Working with the Reserves

This evening I was going to be teaching the reserves how to use the new timesheet. I spent some time getting an information sheet ready and setting up all the reserves with their own time log Excel workbook.

I went down after dinner to help with the training. They were split into groups doing different stations. One was my station. I walked them through how the sheet worked and answered any questions they had about it. It went pretty well.

Earlier in the night our dinner was put on delay because just before we were going to remove the burgers from the grill a call came in. We got back about an hour later and the food was cold. I heated up and it was still good, but I really was looking forward to a warm dinner.

Fantasy Draft at My Place

We started by golfing this morning down in Colfax. There was a large group of people down there. The first nine everyone played on their own. Then in the second half we teamed up in to pairs. It was those teams they went on to challenge each other for the best score. The winners would split the pool. Each person put in five bucks to start. I was teamed with Ron because he had the second best score and I had the second worst score after the first nine holes. Team Ron and Scotty went on to tie the best score. Due to that we split with the other team.

After the golfing we went to Pullman. I had Ron and Heather as well as CBass coming over for the FFL draft. I worked on getting Ron’s and my computer set up to use. I worked on making sure the house was looking okay and that I had quarters for the pop machine. When they came over we ordered some pizza and wings. I ended up drinking some beer with them tonight. I also had some hard-A. They were over for a couple hours doing the draft. I got Farve as my quarterback. That was good, because I wasn’t sure if someone else would try to steal him from me.

Lentil Festival Champions

Today I am playing in the Lentil Festival Softball tournament in Pullman. Our team is one of seven in the tournament. We started out with a win, but it was close, we had to do a comeback in order to win the game. With us in the winner bracket we had a couple hours off. I walked over to Reaney Park where the fire department was operating a dunk tank. CBass was in it. I threw some balls, but I missed with all of them. It was horrible. I was in uniform and CBass was ripping on my moustache. Later on Heidi got into the dunk tank. I sank her two of the three first throws. She also set me up for a ride with her tonight.

I went back to playing softball. We kept winning the games we were playing and we went to the championship in the winner bracket. We were playing the team we beat the first game. We knew they would be tough, but we also knew they would be less rested with us because they have been playing straight through. But they still came out and beat us in the first game. But that just made them more tired. We finally went out and took care of business. But we had to go into extra innings.

We were tied at the end of seven. In the eight they took a lead and we tied it up. In the ninth they took a three run lead. We got one run. Then with the batters we had coming up we were going to need a miracle. With two on, the miracle was starting to happen, we were down by two. There were two outs. Warren came to the plate. He hit a walk-off-three-run-homerun. Everyone on the team started to cheer. It was great.

I hurried home to clean up and then down to the police station for the ride along. I went out with Heidi for several hours. It was a pretty quiet night over all for an opening weekend of school. We had a couple drunks. One guy was arrested for assault. But it was all pretty tame. It was nice to ride with Heidi though.

Got a Yard Stick

I went to the jail to help out because they were only going to have two people there. I worked and did what I could to help out. They were testing for the list. Some of the people were coming in to be printed. I fingerprinted one of the people. Sgt asked me to create a schedule where we would have twelve hour shifts. That really won’t work, but I was able to make one with ten hour shifts for swings and graves.

I went to the fire station to get ready to do the Lentil Festival. I got a sandwich board set up with flyer’s for the reserve program. We were showing off the engine to people as they came by.

I took a walk around the area and I was able to pick up a couple things including a yo-yo and a free light bulb. Got some chili and a couple other freebies. I saw some people with yard sticks. I went to find where they were. When I found the booth with them they were out. They had just given the last one away. I was crushed.

Then someone walked up to us and said “there was a fireman looking for a yard stick”. I said I was. She then gave me one of the two she had. That was very nice.

Cooper Test with the SO

I went to work in the jail today and the plan was to run the Cooper Test with the SWAT team. It is a chance for me to see where I am at. I got to the jail and the captain asked if I would be willing to come in on Friday as they are going to be slammed with only two people on. At first I said I couldn’t then I was able to juggle some stuff around and I said I would do it.

I did my normal jail stuff until around four. Then I went downstairs to meet up with the SWAT guys. I brought stuff to run in, but I didn’t have shoes so I had to run in my boots. That sucked. We did the run. I missed it by about 15 seconds again. That really sucked. I had a good pace for the first half of it, but when we hit the turn for the second half I started to lose my pace.

