Highlight of my week... LHMU march at George St. One a handful of ambos out to protest the QLD government offering of a poxy 3.25% wage increase. Thank you Mr. Roberts for believing that a sub-inflation level wage increase is a "reasonable offer". How much are you getting paid??? Why do you think it is fair that the paramedics who are on the front line, making decision, working long hours without meal breaks or down time and still savings lives are paid less than nurses, doctors and every other entity within the health profession?? Why is it acceptable that we are paid less than our interstate counterparts??
I can't say I'm struggling. I can't say that the union is accurately portraying our situation either. However, I am angered by the lack of wage balance as a trained professional. Where to from here???
Anyway, had a great time at the march and got to participate in the full 1.5 hour show. There is something quite addictive and liberating about protests. Can understand why it used to be a more common occurrence. Even picked myself up a cool (I'm sure someone will kick me for saying that) LHMU cap which has now become the best quality cap that I own.
The day brought other highlights as I took advantage of the work shirt ban. It felt a bit like free dress day at school. Gives a bit of a different atmosphere and with my pigtails I had the oldies asking if I was 16. There is a reason why I don't do that regularly. ;-) Also had a play with the old paper ARF. Definitely over that within 5 mins of use... The codes were a pain but it was largely the different mindset. That was one part that I won't miss.
This week saw my first use of the new Mercedes Sprinter. I had been reluctant to get into the thing but the situation was thrust upon me as I found us to be the only qualified crew to use the thing. The car is good and drives like a breeze. Hello real suspension! The stair chair is another long overdue improvement. The stretcher is the problem. It is a great deal more manoeuvrable but there is a lot more lifting involved and the action required to secure the legs is counter intuitive. Not to mention the half height is taller than the average small granny that we go to and so they have to try and leap on to the thing. Ah well... As long as I don't end up with an injury I can focus on the many benefits.
It has been a rather tiring week. As it draws to a close I've been growing increasingly fatigued and stressed. I've had a few dodgy moment with my student. Sometimes I am really not a good mentor but that is primarily related to my own personality flaws. My students is great. She will make a good paramedic and is picking things up very quickly. I need to remind myself just how new she is to the whole game sometimes.
From an exercise perspective I've found that the after work sessions haven't been great. I much prefer the mornings. I have come to the realisation though that I may well encounter some difficulties once we move. I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there. Had a rest day today because every bit of my body has been telling me I'm tired for the last two days. Tuesday night's cardio did not reach full potential and my arms failed my bench press last night. But my grip strength is getting stronger so I have something to be proud of... Same routine as last time except that I hiked up to 30 mountain climbers off the bench and dropped back to 30kg for last set on bench press. That may have been more related to the new stretcher actually...
Been pretty good with my diet this week and have been ravenous the last two days. Slowly working my way through the fridge so there is as little as possible left by the end of next week. Otherwise, the switch from wheat germ to unprocessed bran has resulted in a gain in fibre content and a much happier gut situation.
The next couple of days will be busy again. Early gym session tomorrow, next dress fitting later in the morning, visit to the storage place for boxes, start packing and try organise broadband with iinet seeing Optus freaked out about fibre optic cables. lol. Packing, packing and more packing. I feel stressed just thinking about it...
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