Newark NJ

Everyday there is a new story in the local news about a shooting, robbery, police chase in Newark NJ. I would like to give this place a new name, but cannot think of one.. It reminds me of some country that's in constant turmoil and fighting and rioting and all that crazy stuff..

For the heck of it this morning i decided to Google 2009 Crime for Newark NJ and i am completely shocked by what i found!

Check this out! This is from 1/01/09 to 9/02/09.. quite sickening

You can get the details of each event here: http://spotcrime.com/nj/newark

I have to give the cops credit. How do you work in a warzone? They should just call in the National Guard.

That "Feeling"

My Fiance' had that feeling Saturday after we ate dinner before he started his shift. You know.. the one that sits in your gut, but you can't explain why or what it's telling you?? You just know it's telling you SOMETHING??

I am a firm believer that when your gut says something, you listen, and listen closely. I went to him and just asked that he take the night off, but he wouldn't. Then i simply asked that he be vigilant, and i put his concern in the back of my mind's filing cabinet for safe keeping. After all, i couldn't let it get to me, that would not have done either of us good. Especially me, the one that has to stay at home dreading that phone call, should it come.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but hey, let's face it, it's a reality all people in and around Law Enforcement must look in the eye every time they put that uniform on. No matter what type of town (quiet or major city) it's a reality. No one is invincible, not even police officers.

I love what he does, as i wanted that same profession for myself, but i aged out. It doesn't take away from the fact that it scares me when he goes to work, but i have to be strong. For him, and for myself.

Thankfully, that night didn't reveal anything dangerous or major, at least not for him as he was on the desk the 2nd 1/2 of the night. Although, there was a home invasion while he was inside, and he felt that the juveniles he came across in that area earlier in the night might have been involved. So his gut wasn't totally wrong, something big did, in fact, happen. Luckily for all involved, nothing came of it but reports, and some upset home owners.

Going Wacko over Jacko

Enough is Enough already!!!
How many days of ridiculous coverage of Michael Jackson can we really take?? When is it considered overkill?

After day 2 i was sick of it, and my overkill hit yesterday when i heard the shit-stirrer Al Sharpton call for a National Day of Mourning in regards to his death. I've heard enough.

9/11 isn't even a NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING! Pearl Harbor got it's day on the calendar and we celebrate that for what it's worth, but 9/11 the day in which thousands of CIVILIANS and POLICE AND FIRE AND EMS people lost their lives.. yet.. we still do not celebrate that as a NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING.

Hey AL! your got your priorities in a tangle as usual! oh wait.. sorry.. my bad.. MJ is black.. umm err he was black. Now he's some freakishly white color. Now if for some reason a good Samaritan would do us the great favor of taking you out we will certainly add you to the "day of mourning" list.. happily.

The media coverage of this circus is utterly ridiculous. Day in and Day out-none stop coverage of a drug addicted pedophile when a couple of days ago "7" of our great soldiers died in Afghanistan. Do you know where i "read" that story? when i opened my e-mail on yahoo. The story was a 1 line headline so-to-speak. No TV coverage, or radio coverage. NOTHING. Our soldiers are dying in vain! so some Stupid crackpot mediocre singer at best can have a circus funeral. I'm done with it, and something needs to change.

I'm going to start by writing every single news station in my metro area. I am going to tell them how disgusted i am with their poor judgment. Their lack of news coverage and celebration of the lives of our soldiers that have passed, the cops that die in the street everyday protecting us, the fire fighters that die frequently saving us, and all other Emergency service personnel that put their lives at risk so that we can be safe and alive and to see our families at the end of our day.

As for MJ? appropriately called Jacko the Wacko.. so what if everyone loved him.. and FYI not everyone DID. I didn't! i never did! I think Thriller was the only song i liked as a child and it was only when i was able to see the video on MTV. My family didn't, most of my friends didn't either.
And apparently a political figure in NY doesn't either. Here is what he had to say and i agree 100%:
(Story taken from Rolling Stone Magazine and the Telegraph. UK)

Congressman Peter T. King, a U.S. Congressman from New York’s Long Island, has come under fire from Michael Jackson fans after making some scathing statements about the King of Pop in a video this past weekend. Talking directly to the camera outside of the American Legion in Wantagh, New York, King said, “This low-life, Michael Jackson — his name, his face, his picture — is all over the newspaper, television, radio… Let’s knock out the psychobabble. He was a pervert, a child molester, he was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?” Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005. King said "more thought should be given to Americans dying in Afghanistan and people doing difficult jobs like fire fighters and teachers".

