Weary and bleary eyed

It was a hard day today for many reasons.  I suppose the biggest one was the stress of training – dispatch is too crowded with three people in it and next week it will have four so that will even be worse.  I’m not looking forward to that.

Had one of the Captains explain something to me in a way that I thought it should be done but was different from the way I was told to do it.  I wish people could all get on the same page.  It is so disheartening to have one person tell you to do it one way and the other to tell you not to do it that way.  I never know who to follow because either way someone thinks I’m doing it wrong.  I’m just so weary of it all.

It is almost 9pm and I’m cooking supper.  I have to admit, I’m eating more for comfort than due to hunger.  A steak sounded really good so that is what I’m broiling right now.  Stopped at HyVee on the way home to pick up a few things – the store was packed.  The clerk asked me if I had all my grocery shopping done for Christmas and I groaned because I haven’t even taken stock yet of what I have and what I will need to buy.  I need to do that tomorrow night.

The weather is supposed to be bad the rest of the week – I’m so hoping the weather people are wrong because I can’t take it if they are right.  I’m just not feeling up to more snow driving.  I’ve got to pick up my son on Christmas morning and take him back home later in the day – really want it to be a day of stress free driving as I’ll have enough other things to be worrying about.  Ugh.

I should go to the gym – I know this – but I am too tired.  I know, that is no excuse.  I’m afraid it would wake me up more though when I am so close to bedtime.  Maybe I can go first thing in the morning.

Drunk Driver

I may be wrong but I believe I had a very drunk driver ahead of me on the way home tonight.  He sped up to over 50mph in a 35 mph zone to get in front of everyone, then drove 25 in a 55.  He kept going into the oncoming lane, I was afraid he was going to cause an accident so I stayed far enough behind him to hopefully not be involved if he did. 

He finally turned off, almost over-shooting the turn which would have put him in a considerably deep ditch but managed to avoid it.  I seriously considered calling the police but my cell phone was in the back seat and out of my reach.  Road conditions were bad enough that I didn’t want to risk squirming around in my seat until I could find the phone and it is such a short distance that chances were he would turn off long before an officer could get there.

Anyway, took the dogs for a walk in the snow flurries, Baxter loves romping through the snow while Bennie barely wants to leave the sidewalk.  Even if it is the quickest way to me, Bennie will refuse to walk through the snow – opting instead to work his way around using the shoveled walkway.  It is funny watching him. 

Training

Well, another weekend of training is over – I only have one left this month which, coincidentally, is also the last weekend of this month.  My trainee then moves on to the last phase of her training before she is out on her own.  I think she will do just fine.  However I must say I will be glad to be done with training for a few weeks.  It is no reflection on my trainee, but I am quite sick of teaching and evaluating someone else. It drains all my energy and sucks the joy out of the job because I can’t DO the job, I have to watch and evaluate how someone else is doing.  I prefer doing it.

In a month from tomorrow, I will get another trainee for three weeks, get a three week break, and have her again for another three weeks.  I imagine by that time I will be quite ready for a break.

Tomorrow I plan to hit the gym in the morning before work and then again when I get off work if possible.  I have a lot of working out to do if I want to be in much better shape before my birthday.  Earlier I ate what I wanted of the stew I had made the other day and gave the rest to the dogs.  Baxter threw part of it up and then ate it again – makes me gag. 

Christmas is this week and I am looking forward to cooking and spending time with my son.  I sure hope the weather holds so it won’t be hard to get in to pick him up and bring him back here.  I will have to take a quick break from cooking – hopefully it won’t ruin anything.  I told him I’d pick him up early so he could help me finish it up.  I need to line up some take home containers for him since he wants a lot of the leftovers.  I hope the turkey turns out – the dogs are gonna love the innards they will get.

Christmas

I want to say to all those bah humbug people that I am acutely disappointed in them.  What happened to neighborhoods fixing up their houses all along the block? What happened to the Festival of Lights in Coralville? Why are more houses dark this year than have decent decorations? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???

I know Christmas is a hectic time and all that but Christmas lights/decorations are a big cornerstone of having the Christmas spirit.  Really, what is going on out there? I counted 11 houses with Christmas lights on my way home and 19 without…that is just damn unacceptable. I told my son I should have written down all the addresses and sent out letters about how their lack of holiday spirit dampened those who drove by their houses.  Most of them aren’t spreading joy in any other way so the lights can be their holiday gift to the general population.

Well, that has made me forget the other topic I was going to write about tonight so I guess I’ll go to bed.  It is 11pm anyway which is way past my bedtime on a work night – 5:30 am is going to come awfully fast.  Still, wish I could remember what the other topic was…

Missing Utah Woman

OK, who among us thinks the Utah police will find Susan alive? Who also believes the husband is innocent in the possible murder? Who would agree that his alibi is the strangest one we have heard in a long time?

I wish Susan would be found alive but I don’t think that wish is going to be fulfilled.  I expect she was killed the day she went missing by her husband because it seems most women who go missing are dispatched to the heavens by their “loving” spouses.  Who takes their small children out camping on a freezing night and doesn’t leave for camping until after midnight? It doesn’t happen – couldn’t the husband come up with a better alibi than that?

I know I’m a skeptic but I do believe he is guilty of her death – whether he meant to kill her or if it was accidental – he is still guilty of something.  As I said, this is my opinion based on past cases I have read.  I could be way off but history dictates that I probably am correct.  I hope they find her body, her family deserves to be able to see that she is properly buried. 

Susan looks like such a cheerful, sunny person in her photos.  I don’t understand how someone can kill the mother or father of their children – the person they married and promised to love forever.  What, were they thinking about divorce and he didn’t want to pay child support or alimony?  Was she considering leaving him? Did she have a big insurance policy? Is there another woman or man?

I know most of these questions will be answered in the coming weeks.  I do hope her body is found very soon.  I really would love to see her found alive but as well all know from the cop shows (Cops, 48 Mystery, etc) that if they aren’t found in the first 48 hours, it is likely she is dead.  My thoughts are with the families.

Ok

So I got the tour of the gym – it is very nice.  I decided, naturally, to work out in the “women’s only” gym off the women’s locker room which was nice.  It doesn’t have as fancy of equipment but enough for me right now.  I worked on the treadmill, stair stepper and some free weights.  I must admit, by the free weights I was starting to feel that tingling in my ears and my neck hurt.  Even though I wanted to do more, I knew that meant it was time to stop for now.  Maybe I’ll go again later – I did enjoy it a lot.

In the locker room a very thin woman who looked like she was dying of cancer looked at me, rolled her eyes and made one of those little nasal ”hmmpf” sounds but this was the only person who did so.  I wanted to tell her I hoped I never looked as bony as she did but I bit my tongue.  Admittedly, I was not really dressed well for working out.  My sweatpants are men’s pants and about two sizes too big so they hang on me pretty awfully.  I do have danceskin workout clothes but I wouldn’t be caught dead in a public gym in them so guess I need to go buy some women’s sweatpants that actually fit. 

I wanted to go in the steam room but that is where little miss bitch went so I decided to call it a day.  Two things to keep in mind – always carry a water bottle and a sweat towel. 

I’ve been looking at sweatpants at Target and might go get some.  My son asked me to run him around today but he hasn’t called yet so guess he changed his mind.  My shirt and hair are still damp from sweat – need to do more of that.  I must admit, as I was working with weights, I almost broke down crying thinking of how far I have to go before I’ll look the way I want.  Just doesn’t seem fair.

Off to the Gym

Well, I’m off to the gym.  I decided to eat something so I didn’t pass out on my first day – just in case I feel the urge to sit in the sauna too long or something along those lines.  I’m going to try not to do too much but it is very tempting to throw caution to the wind and go for it.

Hope everyone enjoys their afternoon – I’ll write more when I get back.    If I’m thoroughly energized, I may even go back for the 5pm Body Pump class…depends on if my son is bringing me my table and how badly I hurt myself now.  LOL

Baxter

Baxter was acting pretty sick there for awhile, I was getting worried about him. He seems better now, not 100% but up there.  He is at least attempting to get in on my game of fetch with Bennie.  Bennie has the longer snout which makes it easier for him to get the ball away from Baxter.

