Cates Casa De Chaos

Once again...I'm a slacker

2011-05-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

So....I've changed the name of my blog, so it's now our family blog. I never did post much as a rookie firefighter, and since I'm no longer a rookie I thought it was time for a change. So be looking forward to the new blog and posts!!

2009-04-24T10:26:00.001-07:00

Once again I've been slacking on this...

Things have been hectic at best! Been fighting a little bit of fire and training like no body else!

I'll be going to Idaho in about a month spending two whole weeks with my family and friends!

I'll try to get better about posting on here...just not sure who actually reads this, if anybody!

Catching up....again!

2009-04-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up with my blog very well and I'm gonna recommit for like the 17th time.

Gracie's first tball game is today! She's been practicing and its a lot of fun to watch! I'll hopefully get some video and pictures and get them up here!

Relief driver school

2009-03-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we start our week long relief driver shool. I already looking forward to getting it over with so I can get back out on company!

3 Alarm Fire

2009-01-27T18:12:00.001-08:00

This morning we had a 3 alarm fire. Engine 4 and Engine 5 were first in. This was by far the biggest fire I've had so far.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=9738621

http://www.kjrh.com/news/local/story/Historic-synagogue-catches-fire-in-early-morning/Ijx9qca1fUKweg4xq-imaA.cspx

First shooting

2009-01-13T01:53:00.001-08:00

I had my first shooting the other night. I traded shifts with a guy and got sent over to Station 5 for the day and ended up on a shooting call.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=9652871

Night of Dumpster Fires

2009-01-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

So last night we had a busy night putting out dumpster fires. The first one we had was caught on video by the News on 6. The second one should have been, cause it was a huge one. Anyways, heres the link and a video.

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?s=9644621

Happy Anniversary!!

2009-01-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm a few days late on doing this, but I guess its better late than
never. December 31, 2007 Melissa and I were married, and as we pass the
first year I'm am so thankful for all she has given me. Without her and
her support I don't think I would be the man I am now. She's a terrific
mother and wife. I love you baby!
--Nick Cates

Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

Since I go back to the station tomorrow, we made cookies for Santa and
some to take to the guys. We got them all cooked and then turned the
kids loose on decorating a few of them.

--Nick Cates

End of Probatation

2008-12-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I took my End of Probatation test. I passed with a 99%!! Now that all the studing for that is over, and I thought I would have some more time at the station...I was WRONG! Now I get to start studing for relief driver. I have to start reading a couple of books and learn everything about pumping, which is alot of math...so I'm screwed! I'm pretty excited to get started, and I'm gonna hit it hard so I can try to be one of the first to get my relief driver certification.

"Engine 4, District 1 House Fire"

2008-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

So yesterday we had a pretty busy shift. I had my first, true first in house fire. It was a detached garage they converted into a small apartment. It wasn't much of a fire, but it gave us something to do. All total we had two working fires yesterday and a couple that were fires but we never got out of the truck. It was one of the busiest shifts I've had since I've been out.

Most of the calls came in through the night. So, we didn't get much sleep last night. Which seems to be happening alot latly.

On other news Landon has pneumonia, but it isn't too bad. Melissa took him to the doctor yesterday and said he is in the begining stages of it. So he's on some antiboditics for 3 days and some cough medicine. He seems to be feeling alot better today than he did yesterday, so seems the medicine is working.

Worn out

2008-11-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't been home in 6 nights, it's gonna end up being 8 nights before I sleep in my bed again.

I've just been working ALOT. I've worked over on "C" shift now for two shifts in a row. It's nice since I'm making a little extra money for the holidays, but I miss my family.

I can't wait to be home tomorrow, so I can at least see them during the day.

Thanksgiving Shift

2008-11-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of working this Thanksgiving. We made a real big dinner and had all of our families up to the station. Unfortunatly, we were kindof busy.

Here are a few links to check out:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081127_11_0_Arollo219058

http://www.kjrh.com/content/news/breaking/story.aspx?content_id=b3593808-9f12-4b45-9383-7bd4c890054a

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=9423781&nav=menu682_2

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1108/573421.html

Doctor's Appointment

2008-11-20T16:35:00.001-08:00

We had our monthly doctor's appointment today. Everything is going
great. We took the kids along just so they could see Olivia inside their
Mom's belly. It looks like she wil make her grand entrance Feb 27th.
--Nick Cates

Busy Week Of Nothing

2008-11-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

So this week was my city shift. It was nice to have a break, but at the same time, I'm ready to go back to the station. Gracie and Landon both haven't been feeling very well.

