Mary Ellen Shea's Blog

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Monsoon Season

I was dreading drill night all day today....which is uncharacteristic for me, I'm usually so antsy to do something new or get that opportunity to learn that I end up spending my day at the office watching the clock...WILLING it to be 4:00 p.m. already.

Originally I was pretty excited about the planned drill, we were slated to go to Guilderland Center (our neighboring mutual aid department that has all the fun stuff....aerial ladder truck, Jaws, training tower etc.) to participate in… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on June 12, 2008 at 12:29am — 9 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner; T-Minus Two Weeks And Counting....

We had our last long run this past Saturday in preparation for the Half Marathon. We were slated to run ten miles, and after that, beginning next week we do a major taper down to six miles and then......(cue the Theme music from "Jaws") it's that time....

I want to throw out a HUGE thank you and hugs to the following for helping me with my fundraising, with emotional support, and for listening to me bitch about training with patience and a solid slap upside the head when… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on June 1, 2008 at 6:24pm — 9 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Probie Blues

I knew we were doing a live burn training at the Tower last night, but my participation (and that of my other fellow probies) was in question until our Chief reviewed our SCBA hours....

Close, but no cigar. Red Tag City.

Anticipating an evening of basically sitting on my can at the side of the truck and watching the rest of the guys have all the fun, I took a shower and got ready to head out . My friend said before I left "Why are you taking a shower before drill? "… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 21, 2008 at 9:00am — 24 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Snake in The Grass.

I don't consider myself a particularly "girly" girl.....If you see me at a party, nine times out of ten, you'll find me with the guys, shooting pool or playing darts, and telling stories and jokes. You will NOT find me in the kitchen with the catty chicks, who seem to derive some form of pleasure from ripping other women to shreds behind their backs. I've never understood how that's supposed to be "fun".

I don't particularly like to shop, unless I need something specific. If I need… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 18, 2008 at 8:33pm — 25 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner: Why?

It hasn't been a good day for some of our patients and survivors...

One of my fellow board members on the Board of Directors for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has a young son named Ben.

Ben's been fighting the good fight for over a year, and seemed to be doing better. but we found out today that his osteosarcoma (essentially bone cancer) has metastasized--meaning it's spreading. Osteosarcoma has one of the lowest survival rates for pediatric cancer. The news is worse… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 16, 2008 at 9:01pm — 6 Comments

Living Will ---My way.....

New Living Will Form

I, __________________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead partisan politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it or lawyers/doctors/hospitals interested in simply running up the bills.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 14, 2008 at 10:42am — 6 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Zippers and Velcro and Vents....Oh My

This isn't going to be one of my longer ramblings......not that I COULDN'T bore you to tears with 20 paragraphs about what I had for breakfast today... and one of these days I just might, but this is just an equipment quickie today. (However.....I was contemplating some grapefruit and a bowl of---oh never mind. )

In a stunning turn of events, I was selected, along with nine other members of my department, to be fitted for brand-spankin new turnout gear!! I'm not sure how or why I… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 7, 2008 at 7:02am — 13 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Lather, Rinse, Repeat

We had drill this week that I knew was coming down the pike from our disgruntled Chief (if someone's disgruntled, then why isn't "gruntled" a word too?) . We had a drill two weeks ago with an outdoor live burn that didn't go as hoped. The hydrant tapping process was, for lack of a better word, complete and utter chaos. As our chief stated at the end of the training drill..."If this had been an actual fire, we'd be doing nothing but raking up ashes, and I'd be turning in my white helmet out of… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 4, 2008 at 1:00pm — 15 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner: Courage in the Face of the Unimaginable

We had our group run yesterday (Saturday)10 miles, which is the second to longest run in the prep for the half marathon. After next weekend (which I have to run by myself again because I have to work yet another Saturday for FASNY) we start the "taper" process; meaning that we start scaling back the mileage so that everyone is rested, uninjured (with me? You never know....four years ago I almost knocked myself out of my first half-marathon after I fell down a flight of stairs at work. I know… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on May 4, 2008 at 12:31pm — 8 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner; Finding the Inspiration

I had a hard run on Saturday morning, with a huge hill in the middle of it (eight miles), followed by a recovery run on Sunday (yes, I know that the "recovery" run is an odd concept, but it works to keep you from being crippled after a hard run the previous day. It's not FUN, but it works).

I wasn't feeling inspired when I set out on Saturday, and every mile kept getting harder physically. My knees were hurting, it was getting really warm out, my back was tight and my right calf kept… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on April 21, 2008 at 9:21am — 22 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner; The Longest Run is.....

The longest run is the one you have to do, by yourself, in the rain, and your iPod craps out just far enough from the parking lot to not allow you to go back and get a new battery.

