The Downpour

Recently we had our first big rains here since the winter. Which means for the storm sewer system it's a big flush to get all the junk sitting in there out.
Bad news, when it pours a couple inches in a few hours the storm drains are going to back up, flood every freakin street in the city and cause havoc for traffic, and there are a few knuckleheads who try to drive through said flooded streets and eventually get stuck.

But, after dealing with the numerous calls from people getting stuck in water/traffic this takes the cake.

I hear my partner across the room, on a 911 cellular line, state "No, ma'am there isn't a water main break anywhere.... it's raining... No, no there is no boil order...."

Some nincompoop was stupid enough to think that there had been a water main break and that was the cause for the multiple flooded streets throughout the city. Yes, yes ma'am there was a water main break, we have them on their way out right this second to go and fix it but in the mean time can you do us a huge favor and go stand outside and make sure no one drives through the street, we would hate for them to get stuck in the hole!

How to tell if someone is crazy.

It's a cold night, about 3 am, not much activity going on anywhere in the county. It's recently snowed and that is keeping everyone inside.

A 911 line rings, I pick it up
Me: 911 where is your emergency?
Caller: xxxx yyyy out by the river (this is a rural county address)
Me: And what is going on out there sir?
Caller: Well there are two guys walking around my house with a gun!
Me: Okay, can you tell me where they are right now and can you give me a description of these guys?
Caller: They are behind my house, and they are both male Hispanics and its a nickle plated pistol they have.
Me: (Note, PD is already enroute, the county officers and also a closer village is sending units) Sir, can you tell me what kind of clothes they are wearing, you know what color shirt the guy with the gun has?
Caller: No, I couldn't tell. But he is wearing a sombrero.
Me: (Thinking, what the hell!) Okay... Well what about the other guy?
Caller: Oh, he just has a hat on.
Me: Oh... Well I have an officer pulling up where are these guys at now?
Caller: Over in the abandoned house next door, they were inside but are out on the porch now.
Me: Okay, Well I have an officer here he is having trouble finding the house you're in, do you see the officer out side?
Caller: No officers live out here that I know of.
Me: What?.. No do you see the officer outside!
Caller: Yeah there he is! (Disconnected)

I am thinking to my self, what the hell, how can you tell they are Hispanics, and the finish of the gun, but cannot see what color clothes they have on, yet you know the guy has a sombrero.

The officers clear it, they checked didn't find any foot prints in the snow and talk to the guy and find nothing.

The next night they are back out there, he called nicor out and nicor called us, the guy was freaking out to the nicor people saying that there are spirits in his window, that he saw an angel with a halo in the window. Officers get out there and search around the house to make sure it's secure while talking to the guy. One officer finds a loaded shotgun in the back bedroom laying on the bed and diabetic perscriptions that have not been filled in over a year.
There's your problem right there. Mr Crazy is got some issues. He got a trip to the hospital.

Hopefully we don't hear from him any time soon. Althought it gave us all a chuckle in the communications center!

I Hate Needles.

So. I regularly give blood, I feel that I can help by doing so, I am O+ and that type is the universal so I know it will help someone who needs it.

But, I hate needles. I donated blood recently, and the lady 'found' my vein before she stuck me.. Well it 'disappeared' and that made her have to wiggle around, she couldn't get it so another nurse came over and tried and was able to get it. OUCH.

Not too good, but I think it's not that bad it could be a lot worse.. and it got a little worse.. You know how you have to 'squeeze', well I was and the needle was twisting something in there because oh man it was hurting..

So I donate in about 6 minutes the bag is filled, I get up and take about 15 steps and sit down at the snack table and start to feel like I am going to pass out, man was that crazy, I got all cold pale and sweaty, so off I went to a table to lay with my feet up and an ice pack for 10 minutes.

I never had that many complications, or any of them at that, when I have donated and I have been doing it regularly (every eligible donation period!)

But I still hate needles.. Ah!

Shift Change

Our rotations are up and I am now working the night shift. This is bad for me, for I LOVE to be doing stuff, and working this shift has been quite slow for the last few shifts. I do imagine as soon as it gets warmer and as soon as the schools let out this summer it will be busy, but right now I am going crazy! So I have accomplished setting a new poker high score on the computers, bwahaha! 8 hours of playing poker and I got paid.

Although, we have had a blast listening to old calls saved on the consoles, those have been interesting needless to say. So far nothing major has happened on our shift this year, just a few drunks that are being stupid calling us up because they were kicked out of a bar and their coat was still inside.

So, I bought myself a Nikon D40 a few months ago. I haven't gone out and wandered around taking pictures of things though. Although I did go to Chicago to see the Chicago Marathon.. I do need to go out and take some pictures of things though, I got a neat little flash for it too.


Back to work, my biggest complaint with the midnight shift is the food.. We have NO WHERE to eat that is close but Wendys.. Dang!



So, I am debating on what I should do. I am wanting to get into a police department, and I really don't mind if it is with a City or County as I find both interesting but see the County with more 'to do' outside of patrol. Now, Thing is I believe our County still has an axillary program which I would love to get into, and do while I am still working dispatch and applying for agencies (or even use that to get into the department). Or I can wait and throw out applications as they start hiring. I still have a few more classes I need to take to get my associates in Law Enforcement that I have been putting off for a year now, and they are the basic general-education classes (maths and sciences) which I find so easy but boring, I hate school! I need to get those out of the way though and at least have an associates degree in something, especially since many departments are requiring education and a certain amount of college credits now-a-days.

Ahh I don't know! Anyone with any suggestions feel free to throw them my way.

Morons.

Life is full of them, right?

