"What the hell is a paramedic?" ~ An Interview With Rossthefireman.

[B]Firstly, tell us the basics of rossthefireman. Who are you? Where are you? What are you doing, right now and in general?[/B]

Well where do I start..Obviously my name is Ross, and I live n a little city called Oakley, California. We are in the Bay Area becase the county the city is in is one of the nine Bay Area counties, but really we are in the Valley. I'd explain the San Joaquin Valley to you but that would be a whole other page. Right now typing this I am at work at my fire station. The fire station I work at is just down the road from my house, but my fire department is actually a district, we cover multiple cities, so I can work at a station either down the street or a station that is 20 miles away.
Im married and have a 6 month old daughter that I have proudly started threads for and showed pics. I own a home, couple cars, typical suburbanite stuff.
I like cigars and fine scotch or bourbon. I collect sports memorabilia and like to try exotic foods. Im really just your average guy.

[B]Now, to take a step back. Did you have a happy childhood? Are there any pivotal memories or experiences you had back in your younger years that have an impact on how you live your life or perceive things now, as an adult?[/B]

I actually had a pretty damn good childhood. My parents are still married , going strong for 33 years. My father was a firefighter also (he has since retired) and my mother works for a school. My parents were strict, and I was a little rebel growing up (I am the oldest of three boys), but they taught me evreything I know about how to be an adult.
The one experiance I had wasnt just one, but and overall experience that you should be there for your children. No matter how much my parents worked, they were always there for us. Back in the day firefighters didnt really make all that much money, so my dad always worked a side job, but they never missed a football or baseball game growing up. And believe me it got tough with three boys playing sports, but my parents were always there, and thast hoqw I am going to be for my daughter.

[B]Do you have any long-standing phobias? What are they, and do you know how they came to exist?[/B]

Here is a good one. I have a slight fear of wide open space. Not really agoraphobia, thats actually different. But when I am in a really wide open empty space, I get weirded out. Strange huh? I have no idea how I got it.

[B]If you were to describe the plot of your life in terms of movie, which one would it be? Which character would you be?[/B]

Seriously, and I know this will sound lame, but it was like 'Swingers' was made about my life and frineds. Bars , clubs, beautiful babies, frieds looking for jobs. Mix that with a little 'Ladder 49' and thats about my life in a nutshell.

[B]Most protagonists have an event occur in their lives that alters their course and changes everything. What is the most significant event that has occured in your life so far?[/B]

Having a child. When you do, everything is different. Well at least it should be. The day she was born it was like 'Holy fuck, I am responsible for something else besides my dumb ass'
Its cliche, but you do look at things differently. I took stock of my life. Dont get me wrong though, I still do some pretty crazy ass shit at work, but Ive toned it down alittle.

[B]You're a fireman. Well, at least I like to assume you are. What was it about it that made you decide to pursue it as your career? Would you recommend it?[/B]

Growing up I never wanted to be a firefighter. That was my dads job. I was thouroughly convinced all the way until I was 17 years old that I was going to play third base for the Oakland Athletics. But girls, cars and parties got in the way of a future in baseball ( I wont brag about my playing exploits, but lets just say I did pretty well around these parts)
I then went to community college after high school with the full intention of transfering to Cal Berkley and getting a degree in archaeology (my other love). Many of my professors at the community collge in the anthropology dept were all professors at Cal and did this as a side gig.
Well one day I pulled one of the professors aside and asked her 'Can I make a living doing archaeology?', she flat out told me 'No, thats why I teach'. She then explained to me that many archaeologists either teach or work at museums just to get by.
Talk about a kick in the nuts, I wanted to be Indiana fuckin Jones! Not some douche in a museum. I also needed to get out of the grocery business, because being a checker at a grocery store sucked ass.
So I went to my parents house and asked my dad about being a firefighter. I was about 20 a the time. He then asked "why do you want to know about being a firefighter" I said "well you like your job, and Im not gettin anywhere, so I figured I might give it a shot'
I shit you not, I have never seen a person so dumbfounded in my life, let alone my father.
He then told me to take the intro class at the community collgee first to see if I even liked it and that if I really wanted to be a firefighter that I needed to be a paramedic.
I then asked him "What the hell is a paramedic?" the rest is history.
I do and dont recommend the job. Some people have no business trying to get into this line of work, and some people are made for it. If you really want a rewarding job with good benifits and your not afraid of doing hard, dirty ,hot work, then go for it! Otherwise go do something else.

[B]What was it that made you want to join The Cult? Did you lurk around, reading conversations, before you joined? Did you see something you liked in the senior members?[/B]

Like most of the board memebers, I saw Fight Club. I had no idea it was a book.
On of my friends went and saw Fight Club in the theaters because it had 'fight' in the title. He is a brutish Canadian, but a hell of a best friend. After he told me I absolutley had to see this movie and that it wasnt even about fighting. I blew it off. About a year later I was sick and rented some movies, and I had my girlfriend (who became my wife) go pick them up, she got Fight Club, I watched it with her, and it was like a revelation occured to me. The next day I bought the movie. Over the next couple years I would watch it and marvel at how great this movie was. Then one day I was putting the DVD in and decided to actually read the box it came in. Thats when I saw it was based on the novel by Chcuk. I wnet to B&N the next day and saw that not only was there FC, but he had other books. I bought them all. Then I saw in one of the sleeves [url]www.chuckpalahniuk.net[/url]. Cool , the dude has a website, Ill check it out when I get home.
I did not expect to see this, this Cult, when I typed in that url. I expected a little bio by the author and a web store, maybe a couple pics. What I found here blew me away. And then when I looked at the message board, I saw that there were people who thought like me, who had macarbe senses of humor, who in general were the biggest bunch of rag tag internet nuts cases I have ever come across. I immediatly joined the fray.

[B]How important is The Cult to you in your everyday life? What has The Cult offered you?[/B]

I dont really know in the grand sceme of things that this is really important, but I love this place, so I keep coming back. There are plenty of web site I used to go to, only to abandon them later because of stupid crap. This place is just awesome, so i keep coming back, so yeah I guess it is kinda important (but I do hang out on a softball site also)
[B]
Do you see yourself ever writing, or attempting to write, the Great American Novel?[/B]

Yes I do, but after I write a story, I usually dont like it later on, and I shelve it. Chuck actually advised me to save them , tweak them later, and use them for a new story.
Right now though, Im more worried about fininshing the landscaping in my backyard.

[B]Finally, your autobiography. What is it called?[/B]

'The life and times of a guy who tried not to get killed by stupid people'