48 hour count down

Graduation is coming closer! Yesterday I gave my interpretive presentation and did fantastic! I had a lot of fun presenting. It was kinda like American Idol. I presented in front of my classmates and a panel of four evaluators. At the end of the presentation the evaluators critiqued my performance. They only had wonderful things to say. They loved my presentation. It's such a relieve to be done. Today and tomorrow all I have to do is listen to my fellow classmates present there interpretive programs. 

Five Days

Only 5 more days till graduation! 

Today was the last written test! I passed. 

On Sunday I have to put on a 20 minute presentation. I have chose to talk about Rip Currents. The past few days I've been doing a little research and writing out an outline. 

I can't wait to be done. Finally! 

I've also been busy putting together a slide show for the graduation. I had volunteered to put one together. Boy, it's been a piece of work. I have looked at over 1,000 pictures. I hope it will turn out okay for graduation. A lot of people will be watching. 

Closer to the End

I am ready to go home. My nerves are at the bitter end. Im not depressed or angry just frustrated about being here. I want my own life back. I want to be able to workout again, travel, read a good book, eat some peanuts at a ball game, take a hot bath, have In n Out Burger, have a coffee with my sister, sit in a house full of my family, have a beer at Dukes, wash my car, bodysurf, free dive, sleep in a bed where I don't feel springs, I want to be anywhere but here. The time in class feels longer and longer everyday. I don't even pay attention any more. I'm just going through the motions. I have no idea what the instructors have been talking about. All I know is that the last three days have been about the environment. In other words, a bunch of hippies have been lecturing me. I say that out of respect, I do care about hippies and the environment. Unfortunately, I'm just too drained to really care. It's funny, the last two days the instructors took all the cadets on a tour of Asilomar. I have lived here, at Asilomar, for 6 months. The last thing I want to do is walk around this place, especially when there are 40 mph winds. I hate to complain, but I'm ready for this academy to come to an end. I know it's only 10 days, but everyday feels like 10 days. During class, I imagine I'm on a tropical beach, sitting next to a gorgeous man and drinking a Mai Tai. When I'm not daydreaming I'm writing Haiku's or drawing nonsense pictures. The lectures are boring and I feel like I am going crazy. I've talked to some of the other cadets and they have similar feelings. We're all ready to be done. I feel bad for the instructors, the vibe in the classroom is pretty low. We all want to care, we're just to tired. 

Apologies for the negativity. 

I just want to go home and go vacation.

Snow

Last week was a bore. Not much to share. It's a shame that everyday felt like a waste of time. I'm hoping for some improvement next week. The weeks feel longer because I am near the end. 

Luckily, I had a little inspiration that got me through the long days last week. The inspiration was Lake Tahoe!! I went to Tahoe with one of my friends in the academy. He works ski patrol up there so myself and another cadet went up with him to get out of Monterey and relax. It was an amazing and beautiful weekend. Lots of fun and full of rejuvenation.

Lunch with a view!

Butterflies

If you didn't already know I am in the city of Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove is home of the Monarch Butterflies. This weekend it was beautiful, there where butterflies everywhere, in a lame way I found them to be a bit symbolic. In five months 42 of the cadets have been trained to be peace officers. We started off as caterpillars struggling to survive the transformation. Every test, every scenario butterflies fluttered around in out tummies.

Finally we made it to our last five weeks.

The past five months I have been going through the Police Officer Standardized Training (POST). I've taken about 30 written exams in the past 23 weeks, had over 13 scenarios, learned defensive tactics, how to drive in an emergency and much, much more. It's been a long journey. Monday was my last POST test. I passed! POST is done. Thank God. Being done with POST is a weight off the shoulders.

So, you might ask, why I'm still here? For the next five weeks I'm learning about the high standards, the expectations, the qualities and the responsibilities of wearing the "Stetson". Not only am I a law enforcer but I am also an educator, a naturalist and best of all a lifeguard. This means, for the next five weeks, I'll be learning all about the State Parks rules and regulations, how to give an interpretive talk and how to better protect our natural resources.

Around here we call ourself the "Generalist." We wear many hats. Who could ask for a better job. Lifeguard, law-enforcer, interpreter, maintenance.... you name it. What fun!

Today I am off to the Monterey Aquarium and Point Lobos for some interpretive instruction.