still employed

Work has been rough lately, and not just the usual kind of rough. They said we’ve got enough carry-over funding to make it through the end of October, and then after that, we’re basically expected to keep showing up and working without pay until Congress gets its act together. We’ll supposedly get back pay “eventually,” but who even knows how that works when the guidance says only ten percent of the workforce is supposed to keep working during a shutdown.

I’ll be fine for a few months if it comes to that, but let’s be real, I don’t want to drag myself out of bed every morning for a job that might pay me “someday.” It’s hard to stay motivated when the air is so heavy with uncertainty. Everyone’s frustrated, but no one really wants to talk about it. I keep trying not to think too much about it because if I let myself dwell on it, the anxiety hits so hard it’s all I can feel. I’m doing what I have to do, but I’m not going above and beyond right now. The morale is already low enough without me working myself into the ground.

On top of that, I found out HMF has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had her biopsy the day before I saw her, so she’s still waiting to find out what the treatment plan will look like. That one hit hard. Dennis’s mom is doing better, but she’s still wearing a patch over her left eye. I went grocery shopping for her a couple weekends ago, and honestly, I don’t think she’s been leaving the house except for doctor appointments.

This weekend is shaping up to be... something. Dennis’s oldest sister is coming into town for her class reunion, and his brother’s coming too. It drives me nuts that she can make it for a reunion but didn’t show up when their dad was in the hospital or even for his last Christmas. She managed to make it for the memorial service though, so there’s that. Maybe it’s just me, but I think being there while someone’s alive means more than showing up for the service after they’re gone. And don’t even get me started on the brother. I lost all respect for him over twenty years ago when their dad had his subdural hematoma. He had plenty of frequent flyer miles, didn’t have a job, but said his toddler had a cold, so he couldn’t come. I would’ve walked from Ohio if I’d had to.

Dennis said they’re wanting to do some kind of “family meeting” while everyone’s in town, but he has zero interest. I don’t blame him. He tried to do that right after his dad died so they could go over the will, but that turned into a disaster. He was the executor and just wanted to follow his dad’s wishes, but the rest of them wanted to argue about everything. Now, when it’s too late to change anything, they suddenly want to meet? I’m sure it’s about their mom’s health, but who knows. Either way, I won’t be around. I’ve got tickets to a comedy show with my sister that night. Perfect timing.

Last week was Outsiders week, and honestly, it was the bright spot I desperately needed. The show opened Tuesday even though the official opening was Wednesday, and I managed to snag front-row pit tickets during presale when I was in North Carolina. I got them as a birthday gift for HMF. We were so excited, it felt like being kids again. We did our usual pre-show ritual: hit happy hour across the street, demolished some chicken fajita nachos and fries (seriously the best fries ever), and soaked up the buzz.

The show was absolutely spectacular. The touring cast is so young, which makes the story hit differently. Honestly, I think I liked it better than the Broadway version, except for the guy who played Dally in New York because good grief, that man was unfairly good-looking, and he was in his thirties, so I don’t even feel bad saying that. The special effects were just like Broadway too, rubber gravel, fake blood, and rain. We got pelted with gravel but thankfully didn’t get soaked.

And then, during the last song, the actor who plays Ponyboy gave a signed copy of The Outsiders to someone in the audience, and that someone was me. Me! I felt like a total teenage fangirl. HMF and I had joked before that if they gave one out, we’d give it to a kid, but when I told her I might give it to the fifteen-year-old girl sitting next to us, she looked me dead in the eye and said, “Don’t you dare.”

The next night, my sister had tickets for the official opening, so I met up with her and her friends for dinner before the show. They had a red-carpet event since it was the official North American kickoff, and I tried to stay out of sight because the teenage actor playing Ponyboy was there, and I didn’t want him to think I was stalking him after being front row the night before.

I took Dennis on Saturday, and he actually liked it more than he expected to. He’s even brought it up a few times since, which for him means he really liked it. On Sunday we went again, our first show in our new regular season seats, and we picked great ones.

That night was the Stay Gold Gala for the Outsiders House Museum. I wore a dress that was so tight I hadn’t eaten all day, so I was thrilled when I saw the amount of food they had. Pretty sure it saved me from passing out from hunger and shapewear compression. We got there early enough to do photos and meet people without waiting in line. HMF talked me into bringing the signed book to try to get a few more autographs. I’m not big on autographs, but I was hoping S. E. Hinton would sign it. She didn’t, but that’s okay. I did get a few of the cast members, including two of the three Curtis brothers. Ponyboy was on vocal rest, so he typed what he wanted to say on his phone. HMF told him he should learn sign language, and it turns out the actor who plays Soda’s mom is a speech pathologist. They’d even had silent dinners where they only used sign language. It was one of those random, funny conversations that sticks with you.

