Sad Farewell to the Joker

Well, sadly I must relay that my Joker will no longer be a part of my life. It seems that the damages are too great, and the potential for supplemental damage is too high. The insurance people did not call me, I called them after calling the repair shop to see what was happening. It is doubtful that he will be easily replaced. I ended up with crossed eyes and intermittent cursing while going through dealerships on line tonight.
I know that the purchase period is going to be very short.

I've sent off emails for local dealerships. Buying a new car can be fun...if you have the money.
I have paid for a total of 3 vehicles in my life, and Joker would have been the fourth. He only had 6 months left before I could be done with payments. It is looking like I will not find one just like him in my price range.
I am not a sedan kind of gal.I dislike boxy looking cars. Being picky is probably Not going to assist me at this time. But really, since Joker was going to be my last new car I was careful to get what I wanted. I did a good amount of research before I went in to buy.

Now? Not looking like the car I end up with will be his equal. I am thinking mileage big time due to the ever rising costs of fuel. But frankly I would like to be comfortable in my car as well. Sitting on a hard seat for car trips is not what I want either. And..why the hell does not one sell manual transmissions anymore?!!? They beat automatics on gas mileage, and sure win over having to have your transmission rebuilt. (saves on your brakes too.)

I will be out an about on next day off to go and see and test drive. Details to follow. I wish I could be excited about this...,maybe I would feel differently it my choices had not been taken from me. Dream cars cost too much.

sigh, k

My Joker

   You really cannot appreciate something until it is taken from you.  I miss my car. Granted it is not
some fancy sports car, but it is mine after 5 years of driving it, and 6 months left to pay. I intended it to be my last new car. After the disaster of a relationship ending, and my credit going to crap, I knew that buying another car brand new was not something that could feasibly happen.

This accident has in many ways foiled my stability. I have never been in an accident where so much damage occurred. This is a first for me, and I hope the last. I was counting on owning a vehicle that had been well maintained and had suffered no major damage to get me through for many years. All that is gone now.

I find myself cussing at the rental car. It has to be coddled, no smoking, no trash, no fun, no stick shift.

 I also find myself sitting at a green light and waiting to see if another asshole will run the light. I doubt that I will ever trust that intersection again, and I take it everyday to work. Who are these people who think a cell phone is an accessory and necessary for driving? Where and when did they pass their test for being a safe driver? I think that if you cause an accident and a cell phone was the cause that they should take away your license forever. Because clearly they are missing a few cylinders under Their hoods. There is nothing so important that it cannot wait till you are stopped, or perhaps you should simply pull over instead of risking someone else's life and property for your text or phone call.

I miss my car. After all that has happened to it, ($9600 dollars of damage) I wonder if it will be reliable after it is paid off?  My fear is that it won't be. I look outside and see the rental and wish Joker was sitting there instead. I also wish that none of this had ever happened. But, thanks to someone in a hurry to get home, picking up a burger from McDonald's and calling to say they were on their way and running that red light, my peace of mind is gone.


Don't get me wrong. The thing I am most grateful for is that God was watching out for me. Because if I had not turned that wheel so hard to the right I might not be sitting here whining about my car. I am extremely lucky that I was not hurt other than a stiff neck and sore muscles. It could have been much worse.

Still..I wish it had never happened at all.

k

Wow!

Thirty views on one day?
Gotta' wonder
if you were serious or getting a laugh?
For the most part
(intentional hilarity aside)
I am pretty serious about what I write here.
It seems I made somebody's day.
I truly hope that you took something
honest and real
with you
after you finished reading.


k

Never a Dull Moment

If there is one thing that I can say regarding my job, and the schedule that I work, there is almost never a dull moment. In fact it just keeps rolling, getting busier each weekend. If the Maryland casinos are hurting our business you certainly cannot tell. Changes are coming again, but until it is a fact, and not something waiting to be, I am not going to mention it here. Let's just say that my prediction made on an earlier bog post was correct, and it sure did not take as long as I thought it might.

For the rest of you all starting your work week, I am just now sitting down and kicking my feet up, all very well deserved. (Good grief it felt like I was a working whirlwind this past weekend!) It looks like the fun Monday night bowling is over with, and I was looking forward to at least one more week. Might have to find something else to occupy my time that can be counted as fun, lol.

hugs,
~k

Our Congress is Still Missing the Point

Do  you ever wonder, as you pass through your days, just how in touch with the 'average' person our government is? Do they even have clue, or can they possibly remember what it is like on life outside their eternal positions they hold in Congress?  As usual in a major election year I hear a boat load of empty promises and arguments about"non-issues" to distract people from the real issues we should all expect and demand an answer too.

If they actually cared ( and I suspect they do not) the issues they should answer are quite simple. How do John Doe and Mary Doe make it through the coming years? How will they be able to afford food on their tables, health care for their families, education for their children, and the very basic needs of heat, water and electricity, not to mention a dependable roof over their heads?

