It's Off to the Races.....

It is that time again in the 5150 household. Time for us to once again put all our money on the three legged horse named "Gimpy." We are officially trying to create a sister for Little Man. To make a loooooooong story short, it's not easy for us. Last time involved years of waiting, praying and surgery. My main thoughts are: When will it happen? How will it happen? I don't mean that kind of "how"! When I say "how" I mean, I know that for us adoption is a very real option. I have to have another child, so if we can't make one, we are fine with adopting. Because of that possibiltiy I often lurk around the various adoption blogs. A recurring theme on all of these sites, are Home Studies. That is where they come into your home to evaluate if you are able to care for an adopted child. Uh oh. Do you have to do one of those? I can only imagine what ours would be like. Let's all imagine, shall we, that you can follow along via virtual tour as I meet with our social worker:


"Hi, sorry I am late, I just got off my usual 12 hour shift. Welcome to our home, yeah it is pretty cute, I think the term for it would be a "fixer upper." You'd never know that though from the size of the mortgage, or shall I say mortgages, plural. Sorry about the crappy neighborhood. I am pretty sure they are selling drugs across the street, too. Come on in. Oh, whoops, don't trip over Riley. Why yes she is a Pitt bull. And here's Gabby. Gabby, down. Down Gabby. Gabby, get down. Stop jumping on the nice lady! Oh, sorry about your dress...So here is our living room. No, no, that's not carpet, that's hardwood floors with about 3 inches of dog hair on it--I haven't had a chance to vacuum in weeks. Hmm? Oh, no that isn't a dog in the corner it's just a really big hair ball! We only have four large dogs. Are you choking? Can I get you a glass of water? No? That's probably for the best, I don't have any clean glasses anyway. Also we were sent a letter recently from the city, asking us not to drink the water. Something about high levels of arsenic. Yes, it is pretty normal for me to have about 2 weeks worth of dirty dishes in the sink. No, no don't open the oven! Oops, you caught me, I hid some more of the dirty dishes in there. How embarrassing. Now, over here somewhere under all these magazines and bags is a really nice kitchen table. Oh no, that's not an unusual pattern on the linoleum floor, those are muddy dog prints! Here is the den/storage/future second child's room. No, we didn't just move in, we've been here two years, I just haven't got around to unpacking, yet. Sorry about the bills scattered all over the desk here. I am trying to pay off some really big loans. Our credit is pretty crappy but we're working on it, (nervous laughter). We may be poor, but what we lack in money, we make up for with our rich personalities! Ha, ha, ha, ahem. You'd like to know where my husband is? Oh he couldn't make it, he is at the hospital. He got in a fight with an armed suspect who pulled a gun on him and a fight ensued. He's getting stitches. The suspect, not my husband, silly! That husband of mine, always getting into these madcap adventures, gun fights and high speed pursuits! (Awkward silence). OK, um, moving right along, this is the bathroom. Oh, that? Yes the paint is peeling off the wall. I realize it's only one foot off the floor, and yes it is lead based, but don't worry I wouldn't let the kid lick the walls! Ha Ha Ha. Is it it warm in here, or is it just me. What am I thinking our Air Conditioner's broken, of course it's me! Who could forget the 100 degree summer were having! Um, yeah, so down here at the end of the hall is our room. Oh, that? That is the gun cabinet, we keep meaning to fix the lock on that. Oh my gosh, Xena! I'm sure this nice lady doesn't want that icky dead mouse! She's always bringing us 'presents'. Where are you going? What do you mean you have to leave? Ma'am come back! You forgot your purse...Sigh"

Yeah, I'm sure our prospects will be lining up around the block.

Get Me Judge Judy--Fast!!!!!

