I am NOT a happy camper right now. Ugh. I got rear-ended today, while driving to Bob Evans to say goodbye to Aaron. I am ok, just a little sore, and my car isnt bad. But still. Ugh.

I'll just go back to the beginning.

I had to stop at Tops and get my medicine and some shampoo before I left to go to the airport to see Aaron off. As I was walking out of Tops, Aaron's grandma Lucy calls me and tells me that Aaron is not flying out tonight. Because he is only 13, he needs a guardian on the plane, and to escort him when he changed flights in Cleveland, but they didnt have a guardian for his flight from Cleveland to Austin, and since it was the last flight out of Cleveland, they wouldnt let him fly out of Buffalo, in case something happened in Cleveland and he got stranded. So... Lucy and I talk for a bit and try to figure out where to meet, so she suggests Bob Evans. Its near the airport and right off of the 90 (NY State Thruway). I was gonna head out to Andy's after this and surprise him by coming out a day early, so it was right on my way. I get off Grand Island and get on the 290 (like a thruway, for those non-NYers) which takes me over to the 90. I get about halfway along on the 290 and I see lots of cars braking in front of me. Seeing as how it was 5:30, I wasnt surprised. So I keep watching the cars in front of me, and all of a sudden, a pick-up truck, 2 cars ahead of me brakes. The car in front of me couldnt stop, so he slammed right into him. I saw them hit (it was like slow-motion at this point), so I braked. The guy being me couldnt stop, and he hit me from behind. I was far enough behind the guy in front of me that we werent involved in that collision, which was a very good thing. We happened to be on a bridge at the point, so we all drove a little ways up to where we could pull off, and all 4 of us did. Mind you, we were all driving in the far left inside lane of the 290. During rushhour. So thats where we had to pull off. I was not a happy camper about that. Cars were wizzing by us at like 70mph.

But anyways, we were all alright, just a little shaken up. The guy in the pick-up said he had to brake hard in order to avoid hitting a semi, which was long gone by this time. I guess the guy in front of me sustained some pretty heavy front-end damage too. I got out and checked my rearend, and the bumper was dislodged, but all in all, it didnt look too horrible. I was really relieved. The kid who hit me wanted just to take care of the damage and stuff ourselves cause he was "in a risk pool". Well, so what. It may look like only my bumper is damaged, but it could be a lot worse. And in fact, it is more than just my bumper. My whole exhaust system underneath is all messed up. The muffler became detached from the undercarriage and is swaying back and forth and the pipes are all bent. Maybe they'll give me a whole new exhaust system. It was all messed up, mechanically, before the accident, and now its all messed up physically. Would be something nice to come out of it anyways.

So anyways, I called my mom and she was all freaking out, cause shes thinking "accident on the 290 = very bad thing". Then I called 911 to get some cops out our way, and they connected me to the Amherst police, who sent 3 cars out. I then called Lucy to tell her what happened, and she was upset cause she thought it was her fault I was on the 290 in the first place, but its really the only way to go, and a highway I take frequently. She told me to call her later and let her know how I was. I also called Andy�s grandma, in case Andy called home, she could tell him to call me in Lockport tonight, instead of on my cell, which doesn�t get reception at my parents� house.

So after a little bit, they had the accident reports all filled out, and the one officer came over to explain it to me, and he told me how he found the other guy at fault (the one that hit me). He also said he would have issued the driver who hit me a ticket (for following too closely, I assume) but since we were on the 290 at rush hour, he just wanted to get off of the road. So, he helped me back up (I was parked near a reflector, and couldn�t move forwards because of it), and then he pulled his car out onto the highway so that me and the guy behind me could get out and leave.

I don�t know what happened to the people in front of us. They probably had to call a tow truck for the one guy, I dunno. So anyways, I got off the 290 at the next exit and pulled into a parking lot to assess the damage. It wasn�t too horrible, but I knew I wasn�t traveling out to Andy�s tonight. So, I drove back to Lockport, and notice the car was making a thumping noise when I turned. I learned later that it was the muffler banging against the back tire, and it had melted away some of the tire, cause there was rubber on the muffler. My dad was gonna wire it up so it didn�t do that, but he didn�t cause of the insurance company and stuff.

So, I got home and my mom was relieved that I was okay, and that the car was pretty much ok. My dad was cool too. He knew it wasn�t my fault, and he wasn�t upset at all. It just sucked though. He took the car out for a drive and checked everything out. He told us to contact the insurance company tomorrow, and also take it to Carubba Collision for a second estimate, so that�s what we�re doing I guess. I hope they give me a loaner car, I hope the insurance works quickly. Ugh.

So, the good part was, I got to eat steak off the grill for dinner at my parents. It was seasoned so good too!! After dinner, my mom and I went out looking for shoes for the wedding� I still don�t have them. I was planning on going out tomorrow at Andy�s to look for them� but not now. I guess my mom and I are looking tomorrow when we go up to Carubba.

I did get to see Aaron tonight, finally. Lucy called around 9:30 when they got back from something at our church, and asked if I wanted to come over. So I did, and got some pictures. Aaron was only wearing his boxer shorts, cause all his clothes were either packed or in the wash, so he was walking around with a blanket on like a toga. He looked adorable. LOL I stayed for about an hour, and took lots of pics (and movies, with my mom's camera). When I first got there, they all came out to look at my car. I�m so glad its not hurt badly! My poor car! LOL

Anyways, I said goodbye to Aaron. He kept trying to get me to stay, telling me to come with him instead of going to the wedding with Andy. He is so jealous of Andy, and doesn�t like him much because of it. It really sucks. I dunno. So I try not to mention Andy�s name much around Aaron. I dunno. So, we said our goodbyes and I told him I�d try to come visit in October over Columbus weekend, so that will be cool. Hopefully we�ll finally be able to go to Schlitterbahn!

Once I can get some pictures resized (from the ones I took with my mom�s camera) or once I can get my pictures from my camera onto a computer (when I get to Andy�s), I will put some of my car. Its really not bad, it really amazes me. He must have hit me pretty hard, I mean most people drive quite fast on the 290. The only thing I did was bump my head on my headrest. Man I was lucky. Thank God� He musta been watching out for me�

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