We've stayed pretty busy. I've been working some extra shifts at AeroCare since I have the time. Melissa has a doctors appointment tomorrow. We went and picked up the pictures of Santa and the kids. (I'll put them up when I can) In all that I also forgot my Mom's birthday yesterday. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Are you 50 yet?

Busy Shift

2008-11-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

We had a crazy busy night last night. Nothing spectacular, just one of those nights. Luckily, I'm on city shift next shift, so I'm gonna be catching up on sleep and working out. Gonna be a nice week off, so looking forward to it.

Night off!

2008-11-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

Normally I would be at AeroCare tonight, but I'm off. So its two whole
days with the family!

I'm sure I'll be ready to go back to the station on Wednesday...
--Nick Cates

BUSY Shift

2008-11-01T17:25:00.001-07:00

We had a really busy shift last night/this morning. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=9277046

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1108/566276.html

http://www.newson6.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3092118&at1=News&h1=Two Killed, Five Injured In Brookside Auto-Ped

Pumpkin Day!

2008-10-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to a pumpkin patch earlier today. They had a blast seeing
palletts and palletts of pumpkins. We were able to get some good pics of
the little monsters too.

They each got two "baby" pumpkins as Gracie was calling them. Also got a
big pumpkin we took home and put on the front porch.
--Nick Cates

Pictures from Rescue Training

2008-10-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had Rescue Taining on the 7th this past month. I was really interesting and I learned alot of stuff. I also got to play with some new toys.

We lifted a mass transit bus, which was a simulation if a car was stuck underneath one. We also lifted the bucket off a backho using a low pressure air bag.

We also got to get out the cutting tourches. I've never used one before so it was really intersting for me learing how to set one up and start it and then actually cutting with it.

Trying to burn some brush out of the way

Henderson cutting stuff up

Just likes to play all he can

Lifting the bus

Weisberg on the controller that lifts the air bags up

The finished product

Henderson is in charge - I'm on the controller

Doin it baby

First In!!

2008-10-05T16:32:00.001-07:00

Last night we had a garage fire and we were first in. It was in Station
2's run area but they were getting fuel and out of pocket. We were by
our selves for just a couple of minutes. It was a good garage fire. Fire
was coming out the windows and out of the front door.

A couple of hours later we had a dumpster fire. It was gettin it for
being in a little dumpster.

Last shift was a great shift!
--Nick Cates

Moving

2008-10-03T05:13:00.001-07:00

The past week has been VERY busy for the Cates family. We have moved...it was kindof a last minute deal, but it is a better place for us to be at. We're right next door to great friends and across the street from Melissa's Grandma's house.

The house is AWESOME and I'm gonna post some pictures of it, especially the deck when we get everything moved in. And with all of our junk that will be some time next month.

Also, I found out yesterday the I'm gonna be an Uncle again. My little sister Jessica is with child!

The NEW Engine 4

2008-09-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

We finally got the new Engine 4. I got to work two days on it, since I worked over for TJ on B shift. It's got lots of room, and we finally have A/C. I really like it.

Pictures from Rescue Training

2008-09-23T21:34:00.001-07:00

Here are the photos I said I would be putting up. I thought I had more, but I guess not.

Weisberg...ready to do it

Me...ready to eat

That's along way up there.

Mandatory Physical Assesment

2008-09-22T09:02:00.001-07:00

Got back to the station from my physical and the guys were getting ready
for mandatory physical assesments. I did mine and there are some things
I need to improve on.

Body fat was 13%
Max Bench was 190 pounds
Resting heart rate was 55
After 5 minutes of stepping heart rate was 101
57 situps in one minute

I definitly need to get my body fat down.
--Nick Cates

Physical

2008-09-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I have my yearly physical. Not really looking forward to it
since I am a little on the color blind side...we'll see how it goes.
--Nick Cates

Last Shift

2008-09-21T05:07:00.000-07:00

So last shift (Friday 9/19/2008) we had Rescue Training for the better part of the day. We did tower rescue (I'll post pictures asap) which was alot of fun, but pretty hard work. It got a little hot too in the afternoon.

