Wednesday, June 18, 2008

And I swore comparing myself to Gwyneth Paltrow would most certainly be a one-time thing*

I think it's official: I have forgotten how to blog. Ordinarily, when something relatively notable happens (like, I don't know, I get rear-ended on my way home from work), it is only a rather brief journey from "Well, this sucks" to "Hey, I can blog about that." Today, however, it took a full four hours from time of incident to time when I realized misfortune could be blog fodder. I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of that.

In reality, the event wasn't even particularly notable. I could go on with the silly fate arguments... "If only I'd left work two minutes later." "If only I hadn't stopped at the Saturn dealership to get my oil topped off." "If only I hadn't exited the highway earlier than usual in an attempt to avoid the latest round of road construction." But all of that is pointless "What if"-ing. It's been too long since I've seen Sliding Doors to remember all the details, but didn't Gwyneth Paltrow actually fare better when she missed the train than when she caught it? Maybe I dodged a worse bullet by getting rear-ended by a different one. Who knows.

Unfortunately, the only possibly claim-worthy damage in this little mishap was to the bumper of the car in front of me, which I hit when the woman behind me hit me. And since I'm pretty sure insurance company logic states that each driver is responsible for any rear-ending damage to the car in front of them (even if the rear-ending occurs only because someone behind pushed them there), I'm pretty sure I'll be paying for that kid's new bumper. Bugger. Happy birthday, little man in the red Civic. (No, really. It was the dude's birthday today. A car accident--however minor--might beat a snowstorm. I'm not sure. Poor kid.) Also, is it just a coincidence that the Saturn behind me did no damage to my car and my own Saturn did no damage to hers? It's like the sometimes magical, self-healing Saturns know their own kind and wouldn't possibly do the discourtesy of inflicting any damage to one of their own. When a Civic is in the picture, though? All bets are off, clearly.

The good news, of course, is that no one was hurt. Well, no one unless you count me, and my mysteriously scuffed toe. When the woman behind me slammed into my bumper, my foot slipped off the pedal and my sandal fell off, and somehow in that process (be it in scraping against the edge of my shoe or against some part of the pedal), I managed to scrape up the top of my big toe such that it actually bled for a few minutes and still hurts a bit now. That's right: true to form, I injured myself in the stupidest way imaginable given the circumstance at hand. I injured my toe in a minor car accident. Seriously, that would only happen to me, right? (Well, me and Abbersnail, maybe. Oh, come on, Abbers; you know it's true.)

On an entirely unrelated note, I remain amused by everyone's enthusiasm to weigh in on my first ramen noodle experiment. I am also amused that the day after I posted that, Natalie Dee weighed in as well. Check it out:

natalie dee

Mmmm... Fried noodles... you know you want some again now...


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* A one-time thing that I've now done twice. Please, please let it end here.
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17 comments:

steve said...

Although it depends on the exact circumstances of the accident, I highly doubt you'll be at fault for any damages. I'm ass-uming you wouldn't have hit the car in front of you if it wasn't for the hit from behind, so there's no reason you should be at fault.

On a thoroughly teasing note, I just spotted an actual, honest-to-Jeebus *typo* in your post! The horror!

Libragirl said...

I work in insurance, and you won't be found at fault if you have rear damage and front damage, unless the person behind you is a douche and says you rear ended the other person first and got pushed back in - but if person in front says one hit, you'll be ok.

3carnations said...

I'm glad no one was seriously hurt...sorry about your toe. That's a very common injury in auto accidents (not really).

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you are okay. You know what you do now, right? You get an obnoxious large cast on your toe and take that B to court for some money. You know...like they do on TV when they wear the neck brace but nothing is wrong...same thing. Don't let anyone catch you with the cast off though dancing in your living room.

shelleycoughlin said...

Accidents and Ramen. See, you have tons going on! I hope your toe heals quickly; in the scope of things I am glad it was just your toe and not, say, your neck. But accidents suck nonetheless.

