Two bad things and a lot of other good ones

Well, I've just had a really weird day. The good things: some very satisfying and productive meetings at school that reminded me how much I enjoy administrative work; a haircut; the interesting though not-exactly-my-cup-of-tea Slava Snowshow and a pleasant dinner downtown (checked out demonstrators at Union Square but I am afraid extreme dislike of crowds prevents me from demonstrating myself, though I am wholly in support, of course...). Bad thing #1: got to my office this morning & discovered weird power outage had taken down the dehumidifer--introduced in aftermath of second toxic mold infestation; unfortunately the "bucket" fills up in less than twelve hours so it is virtually useless; in this case the office had become so humid that I used up a whole book of matches trying and failing to light the scented candle I bought to remedy the basement smell, they were nothing more than limp cardboard--and also my computer. Everything came back on once I turned on the power strip again, EXCEPT MY COMPUTER. Verdict of tech guy: it's totally defunct, short-circuit inside, and must be thrown in the trash. Hardly could happen at a worse time of year. Will have to obtain a discarded one from the computer graveyard in the English dept., since have no funds to purchase a new one. Bad thing #2: got in a cab about an hour and a half ago at 17th and Park, heading uptown. Caught short in a nasty fender-bender around 30th and Lex--my head slammed into the partition, b/c of course I wasn't wearing a seatbelt... All fine, really, but I hate to think what the bruise is going to look like tomorrow. Fortunately the cop & the driver peacefully let me leave the scene without putting my name in the accident report, and I decided to walk across town and get on the 1/9 for rest of journey home--only of course this took me into the heart of the "weirdly-roped-off-for-the-republicans" part of town, which I'd meant to avoid at all costs. Got the train at Times Square, now safely home. It is a testament to the good mental health induced by my sabbatical that I am not much more upset than I actually am... Lesson for the day: wear a seatbelt in cabs, even if you think the driver will take it as criticism of his driving...