One year ago my dogs attacked and killed the neighbor's Chihuahua. I wish it didn't happen, I feel bad for the little dog, but here is a quick synopsis of what happened:

My dogs were confined to the part of the yard away from the Chihuahua's yard, because they were always barking at a different neighbor's dog. Honestly, my dogs never really paid attention to the Chi---Rat Dog. Anyway, the Rat Dog came into our yard, my dogs tore down the barricade and followed it into it's own yard and ate it. Literally. Anyways, I talked to the owner, apologized and told her "Absolutely!" when she told me I should pay for 1/2 the cost of repairs to the fence. I gave her my personal cell phone number and told her to call me with the amount. She never called, she never gave me a bill, or tried ANY kind of contact...until now. Now, she is taking me to small claims court for $7500. Are you kidding me? She never even tried to collect. Talk about going from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. Isn't small claims court for people who refuse to pay? I didn't refuse to pay her. Ok, deep breath. I digress, she sent me a certified letter, full of emotionally manipulative statements of how traumatized she was, probably hoping for pain and suffering. One problem with that; you can't get pain and suffering in CA small claims court, only the amount to cover damages and only what you can prove. Sooooo, I have 10 days to reply, and I wrote a very courteous letter, telling her if she wasn't happy with me paying her for the fence as we already agreed, and what she paid for the dog, she will have to take me to court. I almost hope she does. Almost. I have so many pictures that prove my side of the story. She totally screwed herself by putting my personal cell # on the letter she sent me because, how else would she have that unless I gave it to her? No judge will believe I said, "I am not paying you! Now here is my personal cell # so you can call and harass me." I will keep you updated. In the meantime, I want to share with you the letter I composed, that I WISH I could send. But I won't.



Dear Liz,

What the @#$% ??? Are you kidding me? Who the @#$% do you think you are; waiting an entire year and then trying to extort $7500 from me? Where do you get off? Do you honestly believe you can prove that nine crappy plywood boards and a mangy, neglected, mixed breed Chihuahua is worth that??? If this goes to court, I’m thinking all that you are due is about 45 bucks max. And little “Princess” as you so aptly named her, was so neglected we felt sorry for her. Meeting a violent but swift end was far more merciful than spending one more day with you. That dog yapped night and day, begging for attention, so how dare you, now pretend you even gave a rat’s ass about her.
Let’s get back to the fence repairs, not only did you only replace nine boards on your fence, you didn’t even fix the right place! Not to mention, YOUR dog entered OUR yard! I can prove, that portion of my yard was cordoned off. Why? Because your stupid dog would begin barking incessantly every time my dogs walked by. Not only did your dog come into my yard first, it pushed the board into my yard, which I can prove by the sheer fact that my dogs do not have opposable thumbs. And another thing; my dogs are a pack, and therefore, when something as small as a rodent comes into their domain, they will kill it. Honestly, they probably thought the damn thing was a squirrel. And where did you get the figure "$7500?" Did you just pull that amount out of your a$$ or are you also charging me for your psychiatrist's visits; because that would make more sense. In closing, if you have anything further to add, you can kiss my a$$. See you in court, moron.

Sincerely,
Becca


Sigh. If only.

Happy Anniversary to Me (This is a different one)

Chris and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary (July 4th). We are going camping, write more when we get back!

Happy Anniversary to Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been blogging here at my 5150 world for one whole year, today! It has been so much fun and so therapeutic. I love reading all the comments, and I love visiting all of your blogs too. I feel honored that anybody reads or comments at all, and I feel so happy that I only got one mean comment so far. Yay! So, I raise my glass of apple cider, (I am at work) and I say, "Cheers! Here is to another year of blogging." Will you toast with me? I would love to get as many comments as I can, to celebrate. (And Ron, haven't you figured out by now; I have no shame?)

