OY! Meetings from hell this week. Meet this, meet that. I am wearing too many frickin’ hats!
Anyway, lots of stuff to share when I get a breath. Great ride along this week, funny happenings, updates on my nose problem, blah blah blah.
Of course, I’m in a meeting right now. I’m sneaking a quick post in on my break.
Hope all are well.
Today was meetings from hell. Productive meetings but OMG were they long. My first started at 9:00am. Yes, you guessed it, very early for me. I usually roll out of bed around 10/10:30 since I work the swing shift. A one hour meeting meant to sort of introduce our local union officers to the new director turned into 4 hours. All productive but much much longer than anticipated. Of course, this ruined any chances of getting to my chiropractor appointment. I called and delayed it and then finally had to cancel. As soon as one meeting ended, I was due in a Phase 4 meeting involving classroom training for dispatchers not yet trained on the new dynamic deployment for the fire department. I didn’t really need to be there as I already instruct the classes in question but it was a good refresher. I’m loathe to admit I did learn a few things. I finished just in time to start my regular shift. Being Friday, of course it was busy as hell. I ended the night w/not one but two 187’s (homicides).
This is one day, I’m glad to see come to an end. I’m at home now with my feet propped up catching upon Tivo.
Ok, so after a flurry of emails/comments regarding my last post, I feel the need to clarify.
No, I am not happy people die or get sick. Nor do I take joy in it. Howver, people die every day. In my line of work, I’m bound to see it and often. If you thought that I was rejoicing in someone else’s loss for even a moment, I suggest you read here more often. I do however, take joy in learning a new job skill. Especially one that I enjoy. My enthusiasm is borne from a desire to help those around me. Duh!
One particular email compared me to Satan which I find HIGH-larious. First of all, if the mythical hell really did exist, I’m sure the gays would move in, fix it up, make it hip and then all the straights would want it again. As if.
For the rest of you, yes he lived. I rarely know the outcome of my patients however, I happened to know one of the interns so she emailed me. It was a clot, as suspected, and it was successfully removed. The patient has already moved to standard care bed and will be out of the hospital soon.
Remember the tweaker chick I told you about? Apparently, she got one fix too many. She ran out in front of a muni bus. Witnesses in the area said she was yelling that gaint bees where chasing her. She is no longer w/us. Still think meth is fun?
I worked a double yesterday. And let me just tell you, I was a tired nelly come the end of my day. Oy! Sixteen hours, 8 on the ambulance and 8 in the call center. It didn’t help that I only got 5 hours sleep the previous night. But I made it thru ok. Today, I’m back to my normal chipper self.
I had the oddest dream last night. I was racing on my motorcyle. NO, that isn’t the odd part. The odd part was I was naked. It seemed pefectly normal in the dream though. Odder still, I was racing and yet working on the engine at the same time. Somehow, I was able to be on the bike one sceond and then next to it working on it all at the same time. It gets better. I kept bumping my willy on the tailpipe somehow. I can’t really describe it as it doesn’t make sense now. I just remember thinking “why doesn’t it burn?” Weird huh?
I can’t help but think it was somehow related to my last patient yesterday. I’m on the ambulance and we arrive onscene at a gas station. Chica had locked herself in the bathroom, stripped all her clothes off and was tweaking out of her gourd. She kept seeing blood everywhere it wasn’t. She’d just had her fix and was freakin’ the fuck out. We finally get her dressed in the back of the ambulance. But once she discovered we didn’t have any meds for her, she promptly hopped out of the back and trodded off.
What kind of weird dream have you had lately?
Speaking of over exaggeration, you’d think I was dead from all the phone calls and text messages I got from out of state friends. We had an earthquake tonight north of the city by about 70 miles. The aftershocks were felt all the way to the city. While stronger than the normal tremors we get, nothing earth shattering (pun intended).
For those of you who have no idea what it’s like living thru an earthquake, it is much like any natural phenomenon. 
You get thru it. People live thru torrential rains, floods, tornados, hurricanes, and yes, earthquakes. Surprise!
Our building is one of the newest city buildings and it’s on rollers so we have sort of a wave affect. We’ve actually taken to standing up and doing a human wave across the room. You laugh but it is a very effective way to relieve tension.
So to all my peeps out in blogland, never fear, I is still here. (and yes I know it’s not good grammar bitches.)
Today was not a pleasant day. An officer was killed in the line of duty early this morning. To say that we are all sad from the loss is an understatement.
In my line of work, I see death on a daily basis. However, it becomes that much harder when it is one of our own. Most of you know I do not see death as an end.
I didn’t personally know the officer but I worked w/him often. He was a good guy who tried to make a difference. We are diminished as a whole w/o him. But, we will carry on in his memory.
