What is your job?

[Jesse H]

Comm Officer - 911. Our agency is one where we do it all, so I'm kind of a big deal

The true first responders!

Y'all don't get enough appreciation, thank you!

 

[Tourmeister]

I read an article once that talked about women need/have 7 types of friends, each has a certain characteristic and strong suit. I would bet guys are kinda similar when you get down to the nitty gritty of personalities/interests.

I would bet that most of us are lucky if we have maybe 2-3 really good friends. Even then, I doubt any of us get to spend the time with them that we really want to spend. I know I don't. At best, I might get to do a bike trip with them once a year or see them for a weekend once or twice a year. I hardly even get to spend much time with my local friends. I get to see Pkiser whenever I need to mount new tires. He has a coats machine in his garage so we can knock them out in about ten minutes, but then we usually spend the next couple of hours hanging out in the garage or drive way visiting or I'll take him and his wife to dinner so we can visit. I get to ride so little of late that even that doesn't happen very often any more.

I have a group of guys I have been friends with since around 7th grade. There are about 10 of us that still try to get together once or twice a year for a guys weekend. Trying to find a weekend that ALL of us have free is a nightmare. We have to do a spread sheet in Excel to map out everything just in the hopes that a blank weekend might show up. All but one of us is married and has kids. We all have full time professions: doctor, engineers, architect, IT nerds, teacher, oil/gas landman, etc...

Do you retired guys finally get the time to hang out with your friends, assuming they survived until retirement...?

 

[Monica]

The true first responders!

Y'all don't get enough appreciation, thank you!

Aww, thank you! It's sweet to hear
Forgot to say, I love my field units, they drive me crazy too. I know everyone, which can make it scary. I'll move Heaven and **** to bring them home at the end of end shift though.

I would bet that most of us are lucky if we have maybe 2-3 really good friends. Even then, I doubt any of us get to spend the time with them that we really want to spend. I know I don't. At best, I might get to do a bike trip with them once a year or see them for a weekend once or twice a year. I hardly even get to spend much time with my local friends. I get to see Pkiser whenever I need to mount new tires. He has a coats machine in his garage so we can knock them out in about ten minutes, but then we usually spend the next couple of hours hanging out in the garage or drive way visiting or I'll take him and his wife to dinner so we can visit. I get to ride so little of late that even that doesn't happen very often any more.

I have a group of guys I have been friends with since around 7th grade. There are about 10 of us that still try to get together once or twice a year for a guys weekend. Trying to find a weekend that ALL of us have free is a nightmare. We have to do a spread sheet in Excel to map out everything just in the hopes that a blank weekend might show up. All but one of us is married and has kids. We all have full time professions: doctor, engineers, architect, IT nerds, teacher, oil/gas landman, etc...

Do you retired guys finally get the time to hang out with your friends, assuming they survived until retirement...?

Had training yesterday, was on the heavy topic of school violence and we got to Debriefing. One of the things the instructor mentioned was women tend to live longer. I'm sure most of us would chalk that up the thing where guys are the ones that usually say 'hold my beer, watch this...'. lol But between the two genders, women are the ones who get together with girlfriends and chat. Yall know women can talk a lot lol, and that actually ends up being a good thing for responders who go through critical incidents and need to debrief. Well, carry that principle over into the rest of the professions and situations, stress gets heavy in life. It would benefit guys to do the same with whomever you feel comfortable talking to. Probably cut back on the 'watch this...' stunts too, that would help.

I see my best friend that I grew up with every week during basketball season, and at least once a month for lunch the rest of the year. She and I are ride or die since 7th grade. My other friends along Life's way I try to catch them within the month as well. I kinda end up in a rotation of friends. You gotta make time, life will never just hand it to you. The same for taking time off at work, you gotta fight for yourself and put yourself first for recuperation and well-being. The way you prioritize work, prioritize personal time too. You gotta make time. Being healthy isn't just physical health. It's also mental, emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual as well. If those things get out of balance, you feel it.

 

[Texas T]

Kinda. I take our Executive Leadership Team wherever they need to go in a safe and secure manner.

If you are interested in world-wide travel, executive protection, and working for a Global Fortune 1 company, talk with our Global Security folks. It's mainly made up of ex Fibbies, Secret Service, and Spooks, but I'm sure you'd find something there you like. Our CEO (Doug McMillon) rocks. Doug challenged the store managers to get behind his Hot Wheels program and promised to wash the car of the store manager whose store sold the most. Last week he made good on his promise by flying to Puerto Rico and washing that store manager's car.

Not bad for a guy that runs a half a trillion dollar business.

 

[Not Dave]

I was a cable contractor in Austin for 13 years, with CTS for 9 years and COI on and off for 4. Then I installed dish for a few and direct for Mastec for 7. We probably know a few people in common outside of riding. Somehow I never picked up on that.

When I went to your place to pick up the found and recovered side panel I obviously saw your van. I didn't think of saying anything, just glad you were able to find the panel!

