Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize...

Sorry, I think that's a funny expression, "Keep your eyes on the prize!" I say that to people because I think it's funny; to them hopefully it almost sounds like encouragement or something. ;)

In any case, I made it through the Basic Academy without failing my grad school classes! At least, not yet... just over one week of classes left for me to blow it. Just kidding, mostly. I definitely bit off more than I could chew but I know my grades aren't the A+s that I'm so used to. Just kidding again, mostly. For some reason, I'm particularly sarcastic today. Perhaps it's the stress of watching the Red Wings blow their lead in a game that is now going into overtime; comedy is my coping mechanism?? Sure, sounds good to me!

Academy was a lot more fun than I anticipated before I got there. Sure, my ADHD makes me freak out from sitting still for too long, but I mostly kept it together with caffeine or something like that. They let us hamsters out of their cage often enough to keep us from eating eachother, in the form of such field exercises like: Maps and Navigation (I played squad boss and well, I didn't lose anybody so that's a good sign); Fire Shelter deployment; Followership to Leadership crew cohesion "problems; PT (working out); and our grand finale, the Field Day. So what exactly do you teach 90+ budding young firefighting apprentices??

• Nutrition and Wellness
• Communications and Radio Use
• Fire Prevention and Investigation
• L-280 Followership to Leadership
• Weather Observations
• Tactical Decision Making
• Map and Compass
• S-260 Interagency Incident Business Management
• I-200 Basic ICS
• S-131 Advanced Firefighter
• Fire shelters
• Wildland Fire Skills Field Day

I have to say, Business Management aka Paperwork from Hell was by far the hardest to deal with. We didn't get any fun field days except PT that entire week. Our fire shelter instruction was unique compared to past experiences...we review how to use them, then deploy them once and call it good. This involved sprinting and crawling under an obstacle course until we were winded, then randomly telling us to deploy while a high powered fan blew our tarp-like shelters. The instructors were also kind enough to rip them from our hands; don't worry, I held on because I'm stubborn. ;)  We did something comparable to team building "problems" for our leadership class; in small squads, you are given unique tasks and have a time limit to come up with a process and a solution. Such as leading blindfolded team members across an obstacle course or getting people from one side of a web of rope to the other, without touching the sides and each member staying on the other side once they are across - making the task tough for the last person left.

By far the "capstone" experience was the field day. Each person took turns being a squad boss and leading our crews - formed on the 1st day of the academy - through simulations of common tasks asked of firefighters. Digging line and finding spot "fires" (no real fire for this academy); construction line downhill, with a simulated fire blowup that forces us to run up the hill (my achilles was shot from our fitness test, so I only made it halfway before I voluntarily "died") and deploy our shelters; getting helicopter loads ready; managing a dozer; using the engine for mobile attack and then a progressive hose lay; and setting up pumps and laying hose around small spot fires. Some of these tasks were unfamiliar to us (helicopters and dozers) but showed that with the right references and some leadership and delegation, we could still succeed. Although my darling Purple crewmembers forgot to buy me a cigar, our crew boss dished one out and probably 8 of us out of 17 donned fat stogies and corn cob pipes. Because we rule. ;)


Despite working out less than I had been before the academy started, I did improve in everything...except pull ups, but that might have been a function of the order in which we tested this time around, and doing more sit ups and push ups. Sit ups: 101; Push ups: 36; Pull ups: 2 (grrr); 1.5 mile run: 11:54. Still not as fast as I'd like but A. I'm built for comfort, not speed and B. I ended up with a killer leg cramp on top of my inflamed achilles. I'd like to thank the Guinness I drank the night before for my increase in strength and speed because it certainly wasn't from working out more!