I told them about how when HMF gets overly pissed the sign language comes out, that we went to Silver Dollar City after a half marathon, completely unaware it was middle school choir day. It was pure chaos, screaming kids everywhere, lines a mile long, and zero personal space. At one point, a group of middle school boys started pushing and crowding us in line, and HMF absolutely went off, both verbally and in sign language, telling them to back off. She had those kids stepping back like they’d just seen their lives flash before their eyes. When I mentioned Silver Dollar City little Ponyboy’s whole face lit up. He started gesturing like crazy about how much he loves that place and gave me this half-giddy fist bump that made me laugh out loud.  HMF said it couldn’t have been his class because he was probably a toddler. 

HMF and me with the Curtis Bros

Pony Boy

The motorcycle cop from the movie

Jamestown Revival played a few songs, including two from the show and of course “Stay Gold.” Their harmonies are unreal. I ended the night by winning a silent auction for an original movie poster with the Robert Frost poem written by C. Thomas Howell. I even met the guy who played the motorcycle cop in the movie and ended up chatting with him for a long time. It was such a good night.

Monday was a holiday, and I’d planned to get my nails done, but my friend was sick, so instead I made a rash decision and went to a tattoo shop. I got something small to commemorate the whole experience.

And now I’m back in my pit of despair. Reality hit hard after such a great week. But even with all the mess swirling around right now, I’m hanging on to that little burst of joy because it reminded me what it feels like to actually be happy again, and that counts for something.

TGIF

 

Nothing like waking up at 3:30 am to the sound of the carbon monoxide alarm going off.  Once I figured out what it was, I just took the battery out.  I would rather die in my sleep than to have to get up, dressed, round up the kids, etc.  Pretty sure it was just a low battery as it is close to the time change and the animals were fine.  I wasn’t able to go back to sleep and Olive was being a cuddle bug, so I sat with her in my lap and watched the tapped episode of Jimmy Kimmel to see what his return was like.  I ended up getting ready and was at work by 6:30. If I was able to wake up early on a consistent basis I would totally come in at that time as it is so quiet.  The conference room behind me usually starts getting used at 9 and I am just distracted at the noise for the rest of the day.  

 

I have a few pictures of the ceremony from last week.  We got an email the day after the ceremony from the photographer saying the data card crashed.  Luckily, I had a friend there that took some pictures for Ripley’s Believe it or Not.  They had a mass retirement ceremony for the DRPers and both Rupe and the Kim bitch were there to see it.  That made my heart a little happy, not going to lie. 

 

I have had a little of Jay’s luck dealing with an overpriced toy.  I bought a handbag when I was in Ashville.  It was insanely expensive but a ‘you only live once’ and ‘it will last for years’ type of purchase.  I didn’t start using it until I got back, so around the 1^st of August.  I picked it up Tuesday and THE STRAP BROKE.  To say I was stunned is an understatement.  I called the customer service number when I got to my car to be told to call the store.  I looked up the store and found Bal Harbour, which is the name of the place I bought it to find out they were in Miami and they didn’t support the pop-up shops.  I did a deep dive on the pop-up shop and it closed in August so even if I wanted to return it to the store 700 miles away I couldn’t.  Called the customer service line back and the agent that answered that time told me that they don’t do pop-ups and it was probably a fake.  The hell you say, it is on your social media you have a pop-up right now.  She really didn’t like me pointing that out and told me I would have to send an email.  Well I sent the email and they replied the next day telling me that they ‘regret to inform me they can’t assist me’ and that I need to take it to a retailer that carries Balmain.  The closest one is in Dallas, 4 hours away.  I finally decided I had enough and just contacted my credit card company and filed a dispute.  I am not going to chase them down and if I wait too long that won’t be an option. I am so glad I used my credit card, I tried to use my debit card, and the fraud alert declined the transaction, so I used my credit card instead.  Maybe them getting the dispute will their attention.  At this point I would pay to ship it back to them in Paris, just give me my money back and stop giving shitty customer service.  Long story short, no more luxury brand handbags for me.  I have had better service and quality from Wal-Mart bags.  

 

Work is busy, and it feels like the days fly by.  I don’t hate that, but I am so burned out on coming to the office.  I could seriously get as much done in half the time without the interruptions.  We are also not going to hire another planner behind the one that left so my workload will not decrease much.  We will get some temps in the fall and winter, but it will just be until the start of the rec season, and they won’t have permanent programs, just working overflow stuff.  I’m not complaining, help is help for however long we have it.  I also don’t hate being busy as it makes the day go by so much faster.  I am in the midst of trying to get some training planned for June.  We don’t know if we will have it or not because, for the most part, it’s summer rangers who need it.  If we aren’t able to hire them, like this year, we won’t need it.  Regardless, I have to start planning it just in case.  I am just tired and at the end of the day I don’t want to do anything.

