Pull ups

Once upon a time, I could do a pull up. When I lived in Boston, I was in the former marine barracks at the Charlestown Navy Yard. In my front yard was a rope and two pull up bars. I never climbed the rope; I didn't know how many decades it had hung there. But every time I came or went, I would attempt to do a pull up. I'd never been able to do them before. It took several months, but eventually I could do one.

I don't know what happened, but once I reached my goal of one pull up, I lost interest. I think winter came and the bar was cold. What do you know, it didn't take long before I couldn't do any. Back to square one.

Since I've moved to an area with very limited and poor gym equipment and workout opportunities I didn't have a way to do pull ups. But then, two weeks ago my "Iron Gym" showed up in the mail. It's a pull up bar that hangs on the door frame without needing to be bolted in. That's good, since this isn't my house.

The only door frame it fits on is the one to my bathroom. My bathroom is attached to my bedroom so when I'm sitting in my bed reading, I can see my pull up bar. When I go in or out of the bathroom, I have to duck to avoid the ab straps (they were free). As a result of it's constant presence and my inability to ignore it, I have been working on it frequently. The only time I'm not tempted to dangle on it is when I'm dressed for work. With my extra 20 pounds I'm afraid I'll rip off the door frame.

The consequence of this is that two days ago I did my first pull up. To my chin, with no jump start. I was so suprised I went dashing down the hallway to tell my roommate and then I had to do another one to make sure I hadn't imagined it.

Since then I have done countless others. I still can only do one at a time, but after I do one and get down I can do a couple more before I can't get my eyeballs past the top of the bar.

Some of you may be thinking, "Wow, Liz, you're really wimpy. I can do umpteen million pull ups." Well all of you can pound sand. I'm happy with my one pull up and I'm going to continue to hang from my bar, growling and snarling, until I can do a bunch more. It only took me two weeks to get this far. Imagine where I'll be in a few months!

Wolves and Troopers

Yesterday, right as I was calling out of service so I could go eat Thanksgiving dinner with my friends, someone hit a wolf on the highway.

I thought it was surely one of the coyotes I'd seen earlier that day. I see coyotes on an almost daily basis when I'm out running radar. But it really was a wolf. She dragged herself off the highway, but with her shattered hind end, she was done for. My coworker shot her and when he did, all the nearby wolves (her pack) started howling. It was very sad.

As a result, today I wrote speeding tickets for that area, which is a 55 mph zone. I showed no mercy. I wore the extra thick long johns so I could run even more traffic than normal (I can't run stationary radar with the heater on because the fan sets the radar off. When it's 10 or 20 below 0 it doesn't take long for me to get chilled and loose motivation for traffic enforcement).

Yesterday, I went to dinner with the Cantwell trooper and his family. Another family from church was there and the two other troopers. The cute one with the southern accent gave me a ride since my truck is in the shop. If you'll remember the post I wrote about the felon who hit on me... he'd been there, so I told him what happened after he left. His response, "So where are you two going?"

Ha ha.

Dinner was great. I'm thankful for good friends.

Some pictures of Fall

We've been in winter for two solid months already, but here are some pictures I took in early September while on hunting patrol. My coworker made me pose in front of this infamous bus; he said there was a picture of that guy (I don't remember his name) from the book and movie, "Into the Wild." I saw the picture later, of the guy sitting in front of the bus. His leg was crossed and he wasn't dressed as a park ranger, but otherwise it's pretty similar. He was also wearing rubber boots. The bus has turned into some ridiculous shrine to the spoiled rich kid who died there. People have signed the inside walls of the bus and there's even a book to sign now. We ran into a couple guys who'd hiked out and spent the night at the bus. Like it's some kind of pilgrimage.

Some glacier I flew over. I don't remember the name of it, but it looked kind of neat.

For those of you outside Alaska

Here are some pictures of the moose that were in my backyard yesterday. They were hanging out on the other side of my dining room windows.

