Captain's Log, 20100531 0355 hours.

Slithering around early this morning or very late this night, ever the case may be, I tried to gather some inspiration for today's entry. I concluded nothing more than to write exactly what I thought about, change. As we all know change is very hard for most of us, but if its one thing that my job has taught me it's that things can go from hunky dory to complete and utter shitstorm in a matter of milliseconds. I've had to learn a multitude of other things in the same breath but adaptation seems to be the one thing that rings useful most times. So many changes have come for me since the last time that I mustered the stamina to throw the only two cents that I have in to the blogging community. I learned that making someone that you care about happy can bring such a sense of accomplishment. The lovely young lady that I wrote about a few weeks ago and I are still, "Talking," and I've never in my life felt the sense of fullness of heart that I feel when I hear that sweet voice telling me all about her day. The day doesn't seem complete without telling her that I hope she has sweet dreams.

These past 2 weekends have been quite the workout for the liver. Last weekend I had the opportunity to partake in the First Annual Dirty South Tour with my brother-in-law and his younger brother who is still a year my senior. The weekend started on Thursday with a round of captain's choice golf at the Longwood University course in a little dot on the map known as Farmville. (No not the Farmville on Facebook, stay with me here folks.) After our early morning outing we had quite a little jaunt down to Greensboro North Carolina, for a little single A baseball action at Grasshopper Park, downtown. Luckily it just so happened to be dollar beer night, and ever luckyER after a 6 dollar ticket all I had left was a fist full of singles. This park was amazing as it had a bar in the outfield which is right up my alley as I'm not so much in to baseball as a rule. After the game the three of us decided to head even further down in downtown. Who's idea it was to get in a vehicle with 3 of the most random girls that we could have picked I still dont know but in any event we ended up at Natty Greens which just so happens to have some amazing craft beers. Early Friday morning it was time for a quick ride out to Charlotte for another 18 holes at Rocky Ridge just beside Charlotte Motor Speedway. (formerly known as Lowes Motor Sweedway) 18 holes later and a few PBRs deeper it was time for a little NASCAR Campingworld Truck Series at the illustrious Charlotte Motor Speedway but not before 2 bottles of Orange Jubilee MD 20/20 and an 8 piece meal from Bojangles. There happened to be quite the rain delay giving plenty of time for a few of our other buddies from Georgia and Richmond to catch up and make it to the race. The race was eventually run around midnight, I dont remember who won..... guess that ol' Mad Dog got a hold of me. Saturday seemed to be a day of recuperation for the night ahead at The Madhouse otherwise known as Bowman Gray Stadium located in downtown Winston-Salem near the campus of Winston-Salem Sate University. This too was an evening of debauchery and fried bologna sandwiches. We returned to the north that Sunday. It was the most fun I think I've ever had over the course of 4 days. The weekend was totally worth working the 7 days straight of 12 hour night shifts in order to make it happen.

This weekend was a bit more low key but fun never the less. Friday night I decided to treat myself for a night on the town, all by my lonesome. I always end up meeting people no matter where I go, whether or not I want to. I started the night around 9ish at Jack Brown's Beer and Burger Joint the home of the famous Jack Brown's Elvis Burger and the 100 Notch Club. Then on to Finnigan's Cove a dive bar if there ever was one. Go for the $1.50 Jello Shots, 6 dollar 7 and 7's, and smokey atmosphere. Stay for the Crab Dip and Mini Corn Dogs located on the late night menu. It became apparent to me after about 3 drinks and a rather interesting conversation with one of the most regular of the regulars at this place that I oughta' be going as she proceeded to vomit violently into her purse and scream about how Jesus, himself got her off of heroine. Just a short hop up the street sits Dave's Downtown Taverna, a Harrisonburg Institution. I decided to make that my next destination. Stayed for a quick pint of Smithwicks and met some boys from out in, "The Branch." We had quite the banter about, "Peanuts," which I guess must mean moonshine, as they swiftly corrected me when I said something about White Lightning. I ended the night right where I began. I caught the late night shuttle from my apartment complex back to my little slice of heaven. Saturday, Mom and I went to the 10th Annual Valleyfest at Massanutten hosted by the Harrisonburg Chamber of Commerce, A collaborative effort of wine and beer vendors and enthusiasts from all over the country. Saturday night was spent with some very new, dear friends across town. My current love interest was in attendance, and I was able to spend some very much needed quality time with just her. I spent Sunday sleeping off the night before and engaging in casual chit-chat with my beauty queen.

