4-Days Off

I had four glorious days off from work for the long, Memorial weekend.  I can't say that the official kickoff to summer was that beautiful as the weather was absolutely putrid; cold, windy and rainy.   I had so wanted to log some miles on my 400-mile biking journey, but that didn't happen.  

So what did happen?

Yearly work night down at the family cemetery plots was a success; family IS everything.
I was able to sleep in until 8 am on three of those days; that rarely happens.
I planted flowers, lots of them; I'm not a gardener,
I was able to visit with my friend, Becky, face to face; that doesn't happen often,
Blaine is a wonderful dinner guest,
My to-do list is still there,
No matter how much time off I have, I'm still not ready to go back to work,

What to Write About

I really don't know what to write about today.  Nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary has happened to me recently.  Life has been pretty mundane and, dare I say, boring of late - which may not entirely be a bad thing, I guess.   The alternative is chaos and drama, right?

So, I guess I'll write about the ordinary and mundane.

Last week was Mother's Day.  It was a quiet day as 1) my mother and mother-in-law are not alive and 2) I'm not a mother.   I didn't do anything to speak of , laundry I suppose.   I did go for a 10 mile bike ride in the morning.  It was the only time that I got out last week.   In honesty, I haven't gotten out at all this week due to the weather.  My mileage count for May is 36 miles now.  I believe my goal is a hefty 80 miles per month (5 months).  Which means I had better get moving!  

T.S. Eliot says, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.".    We shall see, shan't we?  

Oh!  I got a new phone yesterday.  I am the proud owner of the Samsung 8+.   I love it, so far.  A little bigger than I anticipated, but I can live with that.  (It'll be easier to find in my purse, otherwise known as the black hole!).  The screen and color are so vivid!  The only complaint this far is that auto-correct has a definite mind of it's own.  I've come up with some interesting phrases and words in the last 24 hours. 

I'm learning how to use Snap Chat.  I'm now officially represented in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snap Chat.  My poor friends and family are going to get tired of me sending them stuff.  Don't worry Joan and Karen - the newness will fade in a month or so and I'll fall in to social media oblivion.  :)

Speaking of Karen - she graduated from Law School today!  Her scholastic journey has ended and now it's on to the working world.  (But first she has to pass her bar exams) .   I am so proud of both her and Joan.  They've set the bar high for themselves and have met - if not exceeded their goals.  The sky is the limit for them and I'm so glad that they've let me be a part of their journeys.  While I couldn't be with Karen  today, I will be able to give her an extra big hug on June 3rd when her mother hosts a small gathering of family and friends in her honor.  

I bought flowers today.  Supposedly you plant the things in the ground or pots and they grow.  This is new territory for me.  I kill cactus.  But, in the interest of having some sort of curb appeal, I decided that I shall enter in this whole gardening thing with zest and make things colorful.   I even painted pots and old wooden chairs in an effort to spruce things up.  I, unfortunately, am not a painter either.    

It was one year ago yesterday that we moved in to town.  Although I miss the quiet and solitude of the country, I have grown accustomed to the convenience of city life.  As some one pointed out to me, I can always take my bike and go visit the country.   The house is slowly becoming "less Ella's" and more "me".   I have yet to put anything up on the walls.  It's a bit stark looking.  I can't decide what I want to put up or if I like the minimalist look.

Well, I'm done importing music in to Itunes (I'm multitasking) so better  get to making supper.  

Peace Out, blog stalkers!

 

All Staff Call-In

Working in a prison setting is not for the faint of heart.  We attend training constantly, review policies and procedures and hold drills.  We prepare for the worst in hopes that we'll never have to do the "real thing."

Today was a drill, but it had all the adrenaline and chaos of the real thing.  The simulation had two inmates escaping the facility, but not before they assaulted a staff member and took two staff hostage.  The all-staff call-in was initiated and a command post was set up.  Staff arrived at the staging area, incident command and operations issued assignments, local law enforcement, highway patrol and other agencies responded.  

There were issues, of course, but that's the reason we hold drills such as the one we did today. 

I'm very proud of the staff and the professionalism they portray each and every day.  Although everyone knew it was a drill, everyone took it quite  seriously.  Veteran staff paired with new staff, constructive criticism accepted graciously, and teamwork between staff was amazing.

I'm very proud of the staff and the amazing work they do each and every day.   I know that if the "real thing" were to ever happen, we'll be ready.

Goals

Well blog stalkers......I'm well on my way to my 400 miles by October 1st.   I logged 36 miles in one week.  If I can keep that up, I'll hit my goal before October.

I did have one little mishap Thursday evening.  I was at an intersection waiting for oncoming traffic.  The pickup truck had his turn signal on to turn my direction, so I got up on my pedals to start across...and the pickup kept coming.   I had to do a hard stop (brakes and slam down foot to stop) in order to not get hit as he passed me - narrowly missing me.   I was seriously lucky that I wasn't run over. 

However I, unfortunately, did the hard stop with my left leg - my bad leg.  I'm feeling twinges in the outside of the knee - especially when I bend the knee.  I probably didn't do it any favors when I rode 10 miles yesterday.  So, I'll back off of riding until this weekend, which will be okay.

If I Say It Out Loud

If I say it out loud, it'll happen, right?   Ok...if I say it out loud in front of other people...then for sure it's going to happen.

Tonight in my 2nd class, I made the bold statement that I had a goal of riding 300 miles this summer/fall.  Heck, I've already gotten 16 miles under my belt.  So on the way home, I actually revised that goal to an ambitious 400 miles by freeze-up (putting bike away for the winter). 

Barring any unforeseen circumstances or health issues, I believe that I can do it.   (There's that word again...Believe!). 

So blog stalkers....I said it out loud...in front of other people.  I'm going to ride 400 miles by freeze-up (bike storage). 

I'll figure out a way to keep a running total on this blog - to keep me accountable to y'all.  LOL

Stayed tuned for updates!