Car trouble, eh?

This is a non-media related post, but I feel I must bestow upon you the story of my adventures that arose from what was supposed to be a simple spring break trip to visit family. Perhaps a solo 7 hour car trip through Canada to Michigan isn't simple, but I've driven longer so I figured I'd be fine. Plus, this family I was visiting (my aunt and uncle) is no obligatory visit; I couldn't wait to get there. I guess I should have seen the trouble brewing from a country away...

I wake up bright and early and hit the road at 8AM, and am making great time. I figure I'm about a couple hours away from MI and decide to go ahead and fill up the gas tank while I'm in Canada, hoping for a favorable exchange rate on the credit card bill. Of course I suspect nothing but the normal routine: get out, pump gas, get in, start car, go. Only, there was a slight snag in that fourth step. Oh, the minor one about where the car's supposed to start? Yeah. That one. Allow me to reenact the situation:

"..." said my car.
"Hmm. That's weird. I'll try again." said me as I turned the key again.
"..." my car replied, having zero reaction to my hopeful thinking.
"Shit." I said after about 9 more exchanges of the above interaction.

Then I take a couple breaths, calm down, and just decide that I'm the only one that can help myself. I go into the gas station and explain to the woman that my car won't start, she asks if I have CAA, I stare at her blankly, she asks if I have AAA, and then I say yes. So I call and they get a tow truck en route. I make phone calls. 1) My dad, 2) My uncle whose house I'm headed to, and 3) My friend at school because I needed a girl to cry to after being an adult.

She calms me down before the tow truck guy arrives. He proceeds to:
1) try the battery, with no result
2) try the starter, with no result
3) try suggestions from my uncle, with no result
4) conclude I must be towed to the Canadian Tire in Ingersoll
5) be the nicest guy in the world to me the entire time

Now I'm super worried because now it has to go to a shop, which has the potential to take the rest of my life to get it fixed. We get there and the tow truck driver talks to the guys in the shop to get me in ASAP. I go into the shop, give them my info, make more calls, same people, same order. Dad freaks out a little, uncle tells me he's already on his way to come get me should my car not be drivable (how amazing is he? for real), friend gives me the entire history of Ingersoll to cheer me up (to sum it up in one word, cheese).

The guys in the shop were amazingly super nice and tell me that they will absolutely get me back on the road today. They figure out the problem was the starter relay, which, apparently is a part in my car. They call a dealer, they have the part, it arrives within 5 minutes, they pop it in, problem solved. Total damage: $131 (Canadian), about 2 hours lost traveling time, knowledge of local Canadian small town culture, and proof to myself that I can handle my own shit.

After losing about another hour at the US border in the line of a guard who clearly hated his job, the world, and everyone in it, and who made me turn off my car, give him the keys, and pop my trunk, I finally made it to my destination, about 11 hours after I left. I then go on to have the most amazingly fun weekend with my aunt and uncle that actually made the whole car debacle just a distant, learning experience memory that I would happily repeat to have that much fun with them again.

Moral of the story: If you're ever in a jam, call a Canadian for help. They will be super nice and their accent is super adorable too. Lesson, learned.