 

I tried to weigh last night because I haven’t in several months and my scale was broken.  I kind of suspect Dennis of breaking it.  Not sure if it was intentional or not.  I have had several days when I look up and it is 1 or 2 and I am not even hungry.  I force myself to eat a little and go sit away from my desk for 30 minutes.  I eat late so I am not hungry for dinner.  I don’t want to get back in a disordered eating habit again.  Not that I have every completely gotten out of it. I vaguely remember a quote from the biggest loser, something like if you have ever been fat, you will fight it for the rest of your life. 

 

Speaking of biggest loser (not that one), the documentary was so good.  I was so into that show but as I got older and into my own weight loss I realized how toxic it was.  I wasn’t impressed by the way they blew off the GLP medications because it is better and safer than being morbidly obese.  One of the winners is on there and he is from a town close to me. He has gained all his weight back plus some, he was one of the people that talked bad about the mediation. A few days after watching the show I met my mom and sister at a burger place for lunch, the dude was there.  I told my sister ‘Hey, that is one of the winners of biggest loser’ she thought I was being a bitch since they were eating big ole burgers and fries, but I told her no, really.  I pulled up his picture and showed her.  About that time, I am 99% sure he realized what we were doing.  I would have never noticed if he hadn’t been on the show talking smack about people trying to do something to make themselves better.  Fuck that guy.

 

I am so not looking forward to this weekend.  One of my cousins is pregnant and having a baby shower.  I don’t want to go.  I am not close to them and I have her mom blocked after she called me to talk about my sister after I took her to the er a few months ago.  She had talked to my mom and knew what was going on so I guess she just wanted to gossip.  Her and my uncle are also what I refer to as welfare maga. They are low income and took advantage of all the programs they could.  Some of their grandkids are special needs and have IEPs and have to have special transportation to and from school.  They also went to the schools during the summer and the pandemic to get free lunches for the kids.  You can’t have it both ways.  They try to argue with my mom and I told her to bust out facts but I doubt she does.  I don’t trust myself, come at me like that and I will tell exactly what and how I think of that….

Anyway, the baby shower is about 45 minutes from my mom’s house and I don’t want her to drive that far.  She insists on going.  I told her that my cousin that was living with her could take her but she sent me a text saying she can’t risk getting sick blah blah blah.  Then my mom tells me Heather wants to take her to the fair.  Like nah bitch you get to take her to the baby shower.  I am sure I will end up having to take her.  I bought the presents and had them sent to my mom’s house thinking it might get me out of it but it isn’t looking good.

 

Alright I am spent.  I need to take a walk or a nap.

 

'Rona, the sequel

Sooooo tired. Like, bone-deep tired. Sometimes I think back to my twenties when I was all “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” and wonder if my current exhaustion is just karma cashing in. Back then, I’d leave work, close down the bars, stumble into some afterhours rave, take a three-minute shower, power nap, then drag myself back to the office like nothing happened. Now? I stay up past 10 p.m. and need a full recovery weekend. How the hell did I ever pull that off?

Work has been… meh. Busy season is here, which means endless phone calls. Yesterday I was stuck from 10 to 2:30. Today looks the same. And if you know me, you know I hate phone calls. Hate them. I’d rather wrestle a goose in a Walmart parking lot.

Speaking of torture, last week was the Kansas State Fair. Every year we do a booth, Kansas City helps, and we hand out enough freebies to fill a landfill. We said we didn’t have the staff this year and maybe should sit it out. Did that happen? Of course not. So me and a coworker got volunteered as tribute. Four days. Four straight days at the fair.

Let me tell you, fairs are not my thing. The food smells good until you realize you now smell like funnel cake for 72 hours. And the worst part? Adults acting like the free swag is the Holy Grail. Watching people sneak back for their third pen like they’re masterminding some great heist, please. Kids I can tolerate, kind of. But grown adults hoarding tote bags? By day two and a half, I was about ready to start handing out side-eye as a freebie.

And then the flat earthers showed up. At first, they seemed semi-normal… then they explained how we could solve lake siltation by “just taking away the slope in the land.” Two hours later, I was eyeing the Ferris wheel like, yep, that’ll do it. My only strategy was repeating “you’ll have to take that up with the money people” like it was my personal mantra.

Parking was its own comedy show. Apparently, the big bold number on my pass wasn’t my spot. No, the real number was hiding on a tiny sticker at the bottom. Obviously. I drove around looking for spot 420 for far longer than I care to admit.  The parking attendant had no clue.  So I circled around until someone in the open parking area left.

