Week 4

This week was a shorter week with us having Monday off.  The test was 156 questions and I am proud to say I tied for the highest score in the class. For all of you that know my past testing ability you can understand why I was so happy about that.  Maybe it's the years that have helped me in test taking but I feel a lot more comfortable and confident with tests. Specially multiple choice :)  Tomorrow's test have to do with Mental Illnesses, suicides, sex crimes, Federal Codes and Natural Resource Law.  As you can see last week could of been a pretty depressing week but our instructors kept it lively.  Thursday and Friday was 16 hours of Intro to Firearms.  We got rubber guns and our utility belts.  We learned to take apart a AR 15 (Rifle), Shotgun and a Sig 229 9mm handgun.  It was a very interesting last 2 days and I look forward to going to the shooting range next week.  

The study group I am in meets Friday after classes where we make dinner together and pre-study to make sure we are all studying the right things over the weekend.  This last Friday we watched Police Academy (for the younger readers the movie was made in 1984)  It was awesome to watch and laugh and relate to a lot of the movie.  Unfortunately we have know real person like Tackleberry in our academy!!

Janelle drove up Saturday night and watched me show her how fast I can drawer my rubber gun.  We also went to the Skagit River Brewery with Gary and Jenny Thor (they are my "host-parents" that have been so kind to let me stay at there home for the academy.  It was really nice to sit and talk with them, unfortunately I haven't had as much time during the weeks to really just chat. Jenny has a wonderful New Zealander accent and Gary has a lot of great stories!  

That night, Janelle and I watched the movie "the mission", another old movie. Sunday we went bowling with Alec and Sara two of my new friends I have connected the most with.  Alec also went to PLU like me though we are few years apart.  It's pretty cool to be surrounded by so many people with the same interest.  It was fun for Janelle to get to know them.  The rest of the weekend was studying, working on my resume and doing homework. Oh yah... I did play the guitar a little tonight, you could say it was my personal church session.  

I hope all are well, much love!

week 3

I will try to keep this week short since there isnt to much excitement to it.  We did a whole lot of listening to lectures on constitutional law, criminal and civil law, natural resouces law, juvenile law, risk management and use of force.  This will probably be my most difficult test, it's tomorrow afternoon.  I have never been the greatest at remembering things of the past but I am good at remembering things that help me in the future, which these things fit in both categories.  We learned about 50 case laws.  So I know you are all thinking, wow Dooey that is an exciting week!!!  Other than working out that was pretty much everything.

My weekend was nice, Janelle and I went and celebrated a friends 30th bday Saturday night, ate dinner with my parents Sunday night (and watched the football games) and today we played cards at a near by coffee shop and then walked around greenlake. (talking about all the cool and not so cool dogs we saw)  Janelle and I also made some homemade pizza, which of course always turns out good. :)

I hope everyone is doing well, feel free to drop me a call or email!

Week 2 Complete!

Hello Family and friends! It has only been two weeks but I feel like I have been here for a month or longer.  It was a eventful week.  Last blog I said I would pass on the EMT training but I was convinced that it will give me a good advantage with the application and hiring process for the National Park Service.  So I am up to 43 credits, its easier to tell you how many days I don't work 9-14 hours.  I believe I have 9 Sundays out of 12 weeks left, off.  So if it is not Sunday I am at the academy or studying somewhere.  So I apologize if I am not being good about staying in touch but there really isn't any free-time.  It's good that I am highly interested in all my subjects!! I do miss everyone please call and leave messages I love to hear your voices.

We had our first Core Test.  I believe we have 10 total through the quarter.  These are test of the prior week, usually 110-135 questions.  They are a big deal, we need to pass them all.  I actually took my second core test today.  I got 92% on both of them and I feel pretty good about that.  Last Monday we also were tested on physical fitness, I believe in 8 categories.  I passed all 8 and was one of eight in our class of twenty-six to do that.  Week 14 we will re-test and if you don't pass one physical fitness test you wont graduate.  My buddy Alec and I are doing 160 push-ups a day and 110 sit-ups, plus running 3 times a week and working out 3 times a week.  This usually takes place after class.  My biggest high-light and honor of the week was on Monday my classmates voted me as a class president/ "team leader".  It is a huge honor for me to be chosen by my peers.  They are all becoming great friends, some I feel I have already known for months.  I hope I do my job well!

