Missing

To my fellow dispatchers: We were looking for the race code for middle easterners, and were really surprised not to find one. The closest we came was 'other', but maybe our book is just outdated. Anyone able to find one? If not, what does that say about us? Did NCIC think we would never need to use it?

It's finally mine

I have been working a lot lately, and frankly when I'm off I'd rather sleep than do anything else. I have a different trainee now who is working on phones and fire dispatching which is a lot easier than the last one.. but she keeps me busier so I haven't blogged much.

One noteworthy item though, I paid off my car!! I am so jazzed. The thought of taking out a loan for a car was terrifying at the time because I hate money issues, but it's all paid off! And early too! On Thursday, I woke up (in the middle of the night for me), and went down to the credit union to make the final payment and pick up the pink slip. What a sense of triumph! Holding that slip in my hot little hand I drove straight to the DMV. When I got to the desk at DMV, the lady said 'You paid off your car, congratulations!' Beaming, and tickled pink that someone noticed, I told her thanks (reaching around to pat myself on the back). Its a big deal to me, especially with moving and all. It's nice to have it all paid off and the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful.

Wedding planning

I am slowly loosing my mind. There is sooo much to think about, so many little decisions to make it's a little overwhelming. It seems like every day I have a new checklist I have to go through, and the lists are never ending! There is still the anxiety about the guest list, we are locked into the venue we have, so I will just make it work. Vegas seems more appealing each day,, but then I remember that I really do want that one special day to get all dressed up etc. I'm trying to buy little things for the wedding as I go along, so I don't have to spend a lot all at once in December. We just got estimates online for how much it will cost to move and I almost cried. I nievely thought about those 19.99 a day signs for Uhauls that you see.. so it could be that much right? It will only takes 4-5 days to drive cross country, plus gas money,, it shouldn't be too bad. Ooooh no. It's like $2500 to rent, and that doesn't include gas. I have been checking all the websites and different companies that offer trucks. Ug. I hate worrying about money AND the thought of driving a big truck with my car in tow in the middle of January. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, eh?

I started my dress! I'm helping kedge make it. After several hours on Tues we finished the center piece of the bodice. Woohoo. I am rediculously slow because its been a while since I was working on clothes. Thank you kedge for being patient with me! And for fitting me into your schedule!

Lessons

1. If you get your ear bit off in a fight, go look for it first. If you wait an hour and 20 minutes, drive home then call us - they can't put it back on even if we do find it.

2. If you need the medics because your skin feels 'tingley', don't admit it's because you just bought bad dope - we'll arrest you.

3. Don't call 911 and tell us about your hallucination - we'll arrest you.

4. If you leave your purse in an open convertable, yes, you deserved to have it stolen.

Why?

Why is it that members of city council are suddenly the experts in who needs to respond to an incident when they are involved? And yet they can't seem to see clear to give us the funds needed to be properly staffed so they could get those response times they demand. Nothing is more annoying than to have a total lay person, who just happens to be on city council tell me who to send to an accident or how I need to dispatch it. We recently had a councilmen home broken into. The absolute nerve of that suspect! Didn't he know who that house belonged to!#$! So, not only did the assigned officer respond to the scene, but so did the chief of police and a lieutenant, who then the sergeant and several officers to 'help'. The victim even called other councilmembers to come over as well. This was seen as such an egregious violation of our fair city, that the chief insisted that from now on certain patrol officers are to be used enforcement only, and will patrol problem areas looking for bad guys. As if we weren't short on officers already! Do the math! Those calls that have to hold 4 hours for an available unit will now hold 7 or 8. And we are the ones that get to field all the phonecalls from irate victims who have been waiting forever. As frustrating as it is.. I don't see a solution on the horizon.. it's probably the same everywhere right? ~whew. the vent is over. thanks.

Found Kitten

One of the perks/hazards of dispatch is that sometimes we get to see the stray animals before they go to the pound. If there is one that is especially cute, they bring it in for us to see. This little guy (we think its a boy) we named Lucky. He was stuck in some ducting for an oven and was all covered in grease. The ducting had to be completely dismantled to get him out. One of our dispatchers is going to take him home. If you didn't already know... I'm a cat person.

Tragedy and Comedy

We had a 4yr child drown. He had autism and CP, the father said he was a really active. While they were making dinner the child went outside and moved a chair up to the pool fence and climbed over. The father was hysterical when he called, officers later said the little boy had been in the water for over 20 mins. The lead officer on the call happened to have a 4 yr old son and a 6yo daughter. Your heart just breaks for those parents, it put a somber mood over the whole shift for a few hours. There are few things more tragic than the death of a child.