Then came Monday. Storms rolling in, I thought, “Hey, maybe it’ll be quiet.” Wrong. It was free entry day. Schools dumped busloads of kids at the fair. Then the thunderstorm hit. Thousands of soaking wet, screaming humans crammed into buildings. Parking lots flooded, people stuck in the mud. Me? Wondering if I should start carrying a flask.

By Tuesday I’d had enough. Drove back, felt awful, thought it was just from shouting all weekend. Took a COVID test—positive. Luckily, it was more like a bad cold this time. Worked from home, slept all weekend, tested negative Sunday. Still tired, but functional-ish.

And just when I thought life couldn’t get weirder… surprise! Found out I’m getting a Civilian Service Award tomorrow. At an actual award ceremony. Why? No clue. I know for a fact it didn’t come from anyone in my office. Can’t wait to find out who decided I deserved this. I’m half convinced it’s a prank, but hey, I get an actual plaque and medal.  Guess I better dress like a grown up.

Meanwhile, Dennis’s mom gave us all a scare with what looked like a stroke. Ambulance, ER, the whole deal. She stayed overnight and then they just released her Sunday like, “Congrats, you lived, go home.” His sister that lives up north is going make a rare appearance next month and wants to do a “family meeting” but Dennis said nope, because he knows whatever he suggests will get overturned anyway. Their brother, who I’ve hated since day one, says when he visits it’s his “vacation” so he shouldn’t have to help. Boo hoo. Honestly, the man’s lucky I haven’t throat-punched him.

And the kicker? His mom now claims she didn’t even have a stroke. Told Dennis, the neighbor, even the PT that her droopy eye is just because of a surgery she had a year or so ago. The PT literally pulled her records and said, “Nope, ma’am, you did in fact have a stroke.” Her follow-up appointment with the eye doctor and PCP said it was because of long term effects of diabetes (in denial about that too) and hypertension. But she’d rather pretend it was something else and keep rolling. Our moms could not be more opposite if they tried.

Something I heard over the weekend really hit me as spot on to what is going on right now. "How you die doesn't redeem how you lived" 

Busy Bee

Well, it has been a minute.  When I was in NC I found out one of my co-workers had taken another job so when I got back I would be taking on more duties.  Turns out I have been pretty swamped and had no desire to get on the computer after I got home.  

I have had more of an issue adjusting back to my normal work life for some reason.  Not sure if it's because I am so busy or just that I am over this place.  Maybe both.  There is always a little bit of whiplash but it has taken me longer to get over that feeling this time.  It could also be because it's hurricane season and I know I won't be able to go due to the above circumstances.  At least the days have gone by relatively fast.

I had a phone call with the retirement coordinator/financial planner a few weeks ago.  It was about what I expected.  I really want to be able to retire early but I'm just not sure it's in the cards.  Even if I left at 58 (5 more damn years), but there are just so many unknowns.  He advised me to cancel my life insurance through work and take it out from a private company.  I also need to put more into a roth because the tax hit I would take from my TSP is what would keep me from leaving early.  Is it too little too late?  Well, who knows but if I don't do it at all there will be nothing post tax if I do leave so better late than never.  There are so many unknowns in 5 years.  He did tell me that I am in a good place owning my car outright and only owing like $20,000 on my house.  I asked him if I should focus on paying it off and he said at this point it doesn't really matter because the interest rate is low and it might be better to just invest that in the roth.  So many adult decisions that I don't feel responsible enough to make.  When do you finally feel like a real adult and comfortable in making these kinds of decisions?  I just don't want to retire and have to take a job at Costco to pay my bills.  Kind of defeats the purpose. I really do need to take advantage of having young healthy animals for a change to put some more money into my retirement accounts.

In a fit of extraversion I made a ton of plans and I am hoping my anxiety will let me follow through.  I bought tickets to several events and so far I have only skip one.  It was for the SPCA so I don't feel like my money went to waste.  I just couldn't do it and Dennis let me make the call and was fine with skipping.  I just needed a day.  

This week started with the holiday and I took Tuesday off because I had a dentist appointment and didn't want to ruin the day with work.  I made an appointment to get my nails done and had a chance to go by a new bakery that is blowing up right now.  The lady that owns it recently won the James Beard Award and you either have to pre-order or stand in an hour long line to get anything.  I happened to catch the pre-order open and put in for assorted croissants.  OMG they were best pastries I have ever eaten in my entire life.  Very much worth the hype.  I also got super cute nails.

