The trip home for Christmas got a little more exciting than I had planned when a deer jumped in front of the car. Poor, sweet doe. She died instantly - thank God - because I would have been a weepy, shaking, miserable mess otherwise.
We were following Google maps directions which - for the second time - got us hopelessly lost. Grrrrrrr... Google maps used to be spot on perfect. I don't know what to say except I am losing faith in them. I know it was not me being directionally-challenged because the cop who came to do the accident report could not figure out the directions either. Sigh...
Anyway, we were on a dark, windy, back road through the woods. We didn't have time to see the doe, let alone react. She just suddenly ran head-long into the front driver's side of the car. Time gets all weird in those kinds of things... seems to both drag and fly by simultaneously. I also go into a weird out-of-body type state. I am very calm and automatically go into problem-solving mode.
It was a bit entertaining because we could not tell the cops how to find us because we were lost. We kept telling them where we *thought* we were - ha ha - and they kept saying that couldn't be right. Went back and forth like that for a little while.
While we were waiting for them a few nice people stopped to ask if we needed help. We were fine, not hurt at all, and the car was drivable so we said we were ok. Actually, it's a testament to Subaru that things went as they did because it probably could have been much much worse. I don't remember feeling any impact when the deer hit us. I knew it had happened because we saw it flash in the headlights, but it did not feel like a crash or a collision. Some body damage but not much.
Then one crazy person stopped. This part is like a surreal dream. I still can't believe it happened. Seriously. It's like someone transported us into a movie or a nightmare for five minutes then back to the real world again.
A car stopped behind us. I heard someone yelling to us so I got out to talk to him. I thought he was stopping to see if we were ok like all the nice normal people in the world. But noooooooooo... The conversation, as best as I can remember:
Him: Did you just hit that deer?
Me: Yes. But we're ok. The cops are on their way.
Him: Hot damn!
He proceeds to go to his trunk, get out a baseball bat, go over to the deer and start pounding on it. Really whaling on it. Hard. Like four or five or six times. NOT to put it out of its misery because it was dead. Like a crazy saddistic person taking joy out of hurting another creature. Like the kid who pulls the legs off flies or sets cats on fire. Like the school bully. Like the kind of person who grows up to beat the crap out of their kid and kick their dog. Like that.
Me: Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! What are you doing? Stop!
Him: M***** F***** M***** F***** M***** F*****
Me: Stop! I called the police. They're on their way.
Him: M***** F***** M***** F***** M***** F*****
When he finally stopped after what seemed like an eternity he just put the bat in the car got in and peeled off fast. Not fast enough though because I got his license plate number and gave it to the cop. I'll show him who's a M**** F*****.
Anyway, the cop was great. Very nice. Very helpful. Helped me get all the info I needed to file an insurance claim and even helped me figure out how the heck to get back on the road to my mom's. The rest of the trip was uneventful - thank God. I take the car in tomorrow morning to get an estimate and get fixed soon after (I hope).
I should also give a shout out to the Esurance reps who were AWESOME. They were super fast with the communication, no hassles on the coverage. Easy as pie and so helpful and friendly. Big kudos to them.
Pictures of the car the next day:
So that's in. A crunched in fender, shattered headlight glass, small dent, and jacked up hood. We were very very lucky and thankful it wasn't worse.
My brother and I, being the spiritual new agey people we are, decided that one of two things happened:
1) We hit the deer because she was suffering from some terribly painful disease like cancer and we hit her to put her out of her misery so she wouldn't suffer anymore. Or...
2) We were destined to get in a terrible crash later and the deer sacrificed herself to keep us safe.
Either way, we did a lot of praying for that deer to be in heaven and saying thanks for our safety.
So, I bet it's cold where you are, isn't it? Good guess seeing as how the entire country is FREEZING right now.
The other morning I went out to warm up the car, grumbling that the windshield was covered with ice AGAIN. grumble grumble... ice scraper... grumble grumble... cold out here... grumble grumble... gonna be late...
From the outside it looked like plain old pain-in-the-butt ice, but from the inside...
feathers...
ferns...
angel wings...
kisses from Jack Frost...
One of the little things I have taken up in the last few years is pedicures. Honestly, I never thought I would be one of *those* people (no offense intended as I am also one of *those* people), but a friend went on and on about how relaxing they are so I decided to give it a try. And, I gotta admit, it's pretty darn nice. Especially if you get someone who gives really good massages, cause there ain't nuttin like a good foot massage. Ahhhhhh...
So, as life recently has been about poverty and busyness, I have not had a pedicure since the beginning of October and I decided to wait until after I finished the semester to treat myself. Yesterday my friend and I went and got out little tootsies tended to. So nice. My polish is "Hot Lava Love". Yum yum. I <3 the candy cane striped flip flops. Too cute.
