2016 Wrapup

Hello! It's been a long while since my last post, but I have been very busy and accomplished my major task on December 29th, 2016. I passed my national registry exam for MRI with an 85. This means that I'll be able to work anywhere in the United States as an MRI technologist. My end goal is to work at the VA providing veterans with first class care and compassion. This last test is by no means the last step in my education, as my field requires continuing education. I have jokingly told Sweetheart that I would like to get a degree in history, and add another piece of paper to my office wall. A good friend and I will be taking our  HAM radio license this year. Now, I can study for fun stuff!

The kids are growing fast. The Doctor had his first real haircut after Christmas, and lost his curls. He is two and a half, and his vocabulary is exploding. He knows most of his colors and shapes, and figures things out rather too quickly like moving the chair to reach things that he wants. We are hoping that this is an indication of his intelligence.

Red Ant with Pincers, our eight year old, has enrolled in martial arts, or Marshal's Art if you have Red Ant tell ya. He has show an interest for over a year through his after school program, and it was time to officially find him a Dojo to advance his skills. The Sensei is very good with kids, and doesn't nickle and dime the parents like ATA. Red Ant is currently being tested for the Talented and Gifted program for his school district for scoring in the 95th percentile on an abstract intelligence test given to all 2nd graders.

Row has been growing by leaps and bounds and stands at my shoulders now. He is still making all A's and made the Principal's List (again!) by the first semester. Only a few students make the list each quarter. He still shows a natural adapt at art, and encourage him to explore new formats.

Sweetheart and I will continue to co-lead our church's Dave Ramsey program to help people get out of debt and handle their finances. Sweetheart stills runs marathon and half marathons, and I'll be adding more movement to my lifestyle for a healthier me. The future of this blog will be less frequent, as I direct my energy towards more substance. I've got a series of posts in the think tank about long term hoarding, as Pioneer Preppy calls it. I'll also be doing another review for Ammo To Go on a battle pack of ammunition.

The dynamics of prepping haven't changed since a new President will be taking the reins this month, so now is not the time to become complacent. The fundamentals of our economy aren't any better, and the world seems to be spiraling into continued madness.

Keep Right On Prepping - K and Family

Walking In May

It is official. I took my final exam on Wednesday for Emergency Management and will finish the course with a B. I also stopped in to see my professor about my MRI practicum and ended the course with 98%, so I'll finish an A.

I now have my BSRT (Bachelor of Science in Radiological Technologist). I'll walk in May of 2016 with High Honors.

For my long time reader, the last graduation was for my Associates Degree [95 hours] for RT.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Week Four

This is the topic of my Emergency Preparedness class at my local university. It's an graduate level course and I'll be doing random posts about the course throughout the semester. Let me know if you'd like more...

There are two important terms in Emergency preparedness: mitigation and preparedness.

Mitigation is a means of reducing or eliminating the impact from a disaster while preparedness is the state of readiness to respond to a disaster.  A good analogy would be getting out of debt for a financial crisis (mitigation) and having a few months worth of cash at home (preparedness).

Preparedness Cycle:

Step 1. Planning- creating a risk assessment to plan for the most likely disaster to happen in your area. A hurricane plan for those in Florida would be a good start, but no so much if you live in North Dakota. 

Step 2. Organization and Equipment- In keeping with the hurricane scenario, you would want to have sheets of plywood pre-cut for your windows, food, water, medicine, battery powered lamps,etc...

Organization could be as simple as keeping all your supplies in the same area of the garage or a detailed plan on who in the family goes to the grocery store, who puts up the plywood, and who would collect all of the wind blown items in the yard before the hurricane makes landfall.

Step 3. Training- This might include teaching the kids how to turn off the gas line to the house, how to light the gas grill, or teaching the spouse how to assist in the placing of the plywood over the windows. Training = Knowledge.

Step 4. Exercise-  This could be as simple as a mock evacuation or a weekend living without power to test the first three steps and identifying any shortfalls. Did we store enough water? Did we forget the spare batteries for the lamp? How are we going to flush the tiolet or how to go to the bathroom? How is the dog gonna do his "business"?

Step 5. Evaluation and Improvement- This final step in the preparedness cycle takes the lessons learned and applies them to future processes. The bulk of your knowledge will come from exercising the plan and actual disaster experience.

