Starting on Monday with 40 below windshields.
My van refusing to start.
My sister's car battery dead too
and my niece Maggie's car, dead
and my niece Lily, who works with me, her car dead too.
And both of my nieces boyfriends cars dead
and my brother-in-law driving back home from business out of town
hitting black ice and sliding into a guard rail.
Fortunately he was fine but he totaled his rental car and was stranded.
My friend, who lives way out in the country, down a long snow covered gravel road
fired up her big diesel truck and came into town and jumped my car.
We left it running while we headed for Lily's house
so that we could try to get her car going,
No luck.
Then we came back to find mine dead again.
So my friend got her jumper cables out again and got it going.
I spent the evening going out every hour and running the van.
I even set my alarm so I could get up during the night
and I was covering it with a blanket to block the wind.
Tuesday morning, it started!
I drove to work, over the bridge into Iowa
and my van died in the parking lot.
Oh, and I forgot about the phones.
I had been on a cell phone family plan but as of the first of the year, we all went and got our own phones.
In an effort to save money (as always) I got a Tracfone but my number wouldn't transfer over.
They had to send me a new SIM card and it still wouldn't work,
So through all this ordeal, I was without a phone.
I had to communicate with family, friends and work via Facebook.
I now love Facebook.
So Tuesday, work friends jumped my van several times but it kept dying.
My sister dropped off Lily to work and took me home.
The next morning, Wednesday, my sister ran me back to work and we tried to start it again.
No luck, so my friend, a co-worker jumped it again.
Success!
I drove it out of the driveway and started up the hill and it died.
My sister and I went and bought a new battery.
When we got back to work, Doc came outside and installed it for me.
I was so happy.
As I drove across the BIG bridge,
the battery light came on.
But it was running.
Then today, Thursday, the light was on again.
Everyone said it had to be the Alternator.
I felt sick.
I had lost a full day and then a half day of work hours.
No pay.
And now this.
I called around, it was going to be expensive and then I called the dealership where I had bought it.
It was still under warranty minus the deductible!
I drove it to the Service Dept and they shuttled me back to work.
It spent the day there and they found NOTHING.
and they said the light was OFF.
At the end of the day, they came and got me and to my surprise charged me nothing!
I was so happy.
I stopped at the Dollar Store and picked up a few things
and happily drove home.
As I turned onto my street, the light came back on.
I'm choosing to ignore it.
It's been a long week.
I've been very stressed and
YES! I ate chocolate.
But I'm lucky to have some good people in my life,
people willing to lend a helping hand so that I don't feel so alone
and helpless.
...especially when I'm forced to leave my Co-pilot at home.
I really missed having my Blue with me.
