I'm Back with a FULLER Plate!

I feel like I've neglected you guys! Lt Dan caught me in the hall, the other day, and basically said, "Blog, blog!" so, here I am!

Since my last post, as Lt Dan mentioned, I was asked to be a guest blogger for the International Association of Chiefs Of Police's site Discover Policing which provides, "career advice, personal perspectives and insightful information about the law enforcement profession." They can be found at discoverpolicing.org. It was an honor to be asked! I'm not sure how often I'll be able to contribute or how different my blogs will be from here but who knows where you'll find me next!

Remember, I said I love to be involved? If you've been following the headlines for San Rafael, you know we've been busy. We, everyone and I mean everyone, has been busting their tail to solve crimes and arrest the bad guys and gals! I've had to wear my CSI hat on more than one occasion during the past few weeks - which can make for some extremely long days and no days off. BUT I'm not complaining, I love being able to get "out there" to use different skills than I do in Communications. Dispatching can cause mental fatigue - especially when things are rocking and rolling and you barely have time to use the restroom! CSI work usually causes physical fatigue - you're hauling, lifting, crawling, and even tearing down walls.

Especially when our workloads increase, like any profession, it's tricky balancing our home and professional lives - and keeping all those involved happy. It's a give and take and eventually things settle down but sometimes it can be a roller coaster ride. It's not healthy to just live and breathe work so many of us pack our days off to capacity which can lead to burning the proverbial candle at both ends. And then you get sick...like I did! I've learned it's my body's way of warning me that if I don't listen something worse will happen - yes, I had to learn the hard way and yes, I am stubborn. So, I spent this last weekend, in bed, catching up on much needed sleep with the help of NyQuil. I rebounded pretty quickly which is a good thing cause I'm the on call CSI this week!

On the personal side, my photography class has ended and I learned some new stuff while rediscovering an old passion. (Now, if I only had time to go out and take some "knock your socks off" photographs.) So, with that cleared off my plate...I had to add something new. I decided to join The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's TEAM IN TRAINING. I'll be raising funds to help find a cure for blood cancers in exchange for professional coaching and mentoring. I've chosen the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon as my endurance event but I will be running the half (13.1 miles!) in October. I'm probably a little crazy for doing this (especially after several surgeries on both knees) but I'm psyched, excited and proud to be part of this group. GO TEAM! If you want to find out more about TNT or donate, visit my fund raising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/nikesf10/alees2 - I hope to be constantly updating my progress there.

Be safe out there! and remember, you can always reach me at 391@srpd.org.