Final Thunder Football Game

This morning I did the first thing with the SO in the last couple weeks. We had boat patrol training. We were learning how to do the boat safety inspections and did some driving of the boat. That was from eight to eleven. I headed home and took a nap because I was really tired. We always have those sleep-deprived nights at the fire department when I am not able to sleep in the next day.

I then headed down to Lapwai for the final Thunder game of the season. There were only fourteen people for the Thunder. I said I should have brought my uniform. But there is no way I could have played. My ankle was not feeling well at all. They were out-manned and it was bad. They were tired and lost the game. I got to the top of the Lewiston grade when I realized I left my sunglasses in the PA booth. So I drove back to Lapwai and picked them up.

Then I went home and called Shane about his house warming party. I went over to his place. Kuhrt, BKoe, and some others were there. I had some pop and we sat around talking for several hours. Then a lot of them got into the hot tub. I hung out there for a while longer, then I went home to go to bed and get some sleep. I was pretty tired after the last day and a half.

Inspiration

Summer Men’s Softball Season Starts

I had a couple phone interviews today. One of them didn’t go well, but the other one was going better. I am actively searching for work in the Seattle area now. I need a job and I want to get into computer programming again. I know I can get on some softball teams. So, I may be Seattle bound in the next couple months.

I went to the fire station to find out where HazMat training was going to be held tonight. I also had a chance to talk to the guys on B-Shift. They said they were disappointed I didn’t get the job. They were hoping for me to get it.

Around six I headed to station one for HazMat training. But it was moved to the Deuce. I went to the Deuce and we went over some new testing kits we got for some biological agents.

Then I went to the softball field for our first men’s game of the season. We have had three rain outs. But tonight we were going to play.

I had a bad time pitching. I threw thirteen pitches. Only one was a strike. Then I went to first base. We went on to win the game. I had a hard hit ball down the firstbase line. I took a step or two and stuck my mitt out. I snowconed the ball. I could see it starting to move out of the mitt. As it started to fall free I barehanded it with my free hand for the out. I got a lot of people cheering me on for that. Even some people on the other field saw it and made good comments.

Hitting was a problem. I had two good hard hits. I finally hit a double like I did a few years ago. A solid hit to right-center field in the gap. It felt good. I hope to do that a lot this season.

Time to Move On

I am working hard to apply for jobs in the Seattle area. I am willing to move there should I find the job that works for me. I have come to terms with leaving Pullman.

I went to the fire station to talk to the chief about not getting the job. He said we can meet next week when he is less busy to talk about it. I am on edge waiting to find out what happened. I want to scream and yell, but it will not do any good. But I need to know what happened for my own closure.

Tonight for Monday Night Training we did firefighter survival. We covered a lot on the SCBA and did some crawling around in tighter spaces working to move around the SCBA to make it through the space.

After training several of us went to dinner then to my place to watch the Hangover. As the day went along I had moments of feeling okay to moments of being upset.

Dealing with Crushing News

Hard to think of anything about today other than the letter I received. I started out today up the tower working on doing EVAP check offs for the new guys.

I headed home and stopped to get my mail. There was a letter from the city of Pullman. Right away I knew what it was. I wasn’t selected to be a career guy. It felt like a kick in the gut. I didn’t feel like doing a lot, but I have to keep on.

I went to softball, but I went early. So many things are flying through my head I just need something to take me away from the overwhelming sense of rejection and failure. I wasn’t sure how to deal with this. But I do know is that quitting is not the correct option.

We played against Bill’s Welding in softball. We beat them. I did my normal stuff at softball. When we left I let Heston know I got the letter. I wanted him to know that I knew I didn’t get the job and that I was still the guy I normally am.

I did however find someone to cover me at the fire department. I needed to be away from it for a while. I talked to Turpin at the fire station for a little while and then on to the house. I had a couple beers and talked with BKoe for a while about it. We had some friends come over and played Settlers of Catan. It felt good to get my mind off of everything. What I need to distance from the whole things. Dwelling on it and yelling about it will not change it. I have to come to terms with it and then move on. As hard as it is, I need to do this.

I talked to Ryan on the phone about it for a while. He is the first friend I told I didn’t get the job. I let a couple others know after him. I also called my mom and wished her a happy Mother’s Day. I let her know I didn’t get the job.

That is what I am doing. I am not a big drinker and I am not one who needs to use alcohol when things go bad. For the most part I hardly touch the stuff. But tonight was a night I just wanted to sit in the backyard. Listen to some music. Sip on a cold one and just let me mind go.

I did that for the most part, but BKoe was there and I was able to get some things off my chest. That is what I need more than anything. It is good to get things off my chest.

