MilSpouse Friday Fill-in

1. Have you (spouse) ever considered joining the military and what do you think of dual military couples? submitted by Project Army Wife
The impression that both of us have is that if I wanted to join, I couldn't because of the metal in my leg. Vx knows a couple that deployed together, they were in the same unit before, after & I assume when they were deployed (same MOS). They had a baby, it was with her parents, considering his age, I think it was probably better they did that when they did, but as the kid gets older, I know having one parent or both gone will be tough on him. Another couple both of us know, he was already in before they met, she joined, then found out a few weeks after starting basic she's pregnant, so she was sent home & I believe she was discharged. I have no interest in Chemical Warfare, so it probably wouldn't work for us even if I wanted to/could join.

2. What is your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon? submitted by A Few of My Favorite Things
I guess driving around, idk.

3. What do you usually do for the 4th of July holiday?  submitted by Anchor’s Away
Work, this year I'm off on the 4th, but work the weekend before. My brother's visiting the area, he leaves sometime on Monday, so idk.

4. If they could make an Olympic event JUST for you that you know you’d medal in, what would it be? submitted by Pants are Confusing
Something to do with music? idk

5.  What have you been doing to get yourself bathing suit ready for the summer? submitted by Not Just an Army Wife
Nothing out of the ordinary. I have less of an appetite when its hot outside, so I am eating less & losing a little weight, but the scars are still there, so no bathing suits for me!

To play along, visit Wifey's blog by clicking on the graphic above or on the left sidebar.

Have a fun holiday weekend!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in

1. Underwear Parties, how old is too old? submitted by Wookie & Co.

Never heard of them

2. What was your favorite class in high school? submitted by Adventures of M-Squared

Band, Quiz Bowl is a close second. Both classes were a lot of fun for me, the trips also helped.

3. Have you ever convinced packers/movers to pack something they aren’t supposed to for a PCS? submitted by Ground Control to Major Mom

n/a

4. Blogging plays a growing roll in the media. If you were asked to embed as a blogger with a deployed military unit, would you go? What do you think your blog would be like? submitted by To the Nth

I'm not sure if I would want to go or not, I know if I did, I would blog about what was going on around me as much as I'm allowed to blog about.

5. Do you think kids should attend year-round school? submitted by Marrying the Navy

When I was in school, I hated the summer months, we hardly ever went on a vacation or did anything fun. Both of my parents worked most of that time, my dad worked Monday-Friday mostly during the day, my mom was employed at my school as a secretary for the middle school & the athletic director, so she still had to work year round. For kids like me, year-round school would spread out the breaks so they're not as boring, but I know it would be difficult on others. 

My former & current co-workers are partially able to have that job because many work at a school or attend one. The event center holds many more events during the summer months, so year-round school would affect some if not all of those events as well. 

The military perspective, I know PCS moves seem to occur more during the summer months, so year round school would affect those children's educations and if their other parent works at a year round school, their jobs as well, while requesting time off for a vacation might be easier during an off-peak time (when a year round school is on a break) then the summertime (when every one's pcs-ing or vacationing while kids are out for the summer).

(Sorry for the rant)

Hope you have a fun weekend!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in

1. It's now June (woot!)... what plans do you have for the summer?
I started at the summer dept. last night, that will go until the end of June, the rest is still up in the air.

2. What is your favorite summer memory as a kid?
Summer time usually wasn't a lot of fun for me, so I guess playing w/Barbie's all day, idk.

3. If wild animals could be made pets without fear of them ever being dangerous, what kind of exotic animal would you want as a pet?
A pet monkey might be kinda neat, I'm not sure though, they could also be a pain. A women in the next town actually has a kangaroo, it was injured, so it can't jump very high, & it won't grow any taller than it already is (which its not very tall). A kangaroo like that might be neat as well!

4. Is there anything about deployments that you do like? submitted by The Thrifty Military Wife
Doing things that he hates!

5. I'm starting to run out of questions again... so please give me a question you'd like to see (off-the-wall will most likely make it because we seem to have used a lot of the "traditional" ones).