I did the sit ups and push ups really well and passed those tests. The guys said I did a good job and they know I can pass the test. Other than some of the people at the SO and jail as well as Misty at WSUPD I haven’t told anyone that I am trying to do this.

I haven’t had the police bone in my body for a while, but I think it is back. I want to become a reserve if I am able to swing it with my Pullman Fire schedule. If I didn’t have the temporary job I would be good to go, but this could be troublesome getting the time off that is necessary. I was mad that I wasn’t able to pass the test because now I will have to run it again, and I need to make sure I pass it. I am going to have to figure out a way to have water with me so I can get rid of the cotton mouth that I get as I am nearing the end. That is one of the big things that is killing me at the end.

Playing Palouse Ridge

I was supposed to play golf today with someone, but the one guy I had scheduled ended up double booking himself and he couldn’t come. I called around and no one else was available. So it was just me. I went to the Palouse Ridge Golf Course. The weather wasn’t great. It was the soft opening. I got a golf cart and I was teamed up with another person to play the round. The guy I was with had played there already so he was able to help me out with the holes and how to play them.

I lost several balls along the way. There are no fairways next to other fairways like at Colfax. So if you miss your fairway by a lot you very well may lose your ball. I lost balls on nine holes along the way. But I did find several along the way as I was looking for my ball.

At the end of the round one of the workers asked how it was. I said it was good. I asked if they had a lost and found. He said yes, what did I lose. I said my ball and then I laughed. I joked about making a lost poster with a photo of my golf ball and I was going to see if they would post it.

Teaching First Aid

I was supposed to be on duty today, but I also had a first aid class scheduled for one of the city department. I ended up being told that rather than moving the class, that I could go teach it instead and then come back to work when I am done.

I went to City Hall and got the AV equipment set up and then did my class. It was the same department that I taught last year, it was just a different group of guys. We broke for lunch around the noon hour and we were done around four. The class went off without a problem.

Recording at the Driving Range

After I got off work today I thought I would do some hitting at the driving range. I wanted to record my swing to see if I can find what is kicking my butt. I don’t know if I will be able to pick it up, but I figure this is a good time to see how my swing looks.

After the driving range I went to the rec center. I ran and did some push-ups and sit-ups. I also made my way to Moscow to get some address labels for Rhonda. She wanted her Cougar logo with the address. I created one and then printing one page that I planned on showing her to see if it was to her liking.

Second Day on Shift

It was my first weekend shift so I was trying to figure out how everything works on weekends. We started doing rig checks the we got a call. It was followed by a second call out of town. When it was done I barely had gotten half way through my rig checks, but the guys at the station completed everything we hadn’t completed.

We had a breakfast together that was eaten closer to lunch do to the calls we had. After lunch was got called out to a car fire at Shopko. That turned out to be a pretty small event. We got it put out with a minimum amount of water. We got a couple more calls to finish off the night.

I spent my free time working on the engineer workbook that I have to get through to become an engineer again.

Seeing Wakeman

Today the plan was to spend time in the office before heading back to Pullman so I could get to work on Saturday morning. I was able to get some stuff done at the office but I didn’t get anything resolved with the bugs. I loaded up my computers and some books and headed out.

I texted Wakeman about meeting up on my way through Ellensburg. He called me up and said he didn’t live there anymore, but as it turned out he would be in town doing some moving. He told me to call when I was close to see if he was still around.

When I was about ten miles out I called and he was still in town. I met up with him at The Tav. He and his friend were having some food and beer. I sat down and we talked about what each other was doing. It was nice to see him. He is the one who pulled me aside one day at the fire department and asked if I was gay. Many people at the FD know and some would spread it around, but very few have ever asked me. He said that he had heard, but wanted to ask me. I really respected that about him from the beginning.

I enjoyed my time working with him and I sad to see him go. For one summer before he left we were running daytime calls all the time. He never cared about the response level of the call he would go on everything like I would.

Big Golf Shot

This morning I got into the office to work on my computers to fix the problems that have been sent to me. I was also planning on meeting with Jon and the others for lunch at Three Pigs. While there I was asked to go golfing with Jim and his golfing buddies. After lunch Jon gave me his driver because he was having a hard time hitting with it.

I was excited to get a chance to use it tonight. I didn’t do to hot on the golf course. We were going to be playing for money. I was hitting the ball right, like I seem to do all the time. I lost a number of balls as we were playing nine holes.

