Automotive Fail, but Mother-In-Law for the Win!

What a day.

Work this morning was filled with Thursday activities - software demonstration, retrospective, iteration planning. All things that are normally tiring.

After lunch I went to my doctor's appointment.

Ok, I have to admit that I was wrong to pre-judge the new nurse practitioner. But I've seen several different doctors for depression over the years, and it's rarely been a comforting experience. I had no reason to think this would be different.

But it was. The nurse practitioner was working with an intern and I saw him first. He was very good. He took down my history, asked me questions, let me ask questions, and listened to everything that I thought was important to talk about.

Then he brought in the nurse practitioner, and she was good too. She probed further into my history and my current situation. This was the first time at my PCP's office when they didn't just shove a prescription at me. They actually talked with me instead of at me. And they gave me some options that I thought were very reasonable.

They think there's a good chance I'm bipolar, and because of that, they want me to see a psychiatrist. Not a huge surprise there, I've suspected as much for a long time, and was already planning to see a psychiatrist. But now I have more information for when I finally find one who's accepting new patients.

I got a low dose prescription for a drug I've taken in the past and had success with, so that should start helping me feel better soon. They gave me a list of psychiatrists they work with, so now I can resume the search.

All in all, it was a positive experience. Maybe my doctor's office has finally changed for the better.

When I left the doctor's office, I got in my car, put the key in the ignition, and...


It Would Not Turn.


The tumblers inside the ignition cylinder are failing. They don't fall into the correct place when I insert the key.

It's not the first time this has happened. About 5 years ago, the tumblers completely collapsed and I couldn't get my key into the ignition at all. Since I'd experienced this once already, I knew exactly what was going on today. I had to get my car towed to the dealership to get the cylinder replaced.

By the time I got the courtesy ride home, it was already 4:00. I had been planning to leave the office at 5:00 to take my cat to the vet, so there was no point in going back to the office only to turn around and come right back home. I stayed home for an hour and talked to Joey on Skype.

I drove Joey's car to the vet's office, where I discovered that Nina might have asthma. I didn't even know cats could get asthma, but apparently it's relatively common. I had to get her a chest x-ray, which I got to see afterwards -- it showed something in her lungs. That was disheartening, but at least asthma is easily treatable. They're sending the x-ray to a radiologist for a better reading and then I'll know more.

In the meantime, the vet recommended I give Nina a quarter-tablet of children's Benadryl to ease her coughing. Children's Benadryl for a cat?! Who knew?

So on the way home, I stopped at Fred Meyer to get medications for both me and Nina, and pistachios for Joey's care package. When I went back to the car, I put the key in the ignition, and...


... wait for it ...



IT WOULD NOT TURN.



Seriously, twice in one day, with two different vehicles!

By this point, I was at the end of my rope. I had a minor panic attack for about 10 minutes before I pulled myself together and started troubleshooting.

The "theft" light was flashing on the dash, and the key wouldn't turn. So the car thinks its anti-theft system has been tripped?

I tried everything I could think of to disarm it, and when that failed, I dug the manual out of the glove box to look for more options. Nothing worked. So I googled it on my cell phone. Apparently anti-theft systems sometimes malfunction, causing the ignition to lock. It has to be reset by a dealer's service department. How do you get your car to a dealer when the ignition is locked? It has to be towed.

I thought to myself, there is no way in hell I'm having a second vehicle towed tonight. Maybe there's something simple I'm missing here. I could call the service department and ask for suggestions. But they're closed for the night, I'd have to wait for morning.

All this time, Nina is in a carrier in the back seat, being ever-so-patient with my fumbling and cursing. It was starting to get really cold too.

I decided to get a ride home, leaving the car at Fred Meyer until I could figure out the problem tomorrow. But who the heck can give me a ride home?

I texted my friend who lives close by, but she didn't respond. So I texted my mother-in-law, and she came to my rescue.

I expected her to just load me into her car, but she came to the passenger side and asked me what was wrong. We walked through some of the same things I already tried, but it was nice to see someone else fail too - at least it wasn't just me.

Then -- miracle of all miracles -- she pressured the key and jerked on the wheel at the same time, and everything unlocked and the car started. I couldn't believe it! She totally saved me, in more ways than one. I was inches from a serious meltdown, the kind that would have required me to call in sick to work tomorrow.

I forgot how nice it is to have family in town. It reminded me that I need to visit with her more often than I have been. With how I've been feeling lately, I've needed to hide from most social interactions. But I really do like my mother-in-law and enjoy spending time with her - she doesn't stress me out like a lot of people do. I need to remember that.

After the rescue, I finally made it home safely, exhausted and overwhelmed from a long, strange and draining day, yet satisfied, having taken care of myself, my car, and my cat, all in one day.