Time Flies

I'm sitting here just trying to relax after running around all morning realizing the days are getting shorter before this trip...I also realized that I am about 85 percent packed with minor stuff to throw in the ole suitcase then I can say I survived packing...

I've been saying thanks (unknown to the big folks that pay me) due to the fact that the layoffs hit my college last week.... Sad to see some nice folks go.... But happier that one of the bigger P.I.T.A's in my department was shown the door<>. I just continue to work smile and even though I go on vacation this weekend, the countdown has begun for winter break...

Countdown begins

The countdown begins:: Tick tick:::

This time next month I will be sitting somewhere on a beach... In New England ummm nope but somewhere WARM.... Now mind you I am accustomed to winter due to being raised in Upstate NY just south of the Syracuse snowbelt but also with living here in New England with it's marvelous Nor'Easters...

Work has been anything but a joy ride but I'm toughing it out..... The job changes it's mind on what it requires on a daily basis.... For example: overtime and shortstaffed shifts.... To run it proper it takes TWO (2) not ONE (1) to properly handle what is required.... I was approved for a coverage shift today as a matter of fact and then received the call stating opps naw they changed their minds bout me working buuuuuuuuut if I wanted to I could go in but only for 4 hours.... Gotta love it when the word trickles down about tightening the belt and no "fluff" OT..... With my job it's not a fluff thing but a necessity and that was proven this past Friday....

The little Job that pays my bills doesn't really hear us when we say we're short staffed and need help..... Not that we cannot handle it solo but when crap hits the fan more hands on deck is better than one...... It's like asking a Surgeon to perform the surgery, and prep the patient.... More hands equals better quality of work ....

I've learned a lesson about prisoners even though they may play the remourseful card ya gotta watch them.... If I hadn't been there my little Job that pays my bills would have had some "splaining" to do...I'm not sayin I saved the day but by me being there helpin the mid's dispatcher, a problem that occurred coulda been a helluva lot worse.... With my luck after being praised Friday nite I will go into work tmw and get the lecture of all lectures .... Oh well such is life...

Note to self: Check patent info for a Magic 8 ball for Police,Fire,Medical... I may get rich someday

Speak up or shut up

Ahh I know the title sounds harsh but it's the mood I'm in at the moment. As I write this I realize that there are days when it's best if I think before speaking or think before typing or think before doing something totally insane....

My family life growing up was one where being the youngest of three and having the age spread between my sister and I (8 years) it was like a total different family. My brother is 10 years older and that in itself explains why to this day we're more distant than ever.

I turned to drugs and alcohol to help me get the comfort I felt I couldn't find with my family. Hell they wouldn't understand (so I thought)... It took me about 6 years into active addiction to realize that hiding the pain by drinking wasn't taking away the pain but slowly killing me. I got the help that I needed and am doing what needs to be done a day at a time.....

I learned that if I didn't speak up I would slowly die. I learned that if I stayed hidden with the "mask" by not telling those who were closest to me I was in trouble the only one I hurt was me.... I learned that sometimes by getting the advice and imput which was given can cause pain but with pain there is growth... My sig other ( more on them in a future blog) stands by by and reminds me that if I want to keep doing what I am I have to take care of me....

Reading Ambulance Mommys blog this morning about her annonymous blogger and even Pink Warm and Dry (Epi's) blog from 11/02/08 about good enough, got me to thinking about me being "good enough".

Granted there are days when I don't feel that I am and thats usually when I've allowed myself to be used as the perverbial doormat... Then there are days espically with my job which may started off crappy turned into something positive... I may get a compliment (which is rare) or a "thank you" (which is extremely rare). It's at those moments when I do see that by speaking up helps....

My biggest suggestion for the day: Don't allow anyone to take away your "voice." by allowing that you will loose yourself... Stand up for what you believe in and by doing that the strength you may have lost will return...

