Hmm how to begin? The past week has been an interesting one with concerns to my car and driving in general. Things started off on Monday having an irate mother yelling at me and ending with the total death of my car (at the time of this writing). Let me explain.
On Monday, I was driving to work taking my usual route, that I've been taking for at least the past couple of years. With this route, as I meander through residential streets, there is a stretch of road I see this one police officer continually having people pulled over either speeding or some other infraction (rolling through the stop signs is popular) and domain of two crossing guards.
This particular day, there was no police officer handing out tickets, safely passed the first guard and made my way to the next intersection/crossing gaurd. At this interesection, my light is green, the crossing guard has collected up her cones and is awaiting for her light to change to white so she can cross (the street I am going straight across on) and, I'm guessing, take the cones in to the school (remember I have the green light?).
Okey so far so good, what's the problem? The problem is the two siblings, big brother taking younger sibling while mom watches from the minivan, who proceed to cross the street when there is a NO walking for pedestrians. I slow down and give a honk and continue slowly across, a quick glance at the crossing guard shows her standing there hanging on to her cones not doing anything. They make it across the street unscathed and as I pass mom, she is yelling at me.
Backing up to find out what is being yelled at me, I proceed to have my a*@ chewed out. An attempt to point out that I had a green light where I am promptly interrupted about "I should have more respect of children going to school". Realizing this is one irrational and angry mother bear defending her cubs, I leave. Obviously she is correct, I do need to have more respect of children who obviously need further education as they think they are exempt from rules put in place for everyone's safety.
Here are the thoughts that crossed my head:
- I bet she is the type of parent who will take their kids and cross in the middle of a busy street, say University Avenue, you choose a busy street in your city, wherever she chooses, and be rightly (?) upset when people nearly run them over and call for the area to be picketed, reminding people that pedestrians have rights - um who was J-walking, what lessons are you teaching your children?
- As the crossing guard was packing up her cones and no other children or parents taking their children were around, I'm assuming momma bear was running late and had to get big brother to his school or appointment after dropping off junior and she is feeling stressed. While I can understand and sympathize, there is a quote comes to mind that I've heard from one of the physicians I work for it goes something like "An emergency on your part, does not qualify..."
- I'm a terribile person and should have never even thought to cross the street let alone honking.
In my defense for #3:
I am a childfree (adj. pertaining to adults who do not have or live with children) spinster (n. DERGATORY an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage, adj - and my preferred definition as a knitter - a woman who spins).
Probably in a karmic twist of fate while driving to work, using a different route which now permits me to be disrespectful to college age students crossing streets against the light, my battery light came on. Didn't think much of this other than that I should probably call my Dad and let him know that I may call him later with a dead car complaint but forgot to do this as had two meetings first thing in the morning and was busy all day.
Friday afternoon, as I was getting ready to leave, I remembered the battery light coming on and called home and spoke with Mom.
- Mom will pass on situation report to Dad and she is on standby, check.
- Get to car, check
- Car starts with no battery light, check
- Plug in iPhone to listen to podcast (Hi Brenda love your podcast), check
- Proceed home, check
- Receive call from Dad, which causes podcast to stop playing (normal), answer call and put Dad on speaker phone (typical for me), check
- Dad acknowledges situation and informs me he is on standby as well and call is terminated, check
- Podcast should come back on but doesn't, uhh no check
This is were things go screwy. To wind up this long post, radio would not come back on, battery light is back on along with the ABS light being on. Nothing else happens until I go bumping across McCoy road bridge (ahh road construction may you come to this part of Hwy 14) and my gas gauge goes from F to E WHAT?!?
So rattled about losing my tank of gas in a blink of an eye didn't realize until half a minute later that I had nothing on the dash that required electricity (speedometer needle pointing at 0, the heat light at C or whatever it points at). I make it home pull into the garage (shouldn't have done this) turn car off a (shouldn't have done this-beginning to feel like Dobby) and consult with parents.
We go out to take car to car shop. Attempts was made to start the car, but it gave that click-click-click sound when you have a dead battery/bad alternator. Will try to start car today by charging battery so we can get it up to the car shop otherwise it will need to be towed.
Sigh
The Mittens from the class at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool are progressing along somewhat okay. I like the pattern, and the coloring of the yarn but the yarn itself I am not digging. It is a single ply and when I tug the first few stitches when I turn, the yarn has a tendency to break. So far there have been 3-4 breaks with the yarn. That black spot is where the thumb goes by pulling out the black yarn and do an afterthought thumb. Though in class we, the students, was calling it a forethought as there was a significant amount of thought put into the placements of the thumbs.