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[July 24] |
PWP: Nolan McCarthy:
I think we should probably talk. I don't mean to scare you or anything, but we haven't really had a chance to talk just the two of us, and I think we should get to know each other.
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| BLOG POST #4. |
[July 03] |
This is my second 4th of July with the FDNY, and working in a city like this is a hell of a lot different than back home in Boulder, but some things (like the use of fireworks for the 4th) are universal. As much as I wish everyone would leave setting off fireworks to the professionals (or at least to fire departments), I know that's unrealistic. Someone somewhere will inevitably light something off, and it's gotten even more wide-spread since the ban on consumer fireworks was lifted in New York. With the holiday weekend here, I thought I should make an announcement about staying safe this weekend, so... here we go.- Use fireworks only OUTDOORS in an open area, away from houses, buildings, and vehicles.
- Always have water handy, either a bucket or a hose.
- Do not try to combine fireworks or alter them. Follow the instructions and don't try to be creative or different. Trust me, it's not worth having your hand blown off.
- Never try to relight a dud. You can't be sure it is really a dud, and the last thing you want is to try to pick it up only for it to explode. Again, not worth it. Wait 20 minutes and then put it in a bucket of water.
- Wear safety glasses while setting fireworks off. You might think you look stupid, but at least your eyes will be protected.
- Keep a safe distance as a spectator, and always pay attention to what's going on, particularly if there are children around.
- Do not light fireworks while intoxicated. I can't emphasize this enough. Do not get drunk and set off fireworks. Your reaction time is slower, and you will be more prone to making reckless decisions. Please don't ruin your holiday.
- Never let small children handle fireworks. Even unlit fireworks.
- Light only one firework at a time.
- Do not throw them or point them at other people.
- Do not shoot them off in metal or glass containers. No one wants shrapnel flying at them.
I think that about covers it. Use your heads this week. Have fun, and be careful.
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[June 22] |
PWP to: Jean & Camilla, Camille, Charity, Cody, Beau:
There is a teenager in my apartment.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Beau. It's not like that. It's my daughter. And I swear to God if you ever hit on her, you won't be able to walk for a month. At least.
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| BLOG POST #3 |
[June 20] |
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. Hope it was a good one.
I haven't seen my own father in over a year. Not in person, anyway. But they'll be here in a few weeks for the 4th of July, so I think we'll just celebrate then. They've never been to NYC. Any suggestions about where to take them? Besides the obvious tourist traps. Even though I've been here over a year, I still feel like I don't know the city at all.
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| BLOG POST #2. |
[June 13] |
It's my daughter's birthday today.
Or it would have been. I don't know. I don't know what happened to her. She was just a kid the last time I saw her. Trying so hard to be grown up when she was still just a kid.
There's a lot of shit going on these days. There's always a lot of shit going on. People dying, moving across the country because their homes aren't safe to live in, getting stuck somewhere they don't want to be, trying to make the most of a shitty situation. And I don't have any advice. I don't know how to do it any better than the next person. But I see a lot of people every day who are getting by, and sometimes I think it's really not so bad. At least I'm here. I have a job. I have friends. I'm OK.
But not today. Today I'm having trouble caring about soccer or what happened in Galveston or mineral deposits out west or catfish. What happened on 11/17 took the most important person in my life away from me, and that's going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Tomorrow I'll get up and go to work and try to forget about this, but not today. Not today.
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| BLOG POST #1. |
[June 02] |
I've never done one of these before, but a friend has been nagging at me to start blogging instead of just reading. I keep telling her that there's nothing interesting to say, even though I know a lot of people think firefighting is fascinating. There have to be a lot of stories, right? But they're not all good ones. It's not just rescuing kittens from trees (although I have done that before).
Holidays can be a hard thing these days. I doubt I'm the only one in that boat. All you have to do is look out your window and there will be a handful of people who are far from home and their loved ones. New York's like that. A melting pot of all sorts of people. It's especially true these days. It's nothing at all like back home, but maybe that's a good thing. Most of the time, it feels like a good thing.
On the other hand, I miss the mountains.
( photo under the cut )
Christ, this was depressing. Next time I think I'll just talk about the station. Or about how hard everyone laughed when we were on a call and I tried to force the door open, only to have someone else just turn the doorknob. The door was unlocked. The worst part? I wasn't even a rookie. Even worse? It was only two months ago.
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| PWP: PRIVATE BLOG POST |
[May 14] |
Never know what to write here. Charity keeps telling me to blog more, but I never know what to say. My life's not that interesting, anyway.
And then I watched this vlog, and the girl had a copy of The Hobbit, and all of a sudden I felt like I'd been sucker-punched. I haven't thought about her in so long. I don't know why. Too painful. Can't dwell on it forever. Can't just sit here day after day waiting for something that's never going to happen. Have to move on eventually, right?
I used to read The Hobbit to her. And then she'd read to me, once she could. Just like that, it felt like I'd lost her all over again.
Shit.
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