4th of July and Pets

Pet peeves associated with law enforcement type work in the field:

  *   If you call law enforcement/police/sheriff for help make sure you have the following:
  *   Exact address where you want LE to respond
  *   Detailed comments about what help you need/they need/what action you desire
  *   Your information!!!!  For fuck's sake people, calling anonymously for most things is not helpful to LE at all.  They do not share your information with the suspects, unless you sign a citation against them.  And if the defendants harass you for being cited, then that is witness intimidation and taken very seriously.

If you wish to be anonymous AND not give an exact address, please rethink calling in the first place.  LE personnel are very busy people.  They, in many cases, do not have time to look for where the problem you claim is located, not to mention they cannot call you to clarify the details of what is going on or what they are looking for.

STOP BEING ANONYMOUS!!!  ARGH!!!

Oh, and if for whatever reason you no longer need LE to respond, call back!  Let them know!  Update them!  Because sometimes, some of the LEOs may have been called off the only break/lunch/chance to eat all day to go handle your call.  And if they arrive and realise you no longer need them and they wasted those precious moments to eat for your carelessness, that just may be super very rude.

And really, if you feel the need to give LE the one finger salute, congrats.  You are an idiot.  Really?  Does it hurt their feelings?  Do you feel better for it?  Yeah.  Idiot.  Maybe consider that some LE personnel may consider that a source of pride.  That you gave them the finger.  You took time and effort out of your day to wave at them.  Yup.  :-P

Also, being nice.  Or at least courteous and respectful will get you a whole lot farther than being a dick.  Just sayin'.  Keep in mind LE personnel are doing their job.  They care about the community in which they work.  They are not the creators of the laws they enforce.  So ranting, bitching, degrading them is useless.  If you genuinely feel passionately against a certain law, become a lobbyist.  Gather signatures.  Brainstorm alternatives.  Work on getting the law changed rather than making someone who potentially puts their life on the line every day and simply wants to get home at the end of their work day, life more difficult.  Chill out.  And hating LE simply for being LE make you no better than a racist.  You hate a group of people based on a commonality they have.  That makes you a hater of one of the worst and greatest degrees.

Even if you disagree for the basis of the contact LE has with you.  You can still be respectful.  It is a two way street.  You can agree to disagree.  Be polite and move on with your day.  There is a thing called the judicial system.  LE personnel do not control this either.  IF you feel you have been wronged in a citation you have received, then fight it.  Receipt of a citation is not an admission of guilt.  You do have the right to say your side of the story in a court of law.  But keep in mind, your treatment and interactions with LE personnel will be included in their report.  Your behavior and demeanor may be taken into account by the Prosecutors and judges.  So be nice.  Be the better person.  It is easy to be a good person.  It takes work to be a dick.

The film End of Watch describes this very well in their (non-tactical) intro:

"Brian Taylor: [voice over] I’m the police. And I’m here to arrest you. You’ve broken the law. I did not write the law. I may even disagree with the law. But I will enforce it. No matter how you plead, cajole, beg or attempt to stir my sympathies, nothing you do will stop me from placing you in a steel cage with grey bars. If you run away, I will chase you. If you fight me, I will fight back. If you shoot at me, I will shoot back. By law, I am unable to walk away. I’m a consequence. I am the unpaid bill. I am fate with a badge and a gun. Behind my badge is a heart like yours. I bleed. I think. I love. And yes, I can be killed. And although I’m but one man, I have thousands of brothers and sisters who are the same as me. They will lay down their lives for me. And I them. We stand watch together. A thin blue line. Protecting the prey from the predators. The good from the bad. We are the police."

