Now that I’ve been working for a couple of weeks, I have something to write about. The last couple of weeks of academy were incredibly slow and boring. We all just wanted to get out of that building. Five months doesn’t sound like a long time, but when it’s spent in one spot like that, it’s an eternity.

The graduation was mostly enjoyable. There was one speaker who almost put everyone to sleep, but I won’t mention any names. My mother and father had been in Italy for the two weeks leading up the to graduation, and weren’t sure if they were going to be able to make it in time. They dished out a little extra money to get an earlier flight, but it still wasn’t going to arrive until 6:00. With the graduation starting at 7:00 and them having to go through customs, we weren’t sure if they were going to be able to make it. They snuck in just in time to help Michelle pin my badge on me. Dad gave me a guardian angel medal that had been blessed by the Pope the previous day, and Michelle gave me a St. Micheal the Arch Angel medal shaped like a police badge. St. Micheal is the patron saint of police officers, and the medal she gave me is bullet proof. How awesome is that? I wear them both every day; hopefully those angels will keep me safe.

I started work on October 15th, Michelle’s 21st birthday. The first two weeks are purely observational. I’m not being graded on anything; I’m just watching, learning, and helping when I can. This Sunday I will start my daily observational reports (D.O.R). Each day that I’m with my field training officer (F.T.O.) he’ll grade me on my performance. After successfully completing 50 D.O.R. I’ll move onto weekly observational reports (W.O.R.). At this point I’ll be riding by myself and just being graded on a weekly basis to ensure that I’m doing well on my own. After eight W.O.R. I’ll be finished with the training program!

So far I’ve been having a lot of fun. My F.T.O., Officer Moore, has been letting me write the tickets and do some of the reports on the computer. We’re getting along well, which is good, since I’ll be sitting two feet away from him for the next ten weeks. I’m working in East Cobb; for those of you who don’t know the area, the people of East Cobb are known for their money and houses. Most houses in the area start at $1 million and people aren’t afraid to show their money. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t crime in the area. We stay busy, but we have a good time while doing it.