Wild Brew with my sister was a couple of weekends ago.  It is a fundraiser for the Sutton Avian Research Center that does a lot of really good work.  It's a craft beer and restaurant tasting.  For some reason I never got the paper tickets so we went a little early and ended up getting VIP.  It really doesn't mean much but we got in early and there were a few vendors that weren't open to the general admission.  I wouldn't pay for them but it was nice to have a little seating area once we did a few laps around the place.  My sister wasn't too weird but small doses of her are best for me.  We had good time.  Neither of us drink beer and they didn't have a cider that I particularly liked but I tried enough to remind me that I did, indeed, dislike beer.  I will never understand IPA.

I took my mom to get her haircut for a belated birthday present and to my absolute shock she actually (kind of) liked it.  I had joked with the girl that does my hair that I was going to bring her there, which I would NEVER do.  She told me to just go to ULTA because they have the training and clientele that I could ask the manager that she has really fine and thin hair.  They gave me a name and I made the appointment.  After her appointment my sister called and my mom asked her if she wanted to meet us for lunch.  We ended up meeting her.  The two of them together is like kids fighting but it made my mom happy.  My sister found an event that she wanted to go to with an improve troupe and when she showed me the name I recognized it as being one that the girl that does my hair is in!  So, we ended up going.  Two outings with her in just a few short weeks is a gamble.  I had to go home and take a shower and blow out my hair a little because I couldn't go in with my hair looking a mess if Hayley was going to be there.  She was there but she wasn't performing that night.  It was pretty funny.  It was over about 9:30 and we stood outside and talked.  I asked her if she wanted to go somewhere but we don't do bars and couldn't really talk because it was a Saturday night, plus neither one of us are big drinkers.  I wasn't hungry so we didn't want to go to a restaurant.  We ended up sitting in my car and she talked (yup it was pretty much just her talking) until after midnight when I had to go to the bathroom and made my escape.  That girl is a hot mess and I know she is super lonely but I can only do so much.  She just wears me out.  She spent a good amount of time talking about her near death experience (she refers to it as her NDE, which tells me she talks or thinks about a lot).  Did she die?  There is no evidence of that but she swears she did and saw the other side.  She went into detail about her conversations with what could only imagine would be her 'spirit guide' to which I say whatever helps you get through the day.  I am so skeptical and want to believe her but I just don't.  The big sister in me wants to remind her that she didn't die when she had her aneurism she could have died those aren't the same.  I have no doubt she lived through more pain than I could ever imagine both physical and emotional at the exact same time so I just let her talk.  She did tell me that when her ex found out she was in the hospital in serious condition he assumed she had tried to kill herself because she found out about him being a disgusting pig waste of a human suit.  He can just fuck right off.  I never like him, just want to point that out.  It was a long day.  

This week will be a mess.  I am going to the first show in our broadway series, Kimberly Akimbo.  I saw it in Pittsburg before we knew it was going to be here.  Probably would have gone anyway though.  It isn't my favorite but I am still looking forward to it.  We had to switch our tickets because of a work obligation I have this weekend.  We were able to move the to tonight and got great seats so it was a win.  I haven't seen HMF since before I deployed.  I know A started a new school and she told me a little over text that he got into a lot of trouble over the summer, like handcuffs type of trouble so I am sure there will be a few adult beverages.  The place we go before the show has a prickly pear mule that I can drink like kool-aid.  Normally I would rather just drink a soda for the calories but I have been drooling over this for a hot minute.

Tomorrow Heather and I are going to see Hamilton in the movies.  I really hope it's a sing along because if it isn't I am getting thrown out.  I am not sure about Heather's knowledge of the show as she says she hates musicals but said she likes some.  Since it's on disney I am going to assume she if familiar.  If she hates it she can leave I guess.  I am not afraid to stay by myself.  HMF is my normal musical buddy but she has to attend A's football game.  I told her to skip it but I guess that isn't an option for some reason. Blech, I really dislike football.  

Saturday morning I am leaving bright and early to work the Kansas State Fair water safety booth.  I am not particularly happy about this.  I am getting some flex hours banked up and I really didn't have anything besides the show.  Plus I am so close to diamond at Hilton.  This trip might put me there.  Of course it is so late in the year that it doesn't really matter unless they go by stay history and not calendar year.  I guess I should look into that.  However, hotel points are hotel points.  I will have to work saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday.  I will be out of the office so there is that.  Apparently we have a contract with the fair that says the booth has to be manned and for some reason they (the field office) signed it without thinking that we are so short staffed we had entire projects that didn't open parks this summer.  So, someone from my office is going to have to go.  I can't imagine how much it is going to cost them.  I would think it would be cheaper to just pay out the contract but whatever.  I get paid regardless and will get 12 hours for saturday and sunday.  It was especially aggravating given the extra hoops we have to jump through to travel anywhere.  Not to mention our year end this month is making funds a little hard to come by.  But again, per diem and comp time and a little time out of the office.  I just hope my social meter can handle it.

