Lent and the 103 Fever...

Maybe i have been working too hard... maybe not having a day off since January, except to be with Jennie over my birthday... well, whatever. i hate being sick. Figured i would try to go to work anyway, but i had trouble moving. So i called in sick...

Felt even worse because i missed Bugs wedding reception party... my 'rents had a good time though. (Sorry Bugs/Bobby)

So my parents come over with chicken soup and ginger ale. They are great. Dad told me that i needed to take a day off each week to prevent this. Mum told me that i needed to stop smoking cigars. Which lead me to my next thought... i got sick after i gave up cigars for lent... hm... maybe the reason that i'm sick is because i gave up cigars for lent. If i had continued smoking cigars i wouldn't have gotten sick. Might just need to smoke one, could be good medicine!

Jennie has been absolutely wonderful during my time of ailment... staying on the phone with me as i have groaned and complained... this girl really is wonderful. She has also chewed me out as i've been like, "oh, the fever is now down to 100, i can go run some errands." Yeah, i hate being sick. Think i need a cigar to help me feel better...

Lent... again...

So we are back at that wonderful time of year... Lent... After failing miserably at Lent last year with attempting to sacrifice alcohol, i have decided this year to sacrifice cigars... it has been a long three days... 37 more to go...

There are also various moments in life where i am comforted with the fact that human nature guarantees my job security. Many of these moments would be avoided if people would give up alcohol for Lent, but seeing as how i failed miserably at doing so last year, i hardly have faith in the lusher members of society. One of these lushes decided to take his SUV off-roading last night... through a shopping center. The SUV wound up between a tailor shop and a bookstore, replacing the dividing wall and bookshelves. A book with the title "Bad Move" rested on the hood. The driver, momentarily sober (and unsurprisingly and disappointingly unhurt), managed to crawl from the wreckage and vanish, most likely seeking more alcohol to forget the incident and thus claim plausible denyability. Two stores down from the wreckage was my favorite pizza joint. This drunk was lucky... very, very lucky... take away my NY pizza joint and no one will find (or miss) you. For a short video clip of this wonderful moment in life, visit my MySpace account.

On happier notes, my birthday was the best birthday i've ever had ever! Going to thank Jennie for that one. Valentines Day was the best ever too... also Jennie's fault. Earlier in the week i got my nose burned in an attempt to finally cease the string of bloody noses that have been plaguing me for the past two months. The doc, God bless him, had to have been at least 65. Poor old guy kept missing where he was trying to cauterize and hitting the parts of my nose that hadn't been anesthetized. Sigh. No, no, its ok, i like the smell of my own flesh burning! Feels good too! Oh well.

Well, its late... ok, its 0800... am... but that's late for me. Time for bed. Sigh... 36 more days...

Still alive... just sleeping...

No, no i'm not dead... though a few more hours of sleep would be nice...

...and now that i've finally remembered my password to this site i can update. yeah, yeah, i know... i'll expect beatings with wet noodles and the like to follow shortly...

so where was i?

ah, yes... life... and what has been filling it over the past several months...

i'm currently sitting in my patrol unit at work... we are in the winter months so the call load has been slightly milder, yet i have still maintained my moments of sheer excitement within the hours of boredom. recently i witnessed a miracle of sorts... sometimes something is so difficult to carry that it has to be seen from an angle perpendicular to the way it is facing... and sometimes in seeing it in that new light a small miracle of sorts can be seen that would have passed unnoticed otherwise. a few nights ago i watched a two month old baby die. to say that the parents intentionally killed their child would probably be inaccurate... its just that when your drunk and high you tend not to notice things... like your baby dying... that's when you see the miracle of a God that suffers not the little children to come unto Him, and a beautiful little baby that is no longer suffering.

sigh...

on a different and very less emotionally draining subject, i received my stop sticks a couple of weeks ago. these things work great on a pursuit. in fact, as i was getting them installed in my unit i casually laughed and said it would be ironic if i got into a pursuit that night... and it was. after dropping a juvenile off at her parent's house i get on the highway just as a vehicle passes me at 100+mph. i finally catch up with it, oh, about 6 miles later as it exits off of the highway. driver actually stops for me. to say that the driver was intoxicated would be an understatement. after a brief and unsuccessful attempt to play the name game, i command the driver to exit the vehicle. he decided instead, apparently using all four of his brain cells to make his decision, to throw the vehicle in drive and slam on the gas. he skids in the sand left over from the last ice storm and runs over a median. ironically enough my backer does the same exact thing and crashes into the bad guy. bad guy manages to get free however, and takes off with me following close behind. my backer was stuck.

