Car-ma

Apparently there is some kind of car virus going around. Our car battery died completely on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It showed no signs of trouble, and then suddenly was stone cold dead, wouldn't jump start or anything. I'm very thankful that 1) it died in our driveway rather than stranding me at the grocery store with a trunk full of food, and 2) that Mom and Dad get us a AAA membership every year. We called up AAA and the guy was here in less than an hour, and sold us a new battery. We weren't thrilled to have to spend the money, but it was sure a lot less trouble than getting towed to a garage and then having to spend the money anyhow (and not having the car over the holiday weekend!)

Then, my grad student had a flat tire (and drove on it halfway back from Raleigh before he realized what was wrong.) And then my other grad student discovered that he had a problem with his car's computer -- a problem that could, among other things, randomly cause the airbag to go off at any time. Lucky for him, my third grad student does not have a car!

I hope the rest of you are not experiencing any similar automotive adventures!