the Way of the Turtle

&%$$*!!$*##ing Albany...
Sunday, December 12, 2010

Got up way too early this morning to head off to what would probably have been my last running race of 2010 - Gail's Trail Run, in the past run on the Leatherman's Loop course at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, but this year being held at the Collis P. Huntington State Park in CT... so I was not only looking forward to the race but also to seeing some new sights. Plus I was considering stopping by Ward Pound Ridge on the way home and running at least part of the course there too... all in all a plan for a pretty decent morning, dampened only by the threat of freezing rain followed by just plain cold wet rain. (And actually, the freezing rain was just starting in Albany as I left the house, which did give me a pause... but I decided to at least start the drive and turn back if it seemed like the roads were getting treacherous.)

All that took a nose dive when I got to my car and discovered that some scumbag had smashed the small quarter panel window on one of my rear doors to get into the car, rifle through the items in the small storage bin under my stereo, and steal - a bag of dirty laundry containing a couple of shirts and some socks and underwear. Aargh!

By the time I was done putting some plastic over the hole it was too late to get to the race on time, so I moved the car closer to my place and went back inside to file the insurance claim. For once I was pretty sure it would be a snap - file the claim, which should be paid for by my full glass coverage, and have whatever company the insurance people wanted come to my car while I'm at work and fix the window. A hassle but no big deal... until I found out that at some point my coverage was apparently changed and I no longer have full glass. So I get to pay for the repair! Hurray! My insurance company strikes again! (What do I pay these guys for again?)

On the plus side, I probably was better off not trying to drive to CT... since when I went out to the car about an hour later to bring more stuff into the house everything was coated in ice... so much so that I first slipped and slid all the way to the bottom of the steps (fortunately doing nothing worse than bruising my backside and my dignity) and then after crossing the street to my car I slipped and fell on the sidewalk, gaining a few more bruises in the process. Aargh.

All in all, not a great start to Sunday... but also not as bad as it could have been, so enough complaining.

JMH