Car crash
October 25, 2011 11:29 AM Subscribe
I got in a car crash. What now?
I'm not sure what I want out of this question. Maybe people to pat me on the head and say, "It's going to be okay," but I have a couple people IRL to do that for me -- and when push comes to shove, it doesn't mean much. Maybe just the opportunity to vent, but I've also done that a couple times IRL, and it's little comfort.
Maybe just some other people's perspectives. Other people's thoughts.
----------
I moved to Los Angeles in June to become a screenwriter or film producer. My immediate plan was to try to find a PA job, or an assistant job, or to get in the mailroom of a talent agency. I made a few inroads along those lines (informational interviews at 3 of the 5 big agencies, for example, and a connection with two writers who, if their pitches get picked up for the next pilot season, may hire me as a writer's assistant), but no actual jobs.
For a couple of months now, I've been doing an internship at a production company (a company that produces movies for one of the major studios). The people are great, the experience is fun and educational, but there's no chance it will turn into a paying job because the company is very small and won't be hiring.
For a couple of months now, I've also been doing tutoring of elementary, middle, and high school students -- five kids in two different families. This is enough to pay rent and other basic expenses, but very little more.
Last weekend, I got in a car accident. I was turning off a small street onto a large street when I hit a car that out of the blue came speeding in front of me. I think it is the other person's fault (because of the speeding), but without a witness I don't know if I'll be able to prove this. In addition, I had bought a new insurance policy literally one it before the accident. This meant that on the insurance company's end, their paperwork had not yet been processed, so while they let me file a claim, they didn't actually have a record of me having insurance.
Right now, my car (which, before the crash, was worth $3,000 to $4,000) is at a body shop. It lost a headlight and the front bumper, and the frame behind the bumper was heavily wrecked. The mechanic said that because of the state of the frame, he couldn't just put a new bumper on -- he would have to start prying stuff and taking stuff apart, and that it might not be worth it to even begin. On the other hand, another person has told me that only the insurance company can determine whether the car has been totaled.
I do not have comprehensive insurance; I will only get a check if it was the other person's fault. (I talked to the insurance agent yesterday in order to speed up the paperwork on their end, because it hadn't yet made it into their system that I had insurance, and he also mentioned that if the blame was split 50/50, I might get paid as well.) Either way, what is most frustrating to me is how slow the process seems to take.
I have scaled my internship back to once a week -- the one day I can get there by bus. I have canceled one of the families I tutor for and kept the other (more lucrative) one. I can get there by bus. (However, I certainly do not trust the LA bus system. For example, one the way home from tutoring yesterday, the bus did not show up, and I had to wait another 40 minutes for the next one. If this happens on the way TO tutoring, not the way BACK, I'll be fucked.) This will make money even tighter, but the money problem right now is not a week-to-week one, it's a fix-my-car one.
I really, really, really would like my car back.
I would also really, really, really like for someone to take a fucking chance on me and give me a $500-a-week assistant/PA job. It wouldn't be any more than what I'm making right now, but it would make me feel like I'm actually on a career path. Of course, if this was a PA job, not an assistant job, it would end in a couple months when the show ends -- and I probably wouldn't be able to go back to the tutoring, because the company I work for that found my clients would not take me back for quitting on them in the middle of the school year. (I guess there would be unemployment, though? Not sure.) Even on top of that, though, I think I need my car to even get an assistant/PA job at this point.
I almost feel like I have more free time right now so I should be writing, but with all this hanging over my head, I just can't. Also, if someone decided to just buy one of the two screenplays I've written, that would work out as well, but -- HA! Just kidding.
I guess the advice I'm looking for most has to do with my car. Should I tell the mechanic to order the parts and fix it as soon as possible, and worry about the insurance later? (This would mean getting into credit card debt, and I've ALWAYS paid off my balance at the end of the month, but I guess in emergencies...) Also, I think before I can start to do that, the insurance adjuster needs to take a look at the car, but because they're still processing my paperwork to even figure out that I *have* insurance (I do; I faxed the insurance adjuster my proof of insurance and went back to the agent I bought it from to get him to fast-track the paperwork, but they told me it will take time), I don't know when that will actually happen.
--------
A few years ago, I was in and out of psychiatric wards because of suicidal depression. I was lonely, closeted, and without the slightest of ideas of a career plan. Now, I'm healthy (I'm not on any meds and don't feel like I need them), I have a few friends, I came out to my parents (ugh, don't ask) and the rest of the world (starting to get laid, yay! and gay friends, super yay!), and I have a dream that I've made progress on chasing (namely, buying a car, driving out to LA without knowing barely a soul in the town, and finding an internship in the industry).
I've come a very long way. But now...
I just want my car!
I'm not sure what I want out of this question. Maybe people to pat me on the head and say, "It's going to be okay," but I have a couple people IRL to do that for me -- and when push comes to shove, it doesn't mean much. Maybe just the opportunity to vent, but I've also done that a couple times IRL, and it's little comfort.
