Back again

Sitting here in the recliner enjoying a little peace before the evening begins. Things have been very busy here at the casa lately. I worked 8 nights straight last week and tonight is my only one off this week. Last week my partner and I covered 2 nights for the opposite shift so that they could go to Field Sobriety training. Our Lieutenant basically told everyone that the city doesn't have the money to pay us overtime to cover for the guys going to class. So, in order to get everyone some training, we all agreed to cover each other's shifts while we all go to class. Last week was their turn and my shift goes to the same class in early April. It's not ideal but this department has a long history of giving their officers second rate training so getting a chance to take these classes at the state training center is a really good opportunity. On top of all this, we have quarterly firearms qualification and patrol rifle class coming up in April too. This means I get to go out and make things go "BANG" on the city's dime which is always fun.

Of course working all this time means less time to spend with my family. My wife is very supportive of my job and puts up with the demands on my time from work, court and side jobs to provide everything we want. We don't have a ton of disposable income but we have enough to cover the bills, keep food on the table and sock a little into savings for a rainy day. We are slowly renovating the house and recently managed to get a new roof courtesy of our insurance company for some hail damage we got from a storm last year. We are currently trying to get the house refinanced which will free up several hundred dollars per month that we can put towards paying off our minivan or the mortgage. As a result, we've decided to dip into savings and spruce up the house a bit by fixing some problems and putting in a new walkway from the front porch to the driveway. Eventually I want to renovate the kitchen to make it a bit more user friendly. I love to cook when I actually have the time so that would be a nice thing.

My wife and I are getting along pretty well. She had to go to work today but she's getting off early so that we can go check out a new school in the area for our son to attend next year. A local church is starting up a new Christian school and we're interested in sending the kid there. The local public schools seem to be a breeding ground for thugs and delinquents so we're looking into options. The question is whether or not this new school is overly Christian. My wife and I are somewhat religious but we try to keep a balanced view on everything and we don't want our son exposed to the bible-thumping TOTALLY right-wing wackos that are very prevalent here in the bible belt. We also want a school with better academics and better resources than what is currently available in the public school system. I want my son to grow up as a normal kid and not be criminalized because he drew a picture of a gun in school. We'll see how things go tonight and make a decision soon.

In summary, I'm working way too much and busting my hump to try and make progress at work. We also had city court last week and I got to see the guy who bashed his head in my patrol car. He plead guilty to all my charges and promptly got about $3k worth of fines and lost his license for a year. I'm just trying to relax and enjoy the time off while I have it. I'm back to work tomorrow night and have a million things to do before then. I hope you are having a pleasant day because I am.