RIP, MGM

Totalling the Car
So yesterday was quite possibly one of the worst days of my life. Not only did I plan on working 12 hours (7-7), nor did I have to get up at 5:45 in the morning. Let me play the scenario for you. I was on my way to work, heading down 63 S on my way to Eddyville. I get to the top of the off ramp, within site of work, when I hit a big patch of slush. This is the most devil of off ramps. Not only is it on the inside of a curve of a road, but it is downhill the whole way. And there are no guardrails on the sides. Just a really, really steep hill. So anyway, I started to slide so I turned the wheel to compensate. I thought, "Oh no, this is not going to be good". Sure 'nough, it wasn't. I remember running down a bunch of those little reflectors, then I remember pointing UP the off ramp with the car still running. Alright, turn the car off so there is no chance of explosion. So I get out to survey the damage. I look at the driver's side, to find no damage. I'm thinking, "Alright, so maybe I can drive away from this". I look at the front, expecting the bumper to be destroyed, but there was just a little scratch from where I hit the reflectors. "Alright, I can handle this...". Then I looked at the passenger side. And those are the pictures you see below. It wasn't pretty. I first saw the shredded tire...that can be fixed. Moved on down and saw the small dent in the passenger side door. Alright, that's not bad either. Then I saw the busted window, 6" dent in the car, busted sliding door track, and missing hubcaps. Then I realized, this is going to suck. So, for about 3 hours, I was talking with the Iowa State Trooper (nice guy, only $200 damage for the roadsigns :( ), AAA, the towing guy, the dealer, and the insurance company. Meanwhile, I had about 4 people stop to see if I'm alright. 4 hours later, I was back at work.

Ended up working till 7:30, in pain the entire time. I don't know if it was from the accident, or from racquetball the night before. Racquetball never hurt this bad. What a way to start Ash Wednesday and Lent. Certainly feel much humbler than ever.

So today, the appraiser came and said to total it. Rest in peace, mean green machine (RIP, MGM). So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Awww, remembering the good times we shared in this car. 

Look at that face! I wish this didn't happen! 

Closeup of damage to the car. Ouch. 

Passerger side damage. Or should I say only damage. 

More ramblings...

Hypnotism
Guess what? The night of Winterfest (Jan 29th), I was hypnotized! I have seen shows before at school, but have never been hypnotized myself. It was really neat, though I don't remember much of the event. Apparently, I ended up dancing for the site manager's wife...without a shirt on. Yeah, I was happy my entry card worked come the next Monday. Anyway, pictures can be found at Gary Conrad's website. Check them out. That's me with the pizza hat on, almost kissing that girl. Don't worry, we got within an inch of each other and then fell asleep before kissing.

The ipod phenomenon
I really don't understand the ipod phenomenon. There are better players out there, IMHO. Take for example the Creative Zen Micro. It's black and it glows blue. It's about the same size as an iPod mini (its only a little thicker). And you don't have to worry about using iTunes (which is an alright program, a bit of a hog, but alright) to transfer files. Yeah, this little device is on my wish list.

The Facebook
This website is quite popular with the college kids, myself included. Some look at it as a stalking tool. I look at it as an experiment in social networking. Just by knowing 90 people, I am connected to >3100 by 4 connections. It's like that game, 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. It all depends how much information you put on the site. I mean, if you put your home address, phone number, and AIM name, people can hunt you down easily. Just be careful when adding friends.

My girl and I 

Gary broke a tile with his head! 

The guys with our intern shirts on at Winterfest 

Super Cargill Man! 

Hey good looking, nice jacket. 

Me sporting my Cargill uniform 

First Post...and introduction

Woo! I get first post! Though, since it's my own blog, that's no big deal.

So, I finally joined the 21st century and started my own blog. This will function as some form of diary, something everyone can see. I can't guarantee the cohesiveness of the information contained herein, but if you want to read it, be my guest.

Speaking of be my guest...did you know that Jerry Orbach, may he rest in peace, was Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast? And he was my favorite character in my favorite TV show, Law & Order.

Wow, I have a lot of random thoughts...here's a little about some random things I like:

TV Show: Law & Order (SVU got me hooked, vanilia L&O keeps me coming back)
Cartoon: Sonic the Hedgehog, Reboot
IM Client: Trillian PRO
# Of Monitors: 2
Browser: Firefox (yeah, I'm a geek)
There's more...just gotta post when the come to me.

Keep looking here for pictures from Iowa!