Nothing is really maintenance free
Yesterday was one of those days that just kept getting worse. It's like I should have just given up and gone back to bed.

I was set to get to work early yesterday. And by "early", I mean "not late". I had a meeting scheduled with a client for most of the day. I wanted to not be late to work.

I went out to the garage, got in the Jeep, and then there was nothing.

Jeep wouldn't start.

That's when I should have called it a day and gone back to bed.

If this has never happened to you, turning the key and getting nothing in return, let me tell you. It's a sinking feeling. It kills your momementum for the day. You realize that everything on your agenda for the day has suddenly been postponed indefinitely.

I've never had a dead battery in a car before, but I figured that was the problem. I don't know why, but I called my mom. I didn't think she could save me. But, sometimes when you don't know what to do, you call your mom. It's a comfort thing. I mostly just needed someone on the phone while I talked through my options.

I got the Jeep maintenance book out of the glove box and looked up the "battery" section. It said a lot of stuff. It didn't help.

I got out of the Jeep (realizing that it was really hot in the Jeep, in my garage), and I popped the hood of my car. There I saw it.

Right on top of the battery was written "Maintenance Free".

Interesting. One would think that a maintence free battery would be working right now.

I called the dealership, since some of the Jeep is still under warranty. He said, yep, it sounded like the battery was dead. He schedule me to bring in the Jeep to check it out and make sure that was the problem. Then I called roadside assistance, which was strange to me since I was not on the roadside. I hoped they would still help me while the Jeep was stuck in the garage. Roadside assistance is free for my partially-still-under-warranty Jeep, and I definitely needed assistance.

After asking me if my car and I were in a safe place (yes, we are both stuck in my garage, which is the whole purpose of my call for assistance to get OUT of the garage), they said they would send someone... in an hour.

Great. I guess it's not SPEEDY Roadside Assistance for a reason.

I went back inside. Called my mom. She made fun of me that I would have to ride in a tow truck. I called my office. Had some breakfast. Watched the news coverage of the Ikea opening. And an hour or so later, the two truck showed.

What an odd feeling for a tow truck to come fish a car out of my own garage. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to be stuck at home, as opposed to stuck on the side of the road somewhere. But still, it's a little odd.

The tow truck guy jumpstarted the Jeep, I backed it (sputtering) out of the garage, and Tow Truck Guy put it on his truck. I then climbed into the cab of the tow truck. The weirdest part was not being in the cab of a tow truck with a guy I've never met before. It was that instead of driving to work this morning in my Jeep, I was driven to work while being followed by my Jeep. Quite strange to look in the side rear mirror and see my Jeep staring back at me all the way to the dealership. It's like it was tailgating me.

Maybe that's what I look like to the cars in front of me when I'm tailgating everyone else on the road.

We delivered the Jeep to the dealership, a friend at work picked me up and took me to the office. But, I would have been better off staying in the tow truck cab with my new Tow Truck Guy and his dreadlocks. Driving around with him all day.

Work was a disaster. I was 3 hours late. I'd missed half of my meeting with the client. And all I wanted to do since walking in the door was to walk back out and go home. It's just one of those stressful weeks that I'm ready to be over with.

But, after work, and after my mom rescued me from work and delivered me to my Jeep, which I rescued (after paying more than I should have for a new battery and oil change), things just didn't get better. More inopportune things at a not very good time.

Thank goodness for softball last night. At least I got to hit some stuff and dispel a bit of anger.

I play better with fury.

And I learned yesterday that nothing, from battries to relationships, is really maintenance free.

C.T.

PS: I didn't make it to Ikea yesterday, although my crazy co-workers went. And took pictures and video of their trip. I'm working up to going tomorrow.