Troubled times, you know I cannot lie.
So I haven't gotten around to really writing about the wreck.
I was driving back to work from Catholic Charities last Tuesday and it was raining. I had spent a good part of my time there talking with parents and whatnot and I made a few cracks about how Austin drivers simply cannot function properly in the rain, knowing little of the foreshadowing I was giving the rest of my day.
My car, the damage to which isn't done proper justice from the shitty lighting on my camera phone. The entire drivers side was bent inward in a shallow V. The estimate at this point is roughly $11k damage to the vehicle.
Her car, a little Dodge Neon, however, is totaled. Thankfully, no one was really injured. My back hurt for a few days but that was about it.
She came heading south on a curve, hit her brakes too hard, and jumped the divider between her and me in the northbound lane. What was unusual was that I heard the brakes and saw the car coming at me and several things happened at once. One, I saw her coming directly at me, and the only thing between me and her was my car door. I had bought my truck on the merits that it was a sturdy machine (among other things) but the speed she was going and the impact point at that moment made it seem highly unlikely I was going to walk away from this. I was very certain I was going to die in that instant, and a few things crossed my mind that I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable sharing.
The other thing was that I became fully aware that I had made a weird expression - my eyes somewhat squinted and my teeth exposed in some sort of aggressive grimace. I knew not only was I going to die, but I was going to die looking like I was attempting to ward off my speeding death by doing a Gilbert Gottfried impression.
Thankfully, my Nitro's frame was more than a match for the paper-and-tape contraption known as a Neon. She slammed head on into me and went pinwheeling away to hit another driver before finally coming to rest on a lawn. I am never, ever, ever buying a small car ever again. If I were in my old Neon or Vibe I would, at best, be writing this from traction in something resembling what they put Wile E. Coyote in after his glorious plans once again backfire.
The insurance has worked out okay, all things considered. They were somewhat slow at getting me into a rental (I was stuck with a Prius and now a Jetta due to inventory and allowance issues), and I have to say that driving a small car rental after that is a little unnerving. I've managed to get over it, and the 3-4 weeks it'll take to get my truck back cannot come fast enough. Not being able to pack up the bike and head to the park is kind of irritating.
Beyond that, Kim and I joined a gym and we've been pretty good about going nearly every day, mostly on lunch during work. I have other things to report, but they somehow seem less significant.
Hey mister, where you headed?
Are you in a hurry?
I was driving back to work from Catholic Charities last Tuesday and it was raining. I had spent a good part of my time there talking with parents and whatnot and I made a few cracks about how Austin drivers simply cannot function properly in the rain, knowing little of the foreshadowing I was giving the rest of my day.
My car, the damage to which isn't done proper justice from the shitty lighting on my camera phone. The entire drivers side was bent inward in a shallow V. The estimate at this point is roughly $11k damage to the vehicle.
Her car, a little Dodge Neon, however, is totaled. Thankfully, no one was really injured. My back hurt for a few days but that was about it.
She came heading south on a curve, hit her brakes too hard, and jumped the divider between her and me in the northbound lane. What was unusual was that I heard the brakes and saw the car coming at me and several things happened at once. One, I saw her coming directly at me, and the only thing between me and her was my car door. I had bought my truck on the merits that it was a sturdy machine (among other things) but the speed she was going and the impact point at that moment made it seem highly unlikely I was going to walk away from this. I was very certain I was going to die in that instant, and a few things crossed my mind that I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable sharing.
The other thing was that I became fully aware that I had made a weird expression - my eyes somewhat squinted and my teeth exposed in some sort of aggressive grimace. I knew not only was I going to die, but I was going to die looking like I was attempting to ward off my speeding death by doing a Gilbert Gottfried impression.
Thankfully, my Nitro's frame was more than a match for the paper-and-tape contraption known as a Neon. She slammed head on into me and went pinwheeling away to hit another driver before finally coming to rest on a lawn. I am never, ever, ever buying a small car ever again. If I were in my old Neon or Vibe I would, at best, be writing this from traction in something resembling what they put Wile E. Coyote in after his glorious plans once again backfire.
The insurance has worked out okay, all things considered. They were somewhat slow at getting me into a rental (I was stuck with a Prius and now a Jetta due to inventory and allowance issues), and I have to say that driving a small car rental after that is a little unnerving. I've managed to get over it, and the 3-4 weeks it'll take to get my truck back cannot come fast enough. Not being able to pack up the bike and head to the park is kind of irritating.
Beyond that, Kim and I joined a gym and we've been pretty good about going nearly every day, mostly on lunch during work. I have other things to report, but they somehow seem less significant.
Hey mister, where you headed?
Are you in a hurry?