what did your mama tell you?

You know that thing about your parents' advice being relevant at just the right time? Well, I was catching up with mama & papa yesterday after my last call to them. Mama was quite concerned about winter coming and me not being able to withstand the cold. She was also giving me advice on car maintenance and making sure I got the mechanic's number just in case something happened.

Well, today on our way to do groceries at Jusco, the car suddenly died. Right at the entrance to the parking lot where cars were driving in from the main road. As soon as we got out of the car, we saw smoke coming out of the bonnet. We were shocked to find out that the battery and the connecting cable was on fire!

Thank God I had 3 bodyguards guys with me. They helped push the car to the side while I called Yuichi-san for help. We were trying to figure out what went wrong and Yuichi was suggesting perhaps we should call the mechanic. Apparently getting their service would cost Y6,000 already.

So we thought of getting it to the nearest petrol station just to get a rough estimate of the repairs. The petrol-lady accessed the damage and said the previous person who handled the battery must've manually connected the cables wrongly, thus causing it to short-circuit and catch fire. Gosh! The car could've blown up, with the 4 of us in it!

Since the repairs and replacement would onli cost about Y6000+, we decided to just leave the car there and collect it when it was done. But I had to come back with some papers (I think they need to prove I did not steal the car!) before they could start repairing, and since it was a weekend, their supplier was on holiday. So I'd have to come back with the papers so they can replace my burnt battery and cables, and return again when they're done.

And guess what? By the time I came back, half the campus already knew what happened to me. Some even got the facts twisted and thought I got into an accident! The wonders of WOM.