But on one hole I put the ball past the green about thirty yards. I had trees between me and the green. I saw about half the green to the left of one tree. I was going to hit it there, then I saw an opening about four feet wide. I could see the pin. I decided to go for it. I used my pitching wedge. I hit it and it went between the trees. It hits a couple leaves along the way. It bounced once on the green. It hit the pin and fell into the cup. Jim screamed loud. He loved he shot. I didn’t know it went in after first. That was a great shot.

We went out to dinner later on. All the money lost to the other people is put on the table and shared in food. It is just the winner doesn’t have to pay for dinner and drinks when it is done.

Quick Trip To Seattle

This morning I found an e-mail from work about a new bug. I started to work on it but found I was having some troubles getting to do any work. I also had a few other plans on the day. I washed my car. I got storage for the motorhome. I also had lunch with the Palousitics crowd.

I washed the car. When I was done I had enough time to start in on the motorhome and get the front washed. Then I took it to the storage place. I walked over to the Hilltop to have lunch with some of the others from Palousitics. It was a nice lunch.

I got a ride home. I talked to a couple people I use to work with and I found that having my computers in Pullman would make it easier to work. So that means a trip to Seattle was in order. I quickly packed and hit the road.

The drive over was uneventful. I spent some of the time talking on the phone and some of it listening to the Mariners game. I got to my mom’s just before ten o’clock. I put the RAM in her computer then spent the rest of the evening watching some TV.

End of the First Shift Night

I got up with the alarm going off for a fire alarm. It was up in Thompson hall. It was the one where we had to climb and crawl in the attic to get to it. We got it reset. Just as we got back to the station we were sent back there. We checked the detector location. With no fire, we reset again and disabled that detector. As we were getting back to the station we got dispatched to another fire alarm elsewhere.

I got out there about thirty minutes late. I went home and changed to hit the rec center. I did my workout. While I was there a ten-six-seven was working out. It seemed like each place I went he was near by. It was nice scenery to work out to. What was funny is that his body didn’t fit his face so much. He was very muscular, but he face looked very young.

I worked on some of the videos from softball. I am putting together a video for each person. I am placing each clip with a person together and playing music in the background for it. It is taking a while but it is fun to do.

This evening I had HazMat training. I went to the fire station for the training. We were touring campus looking at the places that hold on to hazardous materials. We were seeing the locations and how the rooms are set up in terms of safety equipment and what not.

First Twenty-Four Hour Shift

I was at the fire department before eight o’clock in the morning for my first day on shift. I had planned on what to make for dinner. I found that someone else was working an OT shift so he was going to make dinner so I planned on doing lunch for everyone.

We started by getting calls which destroyed the plans for the morning. But we were able to get the supplies for a lunch. We got back and put it together for everyone. I was getting crap from the guys, but it was all in good fun.

Later on we did PL training and that ended with going to the tower to do some driving, but I was sent to Lewiston for a transfer. I worked with one of the newer medics. He is a ten-six-seven and a very nice guy. We talked about his new house in Uniontown and about the fire department on the way home.

When I got back we found the others were out dealing with some problems with the rigs that were under some mechanical problems. We were told to start eating because the others would take a while to get back.

We had some dinner and waited for the others to get back. Once they ate we did the dishes. I planned on going to bed around midnight. That is about when I did get to bed. The reserved got back from doing their training. I hung out with them as they were working on refilling air bottles. One of the newest reserves was there. He is a poster boy for ten-six-seven’s. He is screaming hot, if you will.

Lost Early

I was over in Moscow for the first softball game this morning. We were playing for a spot in the Nationals for ASA. But we were flat and couldn’t get a basehit. We ended up losing the game and were sent home early.

Ron, Joe, and a couple others hung out at the fields watching some of the games after ours. We were having a great time watching the games and ranking on each other. While there I told to the organizer of the tournament. He said he doesn’t know of other qualifiers, but he said that if I call the person in charge of the tournament in Seattle that he may just let us in. I am going to see if I can get us in that route.

I went to Tri-State and got a folding chair and some new Levis. I needed some new jeans as my only pair are in bad shape. I got home and washed them with all the other clothes I needed to wash.

I went to the rec center and did the Cooper test again. I didn’t pass it because of the run, but I did do good enough to pass all the other sections of the test.

