So, maybe I jumped the gun saying we were moving to graves. We are, but it feels like it has been a while since I have written and we have still been enjoying Kev's day shift. July is our last official month of days. Kev is still working Sunday - Wednesday, 5am - 3:30pm. In my opinion a great shift, for us at least. He moves to graves next month, but he will have Friday - Sunday off! As we have been finding out, Thursdays seem to be a desirable day to work because that is 'court day' - essentially, if you have Thursdays off it is most likely you will be spending almost all of them in court. If I can recall correctly, Kev has only had one Thursday off where he wasn't called to court to defend a ticket he wrote. Officers get a minimum pay for court, but when the court time is scheduled for mid-day he ends up sitting in traffic and lapses the minimum by about two or more hours sometimes. So, if you received a ticket and you deserve it, take responsibility and pay it so our hard working officers can have their day off to rest.
What else is new? We are renewing our lease together this month! I remember writing about how I couldn't wait for us to move in together when Kev was in the academy and now, almost a year later we are renewing our lease! That also means that Kev is almost off probation! I can't believe how fast time goes. We are saving to buy a house and I'm hoping one day Kev will put a ring on it! Ha kidding, maybe ;) A couple cadets he graduated with have recently asked their girlfriends to marry them, and that is always an exciting story to hear!A lot of people have transferred out of Kev's office this year too. So much has changed.
I also wanted to note a couple more recent CHP academy blogs that my readers have shared. Now that mine is almost a year old, these lades can definitely bring new perspectives to the table :)
The Journey of a CHP Cadet Wife
http://chpwifeblog2017.blogspot.com
From Coach to Cadet
http://coachtocadet.blogspot.com/
Wishing you and yours all the best!
- Mimi
Monday, July 10, 2017
Monday, May 15, 2017
Back to Graves!
Maybe I shouldn't have said anything so soon and continued to basque in the glory of day shift and split weekends. It isn't so bad, but Kev is moving back to graves in August. He did ultimately get to make the decision based on what was available and took it because it will give him Friday through Sunday off! That means we can actually do something on weekends :) While he has had split weekends since April, we have actually only had two or three Saturdays together (mind you, it's mid-May). He keeps getting scheduled Saturdays to accommodate other officers taking vacation and not enough to cover. It's a bit of a bummer, but since he would have to work Sunday we can't really go out too late on Saturday's anyhow and a day trip would leave him pretty beat for the next day. We are typically in bed between 9 and 10 PM at the latest.
We still see each other a lot and our work out routine is great right now too. Kev has really bulked up and following I'm his lead, I've leaned out a bit too. He is the best motivator without losing his sweet charm. We are eating really healthy and hitting the gym at least 5 days a week. We have been meal prepping too, so Kev is eating more throughout the day. He went from about 180 in the academy to a little over 200 now. A lean 200, he looks great. It took him a while to get used to eating while on the road. Now he packs his 6 Pack bag with a couple small, high protein meals. Before, he maybe brought a PB&J and wouldn't even eat it. Interestingly enough, our eating and workout schedule was probably the hardest thing to figure out with his job and the limited time we have together in the evenings before he has to get back to sleep. It will be another adjustment for us both when he moves back to nights. I know he won't want to lose his progress, so we will see how it goes. I'll miss my workout partner after work, but it will only be for a couple of months.
Kev has also had a few court dates for 'customers' disputing his tickets. He hates court because it's scheduled on his days off. It's a flat 4 hours pay, but it usually takes him at least half a day from the time he jumps in the shower to the time he walks back in the door. Especially when it's scheduled in the afternoon and he sits in traffic coming home. It's a bummer to waste his rest day for someone banking on him to not show up because they drove solo in the carpool lane or were caught speeding.
He has had some great stories lately too, but unfortunately I can't share. I can usually tell the type of day he had as soon as he walks in - if he is amped up and excited, something new happened and I probably don't want to know about it! If he is mellow, it was a boring day and if he was tired it was a busy day. He did have his first puppy chase though, two Chihuahuas on the shoulder of the highway. They took an exit and evaded him on city streets though ;)
We are also about to have our first (and only) vacation this year together! Kev only signed up for one week but has accrued much more than that. He just wants to save it - for a honeymoon he tells me. Pretty sure he is trained to de-escalate a situation, so I'm not sure if this is a tactical move on me so I don't verbally aggress him for not enough vacation time together or because he really has future plans and wants to save his time off. Fingers crossed for the later!
