Keebles World

Well, I took a week off work. Of course, I still had to go in to work every single day and do the things that only I can do, so it "technically" wasn't a vacation", but that's just the way it is. Suffice it to say, the time off just kind of made me madder at the state of my situation I've gotten myself into. Yes, I should be grateful I have a job, but if said job is killing me, then should I really be grateful? I've decided things have to change, or else. And knowing my employer, it will be or else. I also decided that California is out of the question too. I don't think, considering my interactions with them, that would be the right environment for me either. The the complete 360 of my current situation and I don't work well in that kind of environment either. I need challenges and a good balance of structure and workload and one gives no challenges and too much load and the other gives challenges, but no load and possibly no structure....

I drove around town a bit after picking up my groceries on Friday. I didn't go all over town and I didn't go through the affluent neighborhoods that were hit. Most people don't realize that the neighborhood behind the mall, where there are public housing units (project housing), got completely wiped out as well. That NEVER made the news. I couldn't get back there anyway, it is all sanctioned off. I drove through the parts of town that didn't get a lot of coverage, but where there was still damage. Obviously, my route did take me right past the mall, so I did get shots of it and the stores across the street, Ulta and Kirklands being the main two: And sorry about the quality of this, it was 6 pm on a Friday, so even with the quarantine, traffic was still a bit heavy: And then the mall itself, Target didn't get hit so bad (I had just been in there the Friday before: But the further you go, the worse it gets: The crushed-in roof was where Barnes and No...

We are still working, although I'm not killing myself like I have been. But I do think it has finally caught up with me...between the work and the stress of the tornado, I actually called in sick with a headache for the first time in over 15 years! And then, the day after, I got sent home from work because, well, I guess I just looked too pitiful and was throwing up too much. Four days this one lasted so, between last week and this one, there hasn't been much stitching. Speaking of the tornado, I tried to drive down the airport road to survey some of the damage last night and get some pics for you guys, but the traffic was too heavy and I'm just not good with picture-taking on my phone while driving. My camera is a whole other story (I'm a total pro with it and driving), so I dropped one in my purse this morning in case I get the chance to go that way again tonight. I ordered groceries from Wal-Mart on Wednesday, but I couldn't get a pick-up time until today...

Things have been quiet this week. The town is still in COVID mode, so everything is empty (but we are still at work), but at least the roads around me are open. I've been careful to avoid the tornado damaged areas, just out of helpfulness of the cleanup crews and out of considerations of the homeowners, but I did circle around the backside of the trailer park Tuesday morning as I went to drop off my lot rent. I was surprised to see a lot of the trailers in the back had tarps on their roofs, so there was some damage, but I was even more surprised to see the field behind the trailer park. I knew the airport behind us was destroyed, as was the subdivisions all around. As I sat in the tub, basically waiting to die, I distinctly remember hearing the roaring & sounds of destruction it made as it approached, the sound of a train (and I told my Sister "it does sound like a train!" because that's the way they always describe it on TV...it was an actual train I heard...