the tourist
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 27,919
So there I was at my girlfriend's condo in Ballard, Washington. Looking through her window we could see the fireworks display on the space needle near midnight (there was a computer glitch so the fireworks didn't start in earnest until about 12:08).
I decided to head home (a forty minute drive north) around 1 a.m. and on my way to the interstate I began to smell burning rubber. Checking the engine temperature and seeing that it was well on the good side of things, I knew it couldn't be my car--must've been the car in front of me. So I got on the freeway and not a mile down the road my car gave a shudder. The result of this shudder was that the gas pedal no longer worked.
So as safely as I could, I coasted onto the shoulder and made it all the way to the Northgate exit. My hope was that for some reason it was just a really bad stall out. Quickly I realized this was not the case as the engine would turn over but not catch on and start.
Being a 23 year old who doesn't know much about cars, I would generally call my dad to help me out. However, the catch is that he and my mom are in Florida visiting my grandparents for a couple weeks. So I called my brother who knows nothing of cars. And we played telephone tag as he got ahold of my dad--who told my brother that there was nothing I could do and would need to get towed. I just know the oil's fine, the coolant's fine, the battery's fine.
Did I mention my car doesn't have hazards?
So then, just after my girlfriend arrives on the scene, a police car arrives and calls for a tow truck. To get my car to the shop my dad told my brother to tell me to make sure it gets to cost a little over $200. In my naivity, I'd thought it may cost $100.
Having no credit cards and little cash on me, I can't afford this venture. So my girlfriend, bless her, puts it on her card.
To make a long story short, it's New Year's Day, I have no car (and no way of getting to work but walking) because no mechanic is open, my parents are out of town so they can't help me, and I feel like crap cuz I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night.
I sincerely hope no one else had such a ruinous evening after the ball dropped.
I decided to head home (a forty minute drive north) around 1 a.m. and on my way to the interstate I began to smell burning rubber. Checking the engine temperature and seeing that it was well on the good side of things, I knew it couldn't be my car--must've been the car in front of me. So I got on the freeway and not a mile down the road my car gave a shudder. The result of this shudder was that the gas pedal no longer worked.
So as safely as I could, I coasted onto the shoulder and made it all the way to the Northgate exit. My hope was that for some reason it was just a really bad stall out. Quickly I realized this was not the case as the engine would turn over but not catch on and start.
Being a 23 year old who doesn't know much about cars, I would generally call my dad to help me out. However, the catch is that he and my mom are in Florida visiting my grandparents for a couple weeks. So I called my brother who knows nothing of cars. And we played telephone tag as he got ahold of my dad--who told my brother that there was nothing I could do and would need to get towed. I just know the oil's fine, the coolant's fine, the battery's fine.
Did I mention my car doesn't have hazards?
So then, just after my girlfriend arrives on the scene, a police car arrives and calls for a tow truck. To get my car to the shop my dad told my brother to tell me to make sure it gets to cost a little over $200. In my naivity, I'd thought it may cost $100.
Having no credit cards and little cash on me, I can't afford this venture. So my girlfriend, bless her, puts it on her card.
To make a long story short, it's New Year's Day, I have no car (and no way of getting to work but walking) because no mechanic is open, my parents are out of town so they can't help me, and I feel like crap cuz I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night.
I sincerely hope no one else had such a ruinous evening after the ball dropped.