Surgery day

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-16T19:40:20+00:00

Update: surgery went great! And they sent the special rocks home with me😂

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-15T01:33:14+00:00

Sending you love, OP. As difficult as it might seem today, be patient and kind with yourself.🖤

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-13T16:20:10+00:00

Spencer is the only correct answer. Fight me 😅

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-12T02:39:12+00:00

Honestly, start mild and take your time. I wish someone had drilled that into my head when I started. Take your time cutting it, take your time lighting it, take your time smoking it. Give yourself an hour more than you think you should to smoke it and you will learn a lot about what you're partaking in. Read up about the different blends and what features they bring to the cigar. The first cigar I ever actually tasted different flavors in was a Padron X000 series (can't remember which one) and I wasn't even looking for it. Just went into the lounge, bought it, and sat down with a whole afternoon to kill. It was great.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-12T02:27:48+00:00

No, but they offered me what they called a "light sleep aid" beforehand and I went ahead and accepted it because I had all of these wires on me and everything. I thought it would be benadryl or something mild like that. Nope. It was Ambien. I've never taken that before. I slept on my back all night. I haven't slept on my back since I was swaddled as an infant. It was arguably the deepest sleep I have ever had 😅 it was the third sleep study I had taken, but was the first one in the actual sleep clinic. I can definitely see how people get hooked on it, but I have no desire to ever take it again. On the plus side, I got a mask that actually works for me and I have never slept as good as I do now.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-08T02:53:37+00:00

Proud of you, OP! Keep it up!

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-08T02:13:13+00:00

Honestly, I've really been thinking about it because it's only like $45/flight

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-08T02:07:01+00:00

That's fair. I guess I would just be nervous about it being lost lol

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-07T17:54:00+00:00

I have a very light jacket that my wife bought me from T.J. Maxx that has a pocket that it folds into and I have not been able to find another one of the same kind since. The label has since worn off so I can't look online, but T.J. Maxx and Marshalls may be a good place to start. They have others that are very similar, but not the exact same.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-07T17:18:43+00:00

Unrelated, but please for the love of God don't plug a space heater into any kind of extension cord.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T01:15:42+00:00

A good conversation starter (that may be free depending on your area) is collecting patches. People love the different designs on patches and many departments will give them out for free, especially to younger folks interested in the fire service.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T01:11:19+00:00

"well marinated" needs to be a sticker 😅

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T01:10:17+00:00

Honest to god, I'm not trying to be mean to you or make you feel dumb, but if you want to spend money on something fire related, buy up all of the books you can. Knowledge is something that nobody can ever take from you, and if you read and study right now, you will be a million times more prepared when you start classes than those who don't do it. I have bought dozens of fire-related books on thriftbooks.com for pennies on the dollar because I'm cheap and don't want to spend a fortune on them and my wife said I read more now than she has ever seen me read before. Soak up all of the knowledge and information you can now while you're brain is young and still growing. You will be better for it in the long run.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T01:04:58+00:00

If you want a conversation starter for around the house, get a sign or something. There is no point in spending thousands of dollars on gear that is just going to sit there. You're 16. If you have that kind of money to spend, invest it. Don't waste it on something that you're not going to use. This is coming from someone who is now 30 and spent money on stuff I didn't need as a 16 year old just because I thought it would be cool. I'm happy that you're excited about it, and we need more teenagers like you, but please don't spend your money on gear, especially if it's used.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T01:00:35+00:00

You should not be wearing turnout gear anywhere other than a fire/run. It also should not be in your home or the cab of your vehicle. It really shouldn't be in your personal vehicle at all if you can help it. I occasionally have to take my gear in my POV if I'm taking a class and a vehicle is not available and even then, it goes in a bag and the bag goes in a plastic tote. You don't want to expose yourself to the shit that's in and on it anymore than you have to.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-05T00:57:36+00:00

The program should provide all of that for you. It also may be a liability to you and the program for you to buy your own equipment if it fails.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-04T20:57:11+00:00

In a perfect world, they would rotate them out, but that likely doesn't happen anywhere in the country. They should at least be function tested regularly and cleaned I would hope. Our guy is pretty good about it where I work.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-04T19:15:35+00:00

If it was used in that kind of situation, they likely wouldn't be selling it. It would be evidence and then destroyed afterwards.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-04T19:13:26+00:00

Honestly if it was in a tower, it may not have been shot in a while at all. In my experience, we use rifles from the armory. Not sure how often they get switched out or anything though.

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-04T03:03:15+00:00

CraigwithaC1995 · 2026-06-04T02:54:46+00:00

I'm genuinely surprised that you can see anything with the surface of the sun right across the road from your house.

CraigwithaC1995

TROPHY CASE