Christmas Eve Farewell

I worked one of the drive thru windows this morning. It was a very slow morning, so that was good. Allowed us enough time to eat some serious cookies.


After work I drove over to the collision shop to remove my personal belongings from the Jeep. In looking at the damage, it didn't appear all that bad. Just that bent rod underneath there...

So, I got all my cassette tapes and that beach towel tucked under the seat. It was a nice ride for just over 7 and a half years.

At least it's sunny and 70 degrees. Time to put on some shorts and head outside. A nice long walk perhaps?

Adieu!

R. I. P.

New Exercise Program

Well, today after work, I walked home. It's a mile and a half, and I did it semi-leisurely, so it took me a little under a half hour. I got warm enought to shed my jacket.

I hadn't really planned on starting this exercise program, but was sort of forced into it by my own stupidity and recklessness. On the block in front of my workplace, I was in an accident. I had stopped at a mailbox to drop off some mail and took a different path back to work. I attempted to cross MLK (9th St N) at 27th Ave N and POW!!! An onlooker called 911 and within minutes rescue vehicles and the police were there. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Both cars needed to be towed. The car that I ran into was driven by a woman who was on her way home from her volunteer work at a local hospital. Boy, do I sound like a meany! Her husband came from their house, which was a minute away. They moved down here from Buffalo 12 years ago. A very nice couple. I felt terrible.

My manager from work came over to see how I was holding up. All of my coworkers were really nice to me, offering me rides and extending sympathy and conern. We were short staffed and it was really busy because everyone is getting money to spend, spend, spend for the holiday. The afternoon offered me little time to think about what had happened, but I was shaking inside. My walk home gave me time to think. I am extremely happy that no one was hurt.

Now, I'm without my Jeep. I spoke with an insurance agent when I got home. He called me before I even got a chance to call them! I'm getting a rental tomorrow, and the wheels of motion have begun to turn. I'll update my experience with this new insurance carrier as things progress. Maybe I'll write a glowing testimonial, if all works out well. But anyway I look at it I see $$$ flying away.

Coffee Pot Bayou

The other night I had planned on going to the supermarket, a Publix, located a couple minutes from me. I decided to take a new route....heading about 6 blocks due north, to an area along the Coffee Pot Bayou. I was taken with how beautiful it is. I'm thinking that when I start jogging again....there's where I'm going to jog! There's a sidewalk that runs along Coffee Pot Boulevard, right on the Bayou.

I had a job interview in Tampa this afternoon, so I thought that I would take some time this morning to visit the bayou area again and take some shots. There are a lot of For Sale signs up. Any takers?

My Jeep was waiting for me on a side street. That's a circle with a big urn ("One Grecian Urn") in the background.

I'll talk about my job interview in a future post. I guess...depending on how it turns out!

I couldn't pass this shot up!

Day 2: A city under, er, um, under some white stuff

This picture was taken in Cobleskill, NY at 12:45pm. See that lump in the center? That car was parked there at 8:00am that morning. Cobleskill is about 45 minutes from me and got a little over 32" of snow yesterday. We lucked out with only about 17" or thereabouts. The following pics were taken this morning when I went out to assess the damage from the wind during the night. Actually, I made out pretty well.

I didn't have much to shovel before work this morning. And speaking of work...it was freezing in the branch office today! Our hands and toes were frozen! Plus, the computer system went down for a few hours in the afternoon, and our phones were down too. They probably were suffering from hypothermia.

When I got home from work, I wasn't quite sure where to park my Jeep. My next door neighbor told me yesterday that we need to move out cars to the opposite side of the street at 8:00pm tonight. Most of the cars were still parked on this side of the street. Just to be certain, I rang his doorbell to make sure I was moving the jeep to where it should be. He said, that this happens every year and eventually all the others will get the idea. Apparently, the plows are supposed to go thru tonight and clear this side of the street. So, I moved my car to the opposite side. Shortly after I did, I heard a horn beeping. I looked out the window and saw that a car couldn't get past my car because someone had left a snowblower running in the street near my car. I hope my Jeep survives this winter! Ah, the joys of street parking.