Another Update

This last week Lisa had some time off of work. So, we decided to make a quick escape to Mesquite, Nevada for a two night stay and a spa treatment at the Oasis resort. You'll have to take our word for it since, we forgot to bring the camera along. (Sorry, no pictures)

The time spent together was great and I have to admit that the massage was awesome! I've never had a massage before, so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Other than that, I have to say that if anyone out there in the blog world is thinking about going to Mesquite take my advice and make the trip all the way to Vegas! Mesquite is getting bigger, and there are several casinos in which a gambler could spend a lot of time and money. But if you don't gamble (like us), or Golf (like us) then there isn't a whole lot to do. Even the hotel swimming pools were closed for the season.

We also found that the Oasis is kinda the armpit of all the casinos in town. No HBO, no internet and half of the rooms are under construction! IF you do decide to make a quick trip to the thriving metropolis of Mesquite Nevada, I would only recommend staying at the Casablanca Resort. It's classier, cleaner, and the people there are really freindly. And they have better resturants!

If I could turn back the clock however, I'd have made the additional 90 minute drive to Vegas, where everything you could ever want is there. (although some of it may require a trip to the bishop's office afterward!)

Quick Update

So, recently a collegue of mine told me that It's been too long since I've updated my life in the blogosphere. So here is a quick attempt at bringing everyone up to speed.

1. Jared is still alive. I opted not to kill him for getting suspended from school since the economy has taken such a dive I still need him as a tax deduction. Thankfully he has straighted up his act and both his grade and behavior have improved.

2. I have completed the assemply of the ham radio station.

I've gotten on the air several times and spoken with some nice folks in West Africa, Northern Europe and South America. I've even been speaking with my dad in California a couple of times. Now, for those of you who would mock my life-long hobby, I just have to put in this disclaimer. I'm not a skiier, snowboarder, or other winter outside enthusiast. I like to hibernate when the snow flies. Ham radio keeps me inside, occupied and close to a warm mug of hot chocholate. I'm home. And that's that. The rest of ya all can just go out and freeze. Have fun with your frostbite!! I'm having fun! My bride and daughter think I'm a nerd. Oh well, I am, and proud of it! Either way, no one in the neighborhood has a problem anymore trying to find my house! We just tell them, "look for the lightening rod. That's ours!"

3. On Sunday, some lady brought by some food to the fire station. It was good, but a little out of date. The next day, I found out why they put dates on food. Holy crap, was I sick! A little food poisoning cost me two days of work! Sorry... I didn't take any pictures of me barfing, it just didn't enter my mind at the time!

4. My computer has been out of comission for the last 2 weeks. (Hence the lack of updates.) Had to have it serviced and the tech found just under 2000 viruses on the hard drive. OUCH!! At any rate, it's fixed and now you can catch up on my life. (or lack thereof)

5. A good friend of mine has decided to defect from the blog world and join up with the enemy. Tven that great and spacious building called 'Facebook.' Whatever! Too bad for her I guess! You know who you are! Repent, lest I continue to smite you with the rod of my mouth!

Jared's wonderful week at school (NOT!)

So, here it goes. I think its the beginning of the end as far as 'the boy' is concerned. His week started off so well. His teacher e-mailed me and said that he is turning in his work and that his grades are improving. Lisa and I sighed in relief. Ever since August when Jared's school track started he completes his work, but then doesn't turn it in. We pleaded and threatened and finally bribed him into turning in his work so he would get full credit. Finally, its starting to work! His grades are improving, he is happier and loving school. Or so we thought.

Here's how Thursday afternoon went:

Ring ring goes the telephone. "Hello" I answered. "Mr. Allen?" asked the female voice on the other end.

"Yes, that's me!"

"I'm glad I caught you at home today, Mr. Allen. My name is Mrs. Bona and I'm the assistant principal at Jared's school. We have a situation, and I need you to come and speak with me and Jared right away."

Yea, it's offical. Jared was suspended from school on Friday. Seems he and a group of his friends choose to get in a maylay on the playgound to settle a close call in a dodgeball game. No one got hurt, but Jared appearently became a little to much WWF for the rest of the boys. Teachers came out and broke up the brawl before having to call in the K9 units!

He was suspended for Friday only, and was sent home with a grundle of class work. When I got to the school the teacher and principal each told me that they were forced to suspend all those involved. (Which I totally understand, and am happy they are strict in matters like these!) But both of these ladies told me that Jared immediatly fessed up to be responsible for the fight and even tried to take all the blame so no one else got suspended. That's mighty mature, I think.