Uh oh, Wifey needs questions again! I think I used my best material this last time. = (

Click on the graphic at top to play along!

Six Word Saturday

Will my allergies act this way?

Yesterday, while waiting for my future boss to come into work, I decided to go walking at a park near there. It was a beautiful day, sun was shining, but the wind was crazy! After I got all the pre-employment stuff done (also renewed/fixed my library card in the process), I stopped by a roadside attraction that's been having work done to it on my way home. I guess being outside in the wind as much as I was aggravated my allergies, I'm feeling it today, & I was planning on meeting some local social media people at the park, next time I guess.

My job (starts in June) will be outdoors, is this how I'm gonna feel the whole time? I've worked at this job before & didn't feel this way, I won't be driving a golf cart around this time, so maybe I'll be ok. I hope so!

To play along, visit Cate's blog, leave a comment, use her Mr. Linky, & if she has a chance, she'll visit you as well!

Have a great weekend! 

To return or not, that is the question

If your a long time reader, or spent what had to be endless hours reading older posts, you may have seen some entries or bits about a summer department. At my former job (security for a place that does numerous events year round), I would transfer to a different department for the 2 months they hold horse races, when a baseball team moved, my awesome post was eliminated. I was very upset about this, but not completely surprised. I was disgruntle, felt like I was being punished at my normal job for not transferring, and I haven't heard from that boss until she tried to call me into work right after my husband had surgery (he wasn't very mobile for a while). She quit calling me, but I didn't think much of it until the big events came & gone w/o getting called into work (about 3 months later, it was slow before big events). That was confirmation to me that I no longer had a job there.

After that, I started "working" for a hockey team on the blimp crew w/my husband (not getting paid). I caught the GM's & the play-by-play broadcaster's attention. January 1st, after the broadcaster found out about my broadcasting education & mentioning how nice it would be to have someone to help out during games, I started doing that. I have finally gained some experience in my field! I filled in unexpectedly on play-by-play one night when "my boss" was the arena announcer (normal guy was gone), ran the sound at the post-game show, and gradually added tasks to my job.

Friday, I received a message on Facebook from the summer dept. boss, he offered me a job! I have never been offered a job before from the boss! It's not exactly what I have done in the past, but the rules should be close enough to the same & I miss it out there. It's not a job in what I went to school for many years ago, the hours are in the evenings & weekends (formerly I worked mostly graveyards all the time) which doesn't really bother me. It's only for 2 months (hence the summer dept. nickname), but if I try to get a broadcasting job again, it will more likely than not be the same hours since I'm just starting out. I don't want to leave summer dept. boss in a bind (never did before, probably why he wants me back) if a job comes around & I have to quit. I have tried getting a job in my field before w/no luck, so I'm not very optimistic.

Should I take the summer job, or start searching for one in my field while my experience is still fresh?

P.S. Facebook can be amazing!

Who would've thought...

Wifey's taking a break this week, & I haven't blogged in too long, so I thought I would write a quick post:

Who would've thought...

...an ice rink would be warmer than a dirt floor arena???

...the only employee that was not allowed to step outside to warm up would be the non-smoker!

...my former supervisor would be the one more likely to die than her very-ill husband.

...14 inches of snow would make my happy to be unemployed!

...I would love hockey!

...my cat would bark like a dog!

...we'd get 14 inches of snow at one time! (normally we might get a few inches that melt away immediately, most of those 14 inches are still here about 2 weeks later!)

...I would consider applying for a job w/the baseball team who moved & caused me to lose my awesome summer job somewhere else.

...my husband would still not deploy after 3 years while other are on their 2nd/3rd tour.

Yeah, some random thoughts. I blame cabin fever! Hockey game tonight & tomorrow night, so maybe my sanity will return soon. Have a great weekend!

F* my boss

So Big Event #1 starts tomorrow, guess who still hasn't heard a work f/her boss???

I'm sorry my husband decided to have surgery right when a horse show was starting.