Of course I met lots of awesome folks from all over the western states and "networked" a lot over brews at the Lion's Gate and at Harvey's. At some point, even got the coordinator and a couple crew bosses to sing karaoke. I broke out my Folsom Prison, dedicated to my last hazy karaoke night with Kim. We were warned about how sketchy the local dive bar could be, but I had really good experiences the 3 times I went. Now, the hookah bar/VIP lounge... definitely won't be going back there anytime soon. Run by Russians, whispers that the bellydancers were prostitutes, the excessive attention I received from some dudes... I'll stick to Fat Tire and Juke Box at Harvey's, or Sierra Nevada, Guiness, hockey games and good pizza at Lions Gate. I'm relieved that the next time I go back in January - for the Advanced Academy - I won't have to worry about finishing homework before I get a beer buzz!

One Sunday, I jetted out to Point Reyes to enjoy the ocean and get a little alone time. Didn't hike much because of my achilles but it's gorgeous and dogs are allowed in certain areas; will have to go back at some point. I was only able to drive down and see Logan, Peeps and Nugget at Tim's place once, since it is a 4 hour drive from the academy; I meant to pick them up this weekend but with my last couple weeks of school left, I was stressing out and Tim offered to keep them one more week. The girls were so big, and still growing! They finally lost their baby "peeping" and now cluck and coo like real chickens. Their tails were longer and fuller, but their combs were still light pink and little. Tim put together the simple coop kit I ordered and just moved them outside this week. With the lack of daytime predators and the scent of Logan and Neota around the house, we decided to let them free-range around the property. I'm sure they won't be happy when they are forced to be caged and cooped up here at my mountain home, but they don't roam very far anyway and I'll let them out when I'm outside with them. It may be illegal to let them run around uncaged here so I don't want to bring unwanted attention to my chickens.

My first real day of work on Engine 22 was Monday and met my crew. We are short on qualifications for 7 day coverage, so we will be running 5 day coverage with 6 people. If our Engineer gets his Engine Boss signed off, we can go to 7 day coverage and hire a seasonal, but I'm not sure how likely that is. As it stands,if the engine goes out, 1 person will be left behind. Looks like I will have Tuesday and Wednesday off after Memorial day; even stranger is that I won't start work until like 9 or 9:30 am! As it stands now, starting at 8 am is weird enough - without Logan here to walk and play catch with, I have all this time in the morning and don't know what to do with it! I'm used to working four, ten hour days from 7-5:30. My first two days of work were spent rolling hose, washing trucks, paperwork, and taking a driving test to get my government driver's license. Because having a CDL-B isn't apparently enough to prove I can drive a standard pick up truck, ha ha. I think it's going to be a good summer and I'm excited to learn a lot. Even more excited for my days off to explore the mountains, lakes, caves and vineyards surrounding me!

Well the Wings blew it big time so I could use another Moose Drool beer. $#@^%$^&#&$#@!$ Next time I write, I'll hopefully have my master's degree as well as my dog and chickens back from Tim!

When I think "Apprentice", I think of Mickey Mouse and walking brooms

One week down, three more to go!

Thursday before the academy, I decided to take some time from writing my term paper and take Logan to Yosemite. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get in the Park; the weather was cold with sporadic rain or snow but I needed to relax. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you can bring dogs on the extensive paved paths throughout the valley, and I picked a short 3 mile round trip walk to Mirror Lake. Walking with a big-ass German Shepherd prompts a lot of comments and looks - 99% good with a couple sour-pusses despite how well-heeled, calm and pretty much oblivious Logan is to other people. In the past, foreigners have even taken their photos with my dog! On the hike down, a park truck passed me. They stopped, and a scruffy-bearded guy popped his head out the window. I had to do a double take when he said "Hey, how's it going?" I had to ask, "Do I know you??" Well it was a coworker from Rocky, Dave from trails. Didn't recognize him with his beard and in a random location, such as a pedestrian trail in California. As always, small world in the federal government!