So all in all it was a tough lesson for Jared to learn. Although I am upset about his decision to fight to solve a disagreement, I'm really proud of his behavior afterward by admitting his guilt. The toughest part for his parents right now is pretending to be really disappointed in the fighting, while congradulating him on being more of a man immediatly afterward.

Parenting is tough!

Crazy times

It's crazy sometimes the curve balls life throws at us sometimes. In my previous post, I mentioned how the last several weeks have been really stressful. My good friend and Battalion Chief told me that I was going to need to move to another shift, and with a new crew. I've gotten several calls from ICU and the ER wanting me to work more, My EMS teaching schedule is filling up and a few of my close friends at work are going though some rough times. To top it all off, Life at home was getting crazy, and a few folks under the roof are not too happy with me.

I think all the stress finally got the best of me because I came down with a bad cold the last two days. Today, I spent almost the entire day in bed asleep. (Feeling like crap is not a good feeling) I was thinking the other night that I just can't handle much more and was hoping the good Lord would step in and lighten the load a little.

After dragging myself out of bed this afternoon, I answered the phone and on the other end was our hometeacher. It was nice to hear from him. He's a busy guy, so an afternoon phone call was really unusual for him. We spoke for a few minutes and he asked if I had any plans for tonight. I said no, and mentioned that it was the only night I had off this week. He said great! (I fully expected him to want to come over, since it is the 30th of the month!) Instead, he dropped the bomb. "Great," he said "The stake president would like to meet with you and Lisa tonight at 7pm."

Suddenly, it all made sense in my small mind. I don't understand why I am such a slow learner. I should figure out that anytime life seems to spiral out of control, there is something worthwhile on the horizon. Trial of faith or whatever, I'm glad that the Lord answers prayers. Seems as my seminary teacher all those years ago was right, the tougher life seems to get, the more tightly your grip should be on the iron rod. I'm glad I have had a death grip lately!

Tomorrow will be my first day as a "A" shifter, and since tonight's meeting I feel a little more confident in making the transition. I'll miss all my friends on "C" shift, but now am looking forward to making new friends at station 31. There will be a number of new challenges, but all of a sudden, it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

Lake Powell trip

Sorry for the long delay in creating a new post. It's kinda funny how life happens and every now and again we have to stop and catch our breath. The last few weeks has been one of those times.

My son Jared has had the last three weeks off of school. (Love that year-round school schedule!) Shani, Sam and the other "C" shift gang invited me to come with them to Lake Powell this year, so after much personal dilberation,I decided to shock them all by accepting the offer.

Jared and I met down at Ryan's house last Monday for the carpool down to Lake Powell. I have to say We had a fabulous time. Four complete days of peace and quite! Lake Powell is simply awesome! Never been there prior to this trip, and I'm already missing the serenity found there. I've included a few pictures, but if your interested in a play by play, visit Shani's Blog site. She's better at putting it all together anyway.

Ryan, Shani, Matt, Sam and "Skipper Richard" on board the houseboat. (Jared took the picture)

I admit I really suck at wake boarding! In fact I never, EVER even got up once! (That's what she said) Although I tried and tried. If you look at this same picture 50 times, you'll get an idea each of my attempts. They all looked like this. Burp! :0

Jared had a lot of fun in the water. Could have had more, but thats another blog story!

All in all it was a fabulous time and I can't wait until next year when we get to go back. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to wakeboard by then!

A Period of Mourning

Earlier this week I was informed of my new assignment at the fire department. After 5 years as a "C-shifter" I am being moved to "A shift" as the captain at station 31. I will miss all my homies and fellow bloggers here on "C platoon". Although I am looking forward to the new challenge and oppertunities this assignment will bring, I have decided to black this page out as a subtle tribute to my grief and sorrow for leaving an awesome group of individuals, many of whom I have been privledged to call my friends.

Birthday Celebrations

Since Lisa, Katie and myself all have birthdays within a week of one another we have traditionally held a joint celebration for the family. This year it was held at our house and several family members and friends joined us for the festivities.

Lisa made an awsome pasta dish and everyone enjoyed the bread and fruit salads. Of course no Birthday party at our home is complete without a "Brenda" cake. This year Lisa had challenged her to make a single cake that included three distinct themes. One theme for each of us. Of course, Brenda has never let us down. Here is the final result of her extraordinary effort. You'll notice the Motorcycle is for me, the Neckless and earrings for Lisa and of course the peace signs and lime green color for Katie.


