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January 5th, 2005 I shouldn't have made that New Year's wish. I wished for my life to remain as interesting as it was. Well, I found out. Got back around twelve, last night, from a business visit to my Lelystad partner in business affairs, and thought I would top off my freshly acquired (secondhand, from Max) car (a fine Opel Combo), at the Total along the Amsterdamsevaart. This came to pass, but after that, it wouldn't start again, for the 500 metres home. Three quarters of an hour later and by then a member of Routemobiel, for a hundred euros more than I could have been (since, just like with the ANWB, it is more expensive if you don't become a member beforehand), I'd found out that the battery was empty. This was either due to the battery, or to the dynamo. "Can I take it home and will I then be able to start it tomorrow to take it to the garage?" "Yes." None of it. I hadn't left the gas station or the lights gave out, and after I'd circled the Rottepolderplein, back in the other direction along the Amsterdamsevaart, I came to a halt again, abreast the crossing with the Prins Bernhardlaan, the engine having dropped out. The gentlemen of Tow- and hoisting-company Vrolijk (the name means 'Cheerful' and it lives up to its name), sent by Routemobiel, drove around too, and picked me up again ("then it must be your dynamo after all eh"), we put the car on his trailer, and delivered it to the front door of battery-specialist van Aalst along the Papentorenvest. It was furnished with a new front window there around noon, by Carglass (the window was already fractured when I bought the car, and the appointment for its replacement had been made a while ago already), and van Aalst found the dynamo (and, in case of bad luck, the battery too) has gone bust. Shortly after the mounting of the new window, the car was towed away by the garage (Ooms): we're carless, for a while. Good thing this comes in handy, because my bike is being repared as well, until, at the earliest, January 11th (due to interim holiday at Bike Planet). And that, just like that window, it's such a cheap repair. Sort of. |
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