I should have a little downtime the rest of September but October is packed as well.  The Outsiders tour starts and I might have bought tickets to see it a few times.  I told Dennis he had to go and I found a single front row ticket front and center so I couldn't pass it up.  I just hope they do the gravel and rain like they did on broadway!  They are also doing a Stay Gold Gala the Sunday the show closes to benefit the Outsiders House Museum.  There are supposed to have actors from the show and the band that wrote the music is going to be there to perform.  Seeing Jamestown Revial alone is worth the ticket.  HMF and I got VIP tickets.  We see the show that day so it will be a lot but I am really looking forward to seeing them sing Stay Gold.  So much more but this is already getting really long.

I can't get pictures to upload in a normal way so put some up but they are in random order, sorry about that.  

the start of spooky season nails!!

Wild Brew, not sure why the picture is distorted

best croissant I have ever eaten

Headshots Heather did that I talked about last time.

I'm here

I’m back in Tulsa after 6 weeks of the Appalachian Mountains and a week of R & R.  I have no idea how to update so I am just going to hit the highlight reel.

Despite my fear that things would be shutting down and I wouldn’t end up going, I was sent to a place that processed about 10 times as many trucks as any site I had worked in the past.  After I was there a week or so they asked me to extend until the end of July.  I kind of expected that if I got on with the QAS they would ask to extend.  After being told numerous times (according to him) that there were no extensions, I send an email to the area engineer and asked if they had received my extension request, it was approved by the end of the day.  I think they were trying to get rid of the QAS.  Turns out he took care of that himself as we were sitting on the porch of a hotel in a rocking chair with a cooler of beer still wearing his emergency management shirt.  Someone saw him and walked up and told him he probably shouldn’t be doing that, and he told her to mind her own business.  And that was his last day.  I got a call that night telling me I was the new QAS.  Normally it isn’t that big of a deal, you get some good QAs and you just let them work and stay out of their way.  That worked out great for a few days, but all of my crew left on the same day and I was left with an elderly know it all that I didn’t get off to a very good start with me.  They sent me 3 contractors, but they were a hot mess.  I was trying to run 3 sites, one of which did 400 trucks a day on a skeleton crew and I was losing my mind.  After much begging and pleading I got 2 great people….2 days before I went home.  I was so stressed out and exhausted by the time I left. 

The area itself is gorgeous.  They filmed Dirty Dancing at the lake I worked and Hunger Games and Last of the Mohicans in an area very close by.  I had a day to explore, and I walked down the street of Chimney Rock, a town that was pretty much decimated and happened to catch a store my mom had seen on youtube on their reopening day.  I was able to get her a shirt and magnet.  They had pictures up of the big army digging out over 2 feet of mud from the store.  I spent a little time in Dupont Forrest and did a few short hikes to some amazing waterfalls.  I will try and put some pictures on, but I have had some issues getting them to upload.  It was 108 according to my car thermometer when I got back in.  The rocks were also super slippery as I found out the hard way and cracked my apple watch face and my glasses.  Totally worth it.

There were also a lot of hard cideries there.  I tried a lot of new ones and found a couple of places that had clubs that sends their seasonal ciders out quarterly.  I signed up for one at Noble that had a cider called Village Tart that was a clear winner in both taste and name.  It is an area I would go back to.  Not the USVI but there are lots of things to do.  For sure not a place I would just pick to vacation at before I was deployed.  I would go back. 

I was supposed to be home August 1^st but I had the brilliant idea that if I took a later flight I would have the morning to spend in Ashville.  I knew better.  My flight was supposed to leave at 4 but the typical mid-afternoon storm blew in and delayed us.  I had a short connection in Dallas and got the alert on my phone that my plane was boarding before we even hit the bridge.  I looked it up and it was a 15-minute walk to the next gate, and I was in the back of the plane so that wasn’t happening.  I was so pissed as I waiting for everyone to get their life together and take their time getting off the plane.  They rebooked me on a flight that was supposed to leave at 9 but that one had an issue, and it was 30 minutes late boarding.  We finally got on the plane, and I guess the check engine light came on while the did the push back?  They called maintenance and they grounded us.  I mean, it’s a 45-minute flight, lets risk it at this point.  But nope, we get off the plane and they tell us to stay in the area because there is a chance they will get another plane.  I try like hell not to talk to people around me on the plane, but for some reason the lady next to me and I started talking and really hit it off.  We talked about renting a car and driving to Tulsa as she had to be at work the next day.  Turns out she was a producer for the First 48 crime series that’s based out of here.  Do I watch it? NO, I find it a little exploitive but man the stories she would have.  She ended up with 2 other people that were renting a car, and I decided it wasn’t worth the risk.  About the time that got sorted they said we had a plane in another terminal that was leaving at 11:30. When I got there, I heard the people at the gate say that the crew timed out at 11:50 so I just called the work travel agent and had them rebook me for 7 the next day and get me a hotel.  About the time I got loaded into the Lyft I got a message that the plane was delayed until after 3 so I made the right choice.  I was so tired when I got to the hotel, I took a shower and fell asleep with the towel still covering me.  I don’t think I moved an inch.  I was afraid I had overslept but I ended up having plenty of time.  I still didn’t land until 9:30 because we had to circle for some heavy rain.  Regardless I am home and probably will not be deploying again this season as one of my coworkers took another job while I was gone, and we are down a planner. 