And on another note, if you are a pet owner, the 4th of July is soon approaching.  Be aware of what that entails.  Check the following:

  *   Microchip your pet.  Make sure the contact infomation is current (phone number, address, owner name, etc.).  I know spending $20 is a PITA for many people to update this.  But it sure beats paying the bill at the shelter where your pet was taken.  Or worse, a citation for your animal being out.
  *   DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS OUTSIDE!!!!!!!!!  Seriously people.  Dogs/pets get creative when loud noises like fireworks go off.  They go crazy.  They think the world is ending.  Crate your pet inside your home.
  *   Close and lock all your windows.  Panicked pets can go through windows and screens in their panic.
  *   Put a collar and tags on your pet.  Many run so far from home in their panic that they become lost.  If someone ends up catching your pet, they can contact you (rather than the police/animal control...which may result in a shelter bill and/or citation).
  *   Padlock your gate.  Repair all the loose and/or missing boards.  Fill all those holes along the fence line.  Even if you think the hole is too small, it is not.  Fix all that shit.
  *   If your vet has given you any medication to help relax your pet, use it (following the vet's guidelines).  If you have thunder vests and other placebo type implements that seem to work for your pet, use them.  Make them feel safe and comfortable.
  *   Get to know your neighbors.  They are a great first line of defense for you if your pet ever escapes.  Share phone numbers.  Share cookies.  Do BBQs.  Or at the very least, introduce your pet to them so they know what she/he looks like and, if by chance your pet does get out, they can either call you or catch your pet.
  *   In summary, please be a responsible pet owner.  Be aware things may scare your animal.  Shit may happen that you did not plan on.  Take precautionary measures to prevent shit hitting the fan as much as possible!

As for me. I will be camping on the 4th. I want to get far away from humanity. From all the loud noises. Drunkenness and stupidity. I am worried since it is a holiday, I may not be successful in this endeavor. Ugh. *fingers crossed*  I am bringing someone to my favourite spot in Idaho. I am excited to share it. I have not been there in almost 2 years. It is time for a return trip. :-)

Losing Control

Hokay.  So.  This week.  It started out pretty great.  Then tanked in the middle.  Now we are in recovery mode.

I pride myself as someone who is usually in control of herself.  I do not get drunk (cannot even remember the last time I was drunk versus tipsy).  I do not put myself in situations in which I may lose control, aside from my outdoor adventures, etc.  I prefer to be the one driving (rather than a passenger).  Well.  Wednesday definitely tested my “in control” mantra.

There I was.  Doing chores before going in to work.  Weeding.  Chatting with a neighbor.  Then my stomach felt queasy and nausea took over.  I thought it was odd.  And so I laid on the couch for about 2h until the feeling passed.  Well.  It did not pass.  At all.  It got worse.  I let my coworker know I may be late since I was battling vomiting.  And then it happened.  Vomit.  At first I made myself do it simply to get the gross feeling out of me.  Usually that method works.  It did not.  Sitting on the potty with trash can between my legs, spewing forth from both ends is not how I want to spend my time.  At all.  You tend to forget how miserable vomiting is until you do it uncontrolled.  Holy hell.  Covered in a sweaty sheen.  Heaving and hoing.  Groaning.  Moaning.  Ugh.  All manner of misery.  I’d double bag my detritus and toss it out the front door to not make my place stink.  It was reaching the 90sF outside and I could not move to close my windows and turn on the AC.  I could not talk.  Any manner of movement caused more spewing.

This went on for a few hours.  It was not getting better.  It was utter misery.  Then I felt it.  Oh no.  I felt IT.  The sense that my blood sugar was tanking.  Badly.  Fuck me backwards Nelly.  This was not good.  I had nothing I could consume that would make it go up.  Not to mention, I could not keep anything down.  I texted a friend asking her to bring me powerade.  She was on her way.  And then it happened.  Shit got real.  For realz.  In the bad sense of the word.  I tried to make it to the bathroom.  I failed.  Completely.  And that was when I knew it.  I had to give up control.  I was losing that battle and if I continued to try to win, it would end me.  I told my coworker to send medics.  I was past the point of no return of my sense of control.  I still had a sense of pride and crawled to the bathroom to try to clean myself up before my coworkers arrived to help.  I got a towel and covered the mess and changed my clothes.  Then I crawled into the fetal position around my trusty trash can and waited in pure misery.

