Geez...leave my car alone.

Ugh. My car had super bad luck during this spring break. First of all, a rock hit my windshield, so I had to get that repaired - I didn't want it to spread and have to get the whole thing replaced. Fracture mechanics, anyone?

I was thinking about fixing it myself, so I went to automotive stores in the area to look for windshield repair kits. They were selling them at ACE Hardware for around 20 bucks (a pretty good deal - it costs about $200 to replace Toyota windshields), so I bought one and started to head out the door.

An old man stopped me as I was leaving, and told me that a local car wash place repaired cracks professionally for about $50. "Hmm," I thought. "I think I'm going to check the reviews of this repair kit online and see if they're good. If not, I'll listen to the old man." The reviews were baaaddd, so I took my car to the car wash. To get the window repaired.

They did a really good job! There's a tiny, almost undetectable dent where the rock hit the glass, but the cracks that emanated from the origin are gone. $55. Car wash on the corner of N. Main St. and Treat Blvd (across from the Bev Mo) in Walnut Creek.

The guys (Richard and Salva) who took care of it were really cool! They were Christians, too, so I gave them cards to order free study bibles (check this site out http://www.biblesforamerica.org/). I hope they enjoy that bible as much as I do.

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This is what happened today:

Notice anything missing?

This is more for me (so that I have documentation from the incident while it's fresh in my mind), so there might be a little more detail than you'd care for. I was driving on 680-S at around 6:20 PM, on the way to meet good friends for dinner (review will be posted on yelp.com for Meridian restaurant). Here's a little foretaste, though:

Crawfish Po Boy Sandwich with Fries. Drooollll....

Back to the car. That's pretty much the extent of the damage, by the way. Scratched passenger side windows and body, scratched rims, and missing side view mirror. Good thing you only need two mirrors on a car to drive legally.

This is what happened:

I was in the lane marked with the gray oval on 680-S driving straight (I had been in that lane for about 1 mile, so it's not like we changed lanes at the same time), when a man in the lane to the right of me (entering the freeway) changed lanes into my car. It was a pretty quick impact, which is why I think the damage wasn't that extensive. Both of us were under speed limit because there were still a lot of cars on the road and we were in the right lanes.

We pulled over here at the spot right before the yellow traffic sign:

and exchanged info after I got out of the car on the passenger's side (didn't want to get out on the freeway side). The lady (passenger) in the car got out to take pictures of the damage to our vehicles, which was pretty dangerous of her - the damage was on the driver's side of her vehicle, so she was right next to the lane where cars were going 50-60 MPH. I tapped her on the shoulder and suggested that we pull off the freeway and find a parking lot off the N. Main exit.

We drove to this Motel 6 off of N. Main street, finished taking pictures (good thing I had my digital camera), and then parted ways.

I filed the claim with AAA here in the parking lot, and then went off to Berkeley to wind down with my best CAL friends. It was much needed at that point.

The person who hit my car and his passenger seemed nice, but I sure hope they're honest. It'd be pretty messed up if they tried anything shifty. The things that makes me a little nervous are that they didn't apologize (I guess that's standard in these situations), and that the lady said that she didn't feel anything (regarding the impact of the accident). The accident was strange, too. The way both of our cars were damaged makes it seem like we were almost side-by-side upon impact. He should have seen me if he was planning on changing lanes. I guess I just have to leave this one up to God. He is the "Righteous Judge" or something.

One thing I've been experiencing is that you're a lot less anxious when you let things go and leave the major decisions up to God. Philippians 4:6-7 "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses every man's understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."

In any case, this is a hassle. I hope everything goes smoothly *crossing fingers*. I don't like wasted time.

I guess I should thank God that I'm okay (and that the other people are too). Bad things can happen with cars on the freeway. And there were a lot of cars on the freeway when I was driving. So thank you, Lord, for taking care of me.