New Career

So I am enjoying my time here in Vermilion, but I have recently realized that what I really want to do is be a photographer. Last week I actually dropped out and just walked around taking pictures all week. Here are a few of my favorites.

I expect you all will support me in my new career. It is what I have always wanted to do.

Finally Fire....

After weeks of building up our skills with no flames, this week I finally got to put out some fires. I have hundres of photos, but here are a couple of highlight pics.













































These are all Industry fires, the idea being there is a gas leak and we have to get close enough to shut off a valve. Got real up close and personal. Have to say, it was pretty awesome. Next week we move into structure fires.

But enough about fire fighting already...

I'm heading home this weekend. Not looking forward to the drive, but I am excited to get home and see the wife. I am doing a EMS ride along on Saturday, and I am also pretty excited for that. I won't get to get my hands on any patients, but it will be great to see some EMT's in action.

Can we believe that Tiger won the US open are a broken leg? The media is playing it up way to much, but I have to say, that guy makes it exciting to watch golf.

So what else is new... the blue Jays suck, but Riders season is right around the corner. Looking pretty good in pre-season, can't wait to see the green and white defend the cup.

It interesting how everyone around school is getting to know me... for example, I am already well known for my sports knowledge and my back seat driving, and I get bugged about being a banker quite often. Mostly I am known as the married guy. The one structure we put fires out on today (the big flames) is called the widow maker. Being the only married fellow in the group, everyone gave me a shout out when we went in to that one. Luckily I did survive.

Why aren't there more firefighter movies? There are about 1 million cop movies, but the only movies based on firefighters that I know are Backdraft and Ladder 49. Others are sort of about firefighting, like Frequency or Always, but I think there should be more. I would go watch them.

Later gang.

This and that.

What to say, I haven’t talked too many of you in such a long time.

Today me and two others from my class went into Edmonton, or more specifically Sherwood park. This is home to the Strathconna County fire department. We went to Hall #1 and got a great tour. It is an integrated service, which means that they are both fire and EMS. This is very appealing to me and they seem like a very with it department… new trucks, innovative equipment, good everything really. I still hope something works out in Regina, but if not I am at least feeling like their might be some other options for Mrs. Brody and I.

A couple weekends ago I competed in the River land Adventure Challenge. I went with 5 other students form my program and we knew it was sort of for fun but we still planned on wining it. Well it did NOT go well. Started off great, then about 20 seconds in one of our twosomes tipped their canoe. 10 minutes later they were back in but we were so far back we were pretty much the last ones out of the canoes. The 5k run was next, and that went pretty good, can’t really screw up a run, and we made up lost of time, but then the bike started and about 500m in to the 15k I blew my front tire. So then for the rest of the way we had to double one person, or one person ran while the rest biked. At that point it meant we were just having fun, so it was good times. It was less fun when we missed our last turn and instead of being about 500m from the finish we went 5k in the wrong direction, then 5 k back. I was not happy. But all in all a good day. Still glad I did it.

So what else had been going on besides fire stuff? Not much. There really isn’t much going on around here besides school. I am on a slo-pitch team, it’s actually pretty fun. The golf course here is pretty decent and I have put in a few rounds there. And with 9 holes costing only 12 bucks it is dirt cheap. Combine that with watching some Jays games, about 6 phone calls a day with the lovely wife back home and that pretty much is what is going on with me.

Later folks.

Riders are 1-0 in the preseason…nice.

Here are a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Selling the farm

Well not exactly, just selling all the equipment that we used on the farm.

Yep, this past weekend was a big event in the history of Brady farms, Saturday, April 5th marked the day that our family officially got out of farming. I won’t dwell on the financial part of it all, we did ok on the sale, not great, but good enough (I think – you’ll have to ask my dad I guess), but I have to tell you that I know my Grandma was rolling over in her grave – she was always concerned that this day would come. I feel like it is sort of my fault that this day did indeed come ( well, mine and the bros). With no boys in my dad’s brother family, and my Dad’s sisters family settling in Alberta about 40 years ago, it was really up to Luke and I to be the ones to keep the farm going… and we failed miserably. Fact is neither of us really wanted that for our life. For myself, I have always enjoyed farm work, but I new from a young age that I wanted to leave the farm and pursue a different life. I didn’t know exactly what, but I new that it wasn’t going to be in a tractor, combine, or pulling a calf. I’m not sure my parents wanted the farmer life for me either, as they saw many of the tough times of farming throughout the years, and thought I good live a better life doing something else. They always preached that we should find our own way, and we did, and all the power to us, but after 100+ years of farming (we even have the sign to say so), and no one to pass the rains to (no pun intended) the Brady farm is now being forced to “hang them up”, and that is sort of sad. All the hard work that my parents, their parents, and several parents before them put in, building up the livestock, the land, and everything else, is now being sold off or rented out. It’s not all bad though, I am SUPER happy for my folks, as I think they deserve a chance to do something else for their remaining working years before a well deserved retirement. And the “homestead” is not being sold, and I think that it will be a long time before that home quarter is ever vacated by our family. Mom and Dad have many years left there, plus the Uncle and Aunt, and the cousins that built a house on the farm about 10 years ago. Luke claims that he might move back there, not necessarily to farm, but to live and work, and I hope he does.

There is indeed a deep and great history on the Brady farm and I hope it continues to build memories for a long time to come, even if there aren’t any cows mooing, or tractors starting on any given day. Like the say, all good things must some to an end, its just to bad that I know that I am the one that is ending this tradition and legacy.

Here’s to Brady farms… it was a great farm, with a great history, and it will be remembered for a long time. Thanks for the memories.

Who needs those stinking leafs.