I spent some time getting things ready for my first day of work tomorrow.

Tournament to Earn a National ASA Spot

The softball team is playing in a tournament to earn a spot to play in the Nationals in Seattle this year. We need to be one of the top three teams to earn a spot. But in the first game we came out flat after the first inning. We couldn’t score runs and lost the first game. That is not where we wanted to be in the whole thing.

After the game we went to get some breakfast. I had already eaten so I just went for the ride. We got back to the field and hung out for a while. Our second game I pitched. I struggled for a couple batters then I was did really well from there on out. It was a close game, but we beat the team and went on to play another team later on. It was a weak team and we easily beat them.

While at the field one of the guys from another team that I met recently was at the fields. He is ten-six-seven. While in Bovile for the softball tournament there I saw him there shirtless. He is well built and had a nice chest. It was nice to see him again.

After the game we went to dinner in Moscow and then over to Pullman to hang out at the Sports Page. I played a couple games of pool and talked with the others who were there. We hung out there until around ten o’clock in the evening. I gave Warren a ride home before going home myself.

Final Day on Days

This morning was my final day working dayshift at the fire department. Starting on Monday I am working twenty-four hour shifts. We went to the main station for training that lasted a couple hours before going back to the Deuce. I bought some lunch for the guys before going back to finish training. It was a pretty quiet day at the department. When we got back we dealt with a “hot” odor in the station. We figured out it was the blower from the HVAC system. We let the city know about it.

I was about thirty minutes from going home. Those thirty minutes seemed to take for ever. It was like a little kid waiting for the last day of school to end. When it was finally done I went home to change and head to Pete’s.

We watch the Seahawks and hung out for several hours. Nearly seven hours in all watching TV and signing karaoke. I sang several songs and had a couple beers. It was all the guys from the softball team that will be playing in the ASA tournament coming up tomorrow morning.

Ladders and Ventilation

This morning came sort of early, but I had a busy day ahead of me. I was going to be doing some training in the heat of the day today. I was looking forward to getting it done with, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be a fan of the heat. When I got to work I found out that we were going to go up earlier in the day to get it done to keep cooler. I was also getting engine drive time. I still need more time on the engine, but I am getting closer.

We had a call to start off with. Then it was off to station one until the ambulance was back in service. Once in service we went to the tower. I had to throw some ladders and do some ventilation. It was a good training. I had a chance to learn some techniques for vertical ventilation I hadn’t done before. I also learned a way to help get someone down from an upper floor if I were by myself. I did some tandem horizontal ventilation before we were done. It was a good training day in all.

I worked on the engineer book in the afternoon. It was pretty quiet at far as calls went. I was planning on going down to Colfax after the day working. I stopped at the station first to get my backpack with my computer. I talked to the guys I use to work with for a little over an hour before heading to Colfax.

I got to Colfax and went into the SO to drop off my paperwork from the coroner’s case from the other day. I went to the fire station after that. I hung out there for a couple hours but nothing came in. We had a city cop ask us to help with the removal of a dead deer. That was about all we did, that and watch a movie.

Body for Life Done… Again

This morning started out okay. John was giving me some crap about my shirt bring wrinkled. I laughed it off. We went on to our rig checks. Following rig checks we go onto cleaning. Normally I sweep and then clean the front bathroom and sometimes the back bathroom. No one has ever had to tell me to do anything in terms of the chores because I keep on top of it. I know as the new guy I get the jobs no one else wants, so rather than trying to skate on it, I just go do it.

As I was walking in the station from the bay Keeton told John “tell the probie to clean the toilets”. John then repeated it. That made me mad as I feel low as it is, but to be told to do something I have been doing for a couple weeks without being told, I felt like I was just being ridiculed. As I cleaned no one on the shift helped out. I ended up doing all the chores except for emptying the trash. I was livid about this. Every other shift helps out with the chores. It took me an extra forty minutes to get done.

I was very mad and I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone today. John realized that I was mad as I was leaving he stopped me to talk. I wouldn’t tell him what was wrong. I know as the new guy I am going to get crap and I am sure others have gotten it worse than me. I didn’t want to tell him because it would feel like I am whining. When you take what was said on the face it really wasn’t bad. But because of who it came from, my friends, and the fact that no one helped just didn’t sit well. I left without telling him.

