Making adjustments. This and that.

Inside Essex County Hall in Chelmsford

It's been almost 2 weeks since my car accident. From what I hear, the car may be a total loss. I feel so bad about the car. I only had it 25 days. This has got to be a low point in the adventure so far. I must say that if anyone had asked how I might be involved in a car accident, I would have imagined it would have been on a roundabout. But no. This was just a crazy big intersection in Chelmsford.

I am still sore. It's my ribs in my upper chest. The knee is pretty much better, and I did end up with a bruise or two more than I thought I would. The aftermath of the accident includes some anxiety about driving. I wish that would hurry up and disappear! I have been driving and mostly it's ok, but every now and then a car will approach me from the side and my heart skips a beat.

I decided to stay behind from the little trip this weekend with friends who are going ahead to Bath. They are already there. I am content to lay low this weekend. I need peace and relaxation. I'll save up my need for excitement for my trip in 12 days to Amsterdam and Paris - with no driving!! We're flying to Amsterdam because its about 1/10 the price of the train ticket. Then all the other legs of the trip are by train. So much fun! We're going to the Louvre, the Van Gogh Museum, Torch Gallery (where Justin has had a show) and the Jordaan area around the canals in Amsterdam. And what trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a walk down the red light district!!

The next time I plan a trip, it will be to one destination rather than several. That would be much easier to plan. Live and learn!

Work. I have found one thing I can change that makes work so much easier to manage. Working out of the office. When there is a great deal of paperwork to be done, I need to focus. I can borrow a laptop and do it at home. I did buy a laptop of my own to use for work, but it's not happening. To interface with the system at work, I need Windows XP and the laptop came with windows 7. Too bad they didn't mention that to me when I asked them about specs BEFORE I bought a laptop.

I have now been vegetarian for 6 weeks. Actually, I am a picsetarian, or aquatarian as a friend calls it. That means I eat fish. I am thoroughly enjoying it, including cooking. Today I have a simmering pot of beans, peas and vegetables on the stove. It smells lovely - and I haven't added all the veggies yet. It's that magic combination of garlic, onion and celery that is so aromatic.

On my way back from a meeting at a school and a home visit some 25+ miles away yesterday, I drove through the intersection where my accident happened. I dreaded it! It didn't look so horrible coming from the opposite direction. I still can't understand how it happened. Oh well! Trying not to dwell on it.

I would post the picture I took of my car from inside the ambulance, but I don't really want to look at it just yet. Darn those solicitors! They keep asking me over and over for info about how the accident happened, what was the weather like, draw a picture - where you were driving, where the other driver was...AHHHH!!!! I am trying NOT to think about it and they all want me to recount it over and over and over!!

I don't know what is going to happen in terms of a car. I suppose there will be another one assigned to me, a lease car. I 'm not sure I want one like the one that was damaged.

I had an interesting learning experience in Sainsbury's this week. I am taking ibuprofen for the pain from the accident. It's hard to find any OTC medications in large quantities here. Mostly they are in little boxes in blister packs with 16 or so tablets. At Sainsbury's, a box was 20 pence, so I picked up 5 boxes. When cashing out, the clerk said I couldn't buy that many, I would have to go to the pharmacy to get approval for that many. I asked why that was. She told me it was so people could not easily buy enough to overdose on. Apparently, it's the law. What a surprise! So I went to the pharmacy, and they offered to sell me a box of 96 tablets without any prob elm at all. No questions asked. Strange. Similarly, potato chips, or crisps, and other similar junk food, come in sacks with 6 mini packets in them rather than one large bag. Trust me, this is something I noticed right away, being a big fan of potato chips. I suppose that is to help you do portion control. How's that? In some ways I like it. But it is different. If it is meant to provide portion control, I have, brilliantly, discovered a way around it. Eat more than one packet!! LOL!

More interesting things. Post Offices are inside of stores, not buildings that are just Post Offices. You can also do your banking at Post Offices, or buy insurance, get your currency changed, pay your taxes and so on. Very handy.

Have I mentioned how polite the people are here? Especially business people. When you are purchasing something, the clerk rings it up and tells you the amount. When you hand them the money, they always respond with "thank you". You are thanked before the transaction is even completed. Very nice. I'm not always sure how to respond though. I guess "you're welcome" is appropriate. It is different.

Have I mentioned what a wonderful thing Skype is? How it makes me feel like my family is close at hand? My daughter and I have a video chat almost everyday. My sister and my son skype with me a bit less frequently. It's amazing! I get to see what they are doing, watch the dogs playing, see their faces and so on. It's such a comfort. And you can't beat the cost! (it's free).

Thanks for reading. It feels a bit jumbled, but that's a good reflection of how I am today. I am sure it will all get organized again, given a bit more time.