I'm back... but I'm not making any promises!

I've been busy beyond words. Work is tough. I just keep doing what I know how to do. Then, hoping that at some point I actually know how to do everything I have to know in order to get released to work on my own. Not much more to say about that since I'm pretty sure I shouldn't post call details on here.

Words of advise though:
If your neighbor is a jerk and parks his car halfway in his driveway with the other half blocking the sidewalk:
* it is NOT an emergency
* PLEASE do not call 911.

If your neighbor is playing that AWFUL Mexican Polka or Mariachi music or whatever it is and you insist they do this EVERY night and you just can't take it anymore:
* I know you're lying.
* You've just had enough of it TODAY and...
* it FEELS like they've been playing it everyday for the past ten years.
* But, again, this is NOT an emergency...no, really it's not.
* Don't dial 911.

Now if, however, you witness a horrible accident - which might actually be an emergency:
* don't get angry with me that it took the other agency, that answers 911 calls from cell phones, 10 minutes to answer your call just to then transfer you to me
* but please, PLEASE get the actual cross streets it happened at.
* Because the thing is, when you tell me it happened by that one gas station on the corner of ... "you know, those streets over there by the Walmart..." I, in fact, do not have a freaking clue in heck where to send the help you seek.

Oh, and also:

If you call in to dispatch just to "ask a question" and my answer does not satisfy you... and you proceed to name drop every officer you've ever spoken to in your VERY long life... I'm going to be wondering why you didn't just call one of those, your 40 closest friends, to ask these ridiculous questions! I'll help you anyway though... and I'll do it so well you'll thank me by the end of our 15 minute conversation, that tied up lines from taking in calls from people who I might actually be able to help. Congratulations!

That pretty much sums up the job front.

Now about the house:

All the rooms are painted. I even did these really cool stripes on the wall in the girls room. They were so cute. I was very careful too. I measured, I taped, I prepped properly, I painted... then I removed the tape. As I stood back to admire my work I realized... aw crap... I put one of the sets of stripes in the wrong place AGHHHHH! So, my mom volunteered to add a few more sets to make it look intentional. Thanks mom, because really I was just gonna be like "hey,if look at it from this angle and you can hardly tell I totally jacked it up!" Now I'll be able to say "see how cool those stripes are - yeah and I totally meant for them to be all randomly spaced and stuff!"

The floors are going in. We've got 3 of the 4 tubs installed. One bathroom sink and toilet installed, and 2 of the 4 remaining sinks are on site basically ready to go in when it's time. Hopefully the rest is coming soon. It's happening, one step at a time.

I stayed down there after work a few times and let me tell you, the commute from work to the new house is WAY better than the commute from work to Rialto! It's nice on the gas tank too, which is good because while the ex is working 14 hour days 5 days a week and presumably making mountains in overtime, he seems to have misplaced his wallet...or maybe it's just all those restitution and court fees are eating him alive.

Last and totally least, I had a root beer float at 1:45 in the morning. It's kinda like dinner time to me since I work all night long. Now I'm tired though, and I have a raging sugar high!

The job... the house... life... and stuff

The job... is going well. I'm completely and totally stressed out and don't expect that to change for about a year, but I'm learning and making progress which is good. I took a pretty major (for me anyway) call yesterday and handled it really well... I didn't get anyone killed so that's good right?! I wish I could blink and be done with training, but I can't seem to find the fast forward button. Oh, and I start graveyard shift on Sunday. Fun times!

The house... is coming along. I'm gonna move in there, really I am! And I'm fairly convinced it's gonna happen sometime this summer. I've been doing some painting this week... with a little help from a friend. (Thanks Sarah!) The hall bathroom (which is really two bathrooms) is painted. My room has a coat on. I still need a second coat on the whole room. Unfortunately the ceiling is not the same color as the walls and they both need another coat. My mom has been painting and cutting tile while my dad has been laying floors... it's totally coming along!

Since my training for my job is so stressful, and add to that now I've been trying to help out at the new house, my current home is beyond awful. I am going to get at some laundry tonight and try to get my kitchen presentable. On top of all the cleaning that needs to be done I have a serious need to purge... and pack. I don't know how I'll ever get on top of it!

The kids are crazy... it's past bed time... I gotta go get them to sleep!

Sunday fun...

I had planned to go to church on Sunday morning but by the time I got to Brian's house we were going to be late anyway. He was also in the middle of a project when we got there so we ended up opting for plan B. We set out for an adventure and found a church to visit Sunday night instead.

We started driving and talking about places he had wanted to show me and places I had read about that I wanted to see... things in our own backyard that we just never take the time to explore.

I had heard that the first ever McDonald's was in San Bernardino. I knew the building was still there... what I didn't know was... well... They don't serve food anymore, they only serve memories. So we found ourselves at the McDonald's "Museum."

They had just about every happy meal toy ever delivered in a happy meal... and a giant selection of happy meal boxes too. There were millions of things to look at. It was pretty interesting, and it was free. Now I will say that it was a disaster by any standard for a museum which is why I put the word in quotes above... but for a free walk down memory lane it was pretty cool. My favorite thing was the playland toys that have gone by the wayside in favor of giant indoor hamster tubing playthings! They had one of the old carousels with the McDonald characters on it. I remember thinking that it was kind of like the ones in front of the grocery store except you actually had to push it like a playground merry-go-round. The kids weren't allowed to play on that one but they did get to play in the giant hamburger!

