When it works out...

When (mostly) everything goes just like it should, people's lives are saved. I have always said I love my job, but at about 8:10am on September 28th, 2010 I wasn't quite sure I was liking what was happening. Then I realized that this is what I signed up for. I didn't sign up for the days when nothing seems to go right, but this particular day even my harsh criticism of myself turned out to be unnecessary I realized it did go right. It could have been so much worse. At the end of the day all of my boys came home safe. If you know me, you know the term "my boys" is a term of endearment for all of the men and women I work with no matter what agency they work for. No one else was injured.

I was given a wondeful piece of advice from someone after the event about beating myself up over what I felt I could have done better. She said, "If you wouldn't say those things to your co-workers why is it ok to say those things to yourself?" This one statement changed my entire perspective. I would never tell my co-workers, my team, my friends anything near what I was telling myself. After that, I gave myself a break. I can fix what I could do better.

I was preparing myself to hear all of the negative feedback from the media, the bosses and anyone else giving their two cents. I was completely not ready for the response we did get from EVERYONE. We have had such a wonderful amount of praise, understanding and support from not only the students but the parents of students, other agencies, and the media. Today I saw a picture of a group of students on the South Mall on campus who were collecting thank you cards, coffee, money, sandwiches and pretty much anything to show appreciation to the law enforcement agencies who were involved. They had huge signs like this:

Wow. I am not sure I have ever heard of this happening. Maybe for the first time in my life I might actually be proud to wear a burnt orange shirt with a "cow head" Just don't push it and expect me to paint my truck burnt orange. :-)

Here are more pictures of My Boys in action:

People are mean and evil

I was working my way home yesterday after work and stopped at a couple of stores. After my last stop I was driving home and noticed a dent in the hood of my truck. My first thought was WTF????? My second thought was:

It looked like someone got angry and slammed their fist into the hood right on the part where it probably won't come out easily. I just started thinking about what this person could have been thinking when they did this to my innocent truck? I didn't piss anyone off on the way home, I wasn't driving aggressively. I didn't even look at anyone crossway on the way. But some asshole decided that they had the right to ball their fist and take out their childish temper tantrum on my truck. In the end I guess I will just have to suck it up and refer to this sticker:

I guess I am going to start carrying around copies of my favorite parking tickets. Stupid people piss me off. I should probably make a copy in spanish as well because stupidity has no racial boundaries.

weeeee weeeee weeeeeee

Commercials that make me smile.

Bomber Field

I went to the radio controlled air show at Bomber Field in Monaville, TX this weekend with Russel. I really enjoyed it. The B-17's were very impressive, especially their paint and detail work. They looked very real in the air. My favorite was the bi-plane with the US Air Force paint scheme. I love the name "Bomber Field" I shoulda bought a shirt.

Homecoming Mums and stuff



Juan's garter



My sister's mum

It's been a long time since I have made homecoming mums but it was fun. This Friday is Lago Vista's homecoming game so I wanted to make my nephew a special garter just from me. So, after hot gluing my fingers until I have no fingerprints left I think they turned out rather well. I am still working on some special ribbon braiding to add as accents but here is the finished products. We also made some spirit ribbons which really turned out cute.






My Spirit ribbon



Spirit ribbon by Juan

Spirit ribbon by Juan

Scary stuff

Its almost fall so out with the scary crap. This big baby decided to come out and take a look at Bella. Bella decided she would give it a sniff and I freaked out. I knew it wasn't an aggressive breed but when you see a spider the size of your palm it is an automatic reason to freak out. This isn't the best picture because I had to grab the flash light and run back out there with a cell phone. I just hope I don't dream about this bad boy.

Fond memories

I have been looking for something from my past. When I was a little girl I have very fond memories of the dishes my mother had. I remember my dad would never eat on any other plate because this was very flat and large. Being a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy he needed lots of room. Ha. I remember squeezing a lemon in the coffee cups with salt or cutting up the lemon with the rind attached on the saucers and eating them with salt. We use to have at least 5-6 settings but now they are all gone and unable to be found. So, I found them on ebay but wow, they sure want a lot of money for them. I have come to be even more fond of them because they have a green daisy pattern on the edge. Green is my favorite color and daisies just happen to be my favorite flower. Maybe one day when I am rich I will be able to bring a part of my past back into the future.