Keep Right On Prepping  - K

Rounding It Out

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. I've finished up this crazy semester of eleven hours, working full time, rental house, and family life. I did fairly well academically. I got 100% in my Current Issues in Healthcare, which was an exercise in free-style ranting writing. I felt that it was wasted money for a three hour course, but it did help my GPA and I got to spew my thoughts on a whole new crew of people. My MRI procedures class is finished, and I'm waiting for her to grade my "senior thesis". My senior thesis was a twelve page APA-style paper on epilepsy. I've also extended my MRI practicum into the summer, since a few of the protocols we don't do at work such as: adrenals, MRA of venous system of brain, gallbladder, liver, and other abdominal organs. I'll need to provide slave labor at a university sponsored hospital to collect all of the necessary routines for the MRI class.

The boys are doing well. Red Ant has earned his door back. The Doctor is 9 months old and walking around the couch and coffee table....He'll be walking on his own before ten months! Row, my brilliant third grader, is reading on a seventh grade reading level, and doing math on a fifth grade level. It is kinda bitter sweet to think that my nine year old is reading above the national reading average.

Prepping has been on a stand still. No new progress to report or cool gear to review. The doctor's food, formula, and diaper budget has pretty much taken care of any extra money.

Sweetheart and I have been co-leading a Dave Ramsey class at church. I'm loving teaching other people to get prepared for financial emergencies. Let's face it. Everyone will have money trouble, and learning how to get out of debt, and stay on a budget is the best way to protect you and your family.

Enjoy the customary photo with each post....

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Infrequent Posts

How the time passes without a thought or care. It's been way too long since my last post, and a hat tip to those that are able to post every day! I certainly have good intentions to post every day....

 Row finished the Little Rock Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday through his school. They log 12.1 miles at school during PE and after school events to qualify for the last leg of the race. The Little Rockers have kids from all over the state finish there last mile on the actual Little Rock marathon course. Row was really pumped to finish course. The morning was very cold and sleet fell for about an hour while we were downtown.

After watching people at the event, and seeing how they acted and especially dressed for the weather. the first cold winter is going to be a major killing event. I'd say probably about 5% of the people at the race were properly prepared to be outside more than a day, let alone overnight. There were quite a few women that looked good shivering from hypothermia.

While we were in the Little Rock area, I got to try out the Arkansas Armory . I give this place my stamp of approval. I got to talk to the owners,a husband and wife team, and they have done an excellent job on running their range. The store is well stocked and reasonably priced. The male to female ratio was about 50-50, which is nice to see. Actually, the female market is probably an under served gun market in most areas of the United States. The range is small, with six lanes and 25 yards long. As a reloader, I was very happy that I could collect my brass, and any other that happened to roll my way. Heck, next time I show up, I'm bringing my dustpan and small broom.  Revolver, we gotta make the time and go soon!

Keep Right On Prepping - K

  

Into The Rut We Go

I had our monthly meeting with the Radiography Group last Sunday, and Ioshua got onto me for not posting in such a long time. Truth be told, I've sat down a few times, but just didn't feel the need to post about Christmas and the daily routine. My wife also pointed out that any regular readership that I have will probably lose interest if I don't post on a regular basis. So....

I used some of my Christmas money to purchase a Faberware Yosemite Stovetop Percolator.

As a twenty plus year veteran of the restaurant industry. I will highly recommend this item. The stainless steel is very thick, and the spindle sits tightly within the percolator. It works like a champ, but remember to turn it down a little after it begins to perk. So, if the power goes out for any period of time, Sweetheart and I will have hot coffee to warm ourselves. Anyone that has followed us knows we love our coffee. The only negative that I can talk about is that the coffee needs to be put into a thermal carafe after brewing. We already have one with our other coffee maker, so no addition purchases necessary.

I'm taking 11 hours this semester. Current Issues In Healthcare, which is a BS class to tell the truth, is an easy A. 8 discussion questions, and a 4 page final  is the entire class course. I've already posted 5 discussion questions within the first two weeks, and plan on having this course put to bed before January 31st, except for the paper and the three responses per discussion. I can write those at a snail's pace over the course of three months, and concentrate on MRI procedures. The third class is the MRI practicum, and I'm able to double dip with my job. Getting paid to do clinicals is the way to go!!! I will have to go a hospital to complete some of the more obscure exams though.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

In The Home Stretch

I've finished my Interventional Radiology I course with an....

