Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Well Hello There Officer...

I had to stop by the Academy yesterday to drop something off for Blue. I walked down the stairs just as he was coming out of the gym, in his uniform. He gave me a big smile.

Oi.

There were some other officers hanging around so I was trying to keep my face to a decent colour. I'm sure you can all guess what the 'problem' is, but for those of you who need it spelt-out a little bit better, here it is.

Blue looks damn fine in his uniform. And I mean fine.

I get to see him again tonight at Academy. There is another Family Night (sans kids) and this time they are dealing with how best to support your officer. I'm really looking forward to the evening. I mean really. Really.

What is it about the uniform that's so....hm....appealing? Do you other police wives swoon at the sight and jump at the opportunity to see your men looking all dapper in their work wear? Or is it just that this is such  a new thing for me?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

First Call

Posted By: Blue

Today, during a vehicle stopping training exercise, my training partner and I were in our cruiser in a large grocery store parking lot, when we noticed someone waving us over.  Our driving instructor said "Well boys, although you're still in training, you're still cops."  We drove over to the citizen and rolled down our windows.  It was a hit and run.  There was an elderly woman who backed up into him a short time ago, flipped him the bird, and told him to "fuck off".  We parked the cruiser and our instructor got out.  Just then another cruiser that had been dispatched rolled up.  The two officers took over.  We cleared on a deuce (no report), and sluffed the call (left it for another crew).  If we had been on duty, it would have been a terrible way to deal with a call.  Under our circumstances, it couldn't have gone smoother.

Although there was nothing that came of our encounter, and our instructor actually did most of the talking, it sure didn't stop us bragging to our classmates that we were the first crew to respond to an actual live encounter.  We are officially the two most experienced officers in the recruit class.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Same Old - Same Old

I'm so happy for Blue. I don't think that anyone is as proud and excited for him as I am. I love seeing him come home from work with a smile on his face. I love that he looks forward to the next day. I love hearing all about what they're learning and doing.

But...

With his life becoming so exciting, I've started to feel like my life, well....er....isn't.

I've been a stay-at-home mom for almost 6 years now. I get together with friends, I'm involved in our church community, I do the odd thing here and there with the kids but none of those things feel very exciting. They are all normal to me. I like them but....hm....I'm just not sure how to put it.

Traveling is exciting to me. Going to Haiti last year was over-the-moon exciting. Boxing is exciting to me. I used to box (just for a little while...just enough to get the boxing-bug) at a local club and I enjoyed it so much. It was different and unexpected. Blue and I went on a hiking trip last year. We got a bit rained-out but it was a huge challenge, both mentally and physically. All of the things that I can think of that I'd like to do cost money or take time, both of which we seem to be a bit short on these days. Boxing. A puppy. Going back to school. Hiking. Rowing/Kayaking. Camping. Traveling. Boxing. A puppy. Did I mention boxing?

I feel as though I'm living vicariously through Blue, trying to live a bit of his excitement.

Does anyone else ever feel like this?

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Use of Force

Posted by: Blue

On Monday, twelve of us were pepper sprayed.  We spent the morning on drawing out our OC spray, practicing in a static environment.  Then at 1300 hrs, we were "exposed".

My goodness.

What a terrible thing for someone to invent to use on another human being.  I felt like I was going to go blind.  Seriously.  They told us over and over before we were sprayed that it would feel terrible but that we could fight through it, but when that Oleoresin Capsicum hit my eyes, I thought it was all over.  Somehow I managed to find the volunteer "suspect", and give him a flurry of knee strikes while telling him to get on the ground.  When he finally proned-out, I was able to draw my training gun and give instructions, and then somehow recite the circumstances where an intermediate weapon is justified.

When I finished my tasks, an instructor took my arm and led me into the academy building, down the satirs and into the showers, but not before tripping outside and walking into a wall inside.

The water did nothing but temporarily soothe the burning.  The tearless baby soap that I poured into my eyes was useless.

Finally, after 20 minutes of splashing cold water on my face, I bit the bullet and dried my face, accepting the burning until the effects wore off another 25 minutes later.

It is the most pain I have ever experienced.  I have cut the tip of my thumb off on a table saw, cut a gash in my leg from ankle to knee with an inner-tube valve stem, exposing my ankle bone, and stepped on a rusty nail that punctured an inch into my foot.  Those were nothing compared to pepper spray.  I hate pepper spray.  The only thing on earth that might cause more pain and discomfort than pepper spray might be giving birth sans-drugs with two shattered femurs.

Tasering, on the other hand was like a quiet stroll on a warm spring day in the park compared to the OC spray.  Not that it didn't hurt, but it was over as soon as it started.  We were all drive-stunned on Wednesday.  Our Service didn't have authorization at the time to give us the full 5 seconds of "riding the lightning".

I'm planning on requesting to re-do the tasering in six months when the next recruit class is doing their taser "exposures".  They should have authorization by then.

Thank God that we are on to computer week.  No significant chance of grievous bodily harm or death.