I'm sorry he couldn't move around, let alone change his ice packs every hour or so, get some water and food for himself, make sure he didn't overdose on pain pills, or get up to pee by himself.

I told you I couldn't work that night, but you "desperately needed me" so you called me after I finally went to sleep. I received your message when I woke up, and figured since it was about midnight, you'd be asleep.

I'm sorry you feel that it's more important to have your nieces, daughter, sisters, their husbands, and someone that's renting a house from you work than the rest of us.

I'm sorry that you get pissed off when someone else needs time off for a family member, to attend their high school reunion (like my MIL), etc, we don't get mad at you when you run off to Vegas, Disneyland, hospital for your granddaughter's birth, or to visit one of your gillions of kids that live further away.

I realize there have been cut backs, but you could have had me do my old jobs, or the job I was supposed to do last year. You had your niece do two jobs at the same time last year, one of them being my old job, the other the one I was supposed to do. While one of my old jobs was extended last year, this year it seems like its shorter this time.

Isn't nepotism against the law? My employers do seem to get around laws a lot of times, unfortunately. I guess that's a benefit of working for the city/county.

I was only supposed to do this job until I got one in radio or television, but apparently, I can't get a job on my own.

I'm glad mom got me that one when she did, if not I wouldn't have met Buddy or Vx.

No porta-potty hell this year, that's a nice thought.

But the money I made is a nicer thought. There's still a small chance I could work, but my hopes aren't very high.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-ins

Sorry, my mind's not working well, so here:

This week's questions are:

What food reminds you of your spouse?

I guess sushi, the only kind I don't hate is candy sushi (rice krispie treat, wrapped in a fruit roll-up w/gummi worms or bears).

Who would you rather sit next to in a cross-country plane ride: an irritating non-stop talker, or a quiet stare-er?

quiet stare-er, I'm quiet, so we should be ok.

What are your best tips on how to save money?

Don't marry someone like my husband.

What is your favorite summer memory?

Working at my former summer post, driving a golf cart around at night, meeting interesting people, watching fireworks f/the baseball field, beautiful sunrises, I loved it, but its been eliminated since the baseball team moved to a new field downtown.

Do you believe in ghosts?

I never really did until last summer. At my former summer post, I started seeing what looked like a person at night by the Winner's Circle. Typically, everyone's asleep at that time, and it was before the maintenance crews showed up to work on the track. Several times, I slammed on the golf cart brakes freaked out by seeing someone around, then when I turned my head back, it was always gone. My MIL and I have discussed this before, we figured it was a jockey. There are places at our job that people have been killed by accident, at least one building dates back to the 30's. A building that was tore down 2 years ago was a place MIL saw ghosts in. The space is now a parking lot that sometimes has a tent set up there. I've worked in the tent and that parking lot, but never saw a ghost there.

Click on the button at the top of this post or the one on the left sidebar to visit Wifey's post, use her Mr. Linky and leave some comment love. I hope future posts will be less tiresome and more fun. Husband just had surgery, he aggravating me with stuff that has nothing to do with his surgery, and its hard for me to get any sleep.

Have a good Friday!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Another fun blog thing I found a while back that I will now try out.

Why do people still feel the need to climb through this flagrope?

Seriously, what part of this says, "We're open, come on up and have a seat!"

Incase you can't tell, I did this on top of some stairs, I've done this closer to the bottom and had people climb up the stairs through the side, so I did the flagrope at the top. I even set up chairs on this side of it so when they climbed through it, I would hear them trip over the chairs. I caught one while she was stumbling over the chairs and her friend part way through the maze of rope.

I did this to block off access to a seating area. After the competitions are over, if vendors have booths set up around the seats, then I close the seats. The vendors are gone, the office is closed, its after hours, so I don't feel they have any business in the seats. This makes me a bitch to some people, and best friends to the vendors and staff. My concern is the vendor's stuff, NOT their "comfort" as the entourage of some horse show people.

Really, do you need 5 people standing around watching you lunge your horse (runs in a circle around you using a long lead rope and sometimes whips) or riding your horse in a circle or oval? I get if your a kid having your parents there, I get having a spouse or a coach/trainer there, but these people have their whole families there, or a large group of friends.