I dropped the "kids" (dog and chickens) off at Tim's last weekend and arrived at McClellan last Sunday. McClellan was once an Air Force base but has been converted to...well, not really sure what all is on site. It's generally surrounded by a metal fence and the buildings inside the fence are significantly nicer than anything outside the fence. We were warned early that the area outside the base is pretty sketchy. Lots of car break-ins; pickpockets and people with knives; don't go anywhere alone! Apparently this is typical for the area surrounding military bases??  Obviously the Forest Service has staked claim to a number of buildings; the SCA operates out of it as well. There's the Lions Gate hotel, which has the only public wi-fi on the base. Which means to do homework, I find myself at the over-priced bar/restaurant, drinking Sierra Nevada and trying to concentrate while everyone else is socializing. Just 4 more weeks and I'll be done, assuming I pass my classes!!

There are about 93 apprentices in my Academy, 53; Academies 51 and 52 were overlapping their 4 week programs with ours by a week or two, each with between 90-100 people; as well as the Engine Operator academy, FireHire meeting, some safety meeting and who knows what else, with plenty of big fish from D.C. running around. Some folks got in trouble for cussing in front of a high-level civic rights human resources person...yeah, pretty much the worst person you could get caught by!

Quick run down of what it's like; we were broken up into crews; my crew is Purple. Hard to sound cool when you are "purple", so we go by the "purps" because that sounds so much better (sarcasm). Our crew has 16 folks, a crew boss and an assistant. 98% of the people here are with the Forest Service; of those, 98% of them are from California.  There are a handful of BLM. Some people are from Nevada, a couple from Wyoming (including a guy that works for the engine boss that originally worked/trained with me in Montana), a couple from Montana, maybe Oregon and Washington?? I am quickly learning that California does things differently than pretty much any other state, and any other agency. Those of us from outside Cali - even people that had been in the Forest Service before - have to ask questions at times.

We wear our uniforms and do need to keep them looking pressed, but thankfully don't need to wear that silly tie until next year at the advanced academy. We have different classes each day, which involves way more sitting and paying attention than I am capable of, but between coffee, Red Bull in the vending machine, and my ADD medicine, I think I can make it through! That's probably the hardest part of the entire ordeal! Unlike what previous academy attendees told me, we don't PT (work out) every day. We don't work out at 5 am. In fact, we work out maybe 2-3 times a week for 1 1/2 hours. Some people are going to the gym to make up for it; other people say, "They should pay me to PT like they are supposed to every day". During our paid PTs, we do things like bump runs (everybody runs; person on the end sprints to front, when he gets there the next person on the end sprints to the front, etc) and about 100+ push ups (or at least, I try to do that many... yikes) and so many lunges and squats that my butt was screaming at me! Good stuff.

I didn't wow the academy with my incredible fitness, but I did better than I had hoped and better than a lot of men and women. Ran 1.5 miles in 12:09; 35 push ups, 3 pull ups and 53 sit ups. Was pretty disappointed with the sit ups but it was the last test after all those other things. It will be neat to see how much I can improve in 4 weeks!

I do sleep in a dorm, but they aren't bunk beds. My roommate is a cool gal that also works on the Stanislaus; we both don't really stay in the room except to sleep, so I don't see her that much. The twin beds are ok but I just haven't slept that well; often the sound of police and ambulance sirens from off the base echo through the night. We have to keep our rooms neat and clean for the random inspections and I despise making my bed but I can suck it up for a month. ;) 

I'd say networking after work is as important as going to class, and I've met a lot of cool people. The vast majority of people here not only work in California, but they are originally from Cali. This is in stark contrast to Rocky Mountain, where very few people were actually from Colorado. Of course firefighters like to work hard, so they also play hard... Drinking a lot every night and staying up really late. I've been pretty good so far but when people keep buying pitcher after pitcher, it's easy to get caught up in it!

Such is the day in the life! I still think it's weird that I'm a permanent wildland firefighter with the forest service. It wasn't where I thought I'd be; but, things happen for a reason and I think this is going to be a good adventure! And hopefully will lead me to a paid move to Alaska in a couple years. ;)  But one step at a time.

I do miss my dog and even my psycho chickens; but it was nice to go home to my cabin for the weekend and do homework outside of the bar! I better get going back to the academy, a 2+hr drive and another winter storm is on its way.

