Random Fail: First World Problems

[Raldo]

Car's had what seemed like a dead battery for a few days now. Got around to jumping it yesterday to no avail. I bought the battery last march, so I took the battery out, took it to the shop, and the shop says it's got a lot of charge and is perfectly fine. Maybe my alternator or starter is dead, just fucking great. Put the battery back in... car starts just fine. I call my dad up 'cause that makes no sense to me (not car savvy here) and he says maybe the connection to the leads was loose (unlikely because I was unable to unscrew them without tools) or maybe just some corrosion on it (possible I guess, there was some yellowy shit on it, but not much). I guess that's a win in the end since the fix was free, but it feels like a fail because of the wasted time and effort I went through the past few days to get around not having the car, and I still don't really know what the problem was.

My biggest point of confusion is why you didn't commandeer a handtruck.

Handtruck, huh. I had to look that one up. I've only ever heard them called dollies, which never made any sense to me, so I'm going to use this word now thanks.

[synistar]

My outlook at work is being spammed by people who opened up a suspicious email. I want to nuke my mailbox right now.

[Moss]

You wouldn't think walking would be very difficult, but apparently it is. I've been here since Sunday and basically walked everywhere, today my knee finally has given up on me. I walked approximately the last km home with a limp, and when I finally got into the elevator at my hotel, I started to cry. I have never been in this much pain, and I have absolutely nothing I can do for it right now except rest it until dinner.

Tomorrow is my last day here and I don't want to spend it convalescing. I may take a bath and try to massage it. For now, though, I'm just lying down.

I mean this in the nicest way possible: use this as motivation to live a healthier lifestyle. If you are having issues now, it's only going to get worse as you age. You don't want to be one of those old people that's almost completely immobile.

[Aksannyi]

I've had knee problems for 20 years, but it has been a while since I've had a flare-up. I do walk pretty regularly at home, but I guess suddenly upping the amount I was doing didn't make any part of my body too happy. I should have brought a knee brace with me. After having rested for an hour, though, I already feel better, though I'm not doing anything (save for dinner) until tomorrow.

[arus2001]

Can 100% relate on knee issues, though mine began with a football injury back in high school. Diet and exercise only go so far if you've got a bad wheel.

[BaneTheBrawler]

you could probably get a knee brace there. otherwise maybe take a taxi or something tomorrow? doesnt rome have like bicycle taxis? could be a fun alternative.

[Aksannyi]

Yeah, they have taxis, buses, the train, etc., but the thing is I don't want to spend the money (and the bus system is way too confusing for me to figure out in a language I don't understand). The taxis are expensive as fuck and literally nothing I've gone to (with the exception of the Vatican Museum, for which I did take a taxi) was more than 2.5 km away from my hotel. All of the museums and attractions have stairs though, and Rome is a really fucking hilly place. It's actually not the inclines that hurt, but the declines. If my knee still bothers me to the extent that it did today when I go out tomorrow, I'll check out a pharmacy and get myself a brace. I'm also going to go the "no shame" route and take elevators when available.

Tomorrow is my last day here though, as I fly back early Friday morning. So I'm going to take things pretty easy and just enjoy it, and honestly although it hurts, I can rest when I get home because god knows when the next time I'll be here will be.

On a not fail note, I highly recommend Rome to everyone. I absolutely love it here.

[Airenn]

I work for a restaurant owned by the Planet Hollywood parent company. It's a chain with over 50 stores all around the US and we still use an excel sheet-> printed piece of paper for the fucking schedule instead of something electronic like Hotschedules. Such bullshit.

[Moss]

Can 100% relate on knee issues, though mine began with a football injury back in high school. Diet and exercise only go so far if you've got a bad wheel.

it's still only going to be exacerbated

[BaneTheBrawler]

no one disputes that. youre missing the point. if something's going to hurt anyway, and there are benefits to doing something that will make it worse, people will often go with the worse option.

source: every time i have eaten junk food since 2006 (when i started taking my diet into consideration). ITS SO GOOD BUT I BLEED BUT IM DOING THAT ANYWAY FUCK IT

also whats wrong with excel? you don't like data entry?

[Aksannyi]

I mean I'm doing what I can with the weight thing. Obviously eating all the carbs here in Italy isn't helping (though I'm pretty sure I'm burning approximately what I'm putting in with all the walking, I totally get why Italian food is all carbs) but yeah, I know that I'm putting added stress on my body, my joints especially. I also have a bad back from years of ballet (god and I love to dance and would go back in a heartbeat if I could and I know that was doing my body no favors) and that has been hurting too, but I can either sit around and continue to be fat or try to work through a manageable amount of pain in order to not be fat.