Obviously, I'm not a horse show person, I don't think like they do, I don't know the differences between a trot and a walk, and the only difference I can tell between western and english riding is the clothes. Female western riders blind me, english riders wear tights that most have no business ever wearing. I hate hearing spurs hit the concrete. You spend thousands of dollars to attend these events, you can't spend an extra $5 on some flip-flops? That's right, that $5 is for the beer they drink. Or the condoms they buy (I found a teen's wallet once, while looking for an ID, some condoms fell out, better safe than sorry). My co-workers returned the wallet to him, condoms and all.

Wow! That was random! Visit The Un Mom to participate.

Have a good day!

blah

Yeah, that's how I feel. Blah. I am so frekin bored with this whole damn life! Once I get past an aggravation, another one comes up.

We finally got the air conditioner, burners on the stove, oven, fridge, bathroom sink, fan, and the toilet fixed. We had to clean up, that was an undertaking, Vx's deployment shit is EVERYWHERE! Out of fear that maintenance would have to replace the fridge and stove completely, his stuff had to be moved into our bedroom, on top of all of his other (mostly deployment) shit that I have to trip over to reach the dresser or open the window.

Since the Army rather send soldiers on multiple deployments instead of sending my husband (who WANTS to go) on his first, can I pack up all this deployment stuff and send it back to Fort Dix or that other base he got the shit from? (the mob site in Georgia)

The a/c was fixed immediately (outside company, it was out of coolant), the rest took a while. A maintenance man came to work on it, he fixed the bathroom sink (there was a hot water stream when it was turned off all the way) and all the burners work (2 didn't work before), tweaked w/the toilet (its better now than it was, the tank fills up after flushing it most of the time), made the fridge colder (like having frozen food on the warmest setting is gonna be fixed by making it colder?), said there wasn't anything wrong w/the fan (Vx made him stand in the bathroom w/it on until it started squealing loudly), then he said he'd have to order a part for the fan and stove (electric coil exploded). The office called Vx about the repairs, he told them everything, the maintenance man wrote on his work order that he fixed everything. He's now been reassigned. A new maintenance man came in and fixed everything! He's wasn't sure about the fridge, but it's keeping things cold now (NOT frozen), we can cook again, and the bathroom smells disappear much quicker and quietly now.

Right about the time everything was fixed, Vx's friend asked him to do some work on his mom's house, she's moving out of it, the friend and his girlfriend (together maybe a year) are moving in. The thing that bothers me about this: Vx and I have been married for over 2 years (together about 5), we still live with my mom in her apartment! Is it just me, or should the rolls be reversed?

Vx has orders now (not that it means anything), he's in a new unit on the west coast, he won't be going to drill once a month (not that he has been since the whole deployment bs), after completing some classes, he'll be an instructor. One possibility is we'll be living at FLW (would it be appropriate to call it the chemical mecca?) for a short time while he teaches some classes. I fear if this assignment doesn't happen, we'll never move out of my mom's apartment. I WANT OUT OF HERE!!!

I made the mistake a month back, I asked Vx to call someone about these garage apartments near this area we agreed to live in, there condo's and they were asking as much for it as what my medical bills were about 2 years ago (six digits), now he's stuck on the idea of getting a place w/a garage. I found some other garage apartments, they were newer and further away from that particular area, they were asking 3X as much! Now he's stuck on the idea of garage apartments.

The place he had a storage unit at before the deployment bs, he's renting a unit from them again. One of the people running the place before may possibly be a "tag chaser," I'm not sure. She told him she's dated Marines, and she sent him a picture of what appeared to be her boob. He had a talk with her about it, so hopefully I won't have to do anything to her! He says there's stuff in the unit, and he'll put some of the army stuff in there as well, he says a lot of stuff but doesn't do them, so I don't have much faith in what he says or in anything involving him.

