Attempted Break-In

I went over to the rental property on Thursday to put a ridge vent on the roof to slow down the dry rot of the plywood under the shingles. A gasket fell off the roof, I went down to the ground by the back laundry room door to retrieve it. I found the lock cylinder of the knob on the ground. I went out to Lowe's, got a new lock, and waited for the Prince George's County Police to arrive. Yet again, I got a rookie with a FTO. We have a suspect from the neighborhood, someone that the tenant's son knew. At least I have confidence that they will follow up with the person of interest because the rookie needs to learn.

Tim and I painted his dining room walls and woodwork too. It turned out great, a significant improvement over the oak stained wainscot. Now it's untinted white high gloss, with the chair rail and baseboard his unique gray color he picked out. The plaster is painted antique white. It is very appropriate for his house. However Kelly is not convinced the gray is the best color. Friday night I was able to get up there and put the first full coat of joint compound to detexture the ceiling in the bathroom. It already looks like a significant improvement, though its slow to dry. On Saturday I put up the curtains in the guest bedroom and installed some of the mortise locks upstairs and for the kitchen door. Then I stopped by Capitol Hill to do an inventory of the things left over from the complex, to give to the trustee, to determine where the remaining property will be distributed to. The last building goes to settlement on Thursday or Friday. Everything will need to be cleared out by then. I also have a few minor tasks to do around there before shutting the place down. I plan on giving letters to each of the tenants at the three buildings thanking them for being great people to work with. Small things like that can go a long ways for background check purposes.

Monday is a follow up interview with the chief judge for one of the District Court Commissioners positions I applied for. This is a great step in the right direction. I just need to track down my passport or birth certificate to prove I am a US Citizen. I also have to take my drivers license, social security card, and all my degrees. Unfortunately they are in frames, but I think they can work though that when I get to the interview.

And lastly, my low tire light came on in the Accord, and with my mom in tow, I went to the dealership to chew them out. They *finally* after a year of trying, found the problem. A black nail was in the tread. They plugged the tire. Hopefully that will last 50,000 miles, because I am not in the mood to have to buy two new tires early because of it. Hopefully they can figure out why the transmission is shifting so poorly. It even has spread to a stopped shift to reverse.

Wow, nearly a month gone by!

This past month has been nothing like any others. Some epic fail and a few other good moments too.

I have had two interviews for District Court Commissioner positions in other counties. Both seemed to go well and the administrative commissioner that did the first interview said that she would be shocked if I did not get offered one of the five positions I put in for. She also seemed really helpful and interested in spreading the word to the other counties about my qualifications. When I went in for my second interview, a ghost from the past appeared. After being introduced to the administrative commissioner, I was introduced to the duty commissioner who was a classmate of mine at the University of Baltimore. Considering that her and I got along very well in school, I have a gut feeling she will vouch for my integrity.

I wrecked my truck twice in six days. I rear ended someone. I backed into a tree. Epic fail.

Sunday will be my last day maintaining 601. The settlement is Monday morning. I was depending on another week at work because of the damages to the truck. 402 goes to settlement October 31st. So I probably will have two days at Capitol Hill after Monday. However I have some work up in Northwest DC at Phil's building, plus Tim needs me to finish his house, and my parents have a few more small projects at their rental property which is now vacant. The vacancy caused a major problem: Someone gutted the A/C compressor for the copper. The Prince George's County Police came out, a rookie with a FTO. The FTO used a lot of colorful language to describe the situation.

I traveled to Deep Creek for the Autumn Glory celebration. Everything up there went well, and on the trip I hand delivered my application for the District Court Commissioner position up there on the way up. That was a much needed relaxing five days.

I helped Maryanna celebrate her 28th birthday last night. On my way home I stopped by the Super WalMart in Glen Burnie for milk and swirl bread. I walked out with a Wii Fit too. They had them in stock. I plan on getting it set up. I've also started going back to the gym, and even made a point to go to the gym twice up at Deep Creek. I've been maintaining a steady 5.7 MPH on the treadmill, increasing the amount of time I run each day or two, so I can get back up to agility shape. I am thinking I may end up trying for law enforcement positions again sometime next year. Plus it seems to be making my left ankle feel better, especially since driving the Honda irritates it.