And all at once, everyone arrived.  My park manager.  My powerade friend.  My coworker.  The fire department.  The ambulance.  Fuck me.  My pride was shot to hell.  I apologized to my FD brethren for increasing their insurance rates.  I meant it.  Calling for help and then paying for it was a serious contender in my delay in asking for help as well.  I contemplating not riding in the ambulance simply because it would be another bill I could not afford to pay.  In the end, away in the ambulance I went (vomiting forth for all I was worth).  And to the ER I stayed for many hours.  Oh how my massive debt was increasing.  Oh how I will never be debt free.  Oh the stress of being an adult.

It took them hours to get my nausea under control.  The ambulance medics got me an IV to get my blood sugar up and help with nausea.  I simply kept my eyes closed and hoped I would feel better.  My coworker and powerade friend stayed at the hospital with me.  I was mortified.  They saw me at my worst.  I called for help.  I lost control.  They eventually released me.  My blood work came back normal.  I just had some bad GI bug.  Yeah.  Bad.  That’s one way of putting it mildly.  But now, everyone at work knew I was at the hospital.  That medics came.  That I lost control.  How goddamned embarrassing.

I am ashamed at work.  People ask me how I am.  I don’t want to be asked.  Let’s pretend nothing happened.  It was a bad dream.  I do not want to be reminded how I lost control.  I know they are genuine and care and am glad I am alive.  But somehow, going to the ER for a gastrointestinal bug that caused me 24h of suffering seems weak.  How dare I give in.  And dammit, I pride myself on never needing help because of my diabetes.  This is the first time since I was diagnosed 18 years ago that I have gone to the hospital due to diabetes complicating shit.  Fuckety fuck.  I’m pissed at myself.  I lost control.  Fuck.

I cannot wait to get that medical bill.  It’ll probably make me briefly homicidal or suicidal.  But that’s life in modern day America- living one bill to the next, unable to pay them.  I now live on credit cards.  Yes.  I do.  Why?  Because I cannot stay afloat any more.  I am wallowing in debt and trying to pay bills and maintain my (almost 800) credit score.  I envy people that are debt free.  That have multiple incomes.  That have a job that pays them enough to survive.  Too bad I love my job so much I do not want to give it up, even if I cannot survive on it.

Blah.  Well aren’t I the bright spot of sunshinetoday?  I blame it on the fact that I am on day 3 of not eating a real meal and all I want is pizza and my Dutch Bros coffee (almond milk latte with a flavor of hazelnut, light on the ice).  But no.  I forgot to wake up last night to take my anti-nausea meds, so this morning was not very pleasant to me.  I am good now.  But still, no coffee.  No pizza.  Poop….in the toilet.  Tehehehehe!  *inside joke for myself*  So here I am.  Drinking my watered down Gatorade, eating saltines and applesauce cups.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Green River Solo Kayaking Trip

So I typed up my entire trip report on Expedition Portal.  The link is here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/159022-Solo-Kayaking-Trip-through-Canyonlands-NP

I did a video of me doing the Murph Challenge while waiting at Spanish Bottom for the Tex's Riverways jet boat to come pick me up and take me back to Moab on Day 4.  Here is that video:

I uploaded all the photos of the trip on photobucket.  Those pics are here: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/gorillamel/library/Green%20River%20kayaking

I did a video blog on Days 2-4 of my trip.  But the total video is about 23min and Youtube does not like uploading videos that big.  So I am trying to figure out how to break it into 2 separate videos, but My Movie Maker on windows really sucks in that you cannot have more than one project open at once, which means you cannot copy and paste *facepalm*.  So it may be a while before I figure that one out...

Edit: I did it!  Here is the video: