That's right.
First things first, a word to our friend 2008:
Listen up! I am not giving in to your crap! Do you hear me?!? I've handled bigger douchebags than you. 2006 was a witch, and 2007 wasn't exactly paradise either, and here I am, still standing and more than ready to TAKE YOU DOWN. So go ahead. Screw me over, I dare you. You won't be the first, and you probably won't be the last, but I garuntee you, you'll be sorry. I'm not the sweet doormat I once was, take heed 2008. TAKE HEED!!
Whew. Much better.
Now for those of you in the dark...
It really isn't that bad, but it certainly has been an interesting few days.
You be the judge.
It all started in December when I went in for an oil change. I like to call this "Mistake #1." Afterall, this is my car we are talking about. It's never just an oil change. It's an oil change and .. This time it was an oil change and 2 new belts, making my oil change come to a total of $300.
The day after my "oil change" the car had trouble starting. That night after work, I couldn't get the car to start at all, even after jumping it so I had to be rescued by Emily. The following morning, I went back to the car and it started just fine. I immediately took the car back to it's oil change home. After a full day of inspections, the mechanics could find nothing wrong. I picked up my car and had no problems the entire trip home.
Flash forward to after Christmas. Josh and I are in the car on the way up to Boulder and we reach Park, Kansas. AKA: Hell personified. I swear Western Kansas will steal your soul. Anyhow, we get to Park, Kansas and I fill the tank up with gas, get back in the car and lo! the car won't start. 20 minutes and several tries later we finally get it started and get on our way. No more problems until the trip back, when it had trouble starting on several occasions.
Moving on to this past Saturday. I load up the car and head out on the road back to Nashville after Christmas break. 30 minutes into the drive I begin to smell this odd smell. Being in rural OK I assume it is cows and I turn the vent off. 10 minutes later however, the smell is still in the car. I look over in the cats crate next to me and I see Mo covered in puke. Apparently Valentine had been sick. I pulled off the highway and got a bunch of napkins to wipe down Mo. I even had to throw out some of the cats blankets. Gross!
Back on the road I drive 7 hours without distraction. I arrive in West Memphis. It has finally gotten dark and it has just started raining. I'm in the left lane on the phone with my brother going about 65/70mph with traffic. Suddenly a truck from the right lane cut in front of me and quickly slammed on its brakes. I immediately dropped the phone and hit my brakes and started screaming. Luckily I did not rear end the guy. However, the road was just wet enough that my brakes grabbed and swerved and my car hit the barricade that was to my immediate left.
After a very short moment of shock and awe that I was unhurt and that my airbags didn't deploy. I began to cry (harder) and wonder how I was going to get out of the car. My door was right up against the barricade, and the passenger side half of the car was still out in the lane of traffic. Then came the fear that I would be hit by some moron not paying attention, as my car was still partially in the lane since there was no shoulder to the left of the left hand lane where I was.
Thankfully the semi-truck behind me saw the truck pull in front of me and he immediately pulled over into the right lane and then over onto the shoulder as he saw me crash. He then called 911 and got out of his cab and yelled at me to turn my car off and not to get out of the car. Then he proceeded to slowly cross the highway, screaming at cars to slow down. Then he helped me crawl out the passenger side of my car and walk across to the shoulder off the other side of the highway.
Almost instantly roadside assistance arrived. Honestly I need to send those guys a letter. They were so helpful. They managed to help me get my car across the highway and then they emptied my entire trunk (full of christmas and 2 weeks worth of luggage) to get to my spare tire. They put the spare tire on my car and gave me directions to the nearest Wal Mart (joy) so that I could purchase a new tire for the trip back to Nashville. In the meantime the truck driver got on the phone with my brother (who swears he lost 5 years of his life hearing me scream, hearing the crash and then hearing the phone go dead) giving him details insuring him that I was fine, but shaken up. A police officer arrived but had to leave immediately as there was a nother, more serious wreck about a mile behind me, so no accident report was ever filed.
