The OLD FiReCrAcKeR

Gosh it has been a while since I have updated this... and since I have had so many requests to do it (hi Chris!!) so I am *finally* updating it!!!

I forget all that I have done and so I am not going to bore you with a blow by blow story of everything that has happened in the last week and a half... I could probably write 1/2 a novel on it! Well I've been back to bennies, gone to see Spanglish (it sucked... and Amanda almost ran over Chad... lol).

I honestly don't really remember all that has gone on in the past week and a half because it's been a whirlwind of thoughts and what not... I know I worked a lot. OH! and had CPR class w/Tasha. So now we can save you. But minus the mouth-to-mouth. (no cootie transfer.) LOL.

on that note.... SIT UBU SIT! good dog... ::woof!::

Anyways... I've been sick and am getting better. Worked with Gail yesterday and had a lot of fun, worked with Sami today and watched Grinch, Southpark, and ate our Christmas feast... and had all 17 of our calls in 12 hours. I don't think we could handle any more than that. I sent Gangwer around the city on a quest to find AFRIN for me. After a few stores he returned with my $6.oo bottle of it.

I came "home" to Broadway tonight considering that my mom is in Las Vegas and my Dad in Richmond. Anyways, so I celebrated christmas here with Amanda's family... which by the way her sister is engaged now!! (yes we are all suprised!!) After presents we went out and picked up teresa and sara (and joiner at the station) and went to go see Meet the Fockers. Oh my gosh that was SUCH a good movie!! MUCH better than Spanglish, and I would recommend it wholly. SO funny. Even better than Meet the Parents. :)

Well now I am back in bed lying down. Below are some pictures of Main St bar and Grill tour and Bennies.... hope you all enjoy and that you all had a good Christmas!!!

Isn't this the best picture?!?

Bennies w/Pat

the "v" pattern where the fire started (an outlet, the light made a "V" on the wall)

Had to take a pic of where we used to dance... NOT!

this is from the stage area looking back towards the entrance of Main St Bar

That's what I was in from Thursday-Sunday of this past week! I took Amanda up to NY/NYC to visit my friends and family up there. Anyways, on Thursday we got a semi-late start and ended up leaving Broadway around 1pm... so after all of our stops in WV and PA, we finally arrived in NY around 9. Of course, plans changed when we got there... I called Kristen, whom we were supposed to stay with and she had the flu, so we stayed in the Floral Park Motel. We both didn't really sleep well that night, becuase it was a wierd place, but we did get to jump on the bed. :--P

Then on Friday we left around 11 and went into my old city, Glen Cove, and ate at Sal's Pizza and got cookies at Landing Bakery. We visited Kristen as she was feeling better and we got to exchange presents. LOL we both got eachother drinking related stuff... hahaha!

Well after that we went to visit my Aunt Fran and Uncle Mike in Nesconset out on the Island. Well... I swear everytime I go up there my family moves further out on the Island! That night we chuckled a lot (A LOT), and Joiner sang us a song so that we could sleep well... he truly is better than Amanda and I singing "Redneck Woman"! LOL

On Saturday morning we got up at 8:30 for a day in NYC. I got to introduce Amanda to all the wonder and glory that is the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), NYC subway, and NYC in general. We took the LIRR from St. James to Hicksville and transferred to get another train to Penn station. On the 2nd train, there was a six year old boy that was hilarious and kept talking to us. He really made us laugh by trying to figure out what was different between Amanda and I. He would say stuff like "you have a different nose... no.... wait... your nose is the same!" Hahaha... this for the duration of Hicksville-Penn Station!

After getting to the City, we walked from 34th st station to about times square, stopped for lunch, and then walked to 57th st to the Hard Rock Cafe and then Colombus Circle. From then we took the subway to the WTC site. There we walked all around and into St. Pauls chapel and visited the FDNY Ten-House. (We've got a lot of pictures, some are below, but others have yet to be developed!) Well, after that we walked from there BACK up past 34ht st, all the way to Times Square. Needless to say, by the time we got there we were so tired and our legs felt like they would fall off.

