Comparison Essay Done

Although I complained about it a lot, I am glad I did this.  I think it is something that has changed my life forever.  I agree with the statement that change is scary but so are a lot of other great things in life.  Change is inevitable and can be a good thing if it is for the right reason.           

Crazy Week

What a crazy week!  I have been offered a new job, quit my old job and and testing for an even newer job.  When it rains it pours. 
I am now a ski instructor at a ski resort in Illinois and am going to have to move either next week or the week after.  I look forward to this new adventure and look forward to the possible prospects on the horizon. 
I am in a great mind space now and think that things are on the up and up. 

Polar Plunge

The Polar Plunge was COLD!  That is really all I have to say about that because that is all I really remember.  It literally takes your breathe away, which really hit home when you think about my quest. 

Research paper final draft

Although I may never end up on a full time fire department, I really enjoy my time of the paid per call department I am on now.  My asthma may stop me from pursuing a full time career at firefighting but I will not allow it to stop me from doing it at all.  Asthma can be a very scary disease but something that can be managed if taken care of properly. Taking medication along with a good health plan, I can do whatever I set my mind to.                  

Final thoughts

Final quest thoughts......

I am at mixed emotions that this is nearing the end of the quest.  I have learned a lot about myself and learned how to organize and prioritize my life. 
I have saved some money and gotten into better health.  I have made some great friends along the way too.  I have a group of friends that have been working out with me and we enjoy it.  It makes it a lot easier to do it when you enjoy what you are doing. 
I think I failed a bit though.  I didn't work out as much as I should have but stayed within my quest goals.  I thought in the beginning that I would work out more than that but am glad that I broke it down to time in a week instead of having to work out every day. 
The beginning was hard.  I had to learn how to plan my day to accomodate the work out.  The beginning of the quest I found myself rushing to get the work out in on time but now it is easier. 
I am glad I did this.  I wish I would have started something like this sooner.  I can not believe that it took a Comp class to get me into better shape.
Change is scary but an inevitable part of life.  I think that other people can learn to embrace change and go with it.  You can end up in a better place after all. 

Quest

Things are status quo.  I have been working out and going to the gym as much as I can but it has been hard.  I have been working a lot lately and spending a lot of time at the fire station.  I have now joined the team to do the Polar Plunge and am looking forward to it. 

I hope that it isn't too cold that day but it should be fun with the brothers from the fire station. 

Polar Plunge

I signed up to participate in the polar plunge today.  The polar plunge is at Big Creek Beach and the proceeds go toward the Special Olympics.  I have attached the website for the plunge information and a place to donate. 

Its going to be cold but should be a great time and goes towards a wonderful cause.   

http://www.firstgiving.com/joshdavis2

Self Imposed long day

Okay.....so it was another long day.  I made it a long day though, I went out with some of my friends last night and didn't get home until late and then had to get up early to be at the station.  Our FD and PD have a yearly Fall Festival for the kids in the area.  Hundreds of kids will come through out the day and play games to win prizes and then tonight there will be a teen party and dance. 
I had to go down and help with the little kids party and then have to go to work.  I got a lot of walking and lifting done at the station today with the kids so I am considering that my work out. 

Not just Smoke eaters

I just wanted to touch base on the fact that fire fighting is not just about going into burning buildings.  The majority of what we do is medical calls and car accidents. 
On a medical call we are usually the first people there, we take are of the patient before the ambulance and the paramedics get there.
On car accidents, we are the ones that cut the people out of the car.  We use very big and very heavy tools to cut the person out.  We do all of this while not moving the patients.  When people are involved in car accidents, they can hurt or break their back. We have to cut them out and get them moved without injuring it any more.  It can be hard to do and it usually involves one of us getting into the car with the patients.  This can be really wierd but we are in there in full turn out gear and protective equipment.  We use our bodies and our equipment to protect the patient from glass and other things that break free when we are doing our jobs. 
It is probably one of the coolest things we do.  To take a car and tear it up into small parts and when we take the door or the roof completely off, that is really cool. 

Quest

Hard at work prepping for the quest.  I think that I am trying to do too many things at one time and my mind is going crazy.  I find myself working out and thinking about other things I am supposed to be doing.

I had hoped that working out would clear my mind and make it easier for me to get things done.  I thought that the endorphins would kick in and my mind would go clear and I would feel better.

I physically feel better and when I am not able to get a work out in, I feel it too.  I hope that my mental clarity will come too. 

