As I headed home from the gym, I saw some one in the parking lot whose car battery had died. The poor soul finagled around with some jumper cables with a mixture of confusion, dread, and anger on his face. This reminded me of something I found out a couple years ago when I still lived in Ohio.
Your car battery can't die if you leave your keys in the car and the car running. All night long.
Oh yes I did.
You see, I was on my way home from work when I got a call on my cell phone from an old friend I hadn't talked to in ages. I was so excited to hear from her that I broke several safety rules by talking on my cell phone while driving. I continued talking on the phone as I pulled into the parking lot. I got out of my car, and closed the door, still talking. Once I was in the house, I talked some more. I think I talked for two hours, total.
What I didn't do? Turn off my car and take the keys out of the ignition.
Yes, my car sat there running in my parking lot all night long.
So imagine Husband's surprise when he wakes up at the butt-crack of dawn (he had an hour-and-a-half commute back in those days), and hears a car running. Who the hell else is up this early? Huh, that sound is right by our apartment. Wait a minute? That's OUR car running!
Needless to say I never heard the end of this. Which is fair.
Because it happened again.
Yes, not once, but twice, I have forgotten to take the keys out of the ignition and have left my car running in the parking lot all night long. The second time (we were still living in Ohio), I was talking to my mom. Who I talk to practically every day.
No excuses there.
So now I'm hyper-vigilant about making sure I turn the car off before leaving. I've even turned it off, turned it on again and then turned it off again, just to make sure.
This is blurring into OCD territory, and I have enough neurosis, thank you very much.
11 comments:
I have locked my door while the car has been running... at a gas station... I had to have my dad get my spare keys out of our place and bring them out to me.
Sometimes I forget to put the car in park before I turn off the car....
You're not alone.
@chemgirljamie - I also once locked my keys in the car at the gas station (although at least the car wasn't running.) We had no spare keys. That was fun.
Was the garage attached to the house?! Man, that would be scary, the chance of getting CO poisoning.
You're brave to admit this on the internet. Now we'll never let you live it down. ;)
Hahahaha! I remember walking up my Grandfather's driveway and noticing that he had done the exact same thing.
I have on occassion turned the car off before putting it in park and I once locked the keys on the front seat of the truck while I had it illegally parked in a park. So at the very least, please know that you are totally not alone when it comes to such memory lapses! :)
Jenn
I've left my lights on before, but never left the car running. Sounds like something The Wife would do, though.
@MamaMash - at the time we didn't have a garage, just a parking lot, so no poisoning, thank god! Nowadays we do have a garage, which is why I'm extra-careful to turn the car off. Like, neurotically careful.
@FoxintheCity - glad to know I'm not alone :)
@Joshua - I've also left my lights on in the past. This shouldn't come as a surprise.
I leave the side door of the minivan open at least once a week. That has to count for something, right???
Many is the time I have pulled out of a gas station ... and watched my gas cap go sailing by. And I once tried to shove my credit card in the receipt dispenser ... and succeeded. It was the day i was accepted to grad school.
:::headdesk:::
@Lizbeth - of course it counts!
@Betty - too funny!
I can kinda see why he wouldn't let you forget about it if you did it twice.
OH GOOD GOD ANG. At first I was with you. I was on board. Until you did it TWICE. Dude.
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