Didn’t Get Pullman Fire Job

I was turned down for the career job at Pullman Fire. I knew my interview went poorly, but I had hoped all the work I have done would not be over looked. It was. I don’t want to do anything rash, but I have to get a full-time job soon, I think I am at the point where I will take one no matter where it takes me.

I am not sure how to approach the chief about this. I think I will just ask what I could have done better or what about my interview made it so I was not accepted.

I just want to crawl in a hole right now and tie one on. But I have to work tonight at the fire department. I would rather not. I would rather take the evening off.

But I think the long of the short of it is that I need to think. I need to sit down and really consider my next path. I need to consider Whitcom. I need to contact them and let them know that I would like to be seriously considered up there.

But as I have always said, there is a reason for everything. At this time I cannot understand what in the world it would be. Maybe this was supposed to push me to the West side. Maybe this was to push me back to computers. Maybe this was supposed to push me into law enforcement. I just don’t know.

I am going to keep the course for now. I am going to continue to work as I always have. I am going to not do anything rash.

Saw Him in Pullman

I just saw the ten-six-seven I wrote about yesterday who went to Stateline with his dad and grandpa. I was turning out of Blake’s apartment. I want to say goodbye to him and wish him the best because I didn’t get to do that last night. As I left his apartment complex I saw a truck drive by me. The person in the passenger seat looked just like the guy I saw last night. I immediately noted that when he drove by. Then I turned on to the road and I was behind the truck. It has the same sticker in the back window as the truck did last night. I then knew for sure it was the same guy. That was just crazy.

The Day in Spokane

I got up and made it to the fire station to head to Spokane for a goodbye party for Pritch. He is going to a new fire department. We went to Northern Quest Casino first. We played craps for a while. I don’t know much about it, but I did okay at first and ended up losing eighty bucks in my learning how to play it.

We grabbed some lunch and went over to El Patio. It is a hole in the wall kind of place the guys like. We played some pool and shuffelboard. We hung out there for a couple hours. Then it was off to Stateline. We watched the performers and it was a good time. Not really the kind of place a Mo hangs out, but I had a good time. While there I found some eye candy for me to watch. It gave something for everyone to watch. He wasn’t there all that long, but it was weird, it looked like he was there with his dad and grandpa. I wouldn’t want to go to a place like that with my family like that. At one point someone pulled up his shirt. That, of course, didn’t bother me. It was simply more eye candy for me.

We left around six to get back to Pullman in time for me to be at the fire station by eigth o’clock PM. I drove back Richards’ truck and Chia was with me. Today was good with him. After a little bit of time it was like we were back to normal. I am glad I wrote him the message the other day. It made for a better day today. I had a good time hanging out with him and the others.

Chia and I had a good talk on the way back and spent time talking about the sheriff”s office and his interest in being a reserve. I think it would be cool for him to join up.

When I got home and I went to the Deuce. I was talking to Chuck and Pauly. They were giving me a hard time about knowing if I got the job and I told them I didn’t know. They thought I knew but was told not to tell anyone. But they did not believe me in the slightest. The funny thing is no one believes me. I was asking them how long after the interview they found out. I have heard people say anything from an hour after the interview to a week later. So I am not sure what to think. I wish I knew.

But I have been thinking about it. I am not sure if I will stay a reserve past this month. If I get the job that I will leave the reserves to be full-time. If I don’t get the job part of me would think it would be time to leave the reserve program. Just on principle alone. I wouldn’t be very happy to continue to be there if I was not hired. But if the decision is based only on the interview and nothing more, it could be bad for me. Only time will tell. Needless to say I am not feeling good about things right now.

So today was good because I had a good time with the guys in Spokane and I had a chance to be with Chia and get past things, but I am pretty stressed about not knowing what the future holds. But as I always say, thing happen for a reason. If I don’t get the job it will be for a reason. Only time will tell.

Freak Snow Hits Parts of the County

I headed into the SO to work in the jail. I went in a little early to. On my way out the Pullman-Albion Road I went by a car accident. There as a one mile stretch that was snow covered and nasty roadway. One firefighter was on scene and I asked if he needed help. He said no and I continued to the SO.

While at the jail Chia and I sent some text messages back and forth. He was happy I finally talked to him about what was going on. He also sent me a friend request on facebook. So he actually deleted me as a friend. I asked him when he did that. He said about four days ago. I haven’t accepted the friend request yet.

I wasn’t too busy of a day around the jail. I entered a couple warrants and I booked one person. The other part of the time I did some rounds and served dinner. I was in a better mood compared to yesterday, but it wasn’t a ton better.

I got off at about ten and headed home. I didn’t do much around the house before I went off to bed. I was tired and I needed to be up around eight in the morning to go to Blake’s going away party.