I went to the rec center to weigh in. It was the final weigh in of this Body for Life period. I lost twenty eight pounds in this period and I am down sixty-five pounds total since January. I was disappointed. This last week at the fire department has been horrible. I have not had the time to work out like I need to. My eating has not been the greatest either. But I am still losing weight and that is important. I have a ways to go before I hit my goal, but I am still working my way there. I have seen a lot of loss and it feel good.

Nearly Passed It

I went to the rec center to test myself on the cooper test. I dd my best on the sprint and pushups. I did the minimum on the sit up. Then it was off to the mile and a half run. I didn’t pass it, but I was only seventeen seconds off. I also did a short walk and stopped for water. Without those two interruptions I think I would have passed the test. So I know I am there.

I went home to clean up. I went to the golf course and spent about an hour chatting with Matt. I planned on getting Hang ‘Em High to finish watching it. I was going to invite Matt if he was interested.

I went to the video store and bought some movies, but they didn’t have it. So I went to Video Quest and found Hang ’em High. I rented it. I got some pizza from Pizza Hut. I got a cyclone from Cougar Country.

I had pizza and watched Hang ’em High. I wasn’t all the keen on the ended, but I had to watch it because I didn’t get to see it yesterday.

What a Great Day

I started out this morning watching Hang ‘Em High, but I wasn’t able to finish it because I had to go to Spokane to hang out with Ryan. His birthday was on Wednesday and we were planning on going to see the X-Files and have lunch.

We started with Pizza at Rocky’s. I bought a large. We had some leftovers for Anna. We spent a fair amount of time talking about what names that could be used for naming a baby. We were joking about making sure the kid is named something cool and not doing the dumb things some parents do. Such as naming their kid a normal name but spelling it different.

We walked down to the mall to watch the X-Files. It was like watching a long episode. I guess you wouldn’t expect anything different though. When the movie was done we got some ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s. We did some people watching and we saw two people walking around with their kids on a leash. I told Ryan I would kick his ass if he ever did that to his kid. He laughed and said he wouldn’t.

I left and went down to Colfax. I hung out at the fire station for about an hour with Tim. Then we went to Jamie and Brett’s wedding together. It was a nice service. The jail Captain did the service. He did a very good job. There were some good laughs. After the service we went in to the banquet. I had some food and spent time talking to everyone up there. I had a chance to congratulate the newly weds and talk to many people I have worked with over the years.

I also spoke to Myers a while about being a reserve. I told him about about the situation that I am in and that I have been working hard to be a reserve. He said we will do something to make it work. I still need to make sure I get enough time off of work to make it work out correctly. I am going to have to talk to Dan and John and some of the other guys to see if they are willing to help me out as much as possible about covering some of my shifts so I can make the training.

After the reception I went back to the fire station with Tim. We went to let his dog inside at his house. While there he was showing me around the house. While there we got toned out on a call. We went to the scene and waited for the ambulance. When it was done I helped restock the Brush trucks’ EMS supplies and then I headed home.

First Morning Structure Fire

This morning the tones woke me up shortly before four in the morning. They were calling a second alarm. I went to the fire station after having driven through the downtown area. I would smell smoke. When I got to the fire station they didn’t need us to go to the scene, so I stood by. For a couple hours.

When the rigs got back I helped put them in service. I went to the store and bought some donuts for everyone. I got my books from home and came back to work. I pretty much worked there from four in the morning until five in the evening.

I decided to go down to Colfax tonight. I hung out with Ralph for a couple hours waiting for a call to come in. While I was there we sat outside talking about fire services and more. It was getting to be around ten o’clock and I was getting a bit tired so I was getting ready to head out when a call did come in. It was a transfer. I took it. It was only from Colfax to Pullman so it wasn’t a big deal, but I did get to go code on the way.

More Check offs

I went to the fire tower with C-shift to work on some more check offs. We did vertical ventilation and set up the master stream with a five inch hose. That is all we did, but it took a while to get everything completed because we discussed stuff as we went along.

Long Call on the Mall

This afternoon we were dispatched out to a natural gas leak up on the CUB mall. I came in on one of the engines. I got packed up and I manned the hose line for the time we were up there. It was very hot outside and I was sweating pretty good.

Nothing ended up happening other than the gas leak getting shut down, but we had to wait for them to jackhammer through the street bed and dig through the dirt to get to it.

