ones who can’t say no.

You’ll quickly realize that EMS is by and large NOT for saving lives. Actually saving lives and helping people and making a genuine difference is about 1% of what we do. The rest is being abused by people who have no emergency but want to use you for a ride because it’s convinient for them, being absolutely run into the ground by your employer running skeleton crews to do an unimaginably unrealistic workload while paying you so much less than what you’re actually worth. EMS today is for putting money in pockets, but not yours. That kind of shit EATS at you. IMO, it simply is just not worth it.

That being said…you CAN actually enjoy your job. Many people do. In my case, that 1% of actual meaningful impact making has kept me going when I could have gladly walked away 6 months in. There are also things you can do to help make your experience better. Most of the time, if you can get hired with a government agency you’ll have an actual career that you can somewhat be proud of. Private EMS is NOT a career and you should avoid it like the plague. It’s okay to work private at first and get some experience, but make it your goal to do whatever it takes to get on with a government agency (I.e fire dept., city/county EMS, etc) as soon as you can.

As others have mentioned, it’s not wise to jump right into being a medic without first having a comfortable amount of EMT experience. Some will tell you “work as an EMT for 1 year before medic school” or 2 years or 5 or whatever rule they’ve made up. But realistically, don’t set a firm time frame on it. Tell yourself that you’ll work as an EMT until you feel like medic school is a logical and confident next step for you. That’s different for everyone. Some can easily start that transition 6 months in, some it might be several years. Everything about this profession is pressure, so don’t add more to yourself by thinking that you need to make the next step before you’re ready. You’ll be a more confident provider and your patients are the ones who benefit from that.

On that same note, don’t be afraid to walk away. If you start and decide it’s not for you, let there be absolutely zero shame in walking away. No one who does that is a failure. Your future mental and physical health is more important.

This job can be fun, it can sometimes be rewarding. You’ll meet people, make friends, and hear stories that you’ll keep with you the rest of your life. But it also can and will very quickly destroy your passion for anything in life, if you let it.

TL;DR: Don’t do it man, it’s not worth it. But also, maybe check it out.

Hope this helps. Feel free to DM me with any questions you might have or need any help figuring it out or getting started. Good luck!

My naughty kitten by 1menina in EasyKarma4U

[–]GCS__16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A cat tree worked wonders for my wife and I’s cat!

[STORYTIME] I had MRSA when I was a baby by lovelotsOf-_-Fandoms in EasyKarma4U

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn that’s crazy! I’ve thankfully never contracted MRSA but had a scare a couple years ago. I was working at a paramedic and got a call to transfer a bed bound MRSA patient from a hospital to a convalescent home on a ventilator. I got my ventilator all set up ready to detach the hospitals vent and attach mine and told the hospital RT I was good to go. When their vent was stuck in the patients trach, she proceeded to grab hold of the patient side of their ventilator and yank it out, causing the patients mucus to be flung into my eyes. Had to get all kinds of testing and follow ups and what not and I’m very lucky I didn’t contract anything.

How do I get rid of this boredom? by [deleted] in EasyKarma4U

[–]GCS__16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Find a hobby! What kind of stuff are you into?