24Randomthoughts.com

If you go to the simpsons movie site you can create your own Simpsons Avatar like I have, what do you think.  Not a bad likeness

Well Thursday 12th July 2007 was a pretty interesting day, as I was driving to work and had just gotten off the M6 @ Junction 4 on the A466 towards Coventry when the car in front slowed down I checked my mirrors and indicated to overtake.  I had started to pull out when another car came screaming down the outside I had to break and pull back to avoid him.  I obviously breaked and pulled to hard in doing so hitting the bollard which sent my car into a spin and ended up facing the other way pointing towards the central reservation.

After having checked that I was ok I and luckily hadn’t hitting anything I swung the car round and into a lay-by 10ft down the round.  After doing this the traffic that stopped then carried on like nothing had happened.  Nobody at all checked to see if I was ok. This was about 8:30am.

I then called the police and was told that someone was coming to check, I also called my dad and Katie to let them know I was ok.  There was a lot of phone calls back and forth after the initial call as I had no idea what the hell to do in this situation.  At 9:45 the police hadn’t arrived so I called them again, then then wanted to know what County I was in!?!?!? They then promised someone would call (they didn’t).  At 10:15am I called the Honda Jazz recovery which was AA I was giving them my details (I wasn’t sure of the road name at the time but I gave them my location in respect to the M6 and the A45 junction), while doing this my phone died.  I then had to run up the road across the dual carriage way to some lorries in the lay-by to get someone’s phone to finish the call.  I was told someone would be there between 11am and 1pm.

I made it back to the car and some Highway Agency people were the first to stop at 11:15am where they took my details and let me use their phone to call mum and for her to tell Katie and I was ok just waiting for pickup by the AA.  I waited for the AA and waited and then waited some more at 1:30pm and still no sign of the AA, I made my way back across the A446 and up to the lay-by to borrow a phone to call the AA back.  Turned they thought I was on the A441 (how this happened I have no idea), they apologised and said someone would be with me in the hour.  At 2:00pm the low loader turned up.

As they guy started to load the car on to the back of the truck a lorry who for some reason couldn’t see the massive blinking lights of the recovery vehicle or my hazards took the wing mirror of the low loader.  So after finally get on the back of the lorry we went round the round about and the AA guy had to spend 15mins  while he called up control and explained the situation. So by 2:30pm we set off and he asked where I wanted to go and I just said take it to a Honda garage I just want to get home.  The Sat Nav directed to us to Castle Bromwich (I’m sure I was closer to Coventry than heading back towards Brum) when we arrived at the destination no Honda garage it was a residential street.  So the AA guy then spent another 10 mins on finding where the nearest garage which was in Erdington which was another 20 mins away.

We finally got to the garage dropped the car, I then got a train home.  Came out of the station tried to use three payphones all not working (incidentally it now costs 40p to make a  phone call) so I just jumped on the first bus and finally walked through my door at 4:30pm.  I then phone my worried parents and fiancée to let them know I was ok and apologised for not phoning earlier.

As you can see not a good at all.  I then went out later that evening to watch the new Harry Potter film which did cheer up.

Funnily enough all this trouble could have been avoided if I had just called the insurance people straight away.  There’s a lesson there people learn from it!

I have lost my USB thumb drive I have no idea where its gone it was attached to my key and this morning when I got them it wasn’t there.  Luckily I have a back up for it though.  I must have a hunt for it tonight.

I have also started my new flickr set called 30 A Day which consists of me talking 30 photos for the next month with my phone camera.  I’ve started to upload a few already and and will make a couple of comments later

OK sorry its been so long a lot has happened over the past week, Katie’s birthday, finding a place for the wedding and I was also in a little car accident.  I will write something about all of these tonight (hopefully). 

I also wanted to let you know I’m trying a silly little side project for the next month where I try and take a picture a day for the next month.  It’ll be done using my Sony Ecrisson W880i and I’ll be uploading them up to flickr daily(ish)

Its been quite a busy week so far.  I finally have the car back from the body shop (after someone had backed into it) so it mean I didn’t have to worry about getting the train and spending a fortune on StarBucks @ New Street Station.  I have also been training this week on using the Alphacam’s CAD/CAM package called …. AlphaCAM.

Its been a bit of steep learning curve having never, ever ever been near or attempted to do a CAD diagram.  At the end of the second day I can draw doors, face plates and such like as well as create the machine code to machine it out of wood, metal etc.

The main advantage of not working at home has finally surfaced, not being there to receive parcels.  I’m waiting for two deliveries a new digital camera (dropped off 2 days ago which I now have to wait for till Friday to get from the post office) and also a set of iPod speakers which will probably suffer the same fate.  I did check with the girls on reception though and I can get stuff delivered to work which will make a big difference.

I also can’t wait for the weekend as Katie and I are going to look at a possible venue for the wedding next week and fingers crossed its just as nice as it looks and more importantly its available.

If you have a moment check this out, brilliant

I must mention well done to my little brother who has just gotten his results for his degree in Physiotherapy.  He got a first,  well done Jon you worked hard for it and got it, we are all proud of you.

Now the next step actually getting a job and getting the real world and leave the academia behind you