Tuesday, 8. July 2008, 19:35:03
car, toyota, scion, damd
...
Why in this day in age in the United States of America does it seem so difficult for one person to put their life on hold for a moment to help someone out? The other day a friend of mine saw a girl passed out (or dead) on a street corner as cars just drove by. Nobody stopped. My friend ended up calling the police immediately but I asked why she didn't physically check on her and she wasn't really sure. I don't really blame my friend though. Look around you. It seems to be the status quo to do nothing. Nobody is helping anybody even for the littlest things. This past week I made sure that one friend wasn't left alone in downtown Minneapolis after her friends ditched her and I helped another friend get home by giving her a ride on my scooter even though she was obviously beyond drunk. It's not much to ask to lend a helping hand. I don't consider myself a saint or anything and I am not asking anyone to help me but it would be nice if people could do for others what they would expect be done for them.
On a different note all together, I put a hold on a new car that should be arriving at the beginning of next month to replace my sad destroyed car. I decided that for the price and performance that the Scion xD, the same car that got smashed, was still the best option for me. So I went to the dealership yesterday with my heart once again set on an all black xD but after laying out the options I wanted a guy walked by and asked why I don't just get the Release Series. From what I had previously understood the release series was red but I was way off and it turns out it's orange. As soon as I saw the brochure I decided I wanted it and I put the only one (one of only 2000 made) coming to the dealership on hold, the only problem...it's a manual and I have never owned one. I'll figure it out.
Just a quick breakdown of what is special about this car:
-Custom DAMD Body Kit (designed by Japanese custom car gurus DAMD)
-Hot Lava Paint Job
-Matching Spoiler
-Matching Color Tuned Hot Lava Interior
-TRD Lowering Springs
-Custom Razo Shift Knob
-Custom Release Series Wheel Covers (unfortunately not alloy wheels)
-Individually numbered badge indicating production number
Check out more details at:
Scion xD Release Series 1.0
Wednesday, 2. July 2008, 19:35:40
difficulty, car, accident, insurance
...
I never really realized when the accident happened that it would hit me so hard. I mean look at me, I am virtually unscathed...on the outside at least. There isn't an hour that goes by that I don't think about what happened and how rapidly my life changed. It took me a long time to work my way up to being able to buy a brand spanking new car just the way I wanted it and in a matter of seconds it was taken away from me. In the state of Minnesota a person in a car accident where they don't find themselves physically injured has no rights. I am constantly reminded of how Minnesota "no fault" laws protect the rights of the insurance company over the person that went through such a traumatic event. So far I have been "slapped in the face" by the other parties insurance company by being offered $500 as a sorry in exchange for me to sign a piece of paper that says I can never go after the other driver in the event that injuries do show up in me. Obviously they can't pull the wool over my eyes and I didn't sign. The issue is that I do have injuries, on the inside it hurts so much thinking about the accident that it makes it difficult to work and do daily things. When I informed my insurance company that I was going to go talk to someone about all of this they informed me that insurance does not cover mental health related to the accident. Aside from the medical side of thing the insurance companies aren't willing to buy me a new car even though we all know that someone was beyond negligent and nearly killed me. I am forced to settle for what they feel the car is worth and foot the rest of the bill myself meaning that I will be without a car for a few months at least. To top things off my insurance company informed me the other day that since they made me a "fair offer" on my car that I have to return the rental car that comes with my insurance coverage... once again I am without a car. Dealing with 6 insurance agents on a daily basis really takes its toll on a person.
Through all of this I have realized something, no matter how hard I try the people that are supposed to help me won't. I have once again realized that I just don't care anymore. I am going to give up? No. But why should I care if nobody else does? I can do nothing to recover what was lost from inside of me and no one else wants to own up and help me fix that portion of me. My car is obviously gone but I don't really care about the car. I care about all of the time in my life I have worked to own something I was truly proud of.
I am starting to feel better slowly at this point as I begin to care less and less and realize that I should be out having fun with friends. Going out and having fun with friends is part of what is making things difficult as my constant lack of transportation is a reminder of what happened.
Wednesday, 18. June 2008, 18:28:55
lost, road, trauma, car
...
Last Thursday was supposed to be a great day. I had been planning for a couple weeks to do myself and the world a favor by buying a scooter. (How does a scooter save the world? 85 miles per gallon, that's how.) So I left work early last Thursday to head up to the local Scooter dealer,
Scooterville, to pick up a scooter that I had my eyes on. It was a beautiful day, a perfect one for cruising on a scooter especially for the first time. I hopped on the highway as I usually would and started on the river of asphalt towards my destination. I had no idea that anything special was to come of my drive. I didn't get very far. I was driving north on 35w (now famous for the bridge collapse that happened last year) towards Minneapolis as I normally would any afternoon afterwork only there was less traffic at the time being it was the middle of the day. I was behind a Semi Truck that was hauling a load of stacked flattened cars that appeared destined for recycling or a scrap heap. Nothing seemed out of place or unusual but as I passed under the highway 62 bridge going over 35w I was immediately greeted on the other side by a horrific sight. As if I was in the movie Final Destination 3, in a split moment a very large and extremely heavy piece of steel came right through the windshield of my car. It ripped out the center console, stereo and all and landed on my seat narrowly missing my leg by an inch. Right away I knew the piece of steal came somehow from the Semi in front of me. I tried to pull myself together as much as possible through the ridiculous adrenaline rush by honking my horn, the horn no longer worked. The Semi didn't pull over immediately so somehow I managed to follow it a couple hundred feet until he did. In the meanwhile additional glass that hadn't exploded all over the car was continuing to fly into the car because the windshield wipers were permanently stuck on. Once we managed to get over to the side of the road all I could do was get out of the car, throw my keys at the ground, yell obscenities, and shake off what glass I could (I was covered head to toe in glass). As it turns out the Semi was overloaded and too tall to fit under the bridge. It had nailed the bridge as it passed underneath and knocked a steel drain loose and that's what went through my car. The rest of the of what happened is trivial but here is the sight that I could do nothing about but stare at in disbelief:
At this point I don't know what to do. I almost got killed, in fact I was inches from it. It seems that people around me are great and full of support. The people that I am seeking for help don't seem as helpful as they should be though and I feel like I am lost. The whole thing hurts, the car was only a few months old and frankly I don't know where I am going anymore. Help? I guess that's all I can ask for.
