Monthly Coroner Meeting

July 30th, 2009

This morning before I left the fire department we got a transfer for eight-thirty. I took it with Young. We went to get the patient. We were deciding where we were going to have lunch. He said “Where ever you want.” I said “Rocky Rococo’s.” He said not pizza. Then I pointed out how he said anywhere and then when I suggested a place he said no. So then he said we could go there.

After we completed the transfer to Spokane we went to the pizza place. I tried to get Ryan but I was unable to reach him so he was not able to eat with me.

We went back and I worked at the house trying to get a couple things completed before it was time to go to the coroner’s meeting. While I was at home I got a call to work on a computer for the TF. They had several computer issues they need worked on. I went to their office and picked up a couple computers to work on. There is one I will need to go into the office and work on.

From there I went to Colfax for the coroner’s meeting. I stopped my Steve’s Glass and went to look at a motorcycle. It is a Suzuki that is an enduro style motorcycle, more or less a street legal dirt bike. He wants just under two grand for it. It isn’t a bad looking bike. I am thinking about it. I am not sure if I am going to do it but I very well might. I talked to Steve about the house he bought from me and the boat his son bought from me.

I went to the meeting. We covered several items and a case that was pretty interesting. It was pretty involved and we discussed it for a while. We got our schedule set up for the next month and a half as well.

When I got home I worked on one of the computers. It was a simple problem where the admin password had been forgotten. I was able to reset it and we were good to go on that one. The next one will probably be a bit harder. I am going to work on that on Sunday or Monday.

Bi-Weekly Columnist

July 29th, 2009

I was added as a bi-weekly columnist for the Daily News. I got an e-mail asking me to call the Daily News. I was told the guy who is doing it now with the right-leaning tilt is leaving. They are looking for a replacement and I was offered the job. I was told the editorial board met and my name was brought up and kicked around. So I accepted the job. I will not do my final Town Crier columns and I will start with my first column in a week and a half. Then every other Saturday from there on out. I will get paid twenty-five bucks a column. They are going to introduce me in the paper this Saturday. They also put information about me taking over the duties in the newspaper’s blog.

We’re welcoming Scotty Anderson to our Opinion pages as he takes over the every other weekend slot opposite Pezeshki. Actually, Scotty’s arrival to the page isn’t entirely new — he’s been contributing as a Town Crier for the last couple of years. His tenure as a Crier was coming to a close so we brought him on board with a regular gig after longtime columnist Michael O’Neal announced he was done.

Scotty’s been a resident of the Palouse since 1992. He works as a software engineer and is a community volunteer who had a radio show until last year. He describes himself as “a workaholic who plays softball to unwind.”

On the political spectrum, Scotty says he’s torn between conservative and libertarian views, which should make for some lively contributions to the Op/Ed page.

Scotty’s first column will run Aug. 8, and I look forward to his contribution to the community discussion.

It was a pretty quiet day at the fire department for the most part. We did some more walking tours of the buildings on campus. We ran a couple calls, but nothing after we went to bed.

End of the Season Finals

July 28th, 2009

Today was the semi-finals and the finals for the post-season men’s softball. We first had to beat Agripro to go on to play for the championship. We were hitting the ball pretty well. Our defense was pretty hot as well. But Agripro is very good at getting basehits. They have some power, but they have a high average and that is why they are dangerous.

We just did our thing and put runs on the board in most of the innings. I had a couple walks and a couple hits.

After the first victory it was time to play Coors Light. They are a very good team. They lost one game all season and it was to us. We also took them into extra innings. So they are a team we can play with as long as we play flawless defense and hit the ball well. Sound we win the first game we would have to play them a second time.

In the first game we kept them scoreless for three straight innings. But we only scored five runs. That was not enough of a lead. They soon caught up. They took a small lead on us but we had a chance and could not get the ball to fall. Then they had a three run inning after an error on what would have been the third out was made by our team. Down four runs going into the final inning we were not able to get anything going and lost the game. We held Coors Light to nine runs. We are the first team to do that all season. They average just under twenty runs a game. So we did very good.

