What a day!

Truly, this morning was one where I should've just stayed in bed. Everything started out fine - Sydney was her normal reluctant-to-get-out-of-bed self, but she actually cooperated better than she usually does. We were out the door 10 minutes earlier than usual and she was deposited at school with no problems. Owen and I went home and, other than a horrible dirty diaper of which I will spare you the details, had a pleasant two hours together before it was time to pack him off to my mother-in-law's and head to the doctor to get my sore calves/shins/ankles looked at.

This is when the trouble started.

First, when I arrived at my in-laws' to drop the boy off, nobody was home. Sue has never forgotten a babysitting date before, so I was slightly concerned that she was in a coma on the kitchen floor or something. Their car was gone, so I comforted myself with the idea that she was at the gym and running late or something. I needed to get some gas for the Jetta, so I headed to the station around the corner from them that has B99 Biodiesel (99% - the good stuff).

In Oregon, they have this delightful law that requires you to have your car filled up by gas station attendants. Let me tell you, this has totally spoiled me for living in any other state, particularly when it is cold, windy or raining. I told the guy to fill 'er up, and sat back to wonder where in the heck my in-laws were and whether or not I could manage Owen in the doctor's office (particularly since I hadn't brought any shoes for him, thinking that he was just going to be hanging with Grammy). He came back out and was messing around with the nozzle for awhile. I couldn't see exactly what was going on, but he went into the station and came back out with a rag which he used to wipe off the side of the car. I assumed it must've overflowed a little bit, but then I looked at the pump and it said it has only pumped out .653 gallons.

The guy came over and said something to me in an extremely thick accent, of which I understood only one word - "broke". I asked him if I should go over to the other pump, and he nodded. However, when I turned the car on, the gas gauge went up to F. He brought out my credit card slip with a charge for $21 (normally to fill with B99 it's more like $45), which I just signed and decided not to think too hard about.

I drove back around by Sue's house to see if she was home yet (she was not) and then headed off to the doctor. About four blocks later, the car died. Completely and totally dead. Dead as a doornail. I didn't have my phone (of course - this oughtta learn me), and let me tell you, getting stuck in the middle of the street with no phone and your one-year-old in the back is NOT a good feeling. Fortunately there was a nice man pushing a shopping cart around the neighborhood, rifling throught the recycling bins for deposit bottles & cans, who helped me push the car to the side. Too bad I wasn't in the van - I could've given him a half-dozen cans in payment.

I got Owen out of the car and then headed off to hang out at Sue's place until she got home. I wasn't sure what to do about my doctor's appointment, which was rapidly approaching. I was trudging down the street with my poor little barefoot Owen when a guy (who we refer to as "crazy bathrobe guy" because he's always wandering around the street in his bathrobe) asked me how I was doing. For some reason, I started to tell him. He offered use of his phone, which I politely declined. He insisted, and said he'd bring it out to me so I wouldn't even have to go inside his fence. So I took him up on it. He was quite nice about the whole thing, and I managed to get ahold of Bill who took care of the doctor and headed home to bring me the van.

I'm not sure what's wrong with that stupid car. I have this crazy theory that the problem with the gas pump is that it was actually dispensing regular gasoline instead of biodiesel. The guy pumping was using the correct nozzle, so it would've had to have been a problem inside the pump or with the tank. When I got out of the car after it died, there was a strong gasoline smell. Bill thinks I'm a little nuts, but we'll see after we get it towed to the dealership. I still don't know what's wrong with my shins.

Owen & I came out of our ordeal unscathed, and I have to say, thank goodness for all the nutty people wandering around my in-laws' neighborhood! My experience would've been a lot more difficult without their help!

Yesterday, on the other hand, was a great day. Bill and I did a 5-mile race in the morning, and my time was 1:00:04! That is a fantastic time for me - my average was just barely over 12-minute miles. I still get a little thrill thinking about it. I felt like an actual runner! There weren't any walkers passing me this time...

ETA - The in-laws were just fine. They'd gone to Home Depot to buy some plants and got back to find Owen and I sitting on their back patio. Whoopsie!