I took a super hot bath because the bathtub here is huge and it's awesome and that helped, not completely, but somewhat. I am not taking any more stairs while I'm here because stairs - especially the descent - are what's causing me the most pain. And if people want to call me lazy, fat American, let them, because this lazy, fat American is in pain and some disabilities are not visible. Though I was definitely limping as I got close to my hotel and I was trying really hard not to because that only makes me a target and ... yeah.

I still love it here though so bad knee or not, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

[Acevalefor]

Car's had what seemed like a dead battery for a few days now. Got around to jumping it yesterday to no avail. I bought the battery last march, so I took the battery out, took it to the shop, and the shop says it's got a lot of charge and is perfectly fine. Maybe my alternator or starter is dead, just fucking great. Put the battery back in... car starts just fine. I call my dad up 'cause that makes no sense to me (not car savvy here) and he says maybe the connection to the leads was loose (unlikely because I was unable to unscrew them without tools) or maybe just some corrosion on it (possible I guess, there was some yellowy shit on it, but not much). I guess that's a win in the end since the fix was free, but it feels like a fail because of the wasted time and effort I went through the past few days to get around not having the car, and I still don't really know what the problem was.

AAA Guy here;
Your problem was most likely loose terminals, oxidation on the posts and/or terminals (Think of a wax film over it, only much thinner and not wax), or corrosion on the wires or terminals causing enough resistance that the starter could not pull the needed current to turn the engine. Additionally, it may be an emerging starter problem if your starter is pulling excessive amperage (For most cars, anything above 200a) when starting.

For future reference:
multiple clicks or pulsing dash lights indicates low power.
a single click usually indicates a starter problem
the car stalling after start is likely alternator related but can sometimes be indicative of a badly damaged battery. Don't try to drive the car if it is doing this.
When jump starting a car, wait a bit after hooking up the cables to start the car. The alternator of the other car will only be putting out about 15 amps. Give it a good 10 minutes to charge your battery.

If you have a digital multi-meter, you can do most all of the battery testing yourself without needing to take it to a shop. Watch a couple youtube videos on how a multi-meter works, then start playing with it. You can't hurt anything as long as you don't try to touch both leads to the same point. Don't cross the streams, in other words.

As a final note, if you, or a friend who is willing to let you use it, has AAA, call and ask for the battery service. The membership follows the member, not the car, so as long as the member is present we will gladly offer service. We will test the battery, alternator, starter, and check for anything that could be draining the battery like a trunk light not shutting off or an aftermarket stereo installed incorrectly. Saves you a trip to a shop and in most cases you have a good diagnosis of the problem.

/AAA Guy pitch

[Moss]

if something's going to hurt anyway, and there are benefits to doing something that will make it worse, people will often go with the worse option.

wat

[BaneTheBrawler]

options A and B both result in pain. Option B will be slightly more painful, but you get a prize. cake, say. Option A gets nothing. Option B is often more attractive.

[Dareus]

I mean I'm doing what I can with the weight thing. Obviously eating all the carbs here in Italy isn't helping (though I'm pretty sure I'm burning approximately what I'm putting in with all the walking, I totally get why Italian food is all carbs) but yeah, I know that I'm putting added stress on my body, my joints especially. I also have a bad back from years of ballet (god and I love to dance and would go back in a heartbeat if I could and I know that was doing my body no favors) and that has been hurting too, but I can either sit around and continue to be fat or try to work through a manageable amount of pain in order to not be fat.

I took a super hot bath because the bathtub here is huge and it's awesome and that helped, not completely, but somewhat. I am not taking any more stairs while I'm here because stairs - especially the descent - are what's causing me the most pain. And if people want to call me lazy, fat American, let them, because this lazy, fat American is in pain and some disabilities are not visible. Though I was definitely limping as I got close to my hotel and I was trying really hard not to because that only makes me a target and ... yeah.

I still love it here though so bad knee or not, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

That's an awesome attitude, good for you!! The best thing I ever had in Italy was like this little fancy bread thing and like a wine cocktail that you dip it in. Just about all the "Afternoon hang out cafes" had it. I highly recommend it if you haven't tried it yet! I can't remember the name but you will totally see people having it if you pop into a cafe in the afternoon.

[Brill Weave]

AAA Guy here;
Your problem was most likely loose terminals, oxidation on the posts and/or terminals (Think of a wax film over it, only much thinner and not wax), or corrosion on the wires or terminals causing enough resistance that the starter could not pull the needed current to turn the engine. Additionally, it may be an emerging starter problem if your starter is pulling excessive amperage (For most cars, anything above 200a) when starting.

For future reference:
multiple clicks or pulsing dash lights indicates low power.
a single click usually indicates a starter problem
the car stalling after start is likely alternator related but can sometimes be indicative of a badly damaged battery. Don't try to drive the car if it is doing this.
When jump starting a car, wait a bit after hooking up the cables to start the car. The alternator of the other car will only be putting out about 15 amps. Give it a good 10 minutes to charge your battery.

If you have a digital multi-meter, you can do most all of the battery testing yourself without needing to take it to a shop. Watch a couple youtube videos on how a multi-meter works, then start playing with it. You can't hurt anything as long as you don't try to touch both leads to the same point. Don't cross the streams, in other words.

As a final note, if you, or a friend who is willing to let you use it, has AAA, call and ask for the battery service. The membership follows the member, not the car, so as long as the member is present we will gladly offer service. We will test the battery, alternator, starter, and check for anything that could be draining the battery like a trunk light not shutting off or an aftermarket stereo installed incorrectly. Saves you a trip to a shop and in most cases you have a good diagnosis of the problem.

/AAA Guy pitch

[Aksannyi]

Went back out today, walked slowly, took it easy. I was only out for a few hours before it (the knee) started to hurt like hell again. It's only 1400, but I think my vacation is basically done. I guess I'll work on packing and then see how I feel after a few hours of rest. Le sigh.

[Brill Weave]

What type of battery is it Raldo? Just curiosity from an AAA employee.

[Raldo]

What type of battery is it Raldo? Just curiosity from an AAA employee.

uhhh, whatever O'reillys gave me in March '14 when I brought in the manufacturer's battery? 2010 Honda Civic. There are types of batteries? I thought it was a "whatever very specific battery fits into your vehicle" sort of situation. I tell them the car type (or rather, I bring the battery in) and they handed me a replacement battery. I asked if there was any sort of choice on what batteries to pick from (I know that used to be a thing anyway...) and they said no, so I took it.

Wife took the car out last night and said she had trouble starting it to get home. No details though, so it may have just been slow to start because cold rather than an actual problem that time. Texas gettin' snow, ugh.

Your problem was most likely loose terminals, oxidation on the posts and/or terminals (Think of a wax film over it, only much thinner and not wax), or corrosion on the wires or terminals causing enough resistance that the starter could not pull the needed current to turn the engine. Additionally, it may be an emerging starter problem if your starter is pulling excessive amperage (For most cars, anything above 200a) when starting.

The oxidation thing is probably it I guess, there was some thin yellow shit on the posts (none of that crusty battery crud I'm used to seeing on bad batteries though), and that's something that would've been agitated as I removed/reinserted the battery, allowing it to work again. I guess I could go back in there and give them a scrub with a cloth.

In case you're curious about the state of the car when it was dead... Car happily functioned on ACC. About half the time turning it to ON killed it (all lights shut off), and the rest of the time it died as soon as I turned it to START. There might've been one click if it got that far? Hard to remember.

[Astylla]

Went back out today, walked slowly, took it easy. I was only out for a few hours before it (the knee) started to hurt like hell again. It's only 1400, but I think my vacation is basically done. I guess I'll work on packing and then see how I feel after a few hours of rest. Le sigh.

Do you regularly take anything to help like an anti - inflammatory or ibuprofen ? I am on 800mg ibuprofen 3 times a day for a hip/joint issue per my doctor that may or may not get better with further weight loss so we'll see after my wrist surgery and recovery. I don't know it it will help but it makes a huge difference when I'm on a consistent regimen of it.

My fail :

Still getting temporary disability but as of today my check had not come which is very unusual. Since I just got authorization for surgery next week I'm kind of freaking out over not getting the check since we use it for expenses. Discuss options with lawyer and allowed to reach out to the claims administrator. Claims admin emails me back and the good news is the checks have not stopped and the funds were indeed issued with another check being issued on 3/13 as per normal schedule.

So it could be lost , could be due to weather issues ( my lawyer said several of their clients have run into late checks also recently) but can't do a stop payment until at least 3/9/15 for the current check.
Thankfully rent and car payment and bills are covered and we have savings we can use but it's still stressful as shit. WTB fucking direct deposit for this shit.