Saturday (Where Mark Saves the Day - SEVERAL Times)

So we had this Relief Society meeting after church planned for Sunday so we could do a little extra training for all the girls who have callings in the RS. On Sat I was supposed to go to Costco with one of the councilors so we could get some little sandwiches and stuff  (we have church from 2-5 so by the end we are all a little hungry). Anyway, I text the girl I was supposed to go with around 3:30 to see if we are still on. She calls me at 4:30 and is like "I kinda forgot and I am in NE Portland - but I can be at your house by 5:30." Well I really didn't think that with Costco closing at 6 on Saturdays we would have time so I told her I had another person who I thought would take me and not to worry. So I ask my friend Mark if he is busy and he says no and I ask if he would go with me and he says sure. (Mark saves the day #1).

By then it is about 5 so we decide to just meet at the Costco over on 158th in Beaverton. We get there and get the stuff and as we are over in the deli area he sees the Rotisserie chickens and suggests that we got one and call Jasmine and do dinner. I agree, we get a hold of Jasmine and decide to go ahead with things - Jasmine has gotten off work and will meet us at Mark's place. We then look around for potato salad and can't find any (I don't go to Costco often and he really doesn't either) so we call Jasmine and see if she can pick some up at a different store. She is a bit annoyed because she will have to backtrack a bit, but says okay. We pay and leave. I take forever to get out of the parking lot and so Mark is ahead of me by quite a bit. I am driving north on 158th and there is a guy who is headed south on 158th, turning left onto Walker road. I have a green light and he has a yellow flasher and I guess for some reason he doesn't see me or he thinks I am turning or something and decides he has enough time to go - but he does not. I see it coming and try to swerve and I hit the brakes and he cuts the corner more than he normally would, but neither thing really helps at all and I pretty much t-bone the crap out of him. He then continues on and side-swipes a van that is waiting at the light on Walker. My airbag deploys and there is smoke/crappy stuff everywhere. I am all discombobulated and in the middle of the intersection and I can't breathe so I turn on my flashers (I am so responsible) and get out of the car. A couple in a van pull over and ask if I need them to call 911 but it looks like the guy who was driving the other vehicle (a Honda Fit) is on the phone with the police already so I say I think we are okay and tell them thanks. I kinda get my bearings and start to think that 'oh my gosh - did I just run a red and hit that guy?' and I don't think that's what happened but I go over to the Fit and ask if they are okay. The guys says that one of the kids seems pretty hurt and I think he hit a pedestrian or something and I realize that no one can go anywhere because I am in the middle of the freaking road. I go back to my car (which was still running by the way - albeit leaking fluid all over the place). I get in, roll the window down (still can't breathe from the airbag) and then pull the thing off to the side of the road. It has a hard time turning but I am thinking it was because the fender is rubbing against the tire. Anyway, I get out and go back over to the guy on the phone and I hear him say that he had 2 15 year-old passengers with him and think "oh good, he didn't hit pedestrians". They seem okay - one has a bloody nose and the other is complaining about his hip but he didn't look broken or anything so I decide I should call Mark and let him know what happened so he isn't shocked when I  don't get to his place. I call him and say "I got in a bit of a wreck". At this point I am on the verge of tears but kinda holding it in. He says "do you need me to come back?" I (being kinda dumb and not wanting to freak him out) say "you can if you want, but you don't have to" (how I thought I would go anywhere is beyond me!) He says "yeah, I think I will come back" so I tell him where it was and we hang up. (Mark saves the day #2)

I then call Jasmine so I can tell her the sitch so she isn't sitting waiting for us. I say "I hit someone" and she says "A person?" and I go "no, a car." I guess that is a bit of a confusing statement. Anyway, I told her I called Mark and he is coming back and she says "he needs to come get me first because my car won't start." And I am like "What? Where are you?" and she says Safeway, but then Mark is calling her so we hang up and she can talk to him. (Mark saves the day #3)

