Yesterday I needed to go into the office in Mississauga but my carpool was either on vacation or in meetings off site so I had no ride in. My mom offered to let me borrow her car for the day, something she hates to do because she is afraid that something will happen to it. It is too bad that we can only see foreshadowing in retrospect!
I arrived in Mississauga and had some time before I had to be in the office so I treated myself to a coffee. We all know how much I love coffee and most good days start with a good dose of caffeine. While leaving the Tim Horton's parking lot, six blocks from the office, I realized that my breaks weren't actually working. My foot went all the way to the floor and the car only slightly slowed. I managed to get to the office parking lot via a side road with only a couple of stop signs. Just a little stressful. When I got out of the car there was a puddle of break fluid on the pavement and a trail of fluid following my route to my parking space. I'm not very good with cars, but I know this is not a good thing.
I called my dad who drove all the way to mississauga from Waterloo, fixed the car so that it had front breaks (the back break lines were very broken) and left me the van so I could have a more reliable ride home. Again I missed the foreshadowing.
After work I went out for dinner with the other two WV interns who were in DRC and Tanzania while I was in Rwanda. We met at Yorkdale Mall and ate at Moxie's and it was fun.
And then I drove home.
I left for home around 9pm. They have been tearing up parts of the 401 for several months now so when you drive on these sections it is very loud. I finally noticed that the van was making odd noises even on the smooth sections of the road. It was only a couple of minutes later that the sounds got worse and I was thinking I should pull off at the next exit when BANG!! The van made this heartstopping noise and something fell out the bottom and dragged on the pavement for a short distance. I was in the middle of three lanes and had to cut off a transport truck in order to get over to the side. Luckily the exit for Highway 6 was right there so I managed to get up the off ramp and over to the side before the truck completely died. It is now 10pm and after I stop shaking and can pick up my cell phone, I once again have to call my dad to come and get me. He arrives about a half hour later and looks under the hood. Beyond repair. Or at least not worth the money it would take to repair.
A rod went through the crankshaft and into the engine and fell out the bottom of the van. Essentially the engine blew up. Again, I am not very good with cars, but this is a very bad thing! So after cleaning out all the stuff in the van and putting in the trunk of the car with only front breaks we drove home and left the van on the side of Highway 6 for the wreakers to pick up today. I got home after midnight and promptly went to sleep so that the day would end.
And so ends my story of the No Good Horrible Very Bad Day.
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