Sorting Out my Feelings **Updated***

This will seem very disjointed and probably quite boring. My oral board was exactly one week ago and before today I just kind of put my thoughts and feelings in a box and put that box on a shelf. I really just didn't want to think about the whole thing for a while. So now, I will take down that box, blow off the dust that has accumulated and see if I can make any sense of it.
I did not get the full time dispatch position at WPD. No I am not joking. The LT said it was because I live too far away, that they need someone who could be there much faster in an emergency, but there is another full dispatcher who lives twice as far as I do so... I have a lot of mixed emotions. I have been loyal to WPD since I was laid off due to budget cuts. To be honest, my gut level reaction is; I took this like a slap in the face. There is no one better qualified for the job because I ALREADY DO IT. So that means they didn't want ME. How is that supposed to feel? How do I take that? I don't know. My husband is far more pissed than I am. He says they have no loyalty. "Beck, this shouldn't have been you interviewing for an open position, this should have been them giving you your old job back. We never would have moved farther away if you hadn't lost your job in the first place." I see his point but I still feel conflicted. I am relieved because, though I would have gladly done it, the commute would have sucked. (It is one hour on a good day, 2 on a bad day.) Now I'll get to spend time with my toddler son until the per diem hours dry up in September and I have to find a full time job some where. I know I did really lousy on the oral board and I finally figured out why. Normally I nail oral boards. I have gotten jobs I was not qualified for because I interview really, really well. I totally sucked at this one. Hours later it dawned on me. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Two out of the 3 people doing the board know me. I didn't know if I was supposed to pretend they didn't know me and just sell the heck out of myself and my skills or tell them new stuff that they perhaps did not know about me. The end result was I believe I didn't give thorough enough answers because, I figured they already knew my answers. It made me feel very awkward and uncomfortable to be interviewed by a friend too. Instead of selling myself to a prospective employer I felt like I was bragging, so I downplayed myself. I really did crappy. In hindsight I wish I had asked "Am I supposed to pretend I don't know you, and you don't know me?" However, in all fairness, they should have told me how they wanted me to answer, before the interview began. I am having a hard time getting too worked up about it all because, I feel my heart just wasn't in it. I like working per diem and I prayed about the whole experience. I put my whole faith in: if God wanted me to have this job, I would have it. Period. So, yeah, my worldly side is pissed, hurt, confused, offended and annoyed but when I look at my spiritual side, I couldn't be happier. I truly believe if God wanted me to have it, I would have it. When I am supposed to be working, the right job will be provided for me.
This whole experience has been really strange for me. I haven't really had to go through anything like this before, and I am not used to it.
Further analyzing the issue; I am not in the slightest upset with my friend, the dispatch supervisor, who was on the oral board, for not choosing me. Not one bit. But she never called, texted or even emailed, as a friend, to check on me and that hurts a lot. Maybe she felt she could only wear one "hat" and chose the work one. I hope not. If she reads this (And thinking she probably would, made it hard to vent, but that is what this blog is for), I am asking her to please not comment on this entry. I would rather pretend she doesn't read this entry, at all.
Well, those are my rambling thoughts about the whole situation, and I am no closer to enlightenment or resolution, but I trust my God completely.
***Updated june 28th*** My friend/Supervisor never got the text I sent her (I sent it immediately after the LT called me and it said "I am not upset. I am actually kind of relieved. I am disappointed and confused but OK." I was hurt when I got no reply. My friend not only didn't get it, she didn't know I already knew I had not been chosen. She was told not to discuss it with me. So, I feel like a horses ass for not trusting in our friendship. I have always prided myself for being one to admit when I am in the wrong, and this is one of those such times.***
Now, I am going to go play with Little Man, and probably rewrite this later, saving this one as a draft, and try to write it in a funny or more interesting format. I am thinking of me, lying on a couch in a shrink's office...... Til later.

Here We Go.......

Wonderful PD has a full time opening, for police dispatcher. It is actually my same slot that was cut during a city budget crunch a while back. If I get my old job back, I'll even have the same badge. Oh how I miss the little nick on the bottom part of the state seal. I am totally excited. My husband and I talked, and now would be a good time for me to attempt to go back to work full time. So, without further ado, I thought I would share with you the little essay I wrote in the box that was for listing any additional experience that would make me a good candidate:

(Note: Man, I wish I had spell check on that application, I just realized I made like 4 really lame spelling errors)

I would like to take this space to tell you why I would be a great fit for this position. If I am hired, I will save the city of Wonderful a great deal of time and money. As I am currently employed by your city, doing the job for which I am applying, my backgrounds, training, and general hiring process, would be very abbreviated. Not only do I have almost six years of dispatch experience, much of it is with Wonderful. I would need minimal refreshers on policies and procedures, and have already passed Wonderful PD's extensive backgrounds, thus saving money, and by not having to train someone new, which takes on average 3 months, I could save Wonderful PD a good deal of time. I feel I am a great potential asset for Wonderful, as I am very familiar with the officers; I know them by their voice. This greatly increases officer safety, which is a dispatcher's number one priority. If one of the officers keys the mic requesting code 3 cover, but does not use his/her call sign, I am almost sure to recognize him/her. It would take a new dispatcher months to learn acquire this skill.