I took last week off and had a little me time.  I got my nails and hair done and took my mom out to eat for her birthday.  We went a day early and I’m glad we did because while we were out, she got a phone call that her youngest brother passed away.  He had been put in hospice the week before, so it wasn’t a shock but still.  I tried to get her to fly to FL to see him, but they had taken him off all his meds and dialysis, so he wasn’t really lucid and she said she didn’t wasn’t to see him like that.  I can understand that.  Heather wanted to scout the downtown area for headshot locations and conned me into ‘modeling’ for her.  Dear god it was hot.  She got a few that she liked but not enough, so we ended up going back out a few days later.  I thought she was going to pass out from the heat.  She got my mom to come too so she got out of the house.  As much as I don’t like the living situation, I think it is good for my mom.  I haven’t seen any pictures from the second shoot so who knows how that will look.  I mean, she is already working at a disadvantage with the model, lol. 

Everything else is minutia.  I got my travel voucher turned in and will start working with soon to be ex coworker to get access to the systems she uses and such what not.  I can tell I haven’t spent much time on the computer lately because my head is killing me.  It also just occurred to me that I have new glasses, that probably doesn’t help.

Short week

Figured I would come on here and update before I pack up and leave again.  It has been a long drawn out wait.  I told them when I got home, I would like to go back but couldn’t extend because I had to be back for my sister’s surgery.  I was initially supposed to go to LA, but they decided they were going to cut back on sending people, so I got moved back to North Carolina.  Cool, not mad about that.  Report date was 9 June.  Got an email saying they needed to spread people out more and asked for people to hold off and come in staggered on the 9^th, 16^th and 23^rd.  I sent a message back saying I would like to go the 16^th (and get the 2 holidays) but was punted to the 23^rd.  That made work a pita because I am not going to start anything new and have to hand it off or put it on hold for 30 – 45 days so I have been doing busy work everyday for 3 weeks and it’s starting to get really old.  I am almost there, just working three days this week and it won’t be too bad because one of those is our annual award ceremony, where I will get my 30-year pin, and a meeting with a retirement planner.  That will eat away a good part of the day tomorrow.  The picnic that the award ceremony and the corps picnic are usually done on the same day, but we have high water at pretty much all of our parks, so they are rescheduling that part.  I don’t go anyway.  They asked us to send pictures for a slideshow, but I think we all know I didn’t do that. 

My sister is doing well, she bounced back fast.  We went to Tulsa Tough last weekend and you could not see any scars or anything.  It is noticeable but if you didn’t know you would probably think she got laser or something.  She is starting to get that plastic look though so I hope she backs off on the filler and botox just a little.  She is still gorgeous but is starting to have that generic overdone look.  I would never tell her that.  I would really like to have it done as well but I just can’t spend that kind of money on it when I could use it to travel.  That would be a trip to London.  

Tulsa Tough was fine.  It will never be as fun as it used to be when it first started.  I didn’t run into a single person I knew and none of them teams that we followed were there.  It was Laura’s first time going but she kind of paid attention to the race.  I thought she would just walk around and not want to watch, but once it got to 10 laps to go, she kind of got into it.  When she realized they had huge wrecks that kind of reeled her in.  The was a bad one at after the 10-lap mark that took out 20 bikes.  After the race was over, we went to Valkyrie, a vodka bar on the route.  This was where I realized my id fell out of my pocket.  We had a few drinks and went out to see if anyone turned it in.  They were packing up but the organizer was at the info area and I asked if it was turned in.  They had an id turned in but it wasn’t mine.  We walked over to a bench we sat at and ate some pizza and my freaking debit card was laying there in the grass!  I told Laura that I must have grabbed my card instead of my license but I knew I only had one card and had planned on using tap to pay.  Sure enough my license was in my wallet when I got back home.  I really lucked out on that.  It was still light out when we ate but dark when we left so no one picking it up and me actually seeing it was a huge stroke of luck.  

