| Long time, no post. |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|11:37 am] |
Just in case anyone still reads these, it's been several months of ups and downs...
great times playing SCA again.... intollerable BS at work.
Long story short.... I think I'll be leaving this place soon.... It's been too long since I've been happy here, and I hate coming into work. |
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| and then some things give me faith... |
[May. 10th, 2009|01:17 pm] |
and at the absolute top of that list of things is that His Lordship Michael MacBain could be recognized for the honorable and valorous man that he has always been, and be offered admittance into the chivalry.
It's a long way from the guy who wanted to wear a ball cap at his first event... |
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| Star Trek |
[May. 8th, 2009|04:40 pm] |
I can't believe that I didn't hate it. I am absolutely astounded that it FELT like a Star Trek movie! Karl Urban was believable... the plot felt like any ST:TNG plot...
I was raised on the original... I hated Voyager with a passion... I never watched Enterprise... but I liked (not loved) it.
I am still a little shocked. |
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| breaking point... |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|09:34 pm] |
Not that I particularly post very often, but I have been meaning to.
I have been vying for one of an unknown number of positions with West Metro Fire Rescue. It's a larger department (16 stations), and offers so many more opportunities (not the least of which being double my current salary, for about half the work). I am ranked 23 out of roughly 230 (of an original 1000 applicants). The hoops they have made us jump through, though, are really taking their toll. The latest set were the inevitable polygraph and psych profiles. I found the best tactic for the polygraph (modern day hoo-doo witch doctor BS that it is) was to keep my heart rate at the panic-level of about 160 beats/minute, thereby keeping my stress-response nearly undetectable ;) Seriously, I hate being interogated. Regardless of my innocence, I just don't take kindly to it.
The psych tests don't bother me though... the MMPI2 is a worthless test, but not too hard to give the right answers to (namely, that I don't listen to the voices in my head when they tell me to hurt people).
But, on top of everything else I've gone through, it has worn me down.
The real breaking point for me was a few weeks ago, while filling out their 32-page pre-employment packet, and comming across the section wherein I must list my neighbors "above, below, across, behind, and adjacent to" me, as well as five friends who "know me well enough to speak about my past". The point where I was ready to just give up was when I realized that:
a.) I DON"T KNOW, OR PARTICULAARLY WANT TO KNOW MY NEIGHBORS. I have enough friends, I don't want to meet these people I am forced to live near.
b.) I couldn't remember the last time I had seen most of my close friends.
That rapidly deteriorated into wondering if I actually had any friends, and if they remebered who I was.
Several slaps to the face later, I realized that these were correctable things, and all was good. ;)
Long story short, I am glad that the friends I have forgive my short-commings, and are the good people that they are. :) |
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| un-f'ing-believable |
[Apr. 10th, 2009|11:34 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  angry | ] |
One of my partners at the fire house is alumnus of Columbine High school. He was there that day. He ducked under a table when it happened, and ran like hell to get outside.
This morning, he received a piece of the usual spam email from classmates.com; which read: "Remeber Eric Harris? See what he's been up to!"
Completely unacceptable. |
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| R.I.P. |
[Apr. 9th, 2009|10:50 pm] |
Dave Arneson, co-creator of AD&D passed on April 7th.
Though less known than Mr. Gygax, he was the author of the one and only AD&D module I ever bought, "The Temple of the Frog".
Via con Dios. |
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| doh. |
[Feb. 13th, 2009|11:21 pm] |
Hand-sanded rattan 9' spear, stained and carved with passages of the Havamal: check.
New Lamellar, finally broken in: check.
Brand new tent, never slept in, bought specifically with Estrella in mind: check.
$95 worth of camping stuff on the war-wagon to Phoenix: check.
Car rental so we don't have to rely/impose on other people to pick us up and drop us off: check.
Food Plan: Check.
Six days off work: check.
Plane tickets.... not so much.
I guess that's what we get for trying Jen's dad's buddy-passes.
f*ck. |
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| The signs of work-a-holism |
[Feb. 11th, 2009|03:47 pm] |
Not wanting to actually leave work for a week long vacation...
(In my defense, I haven't felt this under-prepared and out of time for an Estrella since I was in my early 20's...) |
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| Huge props For Jaques |
[Feb. 2nd, 2009|02:17 pm] |
Just a somewhat wider shout out to yet another Nighthawke who has willingly chosen to suffer six months of hell in order to give up their youth, sleep and health to serve as an EMT.
