Sidetracked

Had a funny morning. I got up early, got dressed, went online for a spell, and prepared for the 90-minute trip from Staten Island to Philadelphia for Wizard World, the biggest convention I visit on a regular basis.

Anyway...I drive my car. Make a turn. Go a little fast on the wet road. Start sliding. Go into some dirt and grass. Then the airbags inflated. My trip was offically over.

Don't get me wrong. If you have to get into an accident, it's best to do it ten minutes from home...by foot. I'm lucky that I didn't hit anything or anybody. All I really did was mess up a tire and release the airbags. By the way, inflating those things aren't fun. I'm tall and I had my belt on, so I wasn't really cushioned. Also, I had to open the door because the process ends up with a lot of smoke and the faint aroma of what smells like gunpowder.

Maybe I shouldn't go to Wizard World in the future, because I've had crap luck with the car. I rear-ended somebody three years ago on the final day (no real damage for either of us). Last year, I got pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike by a state trooper, and I ended up getting a warning. Roughly 24 hours later, near the same place, I hit a bird. Didn't even leave a mark on the windshield, but it was disconcerting. I'm a good driver, not like some of the maniacs I share the borough with. But commuting to Philly does seem to invite trouble.

I'm mad that I had to skip a day of a big convention (first time I've done that in four years), but I'm calm about it. Right now, my main concern is getting my car back in shape. Second on the list is going back to Philly tomorrow. Any way you slice it, it will be a hellicious commute. I'd have to get up really early, borrow my mother's car to get near a bus stop, take an express bus to Manhattan, get to Penn Station and take a New Jersey Transit train to Trenton, and transfer to a Philly-bound SEPTA train. Not only is this a long commute, but it'll drain my wallet. Bright side: I'd get to nap both ways, and it would be less costly than to use Amtrak.

Yesterday was okay, even as I put it in the "blah" column. I got a few good deals on comic books, but I was only able to get two sketches. One inker didn't sketch anymore, another was nowhere to be found, couldn't get a reference for one character, couldn't get to other artists in time, etc. Also, I had spicy General Tso's Chicken at the Reading Market. Not smart...too filling and my mouth was on fire. I should stick to Empire East on Staten Island (filling) and that one place at the Manhattan Mall (crispy) for my fix. Also, I got too into the Playstation booth. I haven't owned a console since the SNES, so hitting buttons in sequence wasn't for me (killing an ogre in God of War II, the scene with the two women in God of War). And I geeked out on the PSP version of Lemmings, which I rented for the NES back in the day.

Anyway...I'm okay, the car's not that messed up, and the only physical evidence of the accident is a small bump on my right arm where the airbag hit. And if I pull off the commute tomorrow, it would be prime fodder for a blog entry. Works better than something along the lines of "Why Wes Should Be Neutered," right?