Another great things about sports, is that no matter how bad you team is, there is always next year. And even when they suck year after year, (ie. Leafs) at least I have other sports with other favorite teams. Queue the 2008 Blue Jays. Going into this year the team has spent more money on their lineup than any year previous and we are expecting big things. We still have to compete in the ultra competitive AL east with the Yanks and Bo Sox, but if this years jays live up to their potential, and stay relatively injury free we should be able to make our first playoff appearance since Joe Carter hit that infamous home run almost … wow, almost15 years ago. (Man I am getting old).

Lets play ball.

Plus with playoff hockey only about a little over a week a way, we are entering the glorious time of spring time sports.

Can’t wait to get those golf clubs out. Just like my beloved leafs.

The Good with the Bad

Well lets see, I am about 6 weeks into firefighting school and I haven’t blogged even once. Well I thought on this Sunday when I should be either studying or working out I would spend some time and post something for all you loyal readers out there. (anyone look at this thing anymore.) But I also think it will do my good to put some of my thoughts down on paper.

So far school has been pretty good… not perfect, but pretty good. First and for most, I think vermilion is a fine town with nice people but I really miss Regina and all that it has. Of course the one thing that vermilion does not have is a wife for me to live with. It has not been easy living away from Mrs. Brody, and this might sound silly, but it’s been harder than I thought it would be. It is such a young group of people in my class, I would say average age of maybe 21. In some cases the “kids” are 18 years old…that means I am a full 8 years older than they are…wow! I don’t consider myself to be old but I feel pretty old compared with some of these folks. What a change going from a corporate setting in which I was clearly the young one to now being one of the old guys, and the only married one. (last night I went to the bar and didn’t have my ID, I just told the bouncer I was 26 and married and he let me right in.) There are definitely a couple of meat heads in the class, but there are also some great people that I can see myself being friends with for a long time. But I’m afraid I am passed my prime years for going to the bar 3 or 4 night a week, I just don’t enjoy it that much anymore. I quite liked my social life in Regina and miss it quite a bit. I feel like I am being thrust back into my early twenties, or even late teens. Sometimes I fell even younger. Last Thurs about 6 of us went biking around town, stopped at other people house to see if they could “come out and play”, we stopped for slurpees, and then went to play video games at the dorms. ( this was actually a lot of fun), but man o man, what a change from a couple months earlier when I was flying to Winnipeg for work, going for a business supper with colleagues, trying different kinds of wine and discussing current events and business ideas. Truth is in my in old job I felt like I was pretending to be older than I feel or am, and now I feel like I am pretending to be younger than I feel or am. I think that is why I miss Mrs. Brody and the rest of you so much because that is really where I feel the most like myself.

In my head I was ready for a very exciting program and with a few exceptions it has certainly NOT been exciting so far. No emergencies, no sirens, no jaws of life, not even any fire. But I must be patient and realize that stuff will be coming soon. On Friday we finally got out bunker gear (stuff you wear in the fires), and helmets (I got one to fit) and in another week or two we will start doing more hands on stuff. I guess we have to walk before we run.

The instructors all seem like good people, but some have no real clue how to teach. I think they will be much better once we get in the field, but in the class room they seem sort of lost. Last Thursday I think we had half a dozen people sleeping during the lecture, and I am not exaggerating at all.

Highlights so far have been that I got to back a fire truck into the bay, and the ambulance too. I also have learned a lot of cool medical stuff that I didn’t know before. I actually am confident that in an emergency I could now help someone. Henning, just give me a call when you are ready to have that baby and I will be all over it.

Most of the time I think about how I can’t wait for the program to be over so I can get back to Regina, get a job, and actually get the opportunity to do the things I hope this job will let me do…mostly I just want to help someone. But I really need to allow myself to enjoy my time here, somehow. So many former students say this is course has been the best time of there lives, and I need to allow for that possibility. I will find my place within the class and I think once things pick up at school I will enjoy my time here much more. And no matter how many negatives I find to dwell on, all I have to do is think about the job that I left and I know that I made the right choice.

Anywho, hope you all are doing well, I will catch up with all of you some time soon.

Take care,

oh and just in case any of you miss the good Taylor picks. Here is a shot from this weekend. Taylor in fine form singing his heart out.

Blogging, so very weak.

I know, my bloging had been absolutely atrocious. It’s likely that no one will even read this because you have all given up on me as I never post anything new.

Well, in my defense there are two reason for that.

One- I am extremely busy with several things.
Two- those things that are making me busy are all those things that I have been bogging about over that last 4 months and I’m sure you are all sick of hearing about. Wedding, school, and quitting work.

Same shit everyday. I have nothing original left to say about this stuff, and yet these things pretty much dominate my thoughts. So I ask you, how am I supposed to come up with anything else to blog about.

But I thought I would give it a go today over my lunch hour. I was suppose to go out for a farewell lunch with work people but it was canceled do to weather/people have other shit to do. I worry that most of my actual “teamates” at work don’t even care that I am leaving, as they haven’t said much. But I have been getting several very nice notes and cards from people both in my company and outside whishing me luck and telling me that I will be missed. I sincerely appreciate it when they do. People should quite there job more often, because it is a real moral boost when people come up and say all these nice things about you.

But there I go again, on and on about the same old shit.

So how ‘bout this weather… Brutal, hey.

Played some shinny last night, now there is an activity that I have never NOT enjoyed. It’s always a good time going out a messing around with some fellow shinniers slapping the ol’ disk around for a hour or so. Even though my toes were frozen and I fell and hurt me elbow it was good times. Why doesn’t a guy do that sort of thing more often? (Rhetorical question)

Well enough for now. Talk to you again in about another 10 days or so…