Speaking of the Honda, the dealership still cannot duplicate the 3rd gear shifting problems, nor locate the leak in my tire. They replaced the power drivers seat track again when I was up at DCL, and it still seems like it is binding sometimes. I bought a Honda to have a reliable car, but these three issues still cannot seem to get resolved. I plan on putting the car into another dealership to get these things fixed.

Also does anyone think that the Maryland State Police recruiting billboard on Russell Street in Baltimore is an obnoxious waste of taxpayer money? They would not even need one if they had a more reasonable psychologist giving their psychological tests. And worse yet, right now the MSP has a hiring freeze making this even more of a waste of money.

Oh and Barack Obama seems to be turning more and more red states blue. The epic fail of Wall Street has brought America to its knees. I just hope that there are no late October surprises. I plan on posting more on the election later, when I can dedicate more space to the topic.

Well, I guess this gets everyone caught up on whats going on.

Who's Pot is it?

From the "That's So Prince George's County" file:



http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=74569&catid=158

Who knows? Sounds like someone did not like the mayor. Maybe the pot sent to him was from the pot plants in Rock Creek Park?

Seriously, this is very bad press for the Prince George's County police.

Some Past

Since the last post, I went up to Deep Creek for a few days, worked at Tim's house quite a bit, went to Shannon's 4th of July Party at her parents house in Eldersburg, Worked at Capitol Hill, Clipped My Parents Toenails.

First since the last post, I text messaged Ryan to ask where he gets his hair cut. He got back to me with a small barber shop along US 1 in Beltsville. I went by there, got my hair cut, went to Costco, and then my mom was ready to be picked up from the doctors. After I got home, I packed up my car, then went to Capitol Hill for work for a few hours, then I drove up to Deep Creek.

The next day I took it easy, then on Saturday Freddy and I took the Jet Skis down to Jennings Randolph Lake, which is an emergency reservoir for DC on the Potomac River, in Garrett County. It's a small lake compared to Deep Creek, but very few people use it, so it was more fun than going around Deep Creek, with the crowds of people. Then on Sunday I left to come home. My second cousin from Denmark came over for dinner. It was enjoyable. Then on Monday I packed up some clothes, went to work on Capitol Hill, then I drove to Baltimore.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I finished the last couple coats of joint compound for the front bedroom and kitchen. Thursday, the 4th, Tim and I slept in, and did a few hours of clean up to his house, then we went to Shannon's parent's 4th Of July Party. We ate crabs, hamburgers, and ice cream cake. Then Tim and I went back to Baltimore, met Kelly, and the three of us went to Adam's roof top party. Steve was there, and we decided to call Maria (last referenced back in 2004) and see what she was up to. She never answered her phone, but called me back, after the three of us left to go to PaperMoon Diner. I also got a chance to meet the kittens, though the kitten I wanted was already spoken for.

On Saturday, Dave and Jessie came by to borrow my truck to pick up the grill they bought. Shannon showed up and brought us donuts. Then the four of us went to Target to get storage boxes and Home Depot to get a dehumidifier and Round Up. Then we got back to Tim's and proceeded to make Tim clean out every room in his house. Then we moved his office and bedroom into the front bedroom. I have never seen his house so clean in my life. Shannon crashed on the couch for a few hours, Kelly and I would bring things to the basement, and Tim and Kelly would sort though everything. Tim has been reminded to never buy office supplies again. Then the four of us went out to Timbuktu in Hanover for dinner and then Tim and I went back to his house, cleaned out more, then I went back to Upper Marlboro. Sunday I worked on Capitol Hill.

Monday I worked on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, the electrician came. He fixed the ceiling electrical box in the dining room that I broke the neutral wire off of back when Tim bought his house in October 2005. We also had him add a length of wire to the ceiling in his office for the future ceiling fan, and we found the missing electrical box for in the living room. The electrician told me that he has not seen fabric electrical tape in 25+ years, so we think there has not been a ceiling light in present in Tim's house for the past three owners. How the home inspectors for the past three owners never caught the light switch to nothing and whatnot is a mystery to me. Wednesday I went to Home Depot to get more supplies, and Wednesday night we put drywall up on the ceiling in the back bedroom. Thursday I felt sick, so I just did some random stuff around his house, such as pouring concentrated Round Up on the random Tree of Heaven (aka: Ghetto Pam) growing in his back yard.

