monkey nonsense

i got into my first car accident a few weeks ago.

it was on the on ramp for route 50 (not a highway, but one of those divided roads that get pretty busy). there was a huge gap and the car in front of me seemingly went. so i started to accelerate and when i glanced again in front of me, i noticed the car didn’t go! it had basically inched to the end of the ramp and decided not to go. i slammed on my brakes, but not in time.

here’s the resulting damage to her car and mine:

why is my damage so severe?? because of this…

i hate hitches!!!!!

so they estimated my damages initially to be $4300… but then when i called the garage to check up on the progress, they informed me that the engine lost compression in 2 cylinders and the car is basically totaled!!!

i had to go clean out my car this past friday… i took more pictures of it. i sat in it one last time. i felt like i let down my car. it was my first purchase out of college. i financed the whole thing. i just got the title saying i owned it outright. it was stamped june 12th.

after they removed the damaged bumper to look inside

after removing the license plate

73895 miles… so many miles still left

maryland has a special license plate for farms.

i just stumbled upon a website that documents gaithersburg md then and now… it’s a very interesting site. it’s cool to see how buildings were preserved… but then also crazy to see how things have changed so drastically! i especially liked seeing the area around my parents’ house… i remember when muddy branch & darnestown road was that small!

take a look yourself! http://www.shauncurtis.com/photos.html

what i find really sad is the link they have for belward farm… belward farm is the land across the street from my parents’ neighborhood. it’s been farm land ever since we’ve lived there. while all the other farms sold and became housing, belward farm reminds just land… the website gives background on how the farm was able to remain intact! unfortunately, it also linked to a website that proposes new development on belward farm. that is not cool!! http://sites.google.com/site/gnprcoalition/gnprc-fact-sheet-1

i hate when you go out to eat as a group and it comes time to pay for the bill. i hate math. i hate division particularly. division and subtraction… i hate having to borrow from the tens or having to remember the remainder… it’s so much easier to just carry the one! multiplication and addition… so much cooler!!

sorry, got off topic. anyways… it’s a pet peeve of mine when people round drastically in their favor. for example, the per person cost ends up being like $20.75… and they pay $20. i mean, yes… you’re only really shorting $0.75 but if EVERYONE does this and say the party has like 10 people? that’s $7.50 right there! and people wonder why the bill never adds up at the end!

but i also have another pet peeve regarding the flipside… overpaying. i don’t like it when someone (doesn’t have to be me) always ends up having to overpay because it’s not fair to them. everyone’s on a budget so when someone covers someone else’s portion, i feel like… don’t do that! someone else should be paying their share, not you paying more than your share!!

so because of both my pet peeves… i had a bbq at my place and because it was so last minute, we decided buying stuff and everyone splitting it would be easier. so the cost of the bbq ended up being $3.81 a person… that’s such a weird number! do you actually collect that exact amount? how do you round that value? if i round up, i feel like i’m scamming those suckers!

what do you guys think of some of the govt incentives right now? incentives like a $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers or the cash for clunkers program. do you think in the long run, it’s helpful? or do you think it’s a waste of money?

i’m not sure how i feel about these things. because i’m wondering how the govt continues to have enough funding for all these things. and i wonder the long term benefits of these plans, particularly the cash for clunkers program. it’s great for the environment and it’s stimulating the car industry but isn’t everyone just buying japanese? how does that help?

on the flip side, i’m benefiting from the $8000 tax credit this year. and my mom is attempting to get a new car with her clunker (it’s currently broken outside a honda dealership… i’m not sure if they’ll take it since the clunker needs to be running) so it’s at least stimulated both my mom and me to make purchases! but then again, my mom would’ve been in the market in the first place if her car really did die and i’ve been looking for houses for the past 3 years… so…