I did not voluntarily leave Wonderful PD, my postion was cut. Wonderful PD was wonderful to me when that happened; helping me get the lateral position at Evil PD.However, no other agency can compare to Wonderful Police. I have remained loyal and committed in my per diem position, and have waited for the time where I could once again apply for the full time position.

So, keep your fingers and toes crossed, and prayers! Lots and lots of prayers!!!!!

...And on a Lighter Note

Seriously, doesn't my Grandma Mary, rock? I am sad because she has gone back home, up North. She will return again, ("Lord, willing" as she always says) for the winter season, next year. She is 82 years old, she has great advice and she is not shy about sharing it. She has amazing character, and amazing faith. If there was ever anyone with a red phone straight to God; it's her. (But she can still kick yer butt!)

Just Some Random Stuff...

Well, I wish I had an amazing story of what happened to follow my last rant, er, I mean post. But, I don't. We went to the party, which was fun, talked to some Local PD cops who all said, "Him?????" "He did that?" "That doesn't sound like him at all." And one of them gladly signed off on the ticket without even looking at the truck parked out front. They are going to ask the offending officer, see what's up and get back to us. Chris said to also remind him of officer safety issues. Turns out before the Local Cop knew Chris was PD, he failed to notice the large Glock sitting out in plain view on the front passenger seat... At least if the guy had seen the gun and then stuck his own in Chris' face, Chris could've respected the guy! Oh, that reminds me of a question I would love an answer from all y'all. Which side of the car does the officer approach from at your agency? What about when you, or your officers are on a freeway/in heavy traffic. Also does your agency carry tasers? Or only certain officers specially trained? Or like Chris' agency can your management only cough up enough dough to furnish one lousy taser they all pass around? What about dashboard cameras? Who has them, likes them, uses them? Ok, that was more like 20 questions. Told you in the title of this post: Random. Continuing in that theme, here are some recent fun 911 calls: (Evil Me only answered in my head. I was (mostly) a consumate professional)

Caller: Come quick, there are some teens and they are drinking out of the trunk.

Evil Me: Like the whole trunk is filled with beer and they are using it like a trough? Cool, I'll send someone right out...to take pictures.

------------

Caller: I am at my sister's house and she was broken into.

Me: Someone broke into your sister???? ( I just couldn't resist, that one was too easy.)

------------

Caller (With thick hispanic accent): There were over 10 shots fired, please come quick.

Me: (After asking many questions,) Can you tell what race the suspects are?

Caller: Mexican! They are all Mexican!

Me: How many suspects are there?

Caller: I don't know, it's too dark! It's too far! And there are just so many Mexicans! I think 30! Yes, 30 Mexicans!

(This wasn't hilarious, it was just that I found it funny that this guy was way more upset by the fact that the suspects were Mexican, than that shots were fired. And where did he get the exact number "30"? Strange.

-------------------------

And my last and personal favorite:

Caller: My neighbor, Jane Smith, kicked down my fence!

Me: Did you see her do it, or are you assuming....

Caller: I didn't see her do it but, I have her shoe in evidence!!!!!!!

Me: There are....no .....words.....

Oh No He DIDN'T! ! ! ! !

I was so furious about the following incident I had to calm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down before I could write about it. I keep this blog clean and I was going to wreak havoc on it dropping no-no 4 letter words. Big deep breath, trying to stay calm, here goes:

