A Week of Quasi-Bliss

After my relaxing day of acu last week, I spent the next day getting a massage and then a pedicure. Aaaaahhhhh........ what a nice "weekend" for me! I figured I might as well pamper myself now in an effort to keep that stress level down. Like I needed a reason!!!
Thursday we took a road trip to D.C. with one of Mike's fellow Army Reservists and his wife. We had been invited to the Hail and Farewell ceremony for the incoming and outgoing Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Thursday night we went to our favorite restaurant in the D.C. area, but the food wasn't nearly as good. I'm guessing it's under new management or something. We did meet up with a friend there. He's another Reservist from a different unit. Nice guy. Friday morning we all went to Fort Myer to watch General Richard Meyers go out in style. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld all spoke at the ceremony and it was actually kinda moving. There were honor guards from each of the five branches of the military and two military bands. The Chairman spoke and swore in the new Chairman, General Peter Pace. He's the first Marine to ever hold that position, so Mike was pretty razzed about that. Oo-rah! There was a nice reception there on the parade grounds with just an absolute ton of people. And of course, Gen. Meyers had his 2006 Corvette there.... wow! So pretty! We ate but skipped the reception line. Everybody wanted their picture taken with The Men and their Wives, but we've been there, done that. We dropped The Others off at the hotel and did a little shopping. Then Friday evening we went to General Meyers' house for a cookout. Man, those staff members sure now how to do up a barbecue! We had brats and pulled pork and homemade coleslaw and beans and the list goes on. Then a large group of us headed out to a bar in Rosslyn and hung out for a bit. Saturday morning we headed back to good ol' Ohio.
Sunday we went on a memorial ride for Bryan Hurst. He's the Columbus Police officer that was shot and killed on January 6th, 2005 at a bank robbery. We had about 200 bikes or so in the procession and we rode from Great Southern shopping center up 270 to Main St. There we rode past the bank, got back on 270 and rode to the cemetery off US23where he is buried. We met up with his wife and daughter there and all went back down 270 to Grove City where Frankie's Cafe held a buffet for us. All you Grove City-ites need to support Frankie's the way he supported us. There's a plaque on the wall for Bryan in there now. Good food, too. We had a police escort on the ride, and basically we shut down I270 for a time.
Sunday we started back to work and I feel like I've been there ever since. This is now Sunday morning and I'm on day 7 of 9 straight. I had training Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6p-2a. Fun and games, and more fun and games. Tuesday morning (in the middle of very little sleep) I had the next step in the detective process. I am competing against 4 other officers for 1 detective position. I surprised myself and probably more than a few people by placing first in the rankings so far. I'm not oblivious to the fact that it won't last. The next phase is not nearly as objective. 60% of the score is pretty much up to the Chief. So, it's nice to be #1 while it lasts.
Wednesday I went back to Hannah. I tell ya, something about 20+ needles in ya that makes you just relax! LOL Seriously, though, it is a very relaxing thing, and the effects seem to last me a couple of days. I tend to grind my teeth and when I walk out of acu, I don't even feel like I can clench my jaw, let alone grind my teeth! It's pretty fascinating to me. I go again on Tuesday. I also get blood drawn on Tuesday so I can start shots on Wednesday. I'll post a primer on my meds here soon.
And that's about all I have of interest for now. I'll try to get a few posts up this weekend (Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday for all you non-law-enforcement types). Until then....