January 24, 2013
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boring and whiny (still)
I had an interesting morning. I parked my car and was walking into the building when this lady stopped me to ask if she could borrow my phone. Her car was parked up the hill, door open, hazards on (I think, but maybe not.) She said her car wouldn’t start. I offered to jumpstart her. She was wishy washy about it, so I lent her the phone because she said she’d call her husband. No answer. I pulled my car over, figured out where my cables were (which is more complicated than you might think) and looked under her hood. Couldn’t find the battery. She had a VW. Every under the hood was covered in plastic. By this point I was pretty much frozen and suggested we go inside to get our handy dandy custodian’s help. Yes, I’m helpless that way. Anyhow. We went in, had to wait because the school was in the middle of a “secure in place”drill and then there was difficulty finding the custodian (probably because he was knee deep in the drill too.) Anyhow. The lady and I went back outside. Miraculously, with a heated brain, I was able to find the hidden battery and was attempting to find some exposed metal (everything under this hood was plastic- have I mentioned that?). About this time, the custodian came out, checked out my connections, and we had her start the car. We both mentioned that she should keep the car running. Somewhere in this conversation, I mentioned her husband again and did she want to call him again to get him to help her. This is when she explained that wouldn’t do much good because he’s in New Jersey. Of course, I wondered why the heck she’d call him in the first place.
I went about my merry day. At the end of the day, I talked with both the custodian and the school secretary. They both mentioned that she’d turned off the car, needed a second jump and eventually called a tow truck. Seriously, sweetie. Why did you turn off the car? Even I know that you need to leave a car running when you get a jump. (I have learned this through my vast experience in dead batteries. I used to have trouble turning off lights. (They are automatic now. Thank goodness.) The children also have trouble closing doors.
I was late to work. Not that it necessarily matters. I suppose I did a good deed. I have a firm understanding of how to jump a car, which I hope I’ll remember for the next time. I seem to be pursuing this as a hobby.
I nearly have Spawn’s cape done. Spouseman is taking the children to some Con thing or Com thing or what have you. The girls are dressing up. Spawn has spent all week making a stick. I’ve put off the cape for a week. LLO needs ears and a tail. Never-ending good times. The best part of this is that the people are leaving the house. Which is most excellent, because I can party all day. As soon as I get all the stuff done that needs to be done. Oh, nevermind.
There. I have managed to keep to this part of my plan for 4 days now.
Comments (27)
One of my cousins gave me a “survival kit” for my car a few years ago. It has some miscellaneous tools in it and jumper cables. Of course I don’t know how to hook them up, but I suppose that theoretically the person I was hooking to might know more than I do? Anyway now with the new car I have roadside assistance for the first like 100,000 miles or something like that. But anyway, yeah, I would keep the car running, especially if some nice people who appeared to know more about cars than me (everyone) told me so.
Her plan to call her husband reminded me of my sister, stuck in a Chicago airport, calling my mother. Mom’s response: “what exactly do you want me to do?” O.o
@leaflesstree - my cables were a christmas gift a couple years ago. and i didn’t care how to use them. until i started providing roadside assistance.
what exactly do you want me to do. i love that.
i’m thinking the VW lady really killed her husband and was just trying to establish an alibi
but yeah good for you for helping out a murderer *sticks tongue out
it is probably something “con”–short for convention i guess
Wow what a morning…I have nothing else other than WOW and she shut the car off after getting it started and yes even I know not to do that
Once again, you have shown how patient you can be. “Like a goodneighbor………… Carrie will be there!”
(I love those comercials)
@bonmots - i’d kill him too for picking out a car with all the plastic. (and i’m sure he did pick it.) yea. it is con. golly, i can’t stand manga. the only good thing about manga is that my people are giving me a day.
@SisterMae - i know, really.
@armnatmom - and flexible. and i tell you i’m thinking patient and flexible are 4 letter words.
I think I’d rather have a boring morning than an interesting one like yours. I can’t fix anything on cars. I don’t need to because my husband and son own an auto garage. I’m spoiled.