My brother Norm and I talked for a while and caught up on olden times. It's always nice to visit with him. Dave and Tish Larsen graced us with their company as well. That's a special treat for us since they have to come from so far away. We really appreciate them taking the time to travel all that way just to visit with us. It's why we consider them such great friends! Rob, Holli and Sam were also there as well as Lisa's Cousin Luke, who made the journey from Vernal. It was great to see him again.

Even the Summer Dogg got into the action!

Katie's grand gift was her new ipod. (Probably won't be hearing much from her for a few months, although a thank you would be nice!)

Soo...all in all it was a great birthday party. For those of you who didn't come, we are still accepting presents, feel free to drop them by or deliver. We are also will to pick them up directly for a nominal fee!!

Katie and the 80's

Katie had a young women's activity this week were all the kids were supposed to dress in clothes their parents wore at their age. So here is the final product...! Not a bad looking kid if I do say so myself.

My daughter is the best! She's cool. She must have gotten her coolness from her mom, since she certainly didn't get it from me. I was a total nerd. Come to think of it, I still am. I mean, let's face it; here I sit on a nice Sunday afternoon updating a blog. What happened??

At any rate, If there is any question in your minds about who big a nerd I am, stay tuned later this week for the ultimate nerd verification sign. Bye!

Cheap Birthday present

So a bunch of folks keep pestering me about what I want for my birthday. A few nights ago I was deeply contemplating this questions when I finally came up with exactly what I wanted. For my birthday I want a raspberry shake! Not the ordinary kind, but one of those famous Bear Lake raspberry shakes. SO...on the morning of my birthday I got home from the ol' fire station, got Jared off to school and took off on the Harley. I shot up I-15 to Brigham city, meandered up Sardine canyon, smiled at folks in Logan, and enjoyed the awesome ride up Logan Canyon. Exactly three hours after I had left my driveway I arrived in Garden City, Utah. I ordered my Raspberry shake and sat under a tree to enjoy the spoils of my adventure.

After eating a quick lunch and topping off the tank it was back on the road, passing through the towns of Lakepoint and Randolph and finally into Evanston Wyoming. From there, I went along the back roads to Echo where I jumped on the Highway and headed for home. About 10 minutes before Jared got home from school I pulled into the garage.

I can't think of a cheaper birthday present I've ever gotten. I also can't think of a more enjoyable day either!

When did I get so old????

This morning is a day I've been dreading for months. No, YEARS!! Today is the day that I have to take Katie (pictured here)to High School and register her for all those high-school kinds of things. I'm not that old!! I swear!! It wasn't that long ago my parents had kids in high school, and all I can remember was how old fashioned my parents were. What happened?? I think I've been napping to much.

Could've been an "average Joe."

So here I sit at 3:30 in the morning after having one of those nights. No, wait...one of those weeks.

I sometimes get razzed about being a male nurse by the fellas at the fire station. (yea, Shani...you're a fella, okay!) I've heard all the jokes and the snide remarks, and most of the time I'm pretty sure I deserve it. All in all, its a fun way to make light of a job that takes an extraordinary amount of time. Maybe I should've been an average Joe, work one job and spend more time enjoying life. Every now and then there are times when I myself wonder why I took this on. Tonight is one of those times.

Over the last several nights I have been assigned one patient here in the ICU. A young mother of five. She was pretty healthy up until a few weeks ago when she went to her doctor complaining of a headache. After some "routine" tests the doctor informed her that she had cancer.

Since she is so young, she and her family decided to fight the disease. While undergoing chemo four days ago she reported her headache got much worse. Another CT revealed a small brain bleed. She was sent here to my ICU and I have had her as my only patient for three nights straight.

In the last two nights, I think I've worked harder than I ever have before. I have easily hung more blood, pushed more antibiotics, and had more IV's than I ever have before. My 12 hours shifts have become 16. I sat next to her husband last night for two hours and explained in great detail what each medicine was for and then allowed him to help me care for his wife. He told me of his love for her, and that they have known each other since the third grade. This morning as I left for a quick "nap" at home I left my patient with the anticipation of returning tonight to get her off the ventilator.

