Job Discussion Forums

[Wolf]

May the (police) force be with you.

And this post is late.

So please read it psychicly.

And igore that spelling error.

[johnslat]

Hi guys and gals,
Yup, I'm back sooner than expected. Here's a message I sent to my friends and relatives, explaing just why:

"Dear Friends,
Whatever was I thinking!!! (This is NOT a rhetorical
question; it will be answered in detail later on). I,
who can't stand uniforms, regimentation,
de-individualization, conformity, blind obedience and
unquestioning submission to hierarchy, who couldn't
wait to get OUT of the Marines because all the
aforementioned were mandatory, who hates even to wear
a TIE, never mind a knife-creased outfit with
spit-shined boots - how in heaven's name did I ever
manage to forget all this and, lemming-like, rush
blindly forward into the New Mexico State Police
Academy?

Actually, it was easy. First, I got carried along by
the momentum of it all. Believe it or not, I started
thinking I saw the "workings of fate" in mere
happenstance. Second, I forgot that, although my Dad
was a policeman, I'm NOT my Dad - and that, moreover,
I feel pretty sure that even my Dad was not, shall we
say, totally fulfilled by his life on the Force. But
third, and MOST importantly, I was led by vanity, by
pride, to take that wrong turn and head down a road I
should have known full well I didn't belong on at all.
The enticement of being "the oldest recruit ever" and
of being in better physical condition that 95% (if not
more) of the younger recruits seduced me.
Well, it took only about 3 days for me to realize:

'Yikes - this is a BIG mistake'.

I mean, life's far too short (especially at MY age),
to spend the next X number of years in a para-military
organization. So, as soon as I comprehended the
magnitude of my error, I left - and have no second
thoughts whatsoever about THAT decision. Back in the
old days, before I became at least slightly wiser, I'm
pretty sure I would have stuck it out, gone through
the Academy and onto the State Police simply out of
pure stubbornness. The training was no problem -
except in that I wasn't getting enough exercise. I
regularly do two to three times every day what was
required there. In fact, I gained weight, 4 pounds in
as many days, due to the scanty workouts and the
starchy food. When I announced my decision, the
instructors tried to talk me out of it, telling me
that I was in the top 10% of the class as far as the
physical requirements went, that I'd gotten 100% on
every quiz so far, that the stress would ease off soon
and they knew I could graduate. But by then,
graduating was NOT on my Top Ten list of things I
wanted to accomplish. When I make a mistake, it's a
doozy - but at least I had enough good sense to admit
it to myself and take the proper action.

Oh well, we learn through our mistakes (if we're
lucky), and I must say I don't regret a thing, either
going in or coming out.
Yours,
John"

So, now I start looking for a teaching job here in Santa Fe, and I feel confident (like Mr. Micawber) that "something will turn up". Hey, teaching's what I love to do, and, if I say so myself, I'm pretty darn good at it.
Regards,
John

[Irish]

Aloha John,

So I guess this means we won't get to see you beating the tar out of any drunken rednecks on "Cops" after all. Oh, well, as long as you're happy, that's what counts. And I suspect that your decision also pleased a lot of the young recruits who've been huffing and puffing in a vain attempt to keep pace with you.

I have to admit, picturing you as part of an organization requiring "regimentation, de-individualization, conformity, blind obedience and unquestioning submission" was difficult. It ranked right up there with scot47 going all sensitive and touchy feely on us. (Man, that was a weird three days.) Now everything makes sense again.

Good luck on the job hunt,

Irish

[johnslat]

Dear Irish,
Thanks for the welcome back. Well, I can still beat up on all the drunken rednecks I want, but it won't get nation-wide TV coverage. Actually, that show "Cops" has been banned from filming in Albuquerque, NM anymore; the city fathers (and mothers) felt that it was giving that metropolis a bad name. Like - Wow, you mean there's actually CRIME in Albuquerque??

