sylvar

I got into a crash this evening.  Here's the front of my car:



I'm going to take a 4-hour "traffic school" course which will mean that:

• Hillsborough County will withhold adjudication;
• I don't get any points on my license;
• I get 18% off the cost of the ticket (meaning it'll cost me about $100).

The car is at a body shop, and State Farm will be sending a claims adjuster to check out the damage in the morning.  Also in the morning, I'll arrange for a rental car.  State Farm will cover 80% of the rental cost, up to $500.  The damage to the car ahead of me seems minor (there was a dent in the fender and a cosmetic part popped up a bit).  There are more photos of the damage on Flickr; I've already offered copies to State Farm.

This is going to be somewhat expensive, and that's not at all welcome; we're in the middle of paying for graduate school applications, transcripts, etc., and there's a possibility of repeating that process next year.  Fortunately, I've already got almost all of my tax information, so I'll be able to e-file pretty soon and get a refund (I've always gotten a nice refund, kina hora).  That should help considerably.

Jodi has been very gracious about it, and I appreciate that; many people would take it badly.  I'm just glad everyone seems to be okay, and I'm very pleased that everyone was so polite about it all.

Jodi's flight got in a bit later than originally planned, and I forgot to stop at a fast-food joint on the way home, so I ended up going to sleep at around 2am. I woke at seven and left at eight, as usual, but tried driving no faster than 55. I ran into more traffic lights than usual, and was beginning to doubt the wisdom of driving slowly, but I got to work on time and felt less stressed. And surely it helps that I'm worrying less about the price of gas around here. I don't know how much gas I'm saving, but it does seem to be lasting longer.

When I get home tonight, I'm going to unpack all the food that was bagged up in Vikane-proof bags. I'm getting awfully sick of pizza, and I've only been eating it for three meals in a row. I'm not sure what I'll make first, but I did see some organic broccoli at Target for $1.49, which is actually cheaper than the other stuff (2 for $3). I know I'll have to have something ready for Jodi when she gets home around 9. (Photo: "NJ Pizza" by Robin Zebrowski.)


But first, I'm going to use a coupon for a $6.99 haircut. I'm getting shaggy. It won't be anything fancy -- in fact, it'll probably be the sort of thing my old barber could have done with sheep-shearers. I've been trying to shampoo less often, washing my hair with plain old surfactant-free tap water. It tends to make my hair easier to style. Hair is supposed to have some natural oils, after all; we spend a lot of money replacing them with oily goop. (Photo: "barberpole" by Paul Keleher.)


I've written a few times about Creative Commons, but this is one of the first times I've been on the other side of the license. The photos above are licensed with the "Attribution" version of the Creative Commons license, so all I have to do is give them credit. No royalties, no negotiation, just search by tags and you're done.