Merry New Year!

"Happy New Year. In this country, we say Happy new Year."
"Ah HAHAHAHAHAH HA HAHA HA!"

I've been saying that all week. It cracks me up every time! It's from the movie Trading Places, an all-time fave.

So it's Jan. 3 or something like that and I'm at work (Job #1). I got back from New Orleans at around 1opm on Thursday night and went on patrol yesterday since I had the day off from both librarian jobs. Today I've got a couple of patrol-related injuries but I never mind those b/c I feel like a stud, even if one of the injuries is my fingernail getting torn off from trying to put the patrol car key on my keyring. The other injury is a slightly scraped shin from chasing a suspect through a ghetto apartment complex and tripping and falling while running through the mud. (And oh my God I kept thinking of Officer Abernathy while I was running through that complex--I did not have my weapon out but I opened my holster and ran with my hand on the grip in case I had to pull it out at any moment.) I tell you what though, since this chase happened while my partner and I were literally on our way home and I had already turned back in my radio at the station, I had to stay with my partner since it would have been too dangerous for me to be alone. But when we took off running, as slow as a runner as I am I was totally leaving my partner in the dust b/c he is a big fat guy and I had to slow myself down and wait for him which kind of bummed me out!!! I wanted to run and catch that damn turd but here I was waiting for my partner to catch up with me and he was majorly a'huffin' and a'puffin'. In the end, about 20 other deputies came out to try and catch the turd and also K9 and a DPS helicoper but we never found him. Turd!

So I've had a pretty fun past week, even if S couldn't make it to New Orleans with me after all b/c he had to work. I even called up his boss and pleaded my case, but it was a lost cause. I was very sad to leave S behind in Houston and I was not happy about driving to NOLA by myself but it was all made up for by the good times had in NOLA with Jillus and Bean!!! I swear, all we did was eat, drink, walk around, and eat and drink. Bean and I both woke up with Hurricane hangovers on Wednesday. I ate at Cafe Du Monde twice. I made Jillus swear that we would not go another 6 years without seeing each other again! And Bean even shared my hotel room with me for both nights so he would not have to drive all the way to his Metarie hotel room and it was nice to not be alone and I did not even feel like strangling him in his sleep as I have felt like doing when we have shared hotel rooms in the past! The only real bad thing was I did not get to enjoy a shrimp po-boy while I was in NOLA due to various reasons beyond our control, but I did get a decent catfish po-boy at one point. Good times, good times. Merry New Year!

So now that I believe I have gained about 5 pounds in the last week, and also being horrified at the poor running performance of my fellow deputy yesterday, my first New Year's resolution is to spend less time this year eating cake, bread and cupcakes (sniff! sob!) and more time jogging. Like they told us in the academy, every day that you don't work out, someone else (i.e., a turd) is. I'm thinking I've gotta get out there at least 3 times a week. My second resolution is to spend more time doing what I really want to do and less time doing what I think I should be doing. For example, more time spent reading and less time spent... not sure yet but I still want more time for reading! I also want more time to patrol. I'm thinking of taking a day off from work every so often just to go out and patrol, that way my weekends are more freed up and I'm not so stressed out all the time about when I'm going to get my shifts in for the month. In fact, that sounds like a capital idea!

So after I get off work today Boof and Tony should be getting into town again for a visit. They are supposedly bringing with them our old friend Hand, who was yet another big brother I had in college! So I guess this means my 2009 health plan will have to begin on Monday since I know I will be forced to take them out for Mexican food and margaritas!