Happy New Year to everyone hope you all had a safe and enjoyable New Years Eve.  Better late than never since I've been very occupied with many things.

My New Years Eve started really mellow until I arrived at the Yacht club.  I was personally invited by a few members to join them for New Years Eve.  An offer I could not pass up especially when I haven't seen them since early this year.  This Yacht club were people from different walks of life who enjoys sailing, boating, and fishing hobbyist/enthusiast. 

We met up at the guest dock and went into the clubhouse for a few drinks.  I ran into the former bartender who was very exciting to see me. Certainly nice to see with familiar faces but had to approach diplomatically and with caution.  For this reason, she's still fragile and sensitive to her break up a few days ago. When she said "I was just thinking about you, so glad that your here," and gave me a hug, it's obvious signs of rebound.  We continued to have an optimistic conversion and went into the bar to grab a drink.  We both went to the bar and she went behind the bar counter to help out the bartender.  She introduced me to the new bartender and they poured me drink.  I offered to pay for the my drink but she's refused. So I pulled out a few bills, "please take this as a tip," and she graciously accepted my offer.  Then my buddy came by and the bartender gave him a drink.  He also tried to pay for his drink instead gave a tip. 

At 11:45 PM, "Hey we have 15 minutes before the fireworks goes off, lets haul ass," we both said see you later to everyone and rushed out the door. We ran down the towards his boat fired up his engine, removed the ropes from the guest docks, and slowly navigated towards the bay.  Once the boat reached outside the dock buoy he ripped engine to max speed and we flew across the water traveling around 30 knots (~25 mph). Fortunately, the waters were calm allow us to ride smoothly to our destination. My very first experience traveling on water across the San Francisco Bay in the middle of night where it's dark and freezing. We passed by Pier 39, there were lots of people hanging outside the piers and docks. Everyone saw us making noise and flying across the water.  They randomly shouted Happy New Year and cheering.  We responded with the same high spirits.  With only a quarter mile until we reach the Ferry building, it was only seconds left and counting until the new year.  Just around the next around the corner swarms of boats and cruise ships where surrounding the fireworks barge.  We look at the GPS clock and slowly counted down to 0.  Five explosions in the sky shape of colorful smiley faces lit up the night sky, it's New Years Day! The sight of watching the fireworks launched directly from the barge was unbelievable and specular. The fireworks explosion felt like adding a  beat to your heart. We got so close to the barge (300 yards) that alerted the police marine unit signal/flashed us to back-off. With 15 minutes into the New Year we just gazed at the sky without a worry in the world, which included freezing our nuts off in the middle of the night. 

The show had ended and we rushed back to the harbor.  Along the way, we shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" to random strangers while passing up decent size boat with passengers.  High energy and optimism just filled the dark night and cold air. 

We finally arrived back to the docks and we went back to the clubhouse bar for another drink.  This presented an opportunity to mingle and network with people. Met some interesting people indeed. One drunk fool I met act like he knew me. The bartender and I got off to a good start with good vibes. When the bar had to close up, I assisted her in kicking people out and move boxes into the stock room.  Really cool to observe behind the scene of a bar counter. 

Getting close to 3 AM and I should call it a night. My buddy and new friends (the bartender and her friend) refused to have me to drive back home.  Regardless of the fact that my alcohol intake had been spread out throughout the evening and sobering up.  We all spent the rest of the night chillaxing and eventually spending the night in a sail boat.
A decent size sail boat that could accomindate five people overnight. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get enough sleep cuz someone had to snore like a diesel engine. Too bad there wasn't a kill switch to silence him.  Nevertheless, I slept well consider the waves shifting the boat just rocks you to sleep. Woke up in the cold morning and looked out the window.  The rare sight I don't normally see everyday, calm waters and the Golden Gate Bridge up close and personal.

Ended the year with a good note and awaking to a new beginning.  The only easy day was yesterday.

This past weekend and this week has been the most action in my professional career.  Actually more like an ordeal. We are a vendor for legal services who constantly face deadlines that keeps us on edge. Our clients, mostly attorneys and paralegals are usually up our asses on when it comes getting their projects completed on time. They lack the technical understanding of the processes it takes to get their projects completed on-time with little or zero errors.  Unfortunately, projects don’t run as smooth as we anticipated.

For this reason, they brought me in as an E-Discovery (Electronic Discovery) Specialist to handle complex technical support for data processing.  All my colleagues call me “Digitals” due to the nature of the position.

When I walked into my office this past Tuesday morning my Project Manager walked out with his belongings into his SUV. He saw me and said “Hey Ray, did you hear.” – “Hear what? I just got here.” – “Well… their letting me go.” – “Are you serious?” – “It is what it is” – “I’m very sorry to hear that and its been a pleasure knowing you.” – “Same here brother.” The morning turned out as a surprise and I barely knew him less than two months.

As soon as I checked in my office the Managing Partner invited for some coffee. I hopped into his ride and he drove off to grab coffee. He personally discussed the reasons why they had to let Project Manager. They previously wanted to terminate him two weeks ago because he keeps dropping the ball failing to meet deadlines on large scale projects. In addition, he was not performing to his duties relative to his $100K/year salary and made changes that caused a good employee to resign. Most importantly failure to keep his word and didn’t accomplish the task as he says including the lack of organization.  A dark cloud for the company. This is where I lost a weekend to coordinate and supervise a team for the completion of a large scale project.

He was also concern about my well being and being freaked out due to the ordeal of terminating. Primary concerned if I plan on leaving the company. This position involves a unique and complex skill set that heavily involves technical knowledge. One newbie who they hired didn’t last a single day. Nevertheless, I continue to press on and earned the respect of my colleagues and executives based on performance.

In light of the ordeal and barely two months into my new position, they gave me a raise and by default, assumed command of our small department under directions from my director in the East Coast. New challenges and responsibilities like maintaining vital infrastructures, data management, project coordination, and other critical tasks. While moving forward and doing damage control, the owners already feel things are operating much more smoothly and organized.

Ultimately with great power comes great responsibility.

It's official, I'm a certified EMT!  I received the results from the National Registry EMT and successfully passed the exam. Once I received the certificate I will need to register with the county EMS office and take the ambulance exam. Then I'll be out on the streets as the Elite Medical Technician providing care and treatment for the fine ladies while my partner handles the left overs




Overall this has been a great experience and accomplishment. The skills, training, and education serves great a  purpose in providing prehospital care for those who are ill and vulnerable, which I find very rewarding. Being part of EMS (Emergency Medical Service) has it's perks like immunity by the Good Samaritan Law in the U.S. and Canada borders. The good samaritan doctrine as it is legally known, is a legal principle that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for 'wrongdoing.' Its purpose is to keep people from being so reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions if they made some mistake in treatment.

Just the other day on my way to a meeting, a lady asked me the time. I gladly provided her with the time. She made a comment about I'm one of the last few people who actually wears a watch. No surprise considering almost everyone in populated urban areas carries a cell phone. Obviously if your screwed when the battery craps out. A basic wrist watch has its' advantages. For this reason, I wear a watch in to accurately measure and monitor a patient's vital signs such as Heart Rate/Pulse and Respiration in case of such emergencies. Significant changes to a patient vital signs means deteriorating health cause further injury or possible death. The training and intervention are greatly emphasized to preserve life and prevent further injuries.