Almost 3 months out since the tornado. Someone said the other day it is sad how Tuscaloosa residents are now saying post tornado or before the tornado when talking about time frames. Almost like post-war stories. The city has become like fields of dirt over the last few weeks with so much debris being cleared. Our city council has finally brought forth a plan of action to rebuild and I am hopeful all those waiting on building permits will not be waiting much longer. I know there has been so much controversy over what will be done with the land that has been cleared. Will it become commercial, will it become condos, and will apartments rule the borders of the university. I, for one, am glad to see the city put its foot down and left much of the residential area that was destroyed as residential. I would hate to see the town become non-family friendly and put up even more apartments then we have students. I know some people wanted condos and apartments and commercial areas but that would make all the residence have to go out to the county just to find housing. I think our Major is doing an excellent job and he is really hearing what the residences of Tuscaloosa want. Kudos to you Major Maddox!
Our body shop for the cars I think is screening my calls. I don’t have proof yet but they can’t all be at lunch from 10-4! The truck is in the shop indefinitely and the old ford now needs new breaks and has stalled like a million times. Thanks Bob! Way to go there. Still not angry, ok maybe a little angry. We might just have to figure out how to get another rental car; I can’t stand the idea of Bobby driving that thing back and forth to Birmingham anymore. I would drive it but I am not very good at a manual and I can’t even push the clutch down it’s so stiff. My car is still acting very peculiar and needs a lot more body work before I can say its fixed but it is running and the air is working so I suppose I have absolutely no room to complain.
I start my new job August 1st. I am extremely excited about it. I hope I am doing the right thing, I think I am doing the right thing. I have to be doing the right thing, right? Funny thing about that tornado, it makes you want to either jump ship or persevere through things. I decided the job wasn’t worth it and my academic career was so here’s to a new chapter; let’s hope it opens many doors!
I start back to school this August. You might remember I decided that it was just too much to take with school, work, and recovery. I am definitely jumping back on the horse full swing with full-time coursework. It should be very interesting Qual 3, Philosophy of Education, and an Independent-Pilot Study. I have my work cut out for me this coming semester. I have to remember to order books! It feels like I have been out of school a very long time for some reason. To tell you the truth everything feels like it was so long ago. I have to remind myself it has only been 3 months but it feels like it has been twice that long.
Speaking of time, a reflection if you will bear with me. I want to tell everyone that patience is key to recovery, not just for us here in Tuscaloosa but for so many others around the country dealing with disasters. We are a society of very inpatient, immediate gratification citizens, I don’t point fingers I just call it like I see it. I wish this was like a movie or video game and in the blink of an eye everything is back to normal but in reality I don’t think this city will be back to normal for a few years. Garbage pick-up, utility services, cable, transportation services, contractors, stores, etc. they are all overloaded still even 3 months out. Try and be patient with us, we are working as fast as we can to recover! For those not affected by the disaster, yes we are still talking about it. I think that is healthy, at least for now. Now if I am still talking about this in a year you might need to tell me to shut up but for now we are positive, looking toward the future, and finding resources in our daily tornado chats.
Ok enough of that. So, Bobby and I are doing well. Actually very well all things considered. We are still staying at the hotel, Bobby has had to work late most every evening since we signed on the house, and every evening we are over there doing something. We are stressed, not talking very much but I think things will get better soon. We are on auto pilot mode right now. Overwhelmed, sleep deprived, and broke, but positive that things are getting back to normal; we can see it it’s just outside our reach but we can see it.
I had to go back to the orthopedic surgeon last week, my back finally gave out. I knew it was going to happen, with sleeping on the floor, air mattresses, and a bad hotel mattress, not to mention all the bending and lifting. Megan went with me, which was great because I hate going. It wasn’t too bad 3 X-rays and a diagnosis of inflamed nerves. Not much to do but give me steroids and pain meds. Too dangerous to do surgery near those rods and I am not even in the mood to contemplate another back surgery. So Bobby got to enjoy me hulking out for a few days while I was on a serious dose of steroids to get the swelling down. Yeh for him, ha!
Update on FEMA: not a damn thing!
Stay tuned for more on the house and our return to normal, here on the Becky soap-opera channel- queue cheesy music.
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