"BANG!!!!!", not "BAM!!!!!"

So, I was hoping to start off this New Year... 2011... with a bang!

Well... that's what most people would want... except... you should be careful what you say. Sometimes, life has a "funny" way of giving you what you want... or, at the very least... manipulating your words in such a way that makes you say out loud, "Really?!?" yet... life finds a loophole where it manages to say, "Yeah, really!"

So... today started off pretty great... at least for a Monday.

I woke up without any problem, did my thing... got ready for work... feeling pretty good and not anti-morning/anti-Monday.

Head out... get on my bike and head to the kindergarten I was going to teach... iPod in ears without a care in the world.

A good 2-3 minutes from school... I pass this alley on the sidewalk and before long...

BAM!!!!!

I find myself on the floor... in disbelief that I was just hit by a car.

So, this car wasn't going fast... it was at the end of an alley road getting ready to turn into the main road... but, it also was in a slowing down pace... RATHER than an idle pace AFTER HAVING TO stop.

Yup, we've all done it before... the whole "I'm just going to slow down at this stop here" deal... when you're actually supposed to stop.

And, I know this car didn't stop because:

A) Had it stopped, I would've seen there was a car there.

B) Had it stopped... it would've been going at idle speed and we, both the driver and I, would've avoided car to bike contact. But, it obviously came out of nowhere... thus, going beyond idle speed and not having time to stop... well... stop in time to avoid knocking me down... if not, it would've ran me over and I wouldn't be typing this now... heh heh?

So, yeah... life wanted to take my need for starting this year with a Bang literally... and gave me a Bam instead.

Luckily... everything is okay. I came out of the incident with a bruised uh... inner thigh? and bumped/bruised shin.

Unluckily... I had to put up with a shitload of, in my opinion... unnecessary actions.

Part of living in Japan... I guess...

First off, I called my company because it was the "right" thing to do... seeing that they tell us to do that no matter how small the incident. It's mostly for our protection so that people won't take advantage of our gaijin-ess. I guess it worked out for me since they proved helpful when the driver, who admitted to my company that he didn't stop... later was telling the cop he did stop.

I made sure to use my Japanese-ness and listened carefully as he continually said he stopped... and I was like... uh... no... no, you didn't.

I had to try and tell the cop that he didn't stop... and of course, with nobody to back me up and my broken Japanese... the cop was likely taking the driver's side. Luckily my company had spoken to the man before when he admitted he hadn't... and were able to tell the cop.

Also, don't know why... but, they made it like a crime scene investigation deal I see on SVU or CSI all the time... heh heh.

The called another unit which consisted of 3 cops... one drawing chalk marks of where the car was... where my bike fell... where my fallen body laid... while the other cop took notes and another one took pictures.

In my mind... this was obviously too much since... well, I wasn't dead and standing upright without any problems next to them. Then, they made me get on my bike and take pictures next to the car where it had hit me.

Luckily for me... maybe from watching too much CSI... I was able to study the car beforehand and noticed where my arm had hit the car since dust from the car was wiped off. So, I pointed this out to the cops and they were able to agree that I did get hit from the front of the car... which went more with my story that the driver did not stop. Had the driver stopped, like he was claiming... the car would've hit me more from the side of the front... towards the wheel.

But, anyway... I digress... point is that with my company's backing... the cop took me side of the story... THE TRUTH!

Still... I did not go unpunished. I lightly got reprimanded how I should stop... even though it wasn't a crosswalk and I was on the sidewalk... just to be safe...

Uh... so, they want me to stop at every driveway and alley road... meaning... they want me to stop every 3-5 seconds... cause, yeah... that's how common driveways and alley roads are.

The lady the company sent to help me even found this to be strange... she kept telling the officer... "But, that's not a crosswalk... nobody stops there... it's the sidewalk..."

But, the officer said just to be safe... I should stop anyway... ( ._.)

I'm sure the driver got more than a light reprimanding... but, still... I was the victim... wasn't I? Why was I getting reprimanded?

Well... all in all... I'm glad things are okay... things could've been much worse.

What sucks though is... I had to go to the hospital even though I told them I was okay. Everything turned out fine... except for my wallet. The driver's insurance company will pay me for the expenses... later... so, until then... I had to pay it out of pocket.

And, since the insurance company will pay me... I wasn't allowed to use my health insurance... so, I had to pay the 100% charge of getting X-Rays and talking to the doctor. Then, they prescribed me pain medicine... though... I'm not really in much pain... just sore in the spots I mentioned earlier.

As for my bike... I will be needing to fix that or buy a new one... according to what the insurance prefers. But, yet again... I will be paying of that out of pocket until I get compensated.

::sigh::

Again... I should count my blessings. If anything... I actually felt bad for the driver.

Yeah, this dude tried to throw me under the bus and change his story... but, he was an elder man... definitely over 60.

And, while we waited for the second unit ("CSI" unit) of cops to arrive... he let me wait in his car since it was cold. I noticed then that even though he was putting up a great front and being all cool and collected... he actually wasn't. I saw his hands trembling... that pulled at my heart strings some.

I really hope he doesn't get in too much trouble... I even tried telling that to the cops when they were asking about his punishment. Hopefully the lady helping me was able to translate what I was saying. Of course I want him to pay for my unnecessary medical expenses and bike... but, I don't feel he should get punished beyond that since... I really am okay.

At the end of it all... I think I faired a lot better than the driver. He had to deal with his guilt at hitting someone... who happened to be a foreigner too. If I was in his shoes... I don't know what I'd do.

Try comforting and apologizing to someone who doesn't really speak your language... I can't even imagine.

So... yeah... poor man. I hope all fairs well for him.

Anyway... I think I rambled enough...

... here's to hoping my 2011 continuous with a metaphoric BANG... or whatever onomatopoeia goes with it... heh heh...