Category: General

The rear bumper on my 2000 Volkswagen Beetle finally met its match. After having two collisions that left other cars torn up with nothing more than a scuff mark to show for it, someone finally ran into the back of my car at thirty miles per hour. All five stars of safety rating exploded out the fender and onto the road.

For those that want the specifics, I was just stopped in the right hand lane behind a line of cars waiting for the light to turn. I looked up just in time to see a blue mini-van coming up on my six, FAST. I held fast on the brake and hoped I wouldn’t get sandwiched. Glad that I didn’t get pushed into anyone else. Just a little stiffness to show for it the evening after and no serious pains or problems. Shew.

Today the other guys insurance claimed the liability and I picked up a rental care and got my car towed. The long wait for my car to, hopefully, be fixed and not totaled begins.

My friend Tim recently went to PAX. And he was nice enough to bring back a very nice gift. A Freezepop shirt signed by the band. This will probably be the first t-shirt I get framed. I just couldn’t bear to wear this out and have it hanging in tatters in my closet.

Despite the economy, I have secured new employment.  I want to thank everyone who bought me a lunch or dinner. Thanks to those who sent me a job opportunity. Everyone who commiserated over my being unemployed, I appreciated your thoughts and gestures.

The well defined cable adventure has been undone. In the spirit of not having a job, I opted to discontinue paying the $80 per month.

I will miss you Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters. No more Good Eats or No Reservations anymore. I’m down to Netflix and free, over the air, television. The kind I had when I was a kid, when TV was free. And we didn’t know any different.

At least I can watch House and CBS Evening News. And anything on Netflix. And maybe the stuff on YouTube and HULU.

It’s not so bad.

When I was a young kid, there was no such thing (that I can recall) as being “laid off”. Your options were being fired, or quitting. Either the company fired you, or you quit. Giving rise to the infamous line, “You can’t fire me! I quit!”

But these days, people draw all sorts of fine lines between being “fired”, “laid off”, “downsized”, etc. Trying to soften the blow so that people feel better about it. The subtle nuances of business these days.

In my case I was laid off. But no one’s manager looks at them and yells, “You’re laid off!”