How can it be bedtime already?

Today was a good day – it went fast due to having a coworker there to talk to.  Tomorrow I don’t have one so it will be slower but oh well.  Man, I’m tired and it is freezing in this apt. 

We are supposed to get freezing rain tonight – it was raining when I got home from work a mere 90 minutes ago.  Took the dogs for a walk and almost fell twice because they jerked me while I was trying to glide gracefully across ice patches.  Tomorrow is suppose to be worse – I have to drive into town in the crap.

Am thinking about joining the gym again – my coworker has a membership at the Core.  I added it up and if I went every day of the month, it would be $1.67 per day.  Of course I wouldn’t go every day but I need to think about it more.  Man I am so tired…

Work Tonight

I work for four hours later – get home, sleep for five hours and go back to work for 12. Now, I’m not necessarily complaining because I know there are people out there who do this just about every day. I’m just saying, that is what I have to do.

Going to finish a few things around the apt, take a nap and then go into town to see if my son wants to go for soup and coffee. If he doesn’t, maybe I’ll go shopping instead. I still have one, maybe two, more gifts to buy for him though he continues to protest about the money I’m spending. But I have saved up for this very thing because I haven’t been able to buy presents for him for about 10 years now – always gave him money which is so boring. So this year I saved and bought the big tree so I could fill it with presents for him. Of course, a couple of the presents he couldn’t wait for Christmas for so he has those already…I’m a pushover. It would have been excruciating for him to have to wait when he went with me to pick them out and knew he was getting them. I can’t do torture so he got them early but that is alright because there is plenty more under the tree…smaller stuff but still stuff he wants.

I could not find a proper tree topper this year – I spent hours scouring the different christmas websites, so I’ve put a plush puppy dog up there. It doesn’t look right, of course, but neither did the bare top so this will do until I can find something proper. My preference would be a polar bear that lights up – but would settle for a wolf, woodland creature, or even a mermaid. Whatever it is has to have white and blue on it to match the blue, white and silver tree theme. Christmas is only 14 days away – no doubt about it, it is going to be very WHITE outside. I have lights to put on the bush outside – was going to do it on my three days off but, obviously, the weather didn’t cooperate so maybe I’ll do that next week if I can.

I will say, you definitely learn where your apartment has sealing problems when you have a wind as strong as that one was the other day. I couldn’t stand near my front door without my feet freezing and I even had it blocked with a towel. The air conditioner, though covered on the outside, also allowed in a lot of cold air…good thing the heater was working.

Have the urge to bake – not because there is anything I want to make but because I love the aroma of hot baked goods. It makes the whole apartment smell so delicious, warm and welcoming.

The dogs love the snow but not the way it gets between their paw pads.  Bennie still is afraid to go out in it to go potty so he sticks close to the front door.  He has barely any fur on his tummy so I imagine it gets cold very fast for him.  Baxter is well insulated so it doesn’t bother him much at all – at least not for several minutes.  They romp around in the plowed parts when I take them for a walk but are usually both ready to come in about the same time I am.

My Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends –

Another year is coming to a close and I know we all have many blessings that we are counting. We are also praying for blessings, some are praying for miracles, as we look forward to what 2010 will bring.

The truth is, it will bring a lot of the same thing 2009 brought as we continue to plod along on the same path we did. Many of us are in jobs we tolerate but few of us love our jobs and can’t wait to go to work come Monday morning. We have family and friends we stay in contact with – ones who care about us and who we care deeply for. There will be children’s games, school, homework, etc., for those who have school aged children – ballet, tap dancing, and other classes for those who have pre-school children. We will rotate the tires on our cars, buy groceries, watch tv, and continue on that way for the entire year. There is nothing wrong with this – it is called LIFE.

No matter how exciting or adventurous we want our lives to be, there will always be the regular mundane chores that must be done daily, weekly, and monthly. Tomorrow we could go ski down a mountain, the next sit for three hours at a Laundromat doing laundry. There is no way around these tasks – we all must do them…they are the substance our days are full of.

As with everything in life, there must be a balance or our lives are out of whack. This year I challenge each of you to dream larger, set goals higher, love more, give of yourself more, seek out new friends and reconnect with family that has grown distant over time. Life is bigger than all of us – it is also way too damn short so make yours amazing. If there is something you’ve been wanting to do but keep putting on the back burner – let 2010 be the year. Be unconventinal, break some rules, try something new…

We are a remarkable group of people – capable of fantastic things! Never sell yourself or your life short! Next year, let each of us do a Christmas letter that is so full of exciting things we’ve done, dreams we’ve realized, and new loves/friends we’ve met that we have to use both sides of the paper!