Part of the training process for running a distance event like a half marathon is the dreaded "long run". This is a recommended once a week event, and our team of runners normally gather at 7:00 a.m. at the Niskayuna Bike Path to get it done with some camaraderie, planned water stops, and the… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on April 14, 2008 at 8:08am — 25 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner

So I'm sitting here at Oh-Dark-Thirty on a Sunday morning, getting ready to head out and do an eight mile training run for my half marathon coming up in June (on Father's Day--sorry Dad) in Lake Placid. If you haven't read any of my previous blogs on the topic, I'm running 13.1 miles to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through their "Team in Training" program, and I need to raise at minimum $1500.00

Thus far I've raised $730.00 on my fundraising page, plus a couple… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on April 10, 2008 at 10:43am — 52 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): The Mailbox Massacre & The Knob

All I can say is.....thank god it wasn't me (this time).

Our usual drill night arrived, although I wasn't sure I was going to go...I'd been sick most of the day, but we got toned out about an hour before drill for an overturned bicyclist in a ravine...., and I figured if I could respond to that, I could drag my butt to drill.

The first half hour of drill was a repeat of what I like to call "The Chinese Fire Drill"---essentially, our chief sends everyone out on all three… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on April 10, 2008 at 10:00am — 24 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Private Benjamin

First, if I have to explain who Private Benjamin is, you're clearly up past your bed time....move along and find something else to read, because no explanation is forthcoming.

The drill du jour (is it wrong that Tuesday nights are fast becoming my favorite night of the week?) this week was not really a drill per se; we had a company rep come in and demo the Holy Grail of SCBA's. The MSA (may we have a moment of reverent silence for the MSA) is, to my inexperienced eyes, the Cadillac… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on March 18, 2008 at 10:42pm — 11 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): Throwing Ladders

I ambled into drill tonight fully expecting yet another evening of videotapes or chalk and talk.

Noticing that the projector and a/v system wasn't set up, I inquired "What are we doing tonight?"...

The 1st Asst. Chief grinned at me...."Hope you're feeling limber, we're playing with ladders and hoses tonight"

(Gulp)

Here's the gig....I have what I like to call a "situational" fear of heights. There are certain circumstances that inspire that ooogy… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on March 17, 2008 at 4:01pm — 24 Comments

Hooking Em Young ---This Ain't Your Daddy's Fire Service---Recruit Now

In response to the troubling prevailing trend of declining volunteerism in the Fire Service...oh the hell with that...let's call it what it is, we're in trouble folks....the numbers are bad, the kids aren't signing up and the current membership is aging at a rate that almost guarantees the death knell for Volunteer Fire Departments.

What to do? I've created and have almost completed writing a program that my organization (The Firemen's Association of the State of New York...aka FASNY)…

Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on March 10, 2008 at 6:55pm — 5 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG(irl): My First Night Call

I'm not a morning person. I never have been, I never will be. I like to roam with the creatures of the night.

Fact of the matter is that I do my best thinking,writing, meditating and brainstorming in the very wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately for me (or for my coworkers depending on your perspective) my nocturnal habits don't mesh so well with my work schedule.

In order to arrive at my desk on time ( I use airline schedules when I state that I was "on time"--that… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on March 6, 2008 at 3:18pm — 19 Comments

Penny-wise and Pound-foolish? NYS OFPC budget and training class cuts

Apparently the state-budgeted salad days for training new firefighter recruits are over for now in New York State.

Not only has the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control canceled a slew of classes state-wide due to overestimating the funds available to provide the instructors for these programs, county training coordinators in some locations have been told that the number of training hours they are normally allotted have been significantly reduced.

We ALL need to speak up,… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 26, 2008 at 10:00pm — 23 Comments

The Continuing Chronicles of the FNG (irl): The Rookie Turnout Throwdown

Also known as “Mel’s Big Humiliating Day”.

We had an OSHA refresher class at my department today. We had great attendance and two other departments were also invited.

The morning started out innocently enough; we covered our SOP’s and the newly mandated Rehab Standard, then moved on to Blood borne pathogens, and finished up the chalk and talk portion with an overview of PPE and SCBA’s.

The OFPC officer then announced that we would be heading out to the apparatus bay… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 17, 2008 at 9:00pm — 25 Comments

TNT: The Accidental Runner; The Satanic Shoes

When you're training for an endurance event such as a marathon, or in my case, a half-marathon, the running coaches go on, and on, and on about the importance of having the right shoes, not only for training, but for the actual race.

You would think that your training shoes and your race day shoes will be the same, but according to the experts in the field, running shoes are good up to about 300-400 miles. After that, according to "them" , if you insist on continuing to wear them,… Continue

Added by Mary Ellen Shea on February 15, 2008 at 10:30pm — 9 Comments

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