After the game we got our second place trophy and went to My Office to have a small celebration and to thank our sponsor. I had some nachos and a beer with most of the team. We talked about next season as well as the up coming intramural season.

Walking Tour

July 27th, 2009

We had a small walking tour of buildings around the engineer part of campus. We were checking out the locations of the FDCs and fire alarm control panels. We spent several hours walking through the building and getting a better idea of the lay outs.

I shot some hoops today with the guys. I didn’t win either game. But in one game Blake had to shoot the ball from the foul line, hit the rim without making it. He threw it hard for the front of the rim. But he was about three feet below the rim. I was laughing so hard I started to tear up.

Co-Ed Mush Ball Tournament

July 26th, 2009

Today was a second tournament in Lewiston in as many days. We were playing a mush ball tournament. Today it was co-ed. We were able to scrape a team together. It was several guys from yesterday and a couple women that we play with.

I was able to play first base all day. I liked that. I also figured out how to hit the ball yesterday and I was hitting the ball with some power and I was getting basehits.

After winning the first game we had a game break. As it turned out we had a one game break between every game. After winning the first game we lost the next two. Both games were a one run loss. So we went on to a consolation game against the team we played in the first round. The second time through we crushed them. I hit a homerun. Bill had offered anyone who got a homerun a ring-pop. I was the first one to step up and get it.

When the game was done I hurried back to Pullman to drop of Faber and then down to the county to write up my DUI that I got the other night. Jordan was there to help me. It wasn’t as much paperwork as I thought it would be, but my stop was straight forward. It took more than an hour and a half to do it it all.

Mush Ball Tournament

July 25th, 2009

This morning I was up after only three hours of sleep. I went to get some Five-Hour Energy and breakfast. I followed Joe down to Lewiston for our softball games. We were playing in a mush ball tournament. It is softball with a ball that you can squeeze in about a quarter inch in all directions. When you hit it off center it tends to pop-up and hit the ground and bounce. It also bounces a lot on the ground. On defense you have to catch it just right or it can bounce out of your glove.

We won the first game and then lost a couple other games along the way. I was EH in a couple games. When I looked back, all the games I was on defense we lost and the games I was EH we won. It was not because of my bad defense, but it was funny that it worked out that way.

The first two games I really struggled at the plate. I was having a hard time figuring out how to hit the ball. I switched bats and everything trying to find something that would work for me.

When the fifth game was done it looked liked we got second place. I ran off to get to Pullman for working the Indian All-Star football game at Martin Stadium. We got to the field and parked the ambulance. I met a guy who turned out to be the brother of a guy I was in the reserve fire academy with back in Ninety-Nine. He had been a cop for several years and then quit and went back to WSU for a new degree.

The game was okay, there were not a lot of big plays, but what sucked is the game was almost played totally on the opposite side of the field due to the quarters and turn overs. So we were never very close to the action.

I found out that we had actually won the tournament in Lewiston due to run-differntial. So we got t-shirts!

First Two DUIs

July 24th, 2009

I worked some overtime this morning at the fire department because some of the guys were getting their yearly physicals done. I helped to unload and re-load all the five inch hose on Engine Thirty-Three and Engine Thirty-Two. That was a lot of work. That is big and heavy hose. It takes several people to do it all. So I earned my money today.

I wanted to go patrolling tonight. I called Keller and Cox. Both had a rider, but Cox told me that Jordan was coming out tonight. I called him and got set up to ride with him.

I went to the SO and got a car all ready to go out in. I waited for Jordan and then we hit the road. We started towards Lamont. Before we got all the way out there we were told everyone was meeting up for dinner in Colfax. So we headed back to meet with everyone. After dinner we went to the SO for a couple minutes. Shortly after we left we made a traffic stop. As we were clearing a call went out in Garfield. We were going code to the call, but got cancelled en route. We lowered code and drove into town. We drove around the town for a little while then headed south on Twenty-Seven.

We came across a car driving poorly. Stopped the person and talked to the driver. We found it was DUI after some tests. We we went to the PPD and did the rest of the work there.

