I have declared yesterday to be the worst day ever. Perhaps the worst 2 days ever, or more accurately, the worst 24-hour span ever.
Yesterday started fine, but the threats of a winter storm made me decide to leave work early. My one o'clock meeting was cancelled, but my noontime gathering of friends to read an old radio script was a highlight of the day and I just couldn't miss it. In hindsight, perhaps we should have postponed our fun.
I hit the road a little after 1, around the same time as everyone else in the state. The traffic reports at the time were reassuring, but what I was seeing with my own eyes was not. I moved about 6 car lengths in an hour--and we're not talking on the highway or even on the roadway--I was still at the top of the driveway of my office park.
Hours went by and progress did not improve significantly. Soon it was dark, and I had barely made it halfway down the hill. At this point, the traffic reports were starting to reflect a negative situation on the highways, but I thought I had invested so much in my commute and if I turned around, I might have to wait in the same long line at a later point in the day. I decided to stick with it.
And stick with it, I did. After about 6 hours, I made it to the real road. At 8 hours (after having moved 100 meters at most), I noticed that my car was acting funny. I realized that the red light that kept popping on and off on my dashboard was actually a low-battery warning. And I realized that the lights in my car (as well as my headlights) were dimming and then brightening and then dimming again. I am not a mechanic, but I knew that something was wrong.
I called B, and he said I had to turn around and go back to work. "Go back?!" I said, "I spent 8 hours trying to get here!" He explained that the symptoms indicated a failing alternator, and I might not have much time left before my car died. I didn't want it to go in the middle of the street, so I took his advice and went back. I still hadn't been making any progress on the road, so it was somewhat liberating to drive a whopping 10 miles per hour to get back up to my building, even if it was through 6 inches of snow.
I found lots of coworkers who had seen the unmoving line of cars and decided to wait out the storm at work. At least I wasn't alone. I made my way up to my office to try to figure out a plan. I have AAA, but not the premium program, so I could have my car towed only 3 miles, not all the way to my house (note to self: will be upgrading to the premium plan pronto--it allows up to 100 miles of free towing). So if I was going to have my car towed, where would I tow it to? And could a tow truck even make it through the gridlocked traffic?
As it turned out, it didn't matter because the AAA number was busy every time I called, and at that point, I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my car. Technically, it was still running, so a tow might not even be necessary if I was going to take it to the garage up the street. I prepared myself mentally to sleep at the office until one of my coworkers who waited out the storm and who lives in a neighboring town from mine kindly offered to drive me home--so nice! We left around 10, and by that time, traffic had cleared up considerably (though the roads were not in great shape because the plows had been unable to get through the gridlocked traffic to plow them). I was home by 11:30 or so.
B had a slightly easier travel adventure, even though he was making his way home from NYC. Yesterday morning, I watched the travel forecasts, and they said that NYC would be a mess by lunchtime--I knew there was no way that his plane was going to leave the ground. I called him around 10 and told him to get on a train, and he was able to hop the 1 o'clock train. And thank goodness he did--all of the flights were cancelled.
When his train reached the city, he hopped the commuter rail out to our town, and I was supposed to be there to pick him up. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Luckily, one of his coworkers lives in town and was home and has a 4x4 truck--his coworker picked him up from the train station and drove him home, and he was back well before 8.
So we both got home last night--but neither of our cars did. Mine was at work, and B's was at the airport. We planned to get a cab to the train station to take the commuter rail into the city and then make our way to the airport, but all of the cabs were booked. I had the idea of taking an airport shuttle, and they were able to squeeze us onto a van--hooray! The driver was perplexed to see that we didn't have any bags until we explained our situation.
We picked up B's car and then stopped at a store to buy a new battery for my car, a transaction complicated by my coupon and the sales man's inadequate understanding of fractions. Then we made our way to my office building (I can't look at those roads in the same way) and located my car under a big pile of snow. Amazingly enough, with a little cough and whimper, she started up, so B pulled her out of the snowbank and then turned her off and went to work on the battery. Within 20 minutes, her new battery was installed, and she roared to life with an enthusiasm not seen in years.
Our next stop was my mechanic. We called him earlier in the day to ask for advice, and he said that even if my alternator wasn't working, my car would make it the 37 miles from where I work to where I live on a new battery. We stopped in and he did a quick test to see if the battery was charging--it was--hooray! The alternator was fine. My six-year-old battery, and the 8 hours of idling, combined with my charging my phone in the car, was the problem. I had actually been planning to buy a new battery, just as soon as B was home and could help me through it. It just happened sooner than either of us planned.
Now we--and both of our cars--are home, recovering and safe, and we're preparing for this weekend's storm. And hoping not to have another worst day ever.
