So, I'm in Edinburgh, IN for 12 days doing some "Army work." I could tell you more but then I'd have to kill you. Or just duct tape your mouth shut forever. Whichever you prefer. No, seriously, it's just a little Homeland Defense thingy and I'll make sure to tell you all about it when I get back.




The CDC weblink will let you know if you're within an hour of at least a level II trauma center, which is the best place to be in the event of some kind of life-threatening injury or illness. I was looking at stuff like that earlier and thought it was pretty cool. If you're curious why I was looking at trauma care, I was reading about blast injuries, confined space rescue, and mass casualties. Hey, I think it's interesting and you'll thank me later.

I'm studying (well, not this exact instant) for the GRE, which after an initial browse through my study guide does not appear to be as difficult as previously thought. I'm taking the GRE for the obvious reason of getting into grad school and am looking at several programs, most of them in the midwest or east coast. I've applied to PA (Physician Assistant) school, and am just biding my time until I find out what happens there. I'm also working on applications to a few MPH (Masters of Public Health) programs and a few MS programs. The MPH and MS programs that I'm applying to all deal with Emergency Management, Disaster Medicine or a combination of both.

In the event that I can't get into anything anywhere, I'm trying to talk Emilie into letting me deploy to Afghanistan. The conversation goes a little like this:

me- "Hey, Em."
Em - "yes?"
me- "can I go to Afghanistan?"
Em - "Can I come?"
me - "no. Well, you could go to Afghanistan, but I don't think we'd be able to see each other. And I'm not sure you'd enjoy life on a FOB with a bunch of smelly Soldiers..."
Em - "Then you can't go either."
me - "..."
me (later) - "so, if I don't get into any grad program at all, can I go to Afghanistan?"
Em (rolls her eyes) - "if you voluntarily go to Afghanistan, I'll kill you before the Taliban ever even gets a chance."

She hasn't actually said that. But the sentiment is definitely there. I suppose I should be flattered that my wife actually wants me around enough to threaten my life if I were to voluntarily leave. And I would miss her. I'd probably miss the kids, too.

I (by "I", I really mean "we," meaning Emilie and I) honestly don't know what we'll do if I don't get into grad school. There is active duty (and all of it's associated stuff), there's finding a job as a paramedic for a fire department or other response agency (and the general lack of income potential), or there are some Emergency Manager jobs out there that I'm qualified for. It's really vague and hazy right now, and I won't know anything about grad school of any kind until late spring next year. Which really stinks, as we are getting slightly fed up with the whole waiting game thing.