I still have not heard about the job yet, and I am very nervous about getting it.

In a Off Mood

Due to the bad interview at the fire station that I wrote about earlier, some of my issues with the SO, and the stuff that happened with Chia yesterday I have not been in a great mood. While at the jail I wasn’t taking a bunch of the whining that I normally hear. This time if someone was complaining or whining about something I put an end to it. That is what happened at dinner. Someone was complaining about the portions they got at dinner. I put an end to it. The next round my partner said the inmates were saying I was not very nice. I guess sometimes it sucks being in jail.

I just was in a dumpy mood. I didn’t feel like taking much of anything. Doing the work there from time to time would take my mind off things. I wish I was in a better mood. Normally I am in a good mood, it was just not a good day for me.

When I got home I spent some time writing a message to Chia on facebook. I let him know I was sorry. I let him know that yesterday was not a good day and I just needed to think and that is why I wasn’t wanting to talk. I felt bad because Chia is a good person.

Not Feeling to Good About It

I had my chief’s interview for Pullman Fire today. I am not sure how I did. Actually when I left I felt like I didn’t do too well. As I was driving away I thought of areas I should have touched on. I should have been more enthusiastic. I should have included more information on some subjects, such as what I want to do for the fire department and where I see myself in five years. I think I left a lot on the table.

As I walked out of the station I just didn’t have the feeling like I nailed it. It is like when, in college, you take a final. You know right away if you did well or not when the test is complete. You know if you knew the stuff or not. I left thinking that I earned a C- or D on this interview. I don’t think I outright failed it, but I sure could have done a ton better.

I would hate to think how well I would have done if this had been my chief’s interview if they didn’t know me at all.

The Blues

I didn’t know what today has in store for me. This was one of those days with nothing except for softball planned. The way the weather was holding out I thought we might play. I was starting to make serious plans to play. But I found out around four o’clock PM that it was cancelled. The cancellation of softball left it open for me to go to OTEP training in Albion. We covered trauma assessments.

As the day started out I did a lot on my computer. I was reading up on some stuff online. I tried to find some resources that will tell me how to get the alternator out of my motorhome. I failed at that.

After training I came home and got online again. I chatted with someone online for about an hour talking about being a firefighter and houses. I was watching NCIS when they paged for a transfer. Then they paged for reserves. I waited about one or two minutes to call in. I have to get up early for my interview so I chose to allow someone else to take it so I could sleep. I knew if I took it I wouldn’t get back until late. I was the only one who called in.

I was told I was working with Chia. That would be interesting. He thinks I am mad at him right now. He tried to call me a while back and I didn’t call him back after he left a message. But what I found is that after I left the fire department working full-time I was forgotten about and not asked to participate with stuff. I came to the realization that we were co-workers who did some stuff outside of work rather than friends.

That said, when I got the call from him I know he wanted me for something other than to hang out. I figured it was something computer related or something related to the SO. I figured I would get back to him when I could.

A couple weeks ago he sent me a message on facebook saying that he hadn’t heard from me in a while and wanted to know if he did something to make me mad. I never responded, but there is nothing I am mad about. There have been many times where I sent him texts or said stuff on his facebook page with no response.

We went to Spokane and dropped off our patient. As we were coming back to Pullman, he said now that I have you trapped I want to know what I did to make you mad. I told him nothing. He pushed the issue several times, each time I told him I wasn’t mad. Later we were driving down the road and he fell asleep. I was thinking about how I could tell him what was up, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. Then he woke up and again asked if I was ready to talk. I wasn’t.

I was also thinking about things at the SO. I like the work, but I feel like every time I am in the same room with one guy he gives me a hard time. I don’t mind that because he does that to everyone and I laugh about it. But it also feels like I get “yelled” at for things. It feels like I am being held to a higher standard than some of the other guys. I am not sure if it is because more is expected of me or if it is something else. He has also given me some nice atta boy’s too. So, I am totally lost about how to read him. I know I haven’t done anything wrong while I have been there, but it feels like I cannot walk across the floor correctly. It makes going into the SO something I don’t want to do when that person is around. Who know, I am probably being hyper-sensitive.

But the whole trip back to Pullman I was very quiet. I didn’t say much of anything at all. When we got to the station I entered the call into the book. Chia completed his stuff and then left the room without saying anything. I left the station and went home to go to bed.

I need to talk to Chia, but I am not sure how to say what I am feeling. Really it is just that I feel like we are nothing more than co-workers. But that said I should be able to talk to him like I can my other co-workers. Last night was just a bad night with both of these things running through my head.