These are the serious questions, not some bullshit laid out to keep us dazed and confused throughout the campaign and their years working as OUR elected officials. In a very real sense we are checking them out and trying to decide if we should hire them. And they will say Anything to get the edge over the other guy. All spit polished and presentable fast talking con men,. 

 If you are a worker bee you know that your employer has policies and procedures that they expect their workers to follow. We pour over the manuals and the fine print after being hired and do our best to keep our jobs, because we need them to support ourselves. Most employers would fire someone in a much shorter time, and for less cause the our Congress has given us. They accomplish nothing. In the time allowed in their elected terms in office they spend their time trying to figure out how to make the other side the losers. and get re-elected.

Have they balanced the budget or cooperated to clear the country's debt? No, because a democrat is in the White House, and the majority of the House of Representatives and Senate are Republican. Have they really created a "Fair" Health Care law? No...because the companies that spend billions lobbying in DC are another source of income for them. So they added just enough bullshit to the bill that fair coverage will never happen, that would not create a profit for major Medical or the Pharmaceutical companies. When I last checked over 45 million American citizens were without basic healthcare. I am sure that being fined for not being able to afford coverage is the stupidest thing that our Congress has ever done.

I know I am ranting, but I am fed up. I am tired of being thought less of because I am not a millionaire.
I am tired of the same people sitting on their asses for years, while making sure that they will be paid a huge amount for retirement and keeping THEIR healthcare after they retire. Not being productive for us, their employers.

Our Republic has always been flawed, but it has never been more obvious then it is right now. The gulf between us and Them grows daily. Our two party system is a major joke, it stopped working a long time ago. I feel that we should scrub it all and recreate the job descriptions and policy and procedures that go along with the job. If they are so determined that we become a Plutocracy, in a sense allowing corporations to control from behind the scenes, then we should re-evaluate and establish a working company PP manual that they have to follow. 

**Plutocracy-Wiki defines as:the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy. 2. a government or state in which 
the wealthy class rules.


1. If you cannot perform the job as described, that you were elected to do, you will be terminated, and another will fill your position.
2. The limit on terms is one 4  year term.( no one should have a life time seat. That sounds more like an Aristocracy than a democracy)
3, You have been elected to represent the Majority and not special interests. Any one caught taking money for campaigns or other 'gifts' will be let go, and banned from attempting another position in the federal government. Tips are not to be solicited or accepted.
4. You are expected to work the same  kind of work schedule that an average employed American citizen works. 40 hours a week, 2 days off, and 1-2 weeks of paid vacation per year. You have to be present and on your job for 1 year before vacation time becomes available.
5. You will have a 401K which you can contribute to the same as the rest of the worker bees. That IS your retirement plan, that and Social Security. ( that is a good incentive to making sure that it continues to function) Of course, your other job, your real one, will be held open till you have completed your term in office. Any retirement plan they might have will be in addition to this.

Why we have allowed our representatives, from the House, the Senate and the Presidency to make promises and not deliver on them I will never understand. The people we elect should have no other agenda but helping the 99%. Unless it is an election year it seems we are invisible. I know if we are angry and fed up that they listen and fart around like they will take care of our issues. Since our attention span is so very damn short-too busy with our toys and own lives, we never make sure that they follow through. 
If we want change, and not just another politician making empty promises, then we have to make ourselves heard and stay the course till change really occurs.

rant over..for now anyway..
k 

Brief Update on Accident

I fretted and stressed for about 4 days until a liability decision was reached. Most of the wait I believe was because of her not responding to messages. My damages will now be paid through her policy, no deductible for my repairs, and rental reimbursed. This is a big load off my mind.

I guess we become attached to our cars, because even though the rental is a newer vehicle, I am not enjoying driving it. (does not feel right) I know that I still miss my sports car, but I am grateful to not pay the gas prices to drive it.  I miss Blue, she was a lot of fun to drive. But I am content with Joker, he makes a good deal more sense in this economy.

Waiting to hear what the estimate will be and how long the repairs will take. They told me yesterday it not be totaled, again grateful for that. I am concerned though, this car has never been in an accident. It was almost paid off, and I was counting on driving it for many years with no car payment. I am now wondering if that will be possible, or if little things will start going wrong because of the accident?

Even though she was sincerely apologetic at the scene of the accident I don't feel all that charitable towards her at this time. She has taken away part of my peace of mind, and I won't get that back. Nobody is perfect, but I am fairly sure she was on her phone. Hope she learned a lesson from this and stays off it while driving in the future.

k

Green means go, red means STOP!

