Random 5 for July 11 – Splinters, exfoliation, computers, auto accident, looking for the good

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Yep, I’m running late. Last week was not one of my best.

Early in the week I picked up an old aluminum pole with a reflector on the top. The aluminum had disintegrated to the point of being full of sharp glitter-sized pieces that embedded in my hand. I had to check with Dr. Google to find out that it’s a thing that happens mostly during grinding. It’s called aluminum splinters or swarf. It took two to three days to get it all out. I thought that would be the worst thing that happened all week but it wasn’t.

Something I learned from that experience – I have Mr. Clean eraser sheets. They are very fine abrasive sheets to clean off sinks and anything that is delicate. I tried them on my hand and they did a good job of getting a lot of the splinters out. They also did a mild exfoliation and my hands were very soft. I was tempted to try on my face but thought better of it!

Updates – In the news Microsoft was recommending that everyone have the latest updates as they had discovered a weak spot that hackers could access. I heard that just before I went to bed so I had dreams of hackers having parties in my computer. I get the updates regularly so while I wasn’t initially worried, I did check first thing the next morning. All was good.

Then it happened – I was involved in an auto accident. First one ever. Scariest thing I’ve ever been through. It happened so fast there was no “thinking” time. I came through okay except for airbag injuries which are no little deal. It took about 24 hours until the discomfort developed but yeowza. Not only is my chest bruised but the muscles that radiate from there and my shoulders are incredibly sore. It’s a lot like being in a fight with King Kong and losing. Badly. Did you know that you use chest muscles to potty? Me neither!

It wasn’t all bad news – My head, legs and lower body were not affected. I can walk just fine and I didn’t get a headache from the impact. Best of all I was by myself. I had a vet appointment for Morgan later in the day and it didn’t happen then. Any cat in a carrier would have sustained severe injuries. Since it was a car system failure it could have happened anytime. I am grateful for small favors.

So how was your week? Hope it was better than mine!

81 thoughts on “Random 5 for July 11 – Splinters, exfoliation, computers, auto accident, looking for the good”

  1. I turn away for a couple of days and wow look what all happens.
    Glad you are OK – getting “back into the saddle” is difficult when there has been shock and pain.
    Luckily you have coffee driver who knows what is important!
    (now I really really have to read and catch up. We are house hunting afar again – a bit of lack of focus on everything else right now. HUGS and pets for comforting cats – right about that cat carrier – we worry, too)

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  2. Oh my goodness, I’ve been offline for a break and look what happened! So glad you came through without serious injury. I had one a few years ago where I was hit by a semi on the Interstate. No injury, but sure puts the fear in you.

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  6. Good to hear that though you have some hurts, you are okay. Scary to be in any kind of car accident. Wonderful that someone stopped to help you. People put the young down, but they are often the first to help the oldies.

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  8. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said! How completely frightening and I’m so very thankful your injuries aren’t worse than they are, and they sound bad enough! One of my good friends told me that when her air bags deployed, there was a gas of some sort and in her confusion and being slightly dazed, she thought the car was on fire and panicked. I’ve thought of that many times as others have told me how injured they were by the very device that perhaps saved their lives. Your week has had to improve. I think you deserve a week with your feet up and all the Starbucks you can have delivered right to your door. No driving for a bit!

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    • There is a gas and a bit of dust that happens. I couldn’t open my door and that made me panic. Fortunately, despite a bunch of cars driving by, one young man stopped. He was able to pull open the door and get me out. He was very calming and called 911.

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  9. Oh wow – I hope you are feeling better Kate. Joni told me about the accident and the brakes failing. Joni and I were just chatting about cars and I had told her my last car had a computer issue and I’d be driving it and it would stop dead in its tracks. No rhyme or reason to it either and it was very scary. I have nice and trustworthy mechanics in a small shop nearby and kept taking it in to no avail as it would not “code” for them to tell them the problem. In despair I left it at the shop and said “use it to drive around for parts or to pick up lunch so it codes” and they did, the car stopped, they got the codes and it was done. I’d be gun shy to go out now for a drive now to be honest.

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    • I’ve had to go out (not driving, just as a passenger) and it’s scary. I’m braking for nothing and see impending doom everywhere. I had an inking something was wrong with the brakes. There were no warning lights and my cars has warning lights for everything. It was in the shop and they noticed the sound I heard but found nothing wrong. Now I’ve heard that others have had this experience with this maker. Not sure if it’s the same thing. I’m much better today but emotionally I have a way to go.

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      • I don’t doubt it will take you a while to recover emotionally … that’s a traumatic experience. I told a friend of mine about your accident because she knew what issues I had with my car stopping suddenly and she said a neighbor’s car was hit through no fault of their own and they broke a hip, leg and ribs. So it is some consolation for you that the injuries were just from the airbag only. I hope you have some recourse with the brakes fail to assist in replacing your vehicle, especially since the recent shop visit yielded nothing despite the sound. My Regal had to have three sets of brakes front and rear during a period of ten years. I took the bus to work and the dealership said it was because I didn’t drive enough and the brake pads would rust. It turned out that all mid-size GM automobiles had the same problem and I was just one of many people who became part of the “GM Brake Litigation” caused by a defect in the undercarriage of the car. They reimbursed me for two sets of brakes (front and back) but said one set may have needed replacing in the ordinary course of driving.

