AAA

Yesterday I had to run over to my doctor's office around lunch to have by bloodwork done for the week. This was my second attempt at it this week as I had gone in the previous day but no one was available at the time to see me. Have I mentioned that my doctor's office is nowhere near our house or my work? I guess in the big scheme of things (for Dallas anyway) it is not that far, but it is a good 20 / 30 minute drive both ways on a good traffic day. However, I LOVE Dr. Maxey (as many of you have probably picked up from previous posts) so I think it is more than worth the drive.

Anyway, back to yesterday... I drove out to Irving around lunch and as I was driving there I could not decide where I wanted to eat for lunch. Sometimes I know without a doubt what I am hungry for and then other times I just kind of drive in a certain direction and decide what I want on the way. Yesterday was one of these times. I won't bore with the whole process or my thoughts along the way - just suffice it to say I decided what I wanted (McDonalds) and drove to the next nearest one. It was not far from my doctor's office but still in kind of a weird location that most people would not generally happen by unless they live in Irving or work there (which I used to do).

I got my Grilled Chicken Club and fruit bowl thing and sat in the car enjoying them (yum!) and the beautiful day. On a side note, have you tried McDonald's lately? I was never a big fan at all but they really have some great options now. Their fruit options and their yogurt parfait rock! Their premium chicken sandwiches are really good too. OK... back to my story. So, as I finished my lunch I put the key in the ignition to start the car and... nothing. Well, almost nothing. It sounded like the car was trying to turn over for about 1 1/2 seconds and then nothing. I tried it over and over with that false hope we often have that maybe everything is OK and there is just some minor glitch that is going to fix itself. No luck.

I tried to call one of the people I used to work with that still works over in that area but, of course, he did not answer the phone. I did not have any jumper cables and, truth be told, I would not have asked anyone for help anyway. This is not necessarily a bad neighborhood but it is not a good neighborhood either. It is the kind of place that people won't mess with you if you don't mess with them - and I had no intention of messing with anyone. So I pulled my "wife card" and called Mark. At this point it was a few minutes after 1:00. Fortunately, he answered the phone. Unfortunately, he was visiting one of his job sites in the Allen / McKinney area. For those of you that don't know, Allen / McKinney is a LONG WAY from Irving. He had to finish up what he was doing and then he said he would head over.

Of all the days to be stranded at a weird McDonalds in a relatively bad neighborhood, yesterday was not too bad a day. It really was beautiful outside. I had a book in the car with me. I had a full tummy and, best of all considering the fact that I am pregnant, I could just walk into the McDonalds to use the bathroom (which I had to do a couple of times). Despite a cell phone that died on the way to rescue me, Mark was able to come to my aid around 3:30 (thank you Navigation System).

Fortunately, it was just my car battery. He was able to give me a jump and we were on our way. I quickly bought a new battery and we replaced it last night. I even made it to the doctor's office before they closed at 4:30.

My point to this entire thing is that the whole time I was sitting there, I was wishing that I had actually signed up for AAA when I had looked into it last year. You know, you just don't want to call any random towing company to come get you because they are kind of scary and what if they take you and your car to their scary "buddy's" shop that will "fix you right up, ma'am" and no one ever sees you again. So, I think I am going to sign up for AAA today... or maybe I will do it tomorrow.