But 2008 Was Supposed to Be MY YEAR!

I'm amazed at the trouble I can get in, just existing in this world. As my friends and family reading this blog are well aware, 2007 was a bit rough. I'll spare the rest of you all the gory details, but there were break-ups, car accidents, failed businesses and financial troubles, to name a few.

I was so sure that the fender bender I had on the 18th of December was my "farewell to 2007" screw up and that 2008 would bring brighter days. I was wrong.

Yesterday, I'm minding my own business, driving my (and I use that term loosely - you'll understand why in a bit) newly repaired car down Washington Ave, when out of no where, a very elderly man in a Chevrolet hurtles himself in the path of my speeding Honda. He had blown through a stop sign, and right into the very place where I would smack the heck out of him with my front end.

It's funny to me that it all happened so quickly and yet moved in slow motion at the same time. One minute I was driving and heard a horn honk and the next I was playing bumper cars with a Caprice Classic. I could see my vehicle heading straight for his passenger side door, and I know I yelled out something and then braced for the impending impact. Things get a little fuzzy after that.

Someone had stopped and was checking on the other driver. Knowing I was only bruised up a bit, before I even got out of the car, I sent a text message to my boyfriend (Aqua Rat), because I needed someone else to share in my disbelief with me. I mean for God's sake - I'd just gotten the car back from the body shop the middle of last week and they still have a few minor things to fix!

Then the fun began. A cop showed up, but wouldn't stay to sort things out, saying only that another car was on the way, as long as no one was hurt. The 89 year old driver of the Chevy was insisting he was fine, but seemed VERY confused and was actually trying to move his car around, even though his tire was leaning more so that the Tower of Pisa. He promptly punctured the tire when he put the car in drive. And I'm sitting watching Violet (my Honda) "bleed out" and die right in front of me in the middle of the street. She was nothing more than a heap of twisted metal and the all the hard work the body shop had just done - gone in 2 seconds. In the end we had two cops, an ambulance and a fire truck and tow truck that "just happened to be driving by" hanging out, along with a gaggle of witnesses. It was quite an ordeal. My body shop sent a tow truck and the towing company's owner, remembering my name and car from the last accident, showed up on the scene, to drive me to the body shop himself. In his Jaguar. I've gotta say - that's service!

All of this and the car isn't even really mine. It belongs to my parents. They've been kind enough to loan it to me, while I get my financial house back in order (When I left the job with the free car, they made me give it back. Funny how that worked.). Once the shock wore off and the paperwork at the body shop had been signed to "readmit" Violet, I did all the right stuff. I called the old guy's insurance company, only to have them deny me anything until the "determine fault," which they have 30 days to decide upon. They were quite ugly about it again today and as a result, I had to involve my parent's insurance company in the whole thing. Please God hear me now - don't let State Farm drop them! Now I have no car (again), the body shop thinks Violet is done for, I have a sore neck and 2008 isn't looking so good after all. And this was supposed to be MY YEAR!