MY RIDES

I was driving the fire red dodge avenger ...

I'm presently driving the midnight blue pontiac grand prix ...

Had dropped my bro off at the bus station on Sunday night ...
Weird light came on ... pulled into the Petro Can at Main & Walnut ...
Yep that light would indicate a flat tire ...
Called the fiance ...
He came and changed it for me ...
He's a keeper! :)


I'm wondering what else can happen ...
What else can I test drive ...
While waiting for my car to be fixed

AVENGER

... FIRE RED ...
that's what I'm presently driving.
I feel very Shera-ish while driving it.
How can you not?
An AVENGER ...
and FIRE RED ...
not just red ...
but FIRE RED!

It's totally NOT my personality.
But I'm going to see if I can alter my personality for 3 weeks.
That's how long I have the rental.

I was kinda hoping I'd get a write-off declaration from my insurance.
Because I could get a good used car ...
toss some of the spare loonies in the ING Marriage account.
but apparently it's repairable.

The frame is good.
I'm trusting the garage ...
and more importantly GOD to look after it all.

NOT THE MORNING I WAS PLANNING

so there i was ... driving mom downtown to renew her Health Card.
some dude runs a stop sign
smacks into my car ... driver's side rear ...
spins me ... ACROSS TWO LANES of ONCOMING TRAFFIC

THANK GOD ... the lanes were clear ... at 9:00 AM ... a miracle in and of itself
as I'm spinning I'm looking at someone in front of me walking on the sidewalk
"DEAR JESUS!" uttered by me ... by Mom
i come to a rest across the far lane of traffic with my front tires up on the curb
my glasses had been knocked off my head
I have no idea how the air bags didn't deploy but am grateful because sometimes they make things even worse

Mom is ok ...
I'm ok ...
my car ... not so ok
the back drivers side tire is flat and the back rear panel / back door punched in

call to CAA ... "i need a tow truck" ... "we can't release one until there is a police report"
call to police ... "is anyone hurt?" ... "no not really" ... "we can't send an officer unless there is an injury ... you need to come to a reporting centre" ... "but they won't send a truck until there is a police report ..."

... as the circle of frustration continues to grow a tow truck arrives unannounced and unsolicited ... but I'll take ...

he says ... Eastgate Ford uses blah blah garage I can take you there from the reporting centre ... and arrange a rental ... I'm like "ok"

... get to reporting centre and the dude there says "where are you having the car towed" ... i tell him and he says to the cop at the desk ... "Would you take your car to blah blah?" NO is the response ... "the tow guy is getting kickbacks and they are brutal" ... GRRRRR (can i say how much i despise people that take advantage of people in a vulnerable place?)

ok ...call my garage for their recommendation (they don't do body work) and they say ... "Take it to Eastgate Ford they have a body shop right next door (CARSTAR) and they are the best in the city" ...

i tell the tow dude and he's all bent out of shape ... "well this tow will be costly ... i would have just billed this into the insurance thing" ...I'm like ... "buddy's insurance is covering this ANYWAY ... take me to Eastgate Ford" ... he does ...

the lady there says ... "yeah ... that's a scam why would we send our cars to someone else when we have CARSTAR next door?" They arranged my rental ... which is covered in my insurance anyway

...OI ... after all that we ran downtown and got her health card (as hers expires next week ... and she's got Doc appointments the week after) ... run up to BGT to say "I'm going home" ... share the details with coworkers for a bit.

I went to the Urgent Care ... my neck is stiff and sore ... back too ... just wanted it documented medically. Doc said ... "i don't think we need to bother with Xrays ... you've not broken anything ... but we'll get this documented for Insurance or police reports"

HOME ... call insurance company ... call Glyn ... he's like ... "I'm coming home now" I said ..."you don't need to ... I'm fine ... just come down after work"

OI ...I've taken a Tylenol 3 and I think i will lay upon my couch ...
I'm weary ...the adrenalin has worn off

OI ...
GOD IS GOOD ...what could have been ... scary

BE IT RESOLVED ...

TOP 10 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2008

1. Get out of debt or save money
2. Lose weight
3. Develop a healthy habit (e.g., exercise or healthy eating)
4. Get organized
5. Develop a new skill or talent
6. Spend more time with family and friends
7. Other
8. Work less, play more
9. Break an unhealthy habit (e.g., smoking, alcohol, overeating)
10. Change employment


Franklin-Covey did the survey. (Covey is of the Stephen Covey of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) They polled 15,301 people and this was the sum of all their hopes and dreams for 2008. Franklin-Covey also discovered that 35% of people break their resolutions by the end of January. 40% say it’s because they have too much on their plate, and 33% say they aren’t really committed to their resolutions. Only 23% attain their resolutions.

They’ve come up with 8 things that will help you be part of the 23%

1. Think of your resolutions as goals (they are more specific than vague resolutions … which is funny when you think of the phrase I resolve … that doesn’t seem vague that seems rather firm to me!)
2. Set only 1 or 2 realistic goals (see we’ve already changed the vocab!)
3. Write down your goals (so you have a record of future failure! :) You are supposed to write them and keep them in a place you can review them periodically … so napkin scraps tossed in the back seat don't bode well for the 23% success rate!)
4. Take baby steps (break your goal down into manageable bites and schedule them … already … the creative part of my brain is atrophied … I don’t schedule things well)
5. Go public (this is part of #3 … so your failure can be mocked by a good friend!)
6. Track Your progress (where is that scrap of napkin ???)
7. Reward Yourself (I have no issues with that … I’m all about that)
8. If you slip-up … Recommit (Don’t get discouraged if you slip up. Everyone has bad days. Just forgive yourself, recommit to your goal and keep moving forward. Stay energized and motivated to achieve the end result. … I actually really like this last statement … pretty much summarizes the Christian walk … except we also get to count on God’s showing us Grace, Mercy … )

The question is … do I do a resol … I mean set a New Year’s goal?