January 2009
I started this year with an ache in my gum where my wisdom tooth was coming through. Said ache got progressively worse until I finally went to the dentist. Who said I had an infection and gave me some drugs.
The next day I was undecided as to whether to go to work or not. I was feeling a bit crap, but not really crap enough to stay home and I had some reports to do, so I figured I should probably go in. Which leads me neatly onto the subject that has dominated the year for me so far.
I was about to turn off the A34 into Milton Park when I went into a skid (ice, I assume) and crashed into the car in front of me. I was fine - very shaken up - but unhurt. I wasn't going that fast on impact so the other car had a slightly dented back bumper, but nothing more. My baby Ka was not so lucky. She had a bent bonnet, a dented radiator, a cracked air filter and both headlamp units were slightly damaged. All of this was perfectly repairable, however as she was 10yrs old, the insurance company didn't think she was worth repairing and wrote her off. It took two weeks, two garages, two phone calls a day from me and one f*ck load of crossed wires for this point to be reached.
When I finally got to this point, I had three options available to me. The first was to pay to get my Ka repaired myself. This option involved the cost of the repairs, plus a load of assessment fees in order to get her declared legally roadworthy. It was a lot of money and a lot of hassle. All in all, much as it hurt me to admit it, this was not the sensible option to go with. Option two was to get a crappy old car for a year until I was more financially stable. Option three was to risk getting a newer car on finance. Option three was a very risky one to go with while the economy is how it is. I'll give you three guesses which one I went with... *coughs*
So I said goodbye to my baby Ka - was horrible, she was just parked in a corner covered in rubbish with a properly crunched car parked on her back bumper. Anyone who knows how silly I was about my Ka will know roughly how horrible I will have found that. pub_girl and her hubby very kindly drove me out there, I was so grateful not to have to go through that alone. Anyway, enough of that, I'll get myself all upset again.
I then went and test drove a couple of other cars and settled on a 2004 Toyota Yaris with 37,000 on the clock. I've named her Alice (yes, I know, but at least I'm not referring to her as "my baby"...) and have had her for a week now. She's a lovely silvery blue colour and currently covered in snow. I had my Ka for 8yrs, so it's quite odd driving a different vehicle, but I'm getting used to it.
Other than that, I finished all 6 seasons of 24, plus watched Redemption before the new season started. I was averaging a series a week, so am finding it very hard having to wait a whole week for the next episode.
The next day I was undecided as to whether to go to work or not. I was feeling a bit crap, but not really crap enough to stay home and I had some reports to do, so I figured I should probably go in. Which leads me neatly onto the subject that has dominated the year for me so far.
I was about to turn off the A34 into Milton Park when I went into a skid (ice, I assume) and crashed into the car in front of me. I was fine - very shaken up - but unhurt. I wasn't going that fast on impact so the other car had a slightly dented back bumper, but nothing more. My baby Ka was not so lucky. She had a bent bonnet, a dented radiator, a cracked air filter and both headlamp units were slightly damaged. All of this was perfectly repairable, however as she was 10yrs old, the insurance company didn't think she was worth repairing and wrote her off. It took two weeks, two garages, two phone calls a day from me and one f*ck load of crossed wires for this point to be reached.
When I finally got to this point, I had three options available to me. The first was to pay to get my Ka repaired myself. This option involved the cost of the repairs, plus a load of assessment fees in order to get her declared legally roadworthy. It was a lot of money and a lot of hassle. All in all, much as it hurt me to admit it, this was not the sensible option to go with. Option two was to get a crappy old car for a year until I was more financially stable. Option three was to risk getting a newer car on finance. Option three was a very risky one to go with while the economy is how it is. I'll give you three guesses which one I went with... *coughs*
So I said goodbye to my baby Ka - was horrible, she was just parked in a corner covered in rubbish with a properly crunched car parked on her back bumper. Anyone who knows how silly I was about my Ka will know roughly how horrible I will have found that. pub_girl and her hubby very kindly drove me out there, I was so grateful not to have to go through that alone. Anyway, enough of that, I'll get myself all upset again.
I then went and test drove a couple of other cars and settled on a 2004 Toyota Yaris with 37,000 on the clock. I've named her Alice (yes, I know, but at least I'm not referring to her as "my baby"...) and have had her for a week now. She's a lovely silvery blue colour and currently covered in snow. I had my Ka for 8yrs, so it's quite odd driving a different vehicle, but I'm getting used to it.
Other than that, I finished all 6 seasons of 24, plus watched Redemption before the new season started. I was averaging a series a week, so am finding it very hard having to wait a whole week for the next episode.