Congrats! |
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| Not something that happens too often... |
[Jan. 20th, 2009|07:08 pm] |
(for the non-ems) We establish a patient's mentation by asking questions related to thier immediate and non-immediate surroundings. My usual questions are the day, time of day, their location, and the name of the President.
Today, that last one got me some confused looks. |
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| When faced with such decissions, the right answer is usually the hardest... |
[Jan. 9th, 2009|06:44 pm] |
Today I received a letter...
"Thank you for your interest and recent participation in the hiring process for the position of Fire Fighter 4 with the Mountain View Fire Protection District (MVFPD). The purpose of this letter is to extend to you a conditional offer of employment"
This isn't exactly my "dream job". This isn't even a place that I ever considered working. I tested with them to keep in practice. They are larger than Sable Altura (7 Stations to our one) and they are a career department, and they do run several thousand calls each year (to our 300-400).
This seems like it should be the easy choice... but I've been torn up all day over leaving a place that I have bled for for eight years, and helped shape into the promising agency that it is now.
I have never been affected by the potential of moving on from a job like I am by this.
Anyone have any advice?
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 1st, 2009|12:37 am] |
Here's to hoping for 2009.
I feel more hopeful for the coming year than I have in some time, not only nationally, but personally as well.
I may even give some thought to not letting old acquaintances be forgot, and bring them to mind more often... ;) |
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| Just wanted to say |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|12:08 am] |
Merry Christmas to everyone, far and near :)
Hope you're with the ones closest to you:) |
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| once more, with feeling |
[Dec. 22nd, 2008|11:32 am] |
About eight or ten years ago, I found myself standing on the field at Estrella war, my future knight proclaiming that the path of the knight was valour, and that the path of the squire was to knighthood. I then found myself staring down Sir Hrothgar, Sir Jax, Sir Richard of Wolfwood and Sir Hrorek. I don't remember a lot of the next four fights, except that they moved faster than anyone I had ever seen. Somewhere, there's a picture of Jax leaping about two feet off teh ground before clubbing me in the head. There were many emotional words, a lot of hugging, Caesan body-slamming me for the "squire-pile", etc...
A few years later, my knight - being the stand-up guy that he is, told the knight's cricle, the outlands, and the SCA to go F*** themselves, that he didn't need to be a part of their "good ol'boys club".
When he finally came back, many years later, he offered me the belt back, which I declined - not because I didn't want to be his squire, or a squire, or eventully recognized as a knight, but because I had found that I needed to step back for a while, sort out my mundane life, start a career, etc...
I also found that I had defined myself as a squire for so long, and that after that I had almost grudgingly made my way as a black-belted fighter that I wasn't sure it was still the path for me.
Several years after that, I found myself at a crown tournament, speaking with my old friend Patric, rest his soul. He said many things, namely that he was ad that my belt was not red, and that he hoped I would take it back up one day.
So yesterday, I found myself at an al-barran war practice, off on the side of the field, with my former and future knight mumbling a few heartfelt words, and his other squire standing by. No loud proclamations, no gauntlet of warriors to wade through. Just a simple understanding that the color of my belt had changed, not my commitment. |
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| Yule revels rule: |
[Dec. 7th, 2008|12:07 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  Hungover | ] |
If MacBain pours you a drink, and:
1) He doesn't know what's in it
2) It doesn't taste like liquor
3) It burns a pretty blue color when poured on the fire
do not, under any circumstances, drink it.
As an additional rule, if you're going to tell your ultra-conservative, Rush Limb-ite preaching dyed in the wool republican father that you are proud that you voted for Mr. Obama and that the thought of Sara Palin in the White House was enough to make you consider leaving the country for four years; deffinately drink whatever MacBain makes you first.
(In my deffence, he started it by asking me if I needed any ammunition.) |
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| Tonight... |
[Nov. 28th, 2008|10:22 pm] |
some friends (who shall remain anonymous) and I played the bells in the City and County of Denver building, to the possible delight of thousands...
We also penetrated the depths of the city and county building's belfry.
Not a place I ever really anticipated breaking into (given that it was down the hall from the Sheriff's office) ... but incredibly cool, nonetheless.
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| and there's a part of me... |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|09:43 pm] |
that can't wait to rub my mother-in-law's nose in this...
(she has been calling Mr. Obama an @$$h0l3, a Marxist, a socialist, and generally insulting those of us who decided to believe in change and improvement for the last eight months. It's gotten really old.)
I think I'll get her a box of Obama schwag fro christmas. Or maybe a nice "Yes We can!" shirt. |
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| I am such a tool... |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|01:48 pm] |
When Amendments 47, 49, and 54 pass; it will be my fault.
I am such a tool. |
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