@ata_grandma - the women who need car jumping never seem to need it when there is a spouse around. sigh. but, fine. now i’m trained. i can take care of myself when i have a battery issue. (i bet your husband and son check the oil)
You can jump start a car, that is really good for you. I know I couldn’t. For the life of me. I will drive, but heck, when something happens. Oh well!
But this lady’s action seem a bit weird, as to why shut down the car and then got it towed. Hmmm …. fishy!
You are a good Samaritan, you can’t help it when the receiving end of your kindness holds a head full of rocks.
VW- really?
Maybe she should have been told to not keep the car on instead.
I don’t think you’re even capable of being boring. As someone said to me.
I can jump a car, barely, but it makes me uncomfortable looking incompetent at it.
It was good of you to do.
Enjoy your fifteen minute party after you get everything done. heeheh
It’s for security. It can be scary the alone feeling a car that abandons you because it is dead can give you. So even hearing one’s husbands distant voice in a far away land can be comforting. He might have supported her in the decision to call a tow truck. The comcon sounds like fun. I’d want to dress up too and go. But I definitely understand the alone time and the comfort of not hearing any voices (such as husband’s and kids’) for a while but not forever.
I went through a time with my old car where I was leaving my lights on all the time. It felt like my car was going dead at least once every week due to my own dumb mistakes. I’m pretty fluent with jumper cables though to say the least.
Hehehe – You had me laughing all through this post. “I used to have trouble turning off lights” lol
Not as bad as having a habit of locking keys in the car … uh, and with the car running.
Have a great day. You made mine.
@JstNotherDay - i’ve done that too. locked the keys in the car once with the car running and a baby in it. luckily i didn’t have any gas either. sigh.
@boxedwine - we live through these things. too much going on in our heads is all.
@sleekpunk - i get that. but i would think the first priority should be getting the solution in motion. i suppose she needed the spouse to tell her what to do.
@distractedbyzombies - i always hold my breath. because what are the odds that i have hooked these things up correctly?
@Erika_Steele - perhaps.
@BoulderChristina - seems like there are a lot of rocks in my life right now. i’m getting short-fused.
@angys_coco - well, however we take care of the problem, we have taken care of the problem. i got a tow once because i was sure i wasn’t out of gas when the car stopped running. guess what? the car was out of gas.
@promisesunshine - Oh, yeah. I hide my face, too, as discreetly as possible. Just in case it explodes.
@distractedbyzombies - heh. my funny bears. whom i love. <3
yay for spouseman taking the tribe elsewhere! and dressed like SuperHeroes! or something
when is too early to show up for the wine & cheese buffet?? we’ll bring the supplies
oxoo
Now that would make for a nice and unique hobby, I believe.
@Bels_Kaylar - i will take pics. LLO made up her costume which will include ears and a tail (did i mention that already?) and Spawn is someone requiring a pleated skirt and a cape. and a big stick.
They want to pass a good Samaritan law where the good Samaritan cannot be sued for trying to help. I was helping out at Ikea and I made the lady drop her box and it hurt her leg. I told her she should be able to return the damaged box and wished her luck and got out of their.
I suppose you are now in the clear. Someone else moved the VW and you are not liable for that woman who seems to be not really independent.
@PPhilip - we have a lot of crazy laws. isn’t there one where if someone breaks into your house and gets hurt on your furniture they can sue you?
four days and a jump start – that deserves a rec. and a little time off to yourself. I jumped off my brother-in-laws transfer truck once, I told them about it when I got to work ( late ) they all wanted to know why I was jumping off trucks =/
I used to have a car that would only start with a jump. Boy, that was a pain in the @$$. Ah, those were the days. I have battery-jumping anxiety now so I don’t do it anymore.
Sounds like you are busy as alwayy. Have a blessed week end.
@promisesunshine - Haha – Oh my gosh, I thought for sure I was the only one to have ever done that… locked the keys in with the baby in there. Thankfully my husband worked only 15 minutes away.