Let me begin this with an entertaining little anecdote that took place a few months back. My BFF Kelly was on the job hunt and I had the day off so I gave her a ride around town to fill out some job applications and turn in some resumes. We brought my dog for good luck.
Kelly and I at the beach. This has nothing to do with the anecdote… just thought you might want a visual.
The last place on Kelly’s list was a very ritzy retirement home (where she now works) so I parked the car and she went inside for what I thought would be 5- 10 minutes. About 45 minutes to an hour later she returns and apologizes saying she had to fill out multiple applications. Luckily I had brought my Kindle and was engrossed in Game of Thrones so it was hardly an inconvenience. We then tried to start the car. It sputtered, almost starting, but does not turn over. I tried it again and this time it is not even close to starting. That is when I realized that I had left my headlights on the whole time she was inside. I tried one more time and this time something does happen… the car alarm goes off. At this point I am just really confused because a) this is my grandpa’s car and he had the alarm installed on it years ago and b) I NEVER turn on the alarm for just this reason: I hate when it goes off unexpectedly. I frantically pressed the button on my key ring to get it to shut up and at some point I succeeded. Of course, my dog hated the noise and was barking in my ear the entire time.
So I got out of the car and called AAA. They sent over this guy in van that can jump the battery. Minnie did not like him at all (she has a problem with men) and at one point he yelled at us to get her out of the car. He attempted to jump the battery but every time he did the car alarm kept blaring. It was horrible (remember we are at a ritzy retirement home, imagine old ladies staring out the windows). Finally he gave up and said we had to get it towed. So I called AAA again and they sent over someone from Ray’s Towing (the BEST towing company in Eugene). Every time we have used them they are SUPER nice and helpful. Anyways, he was a miracle worker (with a great attitude) and got the battery started. He told me I needed a new one but it should be fine for a while. I thanked him profusely then we went on our way.
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Now, a lot of time passed before we went on our Newport trip. I thought my dad had replaced to battery and everything was fine. However, once we got to Newport, every time I went to start the car it would almost not start. Until finally on this fateful day, it didn’t. Luckily I had experience and I knew that if I drained all the battery the car alarm would go off. So I quickly went to find someone to jump it. Then we on our way, as planned, to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Of course we brought along Minnie because we had no idea how long we would be gone.
We had decided to have lunch a Moe’s, an Oregon coast chain famous for their Clam Chowder. As we were pulling into Lincoln City, it felt as though we went over a huge bump and the car started pulling to the right. We pulled into Moe’s and I ran over to the right side of the car. What did I see? A smoking, flat tire! We decided to call AAA after we had lunch. So the one good thing about this day is that we got some more clam chowder!
Yummmmm!
After lunch we called AAA and they told us they would be there in 45 minutes or less. At this point I had pretty much given up all hope of making it to Tillamook before the factory closed but David is ever the believer. He was still in high spirits even though I was pissed. We then proceeded to wait… and wait… and wait some more. Finally over an hour had passed and we were both getting a little annoyed. By this point David had flagged down two random trucks to ask if they were AAA and to his embarrassment, they were not. My mother has pointed out that if one of us just knew how to change a tire we would have been out of there very quickly. To which I say, “We have AAA!”
When they finally did arrive, grabbed Minnie and headed for the hills while David “helped” them put on a spare. 🙂 Then we were on our way to Les Schwab. I had called my parents and asked if my dad had actually changed the battery or not. They said no and so I decided I might as well get a new battery along with the tire. They took away the car and said we could keep Minnie inside as long as we fed her popcorn and coffee. She enjoyed the popcorn.
After waiting for quite a while, I started hearing a familiar blaring sound. Then I remembered the car alarm. After about 15 minutes of the alarm going off and on, one of the employees came out and asked if I knew how to shut it off. The battery was hooked to the alarm and every time they tried to put in the new battery, the alarm was triggered. I explained that this had happened before but I didn’t know what the guy did to fix it. So he trudged back in. After a few more alarms going off, they suddenly stopped and we were good to go.
By this time it was way to late to make it to the cheese factory, so we headed home. On the way we decided to stop in Depoe Bay to make the most of our failed trip.
Cute house!
View from the highway!
David and I being cuties!
Hanguk Happenings 