A Double Whammy

Ever have one of those days you just wish would end.... right now!? Or one, where if you could rewind it, you'd simply start all over again with a fresh attitude and a cheery outlook? That's how I feel today.

My day started to descend around 8am this morning when I was attempting to call the dentist's office to get an appointment. I've had a toothache for 2 days, and thought that I either lost a filling, or simply developed a really vicious cavity.

I called the dentist's office number, and a cheery voice said "Our office hours are from 8am to 5pm. Please dial the extension you wish to reach, or please hold for the receptionist", and at that point I spiralled into voicemail hell. There was no receptionist at that hour, but there was no voicemail either.

I tried back a few times, and finally reached the happy receptionist around 8:20. Sure, that's only 20 minutes...but 20 minutes when you have an agonizing toothache that feels like a drill from your molars into your brain - well, that's probably the longest 20 minutes a human can endure. Happy Receptionist secured me an appointment for later this afternoon.

Fast forward to about 3 o'clock. I left work, and drove to my mother's house so I could brush my teeth in a familiar bathroom. A few minutes later I headed out to the dentists.

I was travelling east on a 4 lane road. I was in the curb lane and I noticed that about 50 ft ahead of me there was a transport truck PARKED in my lane with it's flashers on. I signalled at that point to move into the passing lane, looked in my mirror when I put on the signal, looked over my shoulder at my blind spot just before I made the lane change. I merged successfully and there was no traffic at all that I could see in the passing lane before I merged (this is important later - but doesn't it just make sense that I would NOT have merged if there was other cars right there?).

So...I was travelling due east in the passing lane, passed the transport and was just going to contemplate moving back into the curb lane....speed limit was 60km/hr and because of my lane change, having crossed over the traintracks about 40 ft before the transport truck, and b/c the roads were wet but not snowy, travelling up a slight incline in a manual transmission (I was in 3rd gear and my car will NOT go into 4th successfully unless I'm going over 60 k/hr - otherwise she moans and groans), I highly doubt that I was travelling at 60k.

Anyway....I'm now in the passing lane, travelling along and THWACK! For a split second I was confused. There were no cars around (or so I thought - other than a few in the opposite lanes) and I heard the thwack and felt the impact, but it all happened in slow motion and I couldn't fathom what might have caused the noise and the jarring.

I looked to my right and over my right shoulder, and there was nobody in the curb lane and I was quite a ways ahead of the parked transport....so I signalled, and pulled to the curb with my flashers on. Had the guy who hit me not done the same (he pulled ahead of me and stopped too) I would not have known what kind of vehicle hit me....because I didn't see him coming at all. He must have been travelling VERY FAST. Either that or he dropped out of the sky just before he hit me.

I looked ahead and saw one head in the driver's seat, and immediately thought "Oh great... some stupid broad....." when a man got out of the driver's door. He was driving a Buick - some kind of funky thing that wasn't quite a car, but not quite a truck either.

Mr. Driver walked back to where I was and said "Are you hurt?" and I said "I'm really pissed off", and smiled. I reached for my license/insurance folder which is always in the inside pocket of my purse, and asked him to go get his information. He said "Are we supposed to call the police" and I said "I don't think so unless the damage is over $700" (that was my second mistake....my first was driving down that road at that particular time). We exchanged information, and off we went. Oh yeah, he said "Thank you" as I was steaming and getting back in my car.

I continued to drive to the dentist where they froze me and drilled out important parts of my skull, but that's a story for another day.

Fast forward to supper time. I explained the story to my other half....and we both know you have 12 hrs to go to an accident reporting centre after an accident. I planned to go before 8am tomorrow morning.

Half way through supper, the phone rings. Isn't that always when the phone rings? The caller was Constable Twelve Year Old - that's exactly how old she sounded. She was calling to advise that Mr. Driver called in the incident so I won't have to. Incident number is ##### and to write it down to give to my insurance company. His Buick is leased, and so it all has to be reported. Fine, I will do that.

I expressed my displeasure with his driving skills... he was going too fast and swerved around the truck (and me) and in an effort to correct his oversteering, steered into my rear driver's side quarter panel.

Anyway....Constable Twelve Yr Old asks if I was injured. No. Was I the only person in my vehicle at the time of the incident. Yes. She then advises that the THREE CHILDREN IN THE BACK OF SCHMUCK'S VEHICLE ARE ALL FINE.

Arrrrrrrrgh! Either they were teeny tiny children, or they were headless...because anyone over about 3 years old in a car seat, well their head stick up OVER the back seat and I think I would have noticed them.

Moral of the story - ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS call the police if you are involved in any kind of accident. ALWAYS! Did I mention ALWAYS??

Nobody was hurt. I probably will NOT fix my car because it's only redeeming quality is the fact that it runs. It's not beautiful by any means, and has had a couple of minor reconstructive surgeries in it's lifetime.

So THAT is the story of my fabulous day.

Strangely enough, although I want to curse and swear about it..I'm not upset. Angry, perhaps... but not all upset about it. Sh!t happens.

Life has been grand lately... so I guess every once in a while some jerk has to throw a wrench into the works.

As the saying goes....tomorrow is another day. I'm hoping for a better one!