Dog paws in water

I find it very strange that my labrador retreiver, Suzy-Fraggle, loves going to the lake and chasing after pretty much anything in the water, yet when it rains outside she does everything to avoid getting her paws wet. So, I asked her the other day if it was because wet grass somehow feels different than dry grass or if it was because she was not totally submerged in water and the paws gave off some sense of impending danger. Here was her well thought out response to my question: She said, "Here is my ball. Do you want to play with my ball? It's a great ball. Can you throw it for me? I will love you forever. Here is my ball. Look, can you see my ball? Potty in the rain? Ummmm I'll go to my kennel and you won't be able to see me in there. My paws don't like to get wet. Oh look! There is another ball in my kennel. Wait, don't leave, you have to throw my ball."

So, hopefully Suzy-Fraggle won't get a bladder infection because it has been raining for 3 days and in her mind it takes at least a week for the grass to dry. Poor Suze. She's a goober and I love her.

Freedom

I can't even explain the freedom I feel with my brand new headset for work. I can keep my head completely level and type at the same time and I don't have to worry about the phone handset slipping out. I am so excited I actually volunteered to do phones today. That never happens! Kathy was happy. :-)

Football tonight

Tonight Lago Vista battles East Side Memorial High from Austin. East Side Memorial High was recently renamed after AISD decided to close Johnston High because of poor testing scores. I probably wouldnt have picked East Side Memorial High since it sounds so stereotypical of a poor school. My mother and father both went to Johnston High School and graduated in 1962. My dad was a high school drum major and a very accomplished saxaphone player. He met my mother when they were in Jr. High school at a hay ride, but he didn't get the nerve to talk to her until they were in the hall way and she was trying to hang something on the board. Mom was a very accomplished trouble maker and bad girl...or so I hear. I suppose that is where I get it from. I wish I could have been there when they started dating. I would have liked to see if my mom was really as much of a bad girl as my dad says she was. I am sure that tonight will evoke a lot of memories for him. 48 years ago he was leading the band onto the field for their exciting half time show. I bet my mom was proud to watch him conduct the band.

So, everyone is going to the football game tonight and even though there are only about 20 members of the Lago Vista Marching Band, the whole family, Russel, and I will be cheering my nephew Juan on through the show.

Paracord project Pt 3

I think I am finally getting the hang of it. Although, I still don't have any paracord the ribbon works well and is thin enough to not make a huge bulky lanyard. I actually re-did this 3 times in order to get the knots tighter and more uniform. Its harder to do with flat ribbon than round cord but I am happy with the finished product. The reason for this color selection is a representation of the "Thin Blue Line" You can read about it  here.

Paracord project Pt 2

Well, I am working on my paracord project. Its not exactly paracord material but still the same concept using ribbon or smaller string. The first run went well but there are some loose ends I need to figure out what to do with. I found that I underestimated the length of the oustide colors I needed. I figured this would happen but needed to get a feel for how much more I would need. So, the first round was an orange and white lanyard for my work badge. The next one is going to be blue and black which are the "Thin Blue Line" colors for law enforcement. I am hoping it will look good once I am finished. I am trying to avoid looking like a friendship bracelet from high school.

Clear for take off

I am here at work on a slow day *knock on wood* and I am listening to the live feed from the Georgetown Municipal Airport so I can hear my awesomely brilliant boyfriend take off. I am so excited for him because he is working towards his private pilot's license. I can't wait to fly with him. I am sure it will be one of the most exciting things I have had the privilege of doing in my lifetime. Of course, I worry a lot more than I should especially since I have been seeing so many airplane accidents in the past few months. I just have to keep reminding myself that he is completely capable and brilliant in learning. His trainer even told me that he is one of the best students he has taught and I believe him. So, if I brag too much its only because of how proud I am and because I love him so much.

Here is a video I took on my phone of his first solo flight landing. I got a little "misty" watching him do it like a pro.

A headset may cure your pain

I have been dispatching for roughly 13 years and in that 13 years I bet I have answered thousands of phone calls, all without a headset. I am constantly typing and talking on the phones even when I am dispatching. So, I put together a proposal for the department to purchase headsets for our administrative phone system for our 9 dispatchers. The officer who is on the "Equipment committee" who was helping me with this has recently left the department and my proposal never made it to the official committee for consideration.

I am completely jealous of employees who work for large corporations who can afford to provide headsets to them...ahem, I'm not naming names but their initials are Dell.

