Friday Moment of Silliness

Sleestaks in the library

This cracks husband and me up. Then again we are easily amused

At what price, this 'routine' vigil?

Yesterday a Sgt. from one of our local sheriff's offices was killed. This is an opinion in today's local paper. I like Howard Troxler, sometimes I don't agree with him (what do they say about opinions?). I really like this tribute and think it applies to all who do the 'routine' job of Law Enforcement.

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By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Staff Writer
Published August 16, 2007

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At least 22 arrests dating from age 12. A prison record. A history of violence. An upcoming trial that seemed likely to put him back behind bars.

Michael Allen Phillips had built some track record. And he was just 24 years old.

"Mike was mentally unstable," his ex-girlfriend told a reporter Wednesday, "but he was a good person, too."

Definitions vary.

Early Wednesday, good person or not, authorities say that he shot and killed a veteran Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy, told his ex-girlfriend of the act, and informed her that he was coming for her family next.

Deputies soon found Phillips at his mother's home in Brandon. According to Sheriff David Gee, he spouted Aryan sayings over the telephone to negotiators. Phillips then exchanged gunfire with the SWAT team that surrounded the house. That decision did not turn out well for him.

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Some years ago an officer pulled me over in the rain. For some idiot reason I got the idea I would save him some trouble, got out and ran toward his cruiser.

The officer threw open his door, dropped to one knee and called on me to stop RIGHT NOW. I do not remember seeing his weapon but he would have been right to draw it.

This memory never left me, not just because of my own stupid act, but because of what it showed about the nature of his job.

Hour after hour, day after day, it is routine, boring, frustrating, rewarding, and then in the span of seconds before you can finish this sentence, you are stone dead.

Sometimes you get advance notice of the risk. Tampa Bay officers have lost their lives in hot pursuit of killers, responding to violent crimes or being involved in undercover assignments.

But the circumstances of their deaths also include: approaching a parked car, making a routine traffic stop and even just sitting in their own vehicle. What other job is like this? What if selling cars, or accounting, or cutting hair, could be fatal any second?

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Sgt. Ron Harrison apparently wasn't chasing a murderer, or a kidnapper, or breaking up a robbery.

He had been at a DUI checkpoint, given that he was the sheriff's head of DUI enforcement.

They say he seemed to be in a good mood as he left. Maybe he was thinking, as he pulled away, that they had made the roads safer that night.

It is not clear exactly how Harrison was shot, or whether Phillips was in a car or on foot.

Either way, Harrison apparently realized he had minutes at best, no time even to radio. He turned his car, maybe headed for the closest hospital. His cruiser left the road and hit a tree, which is where they found him. He was 55.

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I have a neighbor, a nice guy, friendly to everybody, great sense of humor. He and his wife just had a baby boy, their first.

Sometimes I see him out on the street and wave. Sometimes he pulls up in front of my house and we shoot the breeze for a few minutes.

Then he drives away in his police cruiser for his night shift. The idea that he might pull away and that I might never see him again - that his wife and his baby might not - I cannot imagine it, nor imagine what guts it takes to live that way, or at what cost.

And so it begins

Oh Sweet Jesus, football season has started. I'm not sure if I can make it through. I mean I'm already stir crazy from being home most of the time, and now football. I don't mind the regular season so much, only three days a week, and the evening games I only have to sit through half of it. Husband usually leaves for work around half-time.

But pre-season is like basketball season, it seems to never end. There is a game every night this week. Am I being a bad wife? I try to care, but its really hard.

Observations on Unemployment

Unfortunately since this blog is about my thoughts on things in my life, and currently unemployment is part of my life, that is what the theme lately. This is the longest I have been unemployed since I started really working (high school and college employment don't count). I was was out of work a month between the PD and the college, but I knew that the college job was waiting for me, I had a roommate who paid half the bills and I took work at the bar she worked at, so it wasn't bad. So here are my observations on this thing called unemployment.

1. I have gone days without knowing what day it is. When you have no place to be, you can lose track of time. And I have no idea what the date is. I'm lucky to actually know what month it is.

