Farewell

This is my last post and also my last week for this internship. I will be graduating in a couple of days, and I could not be more excited. I have seen myself grow so much from the time I started the MPA program to now. Since I actually had this internship before I started the program, and I look back and compare how I was then to now. When I came back in January after a year of graduate, I could definitely see that I had grown a lot. The one large thing I have taken from graduate school is that everything is not as simply as it seems. Before I felt I was very narrow minded, but after the knowledge I have gained from school and work, I feel I can see a bigger picture than before. With being able to graduate, I am excited to see what the future holds for me. I know I still have a lot to grow, but with the growth I have made in the past year and a half, I know the future looks bright. I would like to thank my professors who made my experience so awesome and my co-workers at the City Mesa. I will miss everyone, and I hope everyone the best.

200 Years of Catching Bad Guys

On the homepage of Inside Mesa, an article caught my eye. “Mesa PD will be 200 years of combined police service.” What drew me to the article was that I was wonder how many people were combined to make the 200 years. The answer is 7. Lieutenant Kent Kasik, Lieutenant Greg Penrose, Lieutenant John Pruitt, Lieutenant Lynn Young, Detective Curtis Adams, Officer Stephen Clark, and Detective Travis Metcalfe are all retiring from the Mesa PD. With an average service of around 30 years, I think it is great to see people who have such distinguished careers. With my girlfriend working at a police supply store, I have learned more about the police in the Phoenix Metropolitan area, and I have gained a lot more respect for these individuals. I hope these 7 officers have a great retirement, and I would like to thank them for all of their hard work.

Lunchtime

The other week, my boss took me out to lunch with a few of my co-workers. We ended up going to a Vietnamese restaurant, which I was excited about because my girlfriend and I go to one regularly in Tempe. The restaurant was located in a shopping mall which was a converted Target. The conversion looked very well done. This was my first time at this Asian market, but my co-workers have gone here many times. Before we sat down, I already know what I was going to get before I received the menu. I always get bun chi when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was good, but what made it better was the frozen yogurt at the end. After an extended lunch, we went back to the office. I thought it was great to have been able to have gone out with everyone before I left. I will certainly miss everyone when I leave.

Vote for Prop 100

Tensions are high around the office again due to budget cuts. There have been emails from the city manager explaining about how the city is going to cut the funds to meet the budget. As it currently stands, no one will be getting a pay cut, but this will be contingent on whether Prop 100 passes. If Prop 100 does not pass, many cities believe the state will be taking the money from the state shared revenue. With a city that is already scraping by, another blow will costly. This would be their second pay cut. If this keeps occurring, I wonder how long the employees will stay with the city. I know the situation will not get as bad as Greece, but I wonder how many blows the city employees can take.

Peter

Peter is my cat. A friend of mine gave him to my girlfriend when he was just a kitten but since she lives with a roommate who is allergic to cats, he has lived with me for the last two years. Based on this fact, I consider him mine though my girlfriend would disagree. He’s a very interesting fellow. Although he is eager to make friends with the ladies, Peter avoids most people, specifically my roommate who he is petrified of. Peter’s days are spent lounging in bed, sitting in the closet, attracting stray cats by displaying himself in the windows, staring at the fish tank, and chasing bouncy balls. Peter’s nights are spent frantically running through the blinds when he has caught the attention of one of those stray cats. He’s pretty reliable in that he greets me at the front door when I come home from school and stays up with me when I pull all-nighters studying for class. For whatever reason, it has become some what of a ritual for Peter to want to fight me whenever I am near him when he is on his post. I’ll stand near him and he’ll give me a menacing look, let out a strange meow and try to jump at me. I willingly participate in this activity but make sure to wear protective clothing (as seen above). My girlfriend finds this occurrence highly amusing because he attempts no such action with her even when she tries to provoke him.

If at first you don't succeed, order pizza.

My girlfriend and I love to cook. Every week or so we come up with a few ideas for prospective dinners before heading out to the 24-hour Fry’s to seek out essential ingredients. As a college student, having a 24-hour grocery store nearby has proven exceptionally handy and splitting the grocery bill is very cost effective. Typical standby’s of ours include chicken parmesan, italian sausage with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and basil served over angel hair topped with crumbled feta cheese, and of course, tacos. My girlfriend enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with recipes she finds online. Luckily for me in these hectic last weeks of my final semester in grad school, her enthusiasm with cooking has put food on the table and less stress on me to prepare a decent meal for myself. Tonight we had taquitos and despite the fact the process smoked out my apartment, they were delicious. The secret ingredient was a handful of pepper jack cheese thrown into the chicken mixture that filled the taquitos. Recently, I’ve grown accustomed to the taste of avocados. I’m not exactly sure what initially deterred me from eating them but since dating my girlfriend, who absolutely loves them, I’ve found myself actually enjoying them.

My Passion

Soccer is by far my favorite sport. I currently play in an amateur men’s league in Scottsdale, and I thoroughly enjoy it. When I first joined the league, I felt like my skills were a little more refined, but throughout the seasons, my lack of actively playing has affected my skills. I am not as in shape or as good as I was, but now being in a more relaxed setting, I am enjoying the game more. I just go out and enjoy myself now. I do not take it as personal anymore if we lose or win. I just want to play with a good group of guys. Today we had a game, and we won 8-1. Surprisingly, I even scored too.

Anyway, this summer the World Cup will begin. I am so excited for it. I hope I do not stay up too late every night trying to watch it, but to throw out my vote of who I think will win, I choose Argentina. Messi is too good of a player, and he will shine this year.

On a side note, go Blues (they are in first place)! I know they can beat Man U and win the title. I am sorry if this post might seem a little unstructured, I just wanted to ramble a little bit about soccer because I am super excited for the World Cup coming up.