- Mimi
We still see each other a lot and our work out routine is great right now too. Kev has really bulked up and following I'm his lead, I've leaned out a bit too. He is the best motivator without losing his sweet charm. We are eating really healthy and hitting the gym at least 5 days a week. We have been meal prepping too, so Kev is eating more throughout the day. He went from about 180 in the academy to a little over 200 now. A lean 200, he looks great. It took him a while to get used to eating while on the road. Now he packs his 6 Pack bag with a couple small, high protein meals. Before, he maybe brought a PB&J and wouldn't even eat it. Interestingly enough, our eating and workout schedule was probably the hardest thing to figure out with his job and the limited time we have together in the evenings before he has to get back to sleep. It will be another adjustment for us both when he moves back to nights. I know he won't want to lose his progress, so we will see how it goes. I'll miss my workout partner after work, but it will only be for a couple of months.
Kev has also had a few court dates for 'customers' disputing his tickets. He hates court because it's scheduled on his days off. It's a flat 4 hours pay, but it usually takes him at least half a day from the time he jumps in the shower to the time he walks back in the door. Especially when it's scheduled in the afternoon and he sits in traffic coming home. It's a bummer to waste his rest day for someone banking on him to not show up because they drove solo in the carpool lane or were caught speeding.
He has had some great stories lately too, but unfortunately I can't share. I can usually tell the type of day he had as soon as he walks in - if he is amped up and excited, something new happened and I probably don't want to know about it! If he is mellow, it was a boring day and if he was tired it was a busy day. He did have his first puppy chase though, two Chihuahuas on the shoulder of the highway. They took an exit and evaded him on city streets though ;)
We are also about to have our first (and only) vacation this year together! Kev only signed up for one week but has accrued much more than that. He just wants to save it - for a honeymoon he tells me. Pretty sure he is trained to de-escalate a situation, so I'm not sure if this is a tactical move on me so I don't verbally aggress him for not enough vacation time together or because he really has future plans and wants to save his time off. Fingers crossed for the later!
- Mimi
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Chippy life in 2017!
Hi!
I thought I would do a quick update on life lately. I took a look at the blog recently and saw there were still a lot of readers, so I thought I would share how things are going today! Our lives have still been chugging along since Kev took the patrol car out for the first time around the holidays and we have both been doing great! Here is a bit about how we have been doing :)
Kev has had all day shifts since he completed FTO! If you read along before, you know he only had graves for one period of FTO and he still hasn't had to have swing shifts yet. The office he is in is amazing! Every three months the schedule changes, as I believe it does in every office. The more senior officers make their selection and then Kev is up. In his particular office, everything seems to be fair game by the time it gets to us - days, swings, and graves. When we're up, Kev takes a picture of the open slots and shows me our options. I reallyyyy appreciate that he does this. Since he is still fairly new and trying not to ask to switch shifts too often, it helps when I'm able to take part in picking our schedule since it has such a heavy impact on me as well. When we pick together, it creates a little more understanding between us when we can't do something because of his obligation to a shift.
We just switched schedules again and Kev now has Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off! For anyone else who might also be in their probation period, you likely know how exciting it is to have a split weekend. For those reading to know what to expect, the academy separation anxiety will slowly melt away and even if you don't get weekends together, the feeling of time apart is back to normal, short-lived, and no where close to weeks away from each other like during the academy. Even though most of Kev's schedules have left us without a full day together during the week, day shift leaves us plenty of time together in the evening to go to the gym, cook dinner or even watch a movie. He is used to the job now too, and isn't as exhausted at the end of a work day either.
As for me, I have a new job! In February I finally accepted an offer with a start-up company in SF that is doing very well! My new office is amazing with all the great start up perks and it's all complimented by a great team too. Once again I have unlimited PTO which does make dating a LEO much easier. However, since I am still just a few months in I am being a little more conscious of taking time off right now for day trips. However, I did take a two week trip to SoutheastAsia prior to starting my new job. I booked the flight on a Wednesday and took off that Saturday! Kev was so supportive when I came home and told him and I sent him pictures every chance I could.
