Up until today, my vacation has been pretty awesome. I got to see New York City twice, Washington, DC, and I even got to venture around some of Old Town Philadelphia.
balto_mike is a pretty awesome guy who's bright and has an ambitious future ahead of him. Needless to say, I'm very glad that I got to meet him in person. Spending time with him was definitely an exciting end to a lackluster summer that was spent working. So yes, all of that makes me very happy. Unfortunately, today has threatened to undo a lot of the happiness that I've felt for the past several days.
While I was driving Mike to Newark, I ran into serious car troubles. Shortly after entering the PA Turnpike, the oil warning light on my car began to flicker. After a while it remained on and I became nervous. This has never happened to me before. So I pulled over to the shoulder of the road and checked the car's fluids. I didn't have time to wait for a proper oil reading by letting the car sit for a while. After all, I had less than two hours to get Mike to his stop. The oil cap on the engine had been put on so tightly that I was unable to get it off. Both Mike and I tried but our combined efforts were useless. So I made sure that the car at least had fluids and continued on. The warning light stayed off for a while, so we were able to fully cross into New Jersey, via one of the many bridges. Before we could reach the New Jersey Turnpike, my car began to make strange noises (they're hard to describe but unmistakably bad sounding) so I pulled over again. I checked under the hood and couldn't see anything wrong (to the visible eye) anyway.
We tried the oil cap one last time, but it was no easier to get off. The car strained hard to even start, which only added to my worries. So I decided that I had to pull off into a service station as soon as one was available. Unfortunately such things can be hard to come by on the Turnpike, especially when you need it the most. I pulled off and tried to take it easy on the car but I got no further than a few feet before the car made another terrible noise and everything seemed to lock up. I had a total loss of engine power and the car was essentially coasting along at 40 miles an hour. I informed Mike and pulled over again. Not only did the accelerator sink to the floor without doing anything but the brake was locked and I couldn't move it. In order to get the car to stop I had to use the E-brake (or hand brake). After stopping all of the warning lights came on at once.
Deciding that Mike and I were officially screwed, I swore in mostly disbelief and horror. Mike told me to calm down, so I sat back thinking about what best to do. In the end, I decided to call around to see who was available for the day. My mom was and in the end she came to get us. Mike left the car and crossed the guard rail, ironically he found a number to call for when your car breaks down. I didn't bother, since my mom was on her way. Due to some confusion about the Turnpike (it was my first time on it after all) my mom got lost and as I sent her past where she should have gone. She wasn't happy about it, but managed to get to us. About 10 minutes before she arrived a tow truck pulled up. It turns out that the Turnpike has a policy about broken down cars. Any car that breaks down must be towed to location and then towed elsewhere. So I never had a choice on what to do about my car, for now we had to leave it in storage while we continued on to Newark.
On the way to Newark, Mike tried to call his friend to let her know of our "nightmare scenario" (as he put it). Unfortunately I couldn't connect with her cellphone. So my mom suggested that I call an operator to get the correct calling code. It took a while to get, but in the end we got through and Mike was assured that he'd make it to New Hampshire on time. We found the airport without too many problems and managed to drop Mike off. We originally missed the arrivals gate but was allowed to park in the departing section. I said my goodbyes to Mike and hopefully he got to his college okay.
As for me, I had to go with my mom to work. I didn't get my car back to Philly until about two hours ago and the total charge for everything was near $400. Ouch. Getting Triple A Plus sounds good right about now. Considering that I just put work into my car for this to happen, I felt pretty depressed for most of the day. I tearfully decided that despite everything I put into the car for the last two years that I would go ahead and find another car. This time I have to borrow money from my mom and she's getting input on what I choose, but either way I can't take anymore with my current car. Ironically, I was planning on selling a year from now after saving up part of my pay each month for something nice. So yeah, this is definitely one of those "shit happens" moments like so many bumper stickers sport.
At least I'll try to relax a little before school. If only my head would stop hurting and my eye would stop twitching, I'd feel better.