A Prince George's County Police Officer was run over and died two weeks ago. The guy that killed him died in jail. At this point, the corrections officers have been ruled out as suspects, with his death being ruled a suicide.

Jessie Jackson wants to cut Barack Obama's nuts off. Yawn. It shows the true colors of Jessie Jackson.

Oh well. I guess that's everything. I really need to find more time to update my blog regularly.

Remembering All Those Who Served Heroically

This post is to remember and honor Deputy Jason Baker of the Marion County Indiana Sheriff's Office. His end of watch was 9/17/2001.
This post is to remember and honor Corporal Steve Gaughan of the Prince George's County Police Department. His end of watch was 6/21/2005.
This post is to remember the other countless people that have served the public as police officers and have given their lives for the rest of us. May you all rest in peace.

It's My Party, and I can, oh Nevermind

Friday afternoon I did a phone interview with Northrop Grumman. While the position is not exactly what I am looking for, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I still hope to get the District Court Commissioner position, since that would be more pay, keep me local, and get me closer to a career in police work.

Friday night was my birthday party. An extra special thanks to Tim for hosting it. Of course a special thanks to Freddy, Shannon, Shawon, Dave, Jessie, Steve, Adam, Kelly, Rick, Tricia, Dan, Tara, Justin, André, Tatyana, and Chad for showing up. We had great food, Tim's iPod on shuffle, lots of stories about me from high school (Justin and Tara) and college (Shawon) to entertain everyone. Jessie gets the quote of the night about the Tofukey sausages I got a Trader Joe's, along the lines of "They are the sausage equivalent of a dildo." At 11:30 PM or so, we had a campaign toast and served the ice cream cake. I proceeded to get even more plastered until I opened presents around 2:00 AM or so. I received a friendship book, E=MC2 by Mariah Carey, Blackout by Britney Spears, two copies of The Smurfs Season 1 on DVD, an iPod dock, a deck of playing cards, a Swiss Army type tool. Some other presents ordered by other people are on the way to my PO Box. Around 3:00 AM, I was sent to bed because, well, the party was coming to an end. Shannon, Freddy and Rick spent the night.

I woke up the next morning throwing up. And kept throwing up from about 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM or so. Finally after my stomach settled down, I felt it was safe to leave Tim's house. Freddy drove me back to my parents house and went home with the Accord. Chris then brought my parents Chinese food, which helped settle my stomach. I ended up catching a nap from about 7 PM until 10 PM, then got ready for my ride along.

OK here is the short of the long of it, community relations with the Prince George's County Police have come light years along since 1999 when I last rode with them. The level of respect that the citizens showed the officer I rode with amazed me, considering he was a white guy. In the past, there was quite a lot of tension between police and citizens, which I witnessed quite a bit on my ride alongs with the department. I rode along in District III, which is Palmer Park, and specifically was in the "H" sector, which was roughly bordered by Southern Ave on the West, Suitland Parkway on the South, Central Ave on the North and the Beltway on the East. Areas included District Heights, Capitol Heights, Suitland, Forestville and Boulevard Heights. We responded to three noise complaints, a hit and run, two shootings, did a traffic stop and gave some hookers a good scare. While en route to one of the shootings, we went though a red light camera intersection with our lights and siren on. This led to my favorite quote of the night by the officer, on the radio, with dispatch. "Had a Kodak moment at Donnell and the Pike on priority". The second noteworthy event of the night was when we pulled the traffic stop. We clocked a Zipcar doing 53 in a 35 on Ritchie Road. The guy had his children at a movie until nearly 2 AM. That raised the eyebrows of two other officers. The third noteworthy event of the night was with a woman walking along Southern Avenue with her two children at 2:30 AM. She was emotionally distressed, and the officer calmly asked her questions about her welfare despite her agitated state. She claimed she was coming home from work and just picked the kids up from a family member's house, and she lived about two blocks away. The fourth noteworthy event of the night was when we rolled up on some hookers in Suitland across from the Census Bureau. Both were white women, born in 1962. One looked to be about 80 years old, the other one looked to be in her late 40s. The one in her late 40s was strung out, and when the officer asked if she was on anything, she told him she had just smoked a rock. While giving her a field interrogation, she tried to flash the officers on the scene. However, due to her very point blank honesty and cooperation, we ended up sending both on their way with a stern warning to leave the area. The final noteworthy event of the night was the second shooting, however other officers on the scene had the incident under control. At this point it was 4:30 AM and the officer and I both concluded that this would be a good time to part ways. I got back to my parents house around 5 AM, my dad was up watching TV, I ended up going to bed until 9 AM or so.

