Journal Entry

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

So all promises, expressed or implied, about my journal posting frequency are thrown out the window. So there it is. I will update whenever I a) have time, b) feel like it, or c) some combination thereof.

My last Prelim 2 is tomorrow night, for Math 191. It should be the most interesting out of all of them. I usually understand the math concepts, but I'm pretty bad at memorizing 50 formulas that do the same thing... trapezoidal rule, Riemann Sums, Simpson's rule, sigma notation, integrals... Blah. So if the Simpson's Rule is 10x more accurate than the trapezoidal rule, why teach it? Why test me on it? It has no practical application if there is a more accurate method. It's like choosing to write a paper using a typewriter with a computer sitting right next to it. Terrible stuff!

So, as promised, CUEMS. Well, not as exciting as one might imagine. I ended up running two shifts instead of one... Saturday 11-3, then Sunday 7-11pm. Of the eight hours total, there were no calls. Of a community of size 20,000+ (our coverage area includes only university-owned property off-campus), one might think that someone gets hurt in some way over a period of 8 hours. Nope. Nothing. No boo boo's or anything. Flat amazing.

But it wasn't boring! Since there were no calls, we took the opportunity to play with the truck lights and the medical equipment, as well as recertify in CPR/PR. It's usually productive, one way or another.

So the up side to all of this--I'm running a shift this Friday night! Again, 7pm-11pm. Don't tell me no one can get hurt on a FRIDAY night, of all times. At least a drunk or two?!?! Come on, people. Work with me here.

On a tangential note--I'm a lifeguard, as most should know. I've been one for nearly four years now. My on-duty hours must span into at least 1000. The catch? A rescue has NEVER been made on my shift. Ever. I've never had to rescue anyone. No one on my shifts have ever needed to rescue anyone while I'm on duty. What's wrong with this picture?

And now to satisfy those who might be thinking--gee, what a morbid person.. he wants everyone to get hurt. No, not really. It's like a travel agent who can't charge any service fees because clients never change their mind; a consultant whose target field of 1000+ companies are running the most efficient operation possible; a policeman who has no one to catch; a 'sanitation engineer' with no trash to pick up and dump into the landfill. You get the idea.

If no one ever gets hurt on my shift, more power to the people. I figure, it's my contribution to the community. The more hours I put in, the less they get hurt. Simple algebra. (But still, helping somebody might be nice so my training doesn't go to waste!)

Tomorrow in chem lab, we'll be creating nylon from its liquid constituents (organic chemistry lab). Cool huh? The lab manual says we need to discard the nylon we produce. I'll see if I can keep it! Why waste something you'll never be able to make again!

Well, yet again I sign off! Until next time,

Aaron