Monday, November 29, 2004
an alarmingly rainy monday
Today at lunch I had an extremely "alarming" adventure. I went out to my GMC Jimmy and my keychain did not deactivate my vehicle alarm system. At the same time, my brother John decides to ring my cellphone. So, I talked to him about various things while deciding what to do with my keychain situation. While we were talking, I took apart both of the keychains I had in my purse and cleaned them and put them back together. If this didn't work, I had no choice but to drive over to Radio Shack for new batteries with my alarm screeching. After crossing my fingers and toes and saying a few prayers, I went back outside in the rain and faced reality. The keychains were completely dead. So, I took a deep breath and opened the door manually. The alarm began the cycle of screeching and beeping continuously. Great, it reset. Then I remembered that the guy who installed the alarm told me that after four times of resetting that the alarm would automatically shut off. So, I headed down this highway near work and just kept driving. After the alarm reset three times, I turned around and and started heading back towards town and Radio Shack. After the fourth time of resetting, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then my heart sank as the alarm continued resetting four more times before I reached the mall. There was a moment of silence, so I parked in the middle of the parking lot. As soon as I opened the door, the alarm began sounding again. I walked nonchalantly toward the mall entrance, while people in their cars stared at me and wondered why my alarm continued to go off. I went into Radio Shack and bought and installed the replacement battery in my keychain. I got back to the truck and still the keychain refused to disarm my system. I took the other keychain apart ( losing the screw of course!) and replaced the battery. That keychain didn't work either. So, I hopped back in to the noisy truck and pretended that I was a British bobby, because that was the sound playing in my alarm. People in surrounding vehicles continued to stare, especially when I was stopped at the red light around the corner from where I work, while I blasted some Eric Clapton on the inside. It reminded me of something that you might see on the old "Candid Camera" TV show. I kept a solemn expression on my face the best I could, although the looks on everyone's faces was quite comical. I made my "grand entrance" back at work, not really any better than when I left. After waiting on a few customers, I took the keychains apart again and replaced the screws. Finally one of the keychains cooperated and I was allowed full access to my chariot once again. The only thing that I do wonder about is what would have happened if any police were in the area. What if someone was really stealing my truck? Of course, they would have known how to cut one wire and disable the alarm.
