I ATEN'T DEAD.

Negative highlight of 14 October 2002: was in car on way from Toronto Zoo to Church Street Hostel when the man in the lane next to us decided to make a right-hand turn... without signaling... despite the fact that we were already there. My friend's car got hit. Both airbags went off in our car. Everyone is fine - me, Vicki, the guy, the guy's dog (he had a big black dog loose in his car). The only loss seems to be a wallet, and there was nothing truly important in that. Much of the resolution process has already been set in place. The rest will come as it comes.

Positive highlight for today: the Toronto Zoo has a gorgeous herd of takhi, aka the Przewalski horse. I could've stayed at that exhibit for ages, and Vicki and I did. We eventually saw the rest of the zoo, of course - there will be more on that at another time - but I was really enthralled by the takhi. (It's the Mongolian name, and it's easier to spell than Przewalski, and I can PRONOUNCE 'takhi', so nyar.)

And the events unfold...

The car accident last night?

1. Guy who hit us wanted us to go to a bodyshop run by a friend of his. Said he'd pay for everything. Didn't want the insurance companies involved. "I'm a good driver!" says he, "I just have speeding tickets!"

2. It's possible to get your insurance yanked up here if they find out you had an accident you never told 'em about.

3. The intersection was marked no turns. As in, no left turn, no right turn.

4. The other driver turned out to have tickets on his motorcycle license, and apparently a few others as well.

5. The other driver admitted several times that he was at fault.

6. The other driver had no insurance... he was planning on getting it in December for this particular car.

So. Let's review, shall we? A right hand turn from the second lane, at an intersection where turns were illegal, by a driver with no insurance, who had a dog loose in his car, who wanted to keep the police AND the other insurance company (Vicki's) from hearing about it. True, he stopped the car to check on us rather than hit-and-run, but...

There's a song in the States. It goes like this:

Na na na na... na na na na... hey hey hey... gooood-bye.

Now I get to go into town and go shopping. Trinket time.

Today's pulp survival tip is #160. If you step on something and hear a 'click', refrain from moving any further until told how to do so by a competent professional. That is, unless you like being a first-reel casualty.