the sybesma women take a hit.

today i was talking to my sisters (yes, both at once--kristin on skype and then tricia called her so we put her on speaker phone and it was like we were all in the same room chatting away!) and we discovered that it was a bad day for sybesma women. my mom thought her purse got stolen at the local grocery store (seriously! who steals in sioux center???) and after going home in despair, realized that she actually put it in her cart, put her bananas on top of it, and when she came back to put in more produce, she put it in an empty cart next to hers. so for hours her purse just sat there gaurded under a bunch of bananas. i knew no one would steal in sioux center. (sorry mom, if you wanted to keep that story from getting out--it's just too funny not to tell. and don't worry, i understand. remember the "my car got stolen" incident???) tricia left her lights on and her car battery went dead. kristin lost her keys somewhere in the northwestern parking lot, and cousin jen flashed an entire parking lot b/c the wind flew her skirt up, and later, as she went to shake up her water/crystal light packet in her water bottle, she forgot that the lid wasn't screwed on and dumped the entire thing all over her head. my contribution to the day was that on my way to school this morning, my purse got stuck in my front bike wheel just as i was taking off and it caused a sudden stop and a jolt and a loud noise from me as my body went flying forward, shoving my ribs into my front handle bars. my wasn't really noteworthy, but i thought i needed something to fit in.

well, it turns out that my turn hadn't come yet. tonight i got hit by a car. on my bike. i was on my way to the apartment of the private lesson that i teach after school and i was almost there and i was going onto a crosswalk, a big black lexus didn't see me and ran me over. well, not me, my bike. but both me and my bike got pushed over. and he ran over my tire. the most important thing was that it wasn't my fault. (just kidding, the most important thing was that i wasn't hurt. and that it wasn't my fault...) but it was really scary. a rich looking older korean man got out and said what was probably one of the only english phrases he knows "i am sorry i am sorry!" which really sounded like "i im solly i im solly!" i was so shoke up i just walked my bike to the side walk and he got back in his car. the next thing i knew there were about 5 korean women yelling and i thought "are they yelling at me? was it my fault after all?" but they were actually yelling at him as he drove off for not taking me to the hospital and giving me his phone number. a very kind korean woman helped me and hugged me (b/c i cried a little--nothing hurt, i was fine, but who doesn't cry when they just got hit by a car?) and she had taken down his driver's liscense. i don't know why i don't think properly in those situations! like, when he got out of the car, i just didn't want to make him feel bad, and i wanted to just laugh it off. it's just like the time i got bit by that dog last year in chicago. and i felt so bad for the owners b/c they felt so bad so i just told them not to worry about it b/c "i needed a new pair of shorts anyway." i still have the scar. so anyway, i walked my bike to my private and my two little high school kids were so concerned and it turned into a family affair. the dad and the son took me to get my bike fixed and then to the police station and we reported the whole thing and 3 hours later, i'm back at home, wondering if it was worth all the effort for $30 of damages. the worst part was that after going to two different police stations and listening to two korean men talk for an hour, i had to bike 30 minutes back to my apartment. not only was it freezing, but i was UBER paranoid the entire time. i'd be annoyed about the whole situation, but every time an annoying thought comes into my head, it's immedietely replaced by a voice saying "JUST BE GLAD YOU AREN'T HURT!!!"

however, my back has been extremely sore the past few days (i went running sunday after a running hiatus and have been feeling like i gave birth through my back ever since) and i can see how easy it would be in this situations to make it a whole lot more than it actually was....

i wouldn't. would i? no, i wouldn't. but it's tempting. free massages? free acupuncture? free chiropractor? too bad i've got such a big conscience.