With my new job I seem to hear a lot of stupid things.. Things that would make you want to reach across the phone lines and smack the other person up-side their head.

Take, for example, the moron who called 911 a few nights ago and I happened to answer his plea for help.

It went something like this:
Me: 911 where is your emergency?
Moron: Ya down here a' XX n' YY ther' is some mob actin' goin' on
Me: What do you mean by 'Mob Action'
Moron: Uh well der' is abunch of people gangin' up ova' here
Me: How many is a bunch and what are they doing? [I can now hear my partner taking a large fight call next to me near the intersection Moron gave me]
Moron: Well a bunch and they fighting
Me: Sir my officers are en route, but I need to let my officers know how many, can you give me a number?
Moron: Uh like 20
Me: Now are any of them armed and who are they fighting?
Moron: I already told ya naw' get tha po-lice here quick!
[click]
Me: heeellloooo?

A little while later after the police got on scene and cleared it as 10-8 (available) just a group of juveniles walking down the street.. no problem.. the moron calls 911 to complain that he was asked too many questions.
After speaking with my partner and her having telling him twice that it's not an emergency to complain he will have to call 123-1234 to complain he was given to my supervisor who basically told him that he was going to be arrested for misuse of 911 (hoorah) if he doesn't hang up and call back in the morning.

I never did get pulled into the office, I guess I didn't ask enough questions..



Just to throw out there to anyone else looking into 911 dispatch as a job the training will probably vary from center to center.. We got a few weeks of in class training than was sent out with another dispatcher for a few weeks.. I do have to say that you will need to know how to use computers and not be nervous over the phones, that was a big downfall for some of the new people that started with and after me is they weren't familiar with computers and weren't comfortable with them. That and I have heard stories of some past dispatchers that would refuse to answer 911 lines (who were than let get due to that fact). But it's been great, I knew a lot about the police side of things due to my classes I was taking and the fact that I was able to do a couple of ride-alongs with my city and county police so I became more familiar with their basics (beats, 10 codes, call signs, etc)

Monster

Anyone try Monster.. No, I'm not talking about the thing that lives under your bed.. The I'm talking about the 'energy' drink Monster (I guess there are multiple flavors and whatnot..)

Last night I worked for almost 24 hours straight.. woohoo.. It started Saturday morning getting up at 6 for my other job to be there at 7.. I got off that at 1 pm and I saw I had a message to come in for a few hours (only 4) so I took it.. While I was there there was a call off for the midnight shift, and at the time I passed on it..

I went home, 'chilled' for a bit and than ran out to grab some oh so delicious Chicken Ring Sandwiches from White Castle (It's going to be the death of me.. I make food runs almost nightly there now, gosh) and decide what the heck, I will take the midnight shift I am feeling up to it..

So I get there for my shift and we start the night off with what came in as a pursuit..
Woohoo indeed..
So what we thought was really a pursuit that State had on the highway turned out to be a caller on the phone following some dude that stole some stuff and NO police had got to the vehicle to pull it over.. Whoops that's not what I was told! I put out the 10-80 (code for pursuit) and had 4 Tac units and a couple County guys going up to help.. The catch up to the guy and wait for State to pull the guy over since we were now traveling in another county and didn't want to be the ones who started something..
They arrested the bad guy..

After that my channel was pretty quiet for the most part for a Saturday night..
So, lets get to my Monster story..

One of the other dispatchers ran out for a bit for a break out back, one of her friends stopped by that works for the County, and also for the same company that distributes Monster.. She came back in with two BIG cans (like two and a half pop cans, ha) of Monster, one for me and one for another guy in there but he didn't want it..
So I got both.. Lemme tell you they taste pretty good but have a strange after taste.. but I don't think that they work.. I was really tired (we all were) and I didn't feel it make me untired, I felt hyper but tired.. make sense?

Anyhow, they are pretty good but I should try them next time before my body starts to shut down and fall alseep.. By the time I got home I was running on hour 24 of up and running.. and I was half tempted to turn around and take another shift in the afternoon, but I decided I was too crazy.

I love the money though..

Now what should I spend it on.. :) I am looking at buying a Nikon D40 .. I've spotted a couple of good buyers on eBay that have them with a few lenses and a few other items for a decent price.. I've always had a likeing in photography, just never had a decent camera to do anything with.. now that I have this monster of a PC that is capable of doing some really cool after effects with Photoshop I am having fun with what my camera that I have can do..


Hmm .. I guess I picked a good blog title because I just realized I truley am rambling! Sorry!

Work...

Haven't been around for a while.. I've been working, working, sleeping, working.. That's about it!

It's been pretty crazy.. Talk to my first suicidal (well.. eh, he wasn't that extreme since the police didn't send him to the loony bin) on the phone.. I could-a done better and the rest of the room let me know what I did wrong and what to do next time..

You would figure since Summer has come and is gone and since kids are now in school that they would be less prevalent to getting hit by cars.. Well for some odd reason the last few nights have had a handful of kids on bikes getting hit by cars. And kids running into the side of a car at that..

The remnants of Ike dumped on us and flooded a good part of the county, but didn't do any really sever damage.. but, moron after moron decided it would be a good idea to disobey the sign that says "water on pavement road closed" and try and get through. Not a good idea.
And on top of it, the officers that are now having to break away to deal with your stupid 'I was running late' excuse will now spend time writing you citations and inform you that you will have to get your own tow truck and get yourself out of the water.
And to all of the lucky people that got the many citations dished out by a few officers sitting on the other side of those really nifty big orange signs I have no sympathy. You see the signs, then the police cars, and maybe even another moron that has already been pulled over, yet you still try and go through the barricades to try and go through the 3 feet of water..
God help us all.