I wrecked my car today. Oops. I’m fine, though the car is not.

I was on my way to work and I rear-ended a pickup truck in front of me. We were in a long line of cars at a light, and as I went to apply the brake, I hit the accelerator. The front of my car was immediately smashed in and it started smoking as I pulled into the adjacent turn lane. The pickup’s bumper was dented a bit but otherwise fine. We exchanged information, and I was on the phone with A (it’s her car) while the other guy was calling State Farm - fortunately we both have the same insurance, at least.

The police came to take a report, and apparently the county requires them to issue a ticket to somebody. So the officer gave me a $30 ticket for “failure to maintain control of a vehicle” which comes with a $57 processing fee. The tow truck he called brought me to a nearby impound lot, and A arrived to get me a couple of hours later. We don’t know what the car’s fate will be - whether it’s truly totaled, or worth repairing - so I took everything off the car. That included the roof rack (though not the feet, which are vehicle-specific anyway), antenna ball, license plate frame, and the entire contents (including the buttons on the interior roof). A took me to my favorite vegan restaurant for lunch, and then we came home and took a nap. To say I had a rough morning is putting it mildly.

Like I said, I’m physically fine. The airbags didn’t deploy, I wasn’t hurt at all. Tomorrow I’m going to borrow A’s car to get to work, and she’s going to borrow her mom’s car because her mom doesn’t need to go anywhere tomorrow. For Wednesday through Friday I have already set up a reservation through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which is the first time I’ve rented a car. That’s pretty much all there is to tell.

I’m in a Star Trek novel called Last Full Measure! How did it happen? Read on!
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More than four years ago, I tried out for Jeopardy. I didn’t pass the written test, so I was sent home. Then earlier this year, they held an online test and I did pass that, so I got called in for a second audition. It happened yesterday morning, and there was another written test - but they didn’t tell us if we passed! Instead we all got to play the mock game, at which I did okay. I think my “It’s Academic” experience taught me not to be afraid of the buzzer - any nervousness was just a matter of if I knew the answers at all, rather than if I could hit the buzzer in time. Anyway, I have no idea how I did at all. They say they will consider everyone based on their test score, their stage presence, their looks (I’m assuming that based on the Polaroid picture they took of everyone), etc. So for all I know, they just did away with the embarrassing “didn’t pass the test” part, and let everybody play the mock game, even if we don’t have a chance at getting on the show. But I am theoretically in their active contestant file for the next 18 months, so I suppose I could still get called at any time.

Today we are going to Charlottesville for some geocaching - it’s such a nice day, and we wanted somewhere interesting to go that would also have geocaches, so I picked there because there are several caches around UVA.