But, more importantly, I look forward to
Finally being a firefighter. I found out a couple days ago that Seattle is postponing any selection off the 2008 Register (the list I am on.) From what I had heard, the list I was on was slated for a February 2009 recruit class. So, the next 8 months was hopefully going to be me slowly winding my way through more tests, to make it to the 15-30 people I figured they'd finally select for their spring recruit class. Now, they are taking people from last year's test and putting them in that academy. My group will be called up after that academy gets going. So, the rest of the process is paused for about eight months. I should be grateful to even be on the register, and I am. But, I am also very very eager to get this show on the road and work my ass off to be a firefighter. Hurry up and wait isn't sitting well right now. In the scheme of a 25-30 year career, less than one full year should not be an issue. And, I take the test for Tacoma Fire in a week. I would proudly work for either department. I know Seattle and like that I have been a part of this community for five years now. Tacoma is a smaller, and from what I've heard, more progressive department than Seattle. I like that idea better - working with 400 other firefighters rather than 1100. I remember hearing that Tacoma had an all-female shift at one of their stations. That is pretty cool. But, more important, I like the size of the department. It sounds a little more militaristic than Seattle (not that Seattle isn't a badass department) and that appeals to me. A friend was just hired by Tacoma and she said that the academy was the easy part - being on probation is tough. She's studying up a storm. So, that's where I'm at. I can make it at my current job, but the summers are tough (not this summer so far.) I'm not built to work inside at all really, especially not during our usually glorious summers. I can wait to be a firefighter for the first department to give me a chance, but the shorter the wait the better.
Making my kids breakfast. My dad used to make us breakfast every day he was home from flying. Sometimes it was a bowl of cereal. More often it was poached eggs with buttered toast or homemade pancakes with maple syrup or fresh sliced fruit or juice he's just put through the Juiceman. I am excited to be that parent.
Caring for my own horses. I've had this mare I've been trying to sell for about five years. Not very hard and not very well. But, she's been around, eating and throwing shoes and getting hurt and attracting a lot of tire-kickers. Now that hay is at record prices and the economy is in a "recessionary-like state" (but it's not a recession!) no one is going to buy a horse that I couldn't sell when times were good. And, my mom is hating her being at her home. I get a lot of signs and pot shots when I go up and visit and sign away my first born for a couple bales of hay. So, I'd rather just keep the damn horse and put her out to pasture where I can at least admire her from afar. I miss getting up and throwing hay, hearing the horses knicker because they've been starving since dinner. I miss yelling "who's hungry?" and seeing them all lift their heads at the same time, like a bunch of grazing dinosaurs, and then bolting toward the fence, kicking up their heels and sometimes farting while they do it. I miss the chickens trying to fly with glee when they're let out of their coop. And the roosters leaping onto the fence and crowing in glory. I miss the wild ducks, all 100 of them, marching up to the garage when we hadn't been out to feed our small flock of domestic ducks who they mooched off of. It would be great to have that all back.
Not having to exercise my damn dogs every day. How stupid is that? We never put our dogs on leashes growing up. And when we did they were terrible. But they didn't chew our shit run off because they were constantly taking care of their own needs while they were outside all day.
But, even though I'm ancy, I can have some patience. I like Lake City. I like our sodden gardens. I like my job for the most part. I like our animal kingdom. So, I'm satisfied, but I just always have my eye on the prize.
Apparently, this spring has been the coldest/grossest since 1917.
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