7th Car Accident

We have been incredibly unlucky with car accidents here. Together, DH and I have been involved in 7 car accidents, NONE of which have been our fault.

Me:

1. Hit by a car that went through a stop sign as I was turning left off a more major road (Evan was in the car at the time – he was about 1 year old). Good amount of damage to the driver’s side; 1 carseat had to be replaced.
2. Rear-ended by a car as I was stopped in a left-hand turning lane. Not enough damage to get insurance involved but 2 carseats had to be replaced.
3. An oncoming pick-up truck (F150) tried to turn left in front of me as I was going straight on a 2-lane highway. Large amount of damage to the driver’s side wheel well and door; my car was written off; 2 carseats had to be replaced. We had to purchase a new vehicle. That was last October.

DH:

1. Side-swiped by a car trying to change lanes while he was waiting at a stop light. A large amount of damage was done to the passenger side; 1 carseat had to be replaced.
2. Rear-ended while waiting at a stop light. Bumper and trunk mechanism had to be replaced; 2 carseats had to be replaced.
3. Rear-ended by a school transport van while waiting at a stop light. Bumper had to be replaced; 2 carseats had to be replaced.
4. T-boned by a car that ran a red light. Passenger side airbag went off; large amount of damage to the passenger side front wheel well, door, and headlights; DH get fairly serious concussion. Car is written off; two carseats need to be replaced; need to buy ANOTHER vehicle.

This is quite the list, don’t you think?  That last one just happened on Labour Day. DH is still recovering from his concussion.  We’ve had to buy two new vehicles within a year because of accidents that weren’t our fault.

DH says if he gets in another accident, he’s going to stop driving. I’m feeling the same way, but would not have the ability to follow through because my job means I am travelling around the city and surrounding area.

Though we’ve never been at fault, it always ends up costing us money, especially when a car is written off. Plus, it’s always a giant pain the ass to get all the insurance sorted out, to make sure a police report gets filed, buy new carseats (they have to be replaced if they’re ever in a car that’s in an accident, even a minor one), etc..

When I moved here, I immediately noticed the drivers were not as safe or aware of their surroundings as in other – much larger – cities I had lived in. That’s just something people say when they move, right? Well, this is definitely proving true – at least in our case.

Anyone else out there feel like they’re a target on the road?

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Still Upset

I’m still upset about how my work situation was handled before I went on maternity leave* back in September.

I have not written about it much yet, but it’s still bothering me, 9 months later. So, here’s the story.

Basically what happened is that I was going to cut my contract on Sept. 13th to go on “leave” (not really a leave, since I was on contract, and would have no guaranteed job to go back to). I was told that the $$ was there to pay someone to take over the position for at least the duration of the contract (March 31, 2014), with a possibility of give them an extension on the contract until I want to come back (plan was August 1, 2014, if there was funding at that point).

At the end of July, we interviewed someone, really liked her, and my boss gave her a verbal offer. She was going to start September 1st, to overlap with me for about 2 weeks to learn the ropes. The contract was drafted, and her references were being contacted…until it just stopped. During August, both me and the person who was to take over, contacted several people several times about the contract, and why it was taking longer than expected.

Then, near the end of August. she was contact by my boss and another staff member to have a meeting over Skype to talk about the position. She asked me if I knew what this was about, and I didn’t..I had no clue what was going on. They had the meeting on the 26th, and it turned out it was actually another interview (without telling her that). They told her the position was NOT going to be what it was at the time, and told her how it would be different (totally different duties, and much lower pay).

In the meantime, I was left out of the loop completely on all of this. I was frantically preparing everything to train the new person the next week, and to make sure everything was all organized for her. Three business days before she was supposed to start, she was offered the new job at the new pay and she turned it down. Again, I had not be told any of this, and never was.

I spent the last 2 weeks of my time there wrapping up loose ends. I knew there was not going to be a replacement for me, but not from my boss or other university staff. In fact, to this day, no one at the university has told me that 1) there would be no replacement for my position, and 2) there would be no option for a job for me to go back too (though we agreed I’d go back August 1, 2014).

Needless to say, I was not happy about how the situation was handled. It still upsets me. Nothing was done wrong in the legal sense, but it was just unprofessional. I have pretty much cut all contact with those I worked with/for**, but I have never brought it up with HR, my boss(es), or anyone else at the university.

What would you have done at the time? Would you do something now?

*Not really maternity leave, since I had no just to go back too.

**Though I do see one of my bosses from time to time with things unrelated to work, which can be awkward (for me, at least…can’t speak for them)

Archaic Medical Equipment

One of the interesting thing about seeing multiple doctors in various specialties is seeing the gamut of medical equipment they use.

Most of the doctors I work with use very modern and cutting edge technology like MRI and CT scanners – a lot of imaging is done for diagnostic purposes.

But, I’ve seen a few instruments that look like right out of a 1930s movie.

For example, have you ever had your hearing tested? You basically sit in a sound proof booth that looks like its from mid-century game show. The one I was in was even that green colour typical of appliances back in the 60s and 70s. The peripheral vision test equipment, and the office it was situated in, was from a similar era – complete with piles of folders of the same green and boxes and boxes of paper records.

Is it that not much has changed with technology in those areas, or am I just working with doctors who refuse to adapt and learn how to use new equipment (which is worrisome, really)?

But, I’m not the only one. DH’s coworker was telling him the last time he visited an ENT specialist (Ears Nose and Throat). He actually had one of these on his head:

Are you like me and never realized that thing was actually useful and not just part of the caricature of a doctor? Apparently, there is a bright light situated behind the patient, then the doctor holds a reflective cone in the ear and reflects the light off this thing into the cone to see inside the ear. Yeah…the doctor used that set up rather than this highly sophisticated technical piece of equipment:

I think I might question my doctor’s ability/sanity if they pulled that.

What’s the weirdest piece of medical equipment you’ve seen?