Hi! Just thought I'd let you guys know that I am still alive. I am sorry that I don't blog here more often. Let me fill you in on some of what I've been doing:
First, I spent 2 weeks in Pensacola Florida doing Haz-Mat training for a huge manufacturing plant there. I know it sounds like vacation, but truth is, when I go teach somewhere, I get up each day, teach for 8 hours (actually 10 hours a day on this trip!) get back to the hotel, eat, prepare for the next day, and go to bed.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
That, combined with some other work kept me off my motorcycle for 3 weeks!
Second, Road Atlanta has been very busy! That's a very good thing. I have been up there almost every off day this month. BONUS: I get to ride my cycle there every day :)
Third, things at work are really getting ugly. Money isn't tight - it's nonexistent. Stations closing. Squad 4 gone. 3 men on a fire engine. doing more with less, and morale is in the crapper.
Recently, the Chief came out with a decision about the personnel assignments that we have been working on for the past 2 and a half years. As you may remember, I was "temporarily" assigned to station 17 in March of 2006. Since then, I have been told over and over again not to get too comfortable here. The department was working on a policy that would let Officers "bid" on open positions, and mine was to be the first one up for bids. Many Captains want this spot, since it is one of the busiest and highest profile Trucks in the city. well, to make a long story short, (I know! too late for that) the Chief has decided that it would be too difficult to go back 2 and a half years, and transferring over 200 people just to implement this policy. So, 3 days ago he announced that while the "bid system" is indeed being put in effect, it would start from here on, not going back to March 2006! That means that I am now permanently assigned to Truck 17! Yay!
Now the bad part: Since I got to stay here, I am on everyone's Sh*t list. It is almost unheard of for a new Captain to get a Truck company (as opposed to an Engine company) let alone one as coveted as Truck 17. All of those guys that wanted my spot are really ticked at me. I have been accused of being politically connected, paying someone off, and committing unnatural acts. My parentage has been questioned. I have been asked if I have compromising pictures of various officers. In short, most of the Captains who have seniority on me are ticked off at me. Never mind that I had no say in the matter, or that I have spent 2 and a half years in limbo. Somehow it's my fault.
On the other hand, all of the Captains who have less seniority than I do (and thus were in limbo also) are ecstatic. They now also have permanent homes. At least they understand my situation.
I'll survive. My crew is happy that I get to stay. I refuse to spend my time defending a policy that I had no say in creating. For 20 years (yep! I've worked here that long...) I have come to work knowing that the fire Department could transfer me any time they want to for any reason. They still can. I'm not gonna stress over where I report - as long as I have a job I love.
Take THAT you jealous jerks!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
I guess a month is long enough...
See? I TOLD you it was an occasional blog!
I don't have much to say, but I thought I owed you guys a blog.
First, It was great to see Dad and Peg at the station the other day! As Dad said, a company in my territory has adopted our station, and is remodeling a large portion of the living area. The company is Czarnowski Enterprises, and their business is setting up and handling special events for corporate clients (like Coca Cola). Their main function is exposition services - that is designing, setting up and taking down booths for their clients at trade shows. Frequently, the show is a once-a-year event, and the client wants a new and different booth each year. So, Coca Cola might have tables, chairs, video displays etc. in their booth, and at the end of the show, they just tell Czarnowski to get rid of it! Czarnowski began asking clients if they could keep the stuff instead of throwing it away, and they use it to fix up firestations all over the country!! That is their corporate charity... fire stations!
They came into our station because their office/warehouse is just down the street. They were about to go to New Orleans and refurb 16 stations that were still damaged from Katrina. They came to ask us what we as firefighters would like and would not like in our station. They took one look at our station, and told us that they'd be back after they went to New Orleans! They have treated us like kings... something we are not used to, thats for sure. Everything we ask for, we get - even offhand comments are quickly fulfilled as if they were wishes! It's getting embarrassing!
The second Item is that I've been riding the motorcycle - a lot. It's a blast!
Third... a two parter. First, Jason and I agreed that the Bronco needed a better name than O.J., and taking into account that it is completely Bad to the Bone, we decided that "Truck Norris" was the perfect name.
Truck Norris doesn't climb hills... He beats them into submission!
Anyway, I'm afraid that Truck Norris has too big of an appetite. 12.5 MPG just ain't gonna cut it at $4 a gallon. So, after I get back into town I'm going to look into trading him in on something a little less like Chuck Norris and a little more like ... Mini Me.
I have wanted a truck for years, and as soon as I got one gas goes through the roof! Oh well.
