A true taste of vacation

Sort of. This memorial day weekend I had another long weekend and planned to spend all of it (starting on Friday) at Familial Home Base with a large chunk of my extended family. Of course, this didn't go quite as I had planned. I found out earlier in the week *coughWednesdaycough* that there was a CPR and first aid class early Saturday morning, and that the second half of extrication training was that afternoon. Whatever, I could just leave at like 4pm on Saturday and still spend two nights at FHB. Oh was I disappointed. The CPR class was amazing, our teachers knew what they were doing and moved at a brisk pace so we actually finished an hour early.

The extrication training was supposed to be cutting up three cars (one on its wheels, one of its side, and one completely flipped) in order to remove our 'patients'. Three cars... in the field we need to do a car in under 30 minutes tops. Preferably like 10 minutes. It took FOUR HOURS. The car on its wheels took two hours on its own. It was ridiculous. Nothing against our instructor, but boy he can go on. 'And this tool does this, and this one does the same thing, and then there's this one, and this one, and blah blah blah let me show you how they all work even though it's pretty much exactly the same.'

When we had finally finished, instead of packing up and heading back to the clinic quickly, people decided to sit around and talk. Telling the exact same stories they had been telling the entire day, just in a slightly different way. Urgh, old men. So I finally got back home at about 6:30, and ended up leaving Home for FHB at around 7pm. I realize that the training is important, but I hate having my time wasted. The class could have been done in a much more efficient manner, and we would have learned just as much.

I will admit that I did enjoy breaking car windows with the spring loaded center punch. Just stick it in the corner of the window, apply a little pressure, and POP! Entire window shatters. >.> Perhaps I enjoyed it a little too much...


Once I got to FHB, I enjoyed myself. I helped uE fix up the car I am borrowing so it runs much smoother now, and once again he went above and beyond what was necessary. For sleeping arrangements I was originally on a cot. Now, I don't have any problems sleeping on cots, goodness knows I've spent months on one before. This particular cot, however, squeaks whenever you move on it. Roll over? Squeak. Scratch your nose? Squeak. Twitch in a dream? Squeak. Anyways, I think you get the point. All this squeaking would keep me awake and wake me up when I finally managed to fall asleep, so I migrated to a very comfortable armchair. This armchair and I go way back. Way, way back. I've also spent numerous nights sleeping soundly on it, so I spent the rest of the night in comfort. Of course, when uE saw me sleeping in a chair, he decided that he needed to set up a bed for me. Never mind that it needs to be pulled out of storage, that there is very little space for it, and that I'm perfectly happy to sleep in the chair. The bed is coming out. /sigh I do appreciate it, really. But I hate creating such a fuss.

During the days, I played DotA with my cousins, actually beat them in Halo Reach (still not sure if they let me win or not... I will always doubt my abilities when it comes to xbox. I'm a computer gamer through and through), and mostly cleaned house in Super Smash Brother's Melee. I got my bottom handed to me so many times in high school by a friend that I've actually become proficient in the game. We also did some skeet shooting (or rather, they did and I watched for a little while), and had a mini barbecue. I'm slowly refining my Oma's potato salad, and I've learned of another possible ingredient from my Opa. Speaking of which, that man is full of surprises.

1) He's playing croquet... I'm pretty sure he's mocked the game on numerous occasions and it just seems so out of character.
2) I've heard rumor that he has been walking outside barefoot.
3) He's gardening. Like, actually tilling the earth, planting seeds, and watering them gardening. He's set up a tomato (or potato, I never quite heard properly what was being said) patch. To me, that was always and ever, now and forever Oma's domain. Speaking of Oma... My god I'm almost afraid she's going to come back and haunt us. Well, haunt certain people first and then us for doing nothing.

AND speaking of doing nothing. I feel like I have to say this. There are certain situations where doing nothing at all can be just as harmful as actually doing something. Certain situations where doing almost anything would be better. I know that there are many, many ways to take that statement. Feel free to see what you will in it. Maybe in a later post I'll talk about it more.