Well, I got into a car wreck over the weekend. It was my second wreck ever, and the second in about five years. I was driving in traffic on a four lane road with my brain thinking of about three different things, looked down at the dash, and didn't bother to notice a traffic stoppage until it was too late. Breaks squealed. There was smoke from burning rubber. I hit a car in front of me and then bumped into a truck in the lane next to me somehow. Honestly, the adrenaline took over after I saw my car closing in on the one in front of me and I'm not exactly sure what happened.
No one was hurt, thankfully. I guess I was able to slow down enough to prevent any injuries. My car was damanged though... and my pride.
I spent a lot of time over the weekend feeling embarassed, and feeling like the dumbest human being on earth. The feelings washed over me in great surging waves like aftershocks of an earthquake, at first. The size and frequency of those waves progressively decreased with time. I now have only an occasional twinge... when I think about how much worse it could have been or worry that there is some large consequence, injury, or expense out there, still undetected.
In other news, I used Turbo Tax to complete the Geek family taxes last night. Among the other taxes deductions presented to me, I found these:
- Crime Hotline Reward (In case I won that America's Most Wanted reward lottery or something?)
- Beverage Container Recycling Income (Ooooh... good thing that I didn't take those $200 worth of beer and soda containers down to the store for the nickel refund on each.)
- Sale of a debt instrument issued (at a discount) in 1985 or 1986 (Damn, mine was issued at at discount in 1987!)
- Cost-share payments relating to forest land (Note to self: talk to travel agent about the advantages of owning a forest on a time-share basis.)
- Compensation for false imprisonment (We all can't be like Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, now can we?)
- Ottoman Turkish Empire Settlement Payments (Ok, this one eludes me.)
Sadly, Mrs. Geek and I qualify for none of these this year. We are simply happy that there will be a significant refund this year.
said drgeek
on 2006-02-21 at 11:32 a.m.
|
The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
|