Rest in peace my friend. You light is gone from this world but we take comfort that your light will go on.
So the new bike broke down today. I think it’s my fault. Only time will tell. Right after I bought it, I dropped it one day and broke the end off the clutch handle. It was still functional but I decided to replace it. In the process, I may have messed up a monitoring mechanism that protects the bike from starting in higher gears. Long story short, I may have broken that mechanism unknowingly while replacing the clutch handle.
The bike worked fine right after so I’m surprised it took so long to stop working. I rode it several times through out the day after the repair. It’s under warranty and the dealer is looking at it right now. Of course, this means I’m back to riding the scooter till it’s fixed. I’ve been storing the scooter at work and I went down today to warm it up. I laughed out loud after it started up. I’ve gotten so used to the roar of my baby the scooter sounded almost comical. I’m not too proud though. It served me well for 3 years. A couple more days won’t hurt.
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Today is my last day on a 4/10 shift. I’m back to regular 5/8’s with Sunday/Monday’s off. While I enjoyed the extra day off, I’m looking forward to switching back. I’ll have more time during the day to get to the gym and errands.
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An anonymous commentor sent me a nice email today. A bit repetitive but very kind nonetheless. I’m flattered at the thought of giving others inspiration.
Moby – you astound me with your ability to balance the mundane details of your life against your constant revelations. I admire [you] very much and want you to know that you do inspire others. You give the rest of us inspiration to keep going.
Thank you Anon. I don’t claim any moral high ground. I’m just trying to stake out my claim to life and what works for me. I offer my struggles up for examination to give perspective. I’m happy it helps.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Here we see yours truly ready to start the day. (Or as ready as I’m ever gonna get. *g*) I don’t wear a uniform or have to dress up. I wear “civies” or civilian clothes. Usually, just tshirt and jeans. Thankfully, we aren’t required to dress up. It’s pointless, especially on days when you pull a 12 hour shift. A lot of agencies do require uniforms of the polo shirt variety. However, we would much rather spend said monies on better salaries/retirement for employees first. There may come a day when we ear uniforms but not anytime soon.
When given the time, we might check out the gym. It’s tiny by any standard but when you need a break from the drama, it comes in handy, yes indeedy! I forget who donated the TV and DVD player but it helps. We also have a very small washroom with one washer/dryer set. We have to pay but it’s on 50¢. Doesn’t work for me at all due to only having the motorcycle. For some it’s a godsend.
I’m not sure how I find anything in my locker but I manage. It usually varies from week to week. Often times, it’s crammed full of training materials. I’ve managed to offload most of my instruction booklets on the training department. They keep’em in much better shape than I do. What you don’t see is the full dressing room. We also have showers. They come in handy during long hours or emergency mobilizations. Recently, they’ve installed frosted shower curtains. Frankly, I don’t care to see the folks I work w/naked, even thur frosted plastic. eeeek!
Your tax dollars at work! Actually this is a skit. I’m always ragging my buddy Terris about his antics so we took this shot as a spoof. I can’t really take pics of the dispatch floor. I have security clearance to be in the room but, the state frowns on pictures that might reveal sensative info. This will have to be your floor view.
Of course, being a union rep, I have to stop by the bulletin board every day to check on any new drama. Since I’m the treasurer, I also post bulletins and memo’s regarding cash flow. Oh the joy right? Having been the butt of work related drama, I make an effort to maintain it. Employees need a place to turn for info. Some people are uncomfortable approaching a rep until they’ve figured out whether or not they have a legitimate beef. It also helps to know your rights in advance of a problem.
By day’s end, you really are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. 911 is a thankless job. You get yelled at by citizens, officers, and every wacko who has a bone to pick. No one ever calls to say “thank you” or “great job”. We do make an effort to support each other. Sadly, we are often overlooked in the chain of events relating to critical incidents in the city. However, more and more every day, the powers that be realize we play a critical link in the first response chain. I’d love for it to be an overnight sensation but that’s not very practical. Slow but steady progress is always good in my book.
Not very glamorous is it? Most folks think our job is non-stop action and excitement. And while sometimes it can be, that’s usually not the case. But, like most civil servant positions, it’s stable work, w/great benefits. For many who are unemployed that is more than hoped.
Need a job? Check us out!
. . . no I don’t but yesterday was a long one. 7am to 11pm. OY!
Another long day today but not like yesterday.
Btw, if you’ve been following The Aids Ride this year, you can hop over to Jack Hampster and see is photo montage. If you stop by, leave some kind words of encouragement too!
Happy weekend for those of you who work some sort of normal schedule. (who me bitter? naaaaaah)
I worked from 8am till 11pm today. To say I’m tired is putting it mildy. Oy! Teaching a class then a full day of work. I’m tuckered out.
I have a date for Monday though. Details later.