Good Shape

Yesterday evening I had the privilege of making my one telephone call for the day. Yes, it is a privilege because not every inmate has the opportunity to make a call each day for a variety of reasons. I called my mother since I haven’t spoken to her in over 2 months. The last time I talked with her was when I was in the Riverside County Jail anxiously awaiting my transfer to the reception center. To say I was not in the best of spirits would be a great understatement and to say I was beside myself would be accurate. The date was August 10th and if anyone is interested, you can review those paranoid postings during that period. I was in much better spirits this time when I spoke with my mother. Time has gone by and will continue to pass and I have learned from those earlier experiences. I am no longer paranoid or anxious. I have a little less than 21 months (officially) left to serve on my sentence and once I do get to fire camp it will be less than that. Whatever period of time I have left I will serve my sentence without angst and paranoia. There are only a very few things in my control and I have the power to work with these. Whereas there is so much out of my control and I do accept that I don’t have the power to control these things.

The telephone call with my mom went by just as fast as it did on Monday with my wife. Fifteen minutes is not nearly enough time to catch up on 2 ½ months; however, this is the rule and I do accept it. Just like with my wife, the call cut-off right at the 15 minute point and I didn’t have the chance to say good-bye. It truly is amazing how fast these minutes go and if I could bottle this and apply it to the rest of my day I will be back with my family in a heartbeat! I do understand that 15 minutes takes 15 minutes, no matter if I were standing still doing nothing; yet, it sure seems to go by so very quickly when I am speaking with my loved ones. It was wonderful to hear my mother’s voice and to answer her questions. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time for me to ask her any questions, but hopefully, we will get to that as time goes by. As the call cut-off and I walked away from the telephone, I felt much better knowing I can now actually have the opportunity to speak with my family. I feel as if I have come out of quarantine and the light at the end of the tunnel is growing even brighter.

I was able to obtain some books from a fellow dorm mate and have started to read again. My eyes aren’t what they used to be and it seems ever since I had lasik surgery, I need to strain to read. My nearsightedness was corrected but my farsightedness has gotten progressively worse. I think it’s my age. I am on the lower bunk –which is a good thing – but the lighting in the dorm at night is horrible. There are 20 fluorescent tube lights (10 on each side of the dorm) and only 7 work; the other 13 are burnt out. Being on the bottom bunk has one downside which is the lighting is virtually non-existent, but sleeping is easier because of this. I would like to read a few hours at night because “quiet time” doesn’t begin until 11:00 pm and many of my fellow dorm mates play their radios until this time. After 11:00 everyone is very respectful of this rule which is a very good thing. The book I started reading is about Edgar Cayce and is called Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet by Jess Stearn. For those of you don’t know who he is, send an e-mail to my mom and she will be happy to share her knowledge. It is an older book –1967 – but because of my mother’s somewhat “obsession” with Cayce, I have always been interested in him and his life. This book outlines his life and prophecies. A funny aside - the price on the paperback is 95 cents. Good God, we can’t even get a cup of coffee for that price!

This morning I went to find out more about the Physical Training Instructor. I spoke with one of the inmate instructors and the man who is in charge of the overall training who they call “coach”. As I was speaking with them, I learned there are two openings and all I would have to do is pass the instructor’s physical exam. I also learned that the next test was this afternoon – gee, talk about timing! I wanted to find out more about the exam since I really did not know anything about it. Apparently, the exam is a full blown version of the class which is given everyday. I haven’t taken the class because I just found out about it earlier this week so I was going into the exam somewhat blind. I knew I could handle the running of the mile in less than 9 minutes, but I wasn’t too sure about all the following exercises since I had not performed them.

After finding out about this, I decided to watch the training class this morning. It was very good but nowhere near as intensive as the instructor’s exam was described. When the class was over it was time to return to the dorm and I decided to rest for the next hour and to hydrate myself for the test. I don’t like to eat before I run so I didn’t have any lunch. I tried to visualize the exam but I was having difficulty because I was unaware of the proper techniques for the “burbees” – thrusts without the push-ups – and the mountain climbers – hands forward, feet back, step 6 inches on the balls of your feet for a count of 3 with 80 repetitions. I did have an uneasy feeling going into the exam and it felt like my first marathon all over again. (which by the way did not turn out so well, but I did finish) I tried to flush the negative and focus on the positive. I was also focusing on the fact that the “coach” told me hardly anyone passes on their first try and most people take 3 and 4 times before passing. I decided to treat this as a practice run and if I pass – great!

I do believe I am still in good shape despite having has to alter my workout routine over these past three plus months. I can still run long distance without a problem; however, I am not as fast nor do I have good short term stamina. All of my training is done with what are called negatives. For example, if I run my first mile in 7 minutes and 30 seconds, I will run my last mile in less than this time. When I do push-ups, I do more repetitions at the end of the workout as opposed to the beginning. This exam was the direct opposite of my training routine which shouldn’t be a problem, it was just a different mind set.

It was time for the exam. There were three of us testing for two positions and to pass, all the exercises must be performed perfectly. We set out on the mile run first which was no problem; it even felt a little slow. Directly after the run, it was time for the “burbee” in a set of 40. These were unlike anything I have done in the past and were performed very quickly. Then it was time for the mountain climbers in a set of 80. I struggled with my form and my feet kept missing the proper (c???) but I ventured on. Right after this was a set of 40 pushups, followed by a set of 40 sit-ups, followed by a set of 40 jumping jacks. Then it went to a set of 35 for each of these exercises and then 30. By the time I got to the 30 repetition sets, my breathing was a little too heavy and I decided to take myself out. However, after a brief 3-minute rest, I jumped back in and finished the exam. Out of the three of us, only one person passed and he is 25 years old and had been training for the past two months. This was his third time taking the test. There is one spot left for an instructor. The coach told me he liked my attitude and would give a re-test on this Friday morning for the other inmate and myself and anyone else who wanted to try. I was neither discouraged nor disappointed. It was yet another learning experience and I will give it a try again on Friday. I would have liked to have another week but the coach needs another instructor sooner as opposed to later. Tomorrow I will up my workout routine to include all these new exercises. After I finished the exam, I ran four miles and did several sets of these exercises. I just have to control my breathing better. After I finished the additional four miles I felt much better than I did when I took the exam. I will give it my best shot on Friday and if I don’t make it, then that is fine. I can continue to take the exam as often as it is given. Even if they do fill that spot, once I pass I will be placed on a waiting list. Once one of the instructors leaves I can step in.

The sooner I get in the better because one of the requirements of the instructor is to give a four month commitment here at SCC. From all the information I have been given, it takes 3 to 7 months to get into a fire camp. In all likelihood whether I get the instructor job or not I will be here at least four months. Another benefit of being an instructor is it is a paid job with benefits. It goes from Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 2:30 pm. The benefits consist of working out all the time (which is great by me) and when it comes time to go to a fire camp, the instructor can pick the one he wants. I do know where I would like to go so if this works out it would be great! Everything does happen for a reason and I know I am giving it my best effort.

Happy 20th Anniversary to my sister and brother-in-law. Wow, 20 years since Bill Bucker booted the ball!! Hope you had a great day!