Oh man, I'm watching this HGTV show called Property Brothers and this couple just bought an 130-year old house without a home inspection. And are shocked when the contractor brother is finding issues. dag.

Definitely. I don't remember what the dollar amount is now, but back in the day if your car had more than $500 of damage you had to call the cops. And it sounds like you do, ita. Best of luck getting it all untangled, though, it sounds a mess.

brenda, that is a hell of a row to hoe. My aunt Ruth used to say "inch by inch, anything's a cinch." So that's what I do, when there is just too much to put it down on the page for one day and I feel overwhelmed, I list just one task each day and get that one done. Period. Once it's done, the sense of relief is usually so huge I go on to get other things done.

I feel the need to deploy the bubble wrap around ita !, but only if she won't kill me with her pinkies.

brenda, I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this right now.

Something I've found that helps me get things done when all the big picture stuff is so daunting that I'm frozen and unable to start any of it is to break everything into smaller component parts. I make a list of action items that actually can be achieved in a relatively short period of time (email X, call Y, do laundry, review these presentations, buy plane tickets), and check things off as I go so that I can feel like I'm making progress. I'm teaching myself how to prioritize. Like, is this time-sensitive? Okay, then do that first. I don't know why it seems so difficult for me.

If I try to do everything at once, I generally don't get anything done at all. And I'm trying not to feel horribly guilty when I'm not actively working on my To Do lists, because we all need down time and I'm not supposed to be such a jerk to myself.

And I'm trying not to feel horribly guilty when I'm not actively working on my To Do lists, because we all need down time and I'm not supposed to be such a jerk to myself.

God, so much this. I actually made myself just sit and watch TV earlier, because I just couldn't multitask for one more minute.

ita, speaking as someone who is heading to small claims court to try to get the guy who hit me last spring's insurance to pay me back, please call the cops. I so regret not having an official accident report.

Also, glad you're ok.

I tried to call the non-emergency number, and they shut down at 4:45. So I hesitantly tried 911, but they said I didn't have to report anything as long as we'd exchanged information. When the adjuster or investigator asks, I will say she did seem altered, although not drunk. Just not all there. Man, the iterations she went through of my name, how long I'd been in LA, what kind of car I was driving, what she'd been doing at the time of the accident, if I'd called AAA, if she'd called 911. Over and over again. For an hour and a half, pretty much. At first I chalked it up to panic, but it kept going way longer than adrenaline could explain.

But I'm home now, and the car is parked outside the apartment. I'll have to cab it to the doctor's tomorrow am and then come back and have the car towed and get a rental delivered.

Fuck, I love my car. I really hope it can be fixed. I don't want a new one. Certainly not any new one I can afford. Anyone want to buy me a three series BMW? That's really about it.

Over and over again. For an hour and a half, pretty much.

That could be a sign of concussion. Or drugs. Or both.

I think she thinks we're best friends now. Her "mate" (I thought she was saying "maid") stood by my car to guide people around it for about an hour while she freaked out. She asked about my life story (and then forgot it, and asked again) and told me hers, and offered to feed me, and finally when I convinced them they could leave me she was all "We'll talk!" Uh, no, woman. Not if I have anything to do with it. But we live a block apart.

Thanks guys. I'm a little flat about the whole thing. I just want to curl up and not wake up until I have a drivable car. My $25 rental is going to tax my patience while I wait on tenterhooks for the news.

Do people shop at Marshall's or TJ Maxx? I tried to shop in a Ross a few years ago, and it freaked me out. There was no organisation. It might as well have been goodwill, just with significantly less chance of finding something cool.

I shop at Marshalls, and Ross, and Nordstrom's Rack. They all require patience and energy. I mostly get tops there, but occasionally I get lucky: I found my fab red trench at the Rack last spring.

Nordstrom's Rack I can do. But the rails of shoes take me aback.