Be kind, charge your batteries...
Today was pretty shitty.
I had left the headlights on (again) overnight, although I could have sworn I checked and double checked them before I parked. As expected, the battery was dead in the morning. Dad gave me a boost, and I was off to chill with my friend. In front of her house, while awaiting her imminent emergence, the car died. So I figured we could go out in her car, play some pool, and when we got back, I'd try to jump the car (having learned now from dad).
Just as we go out to do this, it starts raining. Hard. I get the car up and running again and set off. This time, I recall that dad said I should throw the car into neutral and rev the engine at stoplights to keep the battery going. I did this all the way to Richmond Ave. in front of the mall, where, though the light was green, cars were nearly stopped for a moment. I came to a full stop and, wouldntcha know it, the car died.
This was worse though for several reasons:
1. In the middle lain of a 5 lane major roadway
2. No momentum, so I couldn't coast off to the side of the road
3. Battery is dead, so I couldn't even put on my caution lights
4. It was raining heavily, which lowers visibility and makes stopping and changing lanes more difficult for the cars coming up behind me
5. People driving in Staten Island are a)fucking rude
b)fucking stupid
c)fucking fuckers
While waiting for dad or AAA, I decided to keep track of some figures. Alas! I lost track of how many people ignored all signs of a breakdown I could muster (like waving them around me) and pulled up so close behind me that they had to back up to go around, how many people honked as though I was doing this on purpose, how many peple gave me the finger or shouted an obsentity, how many were driving in the rain without their headlights on, how many didn't signal to change lanes, and how many waited until they were right behind me before attempting to change lanes rather than do so at the first indication that I was an obstacle and no longer a fellow commuter.
The one figure I could keep track of was 6. That's how many people, in close to an hour and a half, offered either advice or aid. Six. 6. Five + 1. Fucking assholes here!
After sitting for 20 minutes, I put the car in park. One guy came up behind me and kept honking, but I figured he was just another asshole until he started trying to push me. This elated me, but only for a brief moment. For, I discovered that this car cannot be taken out of 'Park' unless I've ignited the engine. So, this guy was trying to push me while my breaks were on. It took 5 minutes of my yelling and waving out the window to convince him to stop. He gave me the finger as he left. He's counted among the 6 helpers.
Three people told me to put my blinkers on.
One offered to push me to the side of the road, and I had to explain my predicament. He was the nicest of the 6.
A bus driver told me I should open my trunk (this during a short reprieve from the rain), as a way to signal that I was a breakdown. I did this. It helped little.
Dad eventually showed up and gave me enough of a boost to get me to the Sears right next to my position where we replaced the battery and left the car to have the alternator replaced.
One the bright side, we got to play some more of my D&D campaign tonight. However, for the 3rd time in a row, we had less than 3 hours to play, so very little got done, and I ended up being a bit rushed.
I had left the headlights on (again) overnight, although I could have sworn I checked and double checked them before I parked. As expected, the battery was dead in the morning. Dad gave me a boost, and I was off to chill with my friend. In front of her house, while awaiting her imminent emergence, the car died. So I figured we could go out in her car, play some pool, and when we got back, I'd try to jump the car (having learned now from dad).
Just as we go out to do this, it starts raining. Hard. I get the car up and running again and set off. This time, I recall that dad said I should throw the car into neutral and rev the engine at stoplights to keep the battery going. I did this all the way to Richmond Ave. in front of the mall, where, though the light was green, cars were nearly stopped for a moment. I came to a full stop and, wouldntcha know it, the car died.
This was worse though for several reasons:
1. In the middle lain of a 5 lane major roadway
2. No momentum, so I couldn't coast off to the side of the road
3. Battery is dead, so I couldn't even put on my caution lights
4. It was raining heavily, which lowers visibility and makes stopping and changing lanes more difficult for the cars coming up behind me
5. People driving in Staten Island are a)fucking rude
b)fucking stupid
c)fucking fuckers
While waiting for dad or AAA, I decided to keep track of some figures. Alas! I lost track of how many people ignored all signs of a breakdown I could muster (like waving them around me) and pulled up so close behind me that they had to back up to go around, how many people honked as though I was doing this on purpose, how many peple gave me the finger or shouted an obsentity, how many were driving in the rain without their headlights on, how many didn't signal to change lanes, and how many waited until they were right behind me before attempting to change lanes rather than do so at the first indication that I was an obstacle and no longer a fellow commuter.
The one figure I could keep track of was 6. That's how many people, in close to an hour and a half, offered either advice or aid. Six. 6. Five + 1. Fucking assholes here!
After sitting for 20 minutes, I put the car in park. One guy came up behind me and kept honking, but I figured he was just another asshole until he started trying to push me. This elated me, but only for a brief moment. For, I discovered that this car cannot be taken out of 'Park' unless I've ignited the engine. So, this guy was trying to push me while my breaks were on. It took 5 minutes of my yelling and waving out the window to convince him to stop. He gave me the finger as he left. He's counted among the 6 helpers.
Three people told me to put my blinkers on.
One offered to push me to the side of the road, and I had to explain my predicament. He was the nicest of the 6.
A bus driver told me I should open my trunk (this during a short reprieve from the rain), as a way to signal that I was a breakdown. I did this. It helped little.
Dad eventually showed up and gave me enough of a boost to get me to the Sears right next to my position where we replaced the battery and left the car to have the alternator replaced.
One the bright side, we got to play some more of my D&D campaign tonight. However, for the 3rd time in a row, we had less than 3 hours to play, so very little got done, and I ended up being a bit rushed.