I Don't Wanna Work, I Want To Bang On The Drum All Day

Less than a month until I (finally) start nursing school, and I've hit a few snafus already.

I can't figure out how to put in my two week notice at my job. Should be a fairly simple task, right? Letter of resignation on city letterhead, check. Supervisor or manager to hand it to? Not so much.

Both supervisors were out of the office this week for training and will be next week as well. The manager has been out of town (I think), and his office is dark and locked up tight. Sliding the letter under the door is looking like a better option every day.

Perhaps a better option is to just completely circumvent the "chain of command" - which by the way, is something insanely frowned upon in any police department, and just taking it to HR and let them deal with tracking down supervisors. And so I think to myself (while giggling) "What are they going to do, fire me?"
Tee Hee!

Wanna hear how my day went today?
Let's see: I accidentally told an officer to switch channels to "window" (instead of "info")  - wtf, right?
Called a "complainant" a "complainer" on the air (accidentally)
And, I dispatched a call for a dog locked in a vehicle in 113 degree heat. It's our policy to respond to those calls, and the officer was being a smart ass and said "Checking 10-13?" Which is a fancy way of asking for the weather conditions- like he didn't know.. He's the one who's been in 113 degree heat all day wearing kevlar. My reply was: "it's HOT. I'll show you en route."

Yes, and then the other dispatchers laughed until they cried.
It was magical.

Now if I could just manage to resign...

Hi, My Name Is...

Hi there,

I'm Stefanie.
Nice to meet you.

I've been on a waiting list for a nursing program for about the last bajillion years. I've tried to talk myself out of going back to school more than a few times. Come on! I'm 30,  have 3 youngish children, and definitely do not want to add to my lovely student loan collection. But (and it's a HUGE but), I kind of completely hate my job. Trust me when I tell you that it is not fun or rewarding or special to be a 911 operator. People call you names you've never heard in real life. They threaten you and tell you what a moron you are for doing your job properly. I've been doing this for 7 years now, and here's what I've learned:

1. Common sense is not so common anymore. 

2. For the most part, people create the situations they find themselves in. 

3. A good 60% of the people I've talked to can use anger management classes.

4. Excedrin migraine is the best OTC pain relief for work-related headaches. Not sure if the liver agrees.  

About four years ago, I had a huge wake-up call at work. I was up for a promotion and lost out due to some sticky politics, and possibly due to a pregnancy. That part I can't prove, but I have my suspicions. It absolutely infuriated me that I am basically in a dead-end job. I hit the glass ceiling, and big-time. Call me an idealist, but I want to excel on my merits, aptitude, and talent. I saw the need for an exit strategy: nursing. 

So here I am. 

I'm running around in a tizzy trying to get everything in order before I start nursing school next month. 

And I still haven't given my notice yet to my current employer, because I'm not entirely convinced they will take it well. I'm praying my flaky mom doesn't flake out on her promise to watch my two youngest (2 and 4) while I'm in school. I'm lamenting the fact that my oldest (6.5) will be going to the enrichment program at her school until I can pick her up every afternoon. My kids have never been to daycare, and this breaks my heart a little bit.

We're all going to have to adjust to this new me, the student nurse me.