5 Lessons Learned from an Accident

So, yeah, as Emily's post prior to this one indicates, my awesome driving skills on Monday proved to be the death of my lil' Mazda. However, I did manage to learn some important lessons:

1. Faithful vehicle maintenance, regular washings, tire rotations, etc. do nothing to prolong the life of your car if you go run it into things at high speeds.
2. Broken glass gets everywhere. Little nuggets, glass dust, glass slivers... I was still picking it out of my hair that night. And it somehow got into all my personal belongings that I took out of the car, even the ones in the glove box.
3. Totaling your car is comparable to what I imagine murdering your best friend would be like: you feel a deep sense of shame and betrayal. The car seems to weep, "Hey buddy, what'd I ever do to you?" And when you go to the towing yard to remove the aftermarket wheels you had on the car, it feels like you're looting the corpse of your best friend after murdering him.
4. Going from freeway speed to zero in an instant gives you a chilling idea of just how fast we're actually moving in cars.
5. This is what $14,000 in damage looks like: