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Elisabeth ([personal profile] dragonydreams) wrote2004-09-03 09:53 am
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You know it's going to be a bad day when...

I should have known the day was going to suck when I got woken up by a charlie horse 20 minutes before my alarm went off. Then my roommate was in the shower when it did. (I get up at the same time every day - she knows this.) I still was ready to go on time, by skipping my morning OJ.

I go to start the car and it makes clickity noises, but doesn't start. CRAP!!! My car's never not started before, so my heart starts to race and I mildly panic. I try again - the cd player spits out the cd, but that's it. I go back in the apartment and after pacing, I call AAA. Okay, first I called my dad (who's in Wisconsin, but still, my car's never not started before), but he didn't answer - it's an hour earlier where he is.

AAA sends someone to jump my car. I call my dad again and this time he answers and calms me down until the AAA guy arrives. He (AAA guy) says that I still have the factory battery and it needs to be replaced. (The car is a '99 and I bought it used 2 years ago.) He tells me to let it run for 45 minutes and sends me on my way.

I need gas. I knew I was down to a quarter of a tank, but the cheaper places on my way home were busy and I figured I had enough to get me through work the next day. I plan on stopping at a gas station a little past work that has a service, station, just in case. I get there about 40 minutes after the AAA guy got the car going.

The car didn't start. As I said, I purposely chose a place that has a service center, near work in case this happened. I had to leave my car there and they said it should be ready by 3pm. I called work and one of my co-workers came and picked me up.

I'd not done yet though. As some of you know, I eat breakfast at work. They have free coffee and free milk in the fridge, so I keep a bowl and box of cereal in my drawer. I got my coffee, which was fresh - the first good thing of the day. Then I go back to my desk to prepare my cereal, and bump the bowl as I'm getting up, spilling dry cereal all over my desk and keyboard.

I just knew that I didn't want to get up this morning. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't take the service guys long to fix my car, and that it doesn't cost me too much.

[identity profile] dragonydreams.livejournal.com 2004-09-03 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
Luckily I just had my oil changed six weeks ago. I'm usually a little over the 3,000 miles when I get it done, but not more than 5,000. My car still has relatively low mileage, under 39,000, so I probably won't have to worry about the timing belt for a while.

I had a good bonus at work this month, which I was going to apply to a new laptop, but maybe I should re-think that automotive class. I hate being caught off-guard and not knowing what's wrong and who to trust because I don't know if it's too expensive or really doesn't need to be worked on.

[identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com 2004-09-03 10:35 am (UTC)(link)
sounds good. At least there's that bonus. I just got my first pay check and I'm wondering how to live on under 500$ a month...