Poor Little Jeepy

So, some of you know that I was in a car accident last Thursday. It was a really sucky drive home from work. I was hit from behind and then hit the car in front of me, who hit the car in front of them, who was turning right into a parking lot and hit the car that was coming out of the lot. 5 cars total, four had to be towed.
I'm doing ok, although I'm super stiff and sore. I have bruises everywhere that are turning beautiful shades of gross and a bright "wheel burn" on my forehead from where I hit the steering wheel. Praise the Lord my friend Shonna was on her way to hang out that night. She was able to come and pick me up and then take me to the ER when I started to feel worse. (I am officially ok, just very banged up) She also spent the night (without a toothbrush, mind you) and helped me get a rental car the next day.
I went to the autobody shop today to pick up stuff from my car and I took pictures while I was there. This is the saddest I've been. My poor little jeep. It got smashed from both ends. The initial impact was hard enough to knock out the back window so the inside is a mess.
I'm really praying that it's fixable and the insurance people don't say it's totaled. Here are some pics. (Notice the Mt. Dew in the back that opened on impact.)




























I did take a couple of pictures at the "scene" when they were towing my jeep, but I didn't know how to zoom so they're kinda far away. The white van is the one that hit me.

College vs Elementary School

I had an amusing encounter yesterday walking across the quad after work. There weren't many people outside since it was dinner-time for most everybody, but a student came around the corner with a soccer ball. He kicked it, but it got more air than he was counting on and sailed up onto the roof of the cafeteria. He said "oh man" and for a second sounded remarkably like an eight year old kid who had just got his kite stuck in a tree. Then he noticed me and his demeanor changed. He was the swaggering college kid again and to prove it yelled "sh*t" and walked off. It was very interesting to be reminded that for all the bravado these students put out there, they're not that far off from the kids we see on playgrounds and soccer fields. And, for that matter, neither am I.

Vacation Reads

My time in Florida was well spent. I got plenty of reading done and thought I would share my thoughts about the books - I know...what a surprise.

Here Lies the Librarian
by Richard Peck
2006, Penguin Group (USA)
This book is a fun and quick read with substance. Richard Peck is a master at telling stories set during the hard times of the early 20th century, but still very relatable to today's readers. (For more great Peck books see A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder)





The Tales of Beedle the Bard
by J. K. Rowling
2008, Scholastic, Inc.
'Bout time I got around to reading this one. Classic J. K. style: creative, humor and whimsy filled, but deeply rooted in the HPverse. Fans of Dumbledore's wackiness will enjoy the commentaries after each story.






Last Days of Summer
by Steve Kluger
1998, HarperCollins Publishers
I picked this book up on a whim and it turn out to be a very good whim. It's a story told through letters over a couple years in the life of a 13 year old kid in NYC in the 1940s. You go from feeling bad for the raw deal the kid is getting to marveling at his ingenuity and laughing your a** off at his schemes.




Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll
2004, Barnes & Noble Classics
I read both these books one after the other (two for one). The original John Tenniel artwork was a great bonus. These are definitely stories that reflect childhood imagination, the time when everything and anything was possible, but the second book is very, very, very nonsensical, and actually a bit frustrating. But having seen lots of the movie adaptations it was fun to finally read the originals.


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
by Mark Haddon
2004, Random House, Inc.
A story told from the perspective of an autistic 15 year old, this is a great insight into his world. Told from his perspective, his logic and his way of thinking are the right ways and the rest of us are doing it wrong, which breaks your heart a little. It was a very interesting way to read a story and I would definitely recommend it especially if you enjoy math.




Murder on the Orient Express
Thirteen at Dinner (or Lord Edgware Dies)
by Agatha Christie
1934, 1933
Two more Agatha Christie classics. How does she do it time and time again? Creative and twisty and never guessable. Genius!





Great American Short Stories from Hawthorne to Hemingway 2004, Barnes & Noble Classics
This book is great for reading in short spurts since it's short stories. I've only read six stories so far, but so far so good. It's fun to be reading stories I've heard of but never actually read myself. I feel very mature. The stories I've read so far are:
Young Goodman Brown - Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1835
The Birth-Mark - Hawthorne, 1843
Rappaccini's Daughter - Hawthorne, 1844
The Cask of Amontillado - Edgar Allan Poe, 1846
The Fall of the House of Usher - Poe, 1839
The Purloined Letter - Poe, 1844

Floridaaaah!

I love Florida. I love Anna Maria Island. And I love vacationing there. We do little more than sit in the sun, read a lot, go out to dinner and eat too much. It's marvelous! This year was no exception even if there was a slightly cold day or two.

A bit of rain early in the week.

The Sarasota County Area Transit or "an animal fecal dropping" depending on how mature you are feeling.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, our view across Tampa Bay.Grandma's house viewed from the edge of the Bay.
Some weird guy in the front yard.

Spring?!!

I'm convinced. There are signs everywhere that Spring is fast approaching and after yesterday's wonderful 74 degree weather, I'm very optimistic. I decided to come up with a couple of examples of things that I noticed that are sure signs that Spring is just around the corner.

1 - It is light past 7pm. That's huge since for a while there it was dark at 4pm, one of the sucky things of being on the east side of a time zone.

2 - Old Navy has released their "wall o' flip-flops". Don't worry, I stocked up. My mom actually had to tell me to settle down. It's very hard to resist 2 for $5.

3 - The grass has taken on a slightly green hue. This is great for my drive through farm-ish land to and from work. The brown-ness is being replaced by spring lush greens.

4 - The weather reports say "it's going to get a bit colder the next few days", but they mean 30s and 40s not negative teens, which is a huge difference.

5 - And most importantly, the USF Safety & Security Cart is back in the quad. You know it's spring when the men and women who protect and serve USF are willing to leave the warmth and safety of their cars for the open cart.

Pop or Soda?

Growing up in Michigan it was "pop". It wasn't until I starting hanging out with people from Louisiana and Massachusetts and Iowa and other parts of the country that I started paying attention to other names. Some people say "soda" others say "soda pop" and others say just "coke" for all carbonated beverages. Without realizing it, I developed a bit of a complex about the correct terminology when I moved to IL. I found myself saying both when I would go out to restaurants. "What kind of pop, soda do you have?" When I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I walked past a bus stop with a new Pepsi ad. I decided that if Chicago uses the same terminology as my home town then it must be just right. I should be proud of "pop" and the next time I get flustered when ordering beverages at a restaurant I should say "I'll just have a water." (It's better for me anyways.)

No Talking

By Andrew Clements
2007, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

One of my favorite things about Andrew Clements' books is that the characters are never stereotypes. He's written quite a few books that are set in elementary schools (like this one), but he never repeats the same story or the same people. I also truly appreciate that he avoids the "adults are stupid and kids know better" view that lots of books and especially movies take now-a-days. Nothing is more annoying and zaps me right out of the story than unbelievably stupid adults that are made fun of by incredibly clever children.
This book tells the story of a rowdy 5th grade class that challenges each other to a "no talking" contest. My mom reads this to her 5th graders at the beginning of the school year (because she's a genius). It's a well-written and rounded story that shows the importance of thinking before you speak, the effect your words can have on others, and much more. All great stuff for kids to think about, and if we're honest, some lessons that adults could use too.