When we left we drove around Pullman for a bit. I was getting ready to leave town. We were on the edge of town when I got a speeder. I talked to the guy and I could smell alcohol. We did the tests with him. It was my first time doing them. I did it like I was trained. We had a second DUI. We took him to the PPD and did the rest of the stuff there.

When that was done it was so late we just went back to the SO and called it a night. It was after four in the morning when I finally got off duty.

Two Bigs Wins

July 23rd, 2009

Today is Ryan’s birthday. I called him up on the phone and we talked for a while. I wished him a happy birthday. He told me he got an iPhone for his birthday.

In the evening we had a couple softball games. We are in the losers bracket. We had to win both games to move on. We were playing Sports Page first. They beat us in all but one game this season. We went out and hit the ball very well. We ended up scoring twenty-two runs against the four they scored. It wasn’t really ever close. We just played very well.

Then it was to play the Bomb Squad. They beat us every game this season except for the first playoff game. They beat us by one run. It was a much closer game. We did go on to win, but it was only by three runs. We played good defense in both games.

It was great to win and now we have the semi-finals next Tuesday.

No Sleep

July 22nd, 2009

Today at the fire department there was not going to be any sleep. With a call in the wee hours of the morning as well a two chlorine alarms I was able to put about three total hours of sleep under my belt. I really would have preferred more sleep than that.

Men’s Playoffs Start Tonight

July 21st, 2009

I decided that I would be on pager today. That pretty much means that anytime there is a call I go to the station to staff it. There are a couple call types we don’t respond to when on pager, mainly low level EMS calls and fire alarms. As it turned out we had a lot of calls happen yesterday. I ended up coming down to the station six times through out the day and night. It kept me busy outside of the work I was doing for MH.

I had completed some work that I turned it, but it didn’t appear to work. I knew it should be working. My boss was really worried that it wasn’t working because my code was dealing with live leads for real estate. I told him that it should be working so we got a conference call. Before long we found the problem was not with my code, but it was because a certain mailbox wasn’t set up correctly. Once it was fixed all was good. That was a load off.

Tonight is the first night of our softball playoffs. We were playing Bomb Squad. We have played them about four times this season and beat them each time. If we won we played again. If we lose we go to the losers bracket and don’t play again on Thursday.

The game started off well and we scored three quick runs. But then we went to heck. We went four straight innings without scoring a run. Our defense was awesome. We were making the outs we had a chance to make. But the longball cost us as they scored seven of their nine runs on the long ball. We lost by one run.

When I got home I worked on my MH stuff a while longer. At around two in the morning we got a call. I went to the station. I was so tired I just went to the recliner and went to sleep.

Battling the Beast

July 20th, 2009

Just before noon we were toned out to a structure fire at a trailer park in Pullman. We got on scene with the PL. I was on the attack team. I had to “donkey” kick the door in to make entry. The fire was incredible small, but it was putting off tons of smoke. We put out the fire and then ventilated the building.

I was acting as the attendant today. We had a couple calls where I was the attendant. Nothing was that big. But because there was no way I was going to get a full night of sleep we got paged out around two-thirty in the morning and the call lasted about an hour. So that made it so I was not going to get myself a lot of sleep tonight.

No Softball and it Sucks

July 19th, 2009

This morning Tony and I went on a transfer to Spokane just went we got off duty. It was a pretty quick trip there and back.

The rest of the day was pretty slow. There was no softball today with the season being over. I just didn’t know what to do with my time. It sucks that the season is over. Before long the men’s season will be over. Then we have fall co-ed and IM’s. Then I will have no softball for about five months. It feels like the seasons go so much faster than they use to.

No Time to Eat

July 18th, 2009

At the fire department today I bought everyone breakfast. We first went to look at a couple parking structures. Then we came back and started breakfast. Before we got far into it, we got toned out to a call.

When we got back breakfast had been made and was starting to cool down. But it was still good. After breakfast I sat in a recliner with the other guys and watched the end of a show that we started to watch while eating. This is the first time I have sat in a recliner. I was waiting until I put in a year. My one year anniversary was on the fourteenth.