Getting Work Done

I decided that I would stick around the house and in Pullman and get some stuff done. The staff webpage and the photoboards and both stations needed some work. So I got some photos printed as well as new name plates for all the reserves who just became EMTs. I got those put up. I went out looking for a bolt I need to fix the motorhome. I still need to figure out how to get the alternator out and the new one it. I think I am going to be doing some searching on the web.

Other than that it was sit around and watch some TV night. I sent a text to Gunnar to see if he wanted to come over. He came over around nine o’clock. We watched House and then parts of about three other shows. Nothing else was on that I wanted to watch. We talked for quite a while.

I am not sure what to think. I really like having someone I can hold on to, but I am not sure he if the perfect fit for me. Some of the same issues I use to have with him have not gone away. Sometimes I think that getting in contact with him only is leading him on.

Lots of Softball Today

I met up with Matt and headed down to Lewiston to play in the softball tournament. We lost both games yesterday. We played with nine guys all day yesterday. The first game was the exact same. We only have nine guys. I ended up getting the nod to pitch. I have to say I did fine. No walks. It felt good to do that with Billy watching so he can see I have the ability and maybe I will do something other than just pitch. It was a close battle with the game going either way multiple times. But we ended up winning.

The way today was going to go is that we would continue to play until we lost, then we would be done. The second game we played against a team from Oregon. We actually played them really tight. They had a couple guys who liked to go up the middle a lot. I don’t like that so much.

In the fifth inning we switch to a five man infield. I went to first base. The final play with us on defense was a double play. With the ball being thrown into the dirt. I made a good dig. Once again I was happy to do that in front of Billy. I just don’t want to be stuck as a catcher all season.

We were down by two runs. Then we gave up a couple more and were down by six. We needed to score a lot of runs, but we were not able to scratch any out and lost the game. It sucked to lose that one because we very well could have won it.

I went home and worked on the alternator for the motorhome. I have to put a new one it. I worked for a while to get it unbolted and the electrical wires unplugged. They were all gunked up making it take a lot longer. But once I got it unplugged I could not get it out of the engine compartment because of how tight things are.

I decided to go get a new bolt to replace one of the one I took out. It is partly striped out and I don’t want to put it back into the new one. I drove around yesterday looking for a replacement, but I couldn’t find one. I am going to have to search more tomorrow.

The evening I got a text from Ross about working the road. I said I would. So I ended up setting up the DVR to record the Simpson’s and the Family Guy.

Before working the road I went to play some co-ed softball. We are supposed to play B-league this season, but our team was doing well. We won nineteen to one. It was a blow out. After seeing the score I am afraid Kurt may put us in A-league. We have got some new women on the team and they are pretty good.

When the game was done I went home and got into my county uniform and headed in to work. Ross and I hit the road. We went to do some time in Albion. I was letting Ross do everything and I just sat there because he is working to get to first class. We made several stops during the evening. We called it a night around one in the morning.

I stayed at the SO for a little bit longer and worked on a template for Rick. I was able to get it completed and tested it a little bit. It worked nicely.

The Thunder Win!

I was playing in a softball tournament in Lewiston this weekend. Our first game we played against a team we should have beat. They were not that great, but we couldn’t hit. I was hitless in the game. That really sucked. The team we played against had this guy who played catcher. He had brown eyes, but he was well built. Just a bit shorter than me. He had short hair. I was playing catcher too so I was able to check him out as he came to the plate each time.

I was dragging because of how late I was up. Several of us went to Sharps for lunch while waiting for our next game. We were waiting at the field. But a storm was moving in. It hit hard about twenty minutes before the game was to start. The rain caused a b ig delay in the game. I had to leave to do the Palouse Thunder football game. So I took off and headed to Lapwai.

I got to the field and got my stuff set up in the booth. The music was playing and I worked on getting the roster from the Columbia Basin Riverhawks squared away. The interested thing about football is that there are people of all shapes that play. There is always eye candy at such games. The Thunder went on to win. It was close for the first half, but the second half they pulled away. But the Riverhawks only had fifteen people on the team so they were playing both ways and they were getting tired.

On the Road and at the FD

I worked the SO today. I started with a car accident on Johnson Road. The RP didn’t know where he was so it took a bit to find it. But once I found it, there wasn’t much to the accident. Just a car went off the road and rolled to its top. I took photos and talked to the driver.

I went back to the SO to write it up. It didn’t take too long to get the paperwork done. Then I had to decide how I wanted to write up a ticket. I talked to a couple other deputies about it. After getting their input I decided to write the bigger ticket.

I went home to work the fire department. It was one of those nights we ran several calls well spaced so that I was only able to get several hours of sleep. I was up againt at four in the morning for a fire alarm and a call that we probably shouldn’t have needed to go on. But we get those a lot. By the time I got home it was around six in the morning.

