My tailbone hurts

Why? Because of Hobbes. Also known as L.B. (Little Bastard).

That damn cat loves to run ahead of me whenever he sees me moving about the appartment. The effect of such blatant and utter stupidity is that he frequently gets stepped on. He doesn't like it, and screams every time, but somehow doesn't learn from these experiences (and I know he's able to learn, since he knows how to use the toilet).

Today, it was not enough to get stepped on and scream loudly. No, what did he do but run under my other foot to get a two-for-one deal.

The result? Well, think about it a moment. What is the normal reaction when one steps on a cat? Yes, exactly: you very quickly lift said foot up and correct your course. Now, what happens if the cat runs under your other foot in mid stride? Yeessss... you now have both feet off the ground, at the same time.

So, what happened to my tailbone? In a nutshell, I fell on my ass.

I am going to kick his very, very soon....

What's that now?

One of the many questions I was asked yesterday morning at Discovery was whether or not I have experienced increased frustration and decreased attention span/ concentration as a result of the accident. Let us take today as an example, shall we?

I had planned a few things to do today, not too many, as I am, after all, on summer break. I would spend the late morning/early afternoon at school finishing up the tidying of my classroom so as to put it out of my mind until the end of the summer. On my way, I would stop at various banks to make payments on my student loans, and grab a sandwich for lunch at the Safeway on the corner.

Yet here I am, seated at my computer at home, at 12:29 pm. What happened, you ask?

Fist, I slept in. When I finally did get up, I started the coffee, brushed my teeth, etc, and sat down to check my email while waiting for that lovely smell of hazelnut bean to fill the appartment.

It was an hour before my rumbling stomach reminded me about breakfast and my now cold coffee. Time? 11:42 am. I ran to get dressed, grabbed a bar for the road, and set off to the bank. Having parked the car, closed the windows, put the club on the wheel, I realized with irritation that I had left the folder with the necessary banking information on my entrance table by the door at home.

What to do, what to do? The school closes at 2pm during the summer, the janitorial staff not needing to work in afternoon/night shifts when the children are out. Do I postpone the banking, and pay another day's interest, just to go to school for an hour or so? Or do I forget the mess, and go home to get the banking done?

Option B making the most sense, that's where I am now. A blog is a useful place to vent frustration and reorganize the fuzzballs that seem to be floating around my brain!

Now, what was I going to do today?

Eureka, Discovery?

This morning (10am), I went to Discovery, for the car accident that happened two years ago. A friend of mine who has gone through the whole process found it very stressful. An ICBC lawyer sits there and grills you while a court reporter takes down your every word on her funny little machine... even the "uhhhh"s! But I found the experience almost anticlimatic. The lawyer was evidently a very very junior one. She was very nice (the first clue!) and, while organized, didn't look like she really knew the material she was covering.

... and she asked the stupidest questions! She was listening to what I was saying, as her notes will testify, and yet I am sure she wasn't really listening (or thinking for that matter). For instance:

Lawyer: According to your report, you complained about dizzy spells and blurred vision. Is that correct?
Gen: Yes.
Lawyer: Did you discuss these symptoms with your doctor?
Gen: Yes, along with the other problems I already mentioned.
Lawyer: Ah yes, can you describe your dizzy spells?
Gen: I was dizzy.
Lawyer: Ok, and you also experienced blurred vision, is that correct?
Gen: Yes, occasionally.
Lawyer: Please describe your blurred vision for me.
Gen: Things were blurry.

I almost laughed at times, it was too funny. It seems my lawyer also had trouble keeping a straight face, and I am sure I got a couple of twinkles from the court reporter when I glanced her way.

Of course, before you begin, you have to swear to tell the truth with your right hand on a Bible; one that is fairly old, but evidently never opened... until today, that is: my lawyer finally got so bored with the repetitive series of questions that he started reading it while he waited for her to progress to the next important parts!

The ICBC lawyer really didn't seem too sure of what direction to take, other than reading off the pages and pages of questions from her script. At one point, she started to inquire about my student loans, wanting to know how much I owe, if the payments are made monthly, if they are regular (Are you regular? hee hee hee!). My lawyer looked up from the Bible to ask "I'm sorry, why is that relevant?" She didn't seem to know what to say, she just looked at him and paused, so he continued "That's ok, I'll make it easy for you. It's NOT relevant. So I'll just instruct my client not to answer, and we can move along." He told me later that while he wanted to make her work a little, he took pity and decided not to be mean!

By about 1:30pm she started to run out of ideas (or her script came to and end?) and didn't quite know what to do about it. "Uhhhhm, I don't think I have enough here to go until 4:30......" (why until 4:30?)

Since we hadn't breaked for lunch yet, the court secretary seemed a little worried! But my lawyer quickly said "Well I have to get back to my office this afternoon, and my client doesn't want to stay here all day either, so why don't we just wrap it up?"

And, just like that, it was over. Three hours of mindless questions and silly repetitions. I will have to get a copy of the transcript, as there were several parts where it was very difficult not to grin!