Next the couple who pulled over in the first place are back and I am a bit confused. They come up to me and say that they saw the whole thing and wanted to come back and make sure that I had their name and number and all that. They said I definitely had the green and it wasn't my fault. I say thanks so much and do they mind waiting while I go get a pen and paper to write their info down. They say sure and come to my car with me. I am rummaging around in my purse and I start kinda sobbing for about 10 seconds (I kinda cried when I was on the phone with Mark and again with Jas, but not really) and the old man puts his hand kinda awkward on my shoulder and says "there there, that's why they are called accidents. It's okay" I apologize for blubbering and then I stop doing so and finish finding the pen and paper. He writes down their info and I repeat it back to them so that I can make sure I can read it. As I am talking to them the fire truck shows up and they check out the kids and start cleaning the street. Also the police show up and an officer comes over towards us. I am rummaging again for my insurance card and license and the couple approach him and say that they saw it all and tell him what happened. He asks them to write their info down officially on this paper thing and they say sure and he ushers them over to his car and tells me he will be back for my license, insurance, registration in a few.

Anyway, I grabbed the things I need and I head back towards the firetruck. They give me a paper to fill out all my info (but they give me nothing hard to write on) and I kneel on the ground and start writing it all down. The police take my cards and stuff and put all the info in their computer or whatever. I mention that my hand hurts like the dickens to the fire guys and he looks at it and tells me it doesn't look too bad but I should go get it checked out somewhere anyway. The police gives me my cards back and I hear them asking the other guy if he needs a tow. I quickly say I need one because my fluid is leaking all over the place and I can't really turn and the police kinda looks confused because he hadn't really looked at my car and didn't think it was bad. He goes and checks it out and decides I am right and calls for the tow. I finish my paperwork and give it to them and they go and start to put it in their computer or whatever. The mother of one of the 15 year old boys shows up and I ask if he is okay. At first she didn't realize who I was but just says "yeah, he's fine, just a bit shaken. It is just so scary you know?" and then I am like "yeah, I know, I am the person who hit them" and she just says "oh! are you okay?" and I assure her I am. She was so sweet. I sobbed a few times then as well just looking at the stupid Fit sitting right in front of us all crinkly and crunchy. The firemen and police officers are impressed with how well it held up. I see Jasmine and Mark kitty-corner to where I am standing and wave across to them - they are waiting for the walk signal so they can come over. From their side they can just see the Honda Fit (which looks fine on that side) and the van that was side-swiped and my car (which also looks fine from there) and a suburban and they don't really realize how bad it is (by this point I think the firetruck was gone).

Anyway, they get over to our side and see the Fit and are like "oh ... it is worse than we thought" and I kinda re-hash things for them. I try to take a pic of the Fit with my phone but it is a pos so doesn't work so well. Mark lends his phone because it has a flash. I take a few good ones and then I think about taking pics of my car and the tow guy shows up and says it will be safer to take the pics of my car once we get to the lot since then we won't be in the road. We get it all hooked up and get over there and I took pics of my car too (which doesn't look terrible, but so much fluid came out - good thing I parked it right over a drain on the side of the road). Then we went to eat since we were all starving. After the eating and then sitting around for while to kinda give me a chance to calm down (oh and I called my mom when we were on the way from the site to the place they took the car so don't worry, I didn't neglect her).

Then we had to go and figure out Jasmine's car at the Safeway. We got there and she tried it and it started right up, so we just assume it was low on gas. We get gas and it wasn't super low so Mark follows her home to make sure she gets there, and because Mark wants to check the oil pan since her car has been leaking lots of oil lately. We get there and he messes around with things a bit. Car starts fine in the garage and he thinks it might be a battery problem (which has happened in that car before) and wants to clean the posts but swe are all tired and she says she will do it in the am. So Jasmine decides to back it up and put fresh cardboard under it so we can better see whats dripping, and Mark is going to take me home, so we start to back up and she goes to start it again and it doesn't start. So then Mark is really convinced it is the battery and she still says she will find the cleany thing in the morning. The car still didn't start the next day and Mark ended up picking her up and taking her to work in the morning. (Mark saves the day #4 - except it is a new day I guess so he saves the next day #1? I don't know)

That is the story of my crazy Saturday. I am going to post pics here from the accident site. I am only putting up a couple but I have more. I took the ones of my car while it was still up on the tow truck so that's what the straps and stuff are.

 

The real kicker is that it hasn't even been a whole year since I got rear-ended. That time wasn't my fault either. But that time it took them a long freaking time to fix my car!Of course I now know that they have to total the darn thing out and I really will have nothing to show for it. I will let you know more details once I get things a bit more straightened out, but for now I am going to bed.