1 Week to the Wildfire Academy!

My to-do list even strikes myself as odd. 1 week to tie up lose ends and saddle up for the month of April. April will bring my current, fairly casual daily schedule of homework, exercise and "tending to the homestead" (dog and chickens) into a chaotic overdose of physical and mental stimulation. This includes finishing 3 online grad school classes; plus the classes and physical fitness of the Academy; while trying to find time for things like showering and relaxing in between.

To-Do:

• Fitness: Running, sit-ups, push-ups and pull ups; but not too much.  Fitness test the first couple days at the Academy!
• Scholarly endeavors: Complete a term paper.
• Homework.
• Homework.
• Homework. Yeah, I'm a little behind; even if I wasn't, I'd still be up to my ears in California tiger salamanders, rangeland management, prairie dogs, cattle and plant responses to defoliation.
• Eat local: Use up my latest produce box from Outer Aisle Foods CSA. New adventures in cooking: rutabaga, green garlic, more leeks, artichokes and braised greens! What the heck are braised greens!?
• Move the "funny farm": dog and the chickens to the ex boyfriend's house. That in itself just sounds weird. It is.
  
  
  
• Put together a chicken coop: Since I don't have tools or ambition to construct something myself, I ordered a small, portable coop from GardenEggs.com. It probably won't arrive before the Academy but when it does arrive, I need to drive 3 hours to Tim's to put it together. Contrary to what the chicken lady at the feed shop told me, the chickens ARE ready to go outside after 2 months old.
• Little Suzie Homemaker: The worst chore - not only laundry, but I have to IRON MY UNIFORM! GAG!! I'm anti-ironing as it is. The fact that I have to wear a fake clip-on green tie also... At least I got some very cute shoes.
• Oil fire boots.
• Be prepared! Fire gear, that is. Red bag and line gear, with all the firefighting essentials. Nice, shiny, obnoxiously new gear. Kindof want to roll in the mud, just to tone down the screaming bright yellow!

Plus, April is  my birth month! I was supposed to go to a Punch Brothers (Chris Thile) show in San Fran with Tim but since the break-up, who knows if we'll be speaking or if he already gave the ticket away. I don't usually speak so candidly about my relationships on my blog but oh well, life goes on. I'm just lucky he's still taking the "kids" (Logan, Peeps and Nugget) while I'm stuck in a dorm for the month.

As always, I'm way behind on my journal; I hope to reinvigorate it with stories of excitement, adventure and travel now but, then again, I'm on an apparently slow fire district and probably won't get out much. The best chance is filling in on the fire use module that is also based up here on the Calaveras District.

I never did write about Tim's puppy as promised. But after he didn't even mention to his friends the fact that I moved to Cali, yet alone that I had moved in with him... but talked at length about "his" puppy (that I cared for and he barely saw while he worked overtime for 2 weeks straight) and his career and all that was new and important to him... leaving me out totally - well, a girl can take a hint! So, not much to say except Neota is a very smart, very good dog with a lot of potential as long as her owner provides positive reinforcement, training, and adequate physical and mental stimulation! She isn't always given as much credit as she deserves; guess he's used to Logan being such a good dog, he forgets that Log is an adult and she is only a puppy!!

The Funny Farm - Meet the Chicks

Since we moved to our quaint little mobile home surrounded by well-manicured acres of raised-bed agricultural fields and have only carrots for neighbors, it seems fitting that we have cultivated our own little Funny Farm in the mere 6 weeks that I have been here.

I kept telling Tim I wanted chickens. But I didn't know much about chickens. His coworker, who keeps about 40, raved about how simple it was. In fact, many of his coworkers have chickens. It's no big deal; it's like having dogs or cats - totally normal. Remember, I am from Detroit. Chickens have NEVER been a normal part of my life. Though, at least I did own numerous birds - cockatiels, canaries, budgies, and zebra finches - so it can't be that different, right??

