Such luck!
As if I needed things to get crazier now that birth is likely in the next day and a half, I’ve got to get the car repaired. Thursday I left the lights on and killed the battery. Instead of wasting a call to AAA, I decided I’d buy a battery booster, since I obviously need one. I found a local one and waited 36 hours for it to charge. Unfortunately, it only powered up the lights and indicators but didn’t provide enough juice to power the car up. Or…I connected the negative cable to the wrong place. (I chose a bolt that wasn’t on the engine block.)
Anyway, after breaking down and calling AAA, someone nearby offered to give me a jump. The result was smoke and flames. A small burst on a battery cable that I was able to blow out easily. The wire was fried.
I don’t know if it’s related to the slight electrical burning smell I believed I’d been sensing or not, but the result is that with YK ready to go into labor at any moment, I have to try to get the car towed to a nearby service station before street cleaning tomorrow (using up yet another AAA call for the year). And I have to hope Sienna Jane gives me some time…
[Thank god I like in NYC where there are abundant transportation alternatives!]
[UPDATE: The problem has been resolved. The guy who came to tow the car offered to splice a wire in, like the guy did yesterday. This time I let him. Everything worked great. I'll get a proper cable and fix the fuel injector in a few weeks (?).
Special bonus: The tow truck came late, i.e., after streetcleaning hours had started, but the traffic officer gave us no trouble at all. She simply asked if the black car behind (a Lexus) was ours. I said, "No, but I wish it was." She said, "Me, too," and didn't even ask for an explanation of our situation. Cops can be human! (Because it's not the end of the month and their quota isn't coming up?) And Sienna Jane has waited.
Now I just feel a bit shitty that I gave the guy $10 instead of $20.]
In years to come you’ll be greatful for all these exciting anecdotes happening around the time of SJs birth- what fun to pep up a wedding speech!
Right now I realize it really sucks.
I am thinking of you – and I am sure, everything will turn out fine! Alles Gute!
Thanks, Asta! I keep telling myself that, but I’m not sure it’s working. Mostly, half-jokingly and (unfortunately) half-seriously, I’m taking it as an indictment of my parenting capabilities. If I were in a more optimistic mood, my efficient, resourceful, and independent efforts to handle the situation should reassure me. But that’s not where I’m at at the moment! (Once the tow happens and I find out the cause, I’m sure things will get better.)
In the meantime, Sienna remains obliging.
And maybe this is the beginning of the “enduring calamity” interpretation of her Korean name! But however it plays out, there will be a little historical narrative to create about her patience with us or her ability to cause chaos.