Friday Funny

From Dave

The Rental Boat... and Other Car Issues

Back in February, Dave and I were rear-ended in my car on our way out of town for a hockey game. The driver of the car that hit us insisted that she wanted to pay out of pocket, so I decided to be nice and got a couple of estimates and sent them to her. A couple weeks later, she finally calls back saying she was out of town, lost all of the numbers in her phone, yadda yadda yadda.

Again, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. After all, she wouldn't just be paying for the cosmetic damage (which really wasn't much IMHO), there was also something wrong with my fuel gauge as a result of the impact.

A couple more weeks pass by, so I call and leave her a message. She calls back and leaves me a message. Then I call her back and leave a final message, giving her till the end of the week to do *something*, or I will contact her insurance. At this point, six weeks had passed since the accident.

The following Monday morning, I call the insurance company on the police report and file a claim.

Two weeks later, I call her insurance again and leave a message to please contact me to let me know the status of my claim. When I get home from work that day, there is a letter in the mailbox denying payment for the claim. After pitching a fit (after all, how can it not be the other person's fault if *she* rear-ended *me*?), I noticed that the name on the policy didn't match... and that's where I brought in my insurance.

I am now pretty much on a first-name basis with the lady handling my insurance claim. She got to chat with the girl that hit me (who wasn't sure if she had auto insurance at the time of the accident--yeah, right), and insurance lady ended up getting the same lack of communication after the initial contact that I had already faced.

Finally, I opted to use my uninsured motorist policy so I could just get my car fixed (and my insurance could legally go after her later). I called the body shop so they could order parts, and the day they call to tell me they're ready for me, my car is at the family shop getting repaired after a freak accident.

So finally this week, I dropped my car off at the body shop to fix all of the damage from her rear-ending. That left me with the huge rental boat that my insurance lined up for me. Yes, it's a nice, shiny new Pontiac G6, but I miss my little car. Especially since I was supposed to get her back yesterday. It's not my fault that the body shop didn't understand that the fuel gauge wasn't working... I thought I had explained it clearly enough, even faxing them a copy of the estimate from the family shop with contact info if they needed further explanation from the shop guys (who are infinitely more technical than I am).

Today is three months since the original incident, and hopefully my $250 deductible will be money well spent to have a working fuel gauge again. I may just have to squeal when I get my keys back!

A bird did target practice with the rental boat while I was at work yesterday. I don't really care since the boat left oil spots on the floor of my garage.

Beware of Spares

This is what a wayward spare tire in the middle of the freeway can do to your tire (and your wheel...)

But at least I have my car back!

To Mom With Love

I almost always carry my camera with me, a habit I learned from my mother. My mother also likes birds. Therefore, I dedicate this post to my favorite mother!

Does this make up for the fact that her Christmas present, a shawl I'm knitting with some pretty purple Lion Brand Homespun yarn, still isn't finished? I'm aiming for her birthday... in July... when a shawl will be really usefull... not.

Murphy's Law

It was an overcast Sunday afternoon when Dave, JustJulie, and I set off for the Braves game. JustJulie and I were excited about our free birthday Braves tickets, and Dave tagged along.

Unfortunately, it started sprinkling on the way there, and then the unpredictable happened--a random spare tire appeared in our lane. Dave (who was driving my car) tried to miss it, but it took out the front driver's side tire. Fortunately, Dave is a good driver and got us to the shoulder of 85 in one piece and even managed to park under an overpass (in Spaghetti Junction) so we were somewhat sheltered from the rain as he figured out how to use the fancy wheel lock to unscrew my tire and put on the spare...

And with a donut on her front foot, my car drove the rest of the way to Turner field... where they were experiencing a rain delay.


While Dave and a few friends kept dry and chatted over beer, JustJulie and I decided to walk around and explore Turner Field. JustJulie noticed this sign... and the objects they were storing beneath it...

When we got back from our walk, they cancelled the game. :-(

On the way home, the pressure from the weather system was so bad that I thought my face would implode. Dave dropped me and Julie off at my parents' house and followed Dad to our family's favorite repair shop where he left my car for them to locate a new tire and wheel (the snazzy alloy wheel was torn up, too) for her the next morning. Driving Dad's car, Dave got me and alternate girlfriend #2 home.

The next day I called in sick to work. The high point in my day was the good dental check-up (yes, HistoryDiva--some people actually like the dentist). Oh, and I managed to get squeezed in for a doctor's appointment where they decided to go ahead and treat me for a possible sinus infection. So I got good drugs, too. And I can breathe through my nose today--what a novel idea!

But my poor car is still at the shop. They have found her a new tire, and replaced the bent strut (yet more damage...), but the wheel has proven to be quite elusive. It was supposed to be here for lunch today, but now it won't arrive till breakfast tomorrow. My poor car and her "special" parts...

Further Adventures of the Birthday Box

The Birthday Box did not make it to the post office yesterday, so at the end of the work day, it came home with me.

Sorting the mail

Checking on the hamsters

(but only playing with Garfield since Trevor bites)

Curling up on the couch with a box of extra soft tissues

Crawling into bed with Bombón

As of right now, the birthday box is en route to California, thanks to the friendly people at the United States Postal Service!

The Birthday Box

My BFF is supposed to have a milestone birthday today, but she swears that May 13th is not on the calendar this year. That means that my birthday box for her is not late until June... but being a good friend, I can at least get it in the mail on her unacknowledged birthday. To that end, the birthday box came to work with me today and will go to the post office at lunch to be sent on its merry way to California!

Enjoying the 45-minute commute

Sitting at the student intern desk

Checking out my work space
Making sure the copier worksBrewing a cup of tea