HMF and I went to the last show of our season, Wicked.  It was so good.  I wasn’t really looking forward to it because I had seen it so many times, but I am really glad we went.  It was a good production.  My older sister didn’t get tickets with her season package and said she probably wasn’t going to go.  I told her it was pretty good, and she caved and went last week.  She said she was glad she did.  We got the line up for the next season and I think it will mostly be good with a couple that I am not sure about.  We have Kimberly Akimbo, The Outsiders, Beauty and the Beast, A Beautiful Noise, Mamma Mia, The Wiz, and The Notebook.  I am on the fence about Notebook and A Beautiful Noise.  The first one because I hear it is sappy and sad, I never saw the movie as it isn’t my jam.  HMF’s dad has Parkinson’s, and she has no interest in watching a show that is about dementia.  If they get a good add on show, we will trade those in.  Also, A Beautiful Noise is another biopic.  Biopics are my least liked shows.  I really didn’t like Ain’t Too Proud and gave my ticket to MJ and Tina away.  We did send in our renewal, and I sprang for a seat upgrade.  Our normal seats were behind this dude that is giant, and we really didn’t want to sit behind him again.  We went down and checked out the new seats while we were at Wicked, and they are going to be so good!  We are now really hyped up for the next Wicked movie and are planning on buying tickets for opening night!! 

Our specialty wicked themed drinks

Our Fluevogs

Dennis is doing well at his new job.  He is starting to see some of the petty personality come out in people which means petty disagreements, he swears he is staying out of it.  Last week I had to review all of his insurance stuff to see if there would be any benefit to adding me on his policy.  I hate doing that stuff.  It feels like an adult decision that I am not fully qualified to make.  His portion is completely paid for but adding me makes his premium almost the same as mine.  I am curious to see how the two companies work together since I am not taking him off mine.  If we see it isn’t working, I will take him off in open season.  The only thing I was really interested in was their dental and vision but mine pays more ($350 vs $150 for frames) and I guess they don’t work in tandem like health insurance, so I passed on that too.  This is the first time he has really had a 8-5 M-F job and I think he kind of likes it.  He is close enough to my house that he can go home and check on the kiddos at lunch. 

I had to reschedule a bunch of doctor appointments while I was gone, I had primary, allergy, and rheumatology appointments that I had to fit in before I left.  Still haven’t gotten to allergy but the other two were last week.  I ran out of my RA meds while I was gone and thought I would just fill it when I got home because it was only like a week.  Around the time for me to go home my hands hurt so bad.  Getting back on the medication helped but it was still achy.  He gave me a steroid shot to maybe give it a jump start.  It seemed to help.  My bloodwork came back completely normal!  I think this is the first time in years I had all completely normal counts!  So exciting. 

I took off a little early for my appointment and went to a store called Name Brand Clothing.  It is a huge store that sells name brand and designer stuff from overstock, returns, and out of season stuff.  It is huge and requires digging and careful scrutiny because they can be damaged.  I get a wild hair once a year or so to go digging.  I didn’t have much time, but it was close to my doctor and decided to make a quick run.  I found out that Best Friends Animal Sanctuary teamed up with a designer men’s wear label and.  I found Dennis a couple of shirts for under $10 each.  I was super stoked.  He loved them and said he wanted to go back and see if he could find some more.  We went back on Saturday night and he found several more that he liked.  I wish they had a women’s line.  I did find an XS jacket and sweats that I picked up.  After that we went to Scheel’s, an outdoor, sporting good, general clothing store with a ferris wheel in the middle of it.  We hadn’t been because it is always packed and really had no reason to go, but since it was across the street we went and checked it out.  The place is huge.  We didn’t buy anything, but we spent about an hour walking around and looking.  It is bigger and nicer than Bass Pro and I hear it has really affected their business, which I am glad to hear.

Earlier Saturday I got my hair touched up.  It was a strange appointment because Hayley and I usually talk non-stop, but I think we were both just tired because we didn’t really engage that much. I was afraid it would take all day, but I was out by 2:30.  Since I was downtown, I took a drive down through the busy part of town.  There was such a good turnout despite the rain, it gave me chills and I got a little choked up. 

Nothing major going on or coming up, but I will start getting everything together to leave on the 23^rd.   No clue where in North Carolina I’m going to be staying, I hope they tell me before Wednesday so I can get that stuff taken care off before I take off after the holiday.  They aren’t great about doing that kind of stuff and I don’t want to do it on my own time.  It is a huge pain.  I do have my first night hotel booked in Ashville at the same place I stayed last time because it’s walking distance from the little art/shopping district with lots of neat little shops and restaurants.  It’s an Embassy Suites so it also comes with the 2 free drink coupons, if I get there early enough.