More Firearms Training

I headed down to the Renton Fish and Game Club for Marine Patrol training. We were doing our annual firearms familiarization. We shot the AR-Fifteen and Glock forty calibre. There is something about doing target practice that is fun. As you would expect, the more you do it, the better you are at it. I shot pretty well. We were there until about three o’clock.

I went home and hung out. I came close to taking a nap, but I didn’t. I watched some TV and had some dinner.

I went down to Jon’s and picked him up and then to a poker game. It is the monthly game they have in his neighborhood. I was playing well. I ended up winning eighty bucks. I got a Q-A in one hand and the flop was Q-Q-Q. I won that hand.

I had a couple other big hands. On one hand I made big bets making someone believe I had a good hand. On the river I bet the max amount., He folded. I was on a total bluff. I rarely do it, but this time I planned on doing it and it worked.

A Day at Colfax Fire

After getting packed I headed down to Colfax to work at the fire station. I made it on one call that came in while I was there. I was pretty tired so I went into my rig. Turned on my pager and went to sleep. I got about two hours of sleep before I had to be up for the meeting at the coroner’s office.

I got up just after five. I went to pick up the pizza. Then went to the coroners office. We had some dinner and discussed our cases from the last couple weeks.

I left Colfax to head to Seattle for training tomorrow. It was not that bad of a drive. The roads were pretty clear and I was able to cruise along. When I got home I watched some TV. I watched Trauma Life in the ER. Following that was a show called Critical Hour. It follows three or four cases along the length of the episode. One person they followed, I was watching. I was waiting for something to come of it. It was a football player who got hurt. When it was all done, they found nothing wrong and he was fine. It made me mad to watch the whole thing and have nothing come of it. It was like the story of Green Golfballs to me.

On my Laptop

I hit the road right around noon. I drove to the SO and then over to the IS building. I was getting my computer set up so I can use it at the office when all the other computers are in use. I don’t like to waste time sitting around.

I hit the road some more. I typed up a couple tickets and a case report. I got most of the case report completed then I went to the jail.

I worked there for six hours. It was a long day. It seems like every day at the jail when I am there for six hours it kills me a little bit. I would rather be on the road or doing something else.

When I got off work I went home and cleaned my gun from the firearms training we did two weeks ago. I had been slacking on that.

Don’t Lie

I spent the first part of my shift doing some follow up on two cases I was handed by the full-timers. One was a dog-bit in Oakesdale and the other was a trespassing in Pine City. I met with everyone I needed to and got statements. Then I did my own patrolling. It took me nearly two hours to get back to Colfax because I was stopping cars.

I went to lunch with Paul and Courtney. We went to Taco Del Mar. We spent time talking about the State Patrol and their upcoming hiring.

I went south on SR One-Ninety-Five, but it was pretty slow down there. So I went on the Pullman-Moscow highway. I stopped several cars. One thing is that if someone lies to me and it is really blantent, I am more likely to write the person. In this one case the guy said he works in Pullman. I knew he lived in Moscow, so I know he drives the road daily. He was doing eleven over. I was going to cut him a break, but he just was so dishonest about everything.

Then shortly after that another person doing eleven over did the same thing. This guy tried to claim he realized he was speeding and started to slow down, but really he was going fast until he saw my car and then hit his brakes. But bythen it was too late. Busted!

Early Playoff’s Exit

I went to the SO to do paperwork. I went in uniform in case I needed to hit the road. I never did. I completed my warrant and got it turned in. It was the first warrant I wrote up myself. I got it and served it.

I also had other paperwork I had to do as well. I spent hours doing paperwork, plus I had to do some time in court.

I went home to get ready for softball. It was the playoffs and I was planning on going a long way in the playoffs. We were playing against Connor’s team. But that didn’t turn out too well. We threw the ball around a lot and let runs score. We couldn’t hit the ball to save our lives and we ended up losing the game. I was very disappointed. I was expecting so much more. But it just wasn’t to be.

I got Victor to cover the remainder of my shift and I went to Matt’s. We played Scene It and hung out. BKoe came with me. Eric was there as well as Erin. It was a fun time. We left around two in the morning.

Spokane Softball Day Two

I met up with Steven and Matt. We carpooled to Spokane. We had a single game today for the softball tournament. It was a consolation game because we lost the first two games.

I thought we might have a chance against this team because we played pretty well yesterday, but we couldn’t get the bats going too well. We had a couple innings where we scored a few runs, but they teed off on us.

While we were playing a guy who plays on Biesen’s men’s team. He came over shirtless. It was a pleasant sight. It was almost distracting… for me. He was pretty well defined and was worth looking at for a while. But he left and that sucked, because there went my eye candy.