Time Warner Cable for almost 3 years out of the Round Rock office. I detested the way they lied to customers and treated us installers but the pay was decent. I was looking for another job for pretty much the entire time I worked there. Quit and took a pay cut to be a corrections officer. Haven't looked back. They tried hard to convince me to stay. I did enjoy working for Pacific Bell in San Diego. Working outdoors in San Diego has to be one of the best places on earth. I miss that. I left that to move to TX during the "dot com" failure and couldn't find a job right away. Bad timing. TWC eventually hired me. I enjoyed my work but didn't like the corporation. It's been 15 years since I quit, probably don't remember most of my coworkers.

 

[Not Dave]

Indeed. That's one of the things I tried to teach our new guys when I was an FTO. It's in my opinion one of the best gigs out there, if you're up for it. I can't imagine doing anything else for a paycheck but at the same time have absolutely no problem turning it off the moment I OD on the radio.

For a while I found myself being annoyed around non-cops. Then I only hung around cops when off-duty. Lately I've been coming around and seeking out my old friends who aren't cops.

I like some of my district partners but mostly don't see them outside of work. I don't live near most of them but a few. I'm not a type A personality normally either but did learn how to make one and turn it on when needed. Tourmeister, Woodbutcher, TexTom, M38A1 and others can attest to the fact I'm not a cop when I'm not on duty, just a normal guy. Sure, my non-law enforcement friends always bring up questions and what if's about laws and situations but that's normal for anyone to have questions regarding something you're familiar with. My previous employers of Pac Bell and TWC used me to go to irate customer's homes to fix the issue that the previous tech broke or couldn't fix and to make them happy. I was good at that. If there was only one thing in my life I could take back was quitting Pac Bell and just seeing it through to retirement, I liked that work. I was being groomed for supervisor but gave it all up when I moved to TX. But then I wouldn't have met any of you, wouldn't have met my wonderful wife, etc.

 

[sharkey]

If you are interested in world-wide travel, executive protection, and working for a Global Fortune 1 company, talk with our Global Security folks. It's mainly made up of ex Fibbies, Secret Service, and Spooks, but I'm sure you'd find something there you like. Our CEO (Doug McMillon) rocks. Doug challenged the store managers to get behind his Hot Wheels program and promised to wash the car of the store manager whose store sold the most. Last week he made good on his promise by flying to Puerto Rico and washing that store manager's car.

Not bad for a guy that runs a half a trillion dollar business.

That's pretty cool. We have a Global Security Dept based out of Houston that I maintain contact with on a regular basis. They travel all the time with offices all around the world. My CEO is pretty nice but definitely an A Type personality that might be a vampire (don't know when he sleeps). He has told me how to drive on more than one occasion. One President gets in the SUV and we talk about Classic Rock. Another President gets in the SUV and we talk conservative politics. The Board comes to town and I keep my mouth shut. They pay is above par and everyone likes me and my schedule is very flexible so I like it a lot. If I ever go looking for another job, I will keep Wal Mart in mind. I went to a conference when I was a LEO and heard one of their guys speak about their GSOC. Pretty impressive and he stated probably once a week someone somewhere drives into one of their stores.

 

[ntklr650]

I'm retired which means that I'm the household electrician, plumber, carpenter, landscaper, mechanic, Irrigation specialist, construction manager, finance manager and hopefully soon - travel planner.

All that is funded from my having been a C141A crew chief, cable installer, glorified delivery boy, car care center/service station manager, a C-130H crew chief, aircraft maintenance manger/supervisor, landscape maintainer and air conditioning supply house manager. Apparently my favorite position was as a C-130 Crew Chief. Although I haven't worked the flight line in over 18 years, I instantly feel at home when I have the chance to visit. It's as if I never left. The C-130 was the perfect size airplane for a guy like me to manage.

I grew up in Arkansas about 2 miles from the Little Rock Air Force Base with lots of C-130s. My brother was a C-130 pilot (Captain) mostly out of Abilene. I know he loved that plane. There is nothing like seeing Fat Albert taking off with JATO rockets
He is a predator instructor now in New Mexico.

 

[ntklr650]

I am a contract engineer supporting suppliers for Paccar(Peterbilt and Kenworth). I also have a side business designing stuff for small businesses using SolidWorks. My wife stays home with the kids and homeschools them along with running a blog and YouTube channel mostly on personal finance. I help her with both of those and do whatever the boss lady says. She is the brains behind the business.
Before my current job I worked in oil and gas and before that I worked as the on-site Mechanical engineer at the Hobby Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory in West Texas. Before that I was a stupid kid...

 

[ntklr650]

It would be interesting to see if the people from 15 years ago are still doing the same things.

I appear and star in Hollywood B movies. It was never the plan until about 3 years ago but is really starting to work out. Before that, I did a lot of other things. Life can be interesting. We will see what happens next

I love Hollywood B Grade movies and C grade movies. They typically have better acting. Not as good action but I can live with it.

 

[StromXTc]

I’m a tower crane technician. But really just an overpaid laborer. I started with the company in 97 as a concrete pump operator and just moved up over the years. It’s a cool job I get to travel the country and see some sights. I get to work with some pretty big assist cranes.

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Overpaid for good reason
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[jar675]

I’ve been in some sketchy situations but nothing that crazy or this crazy.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1118258288346368