Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Lessons for the day.

Did you know that cop cars have some kind of push bumpers (?) that are used to push a stranded car off the road? Well, I learnt that bit of info today. You know it's like some days are designed to make one learn these things. So I drop the Scout off at daycare and turn the car around and wait at a red light on my way to work. I notice that the clock on the car's dashboard is showing the wrong time. I wonder why. I.. wonder.. if.. the.. car.. battery.. had.. died.. sometime. Even before I can complete that sentence in thought, the car went dead on me. Sooo dead that I couldn't even turn on the hazard lights. I'm sitting there wondering what to do. Being the resourceful person that I'm, I do the first thing that I do in any tough situation. That is, I call the GI. And nice guy that he is, says "Don't worry. I'm coming and I'll call AAA" although he has almost reached his office which is about 40 mins away and he has some important meetings to attend. Like I said he is a nice guy, unlike me, who would have definitely shouted something like "can you deal with it? this might not have happened if you took better care of your car". Anyway after the call, I decide to step out of the car and wave people around me. I put the hood up to indicate to people that the car is dead and not going anywhere. While I stand there and give sad smiles to people driving by, a cop car comes and for once I was happy to see the officer. He asks me to put the hood down, get in and put the car to neutral and steer it so he can push it across the traffic intersection and to the side of the road. In under a minute we were nicely parked on the side of the road. He then jump-starts the car and says it could probably live till I went home or to a mechanic. I get out of the car to thank the officer and before I know it I press the automatic lock button on the door and close the door, with the key still inside and the car still running. My brain hasn't registered what I just did although I did feel it short-circuit and send a "you moron" alarm out. But I still haven't fully realized it yet, so I just smile at the officer and thank him and he is on his way. Only after he has sped away do I realize that I'm locked out of my car, and the car is still running and might go dead anytime. I call the GI again and sheepishly tell him what I had done. He again says calmly, "OK, I'm coming" redeeming himself of all his faults by this act of calmness. *Smart guy!* I just stand there and wait and thank God that the Scout is safe at the daycare and not sitting inside the locked car. The GI comes and makes some joke about my stupidity. I bear with it as he has the spare key to my car and he opens the door. The car is dead but he jump-starts it again and says the battery had a loose contact. He tightens it in like 10 seconds and says the car should be good to go. He teaches me how to tighten it if it becomes loose again. No rocket science that. I smite my fore-head and decide to relinquish my engineering degree. Like I said, some days are meant to teach you many a lessons including ones like I couldawouldashoulda kissed the GI in the middle of the road... :)

23 comments:

  1. PDA on the road! Now you are talking my thoughts. :)

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  2. Guddi: If anyone can convert thoughts into actions, it would be you. :)
    TPL: LOL. I'm super kissably thankful to the cop but I thought he was kind of irritated that he had to do this non-cop like work first thing in the morning.. I don't blame him.

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  3. and I would have been frustrated with the OH for coming late, not picking up the phone, taking the wrong turn and calling me 16,000 times in between. The GI was totally awesome. The only time I have done something similar is when I ran out of gas in the middle of the highway :)

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  4. Sands: Let's just say it was a lucky day for the GI to have done everything right and amassed credit for it. :) No gas on the highway? Gosh!

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  5. The GI Joe is pretty awesome. Mine would have screamed the thoughts you were thinking.

    And no I didn know cop cars could push stowed cars...

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  6. Heh, heh! Thumbs up to GI! That automatic locking is my nightmare...of any door, not just cars! Mine would've done the same, but the comments would've come later :(

    The other day, I was completely stressed out and had gone to pick up the kids from their activity centre. Pre-occupied with getting Dhruv to hold my hand and preventing Div from tormenting him, I went into complete panic when my key wasn't opening the car door. Tried the passenger door, same problem. And the damn cellphone was inside the car. I thought briefly of sitting down n crying on the road, and then looked inside the car and saw a different upholstery!!!! I scooted to the sideroad where OUR car was and got in n zoomed away before the other car owner came to yell at me!!!

    So we've all been there, and these hubbies are mighty wonderful to bail us out! Too much on our brains, means they better be available to rescue us!!!

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  7. I agree with others here. GI did well. He defly deserves a kiss and more :P

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  8. sraikh: He is one of those who will do what is needed and then milk the credits later till eternity!
    starry eyed: Of course the comments and the digs are coming now! LOL at trying to unlock some other car. BTDT. :)
    TPL: Hehe, I thought you were on the cop's side. :P

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  9. He he. Sounds verry familiar. Except that it was 1 a.m.!

    And yes I also decided to relinquish my engg degree.

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  10. @starry: a friend once dug out his car from under a foot of snow only to realize it was not his car!

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  11. Chox: '1am' definitely adds to the drama. :)
    About car and snow: A friend once parked a car next to a dumpster on a snowy day. The snow-truck came, cleaned the roads and dumped a mountain of snow around his car. It was ahem.. hilarious!

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  12. AJ ... you are one lucky lady !!
    I was driving on a freeway when I was warned by a fellow truck driver that I was having a flat tyre and had to pull to the curb. I did just in time .... my cell phone was dead and I was miles away from city ... was this close to tears when a biker stopped and changed tyres for me ... I was just staring at his bike number plate memorising his number all the time just in case while I should have been thanking my stars for a god sent person like him.
    My engg degree is a sad joke on me now :(

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  13. AJ
    God I've been in some odd situations with the car! And my hubby said a few things before being the knight in shining armor coming to my rescue! His problem - he cannot understand why an engineer-MBA intelligent woman land up in situations such as I do;-))
    So did you give the kiss or not?

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  14. Yeah, there is this class for changing tyres that I might join, you know, to save whatever is left of the degree.
    CA: A biker-salute to the biker dude.
    Minal: A lady shan't kiss and tell. ;-)

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  15. what i gather from the post is that GI is an nice guy! and from the comments that its ok that i am not an engineer! :p

    cheers!

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  16. Aj, check this:
    http://tulikapublishers.blogspot.com/2010/01/whats-moral-of-story.html

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  17. It's ok AJ, Tum Kissi se Kum Nahin!

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  18. Hey, the previous comment was mine, why did I become anon!

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  19. lets guess - who is this anon?!

    could it be MiM?!

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  20. Mama Mia: You got the second part right! :)
    Anon/MFT: But lekin, kiss kiss ko pyar karu? ;)
    Chox: Is that the link to buy the books online? Btw, Anon is MFT.

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  21. the link says that the books are now available in a boxed set etc.

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