First, I'll start off with the bad news. I had to let the mission trip to Africa this summer go. In order for me to afford to pay rent and stuff next year, I have to work over the summer. If I take 4 weeks off to go to Africa...well I wouldn't have a job to take time off from. I decided that it is best if I stay in the US and work over the summer. This was an extremely hard decision to make! I told Kelly Davidson and Traci Wilson that I will be passing the role of trip leader onto someone else on the mission team who has been to MITS before. I absolutely hate that I committed to being trip leader and I had to end up not going, but things have changed since I committed last semester. I will continue to help the team prepare for the trip and I'll be there to wave them goodbye. P.S. - Mom and Dad, part of the team (those not from DFW area) will be staying at the house in Irving the night before they leave for Africa since they are leaving from DFW Airport. I feel so disappointed after Chris Flanders came to College Station and got me all pumped up about going to Africa to serve, but I will use the wisdom he has shared here in America, it doesn't only apply to Africa.
Time to move into the better stuff. Tonight I had Fire and Arson Investigation class and it went pretty well. The only thing that bugs me is that our professor's lectures are 80% war stories, but sometimes they are entertaining. We just now moved into actual investigations of structure fires. Up until now, we've just been learning about the chemical properties of fires, fuels, and ignition sources. Tonight was the first time I think I've actually enjoyed that class.
I'm looking forward to spring break next week! I'll enjoy a week of not working or having any school work to do. I think I'm going to go to the fire station sometime during the week, once with Chief Robinson so we can play tennis, and once with Jim Welch just cause it's fun. I'm leaving this Friday after work, and I'm going to pick Granny up in Temple. Aunt Kay, Uncle Allen, Granny, and I will all get to have lunch at Cracker Barrel, then Granny and I will make our way up to Irving.
I sent in my application to be a head guard for the City of Irving again this summer. I will be making $10.05/hr if I get the job. That's $20.10/hr on holidays like July 4th because we get double pay! I'll be making a lot of money, but I'm saving it up for rent next semester.
Speaking of rent... Micah, Conner, Jeremy, and I will be living together next semester in a house on Park Place. It's owned by the Alaniz's and it seems really nice. It has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, so we each get our own bathroom. We will share a kitchen and living room. My favorite part is that there is a dish washer!
I'm really excited about an opportunity to attend the fire explorer's conference at the Tarrant County Fire Service Training Center during the summer. It will be a week long and I will get a lot of good experiences from it. We will be doing some live fire evolutions, which means they'll set a room on fire and we go in to put it out. We will also use the smoke filled building from the live burns to practice search and rescue in smoky conditions. This will be really good for me because it will get me in the mind set for the fire academy during the Fall semester. At least I'll have a recent reminder of just how hot it gets and I won't be completely surprised once I get into the training fires. They are also having a course in Arson Investigation, where they set a room on fire, let it burn, and then let you go into the room to determine the origin and cause. This will be a great chance for me to practice what I'm learning in my Fire and Arson Investigation class this semester. Another course they have is in Rope Rescue. We will be rappelling and doing mock rescues from the high-rise building at the training center. There will also be a course in swift water rescue, which is what I'm telling my pool supervisor that I'm doing during the week... shhhh. Lifeguarding will be a piece of cake after this course. The last course they offer is in SCBA (air tank) zero visibility procedures. They put you in a smoke filled building and teach you techniques to conserve your air supply. This would be used in case you get lost inside a fire and are waiting for the other firefighters to rescue you. They will also teach us about going up and down stairs in smoky conditions (harder than it sounds), freeing yourself from entanglement like wires and duct work, making your way through narrowing passageways, and following hoselines to safety. I'm hoping that I don't discover that I'm claustrophobic during all of this!
Another great thing: I will by applying for the Fort Worth Fire Department in April. The civil service exam is in May and then the interviews come after that. I don't think that I will get the job on the first try, but it will be a good learning experience for when I apply for Dallas FD in November. I'm really just using Fort Worth for a practice run.
I hope everyone is having a great week and thanks for reading this rediculously long post!
-Paul