We took the train back and got back to the house around 11 and it was definately time to sleep... which is a whole different issue in itself that I won't even go into. Putting it simply, we had some issues with sleeping and Sunday morning... we were definately ready to go home!

On the way home we stopped at Hagerstown and shopped, and then ate at Cracker Barrel (mmm sunrise sampler!!!) I think we got back home around 7pm... and we were both so happy to be back. Just having gas be below $2.09 (the price in NY) is great!!!

Some pictures from the trip are below, but I will be updating with more at a later time, possibly after this weekend. I should have more as soon as we finish the roll!!

So it's not the best picture... but it's Amanda under the Broadway sign :--P 

The Late Show! 

Times Square from the corner of W44th/Broadway 

Ladder 10, Liberty St. Station/Ground Zero.... this is the Ten-Truck (more pictures of 10 truck to come later!) 

Myself and the Ten-House engine :-) 

This is the last beam that they left standing at Ground Zero. 

This is another building, completely covered in tarps while they redo it 

THIS IS NOW... two of the WTC complex buildings  

THAT WAS THEN... outside of the firehouse near Times Square, November 2001 

THAT WAS THEN... November, 2001 (MRD's in MACY*S parade) 

THAT WAS THEN...This was a picture I had taken on a school trip in 1995 to the WTC... 

Where to start, where to end... well, I had off on Friday and got to sleep later than normal, which was good since I didn't go to bed until about 1/4 til 5. lol. Well, I woke up, created this new background on the blog, and then met Amanda at EOC to go see our new home in the Public Safety building. I must say that I am truly AMAZED at how far things have come and I cannot wait until we get to move in there. The scary part is that I had a dream a while ago that I was at work at a place that isn't like what I work in now but it did look a lot like the new building... which gives me a somewhat wierd deja-vu feeling. Oh well... lol! I really can't believe how much things have changed and think it will be so much better than where we currently are, and we are truly lucky to have what we have gotten!!! (Jimmy is of course the best tour guide also!)

After we left there we went back over to good ol Rock St. to get ready for the parade. Amanda and I chose to ride on Truck 21, and instead of in the ladder we rode on the side... which was fun, yet very VERY cold!! I also got to see a lot of my MRD friends... and I really really do miss marching band! I cannot wait until next year when I get to help Broadway with the band. Yay!

So after the parade, Mark, Kelly, Austin, Amanda and I went to BW3's to eat before the parade crowd got in. Kelly amused us with her stories of "hunting" and has given us a new meaning to the word. Aparantly, since I have a gun and I drive through the woods in my truck it is considered hunting! I can definately say that I have been hunting in my life, which is very exciting since it was something that I didn't think I had done. LOL! We were laughing so hard that we got a little hot and had to turn the A/C on instead of the heat. What a crazy night...

Saturday I woke up and saw C90 heading out towards port when I was pulling out of Avalon Woods, and thought hey I should follow them! But since I had promised Amanda and Jordon and the family that I would have Breakfast with Santa, I continued to the station to meet them. :--) It was fun, and after it i went home and went back to bed for a little... then went back up to broadway for the night and then to Luray to visit Amanda's grandma. It was so sad being that she didn't remember anything butwhen we were leaving she blew us kisses and i cold have cried. We stopped at Dan's Steakhouse on the way back to eat... which you could say was an experience in Luray dining that I never want to experience again! I'm just gonna say that we thought we were ordering steak... but it ended up being a $10 hamburger that was shaped like a steak!!!