Iosua and I are studying the flashcards that I made from the quizzes. We both need about 90 something points to get a B. After dinner, we studied in the dining room and expressed the same sentiment, we're okay with a C in Geriatric Imaging because it'll still weigh out to a 3.0 GPA.

Santa was able to find the Nerf LongStrike gun for Red Ant. He'll be so excited. He has talked about this gun for over a year, and Ant is absolutely sure that Santa is gonna bring it for him. He's right.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

What's Happening In my Woods

School - I'm buckling down for finals next week. I'll have a stack of Geriatric Imaging flashcards higher than a tallboy by the time I'm done on Sunday evening. I usually do pretty well on her tests, considering I only have to memorize about 700 quiz questions, of which she'll ask 100 or more. I need a 91% or higher to claim a B in her class. I'm happy with that, considering that listening to her lectures is like running over broken glass and the amount of time that I invested.

What's the correct answer? Answer at bottom of post.

My other class, Intervascular Radiology I, is going well. I have a 95%, and hope to keep it after the final exam. I want to graduate with High Honors for my Bachelor of Science in Radiography.  The eleven page study guide has been complete for a few days, and shared with my study mate.

Silver - I went to my local coin shop on Saturday when silver was at $15.50/ounce and asked for 4 Silver Eagles. "How about $100?" I mentioned to him that we had an agreed upon price of $5.00 over spot, that he had agreed to about four months ago. He kind of chuckled and said that he wouldn't be able to cover what he bought it for. "With the money that I'm paying you today, you can reorder at today's prices to replenish your stock and still make a profit." Then out of nowhere, a co-worker told me that they "don't make sales based on spot prices." I told them that it was their choice, collected my cash, and walked out the door. It looks like I'll be hitting the pawn shops for the junk silver now.

Work - I am officially out of the probation phase at work. The senior tech has been very good about teaching me, and helping with my technique. We'll sit down about once a week, and go over my scans, and assess them for quality control. The only down side to the job is that the senior tech is on medication for bipolar disorder. While he handles it pretty well, and we get along, I can see why it is hard for them to keep an evening MRI tech. The office manager has been very pleased, and has told me that this is the best situation that they have had in a long time. My review was glowing: "K came with little MRI experience. He learned so much and will continue to improve. He is an asset...K is a very quick learner." 

Kids - The Doctor is starting to sleep longer at night. The last two nights he has gone from 9pm until 5am, and the long period of sleep is a welcome to both Sweetheart and Myself. We alternate getting up to feed the Doctor, and it has worked out rather well.

Row is doing great in school, and making new friends :-)


Red Ant is making great strides in learning to read, and is making all A's in school. He has his heart set on a discontinued Nerf gun (that is selling for about $300 on Amazon) from Santa. He might get something pretty close.

Nerf Longstrike

We are also picking an ornament from the school Christmas tree, to buy a gift for a less fortunate student. Our church also does a secret Santa program for parents that need a little help buying presents for their kids. Sweetheart and I both agree that this is a great cause to invest our money into.

Prepping - We haven't done much in the way of continuing our preps. Little by little, I charged about $4000 on a credit card when I wasn't fully employed. We have gotten serious about eliminating that monthly bill, hence the prepping money has been on the back burner. I am still looking out for good deals at the grocery store though. We found our favorite coffee on sale for $3.99 (usually $6.99) and bought 8 bags. It won't go to waste.

Ammo - I am officially declaring the ammo shortage over. After two years, I found 22LR at the local Chinamart.

Limit 3 boxes. I bought 3

The answer to the quiz is e. All except d

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Why Parents Need To Be Involved In Their Kid's Education

We were loading up the car to get the kids to school and I asked Row and Red Ant if they knew what yesterday was...

K: Do y'all know what today is?
Row: Yeah! They were talking about it in school yesterday.
K: Okay, what's today?
Row: (smiling) It's Vegetarian Day!!!
K: Uhh, no. It's Veteran's Day. It's when we honor all the people that have served our country. 

Thank you for all that have sacrificed and served our country. Our family appreciates you.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Indicators?

