One of the worst things in life is having your car break down. Ok, maybe I’m being over-dramatic …but you know what I mean. You get that churning feeling of uncertainty, helplessness and frustration, plus the unforeseen and sometimes burdensome expense of having to call the tow truck to take it somewhere to get it fixed.
As you may know from my last post, I quit my nine to five. No not Nightlights…my day job as a video production assistant. And I must say, the first week of my new glamorous life as a full-time TV host, model, actress …was not getting off to a good start! Let me begin…
(please note: I’m not trying to speak badly of anyone…it’s my own fault for booking these next two events back to back haha)
So I had a fashion show I booked that was scheduled to begin at midnight on Saturday. Of course these things never start exactly on time (this is normal and I expected it). I got home late that night around 2:00 a.m. …and had to be in Chicago to work a tradeshow by 8:30 a.m. It takes about three hours to drive there plus I still needed time to get ready …luckily my awesome boyfriend was willing to drive me so I could sleep in the car.
So I get all comfy and cozy in the back seat as we begin our (what I now consider to be an epic journey) …and then it happened.
We’re on the highway. It’s about 3:00 a.m. Just as I was on the verge of catching some much needed z’s, I feel the car begin to make a sudden jolting motion as it slowed to a complete…and utterly dead stop. My heart sank. Silence.
The gas gauge in my car is broke so we thought maybe we ran out of gas. We turned on the hazards, grabbed the gas can and started walking to the nearest gas station. Which, as it turned out, happened to be the “always a mile away” gas station. We swear it only looked like it was a mile away…we had just passed that exit! Well…we ended up walking in the dark and in the cold alongside the highway for about an hour until a cop picked us up, took us the rest of the way to the station, back to our car and waited until we were back up and moving. What’s dumb is, we were gone so long, that [interject dramatic sound: dum dum dummm] the hazard lights ran down the car battery! He gave us a jump. Nice guy.
But this is just the beginning…
So I get all cozy in the back seat again, happy and relieved that we are still able to make it to Chicago on time. Just as I was about to doze off…it happened again! By this time, I’m seriously concerned. I heard my boyfriend pop the hood and get out of the car. Next I hear a car pull up, then voices. It starts getting cold. The car starts back up. I hear a, “thanks, man” right before my boyfriend hops back into the car and quickly takes off. “We’re going to have to go back home and get the other car,” he tells me. We were about 15 miles out.
It wasn’t too long we’d been driving on our way back…when the car dies on us again! Same thing: Pop open the hood and wait for someone to notice my boyfriend shining a light on the jumper cables as a signal for help. After twenty minutes of huge semi-trucks whipping past in 40 degree weather, a lady stopped. She happened to live down the road from us, on her way home from work and promised to follow us the rest of the way. We ended up having to get jumped two more times on the way back home. Each time I remember waking up, it got really cold, then we’d be back up and running, the car would get warm again then I’d fall back asleep.
We finally made it home around 5:00 a.m., switched the luggage from one car to the other, and started back up towards Chicago again in the “good” car. About 50 miles in, the check engine light came on. By this time we’re a little more strapped for time. My boyfriend pulls over to a gas station to add more coolant and oil. Trouble was… the oil cap wouldn’t budge. He tried for about 20 minutes to no avail so then tried pouring the oil through the dip stick hole but instead of going in, the crazy wind caused the oil to spray all over the place! (I’m sleeping through all of this of course). Haha…poor guy!
Finally, we made it to that McDonalds on the toll road right before the Chicago Skybridge…with about 15 minutes to spare! Just enough time to freshen up, change clothes and cram down some breakfast. I was probably a site to see; sitting at the table frantically eating my greasy breakfast sandwich and applying my makeup that was spread out all over the place! Haha! I made it to my next gig right on the dot! Frazzled haired, dark under eye circles, wind burned skin and all! I looked rough…kind of like I’d walked an hour in the cold wind on the highway and then half slept in the back of a car the rest of what was left of the night! lol But at least I made it!
On the way to my last day of working the tradeshow (of course) …you guessed it… the car broke down! Right on Lakeshore Drive! We waited over an hour and a half for the tow truck to show up! Ridiculous! After we got off the highway, I finally was able to hail a taxi to make it two hours late to the tradeshow. Needless to say, the “good” car we drove to Chicago was completely junked. Another long story short, we rented a car to make it back home (which in hind sight is what we should have done in the first place!) So, after both our cars fizzling out at the same time … we needed to figure out transportation to be able to drive BACK to Chicago to return the rental and expedite this car.
A few days prior to this Chicago trip, we discovered this really amazing car service called My Car Doc. They will come to YOU to fix your car! It’s like having your own personal mechanic! YAY! I can’t tell you, ladies especially, how many times I’ve broke down on the side of the road by myself… almost in tears feeling completely helpless and hating the thought of having to spend money on getting my car towed. But now I know about My Car Doc! All I have to do is call them if I’m having an emergency and they will come to my rescue! They’ll fix my car and get me back on my way! They also perform regularly scheduled maintenance on your vehicle at your home or work…so it’s really convenient, especially for us busy types!
So driving on our way back from Chicago, we call up John, the owner of My Car Doc. We tell him our situation and he agrees to work on our car so that when we arrive home, the car will be fixed and we can drive it back to Chicago to finish up this rigmarole of a situation we’ve been in for the past three days! It was great! Saved us a bunch of time, stress, energy and it was so nice to have that sigh of relief and peace of mind knowing we had a working vehicle to come home to!
Thank you My Car Doc!
… so you’ve caught a peek into my current reality! Lol. My life isn’t always as glamorous as people might think! But it’s ok because someday I’ll be hosting a party up in my L.A. penthouse, toasting to some grand occasion…recalling this story and laughing over a glass of champagne!
Chase your dreams!
Cheers,
Amy
My life isn’t always as glamorous as people might think!