Merry Christmas!
Love, K

The Storm

How fierce the wind flies across the brow-beat meadows,
how much it does whine as it sluices through the weary land.
One could almost believe it was attempting to scour away
the dubious sloth called humanity.

Jubilant snowflakes fill the voids between the last blades of grass
soon there will be none left as far as the eye can see. 
All the bare trees will be suffused in fanciful white gowns–
ballerinas dressed for the party that begins around midnight.

You Know…

I really haven’t been able to come up with something to write today – I’ve been trying for 6 hours now.  My brain is convoluted with thoughts, fantasies, and anxiety.

Most of the day I’ve been thinking about Laureen and what a nightmare this accident is for her.  I picture her with two broken ankles pulling herself from her yard into her house in 28 degree weather to call 911.  From what the IC dispatchers said, she was still in possession of her sense of humor despite the pain.  Laureen is a great person – she doesn’t deserve this.  I can think of several individuals I would rather see in that hospital bed.

For about a month now I have been brimming with Christmas spirit.  Very little has gotten me down and I’ve had a pretty optimistic outlook on life.   I can’t say that I’ve totally lost zeal for it but it has waned a little.  Probably the impending storm causing that.  I dread winter driving but I also dread the idea that this storm, if it gets as bad as it could, might mean I’m stranded in town until Thursday once I get to work tomorrow.  I may even have to come in early tomorrow if the weather starts getting bad through the night.

Last year I came in early twice because the snow and wind were getting bad too bad to risk being late for work.  Both times I had a 12 hour shift and no way would risk having to call someone in for me in that weather.  If I can’t get in, I don’t want someone else trying to and have an accident…better to muscle down and come in even if I can only drive 5 mph.

The dogs want me to take them out for a walk – I don’t feel like it.  I know I have to later but I’m not in any rush to go out there in the cold.  Soon, but not yet.  I knew it was only a matter of time before Baxter realized he could pull down the barricade to the bedroom to get to the cat – he knocked it all over tonight to get in there but Isabel was ready for him.  I worry about his big bulgey eyes – that she’ll scratch him and he’ll lose an eye or two.  I don’t know.

Right now I’ve had a nice Pina Colada - some ravioli with Alfredo sauce – and have been watching Closer though I missed the first half hour.  I don’t know why I can’t get it in my head that it is on at 8PM here instead of 9pm like it was in Florida.  I turned on the TV at 8:30 thinking I’d check the channel to make sure it was on only to find it was already half over.  Ugh.  With Monk ending, Closer is about all I like to watch these days…Psych if it is on but it doesn’t seem like it is running much anymore.

It’s Almost Here!

Just checked the radar – our area is already starting to be covered by clouds that indicate heavy snow is coming.  Won’t be long now…

Pizza or Chinese?

This was a big delimma for me as I am rather craving a taco pizza but also craving Beef & Broc Chinese food.  Well, my Chinese take-out place in NL has the worst Beef & Broc I’ve ever tasted but my son recommended a place that he uses here in town.  Finally decided on the Chinese as it is better for me than the pizza but it was a tough call.

Very few pizza places here make a taco pizza, Pizza Pit is about the only one who does and theirs is quite good.  I do love good Chinese food though so hopefully this is as good as he says it is.  I do know I’m starving from not eating yet and thought I could wait till 7pm but decided to order here rather than try to figure out something to eat later.

Wound Down

Today started off very busy but it seems to be winding down as the end of day shift looms near.  Evening shift will come on at 3pm – no doubt rested and rearing to go.  I hope they are because that will make the last four hours go by faster.

Tonight is going to be a good night – I can feel it.  I’m going to go home, relax, maybe clean a little, spend time with the animals, watch some tv and try to write.  I would say maybe drink a beer but I drank my last Corona Lite last night so doubtful.  I do have two Busch Lite but don’t really care for the taste…sorry all you Busch fans.

If this storm hits us that they are predicting will, driving in tomorrow is going to be a bitch.  I HATE winter driving – hate my wheels slipping on the ice, hate not having traction.  I bought new tires for the front last month – hope they work better than the old ones.   The only two major things I have against winter is the road conditions and my feet getting cold.  Boy, a beach in FL sounds really nice…

Some 911 calls from “You Called 911 for What?”

Cap’n Craig Colantoni I actually got a 911 call from an older lady that stated that she need the paramedics out at her house because her husband was having a stroke. She stated that he was in his 70’s and then she told me the one thing i didn’t want to hear, and she said i shouldn’t tell u this but we just got done having oral sex, well com…(yarr)e to find out they did and her husband died as a result of it, Man she must have been good…..