Blog Math

Okay...for this weeks composition blog assignment we have to get math into our quest.  Since I have doing my quest, I started walking more places instead of driving so I am saving money on fuel.  I estimate that I walk at least 5 extra miles in a week instead of driving those miles. 
Fuel is currently $2.57 per gallon and I get 28 miles per gallon on my car.  Using that math, I am saving $0.46 a week.  For one month I will save $1.84 just by walking a little extra a day. 

Back on Track

After the very long weekend and the messed up schedule the first part of this week, I am finally back on track.  I got a good nap in today and hopefully my tomorrow will be better. 
I think I have kept up with my quest.  It has been hard at times to make the workout fit into my schedule.  I have found myself walking places I might have driven before.  I walked from the fire station to a restaurant down the road today when I normally would have driven. 
A group of fellow fire fighters are doing the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics so they have been working out too so hopefully we can all do it together.  The polar plungers and the power climbers.  It is a lot easier to work out when you have people doing it with you. 

Bad Day for the Quest

What a long day today has been.  I have been to Galena Illinois and back for the ski patrol refresher.  It has been a long day and I am very tired.  I didn't work out today at all but I did work on some of my ski patrol skills. 

Interesting blog

While doing an assignment for my Composition class, I came across this blog.  http://firefighterparamedicstories.blogspot.com/

I find this blog very interesting.  It has intersting videos and stories about real calls that other agencies go on.  I especially like the videos of life fire training. 

Quest Update

I really am starting to feel stronger.  I have been able to work out longer and harder without getting winded.  My asthma doesn't seem as bad as it has in past years.  I usually have been to the doctor several times by now because of breathing problems but I have not gone once yet.  I have been able to manage it with my inhaler and regular medines. 
It really should be fun to climb all those steps and get to the top of that building.  I really need to get down to the garage at Methodist like Nate suggested.  I have not been able to do that yet.  I have been jogging and lifting to keep up my work outs.
My mom has really been helping me to stay focused and organized.  Thank goodness for her. 

Excerpt from Research paper

Fear is defined as an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger and accompanied by increased autonomic activity (def. Merriam-Webster’s medical dictionary).  The fear that comes with not being able to breath is unimaginable to those who don’t experience it.

I titled my paper, Toxic Air.  It seemed fitting since I was writing on the affects of toxic fumes on a firefighters lungs. 

Research Paper

I had a rough time getting through the research paper.  I am not sure if I got the MLA citations right.  I really look forward to the peer review process to help out.   

Final Interview Essay

Ok...I have submitted the final draft of the interview essay.  I thought this one was hard.  I found myself jogging today and thinking about how to end it.  I added some stuff and moved some paragraphs around and I hope it reads well. 
I had a great jog today.  I just had to make myself get up early enough to do it. 

Research Paper

I found a great article in the International Association of Firefighting magazine.  It talks about lung disease and firefighting.  It gives a lot of background information and some stats on firefighting with lung problems.  I think this will give me a lot of background info and some places to start writing the paper. 
On a side note, working out went well this week.  I did a few actual work outs and the "job" gave me some other work outs.  I am pretty certain I hit my goal for the quest. 

Interview Essay



Nate at AFD training

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do”, Mark Twain.  That sums up the feelings that Nate Baggett relayed to me regarding his experience in the 801 Power Climb.  At 21 years of age, Nate is one of the most intelligent people I have met.  Nate has a great amount of common sense along with academic success.  I enjoyed that when I sat down to have a conversation with him, he didn’t make me feel stupid either.
I really enjoyed interviewing Nate.  I really think I could learn a lot from him.  He is not much older than I am but has a lot going for him. 

Research Paper

I am having a hard time finding research information for my paper.  I was going to write it on fire fighter fatalities with asthma but I may have to change that to be just respiratory deaths in fire fighting. 
I have been in contact with the fire fighting training bureau to see what stats they have on Iowa deaths.  I will continue to look but I think I may have to start looking into fire fighting magazines and publications. 

Re-New

I think that this quest is a new start for me in a healthy life style.  Since I just got out of high school, I have not developed too many bad habits yet.  I have not been able to run like I did in high school because no one is making me and I am not getting up as early as I used to because no one is making me. 
Since this quest started, I have been setting my alarm and getting up earlier.  Even when I don't go to the gym I am still able to get some sort of a work out in.  Getting up earlier is also making it easier for me to get my home work done. 
I hope that this quest will be the start to me making sure my life stays on track. 

