How do you like me now?

I'm ready for spring.

I'm not one to complain much about the weather. Really. I do complain about some things, but generally the weather isn't one of them. But we woke to this on Saturday morning:

I feared that the bunch I'd picked the night before might be the only fruits of this year's daffodil harvest, but apparently they are hardy souls who won't let a snowfall in April rain snow on their parade, so they seem to have bounced back.

I'd say it was no small coincidence that Luke wore a Santa hat all day that day too. I would show you proof of this, but he insisted on my taking this photo instead:

Somehow a light sabre weilding skeleton doesn't scream snow or Christmas like the photo of him in the Santa hat would, but I didn't feel like arguing. Plus, I only had one free photo left on my memory card, so I didn't have room to take any extras. You see, my memory card is full so I don't know what to do now. I could save them on my computer, but I don't know how much memory a computer has or how to find out how much space all my photos from my memory card would use up on my computer. 1/100th? 1/4? I really  have no idea. So, I don't know what to do. Try to save onto a flash drive? (HOW?) And how long would that take my geriatric satellite service to accomplish? Or should I just buy a new memory card? I know it's all silly, but you might need to refer to my previous post of being technologically impaired to better understand. So clearly, my current solution of just not taking any pictures anymore until I figure this out seems to be the best alternative.

So, I'm tired of it being cold. While I should be happy as I sit here clearing the perpetual pile of papers on my desk and finishing up my laundry, I have a case of the Monday blah's. Which is not helped by the male cardinal that has been hurling his body at my back windows for the last week in a slow death march. I'm not sure if he's more intent on mating, or possibly destroying the competitor he believes he sees in his reflection, but whatever his motivations he has been at it nonstop, all day, for a week now and it is really quite depressing. When I do manage to scare him off he just reroutes his deathcapade to a window by the garage. Sad.

But before I wallow needlessly into deeper despair, I must bring to mind what a badass I really am. Or, so it seems, this certificate would imply:

And, so, dear reader, if you were able to wade your way through the snowy daffodils, suicide cardinals and paper pushing which is my everyday life, you will reach the conclusion of this rambling post.

Howdya like me now?

I just feel sort of important and boasty having this certificate. Doesn't it make you feel safer when you are with me strictly through association? Even though you have no idea why I have this certificate? Rob thinks I should frame it next to my diploma.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me explain. I am volunteering to become a CERT member of my community, which is a Certified Emergency Response Team member. What this means is that I go through about 20-30 hours of training which makes me better prepared than the average citizen in case of an emergency, be it natural, such as tornado or floods, or otherwise. I have sprayed a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire, come upon a room of "bodies" and completed a triage of sorts to determine how many victims and the extent of their injuries, and crawled on hands and knees through a smoky room determining how many victims there are (including how many dead). We have talked about the 3 main "Killers" with injuries, how to determine if someone is in shock, what the government believes you should have on hand for an emergency kit, and how to decide if a scene is safe to approach. Once the training is completed, I will also receive identification as a CERT member as well as a loaded backpack to keep in my car so I'd be prepared whenever I was called upon. This is entirely voluntary, and at any point you can choose not to assist if you are unwilling, or if your own family was affected by disaster and needed you. It's been fascinating quite frankly, and I hope that as a result, I would be more prepared in case of a disaster or accident than I would have before. On the flipside, I have a fear that upon approaching a disaster which my CERT helmet, nametag, and backpack, looking all official, that a person would think you were akin to an EMT and expect you to definitely be able to save their life, even though you are really just a level further up the knowledge ladder than your next-door-neighbor.

So that's the story and I'm sticking to it. The Department of Homeland Security thinks I'd be a real asset in times of trouble so that is what I'm going to hang my hat on on this cold spring day.