Since I have transplanted myself from dog-land (JMU) to cat-land (PSU) I have been comparing the two. Honestly in most ways they come out even. Same kind of school spirit. Same kind of students (nice, smart, friendly, hold doors for others, hard partiers, etc). Same small town feel.
But I have found two big differences so far. Let me elaborate:
1) Parking.
No one complains about parking at PSU. There are not legions of parking police crawling every inch of every parking lot writing tickets. Students do not wait in line for 30 minutes in parking lots waiting for a space to open up. There is not an us versus them mentality. In fact, parking at Penn State seems to be very functional and well thought out. Amazing for a school twice the size. After observing this seemingly miraculous condition for a semester I think it is because (1) a large percentage of the students/faculty/staff walk, ride bikes, or take the bus to campus. A large percentage. And (2) The bus system, both on and off campus, works well is dependable and reliable. It's not free into the city ($1.25 per ride) but a lot of people do it every day without complaint.
Score one for the cats.
2) Inclement Weather.
Well, JMU wins this one hands down. Take today, for example. We are in an ice storm. Full blown ice storm. Not snow. Ice. Covering everything. Thick. And is Penn State closed? Nope. Was it delayed? Nope. Will it close early? Nope. Crazy. JMU would have closed last night at the announcement of an ice storm. Ha ha. The best Penn State can cough up is an announcement to keep your cars out of the parking lot after midnight so the physical plant folks can clear them without obstacles every few feet. Umm hmmm... Yep. They're hard core up here. JMU wins. No contest, really. I will miss the 5-10 snow days each year.
Score one for the dogs.
Contest so far: All tied up with an edge towards the dogs. Snow days are awesome.
Hilarious.
I am more excited about this than I should be... The only way it would be better is if it starred Scott Baio, Ralph Macchio, Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, and Shawn Cassidy. Though I gotta say, some of these old boys are looking yummy.
Confessions of a Teen Idol
The eight-part series features Christopher Atkins (The Blue Lagoon), David Chokachi (Baywatch), Billy Hufsey (Fame), Jeremy Jackson (Baywatch), Eric Nies (MTV’s The Real World and The Grind), Jamie Walters (Beverly Hills 90210), and Adrian Zmed (TJ Hooker, Grease 2). Each hour-long episode provides a rare, never-before-seen look at fame and its consequences as the guys live together, forming a unique and exclusive support group.<br><br>“This is the world’s most unique men’s club. Even the producers are all guys who were famous as teenagers. They speak a different language and this show allows them to not only share their stories of past fame with each other, but forces them to really explore their hopes and fears about daring to want that fame back as grown men,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Production, VH1. “This is not like any reality show you’ve ever seen before. It is not a competition and there are no eliminations. But there is refreshingly honest (and at times very dramatic) look at the addiction of fame and a real opportunity for each one of these guys to get that stardom back.”<br><br>Under the guidance of television icon Scott Baio, child star-turned-producer Jason Hervey and celebrity psychology expert Cooper Lawrence, these former heartthrobs will be given all of the tools and connections necessary to make a comeback or be faced with the reality that fame is a lot tougher the second time around. The guys will learn to let go of their past fame, reclaim control of their careers and look ahead to their futures.<br><br>“I really feel that it’s important for people to know what fame is like, and who can give better insight than two guys who have lived through the experience like Jason and myself? We’ve been there and know what it’s like to be in the guys’ shoes. We have both learned how to leave the teen idol days behind and move forward with life and our careers,” said Scott Baio, former teen idol and an executive producer for the series. “When we were developing the show, Jason and I knew that VH1 would be a perfect home for it, we have done shows with them in the past and I think this series will add a new, very real element to their programming and set the stage for future adaptations of this unique franchise.”<br><br>In the end these former teen idols will be armed with the skills, knowledge and confidence to re-launch their careers in the entertainment industry and chase after one more shot at fame.Hee hee. Just found out I can post to Vox FROM Facebook. Woot! That should help with my communication flow.
Some photos from this past week. These are my favorite Christmas decorations. Yay.
We will just take one moment to have a pity party. I just want to chronicle what my life is like in grad school.
Monday - work 9-4, class 6-9, sleep at 11
Tuesday - work 9-3, class 4-5:30, school stuff in evenings
Wednesday - work 9-noon, class 2:30-5:30, collapse in exhaustion (this is a hard class and I'm brain dead when done)
Thursday - class 9-noon, work 1-4, collapse exhausted from week so far
Friday - wake up 9:30, schoolwork 11am-10pm, bed
Saturday - wake up 9:30, schoolwork 11am-10pm, bed
Sunday - wake up 9:30, schoolwork 11am-10pm, bed
I am now done complaining. I chose this.