We had a couple of runs after dinner and then all hell broke loose. We ran all night. Which is really abnormal for downtown on a Friday night. Usually there's no one around. We made 6 runs through the night, which equated to very little sleep.

Its a girl!

2008-09-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well we went today to find out what we are going to have and once again
I was right. When are people going to understand that I am usually
always right.

Melissa thought it would be fun for just the doctor to look and right it
down in this little card she got. We went to dinner tonight with
Melissa's family and a few of our close friends. We opened it up all
together and found out all together. It was a pretty neat little idea.
--Nick Cates

Old Friends

2008-09-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been the best guy in my 27 years. I've done things I shouldn't have and I haven't kept in touch with alot of my friends.

Now I have the chance to change some of that. One of my old classmates created a website so we could all stay in touch and get ready for our 10 year reunion. I know this website will help me get back in touch and hopefully this time I'll do better about staying in touch.

Check it out...and if your a Skyline grad...SIGN UP!!

www.skylinehighschool1999.com

Rescue Call

2008-09-11T19:28:00.001-07:00

I was able to find an article on the call that Rescue ran on. We didn't do anything, they just called for us as a precautionary.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8990158

BIG Car Wreck

2008-09-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

We had a really busy shift last shift. It rained all day, so we had 4 car wrecks, 1 Rescue Task Force car wreck...and there were car wrecks ALL day across the city.

Anyways...our car wreck was pretty nasty. It was a head on collision with one person being trapped. I got to be on the jaws and cut him out of the car, but the car was so smashed up on him it didn't really help much. We were finally able to get him out and headed to the hospital.

Here's a link to the story and a few photos.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8985039

Class 108 Video

2008-09-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

I finally went and got a copy of our class DVD. I don't know how I figured it out, but I was also able to upload to a few sites. SO here it is. Long overdue.

Car Wreck

2008-09-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Pretty crazy car wreck we had last shift. People were real lucky, could
have been a lot worse for everyone involved. This is the car wreck that
Ladder tried to beat us to.
--Nick Cates

OOPS!!

2008-09-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

We got a drop for a car wreck and the Ladder guys tried to beat us out
the door. Problem was the door wasn't all the way up. OOPS!!
--Nick Cates

Labor Day

2008-09-01T06:43:00.001-07:00

I'm at the station today. We're hoping its gonna be a slow Labor Day.
Yesterday, it was a crazy day for C shift, so only time will tell.

We're planning to smoke some meat and have E 5 over for a big dinner
tonight.
--Nick Cates

Playing at the Park

2008-08-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Since I was on city shift, I got to spend alot of time with the kids and we did all kinds of fun things. Here are a few pictures of us playing at the park.

Landon and I getting ready to go

Gracie sliding down!

LC thinking he's a big boy and can do it by himself!

He loves to swing...would stay in there all day if we let him

I can't help it...I'm kid at heart too, I like to play

Rough night

2008-08-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

Since I was on city shift I picked up an extra shift at AeroCare, and it was a rough shift last night.

Our phone system crashed. So I had to deal with that big mess, and it's too big to put into words on here. And of course this all happened when I had to dispatch a crew for a flight.

I work again tonight, hopefully it will be alot slower!!

City Shift

2008-08-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'm on City Shift tomorrow, so I've got a free day off.

What will I be doing? Well since my grass is nearly to my knees I will be mowing.

Hopefully I will get it done in a fair amount of time, so I can still take a nap and play with the kiddies....we'll see

Day off

2008-08-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

I got to spend all day with the kiddies and they had their little friend
Lily over, after we all went to Chuck E. Cheese's. Was a real fun day.
--Nick Cates

Big Wreck!

2008-08-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

This was a BIG wreck we had this morning. Stunk really bad.

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=8846252&clienttype=mobile
--Nick Cates

Slow day and a BIG mistake

2008-08-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a pretty slow day. We went to Hughly Terrerace and
LaFortune Towers twice.

Last night I made a pretty big mistake, that I hope I won't make EVER
again.
Nick Cates

Station 18

2008-08-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

I worked at Station 18 yesterday. It was pretty fun being in a new
District. It was a slow day and busy night for us. I accidently slept
through a drop, which that was my first time doing that. I felt pretty
stupid, but the Capt said it wasn't a big deal. They just gave me a hard
time the rest of the shift.