We went out and worked on the ambulances for the weekly checks. Once done some guys took a nap. I stayed up.

For dinner we were having burgers and tater tots. I got three bites into it and we were sent on a call. I got back to a cooled down burger. But that happens.

After dinner we cleaned up and watched some TV. The plan was to watch COPS and have some ice cream. I just finished my ice cream when we got toned to another call. It seemed like every time I had something I wanted to do I got called away.

I also spent time talking with James a mo from Moscow. He and I spent time talking online for quite a while. Then he called me and we chatted on the phone for a little bit. He is a nice guy, but he was hard to understand on the phone.

I was getting tired after watching the Red Green Show and went to bed.

Lots of OT

July 17th, 2009

The tones went out for people to respond to the station for stand by because they were working a gas leak that was going to take a while. I came in and ended up running nearly the whole time I was here. We had to run three straight EMS calls. We did have a bit of a break, but it was very busy.

When I was done working I went home and made sure my update for my MH stuff was put onto the server. It was put on, but I don’t know if it is working or not yet.

I watched some TV and got some pizza for dinner. It was a pretty relaxing night over all. I watched Rescue Me in the evening before I went to bed for the night.

Working on a Software Update

July 16th, 2009

I am working on some stuff for MH. There are some new e-mails that come into the automated system. So I need to set up the parser to parse the e-mails and put the data into our lead system.

It took some time to do that, but once I got going, things just came along nicely. It was fun to do that kind of work today.

I also put in some time at the fire department. They called for people to man the station. I came in and we never ended up going on any calls while I was down there.

When I got back from the station I continued the project and got it done around midnight. I packaged it up and sent it off.

Second Place

July 15th, 2009

This morning came early because I was going to work at the FD for a couple hours to cover for a test they other guys were taking for the LT position. I picked up Blake and took him to the station so he could get his truck. I worked without incident, but I was pretty tired due to being up so late the last two nights.

I went to get my cell phone switched over to my new one. It finally came back from getting fixed. The screen had started to have problems. So I got the phone switched over and I am using the new phone again. That is pretty cool.

Then it was over to Blockbuster. I am not very happy with them. There was a movie that was rented a few months back. Someone was supposed to return it for me, but it wasn’t returned, as I found out. Well they just charge you for the movie and you keep it should you not return it after a certain period of time. So I had this charge on my account.

Rather than send me an invoice or anything that said I owed them money, I got a letter from a collections agency saying I owed money. I was all sorts of upset over getting this letter.

I paid for my bill and then I told the guy they need to do something other than just send bills to collections. It is hard to pay bills when you don’t even know that you have one. After I paid the guy gave me a receipt to show that I paid my bill, then a second print out comes through the printer. He started to grab it saying I received a coupon for a dollar-ninety-nine rental. I was walking by him and I said “don’t need it” and walked out of the store.

I think I will be going to Video Quest when I want to rent video’s in the future. I am very disappointed in how Blockbuster dealt with this.

After having a good couple games on Saturday our time on the field Sunday was cancelled due to rain. The rescheduled game was made for tonight. We had a solid core of guys going out to play, but it was not to be. In the first game I started at third base, but I was in a lot of pain with my neck. It hurt to turn it. So playing a fielding position would not be that good. Eric got there and I had him take over for me at third. But we could not string the hits together like we did on Saturday.

Sports Page took the first game by a homerun in the sixth inning. They won by three. In the second game they had a couple big innings and beat us pretty good. We ended up in second place in the post-season tournament. I was disappointed by the finish. We had the ability to win it.

After the game Sheila and I spent some time talking before I went to the Sports Page to chat with Jessie.

Lack of Sleep Before the Party

July 13th, 2009

I was hoping that I would get some sleep this evening because I stayed up late watching Rescue Me. It was a pretty laid back day. We ran a couple calls, but nothing big.

I went to bed at nine thinking I would get some good sleep. I was the driver for Chia’s bachelor party and I thought that if I got good nights sleep I would be good to go for tomorrow. I was wrong.

