I finished my job in Wichita, KS over the weekend and got back home last night. Quite boring 8 hour drive and I'm bound to repeat it in a few months for another job there.
It was hot as heck and the humidity took my breath away.. luckily they had the air conditioning running inside the house I worked in or I would have died.
As soon as I hit the city limits of Wichita my Nokia 9500 Communicator went dead... turns out that Wichita uses a frequency not much used and my tri-band "unlocked" GSM phone couldn't detect the towers... figures.. had to buy yet another "back-up", locked, phone so I wouldn't be without service for 4 days.
Of course I just discovered too, that an update for the communicator line is finally hitting the shelves of E-bay and European phone retailers.. it's the E90. Vast improvements have finally been made to the phone and I'm dying to get one now.. a hit of $1400 in full retail price but with only 30% success with E-bay over the last few years I will not entertain buying another phone from there, even if the prices claim to be measly $850-ish. Will have to figure out how to get my hands on one, soon.
Denver Milonguero Festival is 2 days away and Ms.Spain arrives Thursday night! Hooray.
Ta.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Failure
*sigh*
So... here I am.. in Seattle, WA. I flew here to test for the city police department. I was very anxious about the whole process as I had failed (due to lack of sleep night before) my last written exam with the Denver Police Department. I had also left the studying pretty much until the last 1-2 wks as that was when I knew what date the testing was going to be on.
I also knew that the physical agility testing was going to be different from what I'm used to with other departments and at my current physical condition knew it was going to be a challenge.
Since I was not made to sign a confidentiality agreement about the testing process with SPD, I can tell that their test is also entirely different from the other departments I've tested with before. They make you study some material for 2 hours before the actual test and then you are tested on that material during the 1.5 hr written portion, plus some other stuff. About 50-60% of all the questions were directly drawn from the study guide you studied so it's a test on memory retention and recalling specific sentences, policies, reports, and maps.
I became very worried once I learned this because the practice tests and book I have and have taken don't really go too deep into this, as it is something they really can't help you with in that kind of a book. They do recommend other resources that help one improve short-term memory.
Well I got a sneak peak at my score when they were trying to pronounce my name, which they NEVER get right, and saw that I had scored 88.88 out of a 100 maximum. Passing score was 80. Otherwise they just tell you to get in-line. If your name isn't called to stand in-line you did not pass the written and would not be invited to continue on to the PAT portion (physical agility test) half an hour later. Only those that were Lateral (already a police officer somewhere) or from Out-of-State did they score the test for immediately. The rest get their results in the mail in the next 1-2 wks and have their PAT in September.
Unlike the obstacles courses I've gotten used to with other departments, the State of Washington's Law Enforcement Academy has set forth the following criteria/testing:
1) 300 yard sprint, timed with a maximum time
2) Push-ups, not timed, minimum being 21.
3) Sit-ups in 1 minute, minimum being 30.
4) 1.5 mile run under specific time.
I've never been one to place too much emphasis on push-ups or bench press and have not worked out at all in years - Dancing Tango has been my only hobby and exercise. I was actually the most afraid of this testing process than anything else but I did manage 25 which was a personal best for me.
With the sprint I blew all that I had and got my time under the limit to get maximum points - that was good but it really drained me.
Sit-ups.... umm.. another thing I really haven't done much.. I did do some for a few days before my week in DC but during the trip I did absolutely nothing. Minimum was 30 in 1-minute.. and I died at 29.5. Failure. One is given an opportunity to retake this portion after the distance run.
1.5 mile run - I died. My legs were like lead and my liver started hurting as it released cool blood; I hadn't warmed up adequately in an attempt to reserve my (what I knew to be) limited energy. I completed almost 7 laps in the maximum allotted time and needed to complete 8. As I failed 2 events, I was out, and there was no point and definitely no energy left to re-attempt the sit-ups.
So.. I'm out.. for now. I'm allowed to re-take just the PAT portion in 2 months if I so choose, but if I don't do it then, I would need to wait at least 6-months and do the entire process all over including written. This could be beneficial, however, as it would give me more time to get in-shape, lose some weight, re-build some of the muscle mass I've lost in the last 12-years, study and improve my memory. Now that I know what kind of test they administer I could hopefully improve.
I need to get something along the lines of 95% to be highly competitive and closer to the top of the list. Veterans get an automatic 10% added to their score so if they score high plus the bonus they're unbeatable.
I can't really slack off now from depression, though, as the Portland written test is coming up on October 20th, right during the TangoFest there... however passing applicant must travel back to PDX at another time for the PAT test. Portland being one of the few large cities that do not accommodate out-of-staters like other departments I've tested for: Anchorage, AK; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO.
