I'm back, alive, and in one (albiet bruised and battered) piece...yes, that's right. I survived my camping trip. Also, I survived white water rafting AND tubing. All in all, since Thursdaay, I've done several things I've never done before, leading me to believe this is going to be a summer of first times.
1. I stopped my first male shoplifter. Up until Thursday, the only people I caught were women. Then, this huge 6'4' dude comes in and steals a pair of shoes. He tried to give me all kinds of big talk and attitude, and I just fired it back at him. He finally came in the store with me when I looked him dead in the eyes and said, "I'm getting my shoes back one way or another. Try me." I got my shoes back, and because he was an ID-less, supposed 17 year old runaway, he got a one way trip to the juvenile detention center, all expenses paid, courtesy of me and our new hire, a little teeny tiny girl named Allie.
2. I got scared to do my job. Today, I go into work, still feeling really good about how tough I was with the guy from Thursday, when I find out the HORRIBLE news. A Loss Prevention officer from Shoe Carnival...which happens to be directly across the parking lot from my store...got shot 6 times at point blank range while trying to make a stop on a guy who stole shoes. The shooter then went up to a car with a man and his son and tried to rob them...except the guy at the car had a gun too. They exchanged fire, again at point blank range, and the shooter ends up hitting the man's 5 year old boy in the face. Then hijacks their car. He drove to East Nashville where he shot an old lady to death and robbed her. This was yesterday. They caught him today. He's 15 years old.
This is starting to get a little too close for comfort. On Tuesday, there was an armed robbery (police deemed unrelated to the shooting) in the same parking lot. Then yesterday...My concealed carry class is going to be sometime in July. It can't come soon enough. Hopefully, it will just be precautionary...I won't ever have to use my gun as self defense...but I can't say that I'm not going to be happy carrying it. The guy who's boy got shot said he had the carry permit but wasn't good at shooting, and now he feels bad because his little boy might die. That's horrible.
3. I was part of an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation against JP. The belligerent, resistant, punk ass bitch JP arrested at our house that I told you all about has filed a formal complaint against JP for police brutality. First, he said JP punched him in the face. Then, he recanted that and said JP elbowed him in the face instead. Now, he's taken back both of those complaints and is saying that JP held his gun to his head and threatened his life after he was already in handcuffs. Of course, NONE of the three actually happened, but there is a HUGE investigation being done.
I had to be interrogated and write a long statement recounting everything I witnessed. It was no problem...I was happy to do it because I want his name to be cleared because he didn't do anything wrong. There was just one problem...the Lieutenant doing the interrogating happens to be an Ex of mine. A particularly BAD ex. (Long story short: He was dating me, 3 other girls AND had a fiancee. When I found out, by the time I was done, he had NOBODY. So he doesn't like me.) I was really nervous, because if Lt. Ex was going to let his personal life interfere with business, then my statement wouldn't do a damn thing to help JP.
To my surprise, when he got to the house to talk to me, he hadn't yet realized WHO he was going to be speaking with. Upon recognizing me, he immediately started to profusely apologize for everything that had happened 4 years ago. Whether or not it was true, it's on tape. Anyway, I now think that my statement will serve it's intended purpose, and JP should find out the complaint was dropped and his name is cleared later this week.
4. I roughed it. That's right. Camped, in a tent, in the woods. No air mattress. Showered in cold water at a National Park bath-house. AND HAD A BLAST!! I'm such a closet hippie. I love nature things- hiking, etc...and now camping, and river fun. I even looked the part in muddy jeans and Teva sandals (a birthday gift to go with the birthday trip from JP). We made smores by the fire, snuggled up in our sleeping bags, played frisbee at the park, played in the river..it was SO much fun!
5. I saw hippies. Not just the "I love nature and the environment" hippies...but the stereotypical hippies that movies make fun of- the "I camp illegally in my van in the woods and reek of body odor and patchouli because I only rinse off in the river because soap is made from animal fat" hippies. They asked us, as we stumbled upon them, naked in the river, to please not tell the ranger, as they'd been hiding out in the woods for months. They looked (and smelled) like they were telling the truth.
6. I white water rafted! And fell out of the boat, and didn't drown! I had so fucking much fun. Our river guide was THE awesome. He had been down the Middle Ocoee roughly 3700 times, so he knew every good rapid to hit, where every rock was...it was SO cool. He told us how to do stuff and let us do stuff that the other guides that had the rest of our group didn't. I don't know if I would've liked it as much at all if we'd had a different guide. We think we're going to plan another trip in August. The Middle Ocoee was so cool, too. It's a lot of Class 4 and a couple class 5 rapids...so at some points it gets kind of intense. The Upper Ocoee has class 5 and class 6 rapids, and it was where the rafting and kayaking portion of the last summer Olympics was held. It's bad ass.
If anyone is near the TN area and white water rafts, I'd love to suggest going with Adventures Unlimited and asking for Dana as your river guide.