now there is an unspoken rule when it comes to vehicle pursuits... when you are calling out your speeds over the radio never give your accurate speed, always drop it down 10-20mph. yet once you break 100mph, it doesn't really matter. so once i broke 120 i cancelled the pursuit. the closest backer was miles off, and i really didn't want to hit a patch of sand or black ice at 120mph. pictures of Jennie kept flashing in my mind, and i do so really want to see her again. i cut my lights and siren, and turn around.

now because the bad guy used all four of his brain cells to decide to run from me, he left none available for anything else... like driving... about three minutes after i terminated the pursuit and turned around, a single car collision went out. i turn back around and when i arrive on the scene i see ol' boy crying like a baby over his wrecked car (that happened to be 600 feet off the road in a field). he really started crying when i put him in handcuffs... and again when i found his methamphetamine... and his marijuana... his $2700... and, now that i had his real name, the four warrants for his arrest. i almost felt bad when i told him that his money and car now belonged to the department... almost... well... okay, actually it felt really good to rub that fact in! that doesn't make me too mean, does it?

i recently got a camera in my patrol unit, so i will be sure to record the next pursuit i am in for all of your viewing pleasure... and i promise i won't make it as annoying as those stupid world's wildest police chases tv shows.

the theatre has beckoned and i am in another show at sapulpa community theatre. this is my third show there now, and the second in which i am shirtless... don't ask. i said don't ask! (no, raoul, no... these are legitimate shows written by legitimate playwrights. sigh...) anyway, performances are this weekend and next, which brings me to this coming weekend and all the joys that it will bring... i.e... Jennie!

yes, the girlfriend who does exist, regardless of what raoul and quixote think (just because you don't believe it, doesn't mean it isn't true). my time out in nyc over new years with her was, well, definitely exciting. her cousin got married over that weekend, so i got to meet the entire family at the wedding. it was also a nice growing point in our relationship because Jennie got to experience first hand the fact that i can't dance; and the fact that she danced with me anyway solidified the fact that i'm crazy about the her. oh, and i caught the garter... it was slightly embarrassing (raoul, you are forbidden from comment). it should also be mentioned that Jennie looked absolutely stunning in the dress she wore, which isn't all that different from how she normally looks... oh well.

the rest of the trip was filled with movies (and for the record, galaxy quest, though hilarious, is not a romantic flick), shows at the lincoln center (lookin' good in the mirror!), and much delicious food. mmm... pizza... real pizza... i also managed to get myself lost in the east village one night, which was a rather frustrating experience. i haven't proven my theory yet, but i think that the east village is the bermuda triangle of new york city. oh, and the little bronze statues scattered among the subway terminals are slightly disturbing. so glad that i had my "emotional support" with me, even though it meant more paperwork at the airport.

there is much happiness and anticipation as the days when Jennie arrives draw closer. Mr and Mrs M., i will definitely bring her by the house. hopefully you can help me convince your wayward sons that an amazing and beautiful young lady is, in fact, willingly dating me. until then i am going to continue looking forward to holding my girl this weekend, and come to grips with the fact that next week i will be officially closer to 30 than i am to 20. sigh...

Shotgun Application...

i got this new pair of gloves the other day. i love them. they have a kevlar panel that goes over the knuckles. hee hee hee! oh, they are sweet! getting the gloves required a little bit of an adrenaline rush however...

my buddy calls me and says, "hey, i've got the gloves, meet me at such and such location..." no problem, on my way... i'm about a half a mile off and i see a vehicle driving without its headlights on. i decide to go ahead and stop it, and tell my buddy to back me on the stop. i walk up to the car with every intention of giving the driver that, "dumbass, you forgot to turn on your headlights" speech (i had gotten a look at the occupants while i was turning around, all looked to be about 19-22). So i begin my speal when i look down and see a loaded banana clip for an SKS assault rifle sitting on this guy's lap... yeah.

i command the guy to throw me the clip, which he does, when my buddy shows up. Now this cop is a lightning rod. He also happens to be one of the best shots with any gun in the state. He quickly sees what's going on and grabs his shotgun. i see this and think, "hey! good idea, i'm going to run and grab my shot-... nevermind."