On the bright side, it's almost Friday, which means it's almost the weekend! Kind of.

Sigh.

rockygrace said...

Saturns are impervious to damage. My Saturn once got rear-ended by a Mercedes. The Saturn's bumper was slightly dented; the front end of the Mercedes was crunched up like an accordion.

lizgwiz said...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the person caught in the middle like that isn't responsible for damages. And I think they owe you some pain and suffering money for your toe. Big toes are VERY important. (Try and walk without one.) It might get infected, or something, mightn't it? ;)

Stefanie said...

Steve--Duly noted (and corrected). Thank you. :-) See? Even I am not immune to typos. I know this, of course, but it's maddening anyway.

Libragirl--Really? My dad is an insurance agent, and he's always told me that you're always responsible for the car you hit from behind, even if someone else hit you first. Guess I'll find out when I call my agent.

3Cs--I know, right? What a stupid, stupid injury. (Unfortunately, it still hurts today!)

Stacey--I do like to dance in my living room...

NPW--My neck actually hurts today, too, but I really don't think any medical intervention is necessary. Some ibuprofen and a little wine later should take care of it. :-)

Rockycat--Well, they ARE Rubbermaid cars, after all...

Liz--All these people telling me the damage to the car in front of me won't be my fault... I hope you guys are right! (Can I have the Internet call the kid's insurance agent on my behalf??)

Anonymous said...

Your dad is an insurance agent?

I actually know one of the guys who developed the plastic used in the bumpers of Saturn cars! It was my college roommate's dad. Are you impressed?

Noelle said...

I think the moral of sliding doors was that her life had the same exact outcome when she made the train and when she didn't.

Sorry to hear about your toe, but glad to hear you're otherwise fine, and you can live to eat Ramen another day.

Anonymous said...

I think you could argue for either Helen having the better experience in Sliding Doors. One has an easier time, but the other learns more. Don't get me started on Sliding Doors!

L Sass said...

Man, I haven't seen Sliding Doors in a long time! Getting rear ended sucks--it actually happened to us this weekend en route to the bachelorette party, too! I really ought to blog about it.

Courtney said...

I believe Noelle is right about the moral of Sliding Doors, but she ended up with a cuter haircut when she missed the train. That's important.

Glad it was just your toe that was injured!

Anonymous said...

Hey! I resemble that remark! LOL.

You'll be pleased to know that I managed, for the second time in a year, to fall in a hole while crossing the street this morning. It was awesome.

Anonymous said...

Oh no on the car accident! I'm glad you're okay and that your car is as well. And I really hope you don't get stuck paying for the birthday boy's bumper.

Stefanie said...

R--Yes, he is. (Why is that surprising?) Unfortunately, he's not MY insurance agent, though. (He's licensed only in Wisconsin.)

Noelle--Wait. Didn't she end up in a hospital bed in one half and with a charming Scottish guy in the other half? Or did I mix that up? It's been too dang long since I saw the thing...

Srah--I won't get you started... (But now I'm thinking I need to rewatch it.)

L Sass--See? Apparently not as notable and bloggable as you might think, right? Weird.

Courtney--I definitely don't remember the haircut. Sheesh; and I thought I sort of remembered that movie...

Abbersnail--You know, right after I published that, I thought it really wasn't fair. The comments on my "what's everyone's stupidest injury" post last week prove that you are no more strangely accident prone than the rest of us. Sorry. :-) Bummer about the hole, though!

Lara--I hope so too! My insurance agent says I shouldn't be, as long as the other two parties stick to their story (and by "story," I mean the TRUTH!). It was a relief to hear that, though it goes against the insurance rules my dad has always explained. (Huh. Maybe it's a good thing he's not my agent after all!)

Chelsea Talks Smack said...

totally normal to compare yourself ot Gwen. anytime I miss the subway I think of that movie.