Maybe just some other people's perspectives. Other people's thoughts.
----------
I moved to Los Angeles in June to become a screenwriter or film producer. My immediate plan was to try to find a PA job, or an assistant job, or to get in the mailroom of a talent agency. I made a few inroads along those lines (informational interviews at 3 of the 5 big agencies, for example, and a connection with two writers who, if their pitches get picked up for the next pilot season, may hire me as a writer's assistant), but no actual jobs.
For a couple of months now, I've been doing an internship at a production company (a company that produces movies for one of the major studios). The people are great, the experience is fun and educational, but there's no chance it will turn into a paying job because the company is very small and won't be hiring.
For a couple of months now, I've also been doing tutoring of elementary, middle, and high school students -- five kids in two different families. This is enough to pay rent and other basic expenses, but very little more.
Last weekend, I got in a car accident. I was turning off a small street onto a large street when I hit a car that out of the blue came speeding in front of me. I think it is the other person's fault (because of the speeding), but without a witness I don't know if I'll be able to prove this. In addition, I had bought a new insurance policy literally one it before the accident. This meant that on the insurance company's end, their paperwork had not yet been processed, so while they let me file a claim, they didn't actually have a record of me having insurance.
Right now, my car (which, before the crash, was worth $3,000 to $4,000) is at a body shop. It lost a headlight and the front bumper, and the frame behind the bumper was heavily wrecked. The mechanic said that because of the state of the frame, he couldn't just put a new bumper on -- he would have to start prying stuff and taking stuff apart, and that it might not be worth it to even begin. On the other hand, another person has told me that only the insurance company can determine whether the car has been totaled.
I do not have comprehensive insurance; I will only get a check if it was the other person's fault. (I talked to the insurance agent yesterday in order to speed up the paperwork on their end, because it hadn't yet made it into their system that I had insurance, and he also mentioned that if the blame was split 50/50, I might get paid as well.) Either way, what is most frustrating to me is how slow the process seems to take.
I have scaled my internship back to once a week -- the one day I can get there by bus. I have canceled one of the families I tutor for and kept the other (more lucrative) one. I can get there by bus. (However, I certainly do not trust the LA bus system. For example, one the way home from tutoring yesterday, the bus did not show up, and I had to wait another 40 minutes for the next one. If this happens on the way TO tutoring, not the way BACK, I'll be fucked.) This will make money even tighter, but the money problem right now is not a week-to-week one, it's a fix-my-car one.
I really, really, really would like my car back.
I would also really, really, really like for someone to take a fucking chance on me and give me a $500-a-week assistant/PA job. It wouldn't be any more than what I'm making right now, but it would make me feel like I'm actually on a career path. Of course, if this was a PA job, not an assistant job, it would end in a couple months when the show ends -- and I probably wouldn't be able to go back to the tutoring, because the company I work for that found my clients would not take me back for quitting on them in the middle of the school year. (I guess there would be unemployment, though? Not sure.) Even on top of that, though, I think I need my car to even get an assistant/PA job at this point.
I almost feel like I have more free time right now so I should be writing, but with all this hanging over my head, I just can't. Also, if someone decided to just buy one of the two screenplays I've written, that would work out as well, but -- HA! Just kidding.
I guess the advice I'm looking for most has to do with my car. Should I tell the mechanic to order the parts and fix it as soon as possible, and worry about the insurance later? (This would mean getting into credit card debt, and I've ALWAYS paid off my balance at the end of the month, but I guess in emergencies...) Also, I think before I can start to do that, the insurance adjuster needs to take a look at the car, but because they're still processing my paperwork to even figure out that I *have* insurance (I do; I faxed the insurance adjuster my proof of insurance and went back to the agent I bought it from to get him to fast-track the paperwork, but they told me it will take time), I don't know when that will actually happen.
--------
A few years ago, I was in and out of psychiatric wards because of suicidal depression. I was lonely, closeted, and without the slightest of ideas of a career plan. Now, I'm healthy (I'm not on any meds and don't feel like I need them), I have a few friends, I came out to my parents (ugh, don't ask) and the rest of the world (starting to get laid, yay! and gay friends, super yay!), and I have a dream that I've made progress on chasing (namely, buying a car, driving out to LA without knowing barely a soul in the town, and finding an internship in the industry).
I've come a very long way. But now...
I just want my car!
This post was deleted for the following reason: Sorry, this is way too rambling; you need to narrow down and state your direct question. -- taz
Response by poster: I find it highly, highly unlikely. I think the only thing I paid for beyond the VERY bare minimum is a small amount that would cover me if the other driver in an accident was uninsured. She was insured, though..
[BTW, as an aside: I am physically okay. So is the other driver and the other driver's passenger. This is a good thing.]
posted by lewedswiver at 11:49 AM on October 25, 2011
[BTW, as an aside: I am physically okay. So is the other driver and the other driver's passenger. This is a good thing.]
posted by lewedswiver at 11:49 AM on October 25, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by royalsong at 11:47 AM on October 25, 2011