“I just think we’re too politically correct, no one wants to stand up and say, ‘We don’t need Michael Jackson,’ ” King added. “You know, he died, he had some talent. Fine. There’s people dying every day.” King, a Republican serving his seventh term as representative for Nassau County, was upset with the media’s coverage focused on Jackson’s death and not more pertinent world issues like the Iraq War.

A rep for the Jackson family wouldn’t “dignify King’s statement with a comment,” the AP writes.

“There’s nothing good about this guy. He may have been a good singer, did some dancing… But the bottom line is, would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room as Michael Jackson? What are we glorifying him for,” King asks in the video. King later defended his statements in an interview with CNN, saying that even though Jackson was never convicted on child molestation charges, the fact that Jackson reached a monetary settlement with his accusers was evidence enough to support King’s statements.

I couldn't have said it better myself.. and if i could vote for him i would just for having balls enough to say what us little people can't because we won't be heard.

Thank you congressman Peter King!

Radar Web

I couldn't help but notice last week, the plethora of State Troopers tagging speeders on the Turnpike just outside of my building. Normally they get a couple of stops a day (like today, they had 3), but Friday they had to have tagged over 10 in the 8 hours i was at my desk, 5 of them were the big rigs. I couldn't help but think to myself, ' wow? where are they hiding to catch all of these victims?'

Well, at 4pm i found out myself!

I was driving NB on the Turnpike heading to Kyle's after work, when i found the little sneak or two. There are over-passes that are specifically used by the Troopers and the other Turnpike vehicles to cross over from NB to SB and vis-a-vis. One Trooper was sitting in the top corner of the SB side of this ramp spinning his radar web on the unsuspecting prey below. Had it not been for my vigilant eye radar (i'm always scoping for those tricksters) i never would have noticed, and therefore would not have been able to understand how the guy that passed me doing mach 90 got nailed going NB on the inner roadway!

Somewhere in their intricate strands lies another Trooper (where, i don't know) that takes it's signal from the Funnel-web Trooper spinning the web. I call this guy the worker Trooper because he/she literally does all the work. My 'spin' on it is that the Trooper spinning the web signals to the worker trooper which prey to catch and why. I'm thinking, if they are REALLY hungry, they can pick and choose the bigger prey, which in my case was a plus!

I had just entered the roadway and was cruising with the slower traffic (80 MPH, no joke is slow) i switched over to the middle lane when another car zipped past me on the left leaving me breathless from the pressure as he passed. It was at this point that i noticed the funnel-web trooper lying in wait for his prey (kind of reminded me of Need For Speed Underground when everything stops and the camera zooms in on the cop car). Shortly there-after the worker trooper zips passed me on the right and tags the guy that passed me on the left. WOW! talk about FAST! Where did that guy come from?!?

After witnessing this event my thoughts quickly turned to a couple of weeks ago when i was headed to work off my normal route. I was traveling at a meager 30 MPH, and as I approached a hill, I noticed a light bar on the left side on the roadway which i eventually noticed was attached to a black and white funnel Cop. I made it through his web unscathed, but took notice after i passed that any prey traveling in the opposing lane didn't stand a chance as the only part of him you could see was the extreme left corner of his red tail lens. He spun his web perfectly parallel to the roadway! Now this is just me, but i'm thinking any car that needs to turn down the side street that he spun his web on was going to t-bone him as he wasn't parked on the curb or another area, he parked right in the middle of the side street entrance?? hmmm.. ok he must have been hungry i guess.