It was eleven and I got called upon to do a transfer to Spokane. I also had to be in the back. It sucked because I was going to lose out on a lot of sleep.

When I finally got home and to sleep I was only going to get another four hours. That would mean I would probably have to get a nap sometime during the day tomorrow.

Rain Out

July 12th, 2009

This morning I was all excited about playing softball this afternoon. I went to the field early because I figured that I would be needed to help keep score. If not, then I would just kick back and watch some softball action.

I was correct. They needed my assistance in keeping score. I was doing the scorekeeping for several games in a row. As it was getting close to my game time the clouds were moving in. Before I knew it, it was lightning out with some rain. We were going to give it thirty minutes to see if the rain and lightning would let up. After thirty minutes it was looking good, but the manager got a call from the supervisor of parks and rec. He was told to cancel the game. Within about thirty more minutes the game would have been playable. That really sucked. But I got a t-shirt for doing the scorekeeping, and we still have the chance to win the whole post-season tournament. I hope we win it so I can wear the t-shirt I got with pride. It was a Championship t-shirt.

I went home and did some stuff on the computer and watched some TV. I didn’t get to bed until around midnight because I stayed up to watch Rescue Me.

Undefeated in Softball Day One

July 11th, 2009

The plan for today was to have some fun playing softball. I was hurting for men, which is unusual. I am normally trying to find extra women. But today I had to get the men. We had one pick up that Jessie got and Joe played with us too.

In the games I was hitting the ball very well. I had two inside-the-park-homeruns plus some other strong hits through out the day.

I also helped with the score keeping, but as I was doing that someone went down on the next field over, and I was asked to come over an help. There were already two EMT’s there. That is the second time the fire department had to get called to the field today.

It was a nice afternoon at the park. In the first game we were playing we won it pretty easily. The second game was not so easy. We had brought in Kelly, but we lost an outfielder so we were playing with only nine players. That really hurt. But we were scoring runs and we went on to win the game.

In the end we won both games. After the game Sheila and I went to Cougar Country for some dinner. We sat there talking for a while. I have a hard time around her. I am very nervous. I feel bad because as much as I would like to get be a straight guy and lead a straight life, I kept on checking out the guys that would walk by. I guess at some point I need to tell her, but I guess that would be before we get to the point where it would be clear she is interested in me.

When I Know That They Know

July 10th, 2009

After leaving the fire department this morning I decided that I would be on pager. But so far there has only been one call and it is one that the guys on pager don’t respond to.

I washed my rig this afternoon. I got the weedeating completed. I also got my garage swept out and the driveway washed off. It was a productive day and it felt good to get those things completed.

This evening I was doing some ego-surfing. I think that is the term for it. It is where you search yourself out on the web. I was looking for references to me out there. Then I wanted to see if there were any references to me and being gay. I didn’t find any of myself, but I did find one where a guy named Scotty was killed, and it is thought his sexuality was partly to blame for it. I started to go down that path.

Then I decided to look up gay athletes. On outsports.com they had a listing of gay athletes. I was reading about some of them. They had two stories that took place about ten years ago. In one case a co-captain of a high school football team was outed and his life was made a living hell. He dropped out of school. The other story was about a high school football player who was accepted and life was good.

I started to read about a college-level football captain who also was outed. Things went well for him. There were many other stories I was reading about athletes who have had their share of success and failure after being outed to their team.

The gay college football player said one of his biggest concerns was that he felt the others guys might be uncomfortable in the locker room around him because they know he is gay.

It is funny, I am the same way. When no one knows you’re gay you can blend in and no one is uncomfortable around you. But for me when I know that someone else knows that I am gay, that makes me uncomfortable around them. I think about what they might be thinking about me.

Every time something happens, I wonder if they think I did it because I was gay. I have found most guys don’t think about it most of the time. Many times they don’t remember that I am gay at every moment of the day. But living the life of a gay man it is always something that is on your mind. It is sort of like living in a fishbowl. I always think that my actions are being judged by the others due to my homosexuality.

