yesterday, I was hit by a car (technically)

Lest you think that my repeated rants about the amazing lack of driving aptitude in the Palo Alto/Mountain View area was without merit...

So here I am, walking around "pedestrian friendly" downtown Palo Alto, on my way to meet Kevin for dinner ahead of our birth class.

I cross a street at the crosswalk with the right of way (two things I admit I don't always do).

A car comes speeding toward me from the right. I figure the driver is going to make a right-turn-on-red at the light, so I angle myself to the right side of the crosswalk, so as to walk behind the car.

The car does NOT turn right-on-red, but instead kicks it into reverse and starts to (poorly) parallel park in what I should add is NOT a parking space.

As I am directly behind this car at this time, I am forced to scream (my choice - "oh my GOD!") and jump back. And, to be clear, I am "jumping back" into the line of traffic, as the light has changed and cars now are driving past/around me. Neither my scream, nor my pounding on the side of the car, alerted the driver that she was indeed about to plow me down.

All of this occurs after said car in question (a particularly hideous bright orange VW Bug) has grazed my hand going 3 MPH while parking.

Thus, the technical hit-by-car. Not to be confused with my actual hit-by-car, which occurred while I was in third grade, purchasing hot dogs for my mother at the local market, and running across a semi-busy road screaming "run for it."