My focus now turns to Kyle and all of the spots he's shown me he sits lying in wait, spinning his radar web for his unsuspecting prey to entangle themselves. There are a few of them around bends, hidden in bushes and places like that that even with my trained eye I would never see. Thankfully, i know him or else i'd be eaten alive! It helps to see those spots so when i talk to him at night and he tells me where he's spinning his web i have a visual. Wow i'm jealous.. I want to be a spider for a night, heck i'd be happy with 6 hours. I was going to say one but who are we fooling? Give me an inch i'll want a mile.

Now for my final note: All you popo's are going to be picturing spiders now when you run radar aren't ya? lol BE SAFE OUT THERE! You never know what's gonna crawl in through your window!

Living up to my title!

OK! It's a Crazy Place and I'm here to live up to my name. I have a lot of different topics tonight that are wrestling around in my bean for the honor of making it to POST status.. It's almost like having 2 kids that fight constantly, and before you know it you scold and punish both of them and send them BOTH to their rooms even though you know one of them just didn't deserve it.. Well, that is kind of like what I'm having a conflict with so I'm just going to ramble on until I'm done! lol
First, i woke up in a combative mood.. Never a good thing for anyone. I was cranky but pretty tolerable during the day. I apologized to my co-worker in advance that i woke up combative.. (oops.. just realized.. forgot to give one of my PAIN IN THE ASS customers her tracking #.. oh well! she'll have the package before i get back to her anyway. OOPS!!! totally got side-tracked and didn't send out the Daily Sales Registers! OMG! you people can run your own report.. (see notes from dept meeting.. my boss said effective 10/13 i am no longer responsible.. those asking can see him-i love this guy! but i still feel guilty because a memo never went out to the reps.. this procedure kind of just HAPPENED to stop-oh well) OK where was i? Oh yeah... So i get through my day and decide to go to the park for a walk before Yoga class (because my lunch-time work-out with the company trainer wasn't enough to kill my sour mood). I actually walked for 5 minutes than ran my ass off in hopes it would get out the rest of the anger.. For the most part it worked.. i mean i RAN for nearly a mile non-stop.. i was so physically exhausted i didn't have the energy to be angry anymore! After my run I head to CVS for some lotion, but ended up buying another travel mug and a small box of cheez-its.. why? i have no idea. i get to class and wow was it a KICK-ASS CLASS!!!
The first (almost) 20 minutes she taught us breathing exercises (last week was the Buddha Breath). This week, if i remember correctly, it was the continuous breath(<-Correction 10/21/08 it's the "complete breath"). I was very relaxed by the end of that lesson. Then we did stretching and poses then went into Savasana. It was here that i finally think i, for the first time EVER in my life, was neutral. The best way to describe this is i had NO THOUGHTS, NO PICTURES IN MY MIND, NO DIALOGUE OF ANY SORT, NO TENSION, NO EMOTION, I was not sleeping, yet i was not awake, i heard her speaking, yet i didn't. I was in a trance-like state i guess you could say. I was amazed to say the least, and very appreciative..
Towards the end of Savasana my instructor read a poem (Update 10/21/08: Called Celebrate the Journey), she mentioned the name of the book but i cannot remember. It had the word YOGA and POEMS in it. In any event, the poem was perfect, and peaceful, and it made sense! I do remember that while she was reading it a picture popped into my mind's eye of myself and my SO getting married and (at first) I was reading this poem to him, then it quickly changed to my God Mother reading this to the ceremony go-ers. lol i am going to Google this and see what i can come up with because i think this is a sign of some sort. lol (I found nothing, i'll just have to ask next week lol) (Update 10/21/08: IT's called ONE SOUL:More Poems From the Heart of Yoga by Donna Faulds-and it's on order!)