I was not sure if I wanted to say anything about what happened last night on here, but I guess if I am halfway chronicling what goes on in my life, then I should. It was a typical Thursday, fairly steady at work, looking forward to getting home as most of us are. I pulled out of the garage and proceeded down Hollywood drive to the intersection of Washington St (51) to wait as usual for my turn to go across. The light turned green, no cars in the intersection and I was almost across when a distracted driver in a red SUV, doing at least 10-20  MPH over the speed limit, flew into the intersection without even braking a bit. I did not see her until she was in front of me, I swerved to the right as hard as I could, but we still made impact.

I would have T-boned her if I had not been traveling slowly and cutting the wheel. As it was, my left front got  crunched and her drivers rear side took the damage.

Don't ask me why my airbags did not deploy, I am almost grateful that they did not since that almost always spells a Total Loss. Her's did, in the front, when the impact was in the rear of her vehicle. I managed to maneuver my car onto the shoulder, just barely, the metal was pushing into my left front wheel. I called 911 to report it, since I did not know if she was hurt, and I knew neither of us was going to be able to drive away.

She admitted fault at the scene, said that she was distracted by someone walking in the road. I have to ask though, would that not caused her to slow down and be cautious rather than go faster and forget about the traffic light? I am guessing that she was on her phone, on her way home with dinner, since she said that she had just left McDonald's.

So..now I wait. Both of us have the same insurance carrier, and I called to file as soon as I got home from the emergency room. (work mobile was kind enough to give me a lift, and that was very appreciated) I have called State Farm 3 more times today and she still has not called. I don't know if she is waiting till Monday to call her local representative or not, some people don't realize that the major insurance carriers are mostly 24/7 now. We exchanged into, but not phone numbers. After calling 911 I had to crawl out of my passenger side since the drivers door would not open. The police arrived after we were almost complete with the information exchange, and we were given new questions to answer to them. Personally being in contact with her is not something I want to do. Yes, she was concerned and cooperative at the scene, but she damaged a car that had never been in an accident and has only 6 months to be paid off through her negligent driving.
 So yes, I am not happy, and talking to her would not help, so better no calls except to the insurance company.

It is almost 24 hrs since the accident occurred. My car is sitting in a tow lot, and I am not in a rental car yet. I guess I will have to depend on the kindness of my friends to get me to work Saturday and Sunday.
Of course, it has been suggested that I file through my own policy. Problem with that is I do not have the money to pay the deductible or out of pocket rental costs. I hope she remembers to be responsible soon.

g'nite
k

Girl's Night

Monday night is girl's night. Had a good time bowling for our second time around, One minor complaint,....despite stretching and preparing for the evening I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in the first frame. No worries, I still played for 4 games. I rarely whinny out, even if it hurts. Bad news is that the lanes will only have the promotion for 2 more weeks. No matter, we will be there for our final performance. After that we have decided to make our Monday's impromptu.  It might be a movie, it might be Bingo, it might be a card game, or pool.

I am happy about this, it gives me something to look forward to beyond the same routine. I know the others feel this way as well since I have talked about it with them. Everyone feels like they are stuck in a rut, so I am not alone.  Working, then chores and laundry, is not enough to feel fulfilled. Everyone needs the chance to let their hair down and relax. Go out and have some fun.

So Girl's night will continue...it will be interesting to see where it goes..I will keep you updated.

Hugs, k

Oh What a Night

The anticipated crowds were under anticipated....the place was packed tonight, and whoever came in for the concert eventually ended up in the main casino. I think I was asked 6 times in a row where a different bar was in the casino..it got so that I was laughing about it. There were so many people that folks were walking on the strings from my hemmed pants and took out the hem in both legs.I know that the security force had it's hands full in the H Lounge, I've seen and heard of the reports that were generated. The main was quite crazy as well, and there were fewer of us to handle it.

We survived to work another day. I cannot help wondering if they learned something from this concert. You can only spread people so far when the crowds out number us. I sit here with a body buzz going on because the energy needed to make things work was full steam ahead all night. ( body buzz= not wound down yet)

I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. As for us? Remember on Jaws when Rory Schneider said " We're going to need a bigger boat"?? Well, we are going to need a bigger force, or just maybe different planning of the event.

G'nite
k

Must have Coffee!

Well, I must have 'good' coffee that is. I have to admit that I have a fairly demanding palette for decent coffee. Living with a tight budget I have tried to find things that will save me money and be an equivalent substitute at the Dollar store.  I am fairly miserable with my last attempt to save, because buying coffee at the Dollar store..is not so good.

Cleaning products, some frozen foods and canned goods are ok to buy there. But when I got home and opened up my cheap coffee?? The cursing commenced. With one sniff after opening the bag I knew it was a flunk out.

So..I have come to realize that I am better off paying more, because it is not a 'yummy' cup of Joe I am not a smiling girl in the morning.  Scrimp and save where I can, but never again with the beans. I need my morning purrs of satisfaction, lol. ( not to mention the caffeine.)

A good cup of coffee, one of the simple joys of my life.
k