The pic was my view from the back of E 18.
Nick Cates

Second In

2008-07-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

We were second in on a rekindle fire that C Platoon had last night. The
fire was in the attic so we got to do some crawling around. Also got to
break down some doors and windows. It was a lot of fun!
Nick Cates
Engine 4

At the Station

2008-07-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a nice slow Sunday today at the station.

Had a business fire alarm and a cardiac arrest. Also went to help a kid that fell off his bike.

First Fire Fatality

2008-07-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

I had my first fire fatality early this morning. Engine 4 was initially assigned Rapid Intervention. Once the fire was put out we went in for the secondary search, that's when we discovered the body.

Here's a few links with a little video also. (I'm in one of the videos on the ladder pulling eves of the house down with a pike pole)

http://www.newson6.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2687334&at1=News&h1=Person Killed In House Fire

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080713_11_Ahou803771

River Rescue

2008-07-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

July 3rd, 2008

Rescue Task Force was sent to the Arkansas River for a 14 year old boy in the river. I was in Boat 4 and we were able to get him out safely. It was really intense for a few minutes, since we were operating about ten feet from the low water dam. It is the coolest thing I've done so far.

Here's a few links to the story.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080703_11_Ateen68740

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8616207

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0708/533127.html

Gotta get better

2008-06-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

I've got to get better about staying up to date with this thing! I'm really bad about starting something and not finishing it.

Anyways

Alot has gone on the past couple of weeks. I had my first house fire. We were third engine in so we didn't get to do much. We got assigned to assist with fire attack, so I got to pull hose and pull some ceiling and a door down. It wasn't much, but at least I got to dull down that bright bunker gear of mine.

I also had my first code and fatality. So that's not good news...

Station life is great. We've been given our material to study for the end of probation test, so I've been studing as much as I can.

And I'm gonna get better about posting on here...hopefully

Lil Brosef!

2008-06-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

My sister, who also has a blog, beat me to the blog about my lil brother. My bro, Brandon is in the Marine Corps and he is currently stationed overseas in Japan and Korea and all over. He sent in some pictures to my familys website we have and I thought they were pretty sweet.

This was the coastline of Japan as they were flying in.

This is what the helicopter looks like he flies in...freakin big!

I guess they had a "hard landing"...I call it a crash

My lil bro...looks just like me.

And this is his new tatoo, which I think if SWEET!

Graduation Photos

2008-06-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some of those pics I meant to put on here.

Dad was able to come down for graduation and brought

my little sister and Addison, my niece.

Me and the parental units

Me and the family...of course the kids are looking at other things

And of course mom cried...she always does

This is my chief after the graduation...telling me not to be late!

My trucks

2008-06-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

So I've been really bad about keeping up with this thing.

Anyways, I realized I didn't have any pictures of my truck(s) up so here
they are. The first is Rescue 4, which we cross man along with the
ladder guys. The second is "Engine 4" until we get a new E 4.
Nick Cates

First Shift 5/25/2008

2008-05-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

My first shift on duty was Sunday May 25, 2008. It was AWESOME!

Our first run, we got cancelled as soon as we exited the appartus bay doors. We got a smoke investigation, a medical call, at 0345 we got a rescue from an elevator...which consisted of pushing the down button...and a business alarm that was a false alarm. Pretty good for my first shift.

I feel pretty comfortable with my truck and where everything is. I need to figure out how to get my gear on when we're going to fires. Medical I can just have my pants on...but I've got to figure that out, which I will

Graduation!

2008-05-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on this...I always do that to my self.

Anyways, my final I passed with a 92%. Our class average was a 95%, so we're pretty good.

Graduation day FINALLY rolled around. We all got our station assignments. I've been stationed at Engine 4, which is where I wanted to go since the begining!!

I'm gonna post some graduation photos on here real soon

Trench Rescue Training

2008-05-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

We went and did some trench rescue training today. Right in the middle
of it there was a call for a plane crash. We started to break down
everything and get ready to go to it for manpower, when it came back as
a false call...sucked
--Nick

Busy Week

2008-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

This week was a pretty busy week. We had our Haz Mat Operations class and took the written and practical test on Thursday. The written test was pretty tough! Not sure how that one's gonna turn out.