Poker Night at Dan’s

Tonight there was some poker at Dan’s house because my softball game was cancelled for the night. John came over and Denise and Ben joined us. We played for several hours, and as the night went on I was getting all the cards. I built my stack higher and higher. We played until around eleven o’clock. I wanted to get home sort of early so I wouldn’t be too tired for work in the morning.

Week Two Under Way

This is the start of week two for me. I got up to start the day in the Rec Center swimming pool. I was a little out of swimming shape again. I was able to do two laps then I was really winded. I finished a total of about six laps, but I am going to have to work my stamina back up.

I got into work and did more of the rookie book. I was able to get some questions answered and worked on various other things. It was weird not having Monday Night training tonight. It was the first time I haven’t had it in a long time.

Bovill Day Two

I was up early again this morning on my way to Bovill. I got there around seven-thirty in the morning again. I got ready and we were playing just after eight in the morning. Our sticks were pretty cold. I wasn’t cold though. I have an inside-the-park homerun plus two walks and one fly out. We lost that game and got moved to the loser bracket.

The next game was two hours later. I had myself a cheeseburger and waited around for the game. We played a second team and beat them pretty easily. We had a big inning scoring a lot of runs. I have four doubles in the game including three that were ground-rule doubles. That is because there was a ditch in right field and if you hit the ball over the head of the outfielders it would go to the ditch. I did that three times.

Between that game and our next one the sun was beating down on us. There were several ten-six-seven’s walking around shirtless. It was something good to look at as I waited for the next game.

We played against a team with several players from the Pullman area. They went on to beat us pretty soundly. That was all for us. I would have liked to play some more, but it was good to get to head home.

When I got closer to Moscow I turned on my phone and found a call from Pete. He told me about a fatal car accident that happened near Clarkston last night. So I was right in my instinct that there was going to be a case last night. As it turned out though the person was taken to Lewiston before death was pronounced so it wasn’t really one of our cases, but I had a feeling it was a bad car accident.

When I got home I got some dinner at Cougar Country.

Softball in Bovill

I got up early this morning to get ready to head out to Bovill for a softball tournament. I have never been there and I didn’t know who I would be playing with.

I got out there around seven-thirty in the morning. I met up with Jackie and I was able to find the team I was playing with. We were playing on a field that had gravel and rocks mixed in with the dirt. There were no side fences and the backstop was the side of a little league backstop. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the tournament, but I was happily surprised.

There were a total of ten teams. My team would seem to be like a bunch of scrubs, but we were not a bad team over all. We won the first game to remain in the winners bracket. There were kegs at the field and it was free for the players.

The second game wasn’t as good. We lost the game, but we ended up getting the win because the other team didn’t have enough players and used some players from another team. That means we play again tomorrow morning at eight o’clock in the morning — AGAIN! No sleeping in for me.

I came home and got some dinner. I didn’t do a whole bunch around the house because I was relaxing over all. Plus I had to get up early in the morning. I guess I get to “sleep in” on Monday.

I was on call for the coroner and I heard a call get dispatched down by the river. I had a feeling I may be going down there, but I never ended up getting dispatched to it.

Week One Under the Belt

With the first week under my belt I feel good about how it went, but I feel like I should be further along in my rookie book. But that is because I felt like I would tear through it quicker than I have been. Plus there are so many things to do in it that you have to multitask.

I got some drive time done in Engine Thirty-Two. I also got my box-streets project completed. We also responded on four calls after lunch time today as well.

I decided not to stay up too late tonight because I have to be in Bovill tomorrow for the softball tournament.

Coroner Training

We didn’t do any evolutions today. That was okay because the last two days left me really sweaty. Chuck and I went to Campus and spent a couple hours walking around looking at the Knox Boxes and FDC’s on various buildings.

After work I went to Colfax for my coroner’s training. We were talking about water deaths. Pete talked about SCUBA. We also spent time talking about the recent drowning at the Snake. We were talking about what we would expect to find.

I also got a pager for the coroner’s office finally. Pete has been trying to get them for years. He finally just bought his own for us.

Final Regular Season Game

Today we were at the tower doing some more evolutions. Today it was standpipe stuff.

After work it was off to playing softball. We were playing the final game of the regular season. We were not able to win the game, but it didn’t matter much we had second place locked up.

After the game several of us went to Pete’s to meet up with the guys who we played against. It was Bruce and Joe’s team — Tubbs. They beat us, so we had some good banter back and forth, but we beat them two of three times so I had that to hold over their heads.

