{"id":422,"date":"2016-09-25T09:50:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-25T13:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/50.87.248.97\/~frantas1\/?p=422"},"modified":"2016-09-24T13:05:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-24T17:05:09","slug":"getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/?p=422","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"img_2462\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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When I entered the garage, I noticed the door to my car was slightly open. OOPS<\/strong>. As I attempted to start the car, it just couldn’t turn over. Hmmmm, better turn off the radio and A\/C. That did the trick, the car started a little reluctantly but it did start.<\/p>\n

The last time this happened years ago, I called the Automobile club. I had drained the battery completely and the guy said to drive around for at least 40 minutes to give the battery a \u2018charge\u2019. I drove around for about 25 minutes as I had an appointment.<\/p>\n

Lucky for me, the car started when I was finished. The same thing repeated for the next few days. A long 50 minute ride was in my future so I thought, if I could just get through the next few days with out the radio and A\/C, that long car ride would certainly charge the battery enough.<\/p>\n

I drove to my friend\u2019s house visited for a while . When I went to leave, a little challenge starting the car but, it started. On the way home I debated if I should get gas or wait until the next morning. I had breakfast plans with a friend. I overrode my inclination towards procrastination, gas on the way home was the answer.<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s Club was my choice for gas. It\u2019s not too far from my house and it has a lower price. I opted for the outside lane of pumps. When I was ready to start the car . . . NOTHING<\/strong>. I mean absolutely NOTHING<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I called triple A (the Automobile Club) and ask for a battery. The nice call center lady told me it was going to be about an hour to an hour and a half before they can get to my location. The windows were rolled down for air circulation. The skies began to darken and the a cloud burst. I couldn\u2019t roll up the windows! Good thing I had an umbrella in the car. I opened it and put it out the open window. Yes, that’s right, sitting at a gas pump, and an umbrella stuck out the window, AT SAM’s Club. Perfect. At least I was not getting wet anymore. The passenger side wasn\u2019t getting wet either as the wind was blowing sideways from the driver\u2019s side. Thank goodness it was a quick one.<\/p>\n

After about 45 minutes the Attendant came up to my car and asked me if I\u2019m okay. DUH, really? Who sits at a pump for almost an hour? I told him that my car won\u2019t start.<\/p>\n

\u201c I noticed you a while before but thought you were making some phone calls. People do that you know. Maybe I can get the guys to over in the tire and battery area to give you a jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought about what he said. He has seen people sit at the gas pump for an hour? Come on, that is just so\u00a0 . . . I don’t know, inconsiderate, stupid, ridiculous (insert your own word here). If I have to make a phone call or something, I pull away from the pump and stop over on the side, out of the way. Wow.<\/p>\n

Hold on a minute, Say what?<\/em> Double DUH<\/strong>, I\u2019m at Sam\u2019s Club and they sell batteries?! Just then the Automobile Club truck pulled up. I thanked the attendant and let the AAA guy get to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis battery doesn\u2019t look too old. You should take it back to where you bought it. I\u2019m sure there is a warranty.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tell him I just want a battery. \u201cAre you sure? I can follow you to the dealership so you can get a new battery there.\u201d<\/p>\n

AND<\/strong> like a lamb I do what he suggests and go to the dealership right down the road. Did I mention that I had already tried to call the Service Department 3 times to find out about the battery warranty? It just kept ringing and ringing with no answer. Oh yeah and it is also Saturday at 4:50pm (Mind you I had been calling since 4:15pm)<\/p>\n

By the time I reached the dealership it is 5:05pm. A salesman offered to stay with my car while I run inside to speak with someone about the battery. LONG story short. The battery only had a 16 month warranty. I am past that so, guess what, I need a NEW BATTERY!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I drove back to Sam\u2019s Club (you know where I started this adventure)<\/em>. Parked the car and went inside to buy a battery. After some searching the guy found the correct battery, a 3 year warranty too. Only catch, they can\u2019t install it for at least an hour.<\/p>\n

Only two techs were working and they had a couple of jobs ahead of me. One guy was (ready for this?) \u2018buffing\u2019 or whatever it is called, the headlights so that they look brand new.<\/p>\n

I met the guy and his wife who were waiting for this particular car. They are retired and on a whim, decided to have the headlight work done on a SATURDAY at 5pm! Really, you\u2019ve got all this free time and you choose\u00a0 a Saturday?<\/p>\n

I was just glad that I would get a new battery at some point. A tech came out from the repair area and spoke with the couple. The job was completed. Maybe he can start on my car!<\/p>\n

I walked around for a bit and then wandered back to the service desk. A woman and her daughter were waiting for someone to come out from the repair area. They had a problem with a tire. One of them had just gotten off from work. It was 6:30pm and the service department closes at 7:00. I sure hoped that they could help them.<\/p>\n

Finally at 6:55 my car was ready. Thank goodness. As I headed home and reminded my self to Look around and keep track of your surroundings<\/strong>. I could have been through with the battery issue hours before if only I had realized where I was!<\/em><\/p>\n

Hope you have a wonderful day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  When I entered the garage, I noticed the door to my car was slightly open. OOPS. As I attempted to start the car, it just couldn’t turn over. Hmmmm, better turn off the radio and A\/C. That did the trick, the car started a little reluctantly but it did start. The last time this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[105,73,7,130,142,82],"tags":[157,158,98],"class_list":["post-422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-funny","category-insights","category-life","category-observations","category-travel","tag-batteris","tag-car-problems","tag-help"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5uF4f-6O","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":424,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422\/revisions\/424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frantasticfran.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}