I need to start going to bed earlier.

I finally started officially unpacking my boxes and bags from both school and my old room, and then stopped when everything was out. Not put away, just out. So the room's still a tad messy, and oddly enough, more echo-y. But anyway - my little sister has been bothering me for the past couple days to use my computer. I kept telling her no, she kept asking, yadayada. Just now, I noticed that the AIM box was still up, with her screenname on it. The little stinker had remembered to get offline, but not to close down the AIM box. Caught red-handed, she is.....and she would have gotten away with it, too. Always cover your tracks.

I decided to sell my soul back to the Lake, and take on two jobs this summer. I was at Orientation for Lake Compounce today for a few hours, which was when my sister must have seized the opportunity. But I digress - working two jobs with no car is going to be a neat trick. I don't want to let either of them down - I can see the scheduling nightmares now. My re-cert class (for the Ellis certification - that's the one for the waterpark, NOT red cross) starts tomorrow night. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to pooltime. I miss swimming laps and playing with rescue tubes. Plus, this class is better than the Red Cross one. It teaches you how to be a lifeguard, rather than making sure you can half-ass a couple basic skills. I could go on awhile about the differences between the two, but does anyone really care but me (and possibly the people I work with)? Well, it's my blog, so if I ever get bored and take the time to make that list, you can just skip it.
Here's what it would look like:

A rescue tube is:

Ellis & Associates - A water-safety flotation device that can be utilized in a number of ways to facilitate safe aquatic rescues.

Red Cross - A floaty red thingie that's fun to stand on, but you're supposed to keep it wrapped neatly and out of your way.

You're on stand and you see a child in your area struggling keep himself afloat in deep water. What do you do?

E & A: Two long whistle blasts and E-stop if applicable, compact jump in, get the kid to safety using whatever technique works best. Call for assistance if necessary.

RC: Notice child with your peripheral vision, determine if child is A) a swimmer, B) a distressed swimmer, C) an active drowning victim, or D) a passive drowning victim. Once you've determined the child's status by carefully observing his arm movements (or lack thereof) and body position, run through your FIND model to make a decision. When you get to the D (for Decide) part, blow your whistle. Determine which jump to use to enter the water, again using FIND model if necessary. Make sure to run through the RISK factors, whatever that is. Once you reach the child, grasp him from behind using the rear hold. If you have to swim around him in order to approach from the back, that's ok. Those few extra seconds won't really mean much. If he grabs onto you when you're not ready, perform an escape and try again. Here I'd like to point out the stupidity of the rear approach - the poor kid can't see you when you grab him. But I digress - swim the kid to the side.

Do you see some holes in the RC approach? Some of their techniques need refining. Ellis has the refinement already built in. Their philosophy is "make it work", not "am I doing this right?" Not to say Ellis doesn't stress technique - it stresses the flexibilty of technique.

Ok, I'm done. I'm going to go to bed, or at least get a piece of cheese.