After working an extra long shift and driving over an hour just to get home, my husband Chris got pulled over by a Local Town PD officer for having no plates on the truck. Chris stated immediately that he was a cop since he was carrying. The officer lectured Chris, and wanted to know why, since he is a cop, didn't he know better and didn't he know the CA vehicle code about licence plates? Chris explained that there is a local gang that hangs out, outside his police station writing down officer plates and then they attempt to locate the cop's home address. Chris makes a lot of arrests, so he's not too popular with that gang. The cop stares blankly at Chris. The he proceeds to ask Chris, "All right, Christopher, but why don't you have any licence plates on your truck, you should know better." Let me note that at no time did Chris have a bad attitude. Here is a little side plot/sub story. Chris has a right to be a bit short with the Local Town Cop. Not long ago, this same local PD came into my yard while Chris and I were both working nights, and impounded all of my dogs for killing a Chihuahua, that, by the way, had come into our yard. Sad and unfortunate, yes. Dramatic enough for the Local PD Sgt. to comment he had "Never seen any thing so horrible" as the slaughtered dog. Puh-leez! Get out more! A dead dog is the worst a SGT. had ever seen????? That gets me off onto a tangent on how Chris gets into knock down drag'em out fights for his LIFE on a nightly basis, and this is what he comes home to??? Same local PD tried to get Chris in trouble after aforementioned dog incident occurred by filing a complaint against Chris at his job! It's not like Chris killed the Chihuahua for pete's sake! If he did, by all means file a complaint!!!!! This same Local PD issued no apology when they lost one of my dogs during the impound, nor did they pay the vet bills when she was later hit by a car, while out running in traffic--specifically she was running in traffic, because THEY LOST HER. Let me also not get into a diatribe of how when we finally jumped through all of the Local PD's lengthy and ridiculous requirements to get our dogs released ($2000 later), we overheard a lady at the front counter saying ,"But why did they come on our property and take our dogs, for barking?" and heard the officer respond : The police chief in Local Town felt cops should be held to a HIGHER standard than the general public." You can't do that!!! Equal yes, but higher? Absolutely not! OK, I am getting worked up again. Deep breath. I digress, back to this morning:

Chris gave up trying to explain and waited patiently for his ID and paperwork to be returned to him. Chris was then handed his ticket. A TICKET! Not just any ticket but a stupid, minor vehicle code FIX-IT TICKET that means Chris has to jump through a bunch of hoops, track down a Local Town cop for a sign off, go to court etc. All in the middle of his night when if Chris had been a private citizen, who was polite, and on his way home from a grave yard shift about 90% of all cops, certainly 100% of the cops I know, would have given him a verbal warning. If you are a cop or a family member of a cop then you get why I am so pissed off. If you are not, I hope I explained well enough. There are some things you just DO NOT DO!: You don't date your best friend's ex wife, you don't fart loudly during church, you don't go to the doctors office with a cough and announce loudly that you have TB and you definitely don't write another cop a ticket. That's what I call canabalism; like attacking one of your own! It's just wrong. Chris pulled over one of my agencies' guys for going 90 mph. Did he write him a ticket? Of course not. Now some citizens may say this was perfectly fair, but truth is, there are certain unsaid perks to being a PD officer. Big stuff, like felonies? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But tinted windows, minor speeding, broken tail light---you just don't go there. Chris has, and would, still back up a Local PD cop if he was off duty, that is part of the unspoken understanding between cops too. Oh I am all mad again. OOOOOOH!!!! That just chaps my hide. Deep breath.......

But their will be payback. This Sunday. We are going to the party of a cop down the street, a friend and co-worker of Chris', who knows 80% or more of the Local PD guys. And the Local PD guys will be stopping by, both on and off duty. And Chris will have the truck parked outside with the plates on it. And Chris will say loudly in a room full of Local Town PD cops, " Is Officer M---L here? I need him to sign off the ticket he gave me for no licence plates." And Officer M------, whether or not he is there, will be looked down upon and he will be ridiculed....... and it will be beautiful.

I welcome all comments on this one but I really want to hear some cop's opinions, too. Back me up?

Please Standby For Technical Difficulties

You know, I have taken many a phone call for "Explosive Diarrhea" and giggled. Not so funny now that the 5150 household has been struck down by the Rotor Virus. Oh man, it sucks to be us. Well let me clarify, it sucks to be them, cuz I am OK, but it suck for me to change those foul diapers. Looks like Mocha Frapaccinos....Starbucks anyone? Be back soon.

Dontcha Wish Your Grandma Was Cool Like Mine...