I woke up around 9 AM, my dad cooked me breakfast. Afterwards we tried to go get free mulch from the County, however the facility was closed. There was a stray dog walking around. She tried to follow my truck, so I got out and tried to bate her over. However she ran away. Poor dog, she definitely looked like she had been dumped there by a heartless owner. We then went to Dunkin Dounuts, to get coffee and donuts. Then I did random chores around their house. My brother came by, met me, we took the truck to the electrical mechanic in Upper Marlboro and dropped it off, and he ran me home. When I got home I proceeded to take a hour long nap. Afterwards I ate some dinner, watched some TV, and sent out a couple copies of my resumé before starting to write this post.

I bid everyone a good night and good luck.

Happy Birthday to ME!

I am now officially 28 years old.

Saturday night, My parents, my brother, my sister, her boyfriend, her boyfriend's son, one of my nieces, Tim, Kelly and I went to Green Field Churrascaria in Rockville for dinner. I blame André for my love of Brazilian BBQ now. After a very filling dinner of meat, the servers came out singing "Happy Birthday" in Portuguese with a slice of plain cheesecake. At dinner I could not stop talking about my ride along with US Park Police the night before. My parents both commented my shifting has got significantly smoother since they last rode in the car. It just took time for me to get used to working a manual transmission after not having once since 2003, when the Mazda died.

Sunday was my roommate Julie's birthday. We celebrated by making BBQ Chicken, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, potato salad and baked beans. Afterwards we celebrated with an ice cream cake from Caravel. So yummy, so fattening. Earlier in the day I attempted to take my dad to get free mulch from Prince George's County. However they ran out as we pulled up. I took Dundee up the road with me to my parents house and I took him for a walk to the neighbor's house where there is a flock of sheep. He knew what they were when he heard them bah. He is supposed to be bred from working Australian Shepherd lines. I would really like to teach him how to work as a shepherding dog, but my roommate that owns him is opposed to doing that. Oh well.

For my birthday, I took it easy and went into hiding. Well, not exactly. I called the Commissioner's Office to schedule my sit in. Then my power went out around 2:30 PM. I ended up meeting up with Shannon at St. Charles Towne Center. I bought a new shirt at Aeropostale, some Watermelon margarita mix at Kohls. I picked up my contact lens order from Sams Club, and then we hit Circuit City. Shannon bought me a copy of Edward Scissorhands on Blu Ray for my birthday. Then we went by my brother's house to pick up my mail. Rusty and Trouble got Shannon's shirt full of cat hair (mostly Rusty). Then I dropped Shannon off at her car and I returned home. My roommates made steak and potato along with some left overs for my birthday dinner. At least the power came back on by 6:30. My roommates got me Cooking Mama Cook Off for my Wii, got me Juno and Independence Day on Blu Ray, Purple Rain on HD-DVD, a pair of Xbox sleep pants and a tshirt. I know I am getting more swag from my friends on Friday at my birthday party at Tim's house. My parents are getting me something too, I just need to get them the information from my Amazon.com wish list.

I am working on scheduling a ride along with the Prince George's County police. Even though the idea of doing Prince George's County police is not really appealing, I am running out of options on many fronts. At least the pay is reasonable and I'd get a take home car for use in the County. In many ways I feel like my world is shrinking, due to my parents deteriorating health. I have to stay close to make sure they are taken care of. I just hope they realize how much of a sacrifice I am making to keep them comfortable.