After the game Ryan, Steven, Steve, Matt, and Faber all went to the Spokane Valley Mall for some lunch. We hung out in the food court eating and talking about major league baseball.

The tournament over all treated me well. I never ended up meeting with Todd, but there was good eye candy on both days to give me something worth looking at.

Softball Tournament in Spokane

I met up with Matt, Steven, Faber, and Steve to head up to Spokane for the Spring Fling Softball tournament. I picked up Christopher in Colfax and we made it to Spokane in about an hour and a half. Other started to show up little by little. I had thirteen guys in all. Some of them were former Nadirs as well as current Nadirs. It was our first tournament as a Nadirs team.

We knew something was up when the other team showed up in matching pants, shirts, and hats. It wasn’t long before we found out we were in the wrong division. We were playing in the B league which would have been fine in Pullman. But in Spokane we should have been playing D or maybe C. But really should have been D. In the first game we only scored two runs. We got ten-runned, but aside from the first inning where we let up six runs. We only let up two or three after that. We just couldn’t score.

Christopher got hurt running to first base and hitting the bag wrong. So we lost him halfway through the first game and for the rest of the day. We hung out between games at the field. We ran into GPa and we were talking about our placement. He said “Whoa” when we let him know what league we were in. His team was playing in the C division. So we were way out of our league.

We got to the second game and played another team we found out plays A league in Spokane. We played them tight. We finally hit the ball well. We lost by five, nineteen to twenty-four. That was a fun game. It was a great confidence booster for us.

After the game we went to Red Robin for dinner. We were waiting for our turn and a guy who worked there, Connor, was ten-six-seven. We had to wait for a while, but I didn’t mind. Ryan and I were texting back and forth about him. He said I should invite him to sit with us when he went on break. If I thought he was family I would have loved to. It was a nice way to wait around.

After dinner we headed back to Pullman. I got home and went to bed after ten o’clock PM. I was going to get up early for our consolation game on Sunday.

Number Two Rides Along

It was nice and early and I was on my way to the jail to work dayshift. It was a long day in the jail. I did a couple rounds and spent most of the time in the control room. I was answering phone calls and opening doors. I couldn’t wait until four o’clock when I was going to get to hit the road. I had a rider scheduled for this evening.

Number Two, B-Wil, rode with me. He is an Intern who would like to become a reserve. He asked me a while ago to ride and it was his turn. I had promised my first ride to a different Intern. B-Wil got there and I got the form filled out for the ride. Then we hit the road. We made a stop of a car that one of the deputies told us had been speeding already. Because I caught him speeding I ended up writing him.

We went back to Colfax and I was asked by one of the part time Colfax cops to help him with a disorderly male at the city hall. We went there and spent about two hours dealing with that whole situation.

Then we got a radio battery for one of the reserves in Pullman. We dropped it off with him went to McDonald’s to have dinner with some of the other guys. BKoe stopped by and ate with us.

I ran some traffic on the Pullman-Albion road and then we headed up north. There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road but we made several stops during the night. We called it a night right around two-thirty in the morning. With softball tomorrow it was a good time to call it a night.

No, I’m not Mad

I hit the road this morning. I have been putting in a lot of hours at the SO. I was out on the road until four o’clock PM because I had to get to the jail. I only work two days a week at the jail for a total of twelve hours plus a shift here and there for coverage.

I got a message on facebook today from Chia. He asked if he did something that made me mad. He said it has been a while since we talked and he was hoping all was well.

I don’t know what it is, but since leaving my full-time post at the fire department my inclusion in the things they do has really fallen off. It is almost like was never downtown. I use to get invited to the things they do, but it has been months since I did anything with them and I can’t believe they haven’t done anything over the last four plus months.

There were many times that they were doing something and I was an after thought. I would message someone who was out with the group and then I would get invited. I didn’t like that too much. I guess I believed we were friends. It seemed like we were close while I was there, but it didn’t take long for them to forget who I was.

I am not mad at Chia. But I considered him a friends, more-so than many of the people who were there. We hung out at work and got along well, but we didn’t do a lot of stuff off work hours. But Chia seems to have fallen in with that crowd. Many times the only time I am contacted by Chia is when he has a question or wants to do something. Not to do things like friends. I remember he use to call when he was in town to hang out for a while or to get some chow. But not any more.

Another Arrest

I checked into service after getting a couple more names on the softball roster. I headed to the WSU police station to ask about the hiring process. On the way I stopped someone for running a stop sign. Ended up with a suspended driver. I never was able to ask the questions about the hiring process.