I also found out this week that I would be moved out of the Haz Mat Tech training and put in the Rescue Tech training. That was some great news. Not that I don't want to get my Haz Mat tech, but I've always wanted to go to Rescue and be on the Rescue Task Force. Now I have that opportunity! We start our rescue training this week and I'm really looking forward to it.

LPG Burn

2008-04-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday night we did our LPG burn. It was AWESOME to say the least! There were some pretty spectacular moments during our burn.

This was a propan tank that shot off it's relief valve.

It went 30 - 40 feet in the air

I've got some more photos that I'm gonna add. It was the coolest and funnest thing we've done so far.

The DailyTorture

2008-03-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

So we have to keep a journal of what we do each day at academy, you know like the events of that day, any important things to note, stuff like that. I was going back through it and thought I might share some of my thoughts and things that have happened so far.

1/22/08 - Took test over chapters 3 & 4 - 100%, VAPP Class with Officer Harrison. Spent afternoon in bunkers and SCBA - On and Off Air, Walked the tower ALOT!

1/31/08 - Studied in morning. Looked for ventilation things for Officer Burch. Took quiz over Chapters 1 - 7 - 88%. Need to study more. Feel like i'm not doing enough and should be higher in class average wise. Moved seats to sit by new people...still sitting by Ray Ray and I only moved over one seat. Practiced PPE at lunch. Did Facepiece breath holding, only lasted 22 sec, should definitly work on that.

2/4/08 - Took test over Forcible entry and groundladders - was pretty tough. i've got to start studing more. Got inspected by Caldwell nd Marlar. Everything was ok for me. Stress management today with Dr. Gentz. Hulsey was terminated.

2/7/08 - Arrived at 0610. Watched videos with Officer Garden. Started Water supply with Officer Burch. PPE Drill, went to house fire near Riverside Airport. Did overhaul and learned about burn patterns. Was alot of fun!

2/26/08 - Arrive at 0625. Mayday Training classroom. In afternoon went to Arco Building and did Mayday Hands on. Was alot of fun, need to slow down if put in any of those situations

2/28/08 - Live burn at OSU FST. Best day so far!

3/5/08 - Arrive at 0635 - Delivered beds to 22's, 29's, 18's. Helped Tommy deliver refridgerator to old 9's. While going to 29's got seperated from Officer Garden since he went through a yellow light. I had to stop at red light. was seperated and unable to find them, so went straight to 29's. Beat him there.

3/19/08 - Arrive at 0631. Sun oil fires. ALOT of fun! Ate alot of smoke due to wind direction. PT was REALLY tough. Held section of hose, ran tower, came down and held section of hose over head for a few minutes. Ran tower again, got to top and did pushups on top of hose section, got to bottom and held section of hose over head again. Need to work on upper body strength, I've toned up quite a bit, I need to get bigger and stronger now.

Anyways...that's just a few of the "highlights." It really has been a blast and I'm going to be adding some pictures on here real soon.

Rescue or Hazmat??

2008-03-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

This week a few of the cadets didn't have their firefighter one and got
to do the testing for that.

We found out that we're getting ready to be split up into two groups,
one group will go to Rescue Tech, the other to Hazmat Tech. Me
personally, I want both, but right now I want to get my Rescue Tech.
We'll see how it turns out since most everyone wants rescue too.
--Nick Cates
Sent Via My SK3
Tulsa Fire Cadet

Exactly half way done

2008-03-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

This week marked the completion of half of our training. We have 10 more
weeks and we'll be done and out on company.

This week was a fun week. We did vehicle extrication, ICS, and practiced
skills.

We're all glad we're half way done...just 10 more weeks to go.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Biggest Test of My Life

2008-03-02T15:29:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is our midterm. If I fail it I will be terminated...so its
pretty important. Its a written test and a practical also...I'm pretty
nervous
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

One Week Til Midterm

2008-02-24T14:23:00.001-08:00

We're almost to the midterm and its just been getting harder and harder
in the book. Our midterm is a written test and also practicle skills
from the OSU FST skills.

