The Written Test

I went to the National Registry website yesterday and got the news I had been waiting for. Unfortunately, I did not pass the written portion of the NR exam that I took a few weeks ago. What does this mean? It simply means that I will need to either retake the Intermediate exam at another location and time, or I can wait and take the Paramedic test when I am done with class in May. The advantage to trying the Intermediate test again is that if I pass it, then I will get a substantial pay raise at work. The advantage to waiting to take the Paramedic test is more time to study and review.

I'll keep you posted as to what I will do.

The Pagora

The project started with what was already there, a dog kennel with no dog to put in it.
Then I built a frame for a Pagora, althought I didn't know that was what it was called until a friend mentioned it.
I decided to be ambitious this past week and put the lattice up. It is going on two sides. It will provide a climbing surface for flowering plants that will get planted at a later date.

The tiki torches are an added touch. At night, the light up the place nicely. In the summertime, they should keep the insects away.

I used the old wood from the kennel in the project, too, using it for landscape timbers arround the base.

My house. With the pagora in back and my 210,000 mile Camry in front.

A Valiant Effort / PEACHES

I put forth a valiant effort to pass my National Registry exam on Monday and Tuesday. The written test was on Monday night. 180 questions that covered everything I have learned in the past two years. It took several hours to complete. My brain was pretty worn out afterwards, but I had to stay sharp. Tuesday morning at 7:30am we all arrived back at Creighton University to do the skills portion of the test. Each student has 9 or 10 skills that they have to complete. All skills have to be completed correctly or else you don't pass. If we missed less than five skills, we were given the opportunity to retake those that we missed that afternoon. On my first time through, I missed three skills (The Trauma Assessment, Dynamic Cardiology, and Static Cardiology). So I retook them. On the second time, I passed only the Static Cardiology. That was one where I knew where I missed it the first time. I am still not exactly sure what I did wrong on the other two. I will have one more chance to take those two that I missed. I could possibly take them as early as next month in Colorado, or I might wait until we cover the cardiology stuff again in the Paramedic class.

On another note...
Friday, I was driving home from work when I got a flat tire on the right rear of my car. So I pulled into a parking lot and changed the flat out for my spare. Then I took my car to WizLube to get the tire fixed. When I was there waiting in the office, they got a telephone call there. When the call was finished, the lady behind the counter said that if I wanted some fresh fruit, I should head to Flying J ( a truck stop) because a truck carrying fresh fruit was overwieght and had to unload. So I drove out there as soon as my tire was good and, no kidding, they were unloading crates and crates of peaches, plums and other fruit off this truck and just giving it away. So I grabbed two crates of peaches. That night I gave a bunch of them away at a small-group meeting and to friends. Then I took the rest to Omaha with me to share with the people I stayed with. It made getting the flat tire worth it.

The Backyard Project

After returning from my trip to Colorado and Wyoming, I decided that it was time to really get to work on my project in the backyard. That is, turning an old dog kennel into a patio place to barbecue and hang out. I didn't have a real design for it decided upon and I didn't have a real clue how I was going to go about it, but I have finished the first stage of the process. I don't know what I am going to do for walls and a seating area here are the latest pictures.