These past few weeks where I have been incommunicado have been the best in recent memory. It's really too bad that this week will consist of 5 days of 12 hour shifts full of vehicle pursuits, structure fires and no doubt, with the holiday today there will be some backyard domestic, disorderly brawls involving spatulas, shotgun weddings, brats and tongs. But it sure will make for some interesting fun reading/writing.

Have a wonderful week and try to put me out of work by not doing anything too stupid.....tell your friends too.

-Dontcallmeradio

A Little Worse For Ware, But I'm Wearing It Well.

So recently I decided that I was going to take a trip to Ireland in July. I've never been to Europe and am pretty excited about the idea of taking a trip with just me and a backpack full of just the essentials across, what seems to me to be, the world. I'm glad that I was able to realize the potential for this little jaunt across the Pond before I am 35 with a wife and kids. Although I am much more mature and well versed in the world than most people my age, I still think I should enjoy my youth and take these trips that I wont want to take or wont be able to take in the next 5-10 years. Chock everything up to life experience, because if I've taught you, or myself anything its that life experience matters more than anything.

Yet another 8 hour shift almost down and then one night left of the work week. If there is one thing to be learned tonight it's that you should learn who has your back, I'm very fortunate that my entire shift looks out for one another and that nobody on my shift can go 12 hours without learning something new. I had the privilege of teaching my shift a little something tonight. The word Swum. They swore to me that there was no such thing as the word swum, I was able to prove them wrong. Swum is the past participle of swim. Who says you need a college degree to be smart? You only need to be an ass to be a smart ass. Or at least I do.


-Dontcallmeradio

A New Man

Isn't it funny how something that seems so insignificant can just brighten up a week that just wont die? Well I had one of those Eureka! moments today, when I was cleaning out my car. Its amazing to me how easy it is to make myself happy, a clean car, haircut and a few dollars in my pocket to squander. That's really all I would ever need or want for that matter.

I started my day relatively late today, around 4:45, which used to make for a rather counterproductive day, but recently I'm taking the small victories over the full day ventures of things to be done. I find that if I can make things as simple as I can for just one mediocre task per day and do it very well that the satisfaction is amplified ten fold in the long run, instead of spending a whole day doing something and being completely wiped out at the end of it. Today that was my car. Tomorrow will be sleep and tomorrow night will be work. Following the same pattern for the rest of the weekend. 2 short days off on Monday and Tuesday at which time I will most likely kick the living situation solutions into a very high gear and trying to find out how much I owe on my car so that I can remedy that situation as well. All in all this has been a rather productive few days off. I hosted a bunch of folks last night for some brews and music in the living room. Consequently there was a girl that found my kitchen absolutely unusable, and disgusting. She decided to pretty much clean the whole thing top to bottom, and as I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had been done.


This weekend will undoubtedly be one of the longest of the year, the chitlin's will be headed home to wherever they hail from and the city will be left to yet again overhaul the damages sustained from yet another school year. There is something very eerie about the way things are when there's no students here in the Summer. Traffic seems to flow normally instead of looking like the street department didn't plan for a city that is twice the population, like is most times found in the Winter and Fall months. It is quite a nice break having the city's population decrease by half this time of year though. It seems like there are more things to do for the people that call this place home that may be, "hidden," from the people that take a giant dump on it when they are in school.


-Dontcallmeradio

Virgin....What's in a Title.

So I've been seeing this girl, I met her a few weeks ago at a party here in the Burg. As we talked and talked the more interested I became. We share a lot of the same interests and values. In my apparent inebriation I made the fatal mistake of attempting to, "Close the deal," in a very innocent way I asked her if she wanted to leave with me and she looked up at me and said, "Haha, you wish." Now in any other circumstance this would have been a deal breaker in the eyes of a girl that wasn't interested whatsoever. We sat and talked for a few more hours and the conversation turned from fun and flirty to something deeper. It, somehow at some point, came out that she was a virgin. And at first I thought that I was only ok with it because I was drunk and could somehow see past that because the head in my pants thinking for the one on my shoulders, as this is one of the only females that I have found genuinely attractive in a very long time. Not only physically but just the general demeanor of this girl struck me and I could tell something was different.


