Updaterage

The last few weeks have seen some major changes:

I went to advanced officer training last week. In past years, AO has stunk like BO. This year was a vast improvement, with useful classes taught well.

I did very well in FATS (FireArms Training Simulation). I found it interesting that I was among the best at it; not the shooting, necessarily, though I did well enough at that. No, I was able to regurgitate, with a greater degree of detail than anyone else in the squad, exactly what had gone on in each scenario. I'm not sure why. It certainly isn't being more used to computer screens and the like, as many of the squad were in their twenties, and surely played more games than I.  It might have been the roleplaying games, or the fiction writing, or it might simply be the ADD that shoves part of my brain into record mode as I game everything out in my head; one part interacting with folks, another analyzing their responses and attempting to predict and push toward the desired outcome. As I write this, I think it must be the ADD.

The week of AO ended on Thursday, beginning my vacation. Plans for said vacation include: playing some Star Wars Old Republic, some roleplaying, and generally goofin' off.

My writing is no longer represented. Things just turned out that way. My agent was unable to represent me in the way we both wanted. I say that without rancor or upset. I am saddened, but look forward to the future. So much so that I sent The Last Captain off to Baen books on Friday night. Work on the Fantasy project continues apace, and I think I am doing well at it. As in all things, we shall see.

Today was the first of the scrimmages that precede the regular season for the coed adult soccer league the Coolness and I are in. I made sure not to over do it and end up with another brutal hamstring tear like last year. As it is I played half the game and did well enough, pulling some pretty saves. I need to work on my punts and goal kicks, however. I shanked quite a few off course. Isabelle sat behind me in goal and gave encouragement, even when I blew it. The Coolness had a good game as well, though both of us need some serious conditioning.

The Torture

I have been doing in-service training for the last few days, and have two more to go. There has been a few very bright spots, one yesterday, and three more of them were today: Instructors who know their shit, clarify shit, and get you excited about the shit.

Yesterday we started with some boring shit taught by someone enamored of the sound of their own voice. I detest it when an instructor adds unnecessary words to what has been covered by the students simply because they feel the need to re-affirm the fact that they are teaching the class.

It was mercifully over in a few hours and the next instructor took us into the CPR and other life-saving stuff. He has some videos meant to chill the blood and has the fantastic delivery method of the natural teacher with years of real world experience dealing with the subject matter.

Today we started with one of the best instructors I have ever had. He was one of the instructors for my academy class ten years ago. He was awesome then, and was again today.

He was followed by a guy who has always impressed me with his talent and intelligence. He was hired about the same time I was, and has done a lot since for the department, getting his law degree and then defending sometimes undeserving officers through innumerable pitchess motions. He kicked ass and took names, despite being ill and being challenged early on by a jackass also training with me.

Then we went to lunch.

We came back to no instructor. Instead we had a State-mandated and created video on racial profiling. This shit was about one hour and twenty minutes long. And that was seventy-five minutes longer than it needed to be.

After the fiftieth misuse of the English language by persons who should know better, I asked if someone would please hit fast forward. No luck. In the end I was literally banging my head against the table, begging for someone to put me out of my misery. It was especially painful given the luminaries teaching us this morning.

Eventually the next session started. Slowly the urge to vomit subsided... This instructor also knew his ass from a hole in the ground. Useful stuff, mercifully concise in delivery.

Next guy was purely interested in getting us all the information in the shortest possible time. Hamstrung by being placed last in the line-up, he still managed to communicate quite a bit to us.

Here's hoping the next two days contain less stupid, and are gooder. Much gooder.