7. I tubed down the Hiwassee River. And pretty much froze off what little ass I have. Three reasons I didn't like it (but also three reasons why I'd consider trying it again):
A. I had never done it before, but all the people with us had. So, no one really stopped to tell me how to paddle, steer, or even go over the mini-rapids. I have bruises all over my back and ass from hitting, oh, every rock along the 15 mile stretch. I also pulled the muscle that runs across the shoulders down into the back of the arm...in both arms...and a bicep muscle on my right arm...from trying to paddle the wrong way.
B. The water temp was about 65 degrees, which wasn't bad when we first started, because the sun was out and it was about 85 degrees. Then, about 10 min. into the 5 hour journey, the sun goes away and all these dark clouds roll in. By the time we finished, a storm had rolled in and the air temp was about 60 degrees, and the water temp had dropped to around 55 degrees. I FROZE. I'm talking, blue hands and feet. I think that's how I resulted in all the muscle injury...my blood wasn't circulating to allow the muscles to expand during their exercise.
C. Once I put on the life vest and got in the inner tube, I was damn near too small. My arms wouldn't reach over the sides so I could barely paddle. I needed a smaller life vest, but it was too late once I figured it out.
I'd definitely try it again, provided I had a smaller vest, and it was later in the season...so things would be warmer all the way around. I think I just had a really bad first experience, but I don't doubt that it normally is a really fun time. Maybe in August, I'll try again.
8. I got upset with JP over something REALLY stupid. JP and I don't fight alot. In fact, we've had only 3 disagreements to speak of. They've all been valid, and they've all gotten resolved very quickly...until yesterday's tubing event. For some reaon, I decided to get mad at HIM for the tubing difficulty I was having. I figured that he should've told me what to do and all that, but he didn't so that meant he didnt' care. At the time, I was frozen, so I attribute this minor incident to my rationality being turned off for body warmth. Once we got out of the water and I got warm, we talked about it and I explained why I was upset- because I had been cold, hurting, and no one would help me...and he apologized. He really thought I was exaggerating being hurt, but realized that I wasn't. So we're fine now.
Other upcoming "firsts"....
1. My first Weezer concert on July 21.
2. My grandmother meets JP for the first time on Wednesday.
3. We're going to PA to visit my family from July 27-30. Not only is this the first time anyone has gone with me...
4...It's the first time JP will get to meet anyone out side my immediate family.
5. In about 2 weeks, I'm going repelling for the first time.
6. August 31 is my first Ozzfest.
7. We'll be buying my first handgun.
8. I have my first interview for a different Loss Prevention job (fingers crossed for me, all of you!) on Friday.
Sorry for the long entry, that's what happens when I miss a week!!
1. I stopped my first male shoplifter. Up until Thursday, the only people I caught were women. Then, this huge 6'4' dude comes in and steals a pair of shoes. He tried to give me all kinds of big talk and attitude, and I just fired it back at him. He finally came in the store with me when I looked him dead in the eyes and said, "I'm getting my shoes back one way or another. Try me." I got my shoes back, and because he was an ID-less, supposed 17 year old runaway, he got a one way trip to the juvenile detention center, all expenses paid, courtesy of me and our new hire, a little teeny tiny girl named Allie.
2. I got scared to do my job. Today, I go into work, still feeling really good about how tough I was with the guy from Thursday, when I find out the HORRIBLE news. A Loss Prevention officer from Shoe Carnival...which happens to be directly across the parking lot from my store...got shot 6 times at point blank range while trying to make a stop on a guy who stole shoes. The shooter then went up to a car with a man and his son and tried to rob them...except the guy at the car had a gun too. They exchanged fire, again at point blank range, and the shooter ends up hitting the man's 5 year old boy in the face. Then hijacks their car. He drove to East Nashville where he shot an old lady to death and robbed her. This was yesterday. They caught him today. He's 15 years old.
This is starting to get a little too close for comfort. On Tuesday, there was an armed robbery (police deemed unrelated to the shooting) in the same parking lot. Then yesterday...My concealed carry class is going to be sometime in July. It can't come soon enough. Hopefully, it will just be precautionary...I won't ever have to use my gun as self defense...but I can't say that I'm not going to be happy carrying it. The guy who's boy got shot said he had the carry permit but wasn't good at shooting, and now he feels bad because his little boy might die. That's horrible.
3. I was part of an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation against JP. The belligerent, resistant, punk ass bitch JP arrested at our house that I told you all about has filed a formal complaint against JP for police brutality. First, he said JP punched him in the face. Then, he recanted that and said JP elbowed him in the face instead. Now, he's taken back both of those complaints and is saying that JP held his gun to his head and threatened his life after he was already in handcuffs. Of course, NONE of the three actually happened, but there is a HUGE investigation being done.
I had to be interrogated and write a long statement recounting everything I witnessed. It was no problem...I was happy to do it because I want his name to be cleared because he didn't do anything wrong. There was just one problem...the Lieutenant doing the interrogating happens to be an Ex of mine. A particularly BAD ex. (Long story short: He was dating me, 3 other girls AND had a fiancee. When I found out, by the time I was done, he had NOBODY. So he doesn't like me.) I was really nervous, because if Lt. Ex was going to let his personal life interfere with business, then my statement wouldn't do a damn thing to help JP.
