I was stopped in traffic on the 134, the car behind me came to a full stop. The car behind him? Just sailed right into him (after a long screech of brakes, and several horns blaring), causing him to crash into me.

There's no big damage, just a deep scratch where his license plate dug into my bumper. My airbag didn't even deploy. It was just LOUD.

I feel bad for the older dude who was behind me. He had a heavy russian accent, was rifling through a glove box filled with papers before calling his wife to get the insurance info. He asked me, "what do I do?"

I said, "you take our insurance cards. when you get home, call your insurance company, and they'll take care of it."

"That's it?"

"That's what you pay them for."

The dude who caused the mess was scared and just kept saying, "let's deal with this peacefully, okay?"

And me and russian dude were all, "whatever, we wanna go home."

And then I was weirdly shaky, so I went to the liquor store and bought some rum to put in my coke, which is gross and reminds me why I don't drink, but I feel less shaky and scared.

Yoiks, Allyson! Glad you and the car are okay, but that shit is always so stressful.

couldn't eat steak because the fat was gross and the chewy muscly-ness was disgusting.

I just grilled myself a dry-aged steak and relished all the crispy yummy fat and chewy muscly-ness. Kat says I'm a little atavistic in my eating habits.

The only fresh veggie in my house was a yellow bell pepper, so I grilled and ate that, too. Yum.

Yikes Allyson! I'm glad you are okay.

eek Allyson! I'm glad you and the car are okay, but yikes! still stressy and icky.

I am really not a picky eater, but am definitely pinged by some foods, like liver, green peppers, snails. Not sure what they all have in common short of making me gag.

Sheesh, Allyson, that's definitely nerve rattling. Try putting some lemon in your Cuba Libre (rum+coke).

Glad you're OK, Allyson!

I love green peppers if they're raw or lightly cooked enough to still have some crunch, but when they're cooked enough to be slippery...ugh. I definitely have texture issues. I'm fine with pudding, gravy, etc., but once the food has any hint of being slimy, forget it.

Once again, I find myself needing the help of the hivemind so I can fake expertise on a topic for a scene in my novel:

A talented but out-of-practice violinist observes a beginner absolutely butchering a piece. What's a simple suggestion he might make? Something along the lines of "Your tone would be better if you'd do X," or "You'd find it easier to keep a true pitch if you tried Y."

A cellist friend of mine used to complain bitterly that kids trained in high schools and so on were never taught to hold the bow correctly, as this means a whole lot of difference in tone and loudness, as well as avoiding RSIs.

I woke up 15 minutes ago, which is at least an hour past my usual time -- the cats were quite disgusted AND I have to get a move on or I'll be late, so all my usual morning activities have to be skipped and/or sped through.

At least the cats got fed, which is probably the most important, and not just because it's their opinion that counts.

Allyson, I'm glad you're ok!

Yoiks! Allyson! Glad you're ok.