Row and Red Ant are going to the same school, and the Doctor is in daycare, so there seems to be a constant appeal for donations. "It's for the kids." But really, what kind of message is the school system sending to our kids. "All you have to do is ask for something, and someone will give it to you. You don't have to work or earn it." This is my problem and how they ask for donations.

At our house, it was either we can go to the fair OR we can go to a movie, but not both. We just didn't have the money. We couldn't (well we could have) just ask people to pay for our parking, admission, fair rides, and food.  I guess that I could have made a cardboard sign that says "Liberals wanted to pay for our tickets and popcorn! It's for the kids."


Mind you, I don't mind donating, when we have the funds and for the right cause. For example, Red Ant's class has a goody box that needs resupplying and they ask for donations. The students get to pick one item from the goody box for good behavior and good grades. No problem. The kids work for a goal and are rewarded...no problem donating for that cause.

On the other hand, Row's teacher wanted parents to send snacks for the "kids that can't afford them" so that they'd have something to eat. Nope. The kid's parents need to explain to them that they can't afford snacks because of the choices that they have made in life. We got another email from Ms. S, that she had spent $30 on tickets for three kids that didn't have the money to pay for a field trip, and was hinting around for reimbursement. Again, the kids need to stay at school while the others go on the field trip.

If the school wants to raise money, then do a car wash. Don't stand by the car pool lane with a bucket.

I know that a lot of this seems harsh, but life isn't very pretty. Do we really want to raise kids to expect someone to provide for them [edit; besides their parents] or should we expect our kids to work hard, study, and be rewarded for good behavior? I do believe in the school lunch program, and SNAP benefits for kids, because let's face it. People don't always do the right thing, and the children shouldn't go hungry.

Anyways, I'm stepping off my soapbox.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Updates

I got the call today about my MRI interview, and they decided to go with someone else. I'm sure that my lack of experience was a huge factor in the decision, but she really didn't go into too much detail. While I'm a little disappointed, I know that there is something else for me to do in the world. I'm currently working on that this week. More to be discussed about this at a later time.

If my current job hunt doesn't pan out, then I'll work at McDonalds. Okay, not really, but you get the idea. I'd rather work at minimum wage than take any kind of public assistance. Heck, we probably wouldn't qualify anyways...I guess that kinda makes me an uncommon variety.

Row and Red Ant have been keeping the secret a secret. I thought Red Ant had let it slip, by saying that next Father's Day we would have four Dads in the house. That night at prayers, he referred to the baby as a "she". So, I don't have a clue. Obviously, he is either toying with us or forgotten the sex of our third child.

The projects around the house have been slowly, and steadily getting done. The limiting factor has been money to purchase materials for some of the remaining projects. Hence, the hurry up for getting a J-O-B.

My senior level classes will be beginning in August, and I've been enjoying the down time. I'm hoping that it will be a smooth transition back into student mode when my classes start back in the fall.

The rent house has been rented to a nice single mother, and she is loving our old home. We are getting the last of our utility bills this month from our old house, and it'll take a lot of stress off of our budget. We need to save at least a few grand for repairs, just in case anything happens when something breaks.

Overall, things are going well. I'm hustling for work and Sweetheart is constantly hot and sweating. Her due date is August 14th, and she made the comment that she was happy the last two were due in the winter. Red Ant and Row are enjoying the Summer Camp at their elementary school, taking some pretty cool classes, and trekking to interesting places for field trips.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Study Guide Mania & Job Hunting

Our study group decided to work on a study guide for the national registry, and we have been working on it for about 2 weeks. It has blown into a 110 page 1.2 MB monster, and we are about 75% done. One of our classmates has his test on the 26th, so I'll spend a lot of time this weekend working on getting it completed. We will have it professionally printed and bound at our local copy shop. It's looking like it might cost about $25 per copy. Ideally, our plans are to have it as a reference guide for our ten year board recertification.

I got a call from a job contact that wanted to know more information me. The MRI position is strictly Monday through Friday with no weekends or call. I'm hoping that God has plans for me at this job,because it sounds perfect.

Gotta get back to the books...

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Update: I have an interview on Wednesday at 8:00am :-)

Cool Clouds

I took this cloud pciture after stepping out of a shop this afternoon. It was just too cool to not put on the blog.