Tim wasn't as enthusiastic as I was. He never said no, though he would be the one to care for my girls while I am at the Academy and away on fires. So once he brought home a Murray McMurray catalog and I started looking at all these crazy looking chickens, I felt inspired. I asked the lady at the feed shop about them. I realized that these babies were going to live indoors for probably 2-3 months before they were even moved outside; once outside, if I come up with a clever coop design, I wouldn't even have to "tuck them in" and close the coop at night. Feed and water bowls hold food for a few days. If they were totally fenced in, I wouldn't have to worry about predators.

So when I saw the "Baby chicks have arrived" sign at the feed shop, I stopped. Not totally impulsively - I went ahead and bought a heat lamp and chicken feed, "just in case". I went into the feed shop alone and came out... a farmer?? Or, at least, as a momma hen. :)  All for less than $38 - $8 for feed, $2.25 per chick, and the rest was for a cheap thermometer and the infrared heating lamp. You can even apparently just use a regular light bulb (Tim's boss just keeps a candle lit in a mason jar) but I figure they wouldn't want bright light 24-7.

In the feed shop was a low round metal bin with a large heat lamp and uncountable numbers of fluffy chicken nuggets. Most were not all yellow - some were reddish, some were all black, some had black and grey stripes, some had yellow and black stripes, and some had reddish and black stripes. I thought the ones with racing stripes looked pretty cool, so I grabbed two feisty chicks that were eating heartily and peeping loudly. Alas, as they had all just arrived from Arizona, some chicks were fading fast and on their way to the big barnyard in the sky. Mine seemed tough and spunky. The shop employee had no idea what type they were. That's ok, I like surprises... as long as they are female and make me breakfast!

The 30 minute drive home actually seemed to stress them - they need to be at around 95 degrees heat their first week. Each subsequent week, you reduce the heat by 5 degrees (more or less; just watch the chicks, they will be obviously hot or cold and it's pretty intuitive). So they were a little chilled despite cranking the heat so high that Logan and I were both panting.

I set them up in a cardboard box with pine shavings and one peanut butter jar lid of water, one pickle lid full of food. They peeped loudly. Apparently loud peeping means chicks aren't happy. Eventually we worked out the height of the heat lamp and bought a better waterer that keeps the water cleaner. At a good temperature they make chickee noises but not loud peeping. Plus, they got used to being away from their 100+ fellow chicks.

Day 2

Day 3

The first night, I was nervous. Nugget (the reddish/black racing stripe one) seemed listless and fading. She was laying down but putting her head on the ground. Um, birds aren't supposed to do that right? I didn't think she'd make it, but I resisted the urge to stress her more by messing with her. I saw her eat and drink, all I could do is hope that she could recover. I was so happy to see her scratching about the next morning! And ever since, these babies just keep growing and growing!

When I got them, they didn't have "real" wing feathers, just fluffy down. Then, real feathers started popping out. Soon, they had beautiful patterned primary and secondary feathers - like what you collected when you were a kid, "real" feathers - that helped me figure out what breed they might be. Peeps - Wyandotte. Nugget - Ameraucana, aka the Easter Egger.  They quickly started acting like real chickens - scratching, pecking, preening. They are messy eaters and instead of pecking, they peck at the food and then toss it right out of the lid. They eat constantly. I went from one handful of food the first day or two, to two handfuls of feed... now it's like 3-4 or more.

Day 7??

Then, their nubby tails started sprouting something almost resembling feathers. Ugly spires with little feathery strands here and there. They are beginning to look better. Every day, more down is lost and more feathers sprout up. Their feet are huge! (Picture is of 1st appearance of feathers on the chicken butts)

Best of all, Logan LOVES them. He watches them. He sniffs them. He wants to check on them with me when I go into the other room. It is the cutest thing ever!

So as of today, they are approximately 11 days old and at least doubled in size. They now can perch on my finger and flap their wings. I don't know how much longer I can get away with a cardboard box. Feed store lady keeps her chicks in a dog cage until they are old enough to go outside. Other people use cardboard boxes the entire time. They poop a lot but if it gets too dirty, cardboard boxes are free. Maybe when they are 5 months old, they will start popping out eggs!

