Ahh the Queen City

I moved to Charlotte, NC in April as soon as I got back from Verona, Italy. It's a great city with a lot to offer, including museums, concerts, great restaurants, boring jobs and car trouble. Less than a week after I moved here, Doug left for the World Championships in Manchester, England where he did great and even set a World Record in the 4x100 freestyle relay! I was so much fun to watch. Of course I had many an issue getting lost in the "big city," as each street changes names about five times along the way.

I threatened Doug a few times and he was sweet enough (and wise enough) to get me a GPS, I fondly refer to as Karen, for my birthday.

I started my new job, got Karen, and Doug had returned home all about the same time. We went out to dinner my third day on the job to celebrate nothing in particular, because that's what we do. With Doug driving, Karen, Simon & Garfunkel and I were happily poking down the road, and I was on the phone with my mom. A crazy lady ran a stop sign and mashed into my side of the car. I shrieked and the line went dead and my mom was left hanging. It was a long few minutes for her until she heard back from me again. We were all OK and were very very lucky.

In the meantime, we climbed out of the car, removed the car parts from the road and flagged down a police car nearby. The policeman wouldn't do anything as he is "concerned only with guns and drugs."

After an hour and a half later of sitting in front of "Maxx Tirez," or something to that effect, another policeman showed up, and we were cleaning out my car so it could be towed away. The officer questioned the witness and told her she can leave. We were so thankful for this witness, because crazy lady who hit us was trying to blame it on us, until the witness showed up. We waved her off and thanked her again.

Then we heard crunchcrunchcrunch and I just turned around and laid down on the pavement and couldn't say a word. The witness had run over the pile of stuff we have gotten from my car, such as my GPS, my IPod touch, my tennis racket, et al. Meanwhile crazy lady is saying "I really need to get home and go to bed. Can I just leave?" No. You may not, crazy lady.

Anyway, my car was totalled and I was blessed enough to get insurance money to buy a new one about three weeks ago!
It's cute and little and gets good gas mileage, which is a plus as I now commute to work.





Last week I was taking Doug to the airport to fly out for Olympic Trials before I went to work. Off to Dunkin Donuts we went. Doug, again driving, turns into a parking space and somehow flattens my tire. Great start. So I said let's hurry and swap out the cars before it gets worse and we will take your car. He went and left my car at his house while I waited with the food. My instructions: Do not park under the possessed tree that keeps dropping branches on cars.
After he parks my car under the branch he comes back and I take his car to work. I get to work and check my email and see "FYI" in the subject line from Doug's roommate...
"I just got home and there appears to be a pretty hefty branch that fell on KK's new car... If the damage is indeed minimal, it'd be pretty amazing, because it's a pretty solid branch that is like draped all over her car." PLUS a parking ticket.
Thank goodness it wasn't too bad, but I almost lost it and was going to move home that very second. Hopefully that's it for a while.

Things are great and these things are so small and insignificant in the big scheme of things, but I can't help to think my stroke of insignificant luck is coming to balance it out. I'm going to win the lottery.