It's amazin

It's amazing what a week away from insanity can do.......... Yes I'm back from NY and visiting the family. Coming back on the MA Turnpike was and will always be a enlightening experience and will someone please let MA Highway know it's NOT NICE to make 495 into a one lane road at 1:30 pm... Sheesh... Bout got myself smacked up due to drivers not paying attention to what the heck was going on.



I had a friend of mine who asked me what had changed with me since I returned .... I simply smiled and said " a NY getaway"... See this is where I pull myself together all at the same time avoiding a certain in law who always loves to pick a fight. I don't do Upstate NY in the winter SUV or not.... Theres just too many what if's and I don't want to risk waiting in a snowbank waiting for NYSP to find their way out to tell me I need a tow truck.



Also on a positive note..... My Wii Fit arrived !!!!!! A few weeks back I was on a mad search trying to track one down... I got a deal with my Wii and really didn't want to spend the amount that I had seen for them so I waited....Then word came out about the Circuit City's,Best Buys, Game Shops having them for $90 bucks give or take a few pennies..... That made the task at hand more difficult..... A few days before vacation a pop up ad came up for Cir City and I checked it.... Heck they'd send it to my house hehe....Thanks Circuit City great job......

Passports and tranquility

Mental health days are those in which remind me of playin hookie from High School.... Ok Ok I did it legit filled out the paperwork over the weekend after realizing that waitin till the actual vacation to get the day off would not be a wise choice. My sincere thanks to dear ole' Christopher Columbus for letting me get the day off paid a day late. :)

Me and the S/O have decided to take a trip. Now I totally get the idea of the way the finances are in the world are at this moment but it will not "break my bank" so to speak.... The one thing I've learned is that applying for a passport one does truly feel that big brother truly does want to know EVERYTHING about you...

It's a combination XMass and Birthday Present for me... Going to PDC in Mexico in December and that my dear friends will be "heaven"

Ok time to fly gotta get some stuff done around my office and mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe play some Wii....

Budgets and Public Safety

"sigh"

I know as I have read many different news articles throughout the US about staffing in EMS,Fire,Police and the axe that the various state government officials use to trim budgets.

What irritates me the most is that the powers that be in Government feel that Public Safety needs touched. Now I understand that with todays economy yeah we're all hurting. But its the Public Safety folks that will loose funding to provide the services that John Q Public needs.

I realize though too being in my profession a Campus Police Dispatcher it's a wee bit different than "Big City's" 911 comm center. But at least Big City's administration knows that it takes more than one dispatcher to handle calls. I realized that those who I would have vented too would have given me the party line of "it's in the budget it's just pending approval getting a extra body to help"..... The question I really wanted to ask..... "Will I get the help in 15 plus years when I can collect full retirement?" ...


My fear as well as the rest of my co-workers is that being short staffed when hell breaks loose doesn't mix very well. It's a situation where we all know in order to be heard change needs to take place and enough of the fluff and false promises that come with it...

I realized too that I have been working a lot. Some of it by my own making and some of it knowing if I didn't work I would be forced too..... I know that in 2 weeks I will be going out of state to visit the family which will recharge my batteries a bit.... When I think about that weeks worth of vacation I realize as well that the World Series will be going on and if the Sox make it maybe I will miss at least a few days of the chaos if the student body at Nameless U decides to have it's yearly riot celebration...

With the upcoming Obama/McCain debate #2 being tonite. I truly have come to the decision that I may not vote.... I hear a lot being said but when it comes to the mud balls being tossed by both camps I think of it being childish and equate it to a school yard bully match.... Theres simply too much hot air and no real ideas on how to fix what needs fixed.

Enough venting for now.

Thoughts from the weekend...

1st things first: If my administration can shake their magic 8 ball and find the $$ to find help for the weekends it would be appreciated.

2nd: That cursing out a dispatcher does not entitle you to think that I will change my mind after I've said "Sorry sir your not permitted to park in that gated lot." Oh yeah, threatening to shove a gate someplace will most likely get you towed or a visit from my Sgt who hates hearing that I was a tad bit bullied.