I'm sure more people are excited about the puppy... yes, I love puppy. But, I didn't want to go out of order. This is how funny farm started. Logan, then our two chicks. This whole time, we kept watching petfinder.com and visiting the shelter...

 

Tim and his little girl, in the next entry!

Racking up the miles on the ol' truck...

I have now been in California for just over a month... and this is the first journal entry I am writing? LAME.

It's probably not even worth it, but here's a reader's digest version of the past 2 months.

I MOVED TO CALI.

Now if you care to indulge in more details, read on. Which at this point the only people who would want to trudge through the details are my mom, my sisters, and maybe Bruce and Kerry. ;)  December was a stressful blur of final exams, term papers, packing, moving and truck repairs. Somehow I made it through and had a little work get-together at the Rock one night, which was as close to a going away party as I needed or had time for! I was so happy my friend Kim and her boyfriend were in town to visit from Portland literally during my last few days in Estes. Although I was up to my @ss in alligators (homework, packing, broken truck), Kim always cheers me up and helps me relax and have fun! This included an awesome night at Jerry's cabin for the most unique White Elephant exchange I have ever seen and too many margaritas at Ed's, and of course hanging out at the Rock. I ended up leaving a day later than I had hoped (which was a week later than I originally planned... stupid final exam schedule), with Kind Coffee in my mug and after a big hug from Kim. I walked around in the snow, looking at the Rocky Mountains and enjoying the high altitude air... Really really miss it there, 5 years in Estes! Miss the town, miss my friends, miss Bruce and Kerry and the Rock where so many good times were had... But, time to move on to the next stage in life ya know?!

I left Estes and drove not West, but East... all the way to Detroit to see the family for the holidays. This would be the last time I was within semi-reasonable driving distance from my family, so I wanted to bring Logan, have a car to drive during the day (otherwise I'd be stuck at their house!) and be able to bring some things to my family, as well as take home x-mas presents. I was incredibly busy visiting family and friends, as well as taking plenty of time to decompress from the whirlwind month of December. Stephanie (friend from Estes) was on a road trip of her own, from Texas to the east coast to Niagara Falls, through Detroit and up to Wisconsin, and she and her boyfriend stopped by for a night. Neat to see a Colorado friend in Detroit, that's never happened before! It was good to be apart of our huge 50+ person family X-mas eve party, gotta love it when the families all get together to exchange dollar store gifts, eat lots of Polish food and cheese fondue, drink Kahlua mudslides and tease each other. It just was not the same without my 29 yr old cousin Greg, who died in October. The presentation of an engraved stone bench in Greg's honor to his parents and wife touched us all; but he was there in spirit with us and we will always remember him. On the other side of the family, they had their own sorrow - my dad and stepmom's dog was dying on X-mas day. So Christmas was a little sad but it's always good to be with those you love.

Saw lots of friends here as well, Amadeo's birthday party and sushi with the Gole sisters, one on one with many of my BFFs like Beth and Donna, the Mount Family, Jeff's party... I can't even remember everything I did! But one of the highlights was going to the Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche hockey game on New Years Eve with my sisters and brother! Despite the Wings taking a dive in success this season, they still beat the Avs - nice coincidence that, considering the 2 teams play only a few times a year, I was in Detroit at the same time as the Avs. GO WINGS! I think my brother was a little embarassed by his hootin' and hollerin' sisters, but he takes it in good stride. ;)

Skipping lots of stuff because I have ADHD and bore myself easily. Ha ha!

After the New Year, hit the road right away to drive in the completely opposite direction, back to Estes. I put all my stuff in storage and had to swing back up to get the essentials to take with me to Cali. The rest of it, well.... we will see when I have the time and money to get a uhaul. I want my motorcycle BAD though! These sweet twisty roads and warm temperatures are taunting me! Anyway, I digress. Blew through Estes after a quick bite at the Rock and from then on, it was Cali or Bust!

