I am very close to you. Are you a patrol officer? If so, I bet we have driven by each other many times over the years.
Yes I'm a garden variety patrolman. I was a detective for a few years but I went back to the road in 2006. I asked to go back to the road. I didn't get into trouble. I put that out there because that is usually the next question. The hours are actually better on patrol. We work 4 x 12 hour shifts (48 hours), but then we get four days off. Detectives are on call, work Monday through Friday, often get called out on their days off and I found that I typically brought my work home with on a psychological level. As a uniform when my shift is over I just go home. It's more relaxing.