For the kind people who helped me out, I gave them a CD and said thank-you a million times.
As for the jerk who cut in front of me, he sped up and we never saw him again.
Now. You would think the story ends here... but it does not.
I get to Wal Mart (my favorite place on earth). I go inside to see if they can help me pick out a tire and put it on my car. The associates assure me that they can do this if I pull my car around. I return to the parking lot to move my car, and it won't start. I try it a few more times with no luck, so I return to the store asking them to wait for me to get back with my car, as they are closing soon. They agree to wait, and I attempt to start my car again. After several attempts I get it started and and hour and $75 later, my car is ready to go!
Unfortunately for me, the car again refuses to start. The mechanics tell me I need a new fuel pump, but that they can't fix it there. We try for an hour with no luck. panicked at being trapped in a Wal Mart in West Memphis where I know no one, I call home to tell my parents that I am stuck and plan to sleep in my car in the parking lot until I can be rescued by a wrecker service in the morning.
Despite being 24 and independent, the parents were not in favor of this idea. They proceeded to call the District Superintendent of the Nazarene church in Arkansas, who then called the pastor of the Nazarene church in West Memphis, who agreed to come pick me up and let me stay at their home that evening.
After calling my insurance company to make use of my free roadside assistance, the wrecker guy "John" and I decided it was best to take everything of value out of the car and leave it in the Wal Mart parking lot with the key locked inside where it would be secure and he would come with a mechanic friend in the morning.
So the pastor and I again unloaded my car into his car and off I went with the cats to stay at the parsonage for the night.
Morning comes.
I get up and go to church with pastor and his wife.
Halfway through the service "John" calls me to tell me that his mechanic friend has successfully hotwired my car to bypass the computer system so that I can get home, but that I will need the cars computer checked out and dealt with as soon as I get home.
We leave church to pick up the car. I pay the guy $100 in cash, give the pastor and his wife a CD and a millions thank-yous and finally get on my way home.
Now. You would think the story ends here... but it does not.
I drive 3 hours with no problem.
15 minutes from my front door I get pulled over.
I haven't had a ticket since I was 18, mind you. The policeman asks why I am in a hurry. (sadly, I wasn't even trying to speed.. usually I am, and this time I honestly wasn't) I start to cry (mistake #2) and tell him I didn't know I was going fast, that I had been driving for 2 days with no cruise control, that I had been in a wreck yesterday and that I wasn't sure if I could turn my car off.
To which he replies "here is your $175 citation, you have the option of going to court."
In his defense, I am sure that he gets tons of sob stories, and he probably didn't believe me. But come on!
Now. You would think the story ends here... but it does not.
I get home.
After a short panic atttack thinking I had left my coat (with my house keys in it) at the pastors house, I dig through my trunk until I thankfully find my coat and keys.
I go inside and I hear a strange noise....
I immediately book it to the back of the house where I find water spraying all over my bathroom. Tub and trashcan full. About an inch worth of water on the floor.
I quickly attempt to get the water off to no avail. I then rush to my next door neighbors house. He grabs some tools and manages to get the water main shut off and helps me inspect the problems while we wait on the landlord.
Now. You would think the story ends here... but it does not.
The landlord comes and we get things straightened out. The maintenence crew would be out in the morning to take care of the pipes and the busted hot water heater.
In the meantime, I attempt sleep.
I get up Monday morning to go to work, go out to my car, get it, turn the key... and nothing. The battery is completely dead. Turns out the "hotwiring" was great in getting the car started, but it would completely drain the battery if the car sat still for too long.
So I hitch a ride to work and that evening I locate a battery charger. Tuesday morning I take my car in and they agree to look at it on Friday. In the meantime, I was to drive the car as little as possible and leave it plugged in to the charger with the grounding cable unattached.
Sheesh!
And that my friends, brings us up to today, where so far, nothing has gone wrong. I picked my car up from the shop after 2 days and $130, and it appears to be working fine.
Hopefully the rest of 2008 won't be as traumatic!
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