i’m back. although it feels good to finally be posting again, it saddens me that it’s been over a month since i last wrote my thoughts down. much has happened to me, and usually, writing it down on my blog made me feel better about the event(s) which unfolded and makes those of you keeping up with me on a regular basis, updated about what’s happening to me. although i have no excuses for missing out on posting my entries for the past month (i won’t even use work as an excuse because i was still able to post entries even when i’m in the office, just like what i’m doing now) i feel that i owe everyone reading my blog an apology for not being up-to-date. although my readers are not that many, i still value their time going here to check up on me and know what’s going on. so for that, i am sorry (sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?).

as the title of the entry indicates, this would be at least a two-part entry. so as a reminder, be ready for a long read ahead.

out of the many things that happened to me over the course of the last month, there are around two or three that stand out. the first one happened on june 23. it was the second day of a four-shift off i had due to the holidays on the 12th and 13th and my regular days off. i had two scheduled appointments that day, one was to claim a referral from a head hunter agency for an interview, and the other was an initial interview with a call center. i had stepped up my application for other companies due to the fact that things in my current work are beginning to deteriorate. i had other plans that day after the interview, mainly to check out or canvass cellphone prices because i had planned to replace my 7200 with a more memory-upgradable, stable unit (i was actually considering getting either a 6260 or a SE S700i). earlier in the week, i had encashed my salary loan check which i applied for the first time, using the money on the phone and other daily expenses at home. with the day’s events planned out, i set out for my first appointment. little did i know that changing a CD track on my car stereo would change everything. five minutes after leaving the house, still within our subdivision, i was slowly cruising on a moderately covered street when i decided to change the track of the CD i was playing. i glanced over the car stereo for a split second and pressed the button, and when i looked back on the road a tricycle was suddenly in front of me, stopped due to traffic. it was too late. another split second then WHAM!!! i managed to hit the brakes only after i slammed into the tricycle, which in turn bumped the stopped CR-V in front of him. still getting a grip on what actually happened, i alighted the car to check the damage.

i still cannot believe what had happened at that very moment as soon as i walked over and attended to the tricycle driver who was slightly wounded after the impact. it was a very good thing there were no passengers on the tricycle otherwise i’ll be faced with lawsuits. since it was my very first major road accident, i called and asked assistance from my uncle (since i was still near the house) and my mom (since the insurance was under her name). after around an hour and a half (i think) of getting statements, signatories and reports, i drove the car back home to be picked up by the insurance company’s tow truck to be brought to the repair shop while my mom and my uncle attended to the medical needs of the driver and damage assessment of the tricycle. the driver of the CR-V just told me that since he was working for an insurance company, they would get in touch with our insurer about the damage to his vehicle. i arrived home and waited for the tow truck to arrive. while waiting, i made a phone call cancelling my first appointment, telling the head hunter what happened and that i’ll just be claiming the referral tomorrow. my interview appointment was scheduled at 10am and it was already close to 9am. i also managed to take a closer look at the damage to the car.

with the initial impact of the accident, i was surprised to find out that there was no damage to both headlights and the radiator. what was heavily damaged was the front bumper. it kinda buried itself into the tricycle’s back portion of the sidecar and we had quite a hard time pulling it out. the whole of the front bumper was actually hanging and we had to tie a rope to prevent it from falling apart while i was driving it home. there was also damage to the grille and a big dent on the engine hood. seeing the damage, and thinking that the insurance company won’t pay it in full, i said to myself, “there goes the loan.” after the tow truck arrived, i set off for my interview appointment.

i took a cab and arrived late by about 45 minutes. good thing there were quite a number of other applicants in line so i still waited for about 30 more minutes upon arriving. my thoughts were still on the car and what had happened, trying to think or ask myself if the accident was just a very bad dream. i have to admit, during the interview session i was mentally quite “off” so to speak, but still tried my best to project a perception of confidence despite being affected by the accident. the interview actually went well and i proceeded home immediately afterward. over the next three weeks, i used public transport to go to and from the office. it was during that time i felt the importance of having a car. with my shift starting at 2am, i definitely had to take a cab going to work. going home was easier for i just had to take a bus, FX, and two tricycles. i then compared my weekly transportation expenses to the gasoline expenses and it turned out that i spend almost a thousand pesos a week (five working days, getting to and from the office) just for transportation while i spend PHP800 on gasoline for the car which is good for at least 8 working days. well, as my relatives and friends told me, “just charge it to experience.”

moving forward, i got the car back last thursday and it looked like new. we also had it detailed to remove the minor scratches it had. upon driving it home, it made me realize how much i missed and enjoyed driving and how that experience made me not a better driver, but a slightly more careful one. i actually went out last friday night and drove around just to get the feel of driving back to my system. but i do have to admit, i sometimes catch myself suddenly thinking of that particular day, the sound of the impact between the car and the tricycle and sort of getting pissed at myself for being the cause of it, and eventually losing the chance to change phones. i just follow that thought up with the cliche, “maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”