Notes from a Rookie Firefighter...March 5, 2009

Today I took the train to NYC to meet a recruiter about an advertising job. I was on the Midtown Direct from Morris Plains, and while I was waiting in the station room I looked at all the unhappy 7:00 a.m. faces. I thought to myself if I get a job (besides working for RE/MAX of course), I swear I am going to be happy waiting for that train. I am thankful for the interviews I have coming up, and I thought that I will finally find the job that fits me.

When we passed Newark, NJ, I thought of some of the instructors who taught my class. They spoke about non-accessibility of streets, and homes that are close together, and today I saw exactly what they meant. As we whizzed by, it looked like the homes were spaced about 8 feet apart. I know there is more space but when you're looking faraway from a double-decker train thinks do seem very different. I looked at those houses and thought of a sizing-up conversation I had with someone during the week. I know that now that I'm done my real training starts.

For those of you on Firefighternation that write to me...I have a question. When we passed a few abandoned buildings, there were old freight trains that looked as if they had contained hazardous material at some point. I was looking for placards and didn't find any. I was wondering if they were totally empty or does someone keep a record of what was in them. I know that's a silly question but every day for me is a learning experience.

I have another question about standpipes. Is there any difference between red and green? On some streets I saw them at each building, then on others I would see one then another about 5 buildings down. Why? Some had the address of the building on them. Now that I thought was a great idea.

The job I am interviewing for is on W. 38th Street, so I walked down W. 37th and stopped in The Church of the Holy Innocents. My dad used to tell me when you go into a Church for the first time make a wish. The smell of the Church when I walked in, and the site of the old fashioned candles with the sticks to light them brought back so many memories of growing up in Brooklyn.

I had to just write about all this today, since my husband will certainly not want to hear about freight trains and standpipes.