We clear the car and secure the occupants. No rifle is found. Driver says its at his house. So i run these guys and they both come back in the system as being career criminals with previous charges for armed robbery. No convictions... yet. Unbelievable. Crazy thing was... other than issuing a ticket for driving at night with no headlights, there wasn't anything i could charge them with. There was a rather length stern lecture about driving with a loaded banana clip on your lap.

Seven hours later, (its always an hour before the shift ends!) i wind up taking a 22 year old to jail for her 3rd DUI in the past 2 years. Second time in a week that i have taken someone to jail with 3 or more DUIs. Someone explain to me why these people are still driving? The last guy was the only one who didn't go to the hospital from the wreck he caused... yeah...

Shotgun theory...

Had requals this past week for the Department. Every six months we have to go to the range, on-duty, and requalify with our firearms. I particularly enjoy the fall requals because it is still very dark out when i shoot (0600). I prefer to shoot in a lighting environment that it similar to that which i work in. Anyway... i am there with my buddy Opie (yeah, Little Rascals).

First round with the pistol... 70... ok, relax, breathe...
Second round with the pistol... 95... that's more like it.
Opie, not to be undone by an older officer, decided that he had to shoot a 95 as well. Sigh. Rookies.

Now i am quite proud with this 95 because it upgrades my medal to a Master, which is the highest medal you can achieve for shooting. Also, the one round that i "missed" from the 50 yard line hit the target in the neck just between the two circles for headshot and bodyshot. So it isn't like i "missed" the target.

Now on to the shotgun...

First round... 68 buckshot... 6 slug... non-qualifying... ok...
Second round... 60 buckshot... too low to even shoot the slugs afterwards.... great.

And there went my shotgun...

Somebody explain to me how i can shoot a PISTOL from 50 yards away and achieve Master level scores, but when i pull out my SHOTGUN, the weapon that you give people who can't aim, the "just aim in the general direction and click" gun, i can barely hit the target, with any of the 8 pellets per shell, from 20 yards away!

Sigh......... needless to say i had to go back and requalify the next day in order to get my shotgun back. I requalified with it... barely... scoring the absolute minimum you can score and still keep the gun...

So i wonder what weapon i will use in a gunfight...

The Long Awaited Return...

Where to begin?

It has been a very crazy few months. What with work, court, grad school, and extra jobs there has been very little time for anything else... such as sleep. After a brief chat with the Sergeant, it was advised (i.e. ordered) to cut back. I agreed. Figured the best way to start that was with a vacation... thus began the long awaited return home... to New York City.

I love New York City. Felt so great to be there. Saw a couple of shows... ate tons of great food! The food is reason enough for me to move back there. Yeah... and, um... sorta kinda met a girl...

Okay, was actually introduced by a mutual friend back in April... should clarify that. Things recently reached the point however where my inner monolouge was saying, "hm... you're not pushing her away... warning! warning!" So while i was in NYC visiting family and friends i decided to make a surprise visit to a place in Astoria... not too long after that there was this great night involving a walk on the beach, moonlight, a lighthouse, and fireworks. The thing that continues to surprise me is the stillness that i feel. Amidst the excitement and "freak out" of having a fresh relationship there is a blanket of calmness that covers everything. It has been so long since i have felt a peace about anyone that it caught me off guard. Still trying to figure out what to do next...

Now i am back from the great NYC, and sitting in the rain. i much prefer sleeping in the rain as oppossed to working, however there is something rather nice about sitting in the patrol car smoking a cigar while watching the rain come down. That and the long awaited return to blogging. Though at this point it should also be mentioned that my evil MySpace page has been blooming nicely. Yeah, yeah, i know... 50 m0re years in Purgatory... sigh... building that house nicely...

A Note...

Just dropping a quick note to let everyone know that i haven't died... just been swamped with work, court, extra shifts, and grad school. My vacation to NYC can't come soon enough... still trying to decide whether or not i will be on the return flight...