Incidentally

I failed my lift test again.

Now, let me explain something really quickly. This is not because I'm a weakling slacker. I went to the gym every day for at least half an hour. I did dead-lifts, bicep curls, leg presses, sit-ups, push-ups, etc. I worked myself into a little frenzy over this, and it paid off.

I lifted 120 pounds and walked 15 feet with it like it was no big shake.
I did 5 bicep curls at 40 pounds in the amount of time it took me to do one the week before.

So what failed me, then?

My damned left hand. Grip strength did not go up, nor did it go down. It remained a steady 65 psi. I used my dad's grip strengthener every day. Apparently it takes something like 3-6 weeks to increase grip strength because you're trying to build small muscles in the hands which take longer than, say, the biceps.

So I didn't get hired. I got my TDAP vaccine, my PPD skin test, a drug test, and two two-hour round-trips for a whole lot of nothing (save a learning experience).

Was I discouraged? Yes. Was I defeated? No. Tomorrow I get an application from a different transport company, and I start over.

I know I have what it takes to do this job, and I'm determined to prove it to the rest of the world.

So, now I'm going to put away my "I can succeed" soap box and start rereading Peter Canning's Paramedic to pump myself up. I can, after all, since school is over.

Yours,
Sam