How to kill a car battery

Oh, let me see.

You get up early and gather everything you need for yet another trip into UCSF. Load the husband, medical supplies, cross-stitch into the car. Find your phone, grab the car keys. Before starting the car, you order coffee from Peet’s (large latte, thank you very much) so that you can deal with the drive into the city.  Stopping at Peet’s, your coffee is there at the take out bar as you walk up. This bodes well for the trip.

Compared to Tuesday, the drive across the Bay Bridge is a breeze. Minimal slow down at the Toll Plaza and the metering lights aren’t on. What is even more surprising is that everyone seems to understand merging lanes of traffic.

Since it is going to be a long day, it is the parking ramp for us. The first anti-biotic is essentially in as we arrive so that George gets to head inside for his blood draw without dragging an infusion along. Blood draw completed, he rejoins me in the car so that I can start his second antibiotic.  Apparently the clinic is ok with him hanging out in the waiting room so off he goes for a comfortable chair and WiFi access.

I settle in. It is now 0945. His appointment is at 1200. We didn’t have a choice about the early arrival since one of the blood tests was to measure the trough (blood level just prior to dose) of the second antibiotic.  If we had come in later, he could potentially be 4 hours late getting started..

So there I am, sitting in the car. Having parked at the outer edge, I have enough ambient light to stitch. I am listening to an audiobook while carefully picking out stitches of a color that is just not working for me in a sampler. Finally done, I move on to the next project. Every 10-15 minutes, I restart the car as it shuts down so that I can listen through the car speakers.  Not a problem, except for one small item that has escaped my attention.

Are you starting to get an idea?

More than an hour early, George reaches me on the phone and I “participate” in the clinic visit. Done, he comes down to the car. I pack up all the stitching and turn the key. Na-dah. Nothing. Just enough to go “click.”

Now, I thought I had started it several times. But, I had forgotten to turn the lights off…. and had been using the car speakers for my audio book. My phone was happily at 90%+

As it turns out, the parking attendants have this lovely, small portable charger. I had walked up to the exit and asked who was the best to call (so they would let them in the garage). Turns out I am not the only one who has had a dead battery. This nice man came down with one of the other attendants (new) and showed him how to jump a car. Small device. I remember the old, huge chargers which had to be wheeled. Just a minute or two and my car started. Obviously, I had enough sense meanwhile to turn off EVERYTHING that could suck electricity and ran the car for a few minutes prior to heading up the ramp and home.

Moral of the story? Obviously, don’t run electronics and headlights when hanging out in a parking garage for hours…

 

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About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!
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