Okay. I have found myself once again lacking in my blogging duties. So in no particular order (well, maybe in order of when it happened from earliest to most recent), here's what's happening with me. It's long. So read when you are either a.) bored as balls; b.) procrastinating; or c.) have absolutely nothing better to do.

THE JEEP ACCIDENT UPDATE:

So yes, I have begun the motions of contesting the claim. I'll explain further, keep reading.

I AM PERSONALLY INJURED
Turns out that when I went to my regularly scheduled Chiropractic appointment, the doctor was like, "Wait, whoa. You were in a car accident? Well, we need to run some tests before I adjust you, let's check everything out."

Turns out that my lower back is almost doubly worse than when I first walked into his office three weeks before the accident and that my neck, which is supposed to be slightly curved and in a straight line, is not curved much at the base and not in a straight line head on. Neat.

So he says to me, "You need to call the insurance company and start a personal injury claim. Your HMO won't let me throw all my tools at you to help you out, but the auto insurance will because it's stemming from the accident - you weren't this bad when you first walked in."

Indeed, I've been in my lumbar pain and upper back and neck stiffness in the past two weeks.

So now I get three massages a week to work on my sore muscles before my adjustment.

Rough, I know.

But I'm in so much pain, it's helping a lot.

RETAINING A LAWYER
My chiropractor then suggested an attorney for me to speak with. So I explain the whole thing, he asks a few questions and then says, "Well, I believe that we have enough to reverse the blame. In fact, I'm fairly sure you have a very very good shot."

Neat.

So I ask him how much this will set me back. He asks, "You got my name from your chiropractor, right? Are you injured?"

I explain the x-rays and my lower back and neck.

"Well," he answers, "I'm sure we'll get the blame off of you based on the pictures and from what happened that then we'll move to a personal injury claim. It's my hope that you won't have to worry about me once we settle."

I guess I'm suing someone. Yippie-kai-yay. I'm torn. But if it means that I might have a shot at paying off some debts or even part of my car, then I suppose I will give it a shot.

THE DAMAGE
Based on what they could see, the damage to my vehicle is over a cool $5,300. When they start tearing it apart, they might find more, along with extensive damage to the underside of the passenger side when I went over the boulder. They thought it would take two weeks to fix. It took a week and a half to get the parts. So I won't get the baby back anytime soon.

I HAVE PROOF
So besides working the accident out logistically in my head and remembering everything that happened, it turns out that I have proof. Not only is the Rascals owner providing me with the pictures he took that morning (he was utterly and speechlessly surprised that I was the one ticketed because he knew the guy hit me in the shoulder - ha!), but I took pictures with my trusty cellphone of the skid marks still visible in the shoulder. Take a quick look below. You can see where he hit me - where the tracks overlap. And they are clearly in the shoulder, not in the lane.


If you look really hard, you can see the skids. Keep looking.

WANNA KNOW WHAT'S FUNNY ABOUT BEING TICKETED IN THIS ACCIDENT?
Not too damn much. But we're talking about me here. I managed to find something bladder bustingly funny when I took a closer inspection of the ticket from the Trooper.

Turns out that I'm White! And a Hispanic Female!

Under Race, she checked "White." Under Ethnicity, she checked "Hispanic."

I suppose that one could make the argument that since I am a Filipina that because the Spanish invaded my country for 300 years, that might make me Hispanic. Hell, my last name before I took my step-fathers was Spanish. My great-grandmother used to speak primarily in Spanish?

Or you could just ask me. Because I understand. I get it a lot. Just don't make assumptions. It makes an ass out of you and

...umption.

Moving on.

SKETCHY McSKETCHERTON
So this dude that I hit. Not even his car. Registered to someone else. I don't know who it is. Can't even tell if it's a he or a she based on the name the Trooper supplied me with.

But he's totally Sketchy McSketcherton now.

Today - two weeks after the accident - almost at the exact time I filed the claim after the accident - I call the insurance company to make sure everything is kosher, I don't have to fill out anything, etc. Since they did such a bang-up job with my personal injury claim (that's a long story that doesn't need repeating). And she tells me that the dude-that-hit-me's insurance company closed his end of the claim.

I'm confused. She explains.

"Well, according to the file, he hasn't contacted the company since the accident and the insurance company can't get a hold of them. So they closed the claim."

Buhscuse me?

So I pull out my Accident Folder (I'm anal retentive) and relay all the information on him as I can. The Trooper supplied us both with each other's information. And apparently I'm the only one who has it, not even the insurance company.

So...

It somewhat makes me nervous, but not really. Because I am doing everything I'm supposed to. If - no - WHEN I get the fault in this accident overturned, the insurance company can go after their insurance company for all they've got. I refuse to pay more in my insurance because I GOT HIT. I refuse to get points added to my license because I GOT HIT. And hell, I'm not paying a deductible because I'M NOT AT FAULT.

So that is what's happening with my accident. Craziness.

FENG SHUI FOR THE COMPUTER WIDOW

So the last show of The Cardboard Box Collaborative's inaugural season came and went. And it was fun. It was not without its share of mishaps, but in the end, everyone who came to see it really enjoyed it. We got some KICK-ASS karaoke in and managed to go to the sauna unintentionally (the place had no air-conditioning). On top of it, we made new friends, got to eat sushi all the time, and learned some new things. And we laughed. Much. And often. And really, that's all that is necessary for a good experience.

I OFFICIALLY MISS NEW YORK

So after being kidnapped by Jessica a few weeks ago after the Coro Dinner, I came to the realization that I really am absolutely not done with the Big Apple yet.

