fear the car door

I used to be an on-the-dot-on-time kind of person. Then I started living with Lauren. Or maybe it was when I moved to Nepal. Maybe it's just that I don't really want to sit in class. Whatever the case, I struggle to be on time recently.

Whenever I am late to class, Alexis starts to worry about me. Alexis is the coolest classmate I could ever have asked for, and we are practically inseparable. We always sit together, and whenever my seat is empty in the morning, she thinks of all the possible bad things that could have happened to me. Well, I guess today she had reason to worry.

This morning as I rode my bike to my 8 o'clock Orthopedics exam, I moved over closer to the edge of the road so the car behind me could pass. But as I kept riding at about 20 mph, a kind gentleman flung open his car door and at that exact same instant, before I could even think otherwise, I smashed right into it. It all happened so fast, I'm not quite sure what happened. But I do know that I found myself in a heap on top of my crumpled bike. I quickly got up, and the man asked if I needed to go to the ER. I said, "No, I have an exam." So he got back in his car and started calling his insurance and I don't know who else. So I stood there for a little while, wondering what exactly I was supposed to do. The car door was so demolished that he couldn't even shut it. As the shock started to wear off, or maybe it was just hitting, I began to shake uncontrollably. Thankfully, Nolan came riding by and noticed something wasn't right. He assured me it wasn't my fault, so then I went and told the guy again, "Hey, I have an exam I need to get to..." He gave me his number and told me to text mine. I got on my bike to continue on, but the chain fell off again, and my handle bars collapsed again, twisting to the side, leaving me completely unable to steer. Not to mention the front wheel now wobbled so badly I didn't even have to squeeze the brake to slow down. Nolan gave me his bike so I could get to my exam on time - ish.

I got to Centennial and went to the little unisex bathroom right by our classroom to wash the blood off my hand, and what did I find but that one of my classmates was sitting on the toilet - and HE had forgotten to lock the door! Sheesh, as if I wasn't traumatized enough already.

I managed to finish the test, although it took me 20 minutes to even read the first 5 questions. Afterwards, I decided to go back by the car and look at the damage again. What I found was a tow truck getting ready to haul it away. Well, take that, car.

I've got some scrapes and bruises, and even some complimentary whiplash. I was going to go for an end-of-the-quarter celebratory 60 mile bike ride tomorrow, but I think if I can even move in the morning, I'll call it a successful day. I'm just thankful I didn't hit my head.

Today Alexis' fears were realized I guess. She told me this evening that while she was wondering where I was, she thought, If Jenny died, I'd drop out of PT school. Thank goodness we don't have to worry about that just yet.

THANKSGIVING WREATH - MADE WITH LOVE AND A PAINSTAKING 2.5 HOURS OF WORK