Then we got back, had chineese food (mmm good food) and got ready to go out to Bennies Beach. We visited Teresa for a bit but she didn't want to come, which was a shame since there was a guy there she'd have really liked. Anyways, so McKinney, Amanda, and I went out to Bennies, and we had a lot of fun. We sang so many times decided that our rendition of "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson was the best. It was a fun night, and I enjoyed every conversation that I had. :--)

This morning I had to get up to be at work at 7... and I felt SO sick with a headache and sore throat... and through the day my muscles started hurting and my nose started running. Gosh I felt horrible... it was not cool. :--(

I got off work at 3, and as I am leaving i hear my name being screamed and I look and it's none other than Amanda running around the building to find me to take me up to Mainstreet Bar and Grill becuase the HFD guys said they would wait for me. (aren't the the BEST!! I love you all!)

Then Melissa came to visit me and got me El Charro for my birthday... and then I went to put up our christmas tree in broadway. Now I'm back here lying in bed and all this medicine is really kicking my ass so I should probably go to bed. I called in sick tomorrow so I hope that if i rest and sleep allll day that I will be ok on Tuesday... or even hope that it makes me feel a lot better when I wake up!!

Amanda, Madison, and I :--)

Don't we have the best date ever?!? We love you Austin!!

Amanda and I on Truck 21

Stickley and the future shining stars of HFD!

What parade wouldn't be complete without the MRD's :-P (this time I was watching them!)

Truck 27 :--)

Truck 21 :--)

FInishing the stars.... Zeb is surely one of HFD's future bright stars... hahaha!

We went back to Bennies last night... here's McKinney and Amanda. :-) Smile McKinney!!

This is our excuse for a christmas tree... we know it needs more ornaments and lights!! It has fire and police ornaments on it. :--)

Today, my 22nd birthday... my 1st birthday of having my truck... and if you ask Lyn, I'm 13 today. :--)

Well... today (er, yesterday?) started off on a good basis. :--) I went to work, made one more stocking for Gail (cuz me the dumbass forgot how to count yesterday... wait, that might have had something to do with Amanda and Joiner rushing me through the store... WHOA. Sorry, that wasn't very nice. I'm sorry lovies... i love you!). Anyways, so I made a stocking, put lights on the garland, and lyn got me lunch. :--)

Then Sami came in at 1 and got me a Caramel apple cider from daily grind. MAN they are the best!! And then after that Amanda and Joiner came in to visit me and give me cards! So I guess you could say that work was pretty ok today. (Well, until about 6p when everyone AND their moms decided to get in traffic crashes!) Dad and Kristen called me while I was there, and i can't WAIT to see Kristen next week! Yay NY!!

So, after work I went by EOC to see Karen b/c she told me I had to go see her. :--) I ended up being serenaded by Jill, Karen, and Tasha... lol. I love all of you all!!

Then I returned home to a SLEW of happy birthday IM's... thank you all for them!!

But.... I must say the *funniest* part of the day was the accidental alpha page. (Karen tried to send a page to ONE person for me... and Jill was dispatching a call at the same time for C80/C30 AFA... and instead of the AFA page, all of C80/C30 got my phone #. LMFAO. Oh well. it got fixed!!! Although a few slow people are still calling me...)

And more randomness... Tess calls me and tells me she went to Glen Cove (my hometown in NY!!) today. Yeah... random! So they were transporting a patient from NoVA to there or something like that. It was really random, but pretty cool! I miss you Tess!! (and I can't wait to meet Joe!)

Came home, watched TV for a bit, then went back out to Alstons and came back to watch Harry Potter... fun times. :--) I had much more fun today than I have had in a while, and it has truly been one of the BEST birthdays I have ever had. Thank you all for making it so!!

All I have to say is this has been an amazing day and I have enjoyed *most* every minute of it (...minus some radio traffic...) I love all of you all who made today great! :--)

Tomorrow...
3p- workin' out, 6p- ECC mixer, 7p T-21 for the parade!
***tomorrow night TBA?!***
Saturday morning- RMH to eat breakfast with Santa (and Jordon and Amanda)

Goodnight/day all... thank you all so much, I love you all bunches and am truly blessed to have friends like you!! You know who you are!! :--)