Train In The Three Difficulties

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My apologies to everyone for being so long absent.


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The big news for me is that I have left the Sheriff's Department. On Monday I start my new career with the District Attorney's Office as a DA investigator. For the past six months I've been going through the testing and application process. I was fortunate enough to take the top spot out of fifty or so applicants, and after the background, medical, and psychological exams I was offered the job.

What's it all mean?

Well, no more SWAT for Daddy. Also, no more shift work. No more of the regular cop stuff- handling calls, pushing a black and white, etc. So Yolie's happy about that.

As for me, it gives me the chance to stay in investigations for the rest of my career. Which is where my heart is. I start out in the basement, doing family support stuff, which is basically chasing down dead-beat dads for back child support. Which I can do with no problem. My goal is to work back into a murder cop, which will probably take me a couple of years. Maybe more. Maybe less.

My Dad just retired out of the DA's office as Chief Investigator last year. He was there for twenty-five years. So I'm following in his footsteps. He was a deeply loved and admired guy over there, so I'll be basking in the afterglow as Odom, Jr.

I am excited as can be.


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When I promoted to Sergeant and left the bureau, I felt like I'd lost my bearings. For the last six months I've been sitting a desk, answering the phone and telling the dispatchers where to send the units, who can roll code, how many back-ups can go, who can join the pursuit, when the pursuit should be called off, making cops take the reports they don't want to take, handling citizen complaints, and doing man-friday chores for the Commander.

And calling every day I didn't eat my own gun as a victory.


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Okay, what else.


At home, I've been working my ass off in the garden. Yolie and I built a meditation/yoga platform in the back corner, a 10x10 redwood deck that looks out over the whole garden. Today we bought a beautiful stone Buddha and set it under the arching branches of a low bush behind the platform in a secret little spot.

Also, tore the old trim off the shed/studio. Scraped and sanded and washed and primed and repainted and retrimmed and now my wife has the most beautiful little place.




Also, I found this watering trough on the side of the road and brought it home. It is now our Zen koi pond on the back deck.






lovely.


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I miss you guys and I'm sorry I haven't even responded to your posts.


Hope this will make up for a little bit of that.


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I am a blissed out little monkey.


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