Monday, June 13, 2011

How to ruin a perfectly normal Monday

Today seemed like any other Monday...well, sort of. 

I attended a staff breakfast for a lovely lady who is leaving our school for bigger and better adventures.
I went to a BT (Beginning Teacher) celebration, where several veteran teachers put on a talent show of sorts.
I ate a yummy salmon/avocado/egg salad with LOADS of spinach and 2 whole carrots. Crunchy and delicious.
I spent a few hours sorting through old papers and shredding outdated IEPS. 
I drove from school to tutoring...
and that's when trouble struck. 

I was driving on the highway, going between 65 and 70 mph, and all of a sudden I started hearing and feeling this wobbly, bumping action. My car had been a little wobbly for the past few days, but Ben and I both thought that my tires just needed to be balanced, so I was planning to get that taken care of on Wednesday, after my last day of school. WELL, turns out that was not the problem...apparently the tread of my tire was separating from the tire, which was creating a loud, bumping sound as I drove...and that tread eventually separated enough for my tire to fall apart as I drove down the highway! 
*cry*
I always see shreds of tire on the sides of the highway as I drive to and from work every day, but never in a million years thought that my tire would be the cause of such debris. Not only did the tire rip apart and go flat, but it flew off because of my high speed, and ripped apart the back quarter panel, as well as my right tail light cover, and my rear passenger door weather strip! There's also quite a bit of paint scratched along the side of the car. 
hey tempy-tire. 
We filed a claim with our insurance, and now I'm waiting to hear back from my insurance company to give me further directions about a body shop to take my car to. Our deductible is high, but at least it will cover all the damage.
I'm so disappointed in myself, though. I know I should have gotten those tires balanced earlier, and then hopefully a tire person (what IS their official title?) would have realized that the tire was bad, and I could have easily put the spare tire on to get home, where I have an extra full-sized tire in the garage. UGH! Hindsight. 

I had to miss tutoring, and was escorted most of the way home by a very friendly AAA tow-truck driver.  Yes, I called AAA to change my tire....because no, I couldn't have changed it by myself. I do think I could have remembered (I learned at the age 16, but haven't used the skill), had I been at home, in a parking lot, or on a side street with someone to talk me through it on the phone. But on a busy highway with cars, trucks, and semis whizzing by me at 70+ mph, I chose to call AAA for my safety and peace of mind.  The man that came to help was amazingly friendly and helpful, and he followed me (with hazard lights on) up to my highway exit, and offered to follow me all the way home, but thankfully my car felt fine once I had that bad tire off it! 

After a harrowing and frustrating afternoon, I wanted to make an easy dinner and de-stress on the couch. 

Hi Ma. I can tell you had a bad day, so I'll sit REAL close.
spagetti and meat "balls"...which turned into meat sauce. 
yum. spaghetti and spinach meat sauce!
my favorite coffee cup, full of ice water.  no wine tonight.
Next obstacle:  how to get to school tomorrow! I have secured a ride TO school, but need to find a ride home. Seems easy, but I live 30 minutes from school, and most of my co-workers live in the town that we teach in. 
Off to make some phone calls! 

5 comments:

  1. woh woh, hot mess express. hope tomorrow is better!

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  2. Oh man! I would have called AAA too. Even though I KNOW how to do it, I don't think I trust the skill enough. I am amazed at how much damage it did! Here's to a better Tuesday

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  3. Service Technician?
    BUMMER! Hope you get it fixed soon. At least it was just car damage and not Amy-damage...could have been worse.
    Hope you are enjoying your summer now!

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  4. ANONYMOUS WAS ME, Liz! It wouldn't let me leave the comment with my Google account for some reason :-/
    Liz Halloran

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  5. OH NO!!! that suckkksss! I would probably break my car if I tried to change my tire. ONCE I was driving home from college I was still 40 minutes away, I got a flat in the rain and my dad had to drive ALL THE WAY to me to change it because I was so upset.. HAHA ridiculous!

    Glad your ok and your car didnt go TO crazy on you!
    Love close up kitty!

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