Another thought is of a blog that i have been following by a woman that is married to a police officer and her journey as a CopsWife. It has afforded me the opportunity to reflect back on when i first met my SO, we'll give him a name.. his name is Kyle, and i will refer to him as such for the rest of my days as a blogger lol.. ( i was just trying to protect the innocent). When i met Kyle it was a freak thing called Yahoo Personals. lol yeah I'm an Internet dater.. had better luck there so i stuck to it.. I was fresh out of a relationship by about a month when Kyle hit me up to chat. I wasn't "looking" to date anyone, let alone date someone an hour away from me.. I was just looking for some companionship on-line to kill my boredom while i healed from the break-up. I was IM'ing with a few gentlemen during that month's time. I also picked up a stalker or two, oh and one VERY angry guy! I swear.. true colors don't show through until someone gets rejected! Thankfully i found out b4 anything ever went farther than the IM box! whew!
Kyle and i chatted for some time before i actually had the guts to call him and speak to him on the phone. I guess you can say i was scared because by this time i got burned by a lot of guys, went through a divorce, and just had bad luck with cops in the dating arena. I was in therapy to heal from the years of being mistreated and also being verbally abused by my alcoholic ex-husband, and my therapist didn't think it was wise to get involved with someone new until i got rid of the old.. I agreed with him on that point as I, myself, didn't feel READY to date again. I just didn't think i had it in me anymore to love someone or trust someone with this valuable package called Me! However, after almost a month of IM'ing and e-mailing i wrote his # down and i bit the bullet (no pun) and called him. A higher power made me do it.. i was nervous.. It wasn't that high-school-girl nervous.. it was a dark fear of what i wasn't ready to deal with again.. A possible relationship with a COP (because by now i know he's a cop).
You see, the guy b4 him was a sheriff's officer, and although we had a decent relationship he was the A-typical cop.. cheater, partier, anti-relationship, anti-marriage, frat-boy. Though older than myself by a few years he just didn't grow up, and he met someone while we were together-SHOCKER! but didn't have the balls to tell me in person.. he TEXT MESSAGED me on a Friday afternoon while i was at work. I mean COME ON! have more balls officer! but i digress.
I have, at this point, a really bad taste in my mouth as far as police and relationships go. I have TONS of friends that are police. and from women to men they all suck in relationships.. why? they love to party and with that partying comes infidelity. I only personally know a few that are decent human beings in that regard. Now don't get me wrong or misconstrue what I'm saying.. I love all the police i know.. they are AWESOME individuals in their own right, but they fit the stereo-type and i can't be involved with that in a relationship anymore.
That was my mind-set when i met Kyle. Funny, because when he was telling me what he did for a living HE IMMEDIATELY jumped on the defensive about the Stereo-Type Cops have..
I reassured him that i try to trust not all Cops are like that, as i (at the time) was aspiring to be a cop and I'm far from a cheater, never have never will! when i was separated i felt guilty even having a drink with a male friend b/c i felt THAT was cheating! SO i had no choice but to give Kyle the benefit of the doubt.
I'm glad i did! I remember telling my Father during a phone conversation the day before i was to go on my first date with Kyle: "Dad, if he has a missing arm i won't care, he's great!". This is all from phone conversations and e-mail conversations i based this on.. In-other-words.. for once in my life i wasn't going for the meat-head, power trip, BAD BOY. I was going for a REAL GUY.. A guy that isn't afraid to share his emotions whether it's anger to tears (still haven't seen those though) and everything in between.
In the first few months Kyle and I were dating i learned a lot about him. I learned a lot about what he is capable of in a relationship, what his strengths and weaknesses are, what his family is like (LOVE THEM ALL!), what drives him, and what turns him off. I fell in love with him after just a few short months.. I saw what a hard worker he was, and how much dedication he put into his EMS/EMT career, his LEO career, his Coast Guard career, The honor guard, The riot squad.. He's not a Whacker, he just loves what he does.. I love what he does too, and yes, I'm jealous as hell, i will always admit that.
Kyle is an amazing guy.. partly because he tolerated me and never got angry or upset or anything like that.. What am i talking about? oh yeah, there will be people i DON'T know reading this blog lol.. I "had" at the time, panic and anxiety disorder (story for another time), Kyle never batted an eye. When i was having an attack he was right there holding my hand, trying to distract me to get me to calm down.. He was my light when it was very dark.. and he never left my side EVER. For someone to put up with that for as long as he did is commendable in and of itself. I attributed that to his police and EMT training.. he just naturally knew how to deal with those types of situations. Thankfully those days are behind us, and the root-cause of that has been found and eliminated, but Kyle is still here and i hope he will be forever.
OK, that's all i got for now.
I hope you enjoyed my transition from Wildebeest to dove and the beginning of my relationship with Kyle.