RCMP Victim Services Advocate

So for those who do not know
I am working with the Two Hills and Andrew RCMP VSU(Victim Services Unit)
Today i finished the last day of my VSU basic training course. It was 2 weekends.
and can now "officially" work on cases.
+ i get a really cool badge.

The training was over all pretty good. And for someone coming into this
w/ no prior experience working w/ crisis, and victims, assault, and death, then this would have been great and jam packed with useful information.
And not to say that it didn't offer me anything, but it was for me, mostly a refresher on prior schooling and work experiences.
Except for the criminal code stuff.........awesome to have that useful information at my fingertips. lots of stuff i either didn't know, and why would i, or had a complete misconception of.

Also As a result of this Volunteer Position, i am being sent away on all kinds of additional training, and i have already completed my Child Sexual Abuse Certificate.
Which I kinda already have from my schooling at GBC, but never hurts to get again.

Aside from all the info being taught and absorbed at the training, i met some amazing people. 1 of whom is a female RCMP on light duties as she is pregnant. And who will be taking me out on a ride along in roughly.....3 1/2 to 4 months time.
but I'm sure I'll be doing that through my own detachment before then.

That's about it for my exciting news.
Well that and our newest member of the family,
our miniature pot belly pig, Jack.
But he will get his own blog posting later this week,
as soon as i have a picture to post too.

Windstar Drama

The Windstar is finished, and I think I am finished with minivans. When I was researching the head gasket issue online, I read about so many people pissed at Ford. They were pissed off because the head gasket was a factory recall. Most people heard about it too late, and the antifreeze had gotten into the motor oil so they took it in for service, when they heard about the recall. The recall was really the intake gaskets, but that is harder to comprehend. Their gaskets and oil were changed, so they were sent on their way. Only to get a knock in the motor a wile later, that gets louder and louder. Within a matter of minutes the motor seizes up from a spun bearing that ford won’t pay for. They won’t pay for it because there is antifreeze in the system. Antifreeze is abrasive, much like sand paper. You could probably run a motor for a long time with the crank case full of water, but not antifreeze.

Most of those affected were F150s, and if I had an F150 I would change the motor on it, but to lift the van off the front subframe in the back yard, sucks. Dispite 4 oil changes in 2000km the van seized solid on me in Lac Labich, on the way home from work Oct 5, 08. This was the first set that I had my air card, and so I was able to call home with Skype. Michelle came out to rescue me in my Dodge 1500, which was on stand by for such incidents. We towed it with some rope, 50km and called it a night. We went back in the morning and hauled it the last 50kma

I think I will push the Windstar into the back yard and make it a chicken coop for the winter. Maybe I will cut some fancy chicken door in the side with the cutting torch, when I get more oxigen