When I returned, I was met by the patient's family and the group of doctors in charge of her care. She had taken a turn for the worse. Her brain-bleed had tripled in size. The patient's husband had asked that we wait to "pull the tube" (the breathing tube) until later.

So here I sit outside a hospital room, caring for a family going through one of the most difficult and emotional times they will ever know. I have no idea why I was requested. They are an awesome family, and I admire their strength and testimony of the atonement. Throughout the night I think I've met each member of the extended family. They come in scared, apprehensive and enter a room where they say their final goodbyes to their mom, their daughter and sister. As they leave, most have stopped to smile and a few have shook my hand. The husband's father told me that his son expressed thanks for the time I took to take care of him, and not just his wife.

There are times when this job really sucks. This is not one of those times. Tonight is one when the the vails between eternity and mortality are parted, and the things of eternal worth are palpable. Seems as you can go to church every sunday and never grasp the significance of the eternal nature of the soul. For most, the sealing powers of heaven are never tested, or even questioned, until the game of life is in its final play. Ol' King Benjamin once proclaimed that this life is a time to prepare to meet God. Tonight, as a nurse, I have a front row seat, and I can't help but feel sorry that the "average Joe" misses out on premium seats like these.

Mancation

Jared and I on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California.
Jared and Grandma Joanne while visiting the haunted Winchester Mystery House in San Jose
At the fron doors of Alcatraz prison in SF bay. (Didn't see any ghosts there.)

Jared taking a quick 2.5 hour tour of the jelly belly factory. (the only place we went that was not haunted!!

Up to Speed

Alright, Now that I have some time and can devote a little more time to this blogging endeavor, lets bring everyone up to speed on life in the Allen Family. Just to let you all now I'm contemplating changing the name of this blog to something more "family friendly," since 'male nurse' is something my teenage daughter is not crazy about!! I'm still working on that aspect of the deal though.



My son, Jared and I took a "Mancation" this last spring, and I have included a few photos of our adventures. Since then, we've been really busy putting in sprinklers and a lawn at the house. Katie and I broke away for a quick trip to Wendover, NV on the annual Harley ride as well. Life is busy, but good!

Shamed into Blogging

So as you can tell from the previous posts (Which I did not create!!!) I have been shamed into blogging. Appearently, my coworkers, Shanilla and Samsqwatch, didn't take too kindly to my constant complaining that they spent too much time updateing thier respective blog sites. In a collective show of force, these two troublemakers created this blogsite and held me ransom to my own reputation!! The Nerve!!!!!!

Either way, it's probably about time that I get into this century. I have been told that the 80's are not returning anytime soon, and that I'd better either catch up to the times, or lose enough weight to fit into my parachute pants again.

So let me set the record straight once and for all...

1. Yes, I am guilty of being a male nurse. Yes, I've heard all the jokes and probably wrote a few of them myself.

2. Yes, I am a Fire Captain and a paramedic. I took the captain's test a few years ago on a dare, and somehow got promoted depite my previous efforts to derail my own career. However, karma was somehow returned since the Fire Chief gave me Shanilla to deal with. (Nothing like a taste of my own medicine to keep me humble!!!) I consider myself to have two "equally important second jobs," Firefighter and Nurse. I have only one primary career and that is as a dual-role father and husband.

3. I did not pick the music on this blog. Thank Shanilla for that. I think the Village people are great musicians but I DO NOT share their lifestyle choice. I do respect thier right to practice it, but my own experiance tells me that native americans were probably not that proficient in disco dancing.

4. I'm more of a valley dude than a mountain man. I don't have any idea where brokeback mountain is. Although it's probably in Utah County or Texas.

My first Blog entry

Hello fellow bloggers. My name is Ray or "Raymo" as I am notoriously known as. I am a Captain for Sandy Fire and a male nurse in the Neuro ICU at IMED. I love my co-workers, especially Shanilla and Samsquatch. My hobbies are running for fun(I know, LAME), male nursing, and riding my scooter, errrrr Harley which I have dubbed "Francis." I am an avid member of the Temple Riders and will hopefully be able to make a long distance ride to the Hawaiian temple. My favorite things in the world are avoiding lettuce and other like green food, and avoiding getting scared by Sam. I am just too dang old to scream like a school girl anymore! Anywhoo, I just wanted to start a blog because Shani and Sam are the coolest people I know and they have blogs. Man, I wanna be just like them. Peace out.
P.S. Hollister Haybailers ROCK!!!