"Known as mammatus clouds, these strange, pouchy formations often occur in association with a thunderstorm. They have been seen in lots of places, including the midwestern United States.
“They are some seriously weird looking clouds,” said cloud physicist Patrick Chuang.
But scientists do have some theories about mammutus clouds. Another cloud physicist, Daniel Breed of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, says buoyancy and convection of air is the key.
“They’re kind of like upside-down convection,” Breed said.
Convection is like a buoyant bubble, he said. In mammutus clouds, evaporation causes pockets of negative buoyancy as it cools the air inside the cloud. This makes the clouds puff downward instead of up like cumulus clouds, and they end up being like upside-down bubbles." (source:wired)

Keep Right On Prepping- K

Yesterday's Crawfish Boil

Yesterday our class had the annual crawfish boil for graduates. The food was tremendous, and the fellowship was awesome. In a way it was kind of sad, because a few of the people pictured won't be walking at graduation today. This was probably the last time that I'll see a few of them after 22 months of intense schooling. We even had two people that dropped out of the program join us through invites.

In a way, I'm happy to graduate, but sad that we won't be such a close knit, sometimes dysfunctional family. We've gotten to know one another like long time co-workers. I'm proud to be graduating with this great bunch of people.

Staff and students enjoying the feast.

 
One of my four piles, and of course a beer.

I was also given a male baby shower by my classmates. Joel, is pictured behind the stack of wipes and diapers. My buddy got me the craft beer, thanks JH! I also got a few gift cards, and was told to spend them on myself because they know that my allowance goes to the boys or food.

JH and his award winning pile of crawfish carcasses.

FYI: A camelback can hold five beers. It was pondered if doing a head stand with a camelback was considered a keg stand?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

 

I bought these for my Sweetheart this morning as a Thank You.

"Even though the spotlight will be on me today, you deserve all of the credit. Without you, none of this would have been possible - Always my Love - K"

Stress Reducer

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Old Brain and Information - Part II

Scored 80/81 pts in 8 minutes.

I got a few dropped jaws and sneers as I walked out. I also finished the class with a A (once it gets rounded up!) More importantly, I got a fist bump from my friend and study buddy.

Yesterday's final exam was Sectional Anatomy (think CT scans) and I scored 100% on it. Didn't matter except that I kept my B for the class.

Tomorrow is Quality Management then drinks with the class.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Old Brains and Information

It takes a lot of flashcards to pound the information into my head. Probably close to 400 for my Pathology test on Tuesday.

Keep Right On Prepping -K

Good News In The Mail

I got this today:

I'll be graduating with High Honors ( GPA >3.625)  :-)

Keep Right On Prepping -K

Strong Finish

I'll be out of pocket for at least two weeks while I finish up school and buckle down for finals and Graduation. I"ll probably only be posting a few pictures...take care and Keep Right On Prepping - K

School & A Secret

The boys have been champs and have kept the little brother or little sister a secret. I've got to hand it to Wolfman, he just might be the only one to have correctly guessed the correct outcome.

I haven't written about school in a while, and it has been a little easier this semester since I'm not taking an additional course. That being said, I have been extremely busy with life. The new house, and rent house have been a constant source of projects.

I finally finished all of my comp requirements for graduation today. I got my trauma cervical spine and trauma upper extremity today. I still have to do a final comp on a spine, and I'll be happy to leave clinicals with a B. I'll explain a little but more. I don't get to pick put what my final comps are, that is the job of the adviser. Happy,happy,joy,joy, and I got a knee. The front to back x-ray is easy, but the lateral x-ray is akin to cleaning for an OCD schizophrenic. The slightest rotation and it doesn't pass.

FAIL!

I did two x-rays and both failed, and I was put into remedial classes. That means that I have to do two good x-rays, then I can proceed to try again. Well, it took me about 6 weight bearing knees to get the two good laterals. Finally, I was ready, and I get an overweight lady with absolutely no bony landmarks in the knee area. So, I progress to skills class that means I have to get 3 signatures from the rad techs, and then 3 signatures from the advisers (when they show up for final comps). If I blow the next two images, I can get washed out of the entire program.

So, I will happily graduate with a B in clinicals, and still graduate with high honors (GPA < 3.625).

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Pass!