24 January 2010

Pick-Up Follies

Sometime after Thanksgiving, I was out in the parking lot at work my supervisor and a bunch of co-workers around trying to replace a serpentine belt in my truck. As the seemingly simple task of replacing the belt was becoming more daunting and difficult it started to dawn on us that maybe the auto parts store made a mistake and gave me the wrong sized belt. Before that concept could sink into my head, my supervisor who at the time was giving it a try sheared off the bolt to the tensioner pulley (note: in order to remove the belt you have to relieve the tension on it by applying leverage to a bolt that moves the pulley away from the belt). "Fuck" was the first word that came to mind and my mouth. Step 2 at this point was easy and all to familiar when it came to problems with this truck: I got a ride to my house (in our ambulance in this case), picked up my other car, and had the truck towed at a later day. The 7 weeks following that day were spent swearing and sweating as I attempted with all of my might to remove the pulley bolt and eventually the entire pulley tensioner assembly off my engine block with the intention of replacing it. Two things proved my downfall in a speedy repair of my truck: the first was the lack of the appropriate tools to do the job and the second being my reluctance to pay someone to do what I at first thought would be a simple job. It being a new year and 6 months since I've been able to drive the old girl, I finally swallowed my pride and had the truck towed to a diesel mechanic who had the entire tensioner assembly replaced in a few hours. Since she was in there I had him take care of a few other minor problems. Hopefully I'll be swinging by Monday to pick it up. As much as I love that truck, my new year's resolution for 2010 is to again own a car newer than 2000...

23 January 2010

Happy Birthday...

This past week leading up today has been very distracting for me. Today, my father would have been 71. His birthday has held a somber tone with me ever since he died. I keep forgetting that mine is in 8 days but I always know within a few weeks that his is upcoming. I still miss him terribly and every once in a while it really affects the way I think/concentrate as well as my performance at work and in life. Yesterday while at work, my partner and I were called to INOVA's Heart and Vascular Institute (a facility from which we're bound to do 2-5 transports a day but for the sake of this post it's the part of Fairfax Hospital in which my father died) to pick up a patient and take them back to their residence. Upon arriving at the ambulance entrance, as we were getting out, a funeral home van pulled into their designated parking spot, pulled out a gurney, and proceeded inside the building. Seeing that this was a normal part of our (and his) job we continued doing what we were doing. However, what proved to be creepy was the large Raven that was hanging around the black van on that cloudy and particularly gloomy day. We proceeded inside up to the 2nd floor to pick up our patient. As we got to the nurses station, I looked around and my eyes fell upon the room in which my father died: 259. Flashbacks from that early morning came to me fast. I fought them back in order to focus on my job but that dull feeling I first started experiencing outside stayed with me for the rest of the day.

Today wasn't bad though. My partner has become a good friend of mine and he helps keep a sometimes mundane day interesting. I managed to stay focus and happy. I use my father's birthday as a day to embrace his life and life in general. The years fleeting away from 2006 are getting better and better. Now, I have my own birthday to contend with...



Happy Birthday
Nathan E. Bevans
23 January 1939 - 20 April 2006

04 January 2010

Disconnected from Maleigha

I'm trying to covertly establish myself as an unofficial live-in member at the firehouse. It's been working very well. So well that a) not many people have realized I've been doing it the past week or so and b) I see my house about once a week. Between living at the firehouse, being sick, and work, I haven't been able to talk/see my daughter in a couple weeks which has worn me down a bit. Her mother and I have been attempting to arrange to get a hold of each other at least once a week which worked for a bit but now it's been hard. With my new laptop, I'm hoping to find time in the evenings no matter where I am to give them a few minute call...even at work that has proved pretty hard.

Maleigha has definitely grown! Her vocabulary, still very limited, is definitely more extensive since I last saw her in August. Kim has told me that it has grown even since I last spoke to her so I'm hoping for a surprise when I talk to her/them in a couple of days...

03 January 2010

Mid-Atlantic Winter Recreating...

It's been pretty cold here in the DC area the past couple weeks. The nights have been getting down into the high negative teens (that's Celsius...so the positive teens Fahrenheit). With a near constant wind over the past few weeks, the windchill has been getting into the low negative teens if not pushing -20 C. I'm very use to this. For my friends and family who have yet to venture beyond either of the polar circles the weather has proved merciless and frigid. We've already had one major snowstorm that dumped about 55 cm on the DC area and more are predicted well into late February. I'm longing for the wind and snowdrifts of Antarctica right now...

The cold does not stop me from heading into the wilds. The problem with a lot of DC climbers is the fact that the second the temperature drops below 10 C they run for the comfortable confines of a gym until there's enough fake snow strewn about the few ski resorts we have in the region. Finding climbing partners who are willing to venture out in the cold and snow in the middle of January to climb a few pitches of trad is definitely a feat. Trying to coordinate schedules is even worse! There is always skiing though. The nearest resort to the DC area is Ski Liberty near Gettysburg, PA. Albeit a small resort...it's something. The closest place where I'd have to wear a transceiver would be 9 hours away in New Hampshire. So here I am, stuck in this hole called the Mid-Atlantic. I should come up with a paypal donation account to raise money to fly me somewhere snow laden and mountainous...

01 January 2010

A New Year

Well it's a brand new year as well as a new decade (unless you're Roman in which case your new decade starts next year...). A year ago, I was hoping to be spending this recent New Year's back in McMurdo. After dealing with several issues regarding my school, distant learning, and the sheer fact that I was attending Virginia classes online in Antarctica, I felt it necessary to put McMurdo on hold for a while until I'm done with school. It was incredibly painful then while I was down on the ice knowing that I wouldn't be coming back the following year. It was especially painful throughout the entire fall reading blogs and facebook status updates of friends who were heading back down there. Such is life though. I figure I can dream and research cool things to do here, around this country, and around the globe but for now I'll definitely live one day at a time.

I've been told that I've been offered a job with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Fire Department by a chief there who retired on the 31st. My being hired then was in preparation of the subsequent promotions to fill his spots and the spots that would open up underneath him. This, my friends, came as bittersweet excitement: I am totally stoked that I am working for MWAA's fire department. I really am. They have everything I look for in a fire department sans a wildland program: Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF), a haz-mat team, a technical rescue program, a marine program, etc. At the same time, the prospect of settling down for however long in a permanent job scares the shit out of me. Fear aside, I really can't complain. I'll be working in a fire department job with benefits, I'll be receiving a decent paycheck, and I'll be receiving some excellent training and experience. I'm hoping to continue working for PTS on a part-time basis as well as picking up a part-time job with Patagonia in Georgetown (outdoor clothing and climbing equipment is expensive!). So for now, I'll be living in the DC area for a lot longer than I expected...