See, I was worried that I might be. That I would never want to go back. But no worries, my New York friends that read this - if any of you do. Because I miss the city like I would miss my arm if it was cut-off from me. This much has become apparent to me - and more.

SHOWING THE GIRLS AROUND MY HOME
But let me explain the last time I was in NYC - just last week - with my coworkers.

So being a gracious host, I found it difficult to call everyone that I wanted to when I was in the City. For this, I apologize to anyone that I didn't get to see - and it was a many people. It was just so crazy and hectic - and in trying to make sure that my coworkers were having a good time - I just plum found it hard to connect with everyone I wanted to. I will change this though, since I plan to go up and only see the people that I haven't yet.

But anyway, I digress.

A month or so ago, my coworkers and I spent an unholy amount of money for these fantastic seats to the Yankees/Pittsburgh game. We're talking behind home plate. Yeah.

So Jackie wanted to get a hotel room. I decided that after spending that much money on the tickets that I should try to find someone willing to put up three people. I very soon decided against that - didn't want to overburden anyone with three bodies taking up space in their apartment. So I offered to use my Hilton Honor Points from Iowa and Seattle that I racked up.

So we booked a free hotel room the night before the game so that we could really enjoy ourselves. The hotel was SWEET. Embassy Suites in Battery Park, right across from the Irish Hunger Memorial. Amazing. And highly recommended for people who want to find a nice hotel in Manhattan.

HOTTER THAN BALLS UNDER THE STARS
A few days before leaving, I got an email from my good friend, Mai. Turns out she had VIP tickets to "Broadway Under the Stars." So I readily accepted.

We sat very close to the stage on a huge blanket, enjoying cheese and wine. Christina Applegate looked fantastic. We didn't know some of the songs (it was a tribute show with Broadway Men as the theme) but we had a good time anyway.

It was also ridiculously hot and humid and no breeze and thousands of New Yorkers. You know what I mean. We were sweating just sitting there. It might have been the wine. But it was hot.

In fact, during the first number, the lights went out. I thought something might be wrong. They were filming it for broadcast later in the week. The Rockettes kept dancing through the lights being out - we could see what they were doing. Afterwards, Christina was like, "Wasn't that great? Let's see that again!"

We all laughed.

And then she said, "No, seriously. As you can see, the lights have gone out, so we're going to need to redo that so that we can re-film. So hang tight."

So we did. We were all talking amongst ourselves. Christina was still on stage. Someone shouted, "Dance, Christina!" She shuffled a did a little step. Clearly, all of them on stage were laughing and having a good time. Someone in the crowd yelled, "Kelly Bundy!" She didn't seem to respond. Someone yelled, "I love you, Christina!" She replied, "I love you back" into the microphone.

I was rapidly searching my brain. See, I heart Christina Applegate because I heart "The Sweetest Thing." That movie cracks me up - and her especially. So I was trying to find a line that she said for me to shout out to her so that she would recognize a "Sweetest Thing" fan. I wanted to yell, "Look, it's Jesus!" but I was afraid I'd offend someone. Then I was about to yell, "What's up with you?" When the lights went back on.

So a few days later, I mention this to some friends who heart the movie and ask for things I should have shouted out. It took us a while. We had to find the right quote that wasn't too crazy or vulgar to yell. It was Narco who finally hit, "Do we have time for a movie montage?"

Damn. I should have thought of that. Oh well. I'll just have to see Sweet Charity and try it when she comes out of the stage door.

I FORGOT HOW NON-EXPENSIVE SOME PLACES IN NEW YORK ARE WHEN YOU'RE DRINKING
In my accident week, all I wanted was a drink. I didn't have one until after Broadway Under the Stars. We decided to go to a place close to Bryant Park with air conditioning. One of the former Coro's suggested a place his friends work at. So we went.

Three shots and four or five drinks later, I was ready to head back to the hotel with Jackie and Sarah. Needless to say, all of us were feeling just fine. We had enough sense to call the front desk for a late check out. And late check out we did.

We checked out at 1:30 in the afternoon, grabbed brunch at Lalo's and got stuck in traffic showing the girls around the town. We parked in a garage and headed to the 4 at 86th Street.

THE BRONX BOMBERS AND HAPPINESS
To cap the end to a very trying week, I was elated to go to the Yankees game. Especially with the seats we had. It was me and Jackie and Sarah and my good friend, Vivian (from my McCall days and just a big a Yankee fan as I am).

I think I almost cried when we came through the tunnel to get to our seats. It was amazing. We were in the VIP section where they served food to you. Sure, I spent an arm and a leg and had to wait until the 6th inning to get my food, but really, it was fantastic.

I won't say too much. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. This is how freaking close we were. We watched Mussina pitch a complete shut-out, Matsui hit a home run in the first inning, Giambi turn the jeers into cheers with a double hit, A-Rod warming up, Derek Jeter just being there, Sheffield's crazy waving bat, Robbie Cano stroke one to the outfield, Posada doing his thing, and Tino Martinez come into the game. Even Ruben Sierra made an appearance. It was AMAZING. I don't think that I can ever go to Yankees Stadium again. Because I'm going to want those seats everytime. Someday...


The view from our seats.


A-Rod warming up.


Taking the field.


Derek Jeter.


A-Rod on deck.


I heart you, Tino Martinez!


Finally, the girls. Me, Jackie, Sarah, and Vivian.

That is my update. I hope you've enjoyed it. Please keep coming back. I will be much better at this. At the least, I will try once a week. Cheers.