What a way to start the day

INDIANAPOLIS — A convicted sex offender died Sunday during a struggle with a father who found the naked man in or near his 17-year-old daughter's bedroom, police said.

Police responding to a call from the city's northwest side about 3:20 a.m. found 64-year-old Robert McNally on the hallway floor with his arm around the neck of 52-year-old David T. Meyers, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount said Meyers had a heart condition and may have had a heart attack. An autopsy was planned.

Police said Meyers was naked except for a mask and latex gloves and had entered the home through a window near the girl's bedroom with rope, condoms and a knife. He was familiar with the home's layout because it belonged to a relative, police said.

The girl awoke and screamed when she saw the man in her room, police said. The father responded and struggled with the intruder while the girl's mother phoned 911.

Police did not anticipate any charges against McNally.

"If a person breaks into your home, you are justified in using deadly force in defending your family," said Mount. "In this situation, I don't think he was trying to kill him, he was trying to hold him down."

Meyers had served 10 years in prison for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct and was wanted in Boone County for failure to register as a sex offender. He was registered as a sex offender in Marion County.

Police said Meyers lived with his mother and had recently lost his job.

The death is under investigation and will be reviewed by a Marion County prosecutor.
"Nobody wins," McNally told The Indianapolis Star. "It's a lose-lose situation for everybody. He has family also."

He said his daughter went to church Sunday after the incident.

*******
It's my humble opinion that if you break into someone's house intending to do evil, you should expect to die in this manner. What a great story! But even better is what the father said, "Nobody wins... He has family also." That's an amazing individual, right there. I hope he doesn't feel to bad for making his neighborhood a little safer.

Hazards of the job

Several of my male friends in law enforcement have stories of women undressing as a ploy to get out of a ticket. Or something. I consider that a job related hazard. I can't top that. But this story is still pretty dang funny.

It was 2300 hours and I was fixing to drift off to sleep when I heard bagpipes. Specifically,"Scotland the Brave," my ring tone. It was the Boss asking if I could back him up. He'd been called out for a motorist in distress which turned out to be a possibly stolen car driven off the road by a guy with officer safety advisements. We'll call the guy Roy.

I got dressed as quickly as I could and thankfully didn't have to scrape ice from the windshield. But a trooper (the cute one with the southern accent) beat me to the scene. I was happy to see him since I'd been worried about the Boss there in the dark on the side of the highway with a stolen car.

APD got ahold of the vehicle's owner and it turns out it's not stolen. The car belongs to Roy's grandfather. The old man had been upset with Roy so he'd put a hold on the vehicle. But, on second thought, I guess he decided that Roy could drive it after all. Fine. Get us all worked up for nothing.

So I'm taking the accident report and I'm talking with Roy. I'm being my normal friendly self. Maybe even more friendly than normal because I want Roy to tell me things. And because my boss warned me that Roy was exhibiting symptoms of emotional and mental instability (and I sure hate to piss off crazy people!). I guess I can turn on the charm, because he admitted to going 117 mph before he lost control of his car and spun all around the highway (thank goodness no one else was there), before sailing off into the trees. 117 is pretty specific, but he assured me that's how fast he was going.

I came back with his citation and explained everything. Roy told me I'm the nicest federal LEO he's ever met. I ask him what other federal LEOs he's run in to and he told me all about how he just got out of federal prison. Roy served 9 months for stealing mail (although I suspect there's a little more to the story than just taking people's bills, magazines, and assorted correspondence). He lamented that the correctional officers weren't always very nice. He said the US Marshals are alright. I agreed, the Marshals are nice guys.

Then, this is the best part. After telling me how nice I am, he says he hopes to see me around town. He was hitting on me! He was a breath away from asking me out (I could tell) when I deflected the conversation (very smoothly, if I do say so). I hadn't even seen it coming. If I hadn't been paying attention, the results could have been horrific!