On a lighter note, this is what happened when one of my partners cleared a particularly active officer to go eat.
Officer: "Station, T47. Am I clear Code 7?"
Dispatch: "T47 you're clear" ... pause/open mike ... "now go eat and be quiet!"
Officer: [timidly] "Copy..?"

Same officer later on this morning:
[on our back up channel] "T47 on 2. Dispatch are you there?"
I couldn't resist!!! "No. We all went home."

We are poor

If you didn't already know that certain people in the world have more money than they know what to do with, check out the 'job opportunities' on this website. Housekeeper for a 50,000 sq ft. house needed among other things. Anyone? A glimpse into a lifestyle I have only read about in magazines. I stumbled onto the site looking for napkin folding patterns. I like my little life.

http://www.butlersguild.com/index.php?subject=50

Not for the faint hearted!

On this last trip, I stayed with my cousin Shelly in Maryland. Her husband is a hunter. His trophy's have been relegated to what is fondly refered to as the 'dead animal room' in the basement. It was quite impressive. Don't get me wrong, I love animals! I have had more pets in my life than I can remember. But I am not against hunting. Bottom line, God created man to be over the animals. They are created for our enjoyment, and for our use, but that power shouldn't be abused to the point of driving a species to extinction. Joe explained that there are always strick rules about which animals they can shoot, where, how many etc. He has a couple world records in this room, and they are beautiful specimens. I can't remember the names to all of them, but there is a Cape Buffalo from Africa, and the large white one is from Alaska. He has some really great stories to go with each one too! And, NO those aren't baby deer, they are full grown. These animals were fascinatingly beautiful, and I have a whole new perspective on hunting. I still hate guns, (sorry wadical!) but I can see why people would like to hunt. Agreed, ideally they should be seen in the wild, but hunting keeps the populations under control, AND allows little ol' me to see these beautiful creatures up close! I have been shamefully coveting a pair of fox fur ear muffs for years, so I put an order in for a red fox, which to my glee are prolific that area.

Long overdue update

I have been running around like crazy ever since I landed last Monday. Here is the recap on my trip. First off, I'm engaged to be married! Woohoo! There are times when I've been jumping up and down, others when I want to pull my hair out. Here's a pic of my ring, I absolutely love it. If you can't tell from the picture, it's actually square on the outside. Very unique. WK spied it first and I fell for it too. I think of the ring shopping we did together and how adorable he is every time I see it sparkle. [sheepish grin]

(I can't get that ring pic to straighten out! Grrr. ) Here's the thing... We bought the ring a month or so ago, but we couldn't say anything about it! So we started our covert planning a while ago, picking a date, venue, bridal party, colors etc. But it's been killing me that I couldn't say anything! Little by little, I confess, I leaked details to family members, some by accident! in my defense. So we both new that this trip in September would be the 'engagement' trip, but to WK's credit, he was still able to surprise me when he popped the question! He asked me in the car on the way home from A&J's wedding. So no, he didn't get down on one knee- that would have been hazardous. However, when he said I was the only girl he's ever wanted, I almost cried. Grandpa's reaction was "Oh! You finally got that piece of carbon!" Spoken like a true geophysicist, and gave us a good laugh.

(Gotta love photoshop!) The 'event' as WK refers to it, is set for this coming January. And yes, this is the cause of the scrambling. According to all the bridal guides I am behind the ball right now. There are so many little (and big) things to do, its a bit overwelming even for me! The guest list is the biggest headache so far. Trying to have a small wedding is HARD. It down right stinks! I wish I didn't have to worry about it. It can't be helped though, WK and I are putting this on and we just can't afford to invite everyone we want to be there. So at the end of the day, some feelings will be hurt. I'm hoping the guilt will pass, and looking at the 5 and 6 day weeks I'm working to foot the bill helps. I have a hard time doing something that I know will offend some people even when I know I don't have a choice. Who gets cut? Someone I have worked next to for the past 6 years? a distant relative that keeps in touch? a couple I see each week at church? Ug. Vegas? anyone? I am very lucky to be surrounded by generous friends and relatives who are contributing their talent, time and expertise which is a huge help. Without them, I don't think I could do everything I had been hoping to do at my wedding. So, over the next few months I will dumping all my planning excitement and frustrations here. Stay tuned... guarenteed action packed...

We're Engaged!

Woohoo! WK and I are engaged! I got back early this morning, and today has been a nightmare. The airline 'misplaced' my luggage, my car keeps dying and my shampoo opened inside my suitcase. OTHER than that, things are really great! I'm so happy I feel like jumping up and down sometimes, but people look at me wierd when I do. Photos to follow.