Tuesday, February 3, 2009

And the bad luck continues

Went to line dance class last night. I was going to stay for the second class, but there was talk about bad weather starting. So I decided to leave after the first class.

As I was walking to my car, and noticed that it was listing. Got to the car and 'oh shit' flat tire. My compressor is broke so I called a friend. They came with compressor, but we could not get any air in it. He said that we would have to put the spare on and asked where the key for the lug nut was. We looked and couldn't find it. I called the dealership and they told me where to look. We had already looked in those places. He said that it would probably have to be cut off, but if I could get there, they have a universal key. How the hell was I supposed to get there. I have a flat tire that won't take air and a spare tire that I can't use because I don't have the key plus a flat tire on the car that needs the same key.

I called a closer Honda dealership. Of course the service department is closed, but they would look for the universal key and call me if they found it. He asked for my cellphone number. I don't know my cellphone number. He laughed. It is funny having a cellphone and not knowing the number. My friend rattled off his cellphone number. They called about five minutes later saying they would meet us.

By now the wind had picked up and got very cold. None of us are dressed for this as the night started out warm. Well the guys came with two boxes of keys. As my luck would have it, none worked. What the fuck.

I'm about ready to cry at this point. My friends are now frozen and I feel bad for putting them through this. We can't get the tires changed. My friend had the idea to jack the car up alittle bit to get some weight off the front end. This worked. We were able to get air in the tire and made it to the store for a can of fix-a-flat. Not having any money with me, they had to buy the can. Now I am feeling even worse. As he is putting the fix-a-flat in, he said he thinks it's coming out the back because he can hear something. I said it was the wind. He said no. I looked under the car to the inside of the tire. Nothing was coming out. After he put it in, you could hear the air coming out of the tire. They followed me home with no problems.

I called my boss at home and told him I wasn't going to work tomorrow. I had to get this fixed. Slept shitty. The cat got sick and wanted to be cuddled. I finally got up and went to check the tire. It was half filled. During the night, sleet and snow started, but I had a mission. Nothing would stop me. I came in and checked the website. They open at 7:30 A.M. I was out the door by 7:00 A.M. Added a bit more air for good measure. Watching the clock, I called them alittle after 7:30 A.M. You see the dealership is 45 minutes to an hour away. Approximately 45 miles. I told them I was heading their way and I would need an new tire and a key to get the lug nuts off. I explained what had happened last night. He said that it wouldn't be a problem. That they would fix everything when I got there. Now it is snowing pretty heavy. Asking my angels to get me there safely, I continued on. I got there alittle after 8:00 A.M. Walked out about three hours later with two new tires, wheel alignment, oil change, but most importantly a lug nut key.

I figured that I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by the camera shop. And the luck, yeah right, continued. They were closed. So I decided to stop at K-Mart for a compressor. At least they were open and had the compressor.

So last nights drama started at 7:30 and lasted until 10:00. Today, 5:30 to 12:30. I'm tired.

Let my experience be a lesson to everyone, especially the ladies. Check your tires regularly. Have a working air compressor in your car. If you have tire locks, make sure you have a key and know where it is located (I put mine with the jack.) Always carry a charged cellphone. If you go somewhere and don't take your purse, make sure you have emergency money in the glove compartment. Think about getting AAA. Most of all. Make sure you have wonderful friends that are willing to help at any time.

All the way there, I was fearing the tire would go flat again. Or worse a blow-out. But I made it to the dealership and back with no problems. I believe that my angels were with me.

It's still snowing and I got a call from the recreation department that yoga had been cancelled tonight. So tonight I spend a quiet night at home. Hopefully without any drama. Tomorrow's another day.

8 comments:

Lisa said...

When life gives you lemons... throw wrenches at the dealership guys who don't keep the keys they're supposed to keep!!

bobbie said...

And I thought I had problems!

I'm glad you didn't call me last night. I would have felt twice as bad because i couldn't help you. And I'm glad you have lots of other good friends.

At least, after a terrible start to today, the weather changed a bit.

Kay said...

Oh WOW! What a night and day you've had. I am so sorry. You deserve to put your feet up and have a nice warm cup of tea and just go to sleep. Do you know... I've got a leaking tire in Hawaii, too. I'll make sure to see to it when we get back.

MmeBenaut said...

Oh Lisa - what a frustrating time for you. I've been dealing with some hard times too - my niece's boyfriend committed suicide last week and poor little Amy had a meltdown and had to be hospitalised for a few days. She is home from hospital now and the funeral was on Monday. I've been supporting both her and her mother who is my sister Tanya. Tanya needs to be strong for her children but inside she was barely coping so I've spent a long time on the phone with her.
Home life has settled down and we go to counselling on Friday.

Ralph said...

That good advice for everyone not just ladies.
You may have given a new description to the term,'bad day'. Hope the rest of your week improves.
Ralph

Rachel said...

Definitely good advice! It's all so annoying but more so when the weather is terrible. How wonderful that you had some great friends to help you.

I got my SnuggleSafe from Ebay. $24.99 which included the S&H.

Anonymous said...

A friend gave me a list of some NJ blogs(my state) when I started blogging again, so I am slowly stopping by each for a read. I've never been to Villas but I have been to Cape May and I've had a flat tire in a really scary town. Late at night, but at least I had a charged cell and the place I bought my car from has 24 roadside.
Nice mood and point of view in this post, even if it really sucked to have it happen. ~Mary

Mary said...

What a horrible night. Lisa, worse things happen, right? At least you have good friends, and were able to finally get tires. You must rest now. :o)

BTW, I've never changed a flat. I drive on it to the nearest gas station. I once begged the station owner to open for me (he has just closed the garage). It cost me $20 for a plug. But I didn't care.