Craaaash

Everynow and then I check out the online version of Eastern's online newspaper, just to see what scandal is currently brewing around the campus. Today was one of those days, and to my surprise, the leading story involved the first apartment complex I ever lived in.

Out-of-control car slams into apartment
Driver, residents unharmed; vehicle lost traction on ice

By James Cavanaugh / Staff Writer
MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008

Several Ypsilanti residents were surprised by a large boom Saturday evening when a woman driving a beige Chevrolet Cobalt crashed into an unoccupied ground-level apartment in the Brickhaven complex at the corner of Washtenaw and Ballard.

The woman, who was conscious when removed from the scene, appeared uninjured when taken from her car on a gurney by paramedics. The Ypsilanti fire department declined to release the woman's name. No one was in the apartment at the time of the crash and no one else was injured.

According to Ypsilanti fire department Lieutenant Max Anthouard, the woman lost control of her car in the snow while traveling east on Washtenaw Avenue, drove approximately 40 feet across the lawn and crashed through a sliding glass door.

Anthouard also stated that alcohol was not involved.

Eugene Holst, a third floor resident of the complex, was the first person to find the woman and her car — sitting in the apartment.

"I was upstairs working on my computer and there was a large noise," said Holst. "I saw the tracks in the snow and thought it wasn't a good thing."

"She looked shaken up," said Holst. "But she appeared to be OK."

According to Holst, the first thing he did was calm the woman down and then had fellow Brickhaven resident Anita Hargrove call 911.

Hargrove was taking out her trash when the crash occurred.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Hargrove.

Several residents of the complex and surrounding apartments noted hearing the crash, but at first weren't sure what happened.

"At first, I thought somebody was moving a couch and it fell down," said Karen McAdoo, who lives in the apartment complex next to Brickhaven.

EMU technology studies graduate student David Gladding was in his house, two doors down, when the crash occurred.

"I heard something while I was watching T.V.," said Gladding. "I heard the fire engines and was worried my house was on fire."

"It shook the building," said Lisa Hampton, who lives at the Brickhaven complex.

There was no major structural damage according to Lt. Anthouard, but the crash did damage a hot water line that may affect the heating system in the building.

Immediately following the crash, firefighters on the scene advised occupants of the apartment directly above to stay off their balcony. However, according to Anthouard, "the building inspector [later] came and said everything was fine."

I didn't think that Brickhaven could get anymore ghetto than it was the last time I drove by there 4 years ago...I guess I was wrong.

Are you kidding me!?

So I get a daily email from a website called Uncrate whichs finds cool stuff for guys on the Internet, and lists the coolest of the cool in an email. When I got my update from yesterday, this was listed. At first I thought it was an error, and that a product for women mistakenly was listed, but after reading the discription, it is in fact for men.

This brings two questions to mind:

1) Seriously, there are men who would actually use this?
2) There's a big enough market for this product?

Yikes

Dreaming of Baseball Season

Randomness

- Tucker turned 2 months old earlier this week. When I think back to the day he was born, it really doesn't seem like its been 2 months already. In the same hand, it seems like he's been around a lot longer than that. I'm sure this probably doesn't make sense to anyone other than myself. Its been amazing to see how fast he's growing.

- Over the last week and a half I've really seen a change in him. He seems to have found his voice over this time, and really likes to be heard around the house. In the same time he's figured out where his mouth is, and how to get his hand in it, with relative ease now. He also has started forming opinions about things. When feeding him, he does not like to have the bottle taken away from him, nor does he liked to be burped. If you try to do either of these things, he'll voice his displeasure and won't stop until he's got the bottle back. If you try to burp him, he'll pull away from you, and try to break free to get back to the bottle. It's been pretty amazing and fun to see him develop so far.

- Blake's 8th birthday was this past Saturday. For his birthday he wanted us to go roller-skating. After his basketball practice we went over to Staunton to a roller-rink that he went to a few times over the summer with his day camp. Overall I did ok. I started with roller-blades, but after a few times around the rink, I had to switch to roller-skates because my achilles tendons felt like they were going to explode. I didn't fall down once, nor did I run over anyone either. It had been at least 15-18 years since I last roller-skated. It had also been at least 7 or 8 years since I last used roller-blades, and that was when I was run-over by a girl on a 10-speed at Gallup Park back in Ann Arbor. I'm sure that Derek and Mike can still fondly remember that instance..

- You know you're getting old when you can type about something that happened in the past, and say that it happened 15-18 years ago....

- We've had some crazy weather over the past week or so. The past couple days it was in the 70's and sunny. Today, its in the low 40's and rainy. Tomorrow its supposed to be back up in the 60's. The warm weather over the past few days got me thinking of spring and baseball. Spring Training is only like 5 weeks away!

- I love election years. I love watching the whole election process play out, and listen to all the pundits make their guesses, and see who is right and who is wrong. I'm still trying to figure out who I'd vote for. Right now I'm in a toss-up for Obama or Edwards, leaning towards Obama. After 8 years of having the Bush Criminals run the country, I will have a hard time voting for a Republican. The only Republican I would vote for would be McCain, but that would only happen if he were to go up against Hillary Clinton. This country definately needs a new direction, and I think main way to take a new direction is to not have a Presidental string that goes Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton. Obama just seems to have something about him that makes me think that things can indeed be better, and that he's the one that could pull it off. It would be nice to vote for a candidate that I really believed in on election day, rather than going into the voting booth, trying to pick the lesser of 2 evils, as I have the past couple of elections (which unfortunately backfired since the evil one was the one I voted for and who won.)

- While listening to the radio one night last week while driving up to the store, I came across a band called The Kooks, and the song "She Moves in Her Own Way". Very catchy, and the rest of the album is pretty cool too.

Like Father, Like Son

Poor kid. 8 weeks old, and he's already starting to experience the hairloss that runs on the Webb side of the family.