Movin' Out

Thanks, Billy Joel, for this week's title. As it suggests, I'm movin' out. All of my things have been officially moved out of my apartment on Watermelon Road with the craziest roommate of all time. I will soon draft an email to his step-mother detailing all of the food he ate so that my utility bill for this month doesn't have to be paid or is reduced.

Before we get to that joyous occasion, though, we have to explain the happenings of the weekend that involved driving to and from Hoover three times. Friday night Mallory Porter was visiting Hoover after taking a few days off from her jobs at Disney World and Bush Gardens. She, Natalie, Sarah Carlson and I went to La Fiesta, which was one of our usual hangouts in high school. We followed our Mexican food with some cookies from Great American Cookie Company from the Galleria. If only our parents had driven us there, it would have been very 9th grade.

I had to come back to Tuscaloosa to co-teach an ERV class, which trains people to drive the Emergency Response Vehicle, and by "co-teach" I meant sitting in the back where the air conditioning doesn't efficiently cool the stainless steel that covers the floor and parts of the walls. I was literally getting cooked. At least it was in good company, and any day with Taco Casa for lunch can't go badly unless you aren't a Tuscaloosa native with a strong enough stomach to handle their food.

My plan Saturday night was to go home and see my friend Sarah Rogers for drinks downtown while she was home on a quick visit from LA. What actually happened was a twenty-eight unit apartment fire in Tuscaloosa. While the drive back was inconvenient and we were there until almost twelve, this was the night I felt the most useful. I never would have thought a year ago that I would be in charge of casework for a multifamily fire with zero notice. While Holli was responding to the scene to get more information, I called volunteers, got the ERV loaded and ready to drive with the help of Cody, made enough casework folders for twenty families, and set our office up to do multiple casework sessions at once.

I'm glad that this is something I can continue to do once my job ends because my skill set is perfect for supervisory roles in disaster response. We were able to help six of the families that night and eight more over the past week. That has made portions of the week a little hectic, but it gave me faith in West Alabama being able to respond to smaller level disasters. The volunteers did all of the actual work like driving the ERV and client interviews.

The other big event this week after the fire was my moving out from my terrible living situation. I may miss the vibrators, dearth of communication, stolen food, small bugs, and abundant drugs, but I think it's better off this way. I moved into a house that has been owned by theatre people for the past two year. I am very happy to announce my acceptance into The Kingdom. Some people like to name their homes or apartments to make them cooler. People assumed I had done this last year when I invited them to come to Wesley Foundation when in fact the building I lived in was the Wesley Foundation.

Since moving in, I've spent so much more time with people eating at Waffle House, watching movies, cooking out, doing dismally at trivia, and getting far too inebriated. I think this will be the perfect fit for my last month in Tuscaloosa for a long while, hopefully ever as a resident. I am beyond ready to be in the District of Colombia. Michelle is on her way there right now, and Jenae is already there. I just skyped with my friend Krishna who lives there. I need to get there soon and start leading tours, but I will enjoy the time I have left in Alabama.

Lastly, I had the read thru for Second Samuel, which I am doing with Park Players in August. I think this show could be exceptionally enjoyable, but it could also border on stereotypical and cheesy. I'll try to avoid the latter. My character is the narrator in the setting of a small 1940s Georgia. He has a learning disability, which will be a challenge to undertake. I am looking forward to this and hopefully to bringing a sense of realism to a character that can be all about typical behaviors. If you're in Birmingham, come see it in August!