Faking car accidents

So, I've added being a volunteer EMT to the list of things I want to do (the list is very long, but this is slowly edging toward at least the top quarter of near-term goals). I went to volunteer fire deparment/EMS drills last night. We got to pull an "injured" manaquin from being crushed between a car and a wall. Then we "rescued" a girl (who looked to young to be driving, but, you know, in her words "My mom and dad are both firemen, so I came with them tonight, and ended up doing this") from a car carrying barrels of "hazardous" chemicals. It was really interesting to see the procedures they had for the fire department and EMT's to work together to resolve everything. I think this would be a much more rewarding community service experience than shelving books at a library..

And it was even more fun to take a ride in an ambulance without being the victim (which, a little over a year ago, was how I was last in an ambulance).

Houston, what a funny city

I really want to rant about the Olympics. I want to rant about why Houston thought they even had a chance of being picked against NYC, San Fran, and D.C. Yet, they really seriously thought that we would be picked. As a result you can read at www.chron.com how devestating it was that we were rejected. I don't really understand why Houstonians have such an obsession with making the rest of the world take notice of Houston as a cultural, beautiful, multi-ethnic town, when in reality, it mostly isn't (though it has many of its own charms, but not ones the Olympics are looking for).