C'mon your jealous. Admit it. I would be too, if I didn't have a Grandma as totally awesome as mine. My Grandma Mary was one of the original "Rosie the Rivetors (sp?)" Back in the the WWII era. My grandma can kick your grandma's butt. Sorry to be so rude, but it's true. Man I love that lady.

Too Much Christmas Cheer...

There is always one yahoo, that has too much spiked egg nog, and winds up making a fool of themselves; often with a lampshade or some such object on their head. Here's this years winner. Can you believe it?

Hope everyone out there had a wonderful time!

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Man's Version of the Christmas Story

Grandma and Grandpa got Little Man a Nativity scene playset. Little Man tossed Jesus in the back of his toy truck and replaced Mary and Joseph with a Police Man, and a Firefighter. He is only 15 months old, so obviously he is a genius. He decided, the baby Jesus could be better protected if kept on the move, the Police Man could guard the manger, and the Firefighter could be on hand lest a donkey knock over a candle. Brilliant.

When play time was over, we compromised; I put the family back into the manger, but the police man stayed to stand watch.

Micro-CHiP

A CHP friend of ours bought Little Man this authentic little CHiPie uniform blouse. Isn't he the cutest tiny cop in the world?????


Today is my birthday. Yup, I was born on Halloween, and I'd like you to give me a present. Pretty please won't you tell me what your all time favorite costume was? I'll start. I loved my costume the year I was Ophelia after she drowned. I had just taken a stage make up class so it was pretty grusome. Can't wait to hear from ya all!!!!

Sick as a Dog

Oh man, we are so sick here in the 5150 Household! First Little Man got sick, then Chris, then me, then Chris got better and Little Man and I got worse. Ugh, I feel like my head is going to explode. Poor Little Man acts like we are sucking out his brains every time we use that nasal bulb thingy, (we call it the nose goblin retriever, I'm not sure what normal people call them). So Chris decides to see what all the fuss is about and he tried the bulb thingy on himself. He says, "Wow that is pretty horrible....But it does work. And I am not going to try that again." So, I will be back to post more soon, but for now, I am going to crawl back to bed with my new best friend, Green Death Flavored Nyquil.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The Life of Riley

It is time for me to tell Riley's tale (tail?). HotRodHanna's found kitten story inspired it.

Once upon a time in a land far far away there was a Princess/Dispatcher who felt like she lived way up on the sixth floor of the communications "tower." The fair dispatcher was called Rebecca. One night, very late, a young gang banger OD'd and died in his apartment. The young gang banger was not alone in his room, he had his new puppy in there too. An AKC red nosed pitt bull that he was going to use for breeding and intimidation. The young banger lived in an area where dog fighting and tying bricks around your Pitt's neck to bulk it up were common practices. What was to become of this poor puppy? Finally a hero arrived. The police were called in by a family member and a kind hearted officer rescued the puppy. The kind police officer could not keep her so he did a very wise thing; he sent a message via MDT to all the dispatchers in the whole tower that read, "Anyone want a 2 month old female puppy?" Now, the second I, er Rebecca saw this message her heart began to race. Rebecca thought, surely in a room full of 20+ dispatchers someone else will ante up......but just in case she wrote back, "If no one else takes her, I will." And held her breath as she hit the "send" key. Rebecca thought to herself, well even if I bring her home, I can find a home for her, I have found homes for nine other foster/rescue dogs so far, I can certainly place one more! After some time had passed Rebecca breathed a sigh, mixed with disappointment and relief, hardly missing a beat as she brought up the blinking message on the bottom of her screen that read, "She is all yours." Rebecca blinked in surprise. Oh my gosh what have I done? She thought, staring at the message. Slowly Rebecca got up for her break and called her husband, oh I mean, Prince. Rebecca was not worried about her Prince's reaction, after all five years ago, he had been the one to rescue and bring home 2 of their other dogs. Problem was; 1 planned dog (Xena) + one puppy abandoned at Walmart (Gabby) + one puppy abandoned in a Church bathroom (Bailey) + "a two month old female foster puppy yet to be named" = a Prince and a Princess who are out numbered 2 to 1! Oh well Rebecca thought, bring it on! Thus a 3 dog household became a 4 dog household and now 4 years later, they all live HAPPILY EVER AFTER!