So the rest. Class was good--Bina and Kokko were awesome. I especially appreciated the case study practice. It's anathema to me to not read a question carefully from top to bottom, but with these that's the worst thing you can do--you're guaranteeing you'll fuck your shit up. Some questions I didn't even read--I could eliminate 3 choices with tongue and pulse alone. I couldn't believe I was about 92% right in the end. So, some more confidence that I sorely need right now.
I found my way to Monterey, and met my dad and Sharon at the same place they took us for dinner last year. We were even at the same table. No, I didn't order the same dish. I'm not that boring and predictable. It turns out that their rental broke a pipe or something the day they were supposed to arrive so the rental company put them up in the most ridiculous house off 17 Mile Drive for a week gratis. 4 bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms, not much living space, but a back deck to die for that looked out over the steeply dropping and forested hill toward the ocean. Definitely less worse than the hostel. We spent Monday messing about at Point Lobos, where I learned that whales have really, really big vertebrae and if you were to plow up the land around the whaling cabin you'd dig up all kinds of cool artifacts. There was eve a coal-mining operation for a brief time. Who knew?
The next morning I hit the road early, got to SLO in time to study for a bit and have a coffee before meeting a friend for lunch. Almost home, or so I thought. I got on the freeway innocently enough, I checked my rearview and blindspot to change lanes, when suddenly the girl in front of me lost control and was swerving all over the place. It happened in about a second or maybe two, I really didn't have anywhere to go but straight into her passenger side as she slid around. Neither of us was hurt, but oh, poor Lars is gone! Hemorrhaging antifreeze, not drivable at all. Apparently there was a delivery truck in the #1 lane that started to veer into her and she cut right to get out of his way. He didn't stop, but presently a guy pulled over and said he had seen everything and gave us a plate number. We hugged him. Then the CHP arrived, took statements, we called insurance, and all that rot. They asked me where I wanted to have Lars towed. I told them I was 200 miles from home and I had no idea. The tow guy was really nice and said he could hold the car for 24 hours at the yard with no storage fee for me. I had an inkling that I may never see Lars again so I had to get all my stuff out, and the girl offered to drive me back into town so I could try and get my shit together at my friend's office.
Which took hours. And I was hot and tired and cranky and hungry and I ended up having to spend a night at a hotel because all the rentals cars were "sold" for that day. Argh. I must have looked pathetic with my little hobo pile of luggage, books, maps, acupuncture travel kit, emergency car tools, etc. My friend had plans with his girlfriend (did I mention it was his birthday the next day?) but was kind enough to send a friend of his who I had met once out to meet me and entertain me and generally keep me company while I had dinner and a few beers. And a scotch at this lovely and quiet bar we stopped in on the way back to my hotel. After chiding me for keeping him out late on a school night and making sure I got in ok he rode home and I swallowed a handful of Ping Wei tablets and went to sleep.
The next morning I picked up my rental, headed over to the tow yard to take pictures and sign over the papers (it's totaled for sure and I'm not paying $2500 to tow it home or storage to figure out what to do with it even if it won't be). It made me sad. I love that car, and I wasn't ready to say good-bye, and I'm definitely not happy about having to figure out how to affect a replacement all of a sudden with everything else that's happening. So it goes, I guess. Lawyer Mark is going to help me put my claim to the girl's insurance together, and he thinks it should be pretty open/shut as far as getting it paid. I sent away for the CHP report on Friday, we'll see if it turns up anything on the plate search.
On the other hand, I got my nationals go-ahead to test, ortho is more than half over, my Jetboil and new GoLite bag came yesterday, and I got the contact info for Dr. Jeff Spencer, (yeah, that Dr. Jeff Spencer) from Dr. Lerner this weekend, and my classmate Mikel was offered a job at both the ortho group and pain clinic where he observed this month (they basically told him, "Where have you been all our lives?!") which made me happy because I like Mikel and hopeful because Dr. Lerner says it happens a lot, if we acupunks would just come out of our shells and connect with other docs already.
So, maybe things are looking up. And these really are some of the cutest things I've seen in a while...
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