Last on the list... they are talking about moving Officers around again, which means that I might get transferred to another station in July. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's a cause for concern. I'll keep you posted.
Stay safe, and Be careful!
ME
I don't have much to say, but I thought I owed you guys a blog.
First, It was great to see Dad and Peg at the station the other day! As Dad said, a company in my territory has adopted our station, and is remodeling a large portion of the living area. The company is Czarnowski Enterprises, and their business is setting up and handling special events for corporate clients (like Coca Cola). Their main function is exposition services - that is designing, setting up and taking down booths for their clients at trade shows. Frequently, the show is a once-a-year event, and the client wants a new and different booth each year. So, Coca Cola might have tables, chairs, video displays etc. in their booth, and at the end of the show, they just tell Czarnowski to get rid of it! Czarnowski began asking clients if they could keep the stuff instead of throwing it away, and they use it to fix up firestations all over the country!! That is their corporate charity... fire stations!
They came into our station because their office/warehouse is just down the street. They were about to go to New Orleans and refurb 16 stations that were still damaged from Katrina. They came to ask us what we as firefighters would like and would not like in our station. They took one look at our station, and told us that they'd be back after they went to New Orleans! They have treated us like kings... something we are not used to, thats for sure. Everything we ask for, we get - even offhand comments are quickly fulfilled as if they were wishes! It's getting embarrassing!
The second Item is that I've been riding the motorcycle - a lot. It's a blast!
Third... a two parter. First, Jason and I agreed that the Bronco needed a better name than O.J., and taking into account that it is completely Bad to the Bone, we decided that "Truck Norris" was the perfect name.
Truck Norris doesn't climb hills... He beats them into submission!
Anyway, I'm afraid that Truck Norris has too big of an appetite. 12.5 MPG just ain't gonna cut it at $4 a gallon. So, after I get back into town I'm going to look into trading him in on something a little less like Chuck Norris and a little more like ... Mini Me.
I have wanted a truck for years, and as soon as I got one gas goes through the roof! Oh well.
Last on the list... they are talking about moving Officers around again, which means that I might get transferred to another station in July. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's a cause for concern. I'll keep you posted.
Stay safe, and Be careful!
ME
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ok, so I got off work at 5;00 today, hopped in OJ (the name for the Bronco) and drove home as fast as I could. This was my first chance to ride the new motorcycle. For those of you who ride a lot, I want you to realize that I haven't ridden a cycle of any sort since the old Suzuki 50! I got home, asked Tonya when dinner was going to be ready (Whenever you want) and hopped on for a little ride. I didn't go far, but rode for about an hour, and felt like a kid with a new toy (oh, yeah! I am a kid with a new toy). Some lessons I learned on my first ride:
1. There is no need to put a death grip on the handlebars.
2. When a car is following you, it looks very close, no matter how far back it is.
3. 45 miles per hour seems really fast on a motorcycle, until you get used to it.
4. I have to get used to turning off my turn signals after I turn.
5. Wearing a full-face helmet means not having to explain the stupid grin on your face.
All in all it was fun.
Hope everyone else had as good a day as I had.
ME
1. There is no need to put a death grip on the handlebars.
2. When a car is following you, it looks very close, no matter how far back it is.
3. 45 miles per hour seems really fast on a motorcycle, until you get used to it.
4. I have to get used to turning off my turn signals after I turn.
5. Wearing a full-face helmet means not having to explain the stupid grin on your face.
All in all it was fun.
Hope everyone else had as good a day as I had.
ME
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wow twice in one day is hardly "occasional"
Ok everyone, I changed my permissions so it's open to everyone. try to get your Google feeds now and let me know how it works. I have found another way to tie all of the blogs together... its a site called bloglines and it lets you set up a page with the blogs listed on one side, and tells you when one has new content. I just set up my account, and made a link to my list from my homepage, one click shows me the list and tells me which ones have been updated. it seems to work pretty well.
The name says it all!
Well, at least I am honest! I apologize for not being more prolific, but at least now you've been warned!
I made the transition, now let me catch you all up on my topsy turvy life!
First, I guess most (but not all) of you know that my mini van got totaled in April. I was driving to work at Road Atlanta , doing about 50mph down Braselton Highway when a high school girl pulled out of a side street, and slammed into my passenger side. No one was hurt (thank God!), but if she had pulled out a second or 2 earlier I would have slammed into her drivers door, and probably hurt or killed her. The van was a '99, with lots of issues (Tranny going bad, Radiator needed replacing, severe oil leak, etc.). It was totaled because she bent the post between the front passenger door and the passenger side sliding door. I drove it for a week after the accident, but since the book value was so low, the insurance company just totaled it.