Now, Ive told my shift about her only because the simple thought of having someone to share my life with is pretty exciting to me. I told them the details of how we met and how she has the,"V" card. they seem to think that the only reason I'm interested in her is because she is something to be conquered. Nothing could be further from the truth. If it's one thing I've ever learned it's that there is no woman that is worth conquering. A relationship should be completely mutual in every aspect. That is the only thing that my parents relationship has taught me, being that my mother has been taking care of my father hand and foot for almost 30 years and to has nothing to show for it. I will never be that man.

Chasing after women that are challenging only leads to exhaustion and loss of self worth, wait for the one that wants to be caught, and that makes you happy. That's what I'm doing.....I'll let you know how it works out!


-Dontcallmeradio

Eat Me C Shift, an Ode to a Way Over Confident Shift

Is it neccesary with 2 calltakers to have the phone ring 10 times before someone else with a radio has to take it? Honestly who are you to correct me on my abilities if you cant even answer the phone in a timely manner.....end of rant.

i know that you believe you understand what you think i said, but i'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what i meant.

The title says it all. Here in about 2 hours I'll be at work attempting to use that anecdote to explain something to someone having an apparent emergency situation. Now, emergency. by definition, is something that causes alarm to someone, in their own way. That being said, You having Chest pain may be of way more concern to you than having your car towed, but for that person having their car towed would be just about the worst thing that could happen to them if that person had never had anything worse than that happen to them. That is why life experience is the most important thing and I thank the higher power every day that my parents let me have those little life experiences so that when I had my car towed for the first time I didn't call 911 and demand them to bring it back to me, like I experience so many times a weekend while working at the ECC answering phones.


-Dontcallmeradio

Podunk Huh?

Recently there was a rather large scale Law Enforcement event where tear gas and riot teams were utilized. I unfortunately was stuck answering phones which wasn't the worst situation to be stuck in whatsoever since our officers were out getting pummeled by beer bottles and other various items. But while the Riot was going on I received a call from a father of one of the students who was involved in the bedlam that ensued that warm spring afternoon. He was obviously from north of the Mason Dixon Line, he told me that his daughter who was a student 21, years old (my age) had been gassed and sprayed with pepper spray. He then decided to use choice words to describe his disdain for my department and told me that our officers should be more worried about the real crime in our area. He continues to bash me, my profession and even the tone of voice I was using to address him, which was nothing but professional. The father then told me that our city wouldn't be anything without the university that sits smack dab in the middle of it. Now, I've only lived here for a little over a year but I couldn't help but take extreme offense to his comments about the city that I live in. This place gave me an amazing career and professional and personal connects that will undoubtedly will launch me higher in my further endeavors that I choose to pursue. I got slightly off topic while speaking with the gentleman and with a slightly less than professional tone, I decided I would ask him where on Earth he was from since, he decided to send his, "Angel." to this hellhole of a place. The Cranky Yankee, which he has been called by me since this day, said we're from New York City. At this point I then decided that he was nowhere in the immediate area where I could do anything for him. So i politely terminated the call, but not without having to give my, "Badge Number." I'm sure I wasn't named in any allegations of unprofessional conduct because of the images and video that can be found on Youtube and such news channels as CNN showed that our officers were in the right and the so-called educated youth attending the university got exactly what they deserved. So, Mr. Cranky Yankee, take that!


-Dontcallmeradio

And so it begins...

The way I figure, it's only fair to start with some background on me in order to get you hooked on my Blog. I am 21 and live in a rather small college city in western Virginia. I moved here straight from home in early January 2009 to work at the Emergency Communications Center, or 911 for short. It's a demanding job and most times I can't stand to tell people where I work without a puzzled look or the infamous, "What's t he craziest call you've ever gotten?" line that seems to escape the mouth of every new person I meet. I guess people think that the person they talk to when they call 911 isn't a real person, well quite the contrary we are quite human and honestly resent a lot of the people we deal with day to day. Don't get me wrong though, most of us do enjoy our jobs very much and wait with bated breath for the next time the phone will ring or for one of our officers needing assistance over the radio. I started the job at 18 in a very small county based fire and rescue PSAP, (Public Safety Answering Point), only dispatching fire and rescue calls and taking ems and fire related calls over the phone. I'm starting this Blog to be able to remember some of the good times that I've had at work, and record some of the bad ones so i eventually can laugh at them and make sure that the mistakes that I make don't happen again.

-Dontcallmeradio