NEW BEGINNINGS!

Iraqi Dump Trucks!!!

2010-01-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

I am so glad I spent many years driving some rather old fire engines.

Today I spent my day driving an Iraqi dump truck. It was a 1982 Mercedes Benz thing that 4th gear didn't work in. It had the most fantastic fringe hanging from inside the windshield. Would have rather not had to go outside the wire to pick it up, but oh well.

You should have seen the looks on the faces of the fellows who's trucks we were driving! What is this woman doing wanting to drive my truck? Poor guy!

It was GREAT! GREAT! I had so much fun!! Today was a kick in the pants!!

Wow! What a strange trip!

2009-12-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

Well, even though it seems like "ground hog's day" here every day, things are not static!!! Just as I was working along in the scrap metal heap with the very cool Navy guys Theo and Nick and MSG Linda...my world was rocked. I was informed (not asked) that I was headed to Speicher. So gather your shit and get on the next blackhawk out.

I left a lot of great friends, WO1 Curtis and his friends, SSG Briley (I really enjoyed playing driver for him on my days off), my new friends at the base college.

Saying good bye to my good friends was so difficult. I was suprised how hard it was to tell my Iraqi friends adios. They kind of grow on you after a while, great group of guys. If you're ever in Baghdad and need a bodyguard, Atheer is your man. Need the next Sanatra (abit accent) for a dinner party, call Ammar (excellent translater too). They are all men of good heart and honor.

Well...Speicher (in Tikrit) is fine. The URS crew here is outstanding, they are all about the work and doing the job the right way. Although it's a bit like being in a firehouse 24/7 (all but 1 are ex-firefighters). You know the kind of humor, sometimes slightly off base, but great, I've missed that commraderie.

My new digs sort of suck, (had to cover it with our version of a salvage cover cause it leaked like a sive my very first night!) but oh well. The Iraqi guys that work for us are not sure what to make of me (the whole western woman thing) but it is going well so far.

The thunder and lightening storms are GREAT!!! Last night we had one right over head and it lasted over 45 minutes with constant action, no lulls longer than 30 seconds.

The pile from hell

2009-11-01T08:39:00.001-08:00

I have been away. I am working on a Scrap Metal Pile with the Navy. We are searching this huge pile for military equipment. We would rather the Iraqi bad guys don't have this stuff. Then we sell the ok stuff to them and they haul it off in dump trucks that are as old as the dawn of time. It is an incredibly dirty job. But I am working with very nice folks and we make the day go by having fun. I never realized how heavy windows are that come out of Humvee trucks and MRAPs. Takes two of us to move them!!!I hope Halloween was fun for everyone, many costume partys here. I went to the Mudhouse and played horseshoes for a few hours. Hey, I only hit one person (yes, I was aiming for the peg, I know how I am supposed to play the game, it just didn't work out that way!!)

I survived!

2009-08-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

Wow! I never thought that I could work outside in 123* and still be alive to talk about it! That was the temperature most of two weeks ago! The trick is that the humidity is only about 9*. We also stay in the airconditioning as much as possible. We have busy with building inspections and remediations. Sunday is my day off so I watch movies, call home and clean my chu.

My Arabic is quite horrible but I am starting to recognize words and intentions of conversations. My teacher, Ammar, is very patient about my inability to make the required sounds to create words correctly. He just laughs.

I look forward to my visit home. I will make as many stops as I can, time willing. I do plan to stop at school, I hope to catch our new 7th graders in Mrs. Krause's class.

Hope you all had a good summer.

Tess

You can see for miles and miles....

2009-08-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Isn't that part of a song? Yep!

When the air is clear you can see for miles. (when it's not you can't see 10 feet) The photo is with me standing on top of one of the buildings on the base. They have a covered area for parties and BBQ up there. Pretty nice! Well, you can imagine the view from the third floor with no obstructions... Life here is as good as it can be. The food is good and I am not the one cooking! We had a company BBQ last night and actually had steak! Fantastic!

I am learning Arabic from our Chemist/Interpreter. He is actually learning more english than me Arabic, but I'm trying. I have learned that it uses more gutteral sounds than I thought existed. The most important saying "so and so is always late!".

I will be home for R&R in September and ready to set down to a beer with friends. Also plan to ride in Ricky Quinn's clinic at Raining L Ranch during my visit. The 2 weeks will fly by I'm afraid.

be safe, Tess

Monday July 27

2009-07-27T03:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, the scorpions are really scarey looking! The dust is everywhere, I wish I could take a siesta in the afternoon when it is about 117. So I just live for the air conditioning. I have taken a photo of Chemical Ali's house here at Taji. It sure doesn't look like much but our LNs tell us he had an indoor pool and intertained many important people. Well take care, stay cool.

It's sandy!

2009-07-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

I was warned! Yes, it is hot and sandy (actually dusty). The work is good, the people are great, the food is fine (hey, I'm not cooking!). My room is called a "chew" it is part of a "pod". We have a dog at the office, his name is Whiskey and he looks like a yellow border collie. Our equipment is sh*&^, it's all old and falling apart and mostly doesn't work. We don't have any spill supplies except 2 backhoes and lots of dirt.

I missed the movement of my engine, 233, out to the station. Drag! I know the crew is glad to see her and are probably breaking records for our station making calls with her. Maybe a conflagration with her this year too? Wouldn't that be fantastic!

A New Adventure!

2009-06-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

This firefighter is headed for a new adventure. I have been hired as part of a HazMat remediation team. So. . .I am headed to Iraq for one year. I will be at Camp Taji, it is a very large Air Force installation, housing helicopter operations. I am excited, nervous, and ready for the adventure.

