Screwy Life

It's funny how screwy life can be down here. This week has been very snowy….with the exception of Christmas of course. As a matter of fact, this entire season has been pretty snowy. For the driest continent on the planet, it has sure snowed its ass off on many an occasion. Tonight is no different. I think it's pretty safe to say that I lose absolutely all concept of time when I'm sleeping…especially in my dorm room. Since I don't have windows or any other source of natural or ambient light, when the lights are off, they're off which I actually prefer when I'm sleeping. It's pretty nice to have a completely pitch black room when I'm trying to sleep. The only problem is that I don't sleep with my watch and I have absolutely no way of telling what time it is when I'm underneath the covers. A couple weeks ago I woke up thinking it was 1100 on one of my days off when it in fact turned out to be 0430. The same thing goes with the firehouse. What's even crazier about the firehouse is the fact that even though the windows are covered, they still let enough light in to fill the entire room. With very little change in the rise and setting of the sun, the light places tricks with your mind as easily as the dark. It's not necessarily a bad thing this lack of time perception, but it's something I'm finding really hard to get use to. Gossip down here spreads as fast as a wildfire. I've ran calls where people in no way, shape, or form affiliated with the fire department or the affected have either asked me some off the wall question regarding the call or given me some crazy detail that was assumed to be secret….sometimes as soon as 5 minutes after we've completed the call.

With talks of re-deployment, mail deadlines, Christchurch, and contract renewals, the end of the season is drawing near. I plan on signing my contract for next year at the next opportunity. With all that is happening with my life at home and in Boise, I'd be a fool not to work a job where I managed to go 6 weeks without spending a single dime. I get to travel to New Zealand and Antarctica; I get free room and board, free food, and a decent paycheck without having to pay for a whole lot. One thing I've found myself doing after my pops died was learning from the examples he had set for me; one of them being how to plan for my financial future. Now I'm not one whose life revolves around money but it definitely couldn't hurt to have as much money saved up as humanly possible. It sounds weird to plan for my retirement at 22 but to be honest I can't think of a better time to do so. Despite ups, downs, and drastic changes in my life, I still manage to dream and so far I've managed to act out some of the most far-fetched dreams I've conjured up and I definitely don't think I'm done either.