Friday, April 1, 2011

Thursday Night in Downtown Chinatown

Not too long ago now, 2 weeks to be exact Drew and I decided to go late night (window) shopping and grab some Burgerlicious for dinner after work.

Burgerlicious was amazing like always and we were heading back to central to catch the 8.15pm train home so that we would be home by 9.45pm when at 7.30pmish I got a call from my Mum who happened to be in the car with my Brother and my Sister coming back from Sydney Airport.

So my Mum asks if we would like a lift home and we accepted, thinking we will get home in no time as my Brother is a maniac. (hence the Oven out of the wall) I organise a meeting place of Cnr of Quay St & Thomas St as I know my Brother knows where that is.

He arrived at last and we got in the car, it was very squashy what with 5 people and 5 bags, more because my Sister cannot pack light and the fact the car is very small on the inside but looks massive on the outside.

As soon as he starts the car back up after us getting in, he has lost all power steering and it is very hard to control. We managed to drive from Cnr Quay St & Thomas St to Cnr of Ultimo Rd & George St, with him abusing pedestrians along the way who wouldn't get off the road.

We stopped at the red light on the above mentioned St and decided to turn the car off and then back on as all these lights were flashing like crazy. Lets just say the car did not start again after that. Now Drew and I still had a good 15 minutes to get to Central and get the train back up the Central Coast but since we accepted the lift in the first place, we now had a duty of care to stay and see this out.

We turned the hazards on and got out of the car, Drew directing traffic like a pro and my Brother well just being a maniac while my Mum was all frantic. My Sister didn't seem all that fussed, she had her IPhone and Laptop so was kept occupied.

My Brother pops the bonnet and checks the battery... it has been completely drained and fried. Great, we are gonna be here all night. He attempts to pour some water in the battery to see if it will get started again and enable us to get a jump start and get home. We also finally managed to get the car to roll back a little bit down the street so all the complaining cars could get into their turning lane, but only enough for 3.

We finally came to the conclusion, we need some mechanical help and my Brother has no roadside assistance and I cannot remember the number for mine, so we call the NRMA as my Sister is a member and has the keyring on her. So i had to call the NRMA to organise this. I had no idea what kinda car it was or what year it was made and my Brother was too busy trying to get the car started. I tell them we need a new battery and they say it will cost over $200.00 as he is not a member and some one will be there within the hour.

During this time, 5 minutes after I got off the phone to the NRMA a nice Cabbie decides to stop and give us a jump start, we get the car started barely, it was dieing and dieing fast. so I tell everyone to do up the Windows as it was all electric and who knows when we would've had a chance to do this next or if the car would even make it home.

9.15pm comes around Roadside assistance arrives, he checks the car. It wasn't just a fried battery, the alternator and alternator belt are busted and shredded to the max. We are never going to get home. The shit thing, the mechanic said that this is easy fixed in the type of car he had, just not in the year my Brother has. Drew and I have decided we have to get home and we must now catch the 10.15pm train home, which gets in at 11.45pm. There is no point sticking around, they need a tow truck and there is only room for 3 including the driver. 9.45pm comes and we have decided to leave for the train. All the while they are still deciding on the tow truck. They finally come to the conclusion, the tow truck is the only option and organise that, meaning my Sister had to get the train with us home.

My Mum calls and tells me they are now getting towed and guess what? They got home before we did. And my Sister asks to get picked up from the station, in what car you ask? My Mum's house is like a car yard with home many people that live there and majority have about 2 cars each.

Drew and i finally get home dead tired and dreading getting up in the 5 o'clocks on the morning to catch a train back to Sydney. We finally get into bed to go to sleep about 12.30am and can I just say that was the most undisturbed sleep I had had all week.

Moral of the story, If some one offers you a lift home you may be better off getting public transport.

Greensplat xoxo