I went to help with a stolen pop machine. That was all I got done today because I had to be at the fire station in Pullman by six o’clock PM. I got home and changed into my PFD uniform. I headed to the station.

We went to the city playfields for the pack test for wildland firefighting. On the way I dropped off the rosters for softball. We hung out at the playfields while people did their pack test and then went back to the station to clean the engine.

I went home and for the first time in a long time I was able to just sit around and watch some TV. It has been a long time since I have been able to do that.

Last Night of Regular Season

After working all night last night and yesterday I left myself sleep in. I got up around eleven and got going on the day. I realized I need to get the rosters turned in to the city for softball, so I worked for a couple hours to get signatures from various people.

I went to the SO and did some patrolling. First I got my report completed from my arrest on Friday. I also had to get my tickets written up. Paperwork is the hangover of police work.

I went to my place and got ready for softball. Tonight is the final night of the regular season. We played one team and tied them. That sucked. It was only five innings because the time limit hit. before the game started I heard one guy on their bench say “oh it is that team”. They recognized us. I couldn’t hit a ball to save my life in the first game. The second game we won easily. I had a stand-up triple.

When we were done I went back on duty. It was slow. I did Tekoa time and drove on some county roads. I ended up making one stop on the evening.

Running Some Calls

This morning I went to the gun range and worked on a combat course. I did pretty good. I shot well with the rifle. When it was done the top four reserves were going to get to go to a competition in Lewiston next weekend. I was invited, but because of the softball tournament in Spokane I am not going to be able to go. I had to turn down the invite, but I was happy I did well enough to get to go.

I went to the SO and worked on some paperwork for a while. I had to get caught up as I had added some cases over the last day. I got several closed out. I went home and tried to nap, but that didn’t work I was getting a lot of texts and phone calls.

I went to the fire station and did the rig checks. Then I hung out there and had some dinner. I also worked on a report in Spillman. While I was hanging out there we ran several calls. Then we started to hit the Event Center for multiple calls due to people being drunk. It was getting pretty busy for a while.

First Citizen Rider

This evening I was going to have my first citizen rider. I am very excited about that. I went out on the road around three in the afternoon. I did an hour in Albion. Then I picked up my rider. We went to McDonald’s for dinner with Matt K. and Shane. After dinner we went through Albion again. We talked to K. Stew about a couple Intern related things and K. Stew encouraged me to apply for the WSU police job. I had put in my application already. I spent a couple hours working on that.

We went to the SO and I washed my car. Then we headed out SR Twenty-Six. I got someone doing nineteen over just outside of town. I stopped the car and smelled drugs. So I ended up getting an arrest. We then hit a lot of county roads going through some smaller town. I got a call for service around midnight for a welfare check.

When I was headed to drop Eric off at his house we saw Rick. He asked us to come and help bring the Peace Keeper to Pullman. Some stuff happened up there that caused the cops some concern that it could get out of hand. So they figured having it close to Pullman would be a good thing. I got to bed around four in the morning.

It Has Been A While

I got a text from Chia asking if I was going to the pancake breakfast. I told him no. I don’t like some of the politics behind it and choose not to participate in it. I have not done it since it has been done by the guys at the PFD. He then asked how things have been going because it has been a long time. I didn’t respond. Partly because I kept getting busy and just never returned a text. At the time I got it I was in a really bad mood. I don’t know what I would have said if I responded when he first got a hold of me. But as the night went along I started to get in a much better mood.

I worked at the jail. I was there for a while before heading for the reserve meeting. It was a short one because we were doing our monthly training on Saturday at the gun range.

I went back to the jail and finished out the shift there. Then I went down stairs and started on the road. Broadfoot was out there too. We were stopping cars for six over doing an emphasis on speeding. We were letting people know that even six or seven over is still speeding and they need to watch their speed.

It is interesting, it seems like I would send messages to Chia and it was like I always got a lukewarm reception. Ever since leaving my full-time gig at the PFD many of the full-time guys have drifted away from me. I use to get invited to lots of things now I don’t get invited anymore. One guy, Tim, who I wasn’t all that close to before doing full-time is one of the ones who I seem to talk to the most. The last few times I did anything with them it was because I would send a text to someone and I would get a response that they were out somewhere I should come by. But they were already there and I was an afterthought.

There is a divide between the career and reserves and now that I am on the other side I am not one of them anymore. I am probably being a big of a whiner and being passive aggressive about things. But up until Chia asked if I was going to the pancake feed I haven’t gotten a text from in a month.

Got it Done

I was supposed to work the Palouse Thunder football game but it got cancelled. So I was free to hit the road. I told Matt I would be working again tonight and asked if he wanted to try to get his arrest again tonight.