Today was the last day of school at Linus Pauling Middle School, the kids are out on summer break. I will miss those young people so much, they have been so much fun. They are learning and growing and discovering that the things they do will matter some day. They have made me a better person just by letting me share the growing up process with them.

* 1st and 2nd period: you learned so much this year, be proud of what you did!! Happy Birthday K.S.

* 7th graders: you really showed us that you could get excited about a book. Romeo Oscar Charlie Kilo-Oscar November!

* 8th graders: you were a great group! You really rock!! Have tons of fun in High School! CHS look out!

When I was a kid someone once said "to climb higher, keep on the level". I have always felt that was an important message to carry over as you travel down the road of life.

To the adventure!

Awsome Burn School!

2008-12-13T21:18:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we had a fantastic burn school (live fire training)! Wow! The house was great, it was solid, we got a lot of great fires in each of the 6 start sites. Our trusty photographer was there (one of 2 of the best photographers in the whole area, our own Mrs. Fyrman is the other). What a day well spent! Then on top of the great day, Wednesday our own 233 finally arrived. It just can't get any better than that.

233 - a mythical beast?

2008-10-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have faith, otherwise what is there to believe in? The mythical beast will appear to the faithful. She will resemble, in spirit, the Phoenix that has been adopted in her predecessor's memory. Right or wrong, done or not, she is coming home next weekend. (We just won't be putting any water in 'er til the breaks are fixed!)

She'll be comin home soon! ROAD TRIP!!!

2008-09-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! My heart is broken,

delay after delay. We still have not

gone to bring our engine home yet.

It is almost too much to take being

led on that it is ready and then held

off because something else is not

right and has to be fixed. Someone

pour me glass of wine. I need to

ponder this one.

She is big, no doubt about it. Comes in, bumper to bumper at 32 feet! But is a light weight compared to the other engines, weighing 10,000 less, with a good angle of departure and great turning radius.

I am so stoked! After countless delays and I might add unnecessary delays. BME has nearly finished our new engine. They are working on the finishing touches and will be getting the final inspection later this week. Then Mr. Fyreman and I shall make the trip to Boise to bring our new pride home. It has been 16 months since our engine burned in our station. I do believe that September 26 is finally our pick up date! We have been so sick of waiting and the delays that now that the time is near it is very exciting. We shall take the new "flamey dice" with us to install right away!

Station 203 shirts

2008-08-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

We received our new station shirts. They so kick ass! Our Chief is so cool, he encourages station spirit! I just couldn't let my crew go on too much longer without some inspiration. Hope this helps. Now if our engine would be ready, I am going crazy waiting for it. When Douglas and I finally go to pick it up, we are not taking the short road, we are going for a shakedown type drive. Besides I promised some folks that they would see it on our way home.

Buck Brannaman Clinic in Redmond Oregon

2008-07-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a wonderful weekend! I spent 4 days riding in a Buck Brannaman clinic. What a fantastic horseman and educator. I felt so at ease and learned so much about how to communicate with my horse. When I rode for him 2 years ago I was too new to the vaquero style of horsemanship but now that I have been doing this for almost 3 years I understand what he was teaching. We are ready for a whole new level of understanding. If anyone gets a chance to ride with him or Ricky Quinn Jr. do it, they are great.

Oh! So busy!

2008-07-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

These days have been busy. I have been hired as the summer part-time for Monroe FPD. This is great! What I am looking forward to is working 17 days straight while the Chief is gone on vacation. Well I seem to be a glutton for punishment these days. It shall be fun to work with a new group of folks that are so dedicated to their community. Rock on, all firefighters!

Back from a ride!

2008-06-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fyrefighterdoug and I were on a rather long ride (about 6 hours), when I dismounted I was sure I was going to just fall over. My fine mare Coree thought I was nuts, but then I think she does think that all the time anyways. The weather was beautiful and her mule Charlie and my mare Coree had a wonderful time.

Whupped at an all night fire!

2008-06-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday night/Monday morning we were called out for a house fire. The typical early morning alarms that shake you out of your bed (naturally just after midnight). "Code one unknown type fire" you think that dispatch would read a bit of pucker factor into those types of 911 calls, but no. I am at the bottom of my rather steep gravel road when 911 comes back on the radio and states that law enforcement (who was called first, naturally) reports a fully involved structure fire! Now I have just made my Chevy 3/4 ton go from 35 to about 65 and am wondering if I will even make an engine. Made first out engine and interior attack. Fyremandoug was at the bottom of the driveway with our trusty 232 pumping to the fire (glad to have him there). After many 45 minute bottles and a very grubby set of turnouts I got leave to run home for a shower and go to the real job at Linus Pauling Middle School. Oh, did I mention 2 20 ounce triple shot mochas from Java Connection? Jeez it was a long night. Slept 11 hours the next night (ya think?)

A Very Good Day.

2008-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Fyrefighter and I took a day ride up on the hill. We were out about 6 hours. What a fine day, weather was great and the view was incredible.

What life!?!

2007-10-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

Here I am on the eve of another school week. Between school and school I have been a bit busy. Thankyou everyone for visiting my new blog. FyremanDoug has been most helpful. My crew at 203 has been patiently waiting for the reopening of our station. Our brush truck 263 sits, as we speak, in my carport. Being the ugly step children (up until recently with the new change of command at 201) we have had to wait for 7 months for our "house" to be rebuilt. Soon we will be home again.

2007-10-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

I am in a position as a woman to make changes and choices in my life. I choose adventure, firefighting, excellent horsemanship, and quality relationships with my dearest friends. I choose to make extreme choices and go for the gusto of life. For I am free to choose.