I recently learned of a website that allows you to take a test with the company/agency, and they send your results to any agencies you pick from the list - it is intended for smaller towns that do not have the resources to test/train applicants themselves. Some small towns for example only hire Lateral applicants as they can not provide any testing. This website hosts nearly all of the small towns in Idaho, AK, OR, and WA. You can apply to hundreds of places by taking 1 test. A real time AND money saver.
Well.. I'm going to call Delta and see if I couldn't get on a flight 1 day sooner now that I do not have the oral boards and psychological in the next few days - I fear the cost will out-weigh the 1-day saving though.
I want to stay through Monday into Tuesday so that I can attend the China Harbour milonga on Monday night. It is the (one of the) best in the city and most people I know in this area will be there and not at Sunnie's tonight, where I'm going to also go.
Getting home a day early would allow me to better prepare for my Kansas trip, though, that I embark on no later than noon on Thursday (driving - 8hrs). Right now my flight returns home Wednesday night, late.
Oh well. oh well oh well. I'm not used to failing. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
Ta.
So... here I am.. in Seattle, WA. I flew here to test for the city police department. I was very anxious about the whole process as I had failed (due to lack of sleep night before) my last written exam with the Denver Police Department. I had also left the studying pretty much until the last 1-2 wks as that was when I knew what date the testing was going to be on.
I also knew that the physical agility testing was going to be different from what I'm used to with other departments and at my current physical condition knew it was going to be a challenge.
Since I was not made to sign a confidentiality agreement about the testing process with SPD, I can tell that their test is also entirely different from the other departments I've tested with before. They make you study some material for 2 hours before the actual test and then you are tested on that material during the 1.5 hr written portion, plus some other stuff. About 50-60% of all the questions were directly drawn from the study guide you studied so it's a test on memory retention and recalling specific sentences, policies, reports, and maps.
I became very worried once I learned this because the practice tests and book I have and have taken don't really go too deep into this, as it is something they really can't help you with in that kind of a book. They do recommend other resources that help one improve short-term memory.
Well I got a sneak peak at my score when they were trying to pronounce my name, which they NEVER get right, and saw that I had scored 88.88 out of a 100 maximum. Passing score was 80. Otherwise they just tell you to get in-line. If your name isn't called to stand in-line you did not pass the written and would not be invited to continue on to the PAT portion (physical agility test) half an hour later. Only those that were Lateral (already a police officer somewhere) or from Out-of-State did they score the test for immediately. The rest get their results in the mail in the next 1-2 wks and have their PAT in September.
Unlike the obstacles courses I've gotten used to with other departments, the State of Washington's Law Enforcement Academy has set forth the following criteria/testing:
1) 300 yard sprint, timed with a maximum time
2) Push-ups, not timed, minimum being 21.
3) Sit-ups in 1 minute, minimum being 30.
4) 1.5 mile run under specific time.
I've never been one to place too much emphasis on push-ups or bench press and have not worked out at all in years - Dancing Tango has been my only hobby and exercise. I was actually the most afraid of this testing process than anything else but I did manage 25 which was a personal best for me.
With the sprint I blew all that I had and got my time under the limit to get maximum points - that was good but it really drained me.
Sit-ups.... umm.. another thing I really haven't done much.. I did do some for a few days before my week in DC but during the trip I did absolutely nothing. Minimum was 30 in 1-minute.. and I died at 29.5. Failure. One is given an opportunity to retake this portion after the distance run.
1.5 mile run - I died. My legs were like lead and my liver started hurting as it released cool blood; I hadn't warmed up adequately in an attempt to reserve my (what I knew to be) limited energy. I completed almost 7 laps in the maximum allotted time and needed to complete 8. As I failed 2 events, I was out, and there was no point and definitely no energy left to re-attempt the sit-ups.
So.. I'm out.. for now. I'm allowed to re-take just the PAT portion in 2 months if I so choose, but if I don't do it then, I would need to wait at least 6-months and do the entire process all over including written. This could be beneficial, however, as it would give me more time to get in-shape, lose some weight, re-build some of the muscle mass I've lost in the last 12-years, study and improve my memory. Now that I know what kind of test they administer I could hopefully improve.
I need to get something along the lines of 95% to be highly competitive and closer to the top of the list. Veterans get an automatic 10% added to their score so if they score high plus the bonus they're unbeatable.
I can't really slack off now from depression, though, as the Portland written test is coming up on October 20th, right during the TangoFest there... however passing applicant must travel back to PDX at another time for the PAT test. Portland being one of the few large cities that do not accommodate out-of-staters like other departments I've tested for: Anchorage, AK; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO.