3rd: That students need to remember that if you work as a work study student for my department that my trust and respect towards you is not a automatic thing. If you treat me with disrespect you may not like my reaction towards you, as I will not acknowledge you easily. Also when we tell you this is life and death and not some "sims game" take that as a strong indication that I as well as the rest of my co-workers take extreme pride in our jobs and that we do not get paid to baby-sit. Also note to work study students: Please read up on HIPPA as well as what the definition of CONFIDENTIALITY truly means.

Cell Phone Insurance...

Hmm, First off let me say that I think it's a great deal when they ask you if you want it when you buy a phone for those "instances" where something happens. For me it was washing my phone with all sorts of numbers that I need...

Sprint uses this company called Assurion so after the washer washed the cell I filed a claim, paid for the express and kept checking on the status since I requested "express" shipping.

Then came Ike......

Due to some flooding in the Ohio Valley aka Kentucky, my phone wont be shipped out due to the warehouse being hit with flooding.

I was reminded of a lesson when I got off the phone. It's simply put be grateful for what you have, be grateful that your healthy, that theres food in the cupboards and your not having to beg. Be grateful for the job you have and that it keeps the debt collectors off your door. Be grateful for those who can remind you in a moment of having a mild fit that lifes lessons can be hard but once you learn them you carry the message for a long time to come. That one small piece of circutry with a battery isn't the end of the world it is a mere luxury that many still do live without and now I continue on being cellphoneless tracking down the numbers I lost and smile.

Have a great rest of your day

Dentists,Days Off and Blips

First off let me say that one of my biggest fears is to be subjected to sit in a dentist chair. One of my co-workers told me about the dentist she see's and when she gives a recommendation, it's usually a good one.. I sit in the chair today after not being seen by a dentist with this vision of "CM you need a root canal." Well the vision was changed when he said "no Root Canals but you have cavities." I basically did the happy dance in my head as like many out there who I know have had them rank Root Canals as a torture treatment.

Ike ( what was left of it) literally "blew thru" this morning. It's a sad thing to think of but with all the devestation that has taken place in Texas could finally reach here with such minor ramifications.

Days Off: Well they were spent contacting my cell co's insurance plan to request a new phone as mine with all the numbers in the world that are important went thru a wash/rinse cycle (ouch!!!). Please note: if you are in the field and you wear the 5.11 pants make dayum sure to check ALL the pockets twice.

My 12 hour shift at "Nameless U" went well. I did the usual answer the calls from the students about getting in here or there or helping out the Officers who are in the field.

I had sent Ambulance Mommy a comment about the Magic 8 Ball. It's the ole eight ball where you shake the livin heck out of it while thinkin of a question and the answer appears. I would love to make one just for Law Enforcement,EMS or Fire issues or just general anwers that could be applied to College environments.

Something that comes up every year from time to time is the poor souls who would rather take their own life rather than asking for help thats readilly available. Please if you know of someone who is depressed or has made idle jokes about hurting themselves or simply put "ending it all" be their friend stand up for them and call 911 or the Suicide Hotline and get them some help. At first they may be mad at you but in the long run they will thank you for helping them.

Thats the Rants and Raves for the day. Time to go play the Wii and relax before meeting up with some friends later :).

Rnts and Rves

Ranting and Raving sometimes for the good or the bad... I guess you'd call me a rookie blogger who has lurked around many a blog and such.

My background well I work for a major University here in the great state of MA. All names,situations or town names will be changed to protect those who could seriously yell at me later. My field of work entails "2911".

I thought long ago about setting up a blog and ya know I think there's going to be days where it's gonna help me clear my head from all the chaos a Campus Police Department can create... That is all for now.

A special shout out to Ambulance Mommy who will probably figure out that "Annoymous" came out of hiding