2. I actually have more meetings now then when I had a job. Between the company trying to get me a job, the attorney (another story for another time) and aerobics with mom, I'm actually busy.

3. I am inherently lazy. Oh I'll work hard when I have a job to do, but ultimately when I have nothing to do, I would rather be in bed than any other place. Curled up with a cat and, husband, warm and cozy. Ummm, nothing better. In fact I could use a nap now.

Update

Not much to report over the last couple of days. I've been working on my resume with my marketing advisor and working on my dissertation on my own. I've analyzed my data and am working on chapter 4, my results. After that I have one more chapter and I need to beef up my lit review and I can start the approval process. I'm hoping to graduate by December.

Other than that I'm finding that I am busier now than when I had a job, lots of meetings and water aerobics. I have also found out that there is absolutely nothing worth watching on TV during the day. Man I need a job.

Still Unemployed

Yes I still have not found a job. I was turned down for the Bailiff position because the SJF and the dung beetle basically assassinated me in the document used to not renew my contract. Words such as combative were used and it was said that "Due to her mood swings and negative attitude, she can no longer be trusted". I'm thrilled. I'm going to see an attorney.

On the other hand, I have hired a corporate marketing firm that basically makes you and your resume corporate ready. The teach you to interview and negotiate and they help you get a career using you "marketable, transferable skills". So far, I have done some homework designed to redo my resume. They say you will learn a lot about yourself in this process. This is a difficult process, and I am struggling to find my work related "accomplishments" Wish me luck.

Comment on Society

Moving away from RPS and Dominoes.....I have a comment on society.

I'm not a big football fan. Until my best friend moved in with me, I never really even watched it. Here's my comment though. Michael Vick from the Falcons is not allowed to come to training camp until the NFL does its own investigation into his dog fighting indictment. I don't disagree with this decision by the NFL. Where my problem lies is in the fact that you can kill somebody or beat your wife and play in the Superbowl.

What does this say about our society? Again, I agree with the NFL's decision, but if we are going to ban Vick for animal abuse, then we should also be banning those players who are indicted for manslaughter, homicide and spouse abuse.

Calling Bullshit

Webster's Dictionary defines a Sport as:
(1) : physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2) : a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in

Again imagine my surprise when husband turned on ESPN and found the World Rock Paper Scissors Championships. Very much like the Billiards & Poker I'm trying to figure out how RPS is a SPORT. I can see an physical activity (sort of, barely), or a particular activity, but come on...a sport?

I'm calling Bullshit.

Week one

Week one of unemployment has come and gone. Pretty uneventful. The holiday in the middle of the week made it hard to do any real job hunting. I sent out a couple applications, but mostly slept in and was lazy. I did start water aerobics at the city rec center with my mom. I'm the youngest in the group, just me and 20 or so old ladies. Its actually pretty fun.

I haven't heard from unemployment yet.

Today I made $87 selling some of Husband's old CDs.

End of days

Today was my final day at work. I actually went to work and was busy. I wanted to get out by 3:30 -4ish, but still was there until almost 5. WTF? One of my co-workers had a Starbucks coffee party for me, and two other FAW's took me to lunch. I also got flowers delivered from one of my instructors. All in all it was a good going away. And no tears.... I'm going to miss the people and the job, but not the politics.

Now I get to figure out what's next. I still have no job, but I have applications out all over. Its going to be ok. Mom and husband assure me so.

Very Disappointing

Friday's Message from the Universe

Sometimes, it's easy to forget that you always have options, Sonja.

That your power has remained intact.

And that everything, up until now, has just been practice for the really, really good stuff.

Tallyho,
The Universe

Stolen truck

My F.A.W. (Friend at work) PRB sent me an article about bunnies screwing on an airstrip and clogging up air traffic. Good story, funny even, but I think this is better.

A local fire station here in the area had a fire engine stolen from their station. Let me repeat that, someone came into the fire station, where the firemen work and stole a FIRE ENGINE. Not the really big one with the ladder and all, but still a FIRE ENGINE.

