Don't you want to be a Super too?

At what age do you lose the inner monolog of a superhero? Jackson is going through a combination of being a "Super Tiger" and hanging out with his imaginary friend Dash (one of the Supers from the Incredibles). I love this. It is endearing. If you have read along for any period of time, you know my penchant for the ideals of superherodom and my not-so-secret desire to have an alter Super ego. Fortunately everyone in the family has "Super Tiger" powers. Much cooler than my natural ability to locate free donuts and taunt my enemies with cynical verbage.

Thanks to everyone who has watched an voted for my video. Over 200 people have seen and rated it, and if anyone knows someone in Australia who can put in a good word, I'd appreciate it. They announce the short list next week.

I see dead people

In the hospital, I often take care of very ill people. I am used to this. It is what I do. There is nothing inherently spiritual, or selfless, or noble about it, everyone needs a job and this is what I have chosen. It fits me surprisingly well. I am generally happy when I work, despite the misery that often surrounds me. I see very little in the way of preventive care or the walking well ( or walking ill for that matter), so I have taken some forays into other jobs (moonlighting, if you will) to keep up my skills and interests. I am covering an ER in a small Alaskan town this evening and expected to see a handful of patients, read my journals, maybe some of my book (The Sex Lives of Cannibals; Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific...check it out), and write.
Now here I find myself, nearly midnight, a surprisingly exhausting day, and pondering why the man I just coded in the ER died. I've been told that there is maybe one code every couple of months. What are the odds that it came on my shift (alright, 1/60 - 1/90 smart ass) and why did it happen on my shift? I'm just the temp. This is my first day here. We always forgive the waiter if he/she slips up on their first day. What happens when a patient dies on a doctor's first day? Mind you that this gentleman was dead and had undergone CPR for upwards of 30 minutes by the time he got to me, but will this reflect poorly on my permanent record? I don't mean to be irreverent, but that's what comes after 42 hours with 3 hours of sleep in the middle, and it's what helps many of us survive the part of our job that smells like vomit on your shoes.
I still like what I do. I don't know why, but I do. I also still want to go to Australia and won't stop pushing it until everyone of you has weighed in and passed this address along to your friends. Cut and paste now, and make my day a little better. http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/gxwK64d9-io

Good night.

Jana's Birthday!

Tomorrow (Saturday) is Jana's birthday! Everyone send her an email (robandjana@hotmail.com) hit her up on Facebook, or give her a call. Also, if you haven't voted on my video yet click here. More entertaining writing about skijoring to come.

OMG it's here! it's here! LOL

Have I mentioned my fondness (or lack thereof...perhaps I am being facetious...perhaps) for internet slang? That is neither here nor there, because...my video was finally posted to the Queensland Tourism website, huzzah! You can catch the link here, or if you love typing, type the following:

http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/gxwK64d9-io

It's as simple as that. Now please, tell everyone you know to go to my site and vote for me. I will promise free floor space when you come visit in Australia and free early morning snorkle alarm courtesy of my kin. If you didn't catch the subtle link above, click here. (And please rank me highly...you know you want a friend in Australia.) For a picture of kittens, click here.

Remember, vote early and often.

Not quite sure what to do with myself

I have a day off. A day off from work. A day off from all three kids. A day off from loving wife. Hmmm. I used to know what to do with myself. I used to have hobbies. (I guess this blog qualifies as something of a hobby) Most of what I have now are 'to-do' lists. I am a list kind of person, so this is okay by me. But what happens when the list whittles down to nil? I usually wind up trying to study or take things apart that I know I will never get back together. Guess I'll go for a ski this afternoon. Perhaps this Australia thing will teach me what to do with superfluous time (is there such a thing?). I think I need to unstructure.

Old Man, Winter

I went (downhill) skiing yesterday, and I feel old. Due to circumstances (residency, twins, knee operations, etc.) I haven't actually been skiing in two years. I have nice realatively new skis (no excuse there), there was great snow (no excuse there), and I am in reasonably good shape (for my age...no excuse there either). Mind you, I have fairly poor balance, which I believe is secondary to proprioception alterations due to said knee operations, which contributes to my skiing fitness. Aside from orthopedic issues, I also apparently do not have the intestinal fortitude that I had as a younger man/child. This may be the actual problem.

I skied by myself and was found to be surrounded by high school boys on holiday jumping off of lips and hills, landing backways, sideways, frontways, and upside down with no regard to their knees or heads. I used to do this. I used to be good (raced in college, although our team was not exactly known for it's skiing prowess...another story for another time). My day was spent wondering where the next bump or divot was and how it was going to effect my upright nature. And today has been spent dreading the trip downstairs and the screams of my thighs. What happened?

In my defense, I did get better as the day went on, and perhaps next time won't be that bad. Or, maybe I'll go snowboarding next time, because I already know that I am terrible at that, and I have no glory days to relive. Or, maybe I'll go to Australia. I hear that place is fantastic. Still don't know when they will be posting my video...

Application for Island Care Taker

Okay, here it is. My self produced one minute application to become an island caretaker in Australia for six months. Is this going to happen? Unlikely. But, I did learn how to use my video camera, and it was kind of fun to put the movie together. So everyone wins.

Moose tracks

Today, in my mind, everything is about the commute to work. There is something to be said about the sound of freshly fallen snow crunching under my bike tires and the only tracks other than mine, in the early morning hours, are those of the neighborhood moose. Have a great day.

Movies of my children walking in between convincing the world to send us to Australia

Ella has figured this out a little better than Jonathan. Good thing he has those blue eyes...



We have a nice, clean, quiet house.

Shameless Plug for Hamilton Island

I mentioned upcoming posts regarding my quest for a "job" in Australia. My efforts thus far have been pretending to be photogenic (and failing miserably), pretending to be a documentary-type film maker (and failing miserably), and researching pictures of Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays online. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Click here for a link to some pictures and here for a link to the website

Now my video capture and edit skills are up for a test. Most of you know I can write and take decent pictures, and of course you know my wry wit and
ability to promote my passions (or at least sell the heck out of things in which I am invested). None of this, however, does me any good if my video looks like it was made by a 3 year old...that gives me a thought...Jackson has been taking pictures lately. Maybe I could get him to direct. Wish me luck. Also please note that pictures were stolen from the Hamilton Island toursim website. Full disclosure if I want this job I suppose.

Looking at a new job

Not really. I love my job. Especially if my boss is reading this...I LOVE MY JOB AND HAVE NO INTENTIONS ON LEAVING. That said, I want this job. In Australia. For only six months. I've got it all worked out in my head. So here's what I need from you: after I post my video, I want you to pass this along to all of your friends and have you rate it. Preferably with a high rating. Not to buy your vote, but I can offer you a place to visit (read "stay for free") if you come visit me while I am there. I'm just sayin'. I'm going to go the Facebook route as well and hope you will pass it along via that route. Perhaps you could start a group such as "Send Rob to Australia" or (Your Name here) is a fan of Sending Rob to Australia. Nuff said. I'll be talking about the Great Barrier Reef and it's wondrous islands over the next few posts, so stay tuned.