Car Update

It's been a week since the accident and I hadn't heard anything. First off, I had to contact the body shop last week to find out if they needed anything from us. The adjuster had already been there from the other guy's insurance company and they had his info, but never thought this was someone else's car! So I gave them my contact info and he said he'd let me know after he did the estimate. I talked with the same guy today and he apologized for no one contacting me -- he actually seemed surprised no one did, but I think he'd be the guy to contact me in the first place since he did the estimate and contacted the adjuster! So, anyway, the car is already torn down and the parts arrived today. The estimate is just shy of $4,000 and it will basically get a brand new front end -- bumper, grill, both headlights, moulding, upper tie bar, emblem, hood, fender -- and then painted and such. I'm assuming the radiator was busted since the fluid leaked all over, but he only mentioned body damage. The estimated completion date is next Monday the 28th.

On another note, I had to take a form to my insurance agent this morning (along with a copy of the crash report). This form had to be filled out and signed by my agent, then mailed to the Indianapolis Bureau of Vehicles within 10 days of the accident or my license would be suspended. Sound stupid? Yeah, I thought so too! None of this was my fault, yet I could face penalties and have to go out of my way to get this stupid form taken care of! Hopefully this will all be over soon...

What a Day!

So I was hoping to be on here tonight talking about something else, but oh well... Here goes:

We were contacted by the Psychology dept last week about a research experiment involving 8-month olds and their ability to recognize imitation. It sounded like fun, so I signed Lauren and myself up. I was actually pretty excited about it, and thought it was pretty cool that Lauren would always get to say that she helped with a research finding! I was taking Carter to Matt's work so Lauren and I could go and was at the light at 10th and College (in between Mad Mushroom and Waffle House). All of a sudden, I hear reverse beeps and see the garbage truck in front of me start to back up. I was frantically trying to get my car into reverse while blaring my horn, but it was too late. He backed up and was partially on top of my hood. Luckily, Waffle House parking lot is where cops like to hang out, and there were two of them there. It was a new driver (in an IU garbage truck) and he suddenly had the urge to pee -- so he was backing up to pull into Waffle House! I'm still trying to figure out why he thought it was okay to back up in the middle of the road when would've been able to turn onto College Ave. soon, even if he didn't see me behind him...

So... my car was towed. Leaking radiator fluid all over the road. Nothing, of course, happened to the garbage truck. We called Enterprise, who we normally rent from and has all our information (including insurance) in their computers from before, and they have nothing available. Before we could check with anyone else, the police officer told us to call Risk Management, who's the insurance for IU, to see if they'd set us up with transportation. Matt called, someone had to call him back, and they said we were approved for a compact car. HAHAHAHA!!!!! He said we have an SUV and need something comparable because we have two car seats. I had to squeeze both carseats and kids in the back of Matt's Mustang -- picture putting Lauren in a rear-facing seat in his car!!!! The adjustor from Risk Management called Matt and had us set up with National and Matt picked up a Grand Prix this afternoon, so at least we have something that the carseats fit in and has a large enough trunk for a stroller.

My car was towed to the AutoPlex and when I called them the adjustor had been there. Matt said he was pretty sure he had been, as he said he had pictures of the car already. They said that they were really busy today, but that they'd get an estimate on it, contact the adjustor, order the parts, and fix the car. Not sure how long it will take, but at least I don't have to do anything. I did call our insurance claims office, and they said not to do anything unless the other insurance company does nothing -- then we could file our own claim and they'd go after them. Fine with me...

I was so distraught earlier as I hate feeling like I have no control. I finally called my mom after we got home and I got Lauren down for a nap. Everything came out and I just cried... but at least I feel better now. Hopefully we'll hear something in the next couple days, but at least we weren't planning on going out of town for a while!!

Whew... what a day...