Well, since we have no departmental budget for such exorbitant equipment I decided to purchase a headset and amplifier out of my own pocket to try on our antiquated phone system. My neck is sore and tired of holding the handset between my cheek and shoulder while I type. I have even considered using a rubber band to keep the handset on my head between calls and while I am on the phone so I can hold my head upright. Like this:

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the headset I ordered will work with our antiquated phone system. The "telephone guys" here at work have told us that they don't make a headset which is compatible because it is so old. I spoke with the actual manufacturer and they said it will work. I really hope so or I will be returning it and going to Office Depot for extra large rubber bands.

4th Generation.

A few days ago I ranted a little about all of the issues I had with Apple products. Well, looks like the 4th generation Ipod may in fact be coming with a camera on it. I just read about case leaks on wired.com. Here is the link: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/leaked-cases-reveal-new-ipod-designs/

Now, who knows if this is actually true since the "leaks"  were only regarding "possible" cases.

I am happy with my ipod so I probably won't be purchasing a 4th generation. Mine has sentimental value and is irreplaceable. :-)

Just Grumps

As the day goes on I am feeling more and more annoyed and grumpy. There is no real reason for this. No one has made me angry and is generally just as pleasant as usual. I kind of just want to be in a quiet room alone and veg out. I hope it gets better.

Are you a mac person?

Last week I updated my ipod software after many many tries of doing it at work and getting bumped off of the network I managed to get it done at home. I was really excited because for the first time I managed to do it without any major loss of itunes or my entire ipod blowing up.

I have a rather cheap aftermarket charger thingie that I bought at discount electronics. Well, since my update my ipod has decided to reject that as an "unauthorized charging device" WTF? It charged just fine last week. Nope. Apple loves to limit what you can do with THIER products. Holy crap, I thought when you paid money for a product it was yours!? Apple says, "Neener Neener"

If you know me, you know that I absolutely hate itunes. I have struggled through quite a few re-dos because of a few hard drive issues, and then making the decision to move it only to my laptop. This worried me because my laptop is over 5 years old and my good friend and "lil brother" Matt has had to reformat and save me from the "blue screen of death" So far it seems to be working. But if I ever purchase another laptop, here we go again.

I can't seem to get use to having to use a software program to get my device to work. This is what I hate about Apple products:

#1 No right click button. What the hell were they thinking?
#2 Itunes is such a waste of time, energy, blood, sweat and tears to set up.
#3 I want to connect my ipod, open up the files and throw all of my music into the file I want it in. PERIOD!
#4 Overpriced products.
#5 You can only use Apple chargers, cables, and pretty soon ear buds I am sure.
#6 SNOBBERY!
#7 I want to delete songs straight from my ipod and not have to wait to get to itunes, remove and then resync.
#8 For a snobby product that acts like its a Ferrari, the external speaker is below par.
#9 It'd be nice to have folders to put stuff in instead of just 4 flip screens.
#10 I'd like a camera on my Ferrari.

Now, I do want to say that I love all of the options I have with my Ipod Touch. Yes, I actually love my ipod. I love it even more because after I killed my last ipod with 24oz of Monster Energy Drink my awesome co-workers and boyfriend pitched in to replace it. How awesome is that?

So, now that I have to plug in my ipod with the "certified ipod usb cable" into my laptop to charge it, I may be asking to borrow your computer to get some energy.

Paracord project

So, I found these really awesome dog collars and bracelets made out of 550 paracord. I actually learned how to make them. The only problem is that I need money to buy the materials. 100ft of colored paracord costs about $7.00. Maybe in the next few months or so I can start. :-) I plan on making dog collars for my Fraggles and maybe key chains and bracelets. I will upload a pic of my own project as soon as I can.

Training

I am training the new dispatchers at work a very grueling 16 hours worth of technical information for one of our computer systems. I love training when I know the course material or I have developed it myself. The only bad part is talking for 8 hours. I have a sore throat and can't seem to get enough to drink. Hopefully I won't have to talk much tomorrow. Pretty non-eventful week and lets hope it stays that way.

#11 When a man shows you who he is, believe him.
#12 Negative ions are a good thing! C'mon rain!

He gave me the moon...and so much more

A while ago I met someone who gave me the moon and so much more. He swept me off my feet and I never believed that was possible. He showed me things I never considered and I have learned so much from him. I thank God every day for bringing him into my life.