Summer time's coming, I don't know how last summer's job will work this year, ES changed the rules on work hours and pay, I assume it also applies to FMT as well. While I don't want to work about 60 days straight again, I'm curious how all of this will work with the others since this is only a 2 or 3 month job that some need to work more than 40 hrs a week at. Are they gonna have to hire more people for a temporary job? Some of these people work there every year, so if new people need to be hired, then they'll have to be trained, and pass background checks, and maybe even IRS (some do, some don't). That's something else that worries me, I made a mistake on my taxes last year, your taxes have to be in good shape for my department, so will the mistakes affect me this year? Federal said I had a mistake, but my refund was still the same, and the state kept what was supposed to be refunded.

The other night, I was looking at canes online. I feel so old. I'd like to have a fold up one that I'll keep in my car or whatever bag I carry around at work so when it starts raining while I'm there, I won't have to struggle to walk around as much. The other day, my husband and I went to Wal-Mart while it was raining outside, I could hardly walk into the store. I was okay when I got inside, I sat at a bench while he tried on some pants, we walked around a little bit, and when we were leaving the weakness started again. So this is what life will be like for me, hope that new unit doesn't want Vx and I to move there (I believe it rains in that area a lot, its also colder there)!

Six Word Saturday

It's time again for Six Word Saturday! This week, my entry will be a little more creative than the others:

No more chicken and stars soup

I've been living on the stuff for the last week and a half, I never want to see it again! Unfortunately, these two cans and maybe another one or two still remain. The one on the right is a convenient cup you can microwave and drink, the one on the left is the original stuff that you have to either cook on a stove or pour into a microwave bowl. My jaw is improving and the swelling is minimal, so I should be able to eat more normal foods at a more normal pace and time soon.

To participate in the fun little game, visit Call Me Cate's wonderful blog by clicking on the colorful picture at the top (not the soup one) to play along, grab a button, Mr. Linky, and leave a comment. You can also check out some of the other 6WS entries to see what other creative (or not so creative) things that others have came up with.

Another six words I just thought up:

I hate the freezing cold arena!

While this is one of the better posts to work at (hours, access to plug ins, ability to move around, little noise, etc.) I HATE THE COLD!!! Most of the time I've worked at this post, I have had to wear 3 or 4 layers of clothes and use a heating blanket just to somewhat stay warm, EVEN WHEN IT'S 100 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!! Right now its not, but in the middle of the night, it was warmer outside than it was inside, and its still winter time. I also have to walk up and down the stairs which bothers me at times. There is an elevator, but it's famous for getting stuck, like it did last night with a member of the cleaning crew inside. Luckily he was a skinny man, and was able to push the door open wide enough to get out.

This same cleaning crew, a former member of it died last week. He started about the same time I did, he flirted with me, was about my age, but the way he died and how others treated his injured/dead body does upset me. He was shot at a restaurant in a not so nice part of town in the middle of the night. People walked over his body to get their food, and when the ambulance and police arrived, people were in their way, so EMT's were unable to work on him until they arrived at the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There were a bunch of people around, but no witnesses will come forward.

Sorry to be a debbie downer, but those are my thoughts at this moment. Tonight should be my last night in the arena for a while, then back to my "normal" life.

Try to have a good day, and have some fun for me!

Attempting "brilliance"

Wish me luck as I attempt to blog about my job. October, oh the love/hate relationship continues!

Event #1: Various events and competitions w/carnival rides thrown in, beginning of October, I started the evening of September 30th and worked until the morning of October 12th. A few words that come to mind immediately: flooding, headaches, cold, rock, getting screwed over. Originally I was going to be watching some sound equipment on an outdoor stage, instead I was moved to a tent watching merchandise and a car. There's a slope where I was, so every time it rained or someone in an outdoor booth poured liquid onto the parking lot, it ran in. When this happens, all I can do is watch the water go in the booths. Most of these people in the booths already knew this would occur and did their best to keep items that could be damaged off the ground, but to still see the water run in and me not knowing for sure was bothersome. One night the rain did cause the event to close before I was supposed to come into work, because it had rained all day, the main area where the water was running in had sand bags, and a new spot (not as bad) had shavings, easier on me since that spot was used for golf carts, etc. That night was the easiest one on me, I didn't have to close up (AKA resist the urge to yell, "Get the fuck out, NOW!!!") and the rain kept people away, so I had a much needed nap that night! In terms of security issues, the biggest issues were the walls (they have zippers on them, the only people that used them were ok), one night a door handle was broken off, so that door could not be locked at closing time, but was fixed shortly after, and when everyone was trying to move out there were some problems that my supervisor (MIL) handled like the pro she is (it used to be her post after all). I did have some fun, one night I showed up 2 hours early and rocked out!