I picked him up at his place and we hit the road. Yesterday he drove and today I drove. We hit dinner at North Arches with Matt K. I was telling Matt how Matt K. always is joking around about stuff including tons of gay innuendo. I am happy Matt K. is comfortable around me to be able to do that. While eating something came up and a stream of jokes ensued. Including something about Brokeback.

We work on getting some of Matt’s cases closed and then did some traffic. We were going to work Albion for an hour when we were asked by Keith to do a roadside. We went to Pullman and I helped him with some computer stuff.

Then he said to go get Matt’s final arrest. I had an idea of what we could do. We went to Howard street. We saw a group of underaged people drinking and found one with a beer in hand.

Matt and I spent the rest of the evening in Pullman backing up Keith on calls and looking for some of our own stuff. Matt told me I was able to do something that none of the other full-time deputies were able to do — get him his final arrest.

I Guess They Know

I had Matt from my reserve class riding with me tonight. I had a case that we went to investigate in Lamont. It turned out that nothing was going to come of it. We were working to get him an arrest so he could get up to the next level.

As we were driving he mentioned that he found my blog. I asked him how much of it he had read. He said that he read a number of entries and he didn’t read anything that surprised him.

I guess I am more obvious than I thought I was in the past. He said he thought most of the people in the reserve class knew. He mentioned that he was with a full-timer and they talked about it a little bit as well. It was the same guy who told me about what he did during the academy when he was in it with Joe.

I have to say that everyone has treated me very well and it seems that I had no idea they knew which shows that they have all been very cool about it. It has never been an issue. I told him that I keep the advise that Carter gave me years ago. If I don’t make an issue out of it, no one else will. So I told Matt more about things and how I feel about being gay. For all the jokes I make about Mike being gay, I wonder if he actually knows about me being the gay one.

It felt good to talk with Matt about it. It was fun to work with Matt. I have worked tons of hours with two other guys, so it was neat to see how someone else does their cop work.

We ended the night standing in the freezing cold waiting to get that final arrest. It never came.

Something About the Fauxhawk

I drove up to Liberty Lake for a job interview. This was a follow-up to the test they had me drive up to do a couple weeks ago. I got a late start and I had to push it to get there on time. I pulled into the parking lot right at the time for the appointment. I interviewed with one guy. The nice thing is he was ten-six-seven. Something about the fauxhawk and the barley visible goatee, but the obvious soul patch. I had something worth looking at. But the interview itself went about twenty minutes. I pretty much told him what was on my resume, which was sitting in front of him, and he told me the same stuff I was told on a previous phone call. The point is it was pointless. Also based on the rate of pay, I am not going to be able to take the job. The pay rate is just too low.

After the interview I got some pizza from Rocky Racoco’s and went to Ryan’s house. We watched the Simpson’s and Family Guy. I played with Zoey a little bit.

I hit the road and make my way back to Colfax to hit the road. I got a call to St. John early on for a vandalism call. I went and took care of that. Then it was out to Endicott. I was there for a couple hours in total. I got a chance to learn the streets of the town a lot better and I drove around on them multiple times. I went off duty around midnight because I was going to have to get up early again to take my rig to Kendall Dodge. I am getting bored of bring it down all the time.

Taxi’s are Cheaper

This morning when I woke up I got my patrol car and hit the road. I was only able to work until five because of the fire department. I got my biggest speeder to date, eighty-one in a fifty-five. That is twenty-six over. The person claimed to not know what the speed limit was. I said I didn’t know of any places in Washington where the speed limit is eighty miles per hour.

I worked with Paul-Nine on a couple calls. He stopped a car and I backed him on it as things seemed sort of fishy. He got an arrest. Then he helped me on a call with juveniles fighting.

I went home and got ready to work the fire department. We had daily rig checks. Only three of us were there for it. We had a new guy, but I don’t count him because one of the regular’s have to work with the new guy to train him.

We ended up running two calls. One was around midnight. The other one was at four-thirty in the morning. Let me just say, a taxi is much cheaper than an ambulance.

Back in the PA Booth

I spent the morning preparing for my return to the PA booth for the Palouse Thunder. Today’s game was pre-season against Spokane Wolfpack. I got to the field and got my stuff ready and set up. Then I helped get the field ready by putting out the yard markers and end-zone markers.

Then it was time to announce. I was rusty today. It took some time to get into a groove. Even then I still make my normal errors, mispronouncing names. It is any wonder I was asked to come back. But I do like to do it and watch the team. The Thunder won the game today. It was sort of sloppy at times but the Thunder was able to pull out a rare win.

Following the game, I had thought I would go to bed early and work the road tomorrow. But I was done a little earlier than I thought I would be, and I went ahead and hit the road. I was able to get six hours in.