As many of you know, I have wanted a truck ever since I can remember. It just so happened that a friend at Road Atlanta was selling one, and I bought it. It's a 1990 Ford Bronco (OJ White). It's pretty big. It has a 351 in it, and it is strictly a work truck (4WD!!). Power nothing (except the motor!!). Needless to say, it doesn't get great gas mileage. My plan is to keep it for a while, and if the gas cost gets too bad, I'll get rid of it. The Truck belonged to my buddy's Father-in-law who was a mechanic, and owned a grading company. It is in unbelievably good shape for an 18 year-old truck, and I've already had 3 offers to buy it from me. I am really enjoying sitting up high and feeling "MANLY".
Here is a picture of me on my way to work:
Anyway... being he husband that i am, I couldn't resist turning this to my advantage... I told Tonya that in order to save money on gas, I could buy a motorcycle to ride when the weather is nice...
To my disbelief she said "that's a good idea". Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I called this guy I know who is really good with motorcycles (his name is Bill). We discussed what kind of bike makes sense for a beginner like me, and he steered me toward WOW cycles in Marietta.
I got a small loan, and went yesterday and got this 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk:
Bill also gave me a nice Joe Rocket riding jacket with pads in it to protect my back and arms, and a really nice full face helmet! Thanks Bill! You are a pretty cool brother. In exchange, I had to promise to take the Motorcycle safety course here at Road Atlanta. Fair enough... I am smart enough to know that I can use all the training i can get.
Hey, once I get better on this thing, let's get a ride together some weekend!
By the way... Jason has named the cycle "Hawk" since it's a Nighthawk (I had to talk him out of naming it Lulu or Alice...)
Other than these things, my life has just been plugging along as usual. Hope you all are doing well. I'm still getting used to the Blogspot page, but as you can see, I love the ability to add pictures to my blogs!
More to follow..... whenever I get to it!!
ME
I made the transition, now let me catch you all up on my topsy turvy life!
First, I guess most (but not all) of you know that my mini van got totaled in April. I was driving to work at Road Atlanta , doing about 50mph down Braselton Highway when a high school girl pulled out of a side street, and slammed into my passenger side. No one was hurt (thank God!), but if she had pulled out a second or 2 earlier I would have slammed into her drivers door, and probably hurt or killed her. The van was a '99, with lots of issues (Tranny going bad, Radiator needed replacing, severe oil leak, etc.). It was totaled because she bent the post between the front passenger door and the passenger side sliding door. I drove it for a week after the accident, but since the book value was so low, the insurance company just totaled it.
As many of you know, I have wanted a truck ever since I can remember. It just so happened that a friend at Road Atlanta was selling one, and I bought it. It's a 1990 Ford Bronco (OJ White). It's pretty big. It has a 351 in it, and it is strictly a work truck (4WD!!). Power nothing (except the motor!!). Needless to say, it doesn't get great gas mileage. My plan is to keep it for a while, and if the gas cost gets too bad, I'll get rid of it. The Truck belonged to my buddy's Father-in-law who was a mechanic, and owned a grading company. It is in unbelievably good shape for an 18 year-old truck, and I've already had 3 offers to buy it from me. I am really enjoying sitting up high and feeling "MANLY".
Here is a picture of me on my way to work:
Anyway... being he husband that i am, I couldn't resist turning this to my advantage... I told Tonya that in order to save money on gas, I could buy a motorcycle to ride when the weather is nice...
To my disbelief she said "that's a good idea". Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I called this guy I know who is really good with motorcycles (his name is Bill). We discussed what kind of bike makes sense for a beginner like me, and he steered me toward WOW cycles in Marietta.
I got a small loan, and went yesterday and got this 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk:
Bill also gave me a nice Joe Rocket riding jacket with pads in it to protect my back and arms, and a really nice full face helmet! Thanks Bill! You are a pretty cool brother. In exchange, I had to promise to take the Motorcycle safety course here at Road Atlanta. Fair enough... I am smart enough to know that I can use all the training i can get.
Hey, once I get better on this thing, let's get a ride together some weekend!
By the way... Jason has named the cycle "Hawk" since it's a Nighthawk (I had to talk him out of naming it Lulu or Alice...)
Other than these things, my life has just been plugging along as usual. Hope you all are doing well. I'm still getting used to the Blogspot page, but as you can see, I love the ability to add pictures to my blogs!
More to follow..... whenever I get to it!!
ME
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