The funny thing is that even those who are “okay” with me don’t fully understand homosexuality. They think it is a choice. They think that it is cool as long as I don’t hit on them.

Second Class Reserve

July 9th, 2009

Today is the first day Captain Thompson was back on the job in the last sixteen months or so. I had been working for him. Now I am working for a different firefighter. So I am continuing working as a temp full-timer. It was pretty quiet, but all of a sudden all heck broke loose and we ran several calls back-to-back. But that was it for the day.

I left to go to the reserve meeting. It was pretty short. Following the meeting I had my review board for moving to second class. I was nervous about it at first. But for this step it is a little less formal than moving to first class. I was asked why I thought I should get moved up. The situation where I made some errors was brought up. I explained what I learned during that call.

I was given advise from the deputies. The biggest thing they brought up was when I have questions and am not sure what to do, to call someone. That was a big point they emphasised.

I was told I was moved up to second class. They shook my hand and said they had great expectations for me. They all believe that I will do a fine job. That was great. Now, I just need to start to set up times to ride so I can work my way to first class.

Ended the Co-Ed Regular Season on a Loss

July 8th, 2009

Today was a makeup game against the Zeppoz team. We have not won a game against an A-league team all season. Tonight would be no different. In co-ed I have been hitting the ball very well, but as a team we were not able to hold on against Zeppoz. It was close for a little while, but then they took a big lead and did not give it back to us. We could not find a way to pull it out against them.

Tomorrow I am going to be going back to the fire department. I will have a new captain and I think my countdown to my last full-time day is starting.

Back to Back Wins!

July 7th, 2009

A little bit after I got up the tones went off for a transfer to Spokane. I called in to take it. I worked with Chelsea. In Spokane we went to Red Lobster for lunch. It was very good. We talked about my position as a reserve deputy on the way back, then we talked about the fire department and ways to make it better within the budget that we have with the city.

This evening brought on the final two softball games of the season. It didn’t mean a lot in terms of standings because we are about half way down, but we wanted to beat these teams because we are a competitive team. We were playing the A-League champion who hasn’t lost a game all season. We were also playing the number two team in the league.

In the first game we were playing Coors Light. They were unbeaten. We came close the first time we faced them going into extra innings. This time we put nine runs in the first inning and lead the whole way. We let them get back into the game, but we kept the lead the whole time and the time limit of the game hit in the bottom of the sixth inning with us up to bat. I had three balls pitched to me when the umpire called the time limit.

In the next game we were playing the number two team. We took a big lead but let the other team work their way back into it. But we were home. We had given up the lead in the top of the seventh inning. We were down by three runs. We scored a couple runs. Then with the bases loaded Jered hit a double scoring two more runs for the win.

After the game Brady broke out a couple beers to celebrate our win. Brady, Cole, Faber, and I shared the beer.

Melcher, Jessie, Faber, and I went to My Office. We shared a couple pitcher of beer. Then we went to Sports Page to hang out until a little after one in the morning. It was a good end to the season.

I was thinking that I would be going to McCoy’s team next season, but I am not sure if he is still interested in adding me. I will see in the off-season. If he wants me I think I will go, I am tired of running the team with guys that seem to be undercutting me all the time. I just want to go and play. Plus McCoy is good about getting his team into the tournaments.

All Day Computer Problem

July 6th, 2009

I got a call this morning from Rudy who was having a computer problem. I worked with him on the phone for several hours. We got the initial problem solved so his computer would boot, but there were still some other issues. I was at the point I could no longer do anything over the phone. I was going to have to get in front of the computer. I went to Palouse and worked on the computer for another five hours. There were some easy problems to fix, but some of them were tougher. One was incredibly hard. Everything I was searching about it made it appear that it would be very hard to solve. After working on it a bunch more I was finally able to get it solved. It felt good to get it done.

Rudy gave me some chocolate chip cookies and some money for my time. The cookie were very good.

Fairwell Peterman Two

July 5th, 2009

BKoe, Timmy, and I went to see Transformers at the theatre this afternoon. BKoe had already seen it. It was a good movie.