To my surprise, when he got to the house to talk to me, he hadn't yet realized WHO he was going to be speaking with. Upon recognizing me, he immediately started to profusely apologize for everything that had happened 4 years ago. Whether or not it was true, it's on tape. Anyway, I now think that my statement will serve it's intended purpose, and JP should find out the complaint was dropped and his name is cleared later this week.
4. I roughed it. That's right. Camped, in a tent, in the woods. No air mattress. Showered in cold water at a National Park bath-house. AND HAD A BLAST!! I'm such a closet hippie. I love nature things- hiking, etc...and now camping, and river fun. I even looked the part in muddy jeans and Teva sandals (a birthday gift to go with the birthday trip from JP). We made smores by the fire, snuggled up in our sleeping bags, played frisbee at the park, played in the river..it was SO much fun!
5. I saw hippies. Not just the "I love nature and the environment" hippies...but the stereotypical hippies that movies make fun of- the "I camp illegally in my van in the woods and reek of body odor and patchouli because I only rinse off in the river because soap is made from animal fat" hippies. They asked us, as we stumbled upon them, naked in the river, to please not tell the ranger, as they'd been hiding out in the woods for months. They looked (and smelled) like they were telling the truth.
6. I white water rafted! And fell out of the boat, and didn't drown! I had so fucking much fun. Our river guide was THE awesome. He had been down the Middle Ocoee roughly 3700 times, so he knew every good rapid to hit, where every rock was...it was SO cool. He told us how to do stuff and let us do stuff that the other guides that had the rest of our group didn't. I don't know if I would've liked it as much at all if we'd had a different guide. We think we're going to plan another trip in August. The Middle Ocoee was so cool, too. It's a lot of Class 4 and a couple class 5 rapids...so at some points it gets kind of intense. The Upper Ocoee has class 5 and class 6 rapids, and it was where the rafting and kayaking portion of the last summer Olympics was held. It's bad ass.
If anyone is near the TN area and white water rafts, I'd love to suggest going with Adventures Unlimited and asking for Dana as your river guide.
7. I tubed down the Hiwassee River. And pretty much froze off what little ass I have. Three reasons I didn't like it (but also three reasons why I'd consider trying it again):
A. I had never done it before, but all the people with us had. So, no one really stopped to tell me how to paddle, steer, or even go over the mini-rapids. I have bruises all over my back and ass from hitting, oh, every rock along the 15 mile stretch. I also pulled the muscle that runs across the shoulders down into the back of the arm...in both arms...and a bicep muscle on my right arm...from trying to paddle the wrong way.
B. The water temp was about 65 degrees, which wasn't bad when we first started, because the sun was out and it was about 85 degrees. Then, about 10 min. into the 5 hour journey, the sun goes away and all these dark clouds roll in. By the time we finished, a storm had rolled in and the air temp was about 60 degrees, and the water temp had dropped to around 55 degrees. I FROZE. I'm talking, blue hands and feet. I think that's how I resulted in all the muscle injury...my blood wasn't circulating to allow the muscles to expand during their exercise.
C. Once I put on the life vest and got in the inner tube, I was damn near too small. My arms wouldn't reach over the sides so I could barely paddle. I needed a smaller life vest, but it was too late once I figured it out.
I'd definitely try it again, provided I had a smaller vest, and it was later in the season...so things would be warmer all the way around. I think I just had a really bad first experience, but I don't doubt that it normally is a really fun time. Maybe in August, I'll try again.
8. I got upset with JP over something REALLY stupid. JP and I don't fight alot. In fact, we've had only 3 disagreements to speak of. They've all been valid, and they've all gotten resolved very quickly...until yesterday's tubing event. For some reaon, I decided to get mad at HIM for the tubing difficulty I was having. I figured that he should've told me what to do and all that, but he didn't so that meant he didnt' care. At the time, I was frozen, so I attribute this minor incident to my rationality being turned off for body warmth. Once we got out of the water and I got warm, we talked about it and I explained why I was upset- because I had been cold, hurting, and no one would help me...and he apologized. He really thought I was exaggerating being hurt, but realized that I wasn't. So we're fine now.
Other upcoming "firsts"....
1. My first Weezer concert on July 21.
2. My grandmother meets JP for the first time on Wednesday.
3. We're going to PA to visit my family from July 27-30. Not only is this the first time anyone has gone with me...
4...It's the first time JP will get to meet anyone out side my immediate family.
5. In about 2 weeks, I'm going repelling for the first time.
6. August 31 is my first Ozzfest.
7. We'll be buying my first handgun.
8. I have my first interview for a different Loss Prevention job (fingers crossed for me, all of you!) on Friday.
Sorry for the long entry, that's what happens when I miss a week!!
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Would post more, but the busy . . .