The "Cone of Uncertainty"...such strong words to pretty much say one has no idea of what's really going on! This quote taken directly from the Weather Channel...while Hurricane Earl continues its path up the East Coast of the US. I certainly did not invite him to my Birthday Weekend! I find as I approach my 40th Birthday that I too am in a "cone of uncertainty" as only God knows where this year will really take me. But what a ride it's going to be! I'll stay in that cone for now...and gladly take my chances that this journey is going to lead me right where I am meant to be!
Approaching my 40th Birthday has proved to be that proverbial kick in the ass that makes a person make the changes in their life that mean something. I am intent upon making this new decade mean a whole lot to me. About time, I'd say! I have spent the best part of probably the last 3 or 4 years trying to figure out how I am going to go back to school...to finally get that Nursing Degree I started out to get back in 1988. My life has taken so many turns since then, but the roads all seem to bring me back to one place...the one thing that keeps calling me.
I ended 2009 by completing a course to become a certified Emergency Medical Technician Basic (EMT-B) in the State of Virginia. My thought - "Hey, am I crazy after all these years to honestly think I really want to be a nurse? Maybe I should do something that might give me a better idea if I am truly headed down the right path!" I have to send a thanks out to Mike McGoff here - he was my boss in 2008 at McDonald Bradley (you see how I can't call it ManTech?? ;-) Thanks to Mike for feeding the suggestion to me - knowing I wanted to do nursing again - he said "Why not join a fire and rescue department and learn to be an EMT?" Why not indeed! I took the course in Fairfax County through an adult learning program and passed the State Exam in December 2009. Whew...LOVED the course and everything I learned and continue to learn!
January I promptly joined Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. The rest is history - and seriously the catalyst I needed to get me going! YES - I do want to continue my career in health and nursing. Thank you Mike and AVFRD.
So, what does this have to do with Djibouti? Easy...spend a year in another Country, work really hard, make some great money, have no living expenses, save a bunch of cash and put myself through school when I get back! Wow - what a great idea! But Djibouti? Good grief!
If you are interested, this blog will chronicle how all this goes. The things I have done to get ready for it, and the things I will do, see, eat, and travel to while I am away. How I intend to make this all come together in 12 months of being abroad.
In the meantime, check out a couple of things to get you started on my journey:
www.paegroup.com for information about the Company I will be working for, a Lockheed Martin Company.
www.wikipedia.com and search on Camp Lemonnier for more information on the base.
And lastly, to check out the "brochure" they sent me to entice me to make the decision to join them in Djibouti, check out these photos from the base:
http://picasaweb.google.com/
Good night for now...and I'll talk to you soon!
Cheers!
Kathi
Love it! This will make me feel a whole lot better while you are gone so I can still hear all about your adventures! But for now it's just making me cry. I'm a big baby, I know. :-(
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