Later on I saw a message on Facebook from Peter about going to see the Hangover. I had just seen it, but it was a good movie. Peter is leaving Pullman tomorrow so this was his last day in town. I wanted to hang out with him.

Peter was laughing so hard. I was laughing hard watching his reaction plus to the movie itself.

When it was done we went outside and said our goodbye. He gave me a hug and we parted ways.

I met Peter through Brandon a couple years ago playing poker. Since then we played more poker together and we also played softball together. We hung out and played games. Peter is a good guy and I will miss him.

No Fires for Me

July 4th, 2009

Today I am scheduled to work the fire station. I was really hoping to be able to go to the park and work up there, but it turned out that no other career guys wanted to work. I was going to be stuck at the station. It was a very quiet day for the day hours.

When we went to the park to set up the ladder we were close to the time of the flag ceremony. We were going to stay through that. I planned on getting photos of the fire department honor guard doing their thing. But ten minutes before the ceremony we got an EMS call. So we had to run off on that.

When that was done we went back to the station to work on dinner. When dinner was done we cleaned up and watched some TV as it was getting closer to fireworks time. The captain said that if we go up on the hill behind the station we could see the fireworks from the park.

More or more people were lighting off fireworks. I was getting excited. Before the fireworks were supposed to be shot off we got call to a call outside of town. On the way back to Pullman it was very close to the start of the show. I was heading towards Pullman and I saw the first couple things shot off from the park, but I didn’t get a chance to see anything else.

As we were getting back to the city all sorts of calls went out for grass fires. We hurried to get into service. Once we were in service the calls for the grass fires stopped. At the station we got toned out for one around midnight. But before we got close it was said to put out. We were cleared to return to the station. That was it for the fires. I didn’t get to see one at all. We ran two EMS calls and I didn’t get to see the main fireworks show at all.

Leg Two in the Books

July 3rd, 2009

A day without a single call is how this day would play out. We did go help Craig from Kimball’s with a funeral set up item. He only had one other person to help lift a heavy item and requested our help. We went to help him.

Paul was on OT as well. We decided to supply lunch to the guys at the Deuce and dinner for the whole shift as well as the reserves who were working that night. Because it was technically a holiday today we only had to work the first two hours of the shift and then we had downtime.

We spent time hanging out and talking. At one point I was getting really tired. So I went in and took a nap. I needed it after having a call in the middle of the night last night.

We made Pauly Burgers for everyone and hotdogs. We chowed on that plus chips and many other fixings. It was a filling day. Turpin’s wife brought down a spinach dip that I really like. It was very nice for her to do that.

After dinner we cleaned up and had dessert. The guys from station one left. I got on my computer. Mark and Paul played the guitar for a while. It was nice to just sit back and listen as they did that. We stayed up until around eleven o’clock PM.

First Leg of Seventy Two Hours

July 2nd, 2009

I have an OT shift tomorrow so this is my first leg of a three-day long shift. But the overtime pay will be nice on my July paycheck. This day has more or less drug along. There were not really any calls to break up the day. We just did administrative stuff around the station most of the day.

We did get one call at dinner time. It didn’t last long, but it made us have a slightly cold dinner. After dinner I worked on the computer looking at craigslists for motorcycles. I have been wanting to get a street-legal dirt bike. I have found a couple in Idaho for sale, but I am not sure if I should get one.

We did get one call that came in during the middle of the night so that ate my sleep and now I am going to be tired going into tomorrow. The nice thing was that tomorrow is a holiday so I will not have to work past ten and I should be able to get a nap in.

The Hangover

July 1st, 2009

I met up with BKoe for lunch. We grabbed something at Subway and then went to the PD to eat it. We were in the briefing room. Jake came in and gave me some grief over the ambulance mishap a couple weeks ago at the hospital.

I went to see the Hangover with Jessie and Melcher this evening. First Melcher and I went to the city playfields to watch Jessie play some softball. Their team was winning the game, but it was close to the start of the movie so we left to go to the movie.

Jessie joined Melcher and I a few minutes into the movie. It was incredibly funny. I was laughing through a lot of the movie. It was worth watching.