wordsimageslife
an exploration of life as a parent & designer

If you Dream It, It Will Accumulate

Money? I wish.

Nope, it's just the first Northeaster of the winter season. And while we are on the backside of the storm, we should have about 10“ of the white stuff on the ground by morning. The roads are a bit hazardous and one learns quickly how much a car with all-wheel drive is missed in the snow.

Speaking of our beloved gray lady, I had to get the plates and any remaining stuff out of it today, The insurance company called on Thursday to say that they were totalling it and this was a good time to buy a new car. (Sure, and they could pay for it.) We will get some money and we don't owe anything on the car but I still have to talk to my agent who told me we would get some credit for all the $$ we put into it in the summer. The loss guy said it doesn't count and I told him that I'd be in touch.

Got another lead on a job, at my alma mater none the less, that sounds like something I might be interested in doing. I've always enjoyed being on a college campus and if you can't have a water view, a large grassy area with great architecture isn't a bad place to work as a replacement. So, we will see.

Okay, time to get back to cleaning. (Oh, how I loathe it.) Kitchen floor and then bathroom upstairs and that should be it. At least I'm participating and not making anyone do all the work by themselves.

Snow

Well, okay, so it was only 2 inches. But it's progress and their could be a bigger storm this weekend. Yeah!!! Don't know what it is about snow but it makes me smile. Maybe it has something to do with being a winter baby? Who knows. It's just fun.

A Day Off

I actually, up until now, took the day off today. Sure there were house things to do, etc...but essentially I did no other work, took no calls on the mobile and just tried to have a relaxing day. We all went to see Racing Stripes which was essentially predictable but very charming movie, and certainly something the kids enjoyed. There were some double entendres that went over the kids heads but there was enough humor that they did get and they certainly enjoyed the show. It's the perfect matinee but not something I'd recommend at full price for singles or people looking for high action or another 'Babe' or another 'Black Velvet' but it was just a simple, feel good, kids' movie. And it had enough to keep the parents awake and even laughing every now and then.

Anyhow, I now have to go finish some chores and get the kids' lunches ready for school tomorrow. It's nice and cold here and they are calling for some snow by Wednesday. Personally, I'd just like a big storm, you know with 20+ inches that will close things down for a day and we can build an igloo out back. But that doesn't have often around here. But it's good to wish.

A TOTAL Mess

The call came late on Friday, around 3 pm.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Bennett. This is Donna from Russell Collision.”

“Oh hi, how are you doing today?”

“Well, I wish I could give you better news but you are just over the threshold.”

“So, the car is totalled?”

“I'm afraid so. Now, you aren't too far over the threshold so they may choose not to, but I'm not sure. We have to get the adjustor out here and it probably won't be until Monday. Again, I'm sorry.”

“Hey, that's okay. So, how much is it so far?”

“7,637.55”

“Mmmm...oh well. Thanks for letting me know. So, what are the next steps...”

I won't bore you with the rest of the conversation and if I haven't made it clear, we are once again speaking about our car. The only good news out of this is that the money we spent in the last year, over $4k will work in our benefit in the final number the insurance company gives us if they do, indeed, total the car out. Considering it's six years old, has over one-hundred thousand miles the chance are pretty good that they will. It's a bit sad to say goodbye to the car (I've said way too many goodbyes recently) but life goes on and cars become scrap. It's not like I had named the car but when you drive the same thing for six years, you do from some kind of attachment. Here are the final photos of the Subaru.

So, now we are the car market. I'm really pushing to buy something used but if we end up getting a Honda Odyssey than we'll have buy new, since the 2005 is totally new and much improved. Let's just hope we get a good deal on the Subaru and my friend's girlfriend who sells Hondas, can also give us a good deal. Last thing we wanted now was a car payment. Hey, who knows, maybe we'll win the lotto. That is, if we played.

Now, it's off to mop the foyer floor. Oh, the excitement and motivation. But it will look nicer than it does now, so that's excuse enough for me!

Bad Friday, Really Bad

They say bad things happen in threes but for me, it was two's on Friday and it all involved our much maligned, lately, car. First, I was picking up Izzy from her friend Connor's house, so that I could take her to a Brownie outing, and I didn't see a metal pipe sticking out of the ground in front of the car as I started to park on the side of our friend's house.

Well, what I didn't see, I certainly heard as metal slowly crunched into metal. But the worst part was backing up. Still not knowing that it was a pipe, I started to back up and the pipe, firmly standing it's ground took the left side of my bumper with it. As I heard that happen, I stopped the car and took a look at the damage. There was my bumper, caught on the pipe and dangling from the left side of the car. I picked it up, and placed back into it's proper position, making sure it was stable, cursed a few times in my head, and proceeded with picking Isabella up and feeling just a little stupid. Little did I know the worse was to come.