That in and of itself is funny, but the best part is that it was stolen on Saturday and not recovered until Monday. What the hell do you do with a florescent lime green fire engine all weekend. That's not like stealing a Toyota, I think the neighbors might notice you joy-riding around the hood in a fire engine.

FIRE TRUCK UPDATE

Friday Moment of Zen

German squirrel on a rampage injures 3 people
72-year-retiree dispatches rowdy rodent with a crutch

Updated: 9:23 a.m. ET June 14, 2007

BERLIN - An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch.

The squirrel first ran into a house in the southern town of Passau, leapt from behind on a 70-year-old woman, and sank its teeth into her hand, a local police spokesman said on Thursday.
With the squirrel still hanging from her hand, the woman ran onto the street in panic, where she managed to shake it off.

The animal then entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring him on the hand and arm, before he managed to fight it off with a measuring pole.

"After that, the squirrel went into the 72-year-old man's garden and massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh," the spokesman said. "Then he killed it with his crutch."

The spokesman said experts thought the attack may have been linked to the mating season or because the squirrel was ill.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

When Free isn't

The free day we got Tuesday because of the blown transformer, turned out not to be so free. On Wednesday we were told we had to take vacation, personal or flex time to make it up. This has occurred before...on hurricane days.

Here's my objection to this make-up policy. I would have worked had I been allowed to. I was almost there in fact. Had I been told, "Go to ABC office and you will work there" I would have happily complied. Ok, maybe not happily.

But that is not what I was told. I was told, "Go home". Since it was not my choice to not work, why should I have to pay for it? Why can't my employer build in extra work days to cover these little emergencies?

On the up side we only had to make-up 4 hours instead of 8. That was awfully nice.

Full week's work

I actually planned to work a full week this week. I know shocking. I was more than half way there this morning after having one of those daily starts that just tells you its going to be a mess today.

I splashed yogurt on my 2nd to last pair of pants and had to change. Decided to take the dry cleaning in, and left my debit card at home.

Anyway, while on the interstate, I get a call from a co-worker that the building has been closed because a transformer blew and there was no power. Most importantly, no AC, its damn hot right now. This phone call led to me driving around in circle for about 20 minutes caught between, "should I go to the building to check on my classes, or should I go home?" I ended up calling the boss' assistant who told all my people to go home and come back tomorrow.

I went home and went and went back to bed. Just like a snow, but hotter.

Adjectives

Well my mother apologized and told me she was wrong. She discovered last week what I already knew was true....fuck is an adjective. I think I get to use it again, if it it doesn't offend my one sometimes two readers.

Saturday Moment of Zen

On advise of counsel (my mother) I am not going to blog about work anymore, at least not negatively. She feels that maybe someone may be looking here and using it to torpedo me. I'm not sure, but not need to temp fate.

I will also be trying not to swear as much. According to my mother, the f-word is not an adjective. I don't really agree and tend to find it to be my most favorite explicative, but we will see. I'll try. I also don't buy into the theory that only ignorant people swear (no my mother didn't say that). I'm actually very smart and still I like to swear.

So we'll see how this goes.

Funniest thing I heard today......

....From our tattoo artist, whose shop is kind of in the hood. His slogan is "Good tattoos in a bad neighborhood"

Anyway here we sit waiting for husband to start sitting number 3 of a 4 sitting back piece and E.D. says..

"Oh I bought a slingshot off a homeless guy the other day...hang on", and then gets said slingshot to show us.

OK in retrospect maybe not so funny, but at the time hilarious....

The good, the bad and the ......

So good news and bad news today. First the bad.

I'm not getting hired as soon as I thought. There were some set backs and my file didn't get finished. So I'm not getting a job. The next hire date is late August. Almost 2 months after I lost the current job. Unfortunately, I turned down another job process because everybody was sure I was going to get this one. I know that was stupid..story of my life. Anyway I called about that job and the supervisor is going to try to get me back in the process. Honestly, I'm not holding my breath.

Ok, now the good.

I sent out the emails for my dissertation and have had 38 people take my survey so far. I'm pretty stoked about that.
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As of 7:00pm I'm up to 102 people who have completed the survey. WooHoo!!!!!!!!!!