Aside from that, we just did a snowboarding trip this last weekend to enjoy one of Kev's Saturdays off. We also have a ton of weddings coming up. This can be tough - I'm trying to figure out how we RSVP for a future date when we may not even know his schedule until the month before? For example, we have a wedding out of state in November, and the schedule changes in October. If any of you seasoned LEOs or significant others have any advise, I'm listening :)
Good luck to all of you in the Academy or graduated, and I hope you all are having a wonderful 2017 so far. We keep watching as the classes come and go. How far it feels we have come, and it hasn't even been a full year since Kev graduated last August.
- Mimi
PS: And if you ever have any questions about our life since Kev graduated - schedules, switching shifts with co-workers, coming come to each other after a shift, please ask and I am happy to share what I can!
Here are a few pics from my trip to the Philippines in Feb & our snow trip this month. Try not to forget that life exists outside of work - be great at your careers but remember to cherish the relationships in your life, chase experiences, and rake in as many beautiful memories as you can.
+ many Netflx nights not captured ;)
I thought I would do a quick update on life lately. I took a look at the blog recently and saw there were still a lot of readers, so I thought I would share how things are going today! Our lives have still been chugging along since Kev took the patrol car out for the first time around the holidays and we have both been doing great! Here is a bit about how we have been doing :)
Kev has had all day shifts since he completed FTO! If you read along before, you know he only had graves for one period of FTO and he still hasn't had to have swing shifts yet. The office he is in is amazing! Every three months the schedule changes, as I believe it does in every office. The more senior officers make their selection and then Kev is up. In his particular office, everything seems to be fair game by the time it gets to us - days, swings, and graves. When we're up, Kev takes a picture of the open slots and shows me our options. I reallyyyy appreciate that he does this. Since he is still fairly new and trying not to ask to switch shifts too often, it helps when I'm able to take part in picking our schedule since it has such a heavy impact on me as well. When we pick together, it creates a little more understanding between us when we can't do something because of his obligation to a shift.
We just switched schedules again and Kev now has Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off! For anyone else who might also be in their probation period, you likely know how exciting it is to have a split weekend. For those reading to know what to expect, the academy separation anxiety will slowly melt away and even if you don't get weekends together, the feeling of time apart is back to normal, short-lived, and no where close to weeks away from each other like during the academy. Even though most of Kev's schedules have left us without a full day together during the week, day shift leaves us plenty of time together in the evening to go to the gym, cook dinner or even watch a movie. He is used to the job now too, and isn't as exhausted at the end of a work day either.
As for me, I have a new job! In February I finally accepted an offer with a start-up company in SF that is doing very well! My new office is amazing with all the great start up perks and it's all complimented by a great team too. Once again I have unlimited PTO which does make dating a LEO much easier. However, since I am still just a few months in I am being a little more conscious of taking time off right now for day trips. However, I did take a two week trip to SoutheastAsia prior to starting my new job. I booked the flight on a Wednesday and took off that Saturday! Kev was so supportive when I came home and told him and I sent him pictures every chance I could.
Aside from that, we just did a snowboarding trip this last weekend to enjoy one of Kev's Saturdays off. We also have a ton of weddings coming up. This can be tough - I'm trying to figure out how we RSVP for a future date when we may not even know his schedule until the month before? For example, we have a wedding out of state in November, and the schedule changes in October. If any of you seasoned LEOs or significant others have any advise, I'm listening :)
Good luck to all of you in the Academy or graduated, and I hope you all are having a wonderful 2017 so far. We keep watching as the classes come and go. How far it feels we have come, and it hasn't even been a full year since Kev graduated last August.
- Mimi
PS: And if you ever have any questions about our life since Kev graduated - schedules, switching shifts with co-workers, coming come to each other after a shift, please ask and I am happy to share what I can!
Here are a few pics from my trip to the Philippines in Feb & our snow trip this month. Try not to forget that life exists outside of work - be great at your careers but remember to cherish the relationships in your life, chase experiences, and rake in as many beautiful memories as you can.
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| White Sand Beach sunset on Boracay Island |
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| Lounging in Station 2 - Boracay Island |
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| Me at Kawasan Falls - Cebu Island |
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| Kawasan Falls - Cebu Island |
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| Starfish on Aluna beach, Bohol Island |
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| Mojitos at Spider House - Boracay Island |
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| Heavenly, Tahoe with my handsome Chippy |
+ many Netflx nights not captured ;)
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