Its been getting funner and funner as the academy has gone along. We
went through the Sapulpa Burn trailor a few times and did some fire
control practice also. On the 28th we're going to OSU to do our live
burns which we're all looking forward to.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Hands on experience

2008-02-09T06:36:00.001-08:00

Well another week is down. I think we've got about 72 or 73 days left.
We're finally starting to get caught up and we got to do some live fire
training. We had a fire behavior practical which was pretty fun. They
started a fire in the Tower and we went in and got to see how smokey it
really gets. We crawled around and got to feel how hot it can get. They
also took us out to a house fire and we got to help do some overhaul and
even got more training while there. It was pretty cool talking to the
first in engine guys and them telling us what the fire was doing and
what they did to get it out.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Third week down

2008-01-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

We're through three weeks now. We learned how to put on our PPE properly
and we put on SCBAs for a while. Things are starting to pick up pretty
fast. Its a lot to learn in a short period of time, but I really like
it.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Second week

2008-01-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

We started our second week today. We started it nicely too, with runs in
The Tower. I think total today we did 5 or 6 runs in the Tower. My
calves are sore and my quads are too. We have a bunch of memorization to
do tonight..A LOT! Hopefully I can get it memorized and not the guy that
makes do Tower runs or add miles to our distance runs!
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

First Day!

2008-01-02T20:21:00.001-08:00

Today was my first day as a Tulsa Fire Cadet. We got all of our uniforms
and did the meet the staff stuff. Its going to be the easiest day of the
whole academy. All in all it was a pretty fun day and I'm really looking
forward to putting my self through hell...
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Tied on the Ball and Chain

2007-12-31T14:14:00.001-08:00

Melissa and I got married today. Thought it would be cool to be married
on the last day of the year. We just did a small ceremony with just us.
So we'll starting 2008 married and I'll be starting my new career too.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

2007-12-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

So an ice storm has hit Tulsa. Obviously the time stamp on my photo is wrong (yes, I'm an idiot). I've been really busy on the ambulance since the storm has hit. A few nursing homes lost power and had to be evacuated. I've also received a few emails from TFD and I'm going to go pick up my books for academy and start studing. I've been told that you get placed by how well you do academically...So I would like to do well, so I can get placed at a busy station...that would be grrrrreat.

Finally Confirmation!

2007-12-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

I finally received an email that confirms I've been accepted to Tulsa Fire. I will start January 2nd. I'm going tomorrow to get fitted for my uniforms...less than a month to go and I'm starting to get pretty anxious!

Happy Birthday!!

2007-12-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Today was my sons first birthday. It was good times. It also marks that
I have one month before I go to Tulsa Fire academy. I'm ready to go and
anxious to get started.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Son of A....

2007-10-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

So the resturant I was working at, which was my main source of income has closed. The owners didn't have the sales there to keep it open, luckily I still work at AeroCare. Looks like I'll have a decent "vacation" before academy starts. Though I am still worried about the pension board and if I'll get accepted into the system. I won't know if I've been denied until Novemeber if I am.

Crazy? Or Not?

2007-10-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

I went on Wednesday and had my psychological evaluation. I met with the Doc and he said I have the typical personality of a fireman. He read back the traits to me which I guess I fell into. Here are a few I remember.

Outgoing--I try to be
Like's Close Personal Relationships--Yeah, who doesn't
Easy Going--I'm way laid back
Makes Decisions Well, but waits for all the facts--I don't like to rush anything
Dependable--Ok...I don't think they read that right...

Anyways...the moral of the story is everything should be good to go.

Physical Today

2007-10-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

I had my physical today, and I'm sure everyone will be glad to hear that
my prostate is doing just fine.

Also had a stress test and that wasn't too much fun either.
--Nick
Sent Via My SK3

Looking Down From 80 Feet Up

2007-09-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

I went today and did the aerial climb and also took the psych test. It was pretty fun, the psych test was really long though and I will have to go back and have the results read back to me. So I'll know in a few days if I'm crazy or not.

The Begining

2007-09-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

So I took a que from my little sister and decided that I would start a blog along with the start of my career. I was recently hired by Tulsa Fire Department and I don't really have any family close. I will update this through out the academy and hopefully continue it through my career as a firefighter. I don't go to academy until January, but no reason not to get started now on the things I'm going to do to get prepared for Academy. I go in on September 27th and take a psych test and also have to climb the aerial ladder. Now I have to start working out since I'm way out of shape and would like to be in some kind of decent shape before the start of Academy.