Dial Hell in an Emergency
One of the things that we teach the girls in Guides is first aid. It’s not a surprising thing, as when you picture Guides and Scouts you think of camping and the outdoors - activities which can, and do, result in injury.
As part of our ‘lesson’ last night, we discussed the 111 procedure. For those of you outside of New Zealand, the number to call in an emergency is 111, and while you can ring 911 and the like (I believe), 111 is the official number.
It was surprising to learn, then, that they had never been taught this is in school. These are twelve year old girls, almost teenagers, and they knew very little about what you do when you call 111. It seems that they are just informed that they call 111, and that makes everything all better. The incident with my grandmother was my first experience at calling 111 (well, talking to the operator, as Mum called first while I helped Nana breathe and put her in the recovery position), and with that fresh in my mind, it made for an interesting 111 talk with the girls.
When I asked the girls afterwards what they had learned, a number of them said “everything”. They told me that they did not learn this stuff in school, and they don’t really do much emergency stuff beyond fire drills nowadays. The only thing they really knew was that you call 111; they didn’t know what you needed to say, that you needed to keep on the line, and all the things you can get other people to do.
It’s quite sad, really. It’s a small number of girls and boys in Guides and Scouts these days, and if they’re only being taught this stuff by parents or at groups like us, how many are missing out?
Meanwhile, I think I need to really dial Hell in an emergency. I’m hungry.
I’m A Geek
Those who know me, or have read this blog before, have probably noticed that I love my Star Wars. As you can see, I own all the DVDs, and am willing to lay them out flat on my bed to take a photo of them.
I have three fave t-shirts at the moment, and one of them is a marble tee with STAR WARS on the front. I want more Star Wars tees. Because they are that awesome. Tees for the win.
While my greatest wish is to have a lightsaber - a totally pimping one - my big Star Wars memorabilia are these two Star Wars: Clone Wars character keys. So I blew my money on something my parents don’t get, these are official. There’s only 1250 in the world. They’re Kit Fisto and Shaak Ti.
They’re Star Wars. Therefore, they are made of win.
I am so not spending my 21st birthday money. I’m holding out for Armageddon. Geek time, here I come!