Shinedown rocked, as they have every time I've seen them live. Definite highlight for me! (picture from their website)

Event #2: Horse competition, last part of October, I worked the first night it started through the morning of November 1st. This was the second year for my work place to host this event, so the kinks were worked out this time around. I worked in the main arena 11pm-7am. Usually when I showed up, the competitions were over, and started the next day after I left, so all I did was watch some camera and sound equipment. The thing that got me was the fact that I relieved 2 guards, and then 2 guards relieved me! I know why there were 2 for the other shifts, they worked mostly during the competitions, they performed different tasks, some requiring 2 people. I like with what my sister said better, "Your just that good." The last night of the event, a co-worker took the night off, her arena had vendors booths set up and the show office was located there, so I was at her post instead. Much warmer this time around than the other times I worked that post, I would freeze to death in the past, this time the heat was on, I didn't even need my coat this time, let along the extra layers of clothes or the heating blanket! The only issue I had this time around was one night we were under a tornado watch and my arena is one of the shelters, so I had to be prepared to shove people into this hallway, luckily it never came to that.

In terms of my job tasks, work conditions and my hours, the second event kicked the first event's ass! In the fun department, the first event won hands down, how could I vote a horse competition over seeing Shinedown?

Unfortunately, these events are also the end of the busy time of year, I've worked a little bit since then, but for the most part I'll be lucky to get 20 hours a month until May or June rolls around, so now I need to figure out what to do exactly. Vx wants me to take guitar lessons, he gave me one for my birthday about 2 years ago but I have no clue how to play anything on it or how to read the music (definitely not written like clarinet music sheets), I've been going back and forth on school, more in the 'no' direction, its day to day with my leg and my lack of experience in most areas makes it difficult to know what job to try for. I don't have a CLEET license, so many security jobs are out of the equation, that and the whole leg issue, you need to be able to run after someone, stand at a post, or walk around on long patrols, something I can't do at my current job.

What month is it?

How the hell is it September already?!?! Where did August go? Seriously! I'm not looking forward to October, so I want August to still be here. The cold, the jerks, traffic getting to work, the cold, the jerks, long hours, the cold, the jerks, lack of sleep, the cold, the jerks, parking troubles, and did I mention the cold and the jerks? There are a few things I am looking forward to, the pay and I get to see Shinedown perform at my job FOR FREE! They used to perform in this area every 3 or 4 months, these guys are great live, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again (for free and possibly backstage as well) and more than likely they'll perform before I need to be at my post. This is also how I got to see Flyleaf last year. I guess I should quit writing and get some sleep while I can.

Six Word Saturday

Without further ado...

I rocked out to Smooth Criminal

On my way home from work (29 days straight now) a local station played Alien Ant Farm's version, I was very touched by that, and I rocked out to it way more than I normally do. Also at work, a simulcast of a different track's races, they showed pictures of horses that won that evening to "I'll Be There". He was called the king of pop for a reason, and he will be missed.

Naptime: not just for kids, shhh

I haven't been sleeping really well lately, and today my body said "Enough!" While at work, I got a headache, took some tylenol and fell asleep in the golf cart for a few minutes (shhh!!!). It was uncomfortable, but those few minutes helped my headache and to stay awake til I got home. I had already decided when I got home instead of fooling around on the computer, cell, etc. that I would just make tomorrow's lunch and go to bed. When I got home I put my stuff down, went into the bedroom where Vx was still sleeping (BTW, he returned a few nights ago, yay!), P joined us, attacked his feet and I ended up sleeping til he left. I finally decided to get up and do what I needed to do, so I did that.

