School Days

As I near the end of the Paramedic class, I sit back and realize that this will be the end of my studenthood for awhile. I thought it would be fun to think back to all the schools I've attended over the years...

Garfield Elementary School- Kindergarten to Sixth Grade- This was the first school I went to. Seven years. It was a smaller (100-150 Students) school in Casper, Wyoming with one class for each grade level. It was in one of the oldest school buildings in town. Recently, the school closed down to consolidate with some other schools and the building got bought by a local church. Many good years were spent there. I remember waiting for the bus to come take us home from school. Our bus took the mountain route and took a long time to drop off the Junior and Senior high kids who got out of school earlier than us. It was in elementary school that I started playing the cello.

Dean Morgan Junior High-Seventh to Ninth Grade- This was a big school (1,000 Students) and was a big switch from elementary school for sure. I have friends from Junior High that I still talk to. I had a few teachers that were memorable and some I have tried to forget. I can't remember too many specific memories from Jr Hi. I must have repressed them.

Natrona County High School- Tenth to Twelfth Grade- NCHS-Home of the Mustangs- I was never a mustang really. I wasn't in high school sports at all. I was more involved in music things and stuff. In high school I got involved with Youth For Christ and their school ministries and Bible Studies. It was in the three years of high school that I was challenged the most spiritually.

Briercrest Bible College-4 and 1/2 years 1998-2002- College was great. I went to college in Canada to get away from home and to take advantage of the mighty American dollar. At the time I started the exchange rate made it a good bargain. I studied Worship Ministry which meant I took a lot of Music and Bible classes. College was a place where I became more involved in things. I started playing the upright bass, took my first piano lessons ( the lessons kicked my butt but were one of the best things for me musically. It really help to learn to read music better rather than just my usual playing by ear), started a jazz combo called "Ad Hoc", and learned how to skate, played hockey for a team called the Big Dogs (you'll see the jersey in my band pictures), got elected to the Student Executive team for two years, was editor of "The Eyewitness" the college yearbook for 2.5 years, and did many more things.

North Platte Community College -2003 to 2004- I really only took one class, the EMT-Basic class. It was a night class that met once a week for four hours.

McCook Community College -2004 to Present- Home of the EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic class. I drive back and forth to McCook (about 1h10min away) twice a week for class and should be done in the middle of May. I will still have some clinical and field experience time to complete before I can take the National Registry examination at the Paramedic level.

So there it is. Soon I'll be done with the school thing. I probably won't know what to do with myself. Actually, I'll probably be able to teach more music lessons.

The Sound of Music

This weekend I am playing bass for the pit orchestra of the high school's performance of the Sound of Music. We have three performances. We missed having two dress rehearsals this week because there were two snow days this week. Monday and Tuesday were quite the blizzardy days in these parts. You might have seen in on the news. Places in Nebraska got as much as 25 inches of snow. Locally we got between 12 and 14 inches in about a day and a half. For Canada that wouldn't have been too much, but down here that amount of snow is a different story. I don't miss the snow in Canada. I like living in a place where the snow is melted a few weeks later, not in a place where the snow finally melts at the end of April.

Its been a long time since I updated this thing.
Surf Alternative- the band I am a bassist for- got talked into playing at "The Ultimate Band Battle. It was a ton of fun... not really. It was a long day and the music was terribly loud. Here are the latest pictures.

No kidding... People payed six bucks to hear me play!

I am on the far left, in the hockey Jersey looking cool in my new shades (They make me look like Bono!) that I bought at Ben Franklin's. They were a buck. A penny saced...
Strutting the stage like I own it. I love Rock and Roll, so put another dime in the jukebox , baby.

Earlier this week I spent a day out at Windmill Dunes Farms, a nursery / greenhouse located Southwest of Paxton, Nebraska. It was a long day of moving crates of planters filled with dirt from one place to another. Nothing like a day of real work.
My friend Amanda, who works at the greenhouse, was happy to have someone come out and do a job that none of them were looking forward to. So I had to do a crappy job that no one else wanted, but I got to hang out with Amanda all day. I guess things evened out pretty well.

It was good work and I slept soundly that night.