Got to keep them updated!

2007 was a great year in my life and it is wrapping up like a lump of coal! The year started out much like other years with some resolutions. Now that the end of the year is here I look back on the resolutions and realize that very few of them got resolved. The resolutions were: Physical Fitness, letting go of 2006 and exploring my life. Now we can get down to the nuts and bolts of my year.

I am still working for GPD and enjoying my job immensely. During the course of the year the company changed ownership which resulted in some minor changes. I am still classified as an Engineer Intern and should be taking my professional engineering exam next spring. That will be a tremendous milestone in my career and I anxiously look to putting that behind me.

The Turtle is still feared in my house, and I managed to loose my perfect 4.0 GPA in 2007. With all my activities and responsibilities I forgot to delegate enough time to my studies and tarnished the perfect GPA that I had going. Other than that, the classes have been excellent and I have been able to put several of the classes to work which has made all the lost nights and weekends worth the commitment. I will be finishing up the degree in May and can’t wait to get that all behind me and open a new chapter in my life.

I was promoted to Captain at the fire department during 2007, which was an extreme surprise for me since I was only in the Lieutenant position for two months when I got the promotion. The extra bugles come with a lot of extra duties and as a result I have been spread that much thinner. The station is no longer blessed with my presence twice a week, since I decided that a reduction in my time spent at the station allowed me more time for my studies. I do look forward to being back in the station and getting to know the new guys and gals (three female recruits this year). I still work at the State Fire Training school during the fire academies doing logistic work and filling in for coaches when there is a need.

The fire department brought several great moments in my life this past year. I was deployed on three of the big wild land fires this summer and every one of them was like a little mini vacation that was extremely relaxing and refreshing. Some of the highlights from these trips can be seen in the slide show, below. I was also involved in a very interesting fire investigation. There was a house fire in our district that started and burned undetected in a house that the renters had just vacated. The fire actually self extinguished and was found several weeks later when the landlord went to check on the rental. It was amazing to see all the practical aspects of my classes and to be able to understand the actual fire behavior in the building. When I get some spare time I hope to take all the information that I gathered and put together a report of the incident, with the help of the state fire school, to use for fire behavior in the department.

The annual hunting trip this year included all the guys in the family, which was nice for the guys to do something together. Krandal and Duster didn’t hunt this year but still went along for the experience. I came home with un-notched tags this year, for some reason I just wasn’t into the shooting part of hunting. We hunting a new area this year which was a steep learning curve, but it was still great to get out of the house and to get some hunting done. My season is still not over and will wrap up with bird and coyote hunting around Christmas in North Dakota. I will be spending Christmas with my sister and her family, and getting several days of hunting while I am out there. I am anxiously looking forward to that vacation.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday Season!