I had a wonderful day, just goofing off, copying some things off of TiVo, exploring and playing in Second Life...
Then dinner time rolled along.. and passed... and I got hungry and I jumped into the car and drove to Portillo's to grab an Italian beef.
It was a gorgeous night, had the window open, and I pulled into the drive-thru. As usual, the place was hopping, so they had guys outside taking the orders and delivering food to the cars to help expedite the process.
A guy comes over and I complete step one of the process - give him the order, and in-turn radio's the order inside. He walks away to process other cars.
I'm sitting there, listening to the radio...
when I look down and see my ABS light go on.. I panic, yell "NOOO!!!" and start playing with the brake pedal.. I don't need brake problems now...
And then I realize... my tachometer is at zero. The car had died. No noise, no rumble, ... it just faded away. I never heard it.
I turn the key, only to hear "click...click...click...click"
Dead battery. WTF?
I see the guy walking down the line again, to service the cars behind me. Well, as the line moved, two guys working the line (the order guy and the money guy) push my dead car along... until we get close to the building where a second lane exists. Directly in front of that second lane - in the distance - an aisle and a parking space directly ahead. the guys start pushing and get up a good head of steam...and I roll past the other line of cars and stop in the parking space.
I try the key again. "rrr.... rrrrrrrr....click...click...click...click"
I grab my beef sandwich and go inside to get a drink and sit down to eat dinner. There was almost enough power to get the engine to turn over. Maybe the battery will recover enough after I eat.
It didn't.
I called Sprint 411 from my cell phone and got the number of a towing service in the area that they connected me to and even Text Messaged the name and phone number to my cell. The guy on the phone says it's probably the alternator.
He shows up 20 minutes later, jumps the car which turns over effortlessly, and I drive home... with the tow truck right behind me... just in case.
I made it into my garage... my lights never dimmed along the way. No electrical issues whatsoever.
Cost of the tow - $50.
I no longer like my weekend.
2007- A bit of relief?
2005- White Sox 2 - Mariners 4
- Alone!
2004- Big Brother 5 - Episode 13
2003- Recycling under cover of darkness
- Another part of my childhood gone
2002- Lego men
- Convoy
- No double