Wildland Field Driver Training

Started off today doing the daily rig checks and chores. We went to the CUB for a tour. I was underwhelmed by the new look. The colors make you question “why?” As we were completing the tour we got a call. I was in the ambulance and we went to the scene. It was my first ambulance call with them.

Later we went to the tower to work on evolutions to sign off Chuck and I on items in our rookie book. Today we were pulling the pre-connects and spraying water.

After work I went to Colfax for training. We went to Steptoe to do some field driving in the rural rigs. It was the first time I drove them off road. I was nervous at first, but I got a little use to it after doing some driving.

They pretty much knew I got the temp position with Pullman. They congratulated me and asked me some questions about how it worked.

First Day of New Job

Today was the first day working as a temp full-timer at the fire department. I brought in some donuts. Heston and did our admin stuff. Then I had a task of changing the tires on a car that we are going to extrication training on later on this evening. I don’t have my rookie book yet to start working on. That is going to take a while once I do get it.

Towards the end of the shift we got a call where we went code in the PL. It has a growler and we were playing that all the way there. Turned out to be a nothing call.

Later on I went to extrication training. I was helping the reserves with it. This was my first Monday Night training that I didn’t have to be at, but I was able to get there. It was my one last chance to do something with the reserves. But when I get on shift, the Monday nights that I am working I will get a chance to work with them on training then as well.

Russell is Going Away

We had more softball today. I was playing first base most of the time. We had our first game against Zeppoz. We were not getting timely hits and we were losing. I had called Kelly about playing. When he heard we needed him he came in. It was great it was the boost we needed and we went on to win the game. We were in the losers bracket and now we were going to face Sports Page in back to back games. We had to beat them twice.

We won the first game and then went on to win the second game. Ryan and Russell came down and watched the final part of the last game. We won the championship. We got the trophy and got out photo. I went to Pete’s for a while with everyone, then it was off to Cougar Country.

Rhonda was happy we won the whole thing. She loved that we beat the B league team yesterday because one of her cooks was on the team and we was talking about how they were going to take us down. She put up the championship trophy and couldn’t wait to show her cook.

Russell, Nick, and Ryan also came along to Cougar Country. After we ate Ryan and I went to get some cake and stuff for Russell’s birthday which was coming up really soon.

Russell is leaving Pullman for good and we wanted to have a day out with Russell and we decided to celebrate his birthday as well. We were at Russell’s for a couple hours eating cake and watching some video’s on YouTube.

Co-Ed Post-Season Tourney

I started at pitcher and I wasn’t doing great. We were playing a coed B league team that was moved up into our league. I walked several people through out the first couple innings costing us runs. Finally I got Heston to pitch and the pitching problem went away. We started to get better at the plate and we started to get walked plus we were hitting the ball well. Sooner or later we finally took a lead.

It was a tight game but we ended up pulling it out and staying in the winning ways.

After the game we went to Pete’s Bar and Grill for some food and beer while waiting for our next game. But I was going to be going to the golf tournament.

I stuck around until the latest possible time I could wait until I had to go home and get ready to golf. Matt found a guy named Travis to cover for him on the team because Matt was unable to play. I called him and we planned on riding together to Colfax.

While the game was getting ready to start I got the lineup written and a couple umpired were roasting me in front of Heston and some others. I was laughing so hard. It was about my pitching. They said that Heston should never let me pitch. I took it very well.

As a joke I took the mound as the game was getting ready to start and one of the umpire who roasted me was there. I looked at him and pretended that I wasn’t going to pitch because of what he said. It was pretty good.

I went to home after that to get ready. I got my golf clubs and went to Dissmore’s. I got some water and picked up Travis. He is ten-six-seven. His complexion reminds me of BKoe.

When we got to Colfax he took his shirt off to switch to a different shirt. That was a treat because, as I said, he was ten-six-seven.

We finally got out on the course. I had Hansen and Pete playing with my team. We were not kicking butt, but we were holding our own. At the break we had some dinner and did the raffle. I won a couple prized including golf balls, a shirt, and a hat.

On the second round we were using the glow balls. It was harder, but I started to do better because I wasn’t trying to crush the ball. Towards the end of the round Pete hit a ball and it looked like he crushed it, but we don’t know where the ball went because he hit the glow stick out of the ball. Hansen did that twice as well. We were laughing so hard.