I recently learned of a website that allows you to take a test with the company/agency, and they send your results to any agencies you pick from the list - it is intended for smaller towns that do not have the resources to test/train applicants themselves. Some small towns for example only hire Lateral applicants as they can not provide any testing. This website hosts nearly all of the small towns in Idaho, AK, OR, and WA. You can apply to hundreds of places by taking 1 test. A real time AND money saver.
Well.. I'm going to call Delta and see if I couldn't get on a flight 1 day sooner now that I do not have the oral boards and psychological in the next few days - I fear the cost will out-weigh the 1-day saving though.
I want to stay through Monday into Tuesday so that I can attend the China Harbour milonga on Monday night. It is the (one of the) best in the city and most people I know in this area will be there and not at Sunnie's tonight, where I'm going to also go.
Getting home a day early would allow me to better prepare for my Kansas trip, though, that I embark on no later than noon on Thursday (driving - 8hrs). Right now my flight returns home Wednesday night, late.
Oh well. oh well oh well. I'm not used to failing. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
Ta.
Friday, August 17, 2007
At the airport, again
So.. I flew in yesterday from Washington DC where I'd been for 8 days dancing and hanging out with Ms.Spain. Had many good dances despite the oppressive heat and humidity... was even kind of cool when you're both drenched and still you keep at it.. it's a bit uncomfortable and embarrassing to dance with someone when you're the only one soaking wet or vi ca verse.
Ms.Spain was a gracious hostess and then some and I can't wait to see her again in Denver in two weeks. Too bad I had agreed to share a room with someone else before she made up her mind about going to Denver.. I guess I coerced her in the right way during my visit to DC :P
She's become a dear, trusted friend in a very short time, and I'm blessed to be in her graces.
Muchos abrazos y besos!
I screwed up with my schedule a bit... I had thought I had all of today and majority of tomorrow to lounge around, catch up on errands, etc, before having to fly to Seattle for half a week... By chance I went to look for my arrival time to Seattle to co-ordinate my lodging and to my horror I saw the word "Friday" printed atop the "Departure" times... I had 4 hours to scramble to finish some last minute things and to re-pack to come to the airport. Luckily this flight is out of my own airport that's 15-minutes away versus the large one that's 2.5 hrs away. I had also not really unpacked as there had been no reason to do so; I had done 2 loads of laundry in DC and majority of the clothes I had packed were still good to go.. I just had to add a pair of workout pants, sneakers, and a suit.
I got to the airport a bit early again and just finished dinner at Quiznos's. To my great delight WidowPC had preinstalled all the hardware programs and device drivers on the hard drive, that I hadn't noticed before, and I was able to get my WLAN card to work in no time. I had relied on my Sprint PCS card for connection during the previous week and the speed was a measly 600 kbs (pretty fast for Sprint since I was in a major city). So now I'm enjoying the rare delight of free wireless internet. This airport, like I've mentioned in my other blog, is the only airport I've ever been to that has free WiFi and not merely a hot spot.
I also managed to get some dude's pocket knife impounded.. he was trying to sneak it through on his keychain until I pointed to an TSA-employee the knife. Most of the time when you stick yer keys in that little bucket it doesn't go through the X-ray... kind of like that one movie where an assassin had hidden two bullets inside a lucky rabbit's foot-keychain. Rest of the pistol had been a break-down ceramic one that is hard to detect. I forget the name of the movie now but somehow I feel it was John Malkovich who was the assassin/shooter. I walked into the terminal along side this guy and I almost said to him that he'd better return to his truck with that knife.. I just wasn't 100% certain it was a knife until I got much closer to him in the security line. When I flew to DC in June I had, last minute, shuffled some gear from one bag to the other to make sure I was under #50 to avoid 2x over-weight charges... and I had a utility knife with a nice holder and spare blades stuffed into one of my dress shoes that I had transferred to my carry-on from checked luggage.... they threw it away, of course.
I wish that they'd check the size of carry-on pieces like they used to and still do at London Heathrow... a guy just walked past me with a suit luggage and that thing was frigging huge.
Well.. enough for now..
Ta.
Ms.Spain was a gracious hostess and then some and I can't wait to see her again in Denver in two weeks. Too bad I had agreed to share a room with someone else before she made up her mind about going to Denver.. I guess I coerced her in the right way during my visit to DC :P
She's become a dear, trusted friend in a very short time, and I'm blessed to be in her graces.
Muchos abrazos y besos!
