day 1: post accident

Yesterday on the way home from the Reid Park Zoo, we had a little car-tastrophe.  Someone in a big old F150 smashed into the back of my teeny tiny Versa at an intersection in Tucson.  The driver admitted fault and we easily exchanged information.  We filed a report with a TPD officer, and we were on our way.  Shaky but back in action. 

That's not really the worst of it.  The bad part has been dealing with the insurance company.  No big surprise.  After 3 phone calls, I now have a claim number but not much else.  Apparently the driver has to admit fault to State Farm for all of this to be real.  Never mind that she admitted fault to me, the people in her car, the Tucson Police Officer...EVERYONE who would listen.  It's not real until she tells the State Farm Rep sitting in a random call center in Nebraska that "Yes, the accident was my fault." 

Granted my need for urgency is increased because after 4 years of staying at home, all that ends on Monday, meaning my time is not my own and I don't have infinite amounts of semi-free time to deal with bureaucratic craziness.  Our maybe I'm just bitter that very shortly after we have paid off this car, it now has a big ol' dent in it and the  hatchback doesn't open and close properly.  Whatever it is I'm hostile about the whole thing and just want a satisfactory conclusion ... SOON.

stuff that freaked me out today

• Number of women I saw out and about that had facial hair...Not just a few random wiry sprouts either. I'm talking, full-blown, shave-every-day-or-get-5-o'clock-shadow BEARDS.
• Ex-gang member dude that drew my blood for my glucose test...He had 520 tattooed on more than one finger and lots of Old English writing scrawled on his neck. I'll admit though, he did a good job.
• Getting on the scale at the OB/GYN's after my cruise...whatever, skinny people.
• My "new" boss having some else re-do my work for no good reason, but not telling me there is/was a problem.
• Sales clerk at the motherhood store where I had to go to buy some preggers pants...Why do strangers always give me uncomfortably intimate details?
• Mother of extra-loud toddler at Sonora Lab place that had shaved off her eyebrows and then sharpie-ed some back on with a seriously unsteady hand.
• Picking a few items up at the "yucky Fry's"...Why does it smell like weird, old meat and who are all those people meandering aimlessly around the entrance?

things i want to go away

• Super-competitive moms: I don't care if your kid gets honor roll in the third grade. It's the 3rd fucking grade.
• Huggers: Hello, Goodbye, Glad to see you, I like your new rug...None of these situations call for us to hug.
• Cicadas and waterbugs: I'm sick of fishing your corpses out of my pool. Learn from your ancestors already.
• Pushy neighbors: I don't want to join your church, take care of your kids, or form any other sort of intimate emotional bond.
• The phrase "I'm bored; there's nothing to do.": Thank GOD summer's only 7 weeks long. My children wouldn't survive 3 months.
• Let's-do-it-together moms: I like to do things on my own. If I get eaten by a coyote on my solo morning walk, that's my problem. There's no need for us to get our husbands the same gift for Father's Day; that's just weird. Have an original thought for once.
• Backhanded compliments: Be like me, just say nothing.

helper mom

So today was the second in a row that I volunteered in my kids' school library. I have no idea what prompted this. We were in there one day last week, and all of a sudden I'm asking the librarian lady does she need any help with end of the year stuff. What was I thinking? I have no idea. So now that's what I've done from 12:30 to 2:15 pm for the last 2 days.

It's interesting being back in a school atmosphere. It's comforting and a little disturbing to discover that no matter where you go, most schools are EXACTLY the same. People bitch about admin, the teacher next door, why they are the only one that does anything, ever... and on and on and on... Having been there done that, I completely understand the pathology. I do think it's strange, however, what teachers and staff will say in front of their community stakeholders (sorry, ed leadership verbage coming back to me).

I would think you'd want to "put your best foot forward" so to speak... I'm just thanking my lucky stars (again) that I'm not in that place A-N-Y-M-O-R-E.