Category: work

SFO

I often bitch a lot about my job and the complexities it entails.  That said, there are times when I get unique opportunities.

Star

*A real pic taken today. No zoom function, I was this close*

Today was one such opportunity.  I got to go out to SFO airport as part of my continuing Fire Specialization training.  As an instructor for dispatchers learning Fire duties, it is my responsibility to teach all aspects of the response patterns.  Part of that includes airport emergencies. 

A group of managers and myself got to tour the SFO comm. center and Fire stations.  We also got a field tour of the entire airport.  I enjoyed the trip immensely.  Beside being very educational, seeing such massive carcasses of metal taking off so close is a very surreal experience.  To this day, it still boggles my mind how we can force such amazingly large heavy objects into the air.

Floor it Clyde!

*me sitting in the driver’s seat for the airboat.  Click on any of the pics to hop over to my flickr account.*

I also got a chance to see all the unique Fire apparatus specifically used for fires on airplanes.  Being on the water, the above pic is me sitting in the driver’s seat of a very large airboat.  This badboy was about 3 times the size of airboats I grew up crashing in the swamplands of Louisiana.  The bad-ass engine here is an 8.1 liter fuel-injected 525 horsepower monster.  It could propel the boat down a dry runway at 60 miles an hour easy. 

Poker

*look carefully at the long cylindrical pipe with the sharp point on the end*

The sharp stake here is used to pierce the skin of an aircraft and inject foam directly onto a burning fire.  I kept picturing the brain bug from Starship Troopers looking at this thing.  Only instead of sucking stuff out, it pumps foam.  You can’t see it but the prong attaches to an articulating boom that can rise over 75ft into the air. 

Needless to say, I an awesome time today.  I didn’t want to leave.  I could have spent the rest of my shift playing w/gadgets, poking buttons, pulling levers, etc.  The trip gave me some great insights into how Fire depts. handle airport Fires. 

Survivor

I survived the 4th at work.  The day started off very slow and ended in a blaze of drama.  The last two hours of my shift, I processed just over a 100 calls.  While most folks looks forward to holidays, there are a couple that I absolutely dread in my line of work.  New Year’s eve is always a total cluster fuck.  People are often just drunk and stupid.  The 4th of July comes in right behind that as a minor meltdown.  Not so much from the noise but from the increase in crime.  We also get a lot of false calls for gunfire.  We have to respond accordingly however, it takes services away from other areas.  On the other side of the coin, we also get a real increase in shootings and gun play.  Criminals know they have a higher chance of getting away w/stupidity on such nights. 

People are always indignant from the noise which is a total surprise to me.  You know the holiday comes every year.  You know it is going to be noisy so why act so indignant?  I can understand frustration over noise however, have you ever heard of ear plugs?

As for me, The 4th of July has never been a big holiday.  Frank commented on twitter about holidays becoming less important as we age.   I agree to an extent.  As kids, I think every holiday is exciting.  As adults, we come to pick and choose the holidays that mean a lot to us.  For me, the holiday itself isn’t as important as being w/friends and loved ones. 

Anyway, I was a total slug today.  The one bright spot was my roomie’s guest made us a very delicious pasta for lunch.  hehehe. 

Grumble Grumble

I got bumped off my shift and my days off for the mid-year sign up. I had already planned to go back to a 5-8 schedule however, I fully expected to get a full weekend slot. After 7 1/2 years, I have the seniority for it. That is until some nitwit supervisor convinced the not-so-bright powers that be to drastically alter the shift allotment. This created a cascading bump all the way down the list.

I’m extremely lucky to have pulled a Fri/Sat slot on my shift. I got it only because the person before me decided at the last minute to go days.

I was rather annoyed at first however, it is beyond my control so I let it go. I still have a partial weekend slot so it really isn’t that bad. And because of delays in the signup, it will only be for 4 1/2 months instead of 6.

That said, I can’t wait to go back to a 5-8 shift. I am so tired of rushing everywhere during the week just to get stuff done.

If I ever decide to go back t a 4/10 shift, PLEASE stop me! Or at least remind me how much I hated it this last time.

That is all! lol

Balance

Today was the last day of my teaching gig at work.  Thankfully, I’m back on my regular shift tomorrow and its Friday. 

Thanks to everyone who sent well-wishes.  I’m not quite sure if I have a cold, flu, or just a nasty sinus infection.  Whatever it is, it seems to be moving pretty quickly.  Yesterday I was absolutely miserable.  Today, I’m feeling a tad better. [1]The libido and my appetite are returning with a vengeance.   Still coughing/sneezing a bit but feeling better overall.  I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll be almost good as new again.  Of course, it didn’t help having to get up early all this week to teach class.  I could have at least lost some weight but didn’t lose even 1 pound.  Damn it!

