I got into a car accident on Thursday. Horrible. I was hoping to have a clean record after all these years of not being behind the wheel. At any rate, no one was hurt. The damage to the respective cars is minimal. The other party (Tyng-Ru Judy Chen… quite a long name) has her white Nissan Altima scratched on the left rear. The right bumper of my car is shattered and needs repair. The accident occurred as I was backing out of my driveway. I have a mother and her daughter who were crossing the street to thank for this. As they crossed, they decided to be good samaritans and wave me to back out into the street where Judy’s Altima was approaching. The mother and daughter, not surprisingly, got into their car and drove quickly away.
“Are you okay?” I asked as the other party got out of her car.
“I’m okay, but my car’s not okay,” she said said rather tersely.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry.” Ever the businessperson, I said next: “Let’s exchange information.”
Anyway, Judy and I exchanged insurance and contact information. My insurance company called me back to tell me (as if I didn’t know already) that Judy had the right-of-way. And there goes another mark on my record.
I went to work again this morning at six after only getting back at eleven last night. It was my opportunity to do some work in the position in which I’m being promoted. I impressed the supervisor and general manager at large. The supervisor (Eric “something”) said that I can expect on being hired as a full-benefit employee rather than remaining as a temp. He and the general manager were impressed that I’m learning all this information so fast: I’ve managed to do the work that took others twelve months in less than four weeks. I look forward to the formal training I’ll be getting this upcoming week. Bummer that I have to start coming in during the mornings, though.
L’s been sick all week. On top of her illness and her exams and studying, she had to console her younger sister’s recent break-up. J has been dating S for over two years, now. I think S courted her for even longer. They met in high school. Anyway, J’s busy with her studies at Drexel, and the strict rules of their household means she could only see him on the weekends. S wanted her to come out more, to spend more time with him. Little does he know how lucky he is to even see his beloved once a week. I only get to see mine once every five years. Anyway, J and S constantly bicker and fight and shout and argue. This demand of his, whatever the merits, broke the proverbial camel’s back. Poor S… I understand where he’s coming from. The L Household holds onto their girls pretty close. Mr. and Mrs. L know their daughters are fantastic with great potential. They’re not going to jeopardize their daughters’ careers and success with diversions such as boys.
I wonder if, despite giving all his stuff back and getting back all of her’s, the two will get back together? Stuff like this is a difficult call to make. As much as L believes in her If-you-leave-me-I-won’t-take-you-back policy, strong bonds are made from emotional history. There is security in keeping what you’ve got. Why risk starting a relationship anew? All those years, all those fights and arguments and bad times make the ties that bind two people together even though the bad stuff makes one unhappy.
Ultimately, I think, the question I ask regarding relationships is whether I am a better human being for having relations with this person. Am I a better person for being in a relationship with L? Being friends with M? With J and J? With S? With K?
L once poked fun at me for telling her to do bad things (i.e., have a beer with her girlfriends). I was supposed to inspire her to be better person, she said. Though the context of her statement was to make fun of me, L has a point. We are supposed to inspire each other to be the best. I encourage her to pursue her dreams as she does the same for me. We are the champions of the other’s cause. We are cheerleaders as well as lovers. We are confidantes as well as partners.
Does J feel inspired to be a better person for being in a relationship with Sam? I think they might be too busy arguing to even consider the question.