Stars, Puppies, and Automobiles
Today was both one of the oddest and most fun days of the semester. It started when my alarm first went off this morning. I had been having a dream in which I was on the boat from Jaws, but instead of hunting sharks I was fishing for pidgeons. (figure that one out, Freud) Anyhow, I was awoken from this dream and almost fell back to sleep when Michelle called to make sure I got up for Calc. I had missed several classes this week and needed to go in to get the latest assignment.
Michelle was supposed to go home today. After lunch we drove to her aunt's house where she keeps her car. As we were pulling out of her aunt's neighborhood, Michelle in her car and me following in mine, her car died. Its a manual and at first I thought she had stalled, but it was something else. After putting on my hazards I got out and tried to push the car to the side of the road, but it was on an incline. Fortunately two guys in a pickup stopped behind us and helped us push it up the hill a bit to one side of the road before driving away.
We tried multiple ways to get the car started since it was now on the side of a fairly busy road. Traditionally, you can start a manual car with a dead battery by pushing it to about 10mph and popping the clutch with the car in second gear. But since she was at the base of a small hill, I used my car to push hers up the hill and let it roll down the other side. She tried several times to pop the clutch but it wouldnt start. So we rolled it into a small parking lot with the help of a lady who was nearby. It didn't seem to be a battery problem since the engine would crank. It just wouldn't catch.
Michelle's parents were flying to California at the time so we couldn't get a hold of them for a half hour or so. We tried to jump start it, but as I said we really didn't suspect the battery. Finally we got her parents on the phone and they called a tow truck to get the car. I feel bad for Michelle, she was really looking forward to going home. After that we went to the mall to see the puppies and lighten the mood a bit. I saw an adorable Weimaraner puppy. They're very similar to German shorthairs, but grey. Then we returned to watch the car get picked up. Its neat watching a winch drag a car onto a flatbed. All in all, it could have been worse. Her car could have died halfway between Flagstaff and Phoenix... or we could have had to push Kate uphill. She's about 4200lbs. lol
Tonight we had dinner at Fratelli's with Wrecking Crew and then went to Buffalo Park for astronomic observing (ie. telescope fun). It was a beautiful, clear night but the three quarters moon was a bit too bright for our purposes. Plus a lot of NAU students were up there for some kind of meeting, and they were shining flashlights and making noise. But we did get to view some nice objects before leaving. I found M81 and M82 in Audrey's refractor, and Saturn and four of its moons.
Then we went to Ben's house (soon to be my house too) to hang out. Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned yet that I'm gonna be living in a house with three other guys next year. Its a big, awesome house a few blocks from school. It has a huge upstairs deck and a full kitchen. I'm really looking forward to it. So anyway, we spent the rest of the night there, watched Chicago, and made a very late run to McDonald's. It was a good night.
Now I'm pretty tired, and I have Calc tutoring in seven hours, so I'm gonna call it a night.
Goodnight :)
Michelle was supposed to go home today. After lunch we drove to her aunt's house where she keeps her car. As we were pulling out of her aunt's neighborhood, Michelle in her car and me following in mine, her car died. Its a manual and at first I thought she had stalled, but it was something else. After putting on my hazards I got out and tried to push the car to the side of the road, but it was on an incline. Fortunately two guys in a pickup stopped behind us and helped us push it up the hill a bit to one side of the road before driving away.
We tried multiple ways to get the car started since it was now on the side of a fairly busy road. Traditionally, you can start a manual car with a dead battery by pushing it to about 10mph and popping the clutch with the car in second gear. But since she was at the base of a small hill, I used my car to push hers up the hill and let it roll down the other side. She tried several times to pop the clutch but it wouldnt start. So we rolled it into a small parking lot with the help of a lady who was nearby. It didn't seem to be a battery problem since the engine would crank. It just wouldn't catch.
Michelle's parents were flying to California at the time so we couldn't get a hold of them for a half hour or so. We tried to jump start it, but as I said we really didn't suspect the battery. Finally we got her parents on the phone and they called a tow truck to get the car. I feel bad for Michelle, she was really looking forward to going home. After that we went to the mall to see the puppies and lighten the mood a bit. I saw an adorable Weimaraner puppy. They're very similar to German shorthairs, but grey. Then we returned to watch the car get picked up. Its neat watching a winch drag a car onto a flatbed. All in all, it could have been worse. Her car could have died halfway between Flagstaff and Phoenix... or we could have had to push Kate uphill. She's about 4200lbs. lol
Tonight we had dinner at Fratelli's with Wrecking Crew and then went to Buffalo Park for astronomic observing (ie. telescope fun). It was a beautiful, clear night but the three quarters moon was a bit too bright for our purposes. Plus a lot of NAU students were up there for some kind of meeting, and they were shining flashlights and making noise. But we did get to view some nice objects before leaving. I found M81 and M82 in Audrey's refractor, and Saturn and four of its moons.
Then we went to Ben's house (soon to be my house too) to hang out. Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned yet that I'm gonna be living in a house with three other guys next year. Its a big, awesome house a few blocks from school. It has a huge upstairs deck and a full kitchen. I'm really looking forward to it. So anyway, we spent the rest of the night there, watched Chicago, and made a very late run to McDonald's. It was a good night.
Now I'm pretty tired, and I have Calc tutoring in seven hours, so I'm gonna call it a night.
Goodnight :)