It's been a while since I wrote anything that's been posted, and I hadn't done my scheduled Thursday post, so I just finished Thursday's and here I am letting all of you (2) readers know I'm still here and alive. I have internet at work thru my cell phone (shhh!!!) but it's real slow (dial up) and I can only get on for about 30 minutes at a time (stupid job getting in the way!), I've got some things set up so I can send text posts but since they have to be so short, I have them saved automatically to drafts and then later I can edit them to make sense and get into more details. I also have to deal w/battery issues for the laptop and cell, which also puts a damper on my fun. It's tricky to find plug-ins that will work right, and most of them are in weird spots (up high, in bathrooms, behind an ATM machine, by concession stands, etc). I also can't really do anything too complicated, I need to be able to respond to something in a hurry (loose horse, intruders, etc.). Yeah, it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it (lmao).

What excitement and tons of horse terminology

Exciting night! After Vx and I came home f/a restaurant, we were out in the parking lot putting our new tags on our vehicles (nothing special, the state just changed them). When we were working on his(it's tougher to change than mine), we saw a car chase through our apartment parking lot! The driver wasn't going terribly fast, but faster than you should in a parking lot w/dips and speed bumps. Everyone came out of their apt's, kids rode their bikes into the neighborhood behind us (where the suspect went), the police chopper flew over us several times, in the six years I've lived here, there's never been this much excitement EVER! If that wasn't enough, when I got to work, a nearby baseball field was shooting off fireworks! I went down to the apron and watched all the pretty colors.

For the non-horse racing people, wikipedia defines An apron of a racetrack is the part going around the track below the yellow line. In more simpler terms, it's this paved area where you can stand next to the track to see the races real close, the winner's circle is also located there. At FMT, there's also areas there where you can place bets, food and drink concessions (w/ or w/o alcohol), a few chairs, plants, and simulcast of those races and maybe a few others as well. FMT cordinates w/this baseball field so races aren't being ran while the fireworks are going off. For people who don't know this, most horses are easily spooked, especially horses that are pumped w/vitamins *coughdrugscough* which in turn can injure or kill the jockey riding them. Some have been trained so things don't bother them (Budweiser Clydesdales are a great example), many (like Bud's horses) also wear blinkers (also known as blinders or "winkers," used to restrict the horse's vision). Wow! I have learned more than I realised from ES and FMT, if only I knew more about the other events I've worked at (how to speak Spanish, guns, cars, home and garden, etc.). Ok, no more information overload, I need to finish some things up and go to bed, goodnight/day y'all!

Six Word Saturday

I got last summer's job back!

To go more into details, the co-worker who was doing my job about 5 nights a week decided to quit, so I will probably be doing this job every single night til the end of July. While I enjoy having the guarenteed hours, idk if I really want to deal w/the bs every single night. I shouldn't be making anymore trips during that time, and my headaches have gotten better, so hopefully I can handle it. If not, then I'm sure the other person can do what I did a few times last year, cover both posts, stay most of the time at the other one, then do my rounds about every hour like I'm supposed to. Some of my clothes are either on their last threads or need to be thrown out, so I see some of the money going towards a few new pairs of shoes, some new jeans, and Vx could use a few items as well. If my car needs work done on it, some will go towards that (new tires? new brakes? idk). Of course moving would be nice, but who knows when that'll happen.

FMT, Vx's teeth, and Salsa

So the man who's doing my job 5 nights a week called me Monday evening to fill in for him last night. A woman who was working at the gate when I came in "didn't tell me" that I may get to do it 5-7 nights a week like I did last summer, and the other guy may quit. While it would be nice to have more hours, I was hesitant to do the job again this summer (reason why I procrastinated and he got the job). While some things have improved in the last week or so, (I'm not the only person there at night, some lights were left on all night, etc.) I still don't have a gator like I'm supposed to have for rounds (I can do them w/some modifications in my car, and I'm not going as often), and I still can't tell well enough if a horse has escaped or not since this one set of lights that always stayed on before aren't on.

