Today's Adventure

It's been a pretty interesting day. This morning the fire whistle in my town (and actually right across the street from me) woke me up. That was followed by my pager going off. The State Police ("Troopers") were requesting our assistance. At first we were on standby in the station. In the station, we were called on a private telephone line, to get the low down on the whole operation, and what we were needed for. We had to discuss it over a private line, instead of over the radio, like we usually do, so people couldn't hear everything on their scanners. There are just so many nosy people out there, who always have to know what's going on. They make me crazy. They don't all need scanners. They don't do anything to help out. They just seem to sit around listening to their scanners, so they can know everybody's business, and then gab about it to other people, and act like they have the inside scoop, like some kind of hotshots. Grrrrr! Oh, and some of them even have the nerve to go to the scene! Then they just stand around, in our way, talking and trying to act like they actually serve some purpose, until somebody finally gets rid of them. At one point, this morning, some 'important' guy let me borrow his vehicle (That was fun! I felt so powerful. It was one fast and powerful vehicle, and it had a bunch of lights, radio communication stuff, and a siren. It was pretty cool.) and I was sent into town for supplies. One lady I know (or used to kind of know) saw me (I was still in some of my turnout gear) and started asking me a bunch of questions. It was so annoying. I haven't had a conversation with this lady for at least 6 years now, and suddenly, she acted like we were good pals. "Oh, Kristy!!! It's sooooo good to see you!" she said. Then she asked me how I was, as if she even cared - she didn't even give me time to answer. Then she started pounding me with inquiries about why the fire whistle went off, what the call was for and where it was, etc. I'm glad to say that she left our conversation very disappointed! I told her that I was not at liberty to disclose that information, and that I was actually still in the middle of the call, so she'd have to excuse me. (In other words, 'leave me alone and get out of my way, you nosy pain in the neck!) Okay, okay, maybe I've been too harsh. I'm sure that not every person with an unnecessary scanner is a nosy pain in the neck. I apologize to those people who are not nosy pains in the neck, and have and unnecessary scanner for some other reason. Maybe some people are just very concerned about everyone else's well-being. Maybe they stop everything and pray for the affected people every time there is a call... even in the middle of the night. After all, we (emergency service workers) have to jump out of bed and go to work every time the pager goes off, so maybe some people jump out of bed and pray every time they hear something on the scanner. Maybe. That would be nice. Well, I still can't give a lot of details about this morning's call, but I can say that there is now one less meth lab in the world! Okay, enough about that. I recently registered for my grad. School classes. This semester I'm taking a required library research course, Principles of Economics, Christian Foundations of Government, and International Politics. I'm especially excited about the International Politics class. Many of the classes I have planned for future semesters really appeal to me, as well. I also had to buy my books yesterday (which are ridiculously priced, in my opinion), and take out some huge loans to pay for tuition and so forth. It should be loads of fun paying for all this. Until next time, keep sweet...

Whew, it's been awhile. I just can't seem to keep up with this blogging thing. I don't know how some people do it everyday. Well, anyway, I'll try to give an update of what's been going on since my last post. OK, I was recently accepted to grad school. I'm pursuing a Master of Government Degree. So, lately I've been doing a lot of things to get ready for school, like applying for all kinds of financial aid, and doing enrollment and orientation stuff. I really hope I won't have to take out gigantic loans, although, right now, it looks that way. For now, I'll be doing online classes, because it would be really irresponsible (and not very nice) of me to just leave my youth group, church, fire department, etc. on such short notice. Maybe someday, though, I'll actually move to the campus... maybe not. In other news, I've been applying for some jobs. I had one interview last week that went really well. I'm pretty sure I'll get offered a job there, but I'm not sure that I want to accept it, because the pay is not good. I have another interview this Thursday, and I'm hoping it goes well, because this job would pay better, and I think I'd like the work more, too. I applied for one other job, as well, but I haven't heard from them yet. If none of these jobs work out (either because they don't hire me, or because I'm not satisfied with their offer), then I might just wait until September and then go back to substitute teaching. My position has been held for that, so technically I'm still employed as a substitute, anyway. Now for the fun stuff! I took my youth group camping and whitewater rafting about a week and a half ago. That was a lot of fun. Actually, it was a lot of work, but it was fun, too. I liked the camp so much, that I'm going back there next week (but this time without the youth group)! It is really beautiful and serene there. There's no electricity, and there are no motor boats allowed. That makes it far more quiet and rustic than most campgrounds, and attracts a different kind of clientele. This Saturday, I will be conducting another marriage ceremony. This makes number three. I really like doing people's weddings. It's such a wonderful, joyful thing to be a part of. That's all for now, I guess. Tune in next time for more of Kookie's adventures!

