Weird day.

After spending two hours on hold with the IRS (for someone else), when I was finally connected, the agent was unable to hear me and hung up. I decided that I needed to get out of the house at that point, so Sailor and I headed off to Uwajimaya to pick up Pocari Sweat and maybe a fun Japanese or Korean treat. I am driving my folks' car and stopped at the gas station to fill up, but pulled in behind a truck and didn't realize I was in the diesel bay. A very nice attendant came up and let me know I needed to pull forward after the truck left, but when I tried to restart the car, it made a very unpleasant sound and wouldn't start. I tried again and got the same sound and no start. The attendant said to put it in neutral and he'd push it forward to the correct gas pump, and we both thought maybe it would start after sitting for a few minutes while he filled the tank. It didn't. After a few phone calls and another push over to a parking space, the tow truck driver showed up and asked me to try starting it so he could hear the sound I described to the dispatcher when I called. It turned out the battery was dead and just needed a jump. However, that also meant I needed to go get a new battery if I wanted to drive it again after today, so I headed off to Sears. 3.5 hours, a new battery and alternator later, Matt showed up to meet us and we went to Red Robin to enjoy what was left of the day. We never did make it to Uwajimaya. What did I learn today? If your car won't start and is making a b-r-r-r-r-r-r-r (imagine rolling R) sound, it means your battery is dead. Also, tomorrow there will be treats.