I was walking on a busy street in the Financial District the other day, and I witnessed a minor car accident. For some inexplicable reason, a guy driving in the right lane decided to take a left turn without checking to see if there was any other traffic in the immediate vicinity. Predictably enough, the person driving just behind him in the left lane plowed into the rear driver’s side door.

I kept walking, figuring that it was none of my business, until I noticed something. Oblivious Guy’s car had escaped without any damage. Despite the fact that Faultless Guy was driving a decent sized pickup, Oblivious Guy’s Mercedes had maintained that “fresh off the lot” look that people with expensive cars tend to cultivate.

Impossible, I thought. I discreetly walked a little closer. Even at 50 feet or so, the body of the car was flawless. Not even a scratch, let alone the predictable dent. It was like the car was made out of some disturbing but highly effective combination of Teflon® and depleted uranium.

My thoughts? 1) Why do people who are totally oblivious to the rest of the world always have amazing luck? It’s not that I wanted someone to get hurt, but is it right for the Powers That Be to passively validate the driving skills of a person that could eventually kill someone? 2) It is a perfectly reasonable expectation that a base-priced $127,775 car be indestructible. I now understand a formerly elusive concept: the luxury car.

My friends Punam and Colin have produced a son:

This photo is from his namakarana, which is a Hindu naming ceremony. He was a pretty good sport throughout the event, which is probably due in part to the fact that he has a great name. Here’s what his dad has to say about it:

We gave him the name Dante Quinn — Dante after the poet and medieval prototype of the Renaissance man, and Quinn after the mighty Eskimo.

Click here for the Flickr set of ceremony pictures.

Yesterday’s power outage featured not only broken elevators and angsty financial district workers, but also flames leaping out of manhole covers and heroic personal sacrifice in the name of underwear:

Actor Torino Von Jones, 32, said he was filming a Fruit of the Loom commercial down the block at the time. “We were standing over there waiting for the camera cue when we heard a big explosion,” he said. “Flames came up taller than I am, and I’m 6 foot 2. “Naturally, when you hear an explosion, you think the worst,” Von Jones said. Nevertheless, he hurried back to work. “We’re Fruit of the Loom — we’ve got to make this commercial.”

- Experiencing a power outage while alone on an elevator
+Opting to get some exercise by walking up 17 flights of stairs, against building security’s orders, because milling about the lobby is so Waiting for Godot
- Arriving at the top of the stairs to find a locked door
+ Experiencing stranded office worker camaraderie back in the lobby. For instance:

‘”Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! (Pause. Vehemently.) Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late!”‘

- Realizing that climbing those stairs in heels might be hard on one’s knees
+ Using the existential experience as inspiration to post to one’s neglected blog

Yes, I know. It’s been 32 days since my last post. If I have any readers left, allow me to remind you that I posted every single day last November. Let’s just say that, on average, I’m not super lame. Only a little bit.

So what have I done since June 9? Here’s a small sample of the happenings:

• I attended my brother’s wedding, which was lovely, touching, and held on a criminally beautiful beach in Delaware.
• I worked temp gigs at an architecture firm, an engineering firm, a private equity firm that doubles as the X Consulate, a real estate brokerage, a biotech company, a tech company, and another tech company. Yes, we’re high on tech here in the Bay Area.
• I watched with mild trepidation as my boyfriend gouged a hole in the wall next to his front door, made some electrical adjustments, and wound up with a perfectly functioning keyless entry system.
• I got an ongoing part time job doing user support for an application hosted on a popular social networking site. If you can guess the site and the app, I’ll buy you a drink.
• I convinced an organization that has owed me money for the last six months to pay me. I was assertive. You might even say agressive.
• I reacquainted myself with Oakland while sitting for my friends’ dog.

Thanks for (still) reading.

Last month I spent a lovely birthday in Binghamton, New York, the town in which I spent a fair percentage of my childhood. Click here for more photos, complete with fun descriptions!

Seen thus far: a bear crossing a residential street, a meese crossing sign, two formerly attended elementary schools, four former residences, one college, one university, one broken down car, two grandparents, one friend, a ferry, a train, three states, rain, lightning, and a bee-yoo-tiful landscape.