I am a genius...

If there was any doubt over the fact that I am not always the brightest crayon in the box I certainly proved it this week! I happened to peek at our oil tank sunday and think "hmm...where's the little marker? maybe it's stuck?" so hubby checked it monday and noted a similar problem...except he was smart enough to know the tank was nearly empty. We called for an oil delivery from some friends from A town and waited til Friday. Or so we thought. we awoke this morning to find that we were out of oil! Which also meant out of heat....in New England...in January...with snow on the way! Thankfully, I called our friends in A town who were kind enough to come and drop some oil and restart the burner. (after some begging) I bundled up and made some tea and watched the temp drop. By the time Mr. K arrived the house was at a balmy 50 degrees! BRRRRRR!!!!! I was never so happy to "the burnout". But I'm sure as I leave here to go pay and have a beer with them that I will be enduring never ending repercussions for this one. As my sis so wisely put it this morning: "Learning life's lessons sucks doesn't it?".

why I am a Pats fan....

I was reading D-listed.com today and happened upon this horrible display of loserness. Seriously...this kid sobs for 4 minutes because the Giants lost. Are you kidding? Eli Manning could barely tie his own shoes the last 2 weeks of the post season. (I think he was preparing for his debut in the oreo dunking league with his stupid brother) Did you really think your team had a chance when Burress shot himself in the leg? dumbass. I'm glad the Giants lost so you could cry your silly eyes out. And I'm glad that Pats fans aren't pussies like this winner. I also would like to give kudos to the guy at the end who finally tells this guy to shut the F up. Newsflash!! The Giants are not the best team in the NFL! better hope for the yankees to play well in the spring....oh wait....they're terrible too....

Hello, President Obama!

Congratulations on your inauguration, President Obama. We hope to see great things from you in the future! God Bless America.

BFD LODD

It's a sad day in Boston today after a 110 foot E-One ladder careened out of control and slammed through the brick wall of a Mission Hill apartment complex. Three firefighters were injured and Lt. Kevin Kelley was killed instantly. Kelley was a 30 year BFD veteran and a married father of three girls. The early investigations believe that the brakes on the ladder failed, causing it to speed down the steep hill. The ladder was literally blocks from their fire house.
To say this a stark reminder of the dangers of "the job" is an understatement. I think we are all well aware that firefighting is an inherently dangerous job. However, I think that we generally forget that when the fire is out and we're simply driving back to the house, we could potentially be in just as much danger. There aren't a lot of fire apparatus MVCs but a recent class we attended showed the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt while operating or driving the BART. Let's just say it was a wake up call for all of us. (Admitted or not we are all guilty) I refuse to speculate as to whether Lt. Kelley was wearing his belt. That's not the point. However, after seeing that training crash tape, I have no doubt that this had to be a horrifying experience for all of them. I can not even begin to imagine such a thing.
I never met Lt. Kelley. However, for better or worse his life was captured by camera crews for the Discovery Channel series "Firehouse USA" which chronicled the goingson of the "Huntington Ave Express". E and I watched the show since I had a EMS paramedic partner/friend working for BFD (we never actually saw D). Lt. Kelley was a fixture on the show, and always a favourite of mine. He reminds me a great deal of an officer (attitude, work ethic, even the number of daughters were the same) on my own department, and I always thought it was funny how two people could be so alike, and yet have never met. My friend at the BFD once told me that the show was looked down upon greatly by the highups in the department and that they scattered a lot of the guys into various houses after viewing the show. (I never saw anything that was that out of bounds for what is expected in a firehouse) Apparently they were not happy about the portrayal of some of the downtime. Either way, I think that the show may have been a blessing. Not only did the rest of the firefighting community have this way to know such a great man; but his wife, children, and any grandchildren that will never meet him will be able to see what he was like...and what a truly great jake he had become.

Happy New Year!

Au Revoir 2008! It was a wild year in our little home. We tied the knot, became an aunt and uncle (twice!), each left a job for a new opportunity, graduated, took exams (and passed them all!), and took our furthest vacation yet. I almost feel like compressing the whole year into a single sentence takes away from the immense change that the past year was. We are already diving headfirst into 2009. I had hoped that the one thing that we would avoid in '09 was major change however, we're setting ourselves up for another wild year.
Erik officially began the fire academy yesterday. He's already counting the days until the end. I think he'll be appreciative of what he learns. Everyone we know that completed the academy is always proud of the accomplishment. And I think if he wasn't getting sore doing sit-ups and pull-ups he'd be OK with it.
I'm still on the hunt for a job that does not involve beers or a shaker. While I'm enjoying being a bartender, I'm ready to work in therapy. (Especially since I just spent two years of my life - and my life savings - to earn a degree so I could work in therapy) Hopefully it will be soon.
We're also planning on - perhaps - trying to start a family this year. We'll see how the job search goes. I know that everyone says you're never really prepared for kids, but I'd really like to have some money in the bank before we have to recycle diapers. (holy moses that would be absolutely disgusting....)
Overall we're heading into '09 with great deal of hopes and dreams; and we can't wait to see what it brings!