Archive for August, 2008

Six Quirks

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

Uncle Pete has instructed me to write about six unspectacular quirks of mine. Not only do I always follow directions from my uncles, but I didn’t have anything else to write about. From his blog:

Here are the directions:

  1. Link the person who tagged you
  2. Mention the rules on your blog
  3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
  4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.
  1. I am very indecisive about things that don’t actually matter. 

    For instance: where and what to eat. Usually, when I go into a restaurant, I challenge the cashier/server to “surprise me.” They usually look at me as if I had asked them to give me their firstborn.  I visit a couple of different coffee shops while at work on a regular basis. They know me by name (it’s kind of sad). When I walk in, they usually have a drink ready for me. It took a while, but I finally convinced them that they could make me any drink they wanted, and I would like it. So far I haven’t been disappointed.

    Another thing I do to avoid unnecessary decisions is to limit my wardrobe.  Since I wear a uniform each day, my work clothes are taken care of. I have three pairs of pants and two pairs of shorts that I wear away from work. I have about 10 black undershirts and 10 white undershirts. All 20 of my shirts match all of my pants and shorts. It is very uncommon to see me in something other than a plain white or black shirt. 
     

  2. I am much more likely to be productive if I have a to-do list to follow.

    Michelle and I have a program on our iPhones called ZenBe. It’s basically a to-do list application, but it allows us to send the lists to each other’s phone. She’ll usually send me a list each day so I don’t sit around on my butt.
     
  3. The improper use of an apostrophe really annoys me.

    For whatever reason, it really annoys me when people use an apostrophe incorrectly. It also annoys me when people use the words “they’re” “there” “their” “your” and “you’re” incorrectly. 
     

  4. It drives me crazy when things tug on my skin.

    If Michelle and I are holding hands, or she has her legs propped up on my legs, it annoys me so much if her skin tugs on my skin.
     

  5. I refuse to pay for something when I can do it myself. 

    Due to this quirk, I have learned several new skills. I started cutting my own hair once I moved out of my parent’s house. (Mom used to cut my hair.) And I learned some mechanic skills after buying my current truck.
     

  6. I don’t like people.

    I typically don’t like people. It’s usually nothing personal, I just tend to not like people.

Per the instructions, I’m supposed to tag six other bloggers and tell them to write about their unspectacular quirks. I don’t know six other people who blog on a regular basis, so I will skip this step. 

Posted in Daily Life, Humor | 2 Comments »

My Accident

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

I wrecked my first police car today. I was driving and not really paying attention. There was an AT&T bucket truck in front of me as we approached a yellow light. The lane of traffic to my left continued through the yellow light, but the truck decided to stop. When I realized he was stopping, it was already too late. I hit the breaks, but was unable to stop in time. My push bar smacked the rear of the truck and the heavy duty hitch. The truck wasn’t so much as scratched. My push bar and grill took a beating from the hitch.

If I’m lucky, the most that will happen will be a letter of reprimand placed in my file. The next best thing would be a day off without pay.

It’s good that there was no damage to the truck. At least the county will only have to fix one vehicle.

Here’s some pictures taken with my iPhone.

Written and posted from my iPhone.

Posted in Work | No Comments »

Anger Management

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Last week a 15 year old was riding his brand new moped about a mile from his house. For whatever reason, he turned left in front of a van and was struck. Half of our precinct responded to the accident scene while a passing motorist started CPR.

At the same time, we received a call from an alarm company stating there was a burglary in progress at a closed business. They had a live video feed of the person breaking into and exploring the store. The other (almost) half of the precinct responded to the burglary while the alarm company gave updates on the burglar’s whereabouts.

That left me all alone to handle the entire precinct, so I found a shady spot and parked my car. Just when I started working on a report, I was dispatched to a call where a 12 year old had his mother at knife point. Having no one to back me up, I asked the dispatcher to send an officer from Marietta. I was about 10 miles away from the call since it was nowhere near my beat. When I arrived I met with the Marietta officer who was talking with the mom. The kid was sitting in the ground.

Here’s what happened:
Mom was trying to get son to clean his room. When son refused, Mom said she would take his new school shoes back to the store and grabbed the box. Son snatched the shoe box and then tackled his mom. She couldn’t get him off of her (he was just as big as her) so she bit him on the side. She then went downstairs and he followed. He went into the kitchen, grabbed a large knife, pointed it at his mother and said, “I’m tired of you. I’m going to cut you.” She grabbed the phone and ran outside.

The son’s excuse: an anger management problem.

This brings me to the title of this post.

A few years back, children everywhere were being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. Having ADD was more popular than iPods. Soon, it seemed like half of the population had trouble paying attention, and they now had a medical excuse. “Kid can’t pay attention in class? ADD!” “Kid bouncing off the walls? ADHD!” Being diagnosed with ADD seems to have slowed. With the advent of the iPhone, Apple is once again more popular than ADD. In it’s place: anger management problem.

Most of the time when the police get called to a house, it’s because someone got very angry and did something very stupid. When it’s a young person who has committed the stupid offense, the parents are always quick to jump in and blame “his anger management problem.” Most of the family’s I come across have a family psychiatrist who has informed them of their child’s anger management problem. The parents then inform the child of their diagnosed excuse for being an asshole. It’s so annoying when the parents tell me, “I don’t want to press charges, because he has an anger management problem.” It’s even more annoying when the kid tells me, “It’s not my fault, because I have an anger management problem.” I just want to smack them and tell them to take responsibility for their actions.

I do not mean to offend anyone who has been diagnosed with ADD, ADHD or an anger management problem. The problems exist and they are real. This is the only time I’ll ever quote Dr. Phil: “ADD is the most over-diagnosed, and under-diagnosed conditions in the U.S.” Meaning that people who do not actually have ADD are being diagnosed, and the people who truly have the problem are not being diagnosed. I’m not sure why there’s a sudden explosion of anger management problems, and it doesn’t really matter. What concerns me the most is what the next big psychological frenzy will be…

::

The 15 year old on the scooter was more or less killed on impact. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. I feel terrible for his family and friends. His parents will forever blame themselves for buying him the vehicle that caused his death.

The burglar got away before our officers arrived. The alarm company’s cameras didn’t cover enough of the store, and they lost sight of him.

The 12 year old was charged with Aggravated Assault. (Take that anger management problem!)

Posted in Work | 2 Comments »