I had the worst day ever at work today. It was awful. Too much to do, and people not doing their own work, so I have to take up the slack, and nobody gives me any credit for all the things I do, wah wah wah. I had to go in the bathroom and cry a little after lunch; it was just too much stress for one Meggish to take.

But I wasn't sad and grouchy for long after I got home. I was on the phone with That Girl and Lil Bro, when there was this HUGE noise outside:

screeCRASHcrashcrashshattercrunch

I ran outside, and saw a totally smashed SUV sitting on the sidewalk, and some kind of four-door sedan blocking the intersection (I live almost on a corner, by a stoplight). The sedan had run straight into the SUV, so the whole front was collapsed, and apparently the SUV rolled a couple of times. Lucky for the dumb-butt driving it (who ran the red light), it landed wheels-down. People were showing up from all over, and somebody shouted "call 911!" Since I had my cellphone in my hand, I said "I will!" and called (I totally hung up on That Girl without warning — I wasn't thinking too clearly). My phone screen said "SOS" when it connected, I noticed.

When you call 911 from a cellphone in California, you don't get the local dispatcher, you get the CHP (California Highway Patrol). I had to wait a few minutes, which is why they tell you to call from a land-line if it's really an emergency. Anyway by the time I got through the lady I talked to said there were people on the way, and as I hung up I could hear sirens. One fire truck, one ambulance, and two police cars. Neither of the guys driving had been injured, which is all good. In fact, they got out of their cars just fine and were standing on the sidewalk when all the big vehicles with shiny lights showed up.

So, I got to meet some of the people who live on my block (nobody seems to know anybody else's name, but we have nodding relationships), and hang out with Jody, who is one neighbor I actually know, and do a little civic duty on the side, albeit too late. By the time I went back inside, I was a lot more relaxed and not grouchy at all. Also I talked to Ed, who washes cars at the mechanic's on the corner, and made an appointment to get Whitey a bath. Ed usually parks on the corner, and his car would have been destroyed if it'd been there today. "I'm never parking there again!" he said.