Exciting couple of weeks

Today, I've been working really hard at trying write a research paper. It is a required writing sample for a grad school I'm applying to. It's due by July 3rd, so I'd really need to get it done this week, because I'm going to Mexico in 8 days, and won't be back until July 6th. I've already got my research done, and have made some outlines. Also, after much tossing around of ideas, I've finally come up with a thesis statement that I'm happy with. Unfortunately, I'm finding it very hard to concentrate today. My mind's been wandering off to just about anywhere but "The Most Pressing Public Policy Issue For Today," which is what my paper is supposed to be on. Anyway, I've been working fairly steadily for quite some time, and decided to take a break. My brain could use the rest. I've been quite busy lately with a lot of different things. That's really nothing new for me, though. On Saturday, I had a garage sale to raise money for the Mexico trip. We (the people I'm bringing from my church and I) would like to use the money to bless the people there. We probably made between $150 and $200, although I haven't counted the money yet. I was actually hoping to make much more, and the whole thing seemed to be more work than it was worth. I spent the entire day before the sale setting up tables, carrying things, and organizing and pricing everything. We also sold coffee and donuts in the morning, and hot dogs and fresh squeezed lemonade in the afternoon, and that was also a lot of work to prepare for. Well, it's over now, and I'm left figuring out what to do with all the leftover stuff that people donated to be sold. I guess I'll have to rent a U-haul and take it to a Good Will, or something. I've had a cold this week, but it seems to be diminishing now. I think I got it last Saturday (the 10th). I conducted two weddings on that day. The second one was outside, and it was really cold and damp. Then I stayed for the reception, and an after reception party. The reception had a polka band and pig roast, and it was a blast! The band was really good, and actually played much more than polka. I had a great time hanging out with some old friends, and meeting new people. There were tons of people there and everyone seemed to be having fun. We all talked and danced the night away! The after-party party was more exclusive, basically including just the wedding party, and some other close friends. It was held at a relatively secluded motel at a lake, and was rowdy, to say the least! That was a lot of fun, except I almost had to break a guy's arm, because he wouldn't stop touching me, after I repeatedly told him to. The arm twisting seemed to do the trick. Also, another guy I was talking to told him what he would do if he touched me again, and that seemed to enforce the rules about not touching me. Problem solved. So, despite that, it was a wonderful time. One guy had a guitar, and a bunch of us sang with him a while. For the most part, though we just talked and laughed a lot. It's been a long time since I've had such a fun and memorable night. Eventually, my friends Kristina (a sister of the bride), Theresa (who graduated with Kristina and I), and Anthony (Theresa's older brother) and I decided to leave. We decided to crash at Anthony's house because it was close by and it was super late. We girls slept in his living room. Well, actually Kristina was the only one of us who slept, and she had consumed a whole lot of alcohol, so I think "passed out" is more appropriate. It was freezing!!! It was a very cold night, and Anthony's furnace was off, so the heat never kicked on. He lives in a trailer, so Theresa and I felt just about every breeze and bit of cold from outside. We stayed awake most of the time (too cold to sleep), occasionally reciting scenes from "Titanic," where everyone was freezing to death in the water. Anyway, we lived through the experience, and Kristina and I went out for some nice hot coffee and breakfast in the morning. She had to drive, though, because when we went to the place my car was, and I tried to start it, it wouldn't start, and then a big plume of dark smoke started rising from the hood, and I quit trying to start it. Kristina has AAA, so she had it towed for me after breakfast, and for that I'm very thankful. I got my car back on Saturday. Actually, Kristina was back in town, and took me to get it. Saturday night, she and I went to the movies. We saw "The Break Up." It was alright, but not nearly as funny as I was expecting. I think Vince Vaughn is great, though. He cracks me up. After the movie, we met up with our friend Mary, and ended up running into Anthony, and about half of our graduating class. It was freaky, but a lot of fun. We also saw a ton of other people we went to school with (from other classes), and I had an almost overwhelming blast from the past experience. Seeing some of the people, in particular, brought back quite a rush of memories and emotions. Overall, it was a really great time. Wow, two really exciting Saturday's in a row! On Sunday I went to church, as usual. It was my turn to teach children's church with a couple other people. Everything went well, and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. After church, my mom and I took my dad out for a nice Father's Day lunch, and I gave him a gift (a nice new polo shirt for golfing or whatever). Then we went shopping, and headed for home. When I got home, I hurriedly made some lemonade (George, the 99 yr. old I live with, really likes my lemonade and requested more.) and left for a graduation party. On my way there I got stuck behind a tractor, and when I finally passed it, it turned out that Anthony was driving it. LOL! I could only stay at the party for a few minutes, and then I had to leave for youth group. Youth group was fun as always. I adore those kids! Ok, so there's the exciting highlights of my past couple weeks. Now I'm going to take a short walk and come back to work on my paper.