it was in the bleak December

I finally went to the Baltimore Museum of Art with some good people today and saw the Poe exhibit. It makes me want to read some more of his stories. Baltimore is the hometown of interesting people.

They had question cards for people to fill out which would ultimately be added to a book they had on display. Some of the questions were about fears and loneliness. It was very Postsecret-y. Here were my two favorite responses:

Q: What is the difference between passion and obsession?
A: Passion is what gets you up in the morning. Obsession is what keeps you awake at night.

Q: What is the difference between passion and obsession?
A: a restraining order

kiss my bumper, just kiss it

So guess what happened on the way to work today. I bet you can guess. Ready? Go...


...


Did you guess that I was in a car accident? You did? Good job! Yes, on the way to work, someone rear-ended me at a red light. Not hard, but a definite hit. My first thought was, Really? Of course. My second thought was, Wait, I'm already getting the bumper fixed through the last guy's insurance. What should I say to this person? I pulled over and got out of the car. Here is what SHOULD have happened:

me: Are you okay?
other lady: Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?
me: Yes.
other lady: Hey, I am so sorry! That was my fault entirely. Here's my insurance information.
me: You know what? I'm already getting the bumper fixed in a few days, so no harm done. It's the holidays!
other lady: Are you sure?
me: Yeah, don't worry about it. Enjoy your day!
other lady: Thanks so much. Merry Christmas!

As I said, that SHOULD have happened. Here's what really happened after I got out of the car:

crazy lady: Oh man. I just tapped you! I bet there's no damage. We cannot get insurance involved.
Crazy lady crouches down behind my bumper and starts rubbing off snow sludge. Through puffs of smoke from the cigarette she is waving in my face, she speaks.
crazy lady: See, it's coming right off.
Indignant at this woman's disrespect, I sense a shift in my original plan.
me: No, look. There are scratches here. This is my new car!
crazy lady: Come on, can't we just go? It's the holidays!
me: I need to get it fixed.
crazy lady: Can I just give you my number, and you can get an estimate? I can't call my insurance.
me: Yeah, I understand you don't want to get them involved. Just give me your number.

Lady hits me. Tells me it's okay. It's the holidays? That was my line, lady! My line!

On my lunch break, I called the lady to tell her I had an appointment to get an estimate on the 29th. I failed to tell her that I had already set the appointment up a few days ago. Anyway, now I have a moral dilemma. Do I let Crazy off the hook in the spirit of Christmas and continue to charge the repairs to the apologetic guy's insurance? Or do I collect the money from her in addition to the repairs that are already being done? Is it okay to benefit from other people's stupidity, or is that sinking to their level? I honestly haven't made up my mind.

Four collisions inside of three months. It's time to give this car a name. Any ideas? Preferably one that alludes to the fact that it is indeed cursed.

on a scale of 1-5, 1 being unacceptable and 5 being excellent

fact: I almost always participate in surveys when asked. I have taken two surveys this week. I like random data, and I like the idea that my opinions are being anonymously put to use somewhere.

a new wave of completely unintentional stalking

Somehow, my insurance agent ended up on my gchat list and I haven't removed her cause, I don't know, I kind of like checking her status.

Also, we had a class together in college. And I know what sorority she was in and what high school she went to. And where she worked after she left and/or went on hiatus from the insurance agency.

Come on, I know I'm not the only person like this.

a day in the life

At naptime in my school, it is my job to help the children get to sleep. This sometimes involves sitting next to them, covering them up with their blankets, and removing contraband from their cots (ie: sticks broken off baskets, glass beads, feathers, Legos, etc.).

Today, I saw one little girl, who I had repeatedly covered already, playing with a string that I thought maybe she had found on the floor. I took it from her hand and realized that it was not, in fact, a string from the floor. It was a loooong strand of snot that she had been dangling in the air from her fingers.

I was holding a big snot strand. She got me.

Sufjan everywhere I go

snow falling

walk to a craft fair in the neighborhood

beautiful old church architecture

meet friends

pick up cocoa

fall asleep to Elf

make my potato soup

Christmas music

all three roomies

...more friends to come

wine and games

hello, Saturday

links to replace my lack of inspiration

I've been a bad blogger. Perhaps I haven't experienced any good anecdotes lately? And I've already posted and reposted all my seasonal posts in years previous. You know...holiday poetry, best and worst Christmas music, holiday nostalgia...

Well, Pandora just told me the Jacksons are going to have a new series on A&E. I think that's silly. Other silly series:

I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant
My Monkey Baby

One thing technology has done for us is exposed us to the reality that things like dressing up monkeys and treating them as humans is not as uncommon as we once thought.