I got my car back from the body shop last week after $3,000 in repairs–more than the 1998 Honda Civic is worth. The front right and left sides of my coupe were damaged in the three-car fender-bender on my way home from work a few weeks ago. I also had to pay $300+ for a rental, which isn't automatically covered in Massachusetts.

Although I haven't heard about the status of the other two drivers (a young woman had swerved from the right lane into the center lane, forcing the driver there to pin my automobile between his vehicle and the guardrail), I still hope to be reimbursed the $500 insurance deductible since the accident clearly wasn't my fault. I also just noticed that one of my side lights is still out, so I'll have to go back to the shop.

Janice and I managed to get most of our possessions packed before our move within Needham Heights, Mass., this past weekend. Janice's parents, her youngest sister Melinda, and Melinda's precocious 8-year-old daughter Amanda came from Upstate New York to help us. Much thanks also to local friends Thomas K.Y., James B., and Cliff Y. for their assistance, which made moving numerous boxes of books, clothing, decorations, and housewares/garden tools easier! We took several loads in a rented van between our old and new duplexes on Saturday, 15 April 2006. We also ordered pizza for everyone.

On Easter Sunday, Janice and I drove up to the Westin in Waltham for a breakfast buffet with her family before continuing to clean both places and move smaller items. Our new apartment is slightly smaller and is a mirror image of the previous one (things that were on the left are now on the right), which has been somewhat disorienting. Parking is also a bit more limited. Janice's folks left by midafternoon, then Thomas came and helped us move and set up our home computer. He and friend Matt joined us for dinner at Mandarin Cuisine, a nearby Chinese restaurant.

On Monday, I had to go to work, while Janice supervised the hired movers, who took our larger appliances and furniture over. She also dealt with the transition of utilities such as our telephone/cable television/broadband Internet service (our phone number has stayed the same). I've volunteered for an annual writing assignment at CW, and while the timing could be better, I'm now also busy conducting phone interviews in addition to my regular copy editing for print and online.

As David I.S. noted, many of our circles of acquaintances are going through turmoil right now: sick children (on both sides of Janice's and my families), job/house changes (Dave is deep in academic/bureaucratic job stress, Steve M. in Connecticut also has to move, and Nicole L.P. may be changing jobs), and members of the Boston-area social/gaming groups are about to have seasonal turnover. Not to mention the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and resulting oil price gouging, domestic insecurity, and the return of my allergies to pollen and dust. I'll be glad when we'll all be past this.

On a lighter note, I've been able to keep up with the latest episodes of adolescent angst in "Veronica Mars" and "Smallville," the D.C. Comics decennial continuity house-cleaning seems to be paying off in its "One Year Later" storylines, and the final episodes of "Justice League Unlimited" have been decent and foreshadow more superheroic action on the Cartoon Network this coming autumn in "Legion of Superheroes" and "Fantastic Four."

I also recommend the BBC/SciFi Channel's revived "Doctor Who" to those who haven't yet seen the long-running time travel T.V. show. The regular "SciFriday" lineup will return in July. Nickelodeon's "Avatar: the Last Airbender" is better than most anime imported into the U.S. from Asia, IMHO, and has been one influence on my D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands" heroic fantasy campaign.

Speaking of role-playing, I've had to postpone various one-shots and skip a few "Seekers of Lore" sessions. When we left the current Player Characters, they had found themselves involved in a murder mystery in a steampunk future. In addition, the role-play by e-mail parties (led by Dexter V.H./"Faelonia," Byron V.O./"Ibrahim," Carolyn M.P./"Grace," and Greg D.C./"Janus") are busy preparing to fight dragons during delayed face-to-face gatherings.

I look forward to getting back to gaming, although hosting may be a challenge (unpacking is going slowly), and scheduling remains a challenge. "Liberators" and "Animals" alumnus Mark A.S. will be visiting from New Zealand (by way of San Diego and Chicago for work) during the next two weekends. Since I was forced to postpone various visits because of our move and travel next month, Mark will be staying with Thomas, and we'll probably get together for lunch and/or dinner this coming Sunday. In the meantime, I hope that all's well with you…

Friends, the past week has been difficult, but at least it's over. I was busy enough with work, but events, some expected and some not, have added to Janice's and my calendar and expenses.