I have a sinus headache – it is a pounding one I got while standing outside for about 10 minutes.  Irritates me.  I am going to go workout this afternoon early then need to get home to clean before my table hopefully gets delivered.  The house is a mess again – I just vacuumed two days ago and already the place is covered with Bennie’s hair.

Arg – want this headache to go away.

I Will Never Understand

I will never understand someone who complains about people who are so rude that they don’t answer their text messages – and yet, they themselves don’t answer the ones they receive.  Don’t they understand turnabout is fair play?  How childish.   One would think we weren’t dealing with adults here.

I have a friend whose girlfriend broke up with him and he is having a hard time dealing with it.  I understand that, I do.  Right now he is hating all women – lumping us into the same mold that he was complaining just a few days ago that women lumped men into.  I find it childish on his part that he won’t even acknowledge a text saying good morning.  He is sulking and everything and everyone around him suffers collateral damage.   Maybe I am too harsh but I have little patience for this kind of thing.  If he doesn’t feel like talking, he should text and say so rather than ignore my text altogether.  I am not his girlfriend – I am merely a friend…it won’t hurt my feelings if he said I don’t feel like texting today…what bothers me is the silent treatment.  I’m not the one who broke his heart.

I know, women out there are already making excuses for his behavior and probably think I’m being heartless.  But why should I put up with rude behavior? Seriously? It is called CONVERSATION and people have been doing it for centuries.  Don’t give me the rude silent treatment hoping I’ll get the message – open you mouth and tell me damn it.  I’m not fragile, I don’t break – I am not in kindergarten or so young that I’ll shed tears over it. 

When he feels better, he’ll start texting again as if nothing has happened – it has happened like this before.  I will say something to him about this behavior, he will apologize, and we pass it off as “just one of those things” and life will go on as if it were never interrupted.  BUT, it still pisses me off right now – GROW UP already! 

Insensitively Yours

Bummer, the one chick who seemed to have a level head on her shoulders just got eaten by Jaw’s twin Chops.  Guess that is only par for the course as it is always the level headed, not so cute girl, who gets ate up, butchered, or diced.  Can’t have someone who is too adorable know how to do anything but sit and whine for some masculine (ok, not in this movie) chump to come along and rescue them.  Unfortunately, the rescuer usually gets eaten – a small sacrifice on the throne of the more glamorous female.  Ah well, I’m not going to get into a diatribe of all that…we know my thoughts on the subject from previous posts. 

Went to visit my invalid friend who broke her ankles with her ladder.  She is in good spirits – probably much better than I would be in that situation.  She laughs at all the little immodesty she has had to endure as others help her go to the bathroom, walk and bathe.  She hopes to get a laptop in the next couple of days so then can at least get online to correspond and what not.

Had soup and coffee with my son – that was nice.  We had a good conversation talking about relationships and how difficult they can be.  Each time you put yourself out there, you bravely admit that you need others in your life – that you are willing to take a chance as friends or lovers.   So many of my friends are breaking up – some have been married for over 10 years only to find themselves being cast aside for younger models…not just women either.  It makes me quite happy to be single. 

Ah…Chops joins his brother in the big ocean in the sky…such a shame.  Why do the Jaws movies have to pick on Great Whites? They are such beautiful, majestic creatures. 

So my list for next year has begun.  So far, other than joining the gym, is scuba diving, moving, driving vacation, Utah in the spring, a visit to my niece in WI, and possibly learning belly dancing.  I’m actually hoping to get into kick boxing as well.  Might add to that list bungee jumping or rock climbing…not sure yet.  I’m not as young as I use to be…not sure I want to dangle on a rubberband or get rope burn.  I want to go to the Bahamas or Jamaica this year or early next (2011).  Guess we shall see what gets added or subtracted before the list is concrete on New Year’s Day. 

Going to let the dogs out for a bit – they are bothering me.