Vx had some trouble w/some teeth yesterday, so he visited my last dentist, he wasn't impressed. The few times I had been to him, I didn't need any work done, they were check-ups, so I didn't know. My mom goes to him as well, he's worked on her teeth and she just seems to love him. She also brushes her teeth (real and fake) several times a day, while were more "realistic" and try to stick a toothbrush in our mouths at least once a day.

Vx has orders and a plane ticket to visit Salsa next week for a class. If one month translates into 3 days, then how long will a week be? Will he get to the airport near there and immediatly board a plane home? Well see...

it's been an FMT kind of day

So I woke up early Monday for some odd reason. When I woke up, I found several text messages on my phone, 2 f/Buddy. He had the day off and thought he'd check in on me. I found out yesterday was his birthday, I'm such a horrible friend, I had completely forgotten when his birthday was. So we have something else in common: sometimes our birthdays fall on holidays (mine's sometimes on President's Day). He had been out at the river on the walking trails and I guess that made him think of me for some reason (we never spent time there, but it was near where I got married, but he didn't come). I told him about mom's new boyfriend f/her job and he made jokes about me doing the same thing (that's how I met him [FMT] and Vx [ES], & my mom's dated men f/her job before). I told him I'm back at FMT, he reacted the way I figured he would. It was a short but sweet conversation. Afterwards, the man who's doing my job 5 nights/week calls me, he wants me to cover for him Thursday night, I told him I would, so I'll get 3 nights guaranteed this week.

Last night, a musical guests I love and have loved for years was on Jimmy Fallon's show, this was the first time I had seen the show, it was good to see David, Andy and Neal again. I miss seeing those guys perform on a frequent basis, but I am glad they are getting the attention they deserve.

This week I'm gonna mess up my sleep schedule to get some things done, today I have to pick up a prescription during the times I usually sleep (about 8a-4p), so it'll be tough, but it has to be done (I need it tonight), sometime before the 30th I have to get my car tag renewed (8a-5p for the closest tag office), get my license so I can continue to work at FMT on Thursday (that's when they start doing them, I think they open at 9a), and I should probably make sure my car really is ok or not (my shop's hours are 8a-4p or 5p). I procrastinated on the tag (it expired on April 30th w/30 days grace), my car being at the dealership and Vx working last Thursday caused me to not pick up my prescription (we picked up the car after 4p), and Thursday was when I found out about FMT, so I wanted to make sure I slept well so I can stay up all night Friday night, and then there's Memorial Day, dr.'s office where my prescription is was closed Saturday=Monday.

Earlier while trying to pick out some clothes for the next few days (it helps me to do this when I have time constraints), I found a necklace I bought a few years ago, it was a horse shoe w/the word "love" written on it. I placed it on the hanger w/a red hair tie for Thursday night/Friday morning, I thought it was appropriate, you do have to have somewhat of a love for horses to survive employment for FMT, especially doing what I sometimes do. 

Memorial Day

I hope everyone's enjoying the holiday weekend, please don't forget the reason for the holiday, U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. Also remember the people who aren't fortunate to have this day off, military, security personnel, media, hospital workers, fire departments, ambulance crews, various police forces and many others. There are checkpoints set up in various places, so please don't drink and drive, especially this weekend. Remember the workers at the gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacys so you may purchase last minute items, like gas to return home, that loaf of bread you forget for your sandwiches, or medicine incase you need medication. Any empty buildings you may drive by will probably have a security guard inside since criminals also don't take holidays off. If bad Wx makes an appearance, the media will be there to let you know if your in the path of a storm, and other important information you may need to know. If your involved in a car wreck, you will receive the proper attention needed. If you are injured severly, go into labor, or have a heart attack, there will be people at the hospital to help you out, and of course, as we are all aware of, terrorists don't take off on holidays either. Many of the above mentioned workers that are working today could very well be someone in the Reserves, Natinoal Guard, or a veteran. Whether you have the day off or not, I hope it is a good and safe day.