They also dutifully posed in front of the freaky tree with a face...

Then, as luck would have it, there was a military museum right next door. It was also free. The kids thought I was amazing for planning such a fun trip. The men in the museum were very knowledgeable and there was a TON to see. This museum was very well organized and they even gave the kids coloring pages while we talked and looked at things there. It was kind of funny because the one older gentleman was obviously annoyed at the kids, even though the other men were so sweet to them. He also pulled out a book of news clippings to show me about "the women's work" in the military... he had probably 15 books put together... 1/8 of one was about "the women." Not one to be left out he also pulled out his section about "the negroes" for Brian. He really was very sweet in spite of the fact that he was obviously stuck in 1958.

There was an army jeep inside the museum. The kind gentleman told me I could put the kids in it and take a picture. So I loaded them up...

I kinda wish I'd inspected it first... not for dangerous war remnants but for inappropriate signage!!! See, there was this sticker, right by the steering wheel that said something to the effect of "Don't lean on this vehicle unless you are nude."

Guess they broke the rules in this picture... sorry buddy, my kids aren't pin ups!

Nothin' much...

Just kinda wishin' I had a sitter so I could go out on a grown up date. Argh... I'm really looking forward to living closer to all the church kids who baby sit!!! I need a day off once in a while... or at least a few hours!

Since the kids don't spend time at their dad's anymore I don't have a built in break. That has been good for them and by extension for me in many ways... they are adjusting well. Now that I'm settling into a routine though I'm starting to miss the little break too.

Anyway... off to a BBQ with Brian... fun day today :)

So uh...

I answer calls now... it's sometimes scary and I'm a little overwhelmed by all the details I have to remember but I think I'm gonna be ok. I've had probably 5 dispatchers (who have all been trainers at one point) tell me, in some way or another, that I'm going to do well. My trainer actually told me that I'm the kind of trainee every trainer wishes they had... hope I can live up to that. The thing is though I really feel like none of these people had to say any of these things if they didn't really believe it, so it does make me feel good.

As for interesting calls... there have been a few, but most are pretty mundane, and many are downright stupid. I honestly cannot believe what people will call 911 for!

I finally feel relaxed enough that I am going to tackle my chaotic mess of a house tomorrow!

Oh, and Brian got hired with AMR! He's off to orientation for the next three days in Santa Clarita... fun stuff!

Filling in the details...

I took a test last Wednesday, got a 100%. We then headed out on a tour that covered the west end of the county. After work I headed to LAX and boarded a plane to DC. I slept the entire flight. Lauren picked me up at the airport at around 6:30 am (east coast time) and dropped me off at her apartment before heading to work. I slept until about noon. She got home around 12:15. Then we got ready and went out to take care of some last minute wedding errands.

Thursday night we had dinner with her mom and some friends... then it was time to "party." We had a limo SUV and we went "bar hopping." I must say that it was an experience. We would literally walk into a bar, someone would order a round of shots or shooters for everyone and they would expect us each to down it. After a few drinks we would head to the next bar. Now, it bears noting that I'm not much of a drinker. I never finished even a single drink that was passed my way. At some point I decided I was done even tasting them so I let everyone know to take me off their list. Lauren's friend Erin (who is also from California) is not much of a drinker either so we pretty much watched everyone get drunker and drunker. On our way to bar number 3 I think it became pretty clear that one girl was down for the count. She must have only been about 90 lbs., and she had WAY too much to drink. There was vomiting, and passing out. Shortly after realizing we were down one party-er I look over at Lauren and she had her face in a bag. This is the craziest thing... all the other girls were encouraging her to "keep going" because they wanted her to "have fun." Uh... where I come from drinking to the point of vomiting does not equal fun!!! Anyway Lauren said she wanted to go home but was faced by all kinds of opposition from the party crowd, so Erin and I stepped in and said "we're taking her home."

After a long night of watching other people get plastered I sat up and studied. We got up early on Friday to go see the family. We had a luncheon around noon, then went back to get ready for the rehearsal and the dinner. All of that was fun... there was a lot less drinking that night - which was good because a hung over bridal party might not have been such a great idea! After all of the pre wedding festivities we went to the hotel and I studied.

The day of the wedding everything went very smoothly. I was SO sad to have to leave before the reception but I was glad I got to be there for the rest of the festivities. I got on a plane at 6:00 p.m. and studied nearly the entire trip home. The stranger sitting next to me took my flashcards and quizzed me several times. I appreciated the help so much!

I got back to work on Sunday morning and got another 100% on the last regular test of the academy.

Tuesday we took our final... there's a story to tell about that too but I'm out of time so I'll blog about it later.

I did it!

I'm completely exhausted and I'll need to blog more thoroughly later but the bottom line is I passed the first training phase. There is still nearly a year ahead of me before I'm completely out of the woods but tonight I am not touching a single flash card! I'm going to sleep.