I've been thanked after issuing citations before, but never, ever, has anyone almost asked me out! Wait... that might not be true. No sober people have ever flirted with me after being cited and/or arrested.

That was my excitement for the night. I wish the car had been stolen. I wish the cute trooper had flirted with me instead of the convicted felon. Sigh. Maybe next time.

Personality test

A friend recommended a personality test. I liked my result; it seems pretty accurate. And it's got the coolest name. I'm a Guardian Protector.

Here's my result (my comments are in bold):

We are lucky that Protectors make up as much as ten percent the population, because their primary interest is in the safety and security of those they care about - their family, their circle of friends, their students, their patients, their boss, their fellow-workers, or their employees. Protectors have an extraordinary sense of loyalty and responsibility in their makeup, and seem fulfilled in the degree they can shield others from the dirt and dangers of the world. This makes me think of the popular sheep, sheepdog and wolf metaphor that I first read about in Lt. Col. Grossman's book about warriors. I'm a sheepdog. He said:

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference."

That's exactly how I felt.

Speculating and experimenting do not intrigue Protectors, who prefer to make do with time-honored and time-tested products and procedures rather than change to new. At work Protectors are seldom happy in situations where the rules are constantly changing, or where long-established ways of doing things are not respected. For their part, Protectors value tradition, both in the culture and in their family. Protectors believe deeply in the stability of social ranking conferred by birth, titles, offices, and credentials. I don't know about all that, but I do respect rank and the chain of command. And they cherish family history and enjoy caring for family property, from houses to heirlooms.

Wanting to be of service to others, Protectors find great satisfaction in assisting the downtrodden, and can deal with disability and neediness in others better than any other type. Very true.

They are not as outgoing and talkative as the Provider Guardians [ESFJs], and their shyness is often misjudged as stiffness, even coldness, when in truth Protectors are warm-hearted and sympathetic, giving happily of themselves to those in need. I've been told I come across as arrogant, but I'm not.

Their reserve ought really to be seen as an expression of their sincerity and seriousness of purpose. The most diligent of all the types, Protectors are willing to work long, hard hours quietly doing all the thankless jobs that others manage to avoid. Protectors are quite happy working alone; in fact, in positions of authority they may try to do everything themselves rather than direct others to get the job done. When it's my case, I do have trouble delegating. I don't even like my coworkers to search my prisoners, even when policy says they should (same gender searches when possible).

Thoroughness and frugality are also virtues for them. When Protectors undertake a task, they will complete it if humanly possible. They also know better than any other type the value of a dollar, and they abhor the squandering or misuse of money. I don't consider plane tickets to Africa to be "squandering." To save, to put something aside against an unpredictable future, to prepare for emergencies-these are actions near and dear to the Protector's heart.

For all these reasons, Protectors are frequently overworked, just as they are frequently misunderstood and undervalued. Their contributions, and also their economies, are often taken for granted, and they rarely get the gratitude they deserve. This is OK since I don't do things for gratitude.

Mother Teresa, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Steward, and Tsar Nicholas II are examples of Protector Guardian style.

And just to round out the post, here's a quote from Dave Duncan:

It is in the darkest of times that honor and courage and service shine most brightly. So let us make this our pledge together, you and I... that we shall always hold true to our ways, or laws and our traditions. Then centuries yet unborn will look back on us and see, not our darkest times, but our most glorious.

Trooper Wooten, Walt Monegan, and Sarah Palin

These are my friend's kids, dressed up for Halloween. Brad is Trooper Wooten, Bryan is Walk Monegan, and Bryce is Sarah Palin. Bryce sent the picture in to the Fairbanks Daily News Miner (it was in Wednesday's paper). Some Commander saw it and the father of these three hooligans was "talked to" by his Sgt. Some people have no sense of humor!!

