This edition of The Handover is certainly bittersweet. EMS blog carnival creator Mark Glencorse officially closed up shop at his blog Medic 999. In honor of his service to the online EMS community, we dedicate this edition to Medic 999. Best of luck to you and The Chronicles of EMS!

On-the-job downtime can be both a blessing and a curse. When it’s busy, the hours seem to whiz by; when it’s not, it drags on like one of those self-congratulating award shows.

This month we asked the EMS community what they do to pass the time. At first we thought it might be a slightly silly question—aren’t they busy saving lives 24/7? Turns out, most of the time, they are. But when the radio goes silent, and there’s not a soul to be saved, what happens to these brave folks?

When Rescuing Providence gets a “Day Off,” you’ll never guess what woodland creature he meets along the way. And, no, it’s not a great grizzly bear.

If you thought that was wild, Burned-Out Medic raises the bar (with a helpful chart – see above). Conversations with call girls anyone? Turns out BOM prefers a good book and some quality silence instead.

ParaStudent gives an hour-by-hour glimpse into his downtime includes a trip to Subway, Spike TV’s 1000 Ways to Die and a Lieutenant possibly playing the most abhorred online game ever—Farmville.

Boredom can really inspire us to do some crazy stuff. Ambulance Junkie can attest to that. He recalls snow ball fights, ambulance dances and kitchen table talks.

Need help with a crossword? Pass it over to Scott at EMS in the New Decade, who is hosting The Handover next month. He and his partner found themselves solving each puzzle faster when they worked together.

Bluegrass Medic confesses that one of his off-the-clock hobbies include MMORPGs. Say what? He tells us all about this fancy acronym and his I.T. past.

But if superhero costumes, unicycles and cheesecake are more your thing, stop by Jeramedic. He lists 14 things to do when you can’t sleep and don’t feel like working out. Hey, doesn’t yoga count as a workout? Apparently not if it’s in the park.

First-time contributor Unlimited-Unscheduled Hours gives us a peek at what downtime is like for a volunteer firefighter and a first responder, or life on the “volley side” as he calls it.

Rural EMT-B, another first-time Handover contributor, admits to habitual iPhone use, textbook browsing and TV watching during those oh-so precious calm moments.

And what some consider work, others consider downtime. Especially for No Shock Advised, who is a volunteer EMT. Each time he’s in an ambulance, he feels like it’s an escape. But from what? Well, you’ll have to read his submission to find out.

Rescue Monkey also filled us in on his downtime fun. However, his post isn’t slated to live until tomorrow. We’ll have to check it out then.

And newcomer Paramedic Pulp Fiction rounds out this months blog carnival, following the superstition: When you’re having a slow day, don’t talk about it with your partner. Why? Well, it makes perfect sense…

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Look for The Handover next month at EMS in the New Decade. Scott is picking up speed again with ‘Crisis Patients’ as the theme. Good thing we had some downtime this month to reenergize for what promises to be quite an intense topic.

(Images via Burned-Out Medic, Cannon in 2D, tarikgore1)