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          • Yes, I did, but initially though … not until I was contacted by a lawyer to join in the class action suit. Before that I was at work when the dealership called to get the okay to proceed on rear brakes (third time) and I okayed it. A paralegal was digging in a file in my area and I turned to her and relayed the message and sighed. I gave her the backstory on the multiple brake fixes in a car that I essentially only drove on weekends as I took the bus to work and the bus stop was a block away. She said her husband worked for GM in the marketing department. I did not know that – she was just standing there after my conversation with the service manager. She told me to bring in my paperwork on the service orders and her husband would draft a letter for me to send under my name to GM and indicate the low mileage and ask why. He gave me a name/title to pursue it. So I did that … I never heard back from them, then got the letter in the mail to join the class action suit. My boss at that time had a Gran Prix I believe – it was a mid-sized GM car. He also got a letter. We mailed in our forms and paperwork. He drove a lot more than me, yet had less brake jobs. I don’t say you should contact a lawyer, but if I were you, I’d get your service department paperwork and see if it mentioned the brake issue that they found no problem and write or e-mail to inquire about it and Google around complaints about your type of car … there will be stuff out there. Especially when you said others mentioned it.

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  12. What a post title and what a week to go with it. Glad you are okay. Knock on wood, I haven’t been in an accident in many years, but I’m glad close calls don’t count. It seems that almost everyone drives 10-15 mph over the speed limit which doesn’t leave a lot of room for correction. In your case it sounds like car failure so there wasn’t much you could do anyway. Next week will hopefully seem boring by comparison.

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  19. I’ve been in a few car accidents. The worst one, the resulted in a totaled car in a snow storm and some plastic surgery for me, I don’t remember thankfully. But all accidents are scary. There’s never time to react. Take good care of yourself, and make sure the cats baby you for awhile too.

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    • This was my first and quite the eye opener. Literally no time to react even though there were mitigating things I could have done. Fortunately I don’t have the injuries you had. I took a nap today and so did three cats. Sasha had to touch me with her purr machine and Gus had to breathe in my face. Morgan just napped.

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  20. Losing your breaks has to be the accident of nightmares. Wow! I hope you get well soon.

    I’ve had a couple of small accidents. One was in the drugstore parking lot. An old woman backed out of her space without looking. It was just a small bump, but I ended up with a rather long-lasting sore neck. The other was in the Philippines. I stopped at a red light, and the guy behind me kept going. It was such a physical shock that I didn’t think straight. I guess I’m not good in emergencies. Instead of handing me his information, the guilty party said he’d meet me at the police station. Foolishly, I drove there and sat around for an hour, cooling my heels. So embarrassing to be so stupid. He must have had a good laugh.

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  21. Poor you! What a week! I’m typing a bit blindly, having had a cataract removed this morning. I won’t see my mistakes. Scanning is the best I can do for reading blogs, but if you don’t keep up, you’ll be hopelessly behind. Hope you feel better quickly.

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  24. Sorry about your accident. I am glad you didn’t get any major injuries. I hope you feel better soon. Also glad your kitty was not with you. XO

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  26. What a week Kate! Glad you got all the swarf out. It can be quite painful.
    Good to know you are OK, but scary stuff with your auto accident, especially to hit the brakes and nothing happens. Hope the discomfort has eased. ❤

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  27. I’m relieved to know you’re okay, Kate. I curious about the “car system failure” though. Another blogger I know was t-boned this weekend after some idiot ran a red light. Thankfully, she and her husband are okay. I don’t know about up your way, but down here the aggressive drivers have gotten worse. Take care of those muscles!

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  28. Oh dear! So sorry to read about this but glad you are on the mend. Yes, it’s amazing to learn just what muscles are needed for what…and we learn this only when they are sore or damaged. Sometimes I find (sore) muscles that I didn’t even know I had….but I digress. Hope your healing is fast and without further incident! Glad no cats were harmed either.

    Deb

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  29. What a miserable week. I am sorry to read this. I’ve been in a few car accidents and like everyone says, “it happened so fast.” I’m very glad you’re okay and that you’re able to write about your experience, but *sheesh* didn’t need to happen. Stay safe, be well.

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  30. Oh I’m so happy you are “basically” OK Kate……sore is one thing but escaping without serious stuff is another. A “Car System Failure” sounds a bit scary especially if it could have happened at any time – like on a major highway going fast and possibly having been a worse accident? Seriously – so thankful you are OK and hope the soreness doesn’t last too long.

    Hugs (gentle ones that don’t hurt!), Pam

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    • Brakes gave out. Pedal went down to metal with no resistance or braking power. They had been crunchy but passed inspection so I was perplexed on what to do about it. Obviously it was more important than anyone thought.

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