Lady Princess Of Law Enforcement Best call I ever got was a female who wanted the police to respond to a domestic. Of course since she was female and made the call, officers responded. When they got there, she open the door naked as the day she was born, told the police to arrest her husband because this was his 3rd time coming home this week trying t…(yarr)o have sex with her and all 3 times he basically sucked and should be arrested. Needless to say, the police had to arrest her eventually because she just could not understand why they would not arrest him for being the worst lay ever…..

Lady Megan Henley Top call from last night:

0200: Chest Pain
“What’s going on?”
“My heart keeps stopping…the only way I can keep it going is to hit myself in the chest when I feel it stop.”
“Ah ok….are you having any pain?”
“Yeah, right here” (points to central chest)
“When’d that start?”
“After the second time I restarted my heart…”

Lady Dawn Pope heard over the radio this weekend….21yo complaining of a swollen vagina. had it pierced 2 months ago and cant get the piercing out. We almost fell out of the rig laughing

Lady Emily M Kolkmeyer-Wilson One of the junior fighters was bored one weekend so he called in 4 FAKE calls so he could have something to do. Then he lied about it when they figured out it was him because he called from his OWN cell phone.

Lady JayLynn Sharpe Caller (at 2 in the morning and with great anxiety in her voice): There is a cat stuck in my wall! It is meowing and whining in great distress!
Dispatcher: Ok ma’m we will page out animal control
(30 minutes later and after animal control has been woken up and paged out)
Caller: I called earlier about a cat stuck in my w…(yarr)all.. Well see yesterday was my birthday, and my daughter gave me a clock shaped like a cat.. Well I didn’t know when the alarm goes off it meows, so that is what I was hearing.

Lady Brittany Higginbotham My personal favorite happened earlier this week

The following occured in spanish
0340
Hispanic male walks to ambulance… My feet are gone
me: your feet are right there
Him: No, they are gone, like the bottoms of my feet are gone
me: you just walked to the ambulance, cant do that if your feet are gone
Him: (proceeds to remove…(yarr) his unsocked feet from sneakers) See! My feet are gone
me: (gagging) Thats the worst case of atheletes foot Ive ever seen
Him: What do I do?
me: (still gagging) Well I can take you to
Him: No! No hospital, how do I fix it
me: Tinactin, Lamisil
Him: Ok, thats it, thank you

UGH Atheletes foot is NOT a 4 am 911 call people! just FYI

Hell Day Again

I wish someone would let me know in advance that it is Hell Day.  Maybe I could mentally prepare for the chaos that envelops the day if I knew it was coming.  The very least I could make sure I have a lot of ice available for pina coladas when I got home.  OK, so I don’t really drink that much but still – some times I wish I was the type to get drunk.

Have a friend who got so drunk last night she awoke with a hickie and has no idea how she got it – let alone how she got home.  I have never been this drunk – have never wanted to lose control like that.  At least not until I started working 911 – now I sometimes wish I was capable of drinking till I was drunk.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) I can’t.  The voice of reason always steps in, though sometimes after the fifth margarita, and I stop long before I’m throwing up sick.  I am never confident enough in my designated driver making sure I got home safe and sound to get too drunk.  The only person I can trust to keep me safe is me.  As Mattie said in True Grit “I would not put a thief in my mouth to rob my brains.”

Ok, you are wondering what made it Hell Day.  First off I had a trainee for 12 hours – it is exhausting having one for 8 hours, 12 is excruciating.  That isn’t due to the trainee – she did wonderful – but to all the reams of red tape and documentation I must do for every single call.  We stayed caught up the first little bit but then everything went to hell in a hand basket.   Too many calls coming in one right after another, officers doing traffic, a basketball game going, an armed robbery in Coralville we assisted on, a possibly gunmen on his way somewhere he wasn’t suppose to be going, and on and on and on it went.  By the time I left at 7:20pm, I was 12 calls behind in my documentation.  Thankfully the trainee volunteered to come in tomorrow once I catch up to review and sign the DOR.   Ugh! I can see why the other trainers get so frustrated with it all.  I thought I would enjoy training but I don’t.

Another thing I don’t like is I can’t get on the internet at all to check my emails or anything.  I hate that.  Playing on the internet relaxes me so without that outlet, I was pretty damn stressed.  Man I’m exhausted.  So good night world – tomorrow surely is going to be an awesome day!  I heard snow starting tomorrow night and lasting through Tuesday…yippee, winter is here.  It has to start to get over with – Spring is just around the corner. 

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