Uneventful drive west, took about 18 hours from Estes to Greenfield, where I sit now. Tim moved from right outside Pinnacles National Monument to this mobile home - it was cheap compared to everywhere else, allows dogs, and is owned by his boss. Unfortunately, he now has an hour commute...but at least it's a nice drive!

We still don't really have furniture - 2 camp chairs, storage containers used as tables, and a bed. ;)  It would be nice to have a futon or couch, but hey we are making it work. Our mobile home isn't pretty but we are on a plot of land with a nice empty home that belongs to our landlord's aunt. Other than that, as I told my mom, our only neighbors are carrots! Surrounded on all sides by agricultural fields. Which I just found out isn't very good for our well water quality, don't worry we bought a filter (which doesn't do much for the nitrates but I try not to think about it). It is actually quite windy in Greenfield, which is part of the large valley extending north and south, bordered on both the east and west by mountains. Weather has been 60-70 degrees almost every day, with incredible amounts of rain at times. Amazingly, there is snow in the mountains to our West, which probably aren't more than 3-4,000 ft tall. Apparently that is NOT normal and locals have told me I must have brought it with me from Colorado. ;)

I was in culture shock for a couple days until I began nesting in the weird way that I do - I leave home and explore the towns nearby. Tim takes care of the home stuff... I explore the "new frontier". :)  I hit the visitor welcome centers and find the coffee shops. I try to find the best, most eco-friendly, charismatic locally owned cafe... I'm still not impressed with my options compared to Kind Coffee! Unfortunately, up until this week we didn't have internet at home so I had to drive 1 hr roundtrip just to get to a cafe with internet (which is important because I am in online courses to finish my masters degree). After AT&T providing the worst customer service EVER for a month, canceling orders or getting them wrong, putting me on hold for 2 hours and disconnecting me... They tell me they don't offer DSL at our house. My head almost exploded when they told me that, after a month of telling me they DO have it. Our ONLY option was satellite (which has a 2 YEAR contract and is expensive and not that fast) or this wireless broadband which is working out pretty well. Life is so much easier now that I can look up stores and businesses and get directions at home, as well as doing homework whenever I want without interruption!

Salinas is actually a pretty decent city with a nice old downtown and I've found the places I need in my life - the gym (still working on those physical fitness requirements for work...3 pull ups down, 2 more to go minimum!), the pet shop, and internet cafes. I LOVE going to the ocean in Monterey or Carmel, but finding parking for the cafes in Monterey is a nightmare!

Our weekly treat is taking Logan to the dog-friendly beach in Carmel. Hundreds of dogs running free along the coast! He was scared at first, running from the surf as it washed in and out. Now, he finds the biggest driftwood he can carry and retrieves it from the crashing waves until he is exhausted! He is usually one of the biggest dogs on the beach and has been THE largest German Shepherd (and there are SO MANY shepherds out here!).

In a few weeks I will start work 4 hours away, up in the mountains near Arnold. I have free housing in the bunkhouse, but am checking out a sweet 900 sq ft A-frame cabin with wood stove up in Dorrington next weekend. It would be great to have my own place so people can actually visit me (not allowed in dorms) and I can have Logan. I'm kindof over the whole "living in a small room with bunkbeds and sleeping/working with coworkers 24-7" thing, like my space and my privacy as well as my visitors and pets!

My official date for the academy is April 4th, which means I will be stuck in Sacramento/McClellan for my birthday. Required to live there but if I get this cabin, Tim can bring Logan up and we can stay in the cabin on weekends.

I left tons out but I'm long winded and this is long enough. NEXT ENTRY: CHICKENS! And... Tim's new puppy?! WTF?! PUPPY?! 

Oh yes. And we just might name her another X-Men name. BWA HA HA.

As my mom would say, "Welcome to the funny farm!" (Though I know she's excited to have grand-chicks and grand-puppies on her grand-farm... since there won't be any grand BABIES any time soon!)