Breathe

Surprised. But in a good way.

Daunted. Nonetheless.

But certainly still enjoying it.

The impression I'd got before we started the tutorship, from other tutors and students, was that was that the first few weeks-or-so I'd ease in to it all. A slow pace. Cherry-picking jobs; my tutor would take the lead, with me meerly observing, and hopefully I'd be growing in confidence.

We'll we're certainly not in Kansas anymore.

Somehow, and my god he must be perceptive, but he's making sure I swim just hard enough, in just the right depth of water, so that I don't drown. He's getting me to take on various tasks (under supervision), well before I expected to be doing them, whilst taking the lead still on the more urgent & critical stuff.

I remarked to a fellow trainee only today

"Wow, I didn't realise we'd be spinning this many plates, this early."

And they couldn't agree more.

Today I...

• Assisted in prisoner transportation
• Undertook a lengthy witness interview
• Attended a report of youths causing a nuisance
• Rode shotgun - blue-lighting through a busy town-centre
• Read a prisoner his charges, through an interpreter
• Completed oodles of paperwork

Yesterday I...

• Made my first arrest
• Searched a number of individuals and a vehicle on suspicion of possessing drugs
• Rode shotgun a number of times on a high-speed blue-light run through a busy town centre
• Completed oodles of paperwork

And this is only shift #4.

Shift-work itself is already taking it's toll however. It's doubtless the step-up, before I get used to it, but 07:00 through 16:00 with frankly no real breaks to speak of (only some periods being slower than others), doesn’t half tire you out mentally and physically. Some 15:00 through 00:00's later in the week, and that lovely brain-melter; 22:00 through 00:00.

Body-clock remains MIA.

Please leave your message after the tone...

Packed!

Etd by car 04:00-ish tomorrow morning.

Ugh.

Fly out from Manchester at 07:55.

Between now and early Tuesday morning - anything urgent you can email me on ingmar_c@hotmail.com or those who have my number, text me.

I'm outta' here!

I can't get no sleep

Six days in a row at work; I'm whacked out and sick of the sight of those walls. I appreciate this is a breeze compared to what I'll go through shift-wise in the Police, but six days straight of the general retail public is more than enough right now thank you very much. Strangely though I'm wide-awake still convincing me that my genes are, and always will be, part-Owl.

Thankfully I have a day off tomorrow, though it's going mostly to be mostly spent visiting garages due to some indiscriminate vandalism of my car on Friday night. No idea why; seemingly the wrong place at the wrong time. Why not the flashy Volvo a few space up, eh guys? Shame really as it spoiled what was otherwise a really good night out. Curry followed up by a Guinness. Globalisation has its benefits.

Boy am I looking forward to getting hold of some of these wankers and shoving them in cells though. I could almost understand someone breaking a side window to steal, but just vandalising because you can and you're pissed up. Yeah, very big and clever. Roll on June.

Anyway I'm off to read myself to sleep. Currently ploughing through John Twelve Hawks' The Traveller. It's a good fun thriller, does exactly what it says on the tin, but is unlikely to change the face of literature any time soon. I wanted something lighter after reading plenty of non-fiction of late.

Right, I best turn this thing off. Warm covers, pages and the stillness of the midnight hour awaits.