Potential New Futures

I played indoor softball last Saturday.  I think I'm going to let it be the last time I play indoor for the season.  Outdoor season starts in just two weeks so I can wait for that.  The indoor one seems much rougher and slightly more dangerous because we're in a confined space and that ball bounces around like a pinball.  I got a bruise on my thigh from when a girl threw to first and hit me (the runner who was practically squatting down to avoid getting hit).  Luckily it was a girl who was a beginner.  Otherwise it could have hurt much worse.  On the other hand, if she wasn't a beginner she might not have missed and hit me in the first place.  I got a big bruise on my calf because I was standing too close to the baseline when a guy was running home.  He knocked me hard enough to spin before falling.  I don't know if it was the fall, or just bad positioning when changing direction quickly, but my back suffered a lot of muscle damage too.  I never get back pain from outdoor softball and I rarely get bruises (or broken bones).  It was fun, but I'm really looking forward to real softball.  It was awesome to be able to wear my batting gloves for the first time, though.  They make me feel empowered.

Tim worked at the Bop (Roehampton Duty) Friday night, and didn't finish 'til about 4am because the lock broke on the closet where we store our kit so they had to drag it all to another member's flat for safe keeping until the university can fix the door.  Some of that stuff is really expensive.

Tim's been teaching me how to do blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope.  It's tricky, but fun to practice for the real thing.  I'm also learning British road signs finally.  I got my British provisional license while I was in uni.  It's good for 10 years, but if I want to learn to drive and ambulance I need to have a British license first.  Collin loaned me some books and I bought a CD that helps you practice for theory.  Some of the things they expect you to do for practical seem completely unpractical, though.  For example, you can't cross your hands on the wheel in the test or you fail.  Who takes a 90 degree turn without crossing their hands or taking one hand off the wheel to replace it on another part?  I have never seen anyone drive the way they expect you to in the test.

I've been looking into doing my paramedic science foundation degree through Open University so I can still work.  It all depends on funding now.  They have a lot of grants or bursaries/scholarships set up to help.  They work with St John Ambulance so that you can do the practical parts through SJA.  I'm kind of excited about that.

Tim is exploring about 4 options at the moment.  Two of which include a few years of study, but he would only have to pay for the first year.  The other two are jobs.  One is a job fair and the other a job he went for before, but the person who got it dropped out after a few weeks so Tim can apply again.  That one is for SJA, but it's paid.  I won't mention which two the other ones are that require study.  I don't want to increase any pressure on Tim's decision or jinx anything.

Other than that Yasmin and I spent some time sunbathing yesterday for the first time since the new year.  I had my softball to toss and Yasmin had some sticks to chew.  It was very relaxing.