I haven’t been to the gym once this week.  I feel fat even though I know I’m not (Missing the gym always makes me feel guilty, like a hooker in church).  There is always next week I guess.  The break might be a good thing.  I’m wondering if pushing myself so hard at the gym contributed to my abrupt snot fest. [2]That or too much naughtiness at bb’s 

*

I got an interesting job offer this week.  It would be a short-term gig and my current employment would continue uninterrupted.   I know that sounds confusing.  "Lemme esplain."  There is a clause in our MOU that would allow me to become a Union Rep. for the Union (not for my individual chapter) for 3 months.  I would actually represent my department and 2 others.  It would be a very good experience for me.  The possible down side would be problems transitioning back into my current position.  My current rep. says it is all covered but I know how sneaky the management team is within my dept.  I could envision them trying to force me out of my seniority.  If I can’t get an iron-clad written agreement from the City DHR people, I won’t take it. 

The upside is I would learn a lot more about the inner workings of my Union, by-laws, labor laws, etc.  It would give me an incredible advantage when I came back as a Steward for my local chapter.  I would also be a 9 to 5’er for the duration.  I’m not too excited about getting up that early however, I could flex my hours to come in a tad later. It is still all very iffy at the moment but I’m curious to see how it will work out. 

References

References
↑1 The libido and my appetite are returning with a vengeance.
↑2 That or too much naughtiness at bb’s

Work It

I flexed my schedule today and went into work early.  I had to attend a meeting with the DHR people regarding our base wages/compensation.  Under our contract, our dept qualifies [1]every year w/o fail for a special opener to renegotiate for higher wages.  Anyway, I had to be up at 7:30 am.  You know how happy I was about that. 

Only 3 other departments qualified and our case was the most compelling of everyone present.  The City often pleads poverty in attempt to deny us any increases at all.  However, with the recent news coverage on us and emergency services in general, we were hoping for some extra leverage.  The numbers don’t lie.  Our case is so cut/dry it borders on ridiculous that the City would even attempt to deny us an increase. 

We presented our case methodically and factually.  We didn’t make accusations or wild statements.  DHR, in a rare show of trust, even complimented us on our fair and honest dealings in the past.  We took this as a good signal however, money talks and with SF claiming a 338 million dollar deficit this year, we have no idea how the chips will fall.  Our proposal wouldn’t really change anything on a citywide scale so it is feasible. 

So now, I’m all done for the day.  I got off at 1900 and I’m a tired teddy.  I was all set to come home and take a nap however, the roomie promptly informed me he had a skiddish trick coming over.  Here I sit scarfing down dinner and cranky. 

References

References
↑1 every year w/o fail

Dawdling

I’m rebelling against my schedule.  The extra day off is nice but I don’t like being on the go from the time I hit my feet in the morning.  I originally switched so I could travel more.  I have yet to actually go on any trips.  Oh yeah, brilliant idea Mob’s…  Ok, in my defense, I do have several trips planned this year.  Actually, 6 total. 

Anyway, there isn’t much I can do about it until my next sign-up in July.  Having a trainee for the last 2 months hasn’t helped either.  Thankfully, he moves on to his next rotation in just two more weeks.  I just hate feeling stagnant.  Which is exactly where I’m at right now.  Blech.

Reprieve

Well, as luck would have it, my new trainee called in sick today. I get one more day to myself. Wahoo!

Training (Again)

It is my Monday.  I have yet another trainee at work.  I hate training back to back.  Due to an overlap in schedules, I did get a week in between this time.  With the exception of a couple scheduled posts, I won’t be blogging much during the next 4 weeks.  Training takes a lot out of me and I tend to just be dead on my feet when I get home at night.  And if I wanna stay on track at the gym, something has to give. 

I’ll still be on twitter obviously.  So much easier to update a quick blurb there vs a full blown post here.  Maybe I’ll do some random photos to keep everyone visually entertained. lol 

OH and I’ll try to keep up w/everyone via RSS feeds.  Anyway, duty calls…

Yipeeee!

In really exciting news (well for me anyway), I got Saturday, Sundays, AND Mondays off starting in late January.  I’m switching to a 4/10 shift  (4 days 10 hours).  I almost got Friday, Saturday, Sunday but the person right above me in seniority jumped shifts and took it.  I’m just looking forward to having the whole weekend off for a change.  Color me surprised!

Oh, if you subscribe to my post updates sorry about the odd one.  I just installed Windows Live Writer and am testing it out. [1]It allows me to post directly from my desktop vs opening up a browser window.   Anyway, it posted and then deleted a test post full of gibberish.  Unfortunately, the subscribe plug-in mailed it out to everyone as an update.  Ooops!

I already use Post2blog which is nice if not a bit rough around the edges.  I read my buddy Victor’s post over at v-hold.net and thought I’d give it a whirl.

References

References
↑1 It allows me to post directly from my desktop vs opening up a browser window.