Weirdly Wednesday Nightly Hangout Thread - November 21, 2018

My mom's car is dead so I tried to jump it early today (~5:45pm after work). I'm not super car savvy so I didn't do it correctly. The car seems to have a LOT of plastic so I couldn't find a place to ground the negative lead. First spot I found happened to be the horn it seems, hah! That woke me up. Second spot seemed ok (sparks are good, right?) but I was an idiot and turned my car off before turning the dead car on. Ooops.

Went back later at night (9:30pm) with a portable battery jump starter in case the issue was me fumbling with the ground cable. The battery jumpers are SO great, its like a power bank for phones...just for jumping cars! Anyways, usually it works instantly but it didn't work when I plugged it in. So. I actually had to crack open the manual and figure out how to charge what appeared to be a super dead battery.

For lack for a better word, theres a 'turbo mode' on the battery for use when the battery is extremely dead and wont charge enough to get that initial ignition. So I fire that up and....

LOUD SIRENS LOUD SIRENS!!!

Shit. So now i'm in panic mode because this was not what I was expecting, although it was, I guess, reassuring that the car alarm was going off. I mean, that means power, right? Right?...

So as im in total panic mode I recall my own car (Corolla) would sometimes shut off the alarm if I started the car. Honestly, I don't even know if that bit is true, but my first instinct was to start the car.

Vrrrrooooooommm! Car starts like a charm and I can hear the engine start up.

...but coincidentally, I also hear something else. It's the alarm. It's somehow gotten *louder***. Shit.

So now i'm in FULL BLOWN panic mode as people are surely trying to sleep before Thanksgiving and this car is just BLARING into the night. Wait! Panic mode! The panic button on the car keys!!!!

I fumble with this TINY sliver of a red panic button for a few god awful seconds before I realize that, of course, the battery is dead in damn key too (hah, imagine if you could jump it with another car key! With tiny jumper cables to the tiny batteries)

So now with IRL panic mode in full swing and panic mode on the key not working, I decide to turn off the car. And, yea, the alarm is still going off. Just a tiny bit quieter now. From jet engine taking off to...well, normal car alarm level. Which is really, REALLY loud when its night time.

So I run to unplug my 'lil battery jumper. I quickly force myself into "don't panic" mode because electricity is scary and I should focus on properly shutting it off. "Power off unit. Negative lead off. Then positive. Then cap battery.".

Luckily the alarm stops, and at this point i've just completely given up. I go to return the key to my mom assuming that she's awake...along with everyone else in the neighborhood....

To my dismay I see one of my mom's neighbors staring down at me from one of the condo units. It's raining outside, and of course I decided to wear a black hoodie. And I have black pants on. Also black shoes. Oh and i'm a person of color in a predominantly white community. Did I mention it was night time? Because its pitch black outside too.

"Goddamnit you probably think i'm the worlds shittiest car thief right now, don't you?"

Go to return my mom's key, we laugh a bit about it all, and I decide to head back to my car... honestly the only terrifying / frustrating part about this experience was knowing that the neighbor could have called the cops on me. And...sadly profiling is a thing. Not even considering the race factor, a guy in his mid 20's wearing all black at night with a car alarm going off does look suspicious.

So, yea. No real moral to that story, but its something I want to get off my chest.

/r/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon Thread