Couldn't make this shit up

[fightingthecage]

So. You know how I posted at lunchtime and finished it by saying One wonders what else I can mess up today?

AHAHAHA! Famous last fucking words.

I went to the gym. it was all good. I come out at 16:10, thinking to myself that I'd timed this well because now I had time to shop for all the things I'd forgotten this morning before picking Evie up at 17:00. Weather was still good, I was all happy and merrily threw my bag and keys (pertinent point there) into the passenger seat of the car. And then shut the door so I could have a quick smoke before taking off.

I should mention at this point that I've only had this car for a month or so. It's my mothers', she swapped it for mine because mine only had two doors and was too awkward with the baby. But still, it's a car, right? They're all the same for the most part. This one is swish and big and has remote central locking - also a pertinent point.

So there is a me, having a nice fag in the sunshine. But then! About twenty seconds later there is an ominous clicking sound from the car. A sound that is suspiciously like the sound it makes when the doors lock. Indeed, it was just that sound, confirmed by my frantically trying every door and the boot and swearing vociferously because the car had just fucking locked itself.

At first I just didn't believe it. I mean, what? The keys weren't touching anything inside, there was no pressure on the locking button, it just did it all on its own! My thoughts immediately shifted to, 'oh fuck, I have to pick Evie up in forty minutes and she's four miles away.' So there was a run for the nearest bus stop and me thanking my lucky stars that I had cash on me and hadn't left my bank card in my gym bag. Also lucky was the fact that I was right on time to catch a bus into town. So, not so much panic.

I get to town. I haul ass from the bus station and practically run the mile to the nursery. I get there just before five, pick up the baby, fine. Then I have to walk half a mile to the bus stop, carrying her and man, she's getting heavy these days. Whatever, no other alternative. I'm thinking to myself this whole time it's fine, I'll get home and feed her and then get the bus back out to the sports centre with this cash in my pocket. No problem, right? I get to the bus stop and am lucky again - just in time to get the last bus otherwise I'd have had to wait, holding a heavy baby, for another half an hour.

Bus shows, I go to get money from my pocket. And notice the conspicuous absence of anything resembling paper in there. Ahaha. Further examination reveals that the £20 I had had ten minutes ago has mysteriously disappeared. The pockets in the jeans I was wearing aren't deep and hefting Evie around when she was slipping in my arms etc must have worked it out. Therefore, distinct lack of cash. But I had change! And just enough to get home.

Of course, when I get there my house keys are locked in the fucking car. I manage to catch a neighbour just before he left for a run and get him to open the front door for me. And I have never been so thankful that I am lazy and rarely lock my own front door when I go out. If I had locked it today, I would have had to get Steve to come out and open it for me - which would have involved walking three miles to his house as, naturally, I'd left my phone at home. But it was OK, I was in. I fed the baby and contemplated leaving the car at the gym overnight because I was knackered and couldn't be arsed to go out again - I had to remind myself that the keys were on full display where they were and I'd be pretty lucky if I got back and it hadn't been nicked already.

So. Called a taxi. Who knew that you had to provide your own baby seat for a cab? I thought you could request them and the driver brought them. No. Again I was lucky - I have another seat that she's not suppsed to use until she's heavier but fuck it, if I couldn't get her in a taxi then there would have to be a begging phone call to Steve to look after her for me. I couldn't get the bus back out (where, randomly, it's fine to carry a baby on your lap) because of the lost £20. I had no more change. So I had to use this unsuitable seat. Only not for another fucking hour because the taxi woman took my phone number down wrong and so the driver couldn't call me to say he had arrived. Thus, they had to send another one out, who had to take me to the cash machine to get more money to pay him before he dropped me off at the car. This day has cost me £35, just because of random cars that lock themselves (which my mother described, very accurately, as 'just weird' when I regaled her with all this half an hour ago. She was most pissed off about me losing the £20 (as am I actually) but did make me laugh when she added, 'it shouldn't have done that,' as though the car were a naughty child).

And it had not been stolen, for which I was thankful. And the spare key even worked without setting the alarm off or anything. Bonus.

I got back about an hour ago. Bless Evie, she was so good through the whole thing despite being exhausted. Even managed to smile through her bath like normal and squeal happily about everything. I'm just relieved to have my car back, be at home, and get to eat cereal and chocolate biscuits for dinner because wow, I never did get to pick up the rest of the shopping I forgot this morning.

To top it all off, I now have a fuckton of homework to be finished by tomorrow. Bah. But it's OK really because the whole thing could have been SO much worse. And the weird thing? I knew this was going to happen at some point. For weeks now, I've been running over what I'd do if I locked the keys in the car/got a flat tyre at the gym and had to haul ass across town to pick Evie up in time. I'm glad all the mental planning hasn't been wasted but no fucking way am I going to do that again.

Famous last words, right there.

ETA: Oh and as an update from my earlier post - mother came through on letting me use her credit card so EEE I have entered the ballot for the 2009 London Marathon. Awesome. Shame I injured my knee last week and can hardly run at all right now but eh. Details.

Comments

[im-a-yogi.livejournal.com]

OMG what a day!!! *hugs* And it's not even a Friday 13th! *more hugs*

But yay for running marathon! My Thomas used to do that when we met! :D (But after an injury short after we became a couple he didn't want to spend as much time running every week so he started running shorter distances! LOL)

[fightingthecage.livejournal.com]

Dude, it has been a day and a half. I'm completely cheerful now, just because it's over!

EEEE! I hope I get in. The London is notoriously hard to get a place for - I actually got one in 1999 but injured my back very badly five months before, so that buggered that up. If I don't get in, I'll do the Edinburgh one, which is a month later. Will be fun! Lots of work but enjoyable. :D Your Thomas must be hardcore!

[shadowofdoubt.livejournal.com]

Jesus Christ, you poor thing! *hugs* My car does that automatic locking thing too. I kind of like it because I know if I forget to lock it when I go into a store or something that it will take care of itself, but . . . gah, yeah, a complete pain in the ass if it locks with the keys in it.

Hopefully tomorrow will go perfectly! *crosses fingers for you*

[fightingthecage.livejournal.com]

*blank* It does it if you don't leave the keys in it? Well, that would make some sense except - I've left it open before and I'm pretty damn sure it doesn't lock itself then. I'll have to experiment with that tomorrow (with the keys in my hand) because then at least i'll know what the fuck happened.

I hope so too! Couldn't cope with that every day. :D

[mulefa.livejournal.com]

Agh! Terrible day! Impressive that you survived it without going completely mad. Not sure I could have shown the same restraint.

[fightingthecage.livejournal.com]

I'm laughing about it now. The only thing that still irks me is randomly losing that £20. Grrr.