It is exciting to be able to think of all the different "hats" I will be able to wear after the academy, most importantly a federal Law Enforcement Ranger for the National Parks, but I will also have a "Dr. hat" as a EMT, a "Fire hat" as wildland Fire certified (decent chance you may see me in San Diego during the Santa Anna winds (Lyford-side), I don't know if Hazardous Material people where hats but yeah I guess that one isn't too exciting, but anyways I am learning a ton of skills.  This week class is mostly focused on "Use of Force" and "Constitutional Law".  There is nothing like "case laws" to commit to your memory bank.

Janelle came up Saturday and stayed till dinner Sunday.  She really refilled my "tanks".  It was so nice to spend time with her, I think we played phase 10 for hours and just talked.  She was so helpful, I am a lucky man!  Keep us in your prayers as time away from each other is not easy!  Much love to all of you and really if you find the time please call and say hi, I probably won't be able to answer but your message will make my day.  If you are lucky, I will forget to turn my ringer off and the class and I will get the amazing opportunity to go to "THE PIT" and do some serious physical punishment.  This won't likely happen because I think I check my ringer about 20 times before class actually starts.  OK I need to get to sleep.  Once again I love you all!!!

Happy New Year!

To all are friends and family Janelle and I want to wish you the best 2009!  Take what you learned from 2008 and put use to it but put the past behind you, this is your new start and we wish you the best!

It has only been 3 days of the Academy and it feels like its been 3 weeks.  There are 26 of us and I am lucky to have the classmates I have, I look forward to growing with them through the good and the tough.  It was a great first week, though we still have Friday left.  There is a military feeling to the academy and rightly so.  You feel a sense of pride and honor in class and out!  I know we will all be highly prepared to step into the the Law Enforcement fields for National Parks as well as in good shape too.  I don't believe I can say to much about the training so I will keep it a little vague for my own safety :). As we were warned about what we put on the web.  I can tell you I am am doing great!  I am so excited to learn and grow in this field.  We are committed to 9 hours a day at the academy as well as most of our night working out, doing homework, studying and re-typing 9 hours worth of notes.  I, like many of the other cadets, have added more classes above just the academy.  I will be taking Hazardous Material as well as Wildland Fires which will take up a few of my nights and 3 full Sundays, some have added EMT which is 8-5 on every Saturday.  I passed because I really want to focus on kicking butt in the academy.  Things will be getting much tougher and stressful and I am up for the challenge.  Our first big test will be Monday (120-135 questions) as well as the physical fitness test too.

Janelle came up to Mt. Vernon last night and will stay till Friday morning when I go back to class.  It was great to see her since she has been in Minnesota for the last week.  Last night we had some cadets over for New Years.  We had a good time, we haven't gotten to much time to get to know each other yet so this was a nice builder, plus Janelle got a chance to meet some of my new brothers and sisters.  One of them ran 3 miles UP Little Mountain this morning and then 3 miles back down it.  I passed on the offer to join her..... of course only because Janelle was in town :)

My host family (the Thor family, Gary , Jenny and Kerry) are great, its so nice to have a family up here when 95% of my life is the academy, eating and sleeping.  I look forward to getting to know them all better.  They are so kind and we have a lot in common!

This will be tough for Janelle and I but the Lord's strength and support from family and friends will help.  Janelle is busy with her residency and loving it.  She shares with me all the new stuff she gets to do or teach.  It's amazing to see her passion and dedication to her field.  These next 9 months will be a time consuming and hard time for the two of us because we wont get much time together.  Unfortunately it is a commitment we both need to make for our careers.  It should help us for our future in our careers as well as having more time to "live" with each other and enjoy life!  A little sacrifice at the start to get us both on our feet and moving forward.

Life is good! God Bless and Happy New Year!