Winter woes

In an article I just read by Stew Smith, he says that mood changes, depression, and weight gain are common in the winter. This is something I am very familiar with. In fact, one winter, I was so determined not to put on winter weight, I almost quit eating altogether.

I'd spent the summer working at 7500 feet in Sequoia NP. I felt great, but I knew my summer slenderness would never survive a Fairbanks winter if I didn't take drastic measures. I got down to just two Luna bars and some broccoli for a days' worth of food before I passed out and my roommate called the ambulance on me. It was my crew that came (very embarrassing). I learned that starvation is never a good way to go. By the way, I hadn't set out with the intention of developing any kind of eating disorder. Eventually I just didn't get hungry. My slide downhill was gradual and I hadn't really noticed.

Well, here it is winter again. My goal is to work out 4 times a week. I'm keeping track, which makes it easier and is good for motivation. If I don't get 4 workouts, I get at least 3. The problem I sometimes encounter is related to where I live.

I'm 2 hours from a gym. Since I only go to Fairbanks once or twice a month, it doesn't make any sense to pay for a gym membership. Oh, wait. We actually do have a gym here. This is it:
I think my bedroom is bigger. The treadmill is worn out. There's a stair climber, a bike, and an elliptical (it's very loud and may be on it's last leg). The weight lifting contraption has some problems. When I tried to use it the other day I couldn't get the pin to go between the weights on the bench press side. The TV/DVD player is nice. I watch my Planet Earth DVDs when I'm on the elliptical. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it's a very depressing, dark, little room.

My other option is outside. Stew Smith gives some advice for enjoying cold weather workouts:

"Pace Yourself – Build up to exercising in the cold temperatures. It is more difficult to go from any cardiovascular activity when you are used to 60-70 degrees one day and try to run or walk in 20-30 degrees the next. So, over the course of 4-6 weeks, do workouts outside as the weather changes. For instance, starting in October / November you were probably seeing colder weather of 40-50 degrees depending on your location. By December / January, if you continued to exercise outside, you might have gotten used to 30-40 degree weather. As with anything, pace yourself and do not expect to go from 70 degrees one day and enjoy a 30 degree workout the next.... Also, try to walk in the “heat” of the day such as early afternoon to avoid sub-freezing temperatures if possible."

Right. 40-50 depending on my location. Try -10 to +20 for October and November. Today was a heat wave. I left for my hike and it was +9! By the time I'd gotten back, it was up to 11. December and January aren't going to be 30-40. I won't see temps above freezing until spring (except when I'm in Africa).

Not very useful advice.

I was running outside until a couple weeks ago. My running shoes have holes in the top which let in the snow. I'd run until my toes got numb and then I'd turn around. Now there's to much snow, making the terrain very uneven. It makes my ankles sore. I don't have skis, nor do I know how to cross country ski. I've got snowshoes, but walking isn't much of a cardio workout.

I'm slowly accumulating a workout room in my garage. I ordered a pull up bar that I don't have to bolt to the door. I have my punching bag, an exercise ball, and some dumbbells. I'd really like to get some decent equipment for our mini-gym, but space will continue to be an issue and the building will continue to be dark and dreary.

When I was in Anchorage this last week, I went with a friend to her gym. It was really nice. One of the benefits to living in a city. There was a hot tub, sauna, and multiple levels of workout stuff. There were classes on all kinds of things. And a pool. I miss swimming.

I'm going to the city again in a couple weeks for court. None of my friends will be around, so I'll stay in a hotel. I've got to find one with a good gym. Then all I've got to do is write a lot of tickets. That shouldn't be hard.

I did NOT vote for a convicted felon

Just so it's clear, I did not vote for Ted Stevens. Nor did I vote for Don Young, who is currently under investigation by the feds. I am shamed that Stevens may actually win. The votes aren't all counted yet, but he's in the lead. I am baffled and horribly mortified. Just so you know.

Thanks for all the comments on my other two posts. I've been out of town... or rather, I went to town for a week of training. I just got home.