I left LA abruptly on Sunday afternoon because I was frustrated with Jon, bored, and most of all, homesick. After making a few calls, I packed my things, left, and got to San Diego around 4pm. I bought Lee's sandwiches on the way and surprised my family with amazing baguettes that you just can't find in San Diego. The rest of the afternoon, I spent with my sister and watching New Moon with my parents.
Monday, my dad and I took my Golf to a mom 'n pop shop to diagnose why the check engine light lit up. As we drove around, it was pouring all day. We ended up going back and forth from my house in Eastlake to the shop in Spring Valley three times. Luckily, they were able to take my car in and I had to leave it for a few days.
The next day was a little more productive in terms of studying. When I got up, I didn't have to take my siblings to school, so I got to study alone for a few hours. It was nice to sit in the waiting room near the window--you could hear the rain falling. Besides that, Max was sleeping on the couch in front of me. He's so cute! Around 2pm, I drove to SCPA with my old Previa to pick up my siblings and then go to Plaza Bonita to run a few errands. In the evening, I stayed in and sat through @kuriousityqilledthecat's practice.
On Wednesday morning, I woke up early to take them to school. When I got home before 8am, I went with my dad to buy a few things and pick up my car. I test drove it around Jamacha Blvd in Spring Valley to get a feel of the drive, and everything felt fine. So my dad paid for the parts and we went home. On the way, we stopped by Lolita's where we got a Cali burrito and a 2 'n 1. NOMZ.
At home, my dad and I ate together and I redecorated the tree. I broke a few ornaments, but I finished. It was around 2pm when I left, gassed my car up, and was finally leaving Chula Vista. Going northbound on the 5 was no big deal--I had just taken the same route, but southward, on Sunday. When I got past Buena Park and closer into Commerce and Norwalk, traffic picked up quickly. Like, 5-10-mph-bumper-to-bumper-at-four-thirty-pm kind of traffic. I was on the phone with Jon, fussing and arguing for almost ten minutes when I start feeling my car starting to hesitate and choke, so I interrupt his rant and yell, "JON. I'LL CALL YOU BACK. MY CAR IS CHOKING. I NEED TO CALL MY DAD." When I hang up and highlight my dad's contact on my BB, my phone dies. Red LED bright. My car is still shaking at this point, but I'm still moving, no big deal. I turn on my hazard/emergency lights just in case. I'm thinking, "it's okay. Timmy's good. I just got him out of the shop this morning. He's just hesitating like he usually does," when my car stops accelerating and even though traffic is moving at a walking pace, the engine fails and stops the car completely. "Oh. My. God." is literally the first thing that I thought. I'm pushing on the brake and trying to start my car up again and I can feel the pressure of hundreds of cars and trucks behind me clogging up while my chest starts to tighten and I start crying. As people start trying to maneuver around my car, I'm shaking but I jump in the backseat to open my trunk and grab my laptop to hopefully charge my phone and call AAA. When I get into the front seat with my cell phone plugged in, it's still red and barely starting up and a huge 18-wheeler truck is honking its horn at me. At this point, I feel so beyond hopeless, bawling my eyes out, look around me watching, waiting, and just wishing that I could get my phone to start or that someone would stop to let me use their phone.
When I look up from my phone and I see a pick up truck drive in front of me and slowly back up towards my car. A guy comes out and sees me crying and asks me if I'm okay and offers to pull my car off of the freeway. Minutes later, he drops me off at the nearest gas station and I'm on the phone with my dad and AAA to eventually be picked up and towed all the way to the local dealership near my house. It's just so crazy how everything fell into place (Praise God), just being in the right place at the right time and a guy with a strap who happened to be a few minutes behind me and pull me out of the freeway. From there, I dropped off my car overnight so it could be looked at in the morning and was picked up by Jon. Besides the man who was nice enough to pull me off of the free and the guy who towed me from East LA to Van Nuys, I can't be anymore thankful for Jon. We argued all weekend but still, he was loving and willing enough to come and pick me up at nine in the evening.
Things were just still so tense. I was shaken up by everything that happened--especially because right before my car stalled, I was yelling at Jon for everything that he was doing wrong...when all we wanted was for me to finally get to his house because he bought a bouquet of roses for me after all of the arguing lately. We picked them up at his house and then we drove the long, slow way back to my house and talked things out. Finally, we got to my house. I told him that I love him, wished him a safe drive home, and to have a good night.
I just don't have the capacity to be anymore thankful for someone like him who loves and forgives and takes care of me like he does. But, needless to say, I'm glad that I'm okay and in one piece.
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