Vehicular Drama

How much do you know about cars?

If you're a female and your car were to break down on the side of the road, what would you do? (Assuming that your cell phone went dead and your car charger somehow wasn't in your console.)

What if your car just stopped in the middle of the highway?

Or your car won't shut off, even after the key has been taken out the ignition?

Do you know how to change a tire? Check your oil? What about the tire pressure?

This post is mainly directed to the ladies, since I'm a bit biased towards the fellas...in the fact, that I think you ALL should know about what goes on under the hood. (Feel free to debate it. Haha)

So, I've had at least 3 issues with my car since the beginning of the year. I think the first happened on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I was driving and proceeding to stop at a red light. I stopped, and the car just turned off on me. I was kind of on a hill, so I had to keep my foot on the brake, lest my car back into the car behind me. I wasn't panicking at first. The car was still on, yet off. I don't know, I can't explain it. Like I could still see some lights on (gears and lights on the dash). I started jiggling my keys, trying to start the car back up. I did this for the duration of that red light. And of course, the light would turn back green on me before I got it running again. Smh. Cars were blowing their horns at me, even though I had my emergency blinkers on. Rude. Don't do that. Clearly I couldn't move.

So then I hit PANIC mode. I started crying like a baby, and I called my dad. At that moment, my key jiggling paid off and the car switched back on. I felt real dumb and embarrassed, because I was trying to explain the problem that was a problem no more to my dad. And in the midst of that crying non-sense....lookin' like a punk lol...

The second occurrence happened a little after the first. I was getting ready to leave my house to go somewhere one day, and my key wouldn't fit in the ignition. I tried several times to fit it in there, and it just would not slide in with ease. I was trying to avoid the route in calling my dad. I always call and rely on him to fix my car troubles, and I have had MANY since obtaining my first car in 2006. But I ended up calling him anyway. He told me to just play with the steering wheel a little bit, even though it was locked since the car was off. Lo and behold, that actually did the trick.

Then, yesterday something else happened...on account to one of my many ditzy moments. I had just gotten off work and was parking my car in my driveway, and the key wouldn't turn back so I could turn the car completely off. Ugh! Not again, I thought. I kept taking the key out, and the radio was still playing and the interior lights remained on. The car was off, but I got my dad on the phone again. He was at work, so he called my uncle to come over and look at it.

I always hate those moments when someone can fix something so FAST, after you've been struggling for awhile to fix it yourself. And that's what happened when my uncle came over. He simply turned the key back (it didn't work immediately), but he did it again and the car turned off. I felt stupid, and he was probably wondering what the big deal was....lol

However, I drove to Bible study about a half hour later. I parked my car there, and the car still didn't turn off. Really?! I called one of my guy friends from church, and his dad came out to examine my car. He couldn't get it to shut off. So, I was glad that someone understood what I was talking about. I was not making this up! lol...Still, within a few minutes, my friend's dad got the car to shut off. He said my gear wasn't all the way in Park. I was confused, because clearly it was.

Apparently my cup (which was a little too big for my cup holder) was the cause of this whole ordeal. SMH!

The gear wasn't all the way in Park because the cup was in the way. Wow. I felt embarrassed once again...a cup caused this whole scene? Really?

I've got to learn more about vehicles, man. I'm tired of being that clumsy, scatterbrained girl. And I definitely don't want to be crying like a baby anymore over a car.

I took a step forward this week in taking care of my car. I took it to the car wash, and I rarely ever do that. Ya gotta start somewhere, right. And now, I'm really excited to take it back there on a regular basis. Call me a dork, I'm used to it. Haha!

I need to stop jumping in and out of my car, but actually give it time to warm up. The weather has just been too amazing outside, so I'm not sure if the car really needs to "warm up," but taking care of what I have is key to what I will have next.

To whom much is given, much is required.