At about 5:45 p.m. last Tuesday, 28 March 2006, I had just left work and was in the left lane of Speen Street in Framingham, Massachusetts, headed southbound toward the exit for Route 9 East toward Boston. Across from the Natick Mall, a sedan driven by Laura K.C. swerved from the right lane into the center lane, cutting off Michael B. in his Lexus.

He then swung into my lane, striking my green 1998 Honda Civic coupe and forcing me to the guardrail. All three automobiles pulled over immediately after the accident. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Michael and I exchanged information and called the police and our insurance agents on our cell phones, but we found Laura and her passenger to be uncooperative. They said the car wasn't theirs and that they weren't responsible for our fender-bender.

The Natick police arrived, took statements, and let the two young women go. Michael's car was slightly damaged in the left rear quadrant where it had struck my vehicle, which received the worst damage. My right front wheel now rubbed against the wheel well, the suspension on that side was squeaky, and the left front fender was also badly scratched and dented by the guardrail.

I limped home and spent the next few days talking to insurance agents, who said they intend to track down Laura. I was also late for work that Wednesday because I had to drop off my car at a body shop in Norwood, Mass., and pick up a rental 2006 Toyota Corolla. As of this writing, the insurance assessors haven't yet looked at my Civic, but I hope I won't have to pay the deductible since the incident clearly wasn't my fault.

Wednesday night brought more bad news: As Janice and I had suspected, our landlord wasn't renewing our lease for Bobsled Drive. Apparently, after the recent death of his father (who had built numerous apartments in the area about 50 years ago), he had to sell half of his properties to pay taxes. Janice and I had noticed that several units around us had been vacant for weeks, and we thought they might be torn down for luxury homes. About 40 families have been displaced.

Fortunately, Janice immediately began searching for housing. She contacted real estate agents and our landlord, who had not replied to earlier calls and was apologetic. He said that he wanted to keep us as tenants and offered another duplex only a few blocks away. Naturally, despite our problems with October's basement floods and the lease renewal, the chance to move into a nearly identical space in a neighborhood we like and to avoid having to pay deposit, first/last months' rent, and realtor's fees was too good to pass up.

Thanks to our friends who offered their support. Some of them advised us to buy a house, but given our time and cost constraints (we have to move within the next few weeks, and we'll be out of town for much of May), relocating nearby makes the most sense right now. We like Needham Heights, Mass., because it's midway between Janice's technical writing job in Norwood and my copy editing work in Framingham, has public transportation access into Boston, and is a quiet residential community.

Janice and I will be moving within Needham on Easter weekend (April 15 to 17). Her parents and one of her sisters will be coming from Upstate New York to help, and some of the local social/gaming group have also offered their assistance. Thanks in advance! Alas, I wasn't able to get any additional time off from work. As you can imagine, we have lots of books and other stuff to pack within the next two weeks. I spent much of this past weekend filing, so some friends will be getting snailmail packages in the next week or so.

Unfortunately, I've had to postpone the planned visits from out-of-town friends, including Dexter V.H., Erik B.L., Ron J.K., and Carolyn M.P., as well as various one-shot role-playing sessions. They'll have to wait until after our trips to the U.S. Southwest (for a conference in Las Vegas, sightseeing at the Grand Canyon, and volunteering at the Best Friends animal shelter in Utah) and to Belgium (for the baptism of niece Ava with my father's side of the family).

Although we didn't have time to get out to the movies this past weekend (computer-animated comedy "Ice Age 2: Meltdown" and political satire "Thank You for Smoking" opened), Janice and I did take advantage of the nice weather to check out our new place, as well as Needham's renovated public library. Last week's "Dragon King" miniseries on the SciFi Channel was only O.K., but it did prompt me to reread the original Germanic/Scandinavian epics. It's just as well that most genre television shows are in reruns right now, since we'll be busy enough…