I screwed up with my schedule a bit... I had thought I had all of today and majority of tomorrow to lounge around, catch up on errands, etc, before having to fly to Seattle for half a week... By chance I went to look for my arrival time to Seattle to co-ordinate my lodging and to my horror I saw the word "Friday" printed atop the "Departure" times... I had 4 hours to scramble to finish some last minute things and to re-pack to come to the airport. Luckily this flight is out of my own airport that's 15-minutes away versus the large one that's 2.5 hrs away. I had also not really unpacked as there had been no reason to do so; I had done 2 loads of laundry in DC and majority of the clothes I had packed were still good to go.. I just had to add a pair of workout pants, sneakers, and a suit.
I got to the airport a bit early again and just finished dinner at Quiznos's. To my great delight WidowPC had preinstalled all the hardware programs and device drivers on the hard drive, that I hadn't noticed before, and I was able to get my WLAN card to work in no time. I had relied on my Sprint PCS card for connection during the previous week and the speed was a measly 600 kbs (pretty fast for Sprint since I was in a major city). So now I'm enjoying the rare delight of free wireless internet. This airport, like I've mentioned in my other blog, is the only airport I've ever been to that has free WiFi and not merely a hot spot.
I also managed to get some dude's pocket knife impounded.. he was trying to sneak it through on his keychain until I pointed to an TSA-employee the knife. Most of the time when you stick yer keys in that little bucket it doesn't go through the X-ray... kind of like that one movie where an assassin had hidden two bullets inside a lucky rabbit's foot-keychain. Rest of the pistol had been a break-down ceramic one that is hard to detect. I forget the name of the movie now but somehow I feel it was John Malkovich who was the assassin/shooter. I walked into the terminal along side this guy and I almost said to him that he'd better return to his truck with that knife.. I just wasn't 100% certain it was a knife until I got much closer to him in the security line. When I flew to DC in June I had, last minute, shuffled some gear from one bag to the other to make sure I was under #50 to avoid 2x over-weight charges... and I had a utility knife with a nice holder and spare blades stuffed into one of my dress shoes that I had transferred to my carry-on from checked luggage.... they threw it away, of course.
I wish that they'd check the size of carry-on pieces like they used to and still do at London Heathrow... a guy just walked past me with a suit luggage and that thing was frigging huge.
Well.. enough for now..
Ta.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Last Day
It's Wednesday.. I'm catching an 6 am flight out of DCA back home for a bit. On Saturday I fly out to Seattle; it'll be my first visit to the city and I'm looking forward to it. Will be able to catch 2 milongas too, one of them China Harbor.
I've been here in DC a week come midnight. I've caught 4 milongas with Ms.Spain thus far, DJ'ng myself one of them, and tonight being the 5th and last milonga for this trip. I had such a good time with Ms.Spain in June that it was worth traveling back just for dancing.. and to see if anything else might work out as well. I'm still trying to coax her to commit to the Denver Milonguero Festival on Labor Day. After that.. in September.. who knows.. next festival after that is the TangoFest in Portland in October.
Finally saw the much praised movie "Cinema Paradiso" last night. Very beautiful film.. with an even stronger soundtrack; been listening to it this morning.
Haven't been paying too much attention to what I've eaten during my visit.. but that's what holidays are for, aren't they? I most certainly have put back on the 5 pounds I lost during the 2 weeks before the trip but oh well. Back on the horse when I get home.
Ta.
I've been here in DC a week come midnight. I've caught 4 milongas with Ms.Spain thus far, DJ'ng myself one of them, and tonight being the 5th and last milonga for this trip. I had such a good time with Ms.Spain in June that it was worth traveling back just for dancing.. and to see if anything else might work out as well. I'm still trying to coax her to commit to the Denver Milonguero Festival on Labor Day. After that.. in September.. who knows.. next festival after that is the TangoFest in Portland in October.
Finally saw the much praised movie "Cinema Paradiso" last night. Very beautiful film.. with an even stronger soundtrack; been listening to it this morning.
Haven't been paying too much attention to what I've eaten during my visit.. but that's what holidays are for, aren't they? I most certainly have put back on the 5 pounds I lost during the 2 weeks before the trip but oh well. Back on the horse when I get home.
Ta.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Tango Trip #? - Who keeps count?
I flew out to the East Coast last night. I guess it's pointless to be too vague as any cross reference to myspace page of mine would reveal I was in DC last time, so here I am, in Washington DC.
I had such a good time dancing with Ms.Spain here in June that I decided to return for a week. We had talked about maybe meeting in the middle.. like in Houston; somewhere where we both could have taken a single direct commuter flight, but with her just having been out of the country for 10-days and being backlogged at work, we decided it best for me to take a connecting flight and to come all the way to DC. Lodging would be free for both of us as well, as I'm crashing on her futon.
Tonight would be the first milonga, at the Eastern Market. I dread it as the weather is oppressingly hot and humid and that place has no Air Conditioning.. kind of like Ms.Spain's loft, lol. She does.. but the machines either leak freon; are severely undersized; or the filters are clogged. Right now it's 82F and I had to lose my jeans.
I'm quite happy though not working but rather burning the cd's Ms.Spain obtained for me at my request. From artists I care for I only lack a few d'Arienzo and 2 Pugliese now.
Ta.
I had such a good time dancing with Ms.Spain here in June that I decided to return for a week. We had talked about maybe meeting in the middle.. like in Houston; somewhere where we both could have taken a single direct commuter flight, but with her just having been out of the country for 10-days and being backlogged at work, we decided it best for me to take a connecting flight and to come all the way to DC. Lodging would be free for both of us as well, as I'm crashing on her futon.
Tonight would be the first milonga, at the Eastern Market. I dread it as the weather is oppressingly hot and humid and that place has no Air Conditioning.. kind of like Ms.Spain's loft, lol. She does.. but the machines either leak freon; are severely undersized; or the filters are clogged. Right now it's 82F and I had to lose my jeans.
I'm quite happy though not working but rather burning the cd's Ms.Spain obtained for me at my request. From artists I care for I only lack a few d'Arienzo and 2 Pugliese now.
Ta.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Saturday Morning
It's been a while.
Still doing the diet although I've been bad a few times. Last week went to the movies a lot and had nachos a total of some 3 or 4 times. Had 2 slices of pizza from Wild Oats too.
On Wednesday and Thursday I was working really close to some restaurants and since I had not packed a lunch I couldn't resist. I had Indian food on Wed and Chinese on Thu. First restaurant food.
Last night on the way to DJ a milonga I stopped at a Taco Bell and had some tacos - first fast food in two weeks.
So yea I dj'd last night. Little over 5 hours. I've a question, though. I've always been super self-conscious about smelling.. be it sweat.. my breath.. or my clothing (one of my cats peed on one of my shirts once and I didn't notice it until I started sweating and the odor started coming out). Several of the very few women I did dance with had very bad breath. Nice ladies I've known a long time.. but I just can't get around to telling them that their breath makes me nauseous... how could I? How could I let some of these ladies know of this problem in a politically correct way that doesn't offend them and before it gets so bad I don't want to dance with them anymore.
Out of the 26 full sets and half a dozen alternatives I played I only danced 8 sets myself. It's lame how slim my pickings are in my home state. I've danced many times more out-of-state this year than in-state. Many times more. Portland, Alaska, New York, Atlanta, W.D.C...
One good news was, though, that one follow that used to date someone, that effectively placed her outside the radar of acceptable follows, now no longer dates this person, and is again available to be asked, and she isn't half bad.
Gawd.. trying to tolerate my mom on an IM.. she doesn't get it through her head that caps is yelling.. it raises my bloodpressure to read all caps all the time.
Ta.
Still doing the diet although I've been bad a few times. Last week went to the movies a lot and had nachos a total of some 3 or 4 times. Had 2 slices of pizza from Wild Oats too.
On Wednesday and Thursday I was working really close to some restaurants and since I had not packed a lunch I couldn't resist. I had Indian food on Wed and Chinese on Thu. First restaurant food.
Last night on the way to DJ a milonga I stopped at a Taco Bell and had some tacos - first fast food in two weeks.
So yea I dj'd last night. Little over 5 hours. I've a question, though. I've always been super self-conscious about smelling.. be it sweat.. my breath.. or my clothing (one of my cats peed on one of my shirts once and I didn't notice it until I started sweating and the odor started coming out). Several of the very few women I did dance with had very bad breath. Nice ladies I've known a long time.. but I just can't get around to telling them that their breath makes me nauseous... how could I? How could I let some of these ladies know of this problem in a politically correct way that doesn't offend them and before it gets so bad I don't want to dance with them anymore.
Out of the 26 full sets and half a dozen alternatives I played I only danced 8 sets myself. It's lame how slim my pickings are in my home state. I've danced many times more out-of-state this year than in-state. Many times more. Portland, Alaska, New York, Atlanta, W.D.C...
One good news was, though, that one follow that used to date someone, that effectively placed her outside the radar of acceptable follows, now no longer dates this person, and is again available to be asked, and she isn't half bad.
Gawd.. trying to tolerate my mom on an IM.. she doesn't get it through her head that caps is yelling.. it raises my bloodpressure to read all caps all the time.
Ta.
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