Working out is working

I have found out that having a work out system means you have to work at it.  I have not been to the gym as much as I should but I still find myself doing other things that I am considering a work out.  We have a flight of steps at the fire station that I have been running up and down.
We have also had a pretty busy week with calls and special duties at the fire station.  Tomorrow we have to do hose testing.  This will be a work out.  We have to pull all the hose off of all the trucks and run water thorugh them to see they can hold the proper amount of water pressure through them.  Once the test is done, we have to load all the hose back onto the truck.  This will take several hours and will be very hard on the arm and leg muscles.  I will not be going to the gym tomorrow. 
I am cutting back some hours at my job so I hope to get actually in the gym more next week.  I have been making my goal during the week but I seem to end up working out more towards the end of the week to make up for the lack of exercise at the beginning of the week.  I am glad I changed from certain amount of hours in a day to hours in the week.  I would have already failed. 



PCFD dressed in pink

 What a day today was.  We had our FD pancake breakfast that was for fire prevention week and also we are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness.  The entire department is wearing pink shirts, pink gloves and the trucks all have pink ribbons on them.  It was a very busy day with very little sleep.  I "worked out" today buy lifting and moving large objects again.  I have a really hard time getting to the gym when I have so much actual physical labor to do.  When I wasn't moving large objects, or climbing the stairs carrying tables or chairs, I was lifting and carrying a bunch of kids.  I helped out a lot in the kids area today and one small kid was attached to me.  It is hard work, carrying around a kid all day.  I do not know how most mothers do it all day long. 

I really need to make sure that I get my work outs in.  I have to stop counting on my daily activities to get a work out in.  Hopefully now that the pancake breakfast is over, the extra work around the department will slow down and I can get back to a more normal schedule.  I also found out I am in the running for a new job that would take me out of the area for up to 4 months working as a ski patroller full time.  It is what I really want to do but it would be very strange to be moving out of the area.  I will also have to come back for department training for the 801 Power Climb and then I would have to come back for the power climb itself.  A lot of changes, for the good, but changes indeed.    

Busy First Week

Our Fire Department is holding a pancake breakfast tomorrow and part of the proceeds go towards Breast Cancer Awareness.  We are all really excited for the breakfast but it has been a lot of work and will be a lot  of work this weekend.  It seems that this week just when I think I have done all of my assignments for the breakfast, something else comes up.  On top of this, I am working at my job and keeping up with college assignments.  I have been working crazy hours too and trying to get to my moms office to work on her computer there (they are faster and bigger).

This has been a crazy week to start the quest.  I really don't think there is ever a good time to start something new though.  I have really tried to get to the gym to work out but it seems like my activities during the day recently have been enough of a work out.  Yesterday, I carried table after table down a flight of stairs.  I think that works into my work out routine.   
My mom has been great, she is the one in charge of this pancake breakfast, so that is probably why I keep getting new jobs.  I like to help so its not too bad but it does keep me away from other things.  I guess it also keeps me out of trouble.  Can't do something stupid if I am always busy.      

Week 1



Fire Prevention Week 2010 Daycare visit

 I have been working odd hours the first part of the week and it is Fire Prevention Week so there have been a lot of extra activities to do but I have really tried to start my quest.  I have worked out for approximately 2 hours so far since Monday, and I am being generous at that.  Monday we had a lot of school and daycare visits and also a city wide fire drill in Polk City so we were all really busy with that. 
I did have to put on my turnout gear several time so that is a bit of a work out and is working toward the goal that I have in mind.  I think that as long as I am moving forward with my goal then it is progress.  The beginning of this week has been tough though with the odd working hours and the amount of busy work at the fire station.  I will press forward and look forward to what this has in store for me. 
I have been talking to a lot of people about the 801 Power Climb and the Polk City Fire Department is putting together a team to compete this year and it should be a good time.  It will be a lot of hard work but will be worth it in the end. 
My interview essay was with another Firefighter that has completed the challenge.  It was good to get another persons perspective on how to do it and what challenges they face.  I didn't think about how stale the air would be in the stairwell but now that Nate talked about it, it has me thinking too. 

Proposal Essay

Imagine having to fight for air while doing simple tasks. That is what people with lung disease have to do on a daily basis. Lung disease affects millions of Americans and that number climbs each year. The 801 Grand Power Climb is a fund raiser for the American Lung Association, during this event, they have a firefighter challenge. The firefighter challenge is a chance for local firefighters to climb the stairs at 801 Grand in full fire gear.  We will climb all 1000 stairs in a race to the top.  I plan to use my time during this quest to get in better shape to participate in this challenge. I will work out a minimum of 5 hours a week for 30 days to better prepare my body for this feat.  I hope to build up by endurance to get my body into shape to climb to the top.