What!!?? Scot47 was all "sensitive and touchy-feely" for three days??!! Lordy, I go away for just a while and look what I miss. Hmmm, and I thought all mind-altering controlled substances were illegal in the Kingdom.
Regards,
John

[Celeste]

John-
What a huge sigh of relief. I thought there must be something funny in the water down there if a sensible lad like yourself could be wooed into joining such a workplace. Sort of the polar opposite of what one would expect of an EFL retiree. I thought we were all suposed to start an organic veggie farm or run a cafe on a south seas island when we retired from "the calling".

[johnslat]

Dear Celeste,
Nothing in the water - just an extreme case of being blinded by vanity. Ah, what fools we mortals be. But the organic veggie farm sounds attactive.
Regards,
John

[FGT]

Congratulations and welcome back. Now you know what you don't want to be and it only took a few days, some people take far longer!

[Atlas]

John, sorry I never saw the goodbye post to wish you well when you left, but now I'm glad to see you've returned! I for one don't think it was a mistake of you to try it. We all seek out new experiences in life, and to your credit, you recognized the value and limits of this experience while it was still in gestation! I'd call that wisdom, not error!

Best of luck in your new adventure!



P.S. why is there an advertisement for credit in my post? I sure as hell didn't put it there.

[guest of Japan]

Mr. Slattery, I for one am very happy to have you stay with us in the world of teaching. This place got quite lonely without you.

Although, I am much younger than you, I can understand what it is like to make a decision that pulls you away from teaching only to realize that it was a decision that shouldn't have been made. After I had finished college and done my student teaching, I didn't trust my judgement. I took a job on a 130 ft pleasure yacht for two months. It had a great salary, a chef, people who washed and ironed my clothes, I got to travel out to see and see more stars than I ever imagined possible, saw dolphins swimming under the bow, and a great many wonders of what the ocean can show us. But I was absolutely miserable. There were a few personality problems on the boat which grated, and cramped living conditions got a bit tiresome, but mostly I was frustrated because I wasn't doing what I should have been doing. As I was walking around Palm Springs during hurricane Mitch I had the epithany that I had taken a wrong turn and decided that day to turn back and start again in the direction I was once headed. It was the best decision I ever made although if I had stayed on that path I'd probably be living in the Carribean right now making double the salary. I'd probably also be a drunk.

Anyway, it's glad to have you back. I'm sure you've made the right decision this time.

[Roger]

Dear Johnslat,
good to see you back, and gooder still to know we have a sort of police friend among us...
Not that we need to be protected from police fines or other police overreactions, of course.

[dmb]

The prodigal father returns. Welcome back

[khmerhit]

Hey John,
Good to see you back in the real world. You never said you had JOINED the academy-- I assumed you were going for a teaching stint. Are you nuts!? By the way why do you keep so fit -- have you got Schwarzeneggeritis?

[Lynn]

Welcome back, John. I agree with the other posters, it's good you gave it a try. We all need to challenge ourselves sometimes. I'm also glad you didn't continue with the police academy because you felt you had to. It takes courage to break away and say, "hey, this is not for me". Good for you, John!

[Capergirl]

Nice to see you back, John! Forget about chasing after criminals in the so-called "real world", you have a big job right here trying to keep these rogue ELTs in line!

[johnslat]

Thanks to all of you for the very supportive messages and the welcome back ( Hmm, should that be "welcome backs"?); they're much appreciated. Loved that "prodigal father returns", dmb - although "prodigal grandfather" might be more accurate.

"Why do I keep so fit", khmerhit asked.
Well, here are some reasons:

1. I'm just a TAD obsessive/compulsive, a creature of habit - once I start doing something, I seem to have to keep "raising the bar".
2. I spent 19 years in Saudi Arabia - there certainly wasn't much else to do over there (and my employer, the IPA, had a pretty good gym we could use gratis).
3. I like doing "active stuff", such as hiking and camping in wilderness areas. If I want to be able to keep on doing it for many more years, then I have to pay the price.
4. The other payoff is that I always feel so darn GOOD; so much so that the only thing I hate more than going to the gym is - NOT going to the gym.
Exercising always reminds me of the guy who's beating his head against the wall. Another guy comes along and asks:
" Hey, what the heck are you doing THAT for?"
And the head-beater responds:
"Because it feels SO good when I stop."
Regards,
John