Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Best Day Ever

Marshall took the day off work today.  We spent lots of time together as a family and did lots of fun things.........
Ok, so not really.
Lots of sarcasm intended in the title of my post today.  Marshall did take the day off work but not to do lots of fun things.  It all started last night with a super busy shift in the ER.  It was my first day on my own and of course we had a HUGE rush.  I was more than exhausted when I started heading home at 4 am.  At around 90th south, (just south of Salt Lake,) the focus started going nuts.  It has been having a few electrical problems, but nothing we thought too much of.  The speedometer was going back and forth from 140 to 0, and the car shut off and then started again.  I was more than panicking as I was on I-15.  Even though it was just after 4 in the morning, there was still some traffic.  I was in the left lane so I tried to get over to the left shoulder.  Feeling TONS of anxiety and very disoriented, I wasn't sure if I was out of the toll lane. My emergency lights weren't working and the car wouldn't start.  I called 911 and they told me to buckle up just in case a car hit me from behind.  Ok...thanks, I'll brace myself for it?  Are you kidding me???  Like that didn't make me panic any more.  The dispatcher also told me she would send an officer.  I sat there, freaking out, not sure what to do, and hating the fact that we have a black car that wasn't easy to see as it was still dark.  I called Marshall and started bawling on the phone.  I was more than an emotional wreck. Woman hormones and lack of sleep don't mix.  He wasn't sure what to do since we took our Blazer in a few days ago to get a few things fixed and all we had was the truck.  He ended up deciding to get the boys out of bed and we would all try to squeeze in our 3 person truck.
The officer finally showed up and I lost it even more.
He comes up to the window and says,
"What happened?"

"Snort......sob....snort.....sob.....my car won't start....snort."

Have you ever cried so hard that you can't talk and when you breathe in it ends up just being a big snort?  Me, right there.  He couldn't understand me and told me to calm down.  Of course that made me cry and snort harder.  I'm sure I was quite the sight.
I went and sat in the back of his patrol car while we waited for the tow truck to come.  We then went to meet Marshall.  
After a few hours of sleep this morning, a neighbor agreed to watch the boys while we went to pick up the blazer and get the car out of the tow yard.  Of course the tow man wanted $200 in cash,  (So much for working last night.) and come to find out our insurance only covers $50 of that.  Whoop de doo.  It looks like the battery is really corroded and ate through some of the wires.  Super frustrating considering we paid $400 for a tune up a few weeks ago and the place that did it said nothing about our battery, just cleaned it.  More like they probably poured a bottle of coke on it and charged us $40 to do it.  
So we spent the day chasing about and I'm still not running on a lot of sleep.  My brother in law knows a lot about cars and has mechanic experience, so we are headed up to Avry and Justin's on Saturday to see if we can get it figured out with spending $500+.  Somehow I think our cars conspired and thought I got a job to pay for car repairs.  We have vowed the next time we buy a vehicle it will be a Toyota or Honda, something dependable.  Sure, things could always be worse, but I'm entitled to complain and vent, right? End of my rant, end of the day.  Let's hope tomorrow is better. 

13 comments:

Shaylen said...

HOLY COW! What a heck of a day! I know how you feel about the crying though. My car totally overheated (smoking - we had problems with it)one time on the free way off ramp. So scary, luckily my brother was in the car so it kept me from crying.

Jeralee said...

Ah Tiff, I am so sorry. :-( Car problems suck, especially when you are on busy I-15. I am sure the lack of sleep did not help with the crying and sobbing.

Here is hoping for a better day tomorrow.

The silver lining to all of this is that you didn't have the boys with you in the car!

Sara Birch said...

You should've called us if you were just off of 90th! I could have been there in like 5, 10 minutes max...and I was already up at 4 am with a screaming baby so it wouldn't have made a difference. Sorry you had such a crappy day. I should've called you last night as we were out in Eagle Mountain looking at this super cute little house, which is right around the corner from you guys. Hopefully you'll get things figured out with your cars. Playdate this week???

JCLS said...

Sorry Tiff! That totally sucks! I would be balling too. By the way.....I read your baby blog and when you posted about that clearance crib bedding at Target I went on and bought it! Thanks so much for the info....it was exactly what I was looking for! Now lets just hope the Dr. is right and it is a girl!

Avry said...

Awww Tiff hopefully the BBQ and my hubby working on your car this weekend will boost your spirits! For some odd reason that truck knew it needed to stick around for a bit longer. Imagine if you had already sold it! I think we have all had those moments where we feel like everything under the sun can go wrong. Hang in there!

S. Fantasia said...

HOW SCARY! I am terrified of breaking down on the side of the road even when my lights DO work! Honestly, about once a week here we hear about someone killed accidentally when their car broke down and another car hit them so I am sort of glad the 9-1-1 person warned you. VERY dangerous and scary though.

You should go back to the mechanic who did the "tune up" and get some answers as to why they did not mention your battery. I would.

Good luck sweetie, that whole situations stinks! But, glad to hear you're okay.

Snedakers said...

I'm so sorry - totally know the snorting thing, and why is it we HAVE to cry harder when someone tells us to calm down? Maybe you're just getting all of your car crap out of the way and you'll never have another problem as long as you live...here's hoping.
Nat

Steph said...

Oh Tiff, I'm so sorry about your horrible day. I think I would've hyperventilated to when talking to the officer. How weird was it to sit in his patrol car? That is so scary. Good luck with all the car repairs.

Geoff Nielson said...

Sorry to hear that :( hope things get better. I need to take my car in

Tara said...

You poor thing! And I thought it was bad to not have your car start in the parking lot-not on the freeway in Salt Lake! Good luck getting the vehicles fixed!

David and Melissa Belnap said...

I am sooo sorry!! That is stinky!! I don't blame you a bit for venting that kind of frusteration!! I would have been bawling too!!

The Bluths said...

Yikes! At least you didn't get hit right? I would go talk to the mechanic that did the tune up and say give me my money back!
Glad you're okay though.

Rachelle Jesse Jaramillo said...

What a horrible day. I have a focus and HATE it!! Can't wait till we can get another nicer car. They break down way to often. Hopefully you can fix it without having to put a lot into it.