Izzy and picked up dinner and headed home. We arrived home and I told Karen calmly and apologetically about the bumper. Changed clothes as Izzy finished her dinner and the two of us hopped back into the car for our night activity at Camp Ilchester. Ilchester is about fifteen minutes from our house via I-95. It had been raining, a heavy sprinkle, for about fifteen minutes as we were leaving the house. We got on 95 in about four minutes and encountered heavy traffic (it was around 6 pm, so not too late to be considered the tail end of rush hour). So, you have the picture now. Wet roads, heavy, stop and go traffic. Now, what do you think happened? Go ahead, take a Chevy Tahoe? First things first, no one got hurt. My back's a little sore but it's something that's occurred before so I can only say the accident brought it back up. As for our car, well, our car. Just take a look:

Not pretty. As said, we were in heavy traffic, bumper to bumper in some instances (and when you really go bumper to bumper don't pick a vehicle much bigger than yours). Stop and go, rolling along. I'm about one to one and a half car lengths behind the Taho when it stops short. I apply the Subaru's brakes and it just slides, I mean as if it was on ice skates, slides right into the back of the Taho. I immediately slam my hands on the steering wheel say 'Damn' and turn around to make sure Izzy is okay (in hindsight, I should have done these in reverse order). She's scared but not hurt. Her booster seat and seat belt kept her right where she was and even I didn't really move forward that much on impact.

I'm obviously a little shaken as I start moving the car over to the side of the road. Avoiding the idiots who decide there best action is to go around me on the right, the same direction I'm headed to get to the shoulder. Smoke is seeping out the front of the hood which is now a two-foot mound in front of the windshield. I'm just still in that 'oh shit' stage of an accident where you haven't really taken in all that has happened and are just getting back to the reality of insurance cards, copying down license plate numbers, etc.

I call Karen on the cell and tell her what happened. Izzy at this point is pretty upset and scared, and I'm trying to calm her down too. We, I, decide that going home is not a good idea since we were closer to camp. I'm a little concerned about driving the car but don't really want to leave it on 95. I'm fairly confident that the radiator is damaged but not sure how much. So, with the emergency blinker's on we head down 95 and toward our exit for the camp. We get about halfway there when the car overheats. Well, I can't stop now, so I crank the heat up the whole way and the car momentarily cools down. That lasts about a minute before the needle goes back up. I'm just praying me make the last mile and a half that we will make it. Finally, we get there and I spend the rest of the evening on the phone with the insurance company and making arrangements for a rental car.

The rest of the weekend was busy and I didn't have much time to think or recover from the anxiety of Friday. My back is bothering me so I took today off to recover and rest my back. Will have to wait and hear from the insurance company about how long and how much. Well, how much we know, since our deductible is pretty reasonable.

Well that was my Friday. The rest of the weekend will have to come later. I think I'm just happy that neither one of us was hurt and got to guess there were a few people up there looking out for both of us. Either that or we have the world's best seat belts.

Rocking Chili

I made chili for the first time ever this weekend and if I say so myself, it ROCKS!! Just the right amount of heat and really tasty. It's Cincinnati-style and now I'm off to finish eating the bowl I have. Just wanted share my culinary excitement.

A New Year

It's interesting how we perceive New Year's almost like a whole new beginning to our lives. We make 'resolutions' to changes things we didn't like or didn't accomplish in the year before. And we cast off the past year with a flourish of champagne and fireworks, the world over. And in a sense, it's a beautiful thing. And in another, it's a complete farce.

Never mind that I'm typing from my deck, in the early evening, on this first day of the New Year. And pardon my somewhat cynical look at what should be a sense of renewal and hope. Has really that much changed, or been forgotten since yesterday? Honestly, of course not. But still we pin our hopes that this year will be better than the last and that finally, we've put all that occurred to us, the world?, in 2004 behind us in the hopes that 2005 will be a better year.

This year New Year's was a little less celebratory around the globe as we all paused to remember those who lost their lives in the horrific tsunamis that engulfed the India Sea, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, and many more homeless and at risk of death by disease. Certainly, we have not cast off that last big tragedy of 2004 with the stroke of midnight, and the dropping of a crystal ball.

Maybe it is I who changed in 2004 not to be as overly optimistic that great change comes in a new year. That mistakes are forgiven or sadness relieved with the simple cheer of Burn's Auld Lang Syne. No, I fear that not much will change in the world between now and Monday when we all get back into the swing of things. By month's end, many resolutions lay forgotten, as the simple realities of our lives take hold. Changes is a difficult thing to maintain. It is truly one of the most difficult things in life to take on and accept. And many times, we are given no choice. But most of us, when given the choice, would rather stay with the status quo.

Let's hope you find yourself in the minority. Reaching whatever goals you set for yourself in the coming year. But, if for some reason, you happen to fall short, do not fret. There will always be New Year's 2006.