Bumper Cars

Murphy's Law seems to say that the better your self-confidence is, the more likely you are to have something bring you back down to earth. I've been having a good week. A great week really. So of course Murphy decided to remind me that I'm only human. With the most bone-headed move in the history of bone-headed-ness.

I hit a gravel pile. Not only did I somehow manage to not see a 3 foot high pile of gravel but I ran into it hard enough to put a significant dent in my bumper. I was driving over to Wild Birds Unlimited this afternoon to pick up some seed. Traffic had been slow on the way there and I was a bit nervous after watching the person in front of me swerve repeatedly into the next lane. So I should have been ultra-cautious. Instead, I was so relieved to get away from them. I turned into the parking lot which was having work done. I drove around a gravel truck that was almost too far into the intersection to let me in. I was still thinking about my brush with the truck, when my car stopped. Okay well first there was a loud bang, then I stopped.

My first reaction was that I'd found the deepest pothole imaginable. That's when I realized that my front drivers side tire was up higher than the others. And right in front of me was a gigantic pile of gravel. In my defense it was the same color as the pavement. But I should have seen it. I should have been able to easily avoid it. But I didn't. I'm not proud of this fact. I'm just saying.

I put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas lightly. Nothing. I could hear my wheels spinning but no traction. I rocked the car and hit reverse. I was just about to get out and call Jeff when two of the construction workers working on the parking lot came over. They pushed the car off the pile and checked out the damage. The plastic front bumper had been pushed in at least a foot. There was gravel in every nook and cranny. I offered the guys money, got back in the car, called Jeff, and immediately broke into tears. I drove home without bird seed and we took the car in for an estimate. Luckily the mechanic was able to pull it back mostly into shape. We're still getting a new bumper but at least I'm not constantly reminded of the disaster. Thanks Murphy. Now I'm back to normal.

Home again

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Mine was wonderful although it was strange to be away from the computer for so long. I did a lot of knitting, a lot of visiting, and yesterday a lot of swearing. It is six hours between Des Moines and St. Louis. For four of those hours there were not a lot of problems. We drove the Avenue of the Saints up through Hannibal and Mount Pleasant until Iowa City. It normally takes a little less than two hours to go from Iowa City to Des Moines. Yesterday it took us three and a half.

The weather on Sunday decided not to cooperate for travel. It snowed all day but it only started freezing once we hit Iowa City. Cars were sliding off the road in every direction. The road was pure ice. In our little Corolla, we were being blown all over the place with the wind. Most of the rest of the trip we ranged from 10 mph to 30. Jeff was amazing, using the rumble strips on the shoulder for traction. My anxiety kicked in and I was very shaky. It was a scary drive home.

The weekend was wonderful but I was very happy to be home.

Light at the end

There is a light at the end of my work tunnel and I'm pretty sure it is not a train. Things have been very busy here. I've been working more overtime in the last four weeks then I worked all last year. And I'm finally almost done. Just in time for this trip. I spent most of the evening packing after getting back from dinner with my parents. They came back from London today and we head out tomorrow. Bon Voyage. 

Things have not been slow though this week. My car melted down, requiring a total rebuilding of the engine. Needless to say I was not excited. The car was apparently burning oil. About three weeks ago my car had been making all sorts of terrible noises. I drove it to work and back but kept waiting for it to breakdown. I got home and checked the oil level to find that there was not a drop left in the engine. I added oil and took it in. I guess my piston rings have been sticking and my car has been secretly burning its oil. I learned the rebuilding an engine is not quick or cheap. Ow. 

On Sunday I ran errand and ended up getting a disastrous haircut that my sisters made into something cute. I'll try to post pictures. It's far far shorter then I've ever gone. On a strange positive I now own barrettes and headbands. Who would of thought that I could be a girly girl? 

I did a rather large presentation at a professional developers conference this morning. I'm not much of a public speaker so this thing has been keeping me up nights recently. It went fine and for a moment I had the impression that I might actually be okay at this job. Or at least can fake that I know what I'm talking about. 

Sadly I have done no reading or writing in the last three weeks. I even have a stack of magazines that I haven't had time to read. I have three books I'll be taking with me on this trip and hope to read at least two while I'm there. I'll have pictures and stories when I get back. Right now I'm just tired. Thanks for your patience with me. I'll be back to regular posting in about a week. Until then, take care.