"I dunno, she's got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps."

This morning, I said goodbye to an old friend. A friend who has seen me through four years, two accidents, many many laughs, a hike up to Boston, about 40,000 miles, a few shore trips and a tire blowout on the 42 freeway (read about it here, if you fancy).

Justina named her Adrian last year, after she was rear-ended by a drunk driver and pushed into a Ford Focus, causing her to look like an accordion rendering her undriveable for oh, about seven months due to an unfortunate (lack of) insurance situation. She sat at a body shop in Darby just waiting for me to get enough money to go pick her up. And, when I finally had the money, she wasn't ready. Oh, the bad decisions I've made. I definitely do not have the best luck with cars.

Back to my silver/grey girl. Last Tuesday morning, I decided to stay home from work as I wasn't feeling too hot. I ran out at about 10 am to get some Tylenol Cold and Sinus (aka the wonder drug) and McDonald's breakfast. While heading down Burmont back to my little nest, Adrian and I were hit by a white panel van who was trying to cross over Burmont. While the driver did stop, he essentially didn't obey the Stop Sign Rules as he proceeded through the intersection without checking to make sure it was clear.

My first thought - "thank God I have insurance." What a difference a year makes.

I called 911 (that is a lie. I called my boyfriend, H, first as he is a 911 dispatcher and then he instructed me to call 911. He wasn't working at the time. I guess it was just a reflex. I knew that he would tell me what to do. And calm me down.) and the police came. The driver of the van was very apologetic and nice. We exchanged information and insurance policies. H showed up and called a tow truck to come get the car. We went down to the body shop and got me into a rental car in no time. A week later, she was declared a total loss by the insurance company.

A total loss - this sounds so negative and sad. It is actually the opposite. I am getting reimbursed for the value of Adrian, which is way over what I owe on my loan.

A fortunate misfortune. Props, Jack.