On that roller coaster again

16th of June
 
The ole ticker had a work out again today. It seems at the moment that everything wants to be difficult. But hey, its keeping us on our toes. Here is todays little adventure.
 
It is still cold wet and windy. Cold for up here, that is. There is no sun shine, just grey clouds that decide every hour or so they want to attempt in flooding the town. So it is not much fun going outside and doing stuff.
 
I was meant to drive the hour down to Mackay tomorrow to attend a course so that I can be available to join the normal working life that society says. I said how much of a fracas this was just to organise. So today, I went to prepare for my early morning drive by fueling up ‘Grandpa’ the car and that sort of business. We went through our usual “get ready for land” routine and when I went to grab grandpa’s keys from the key hook. No keys… That instant feeling of ,“what the fuck have I done with those things” sinks in. After turning Nandji upside down for the next half hour we decide that they must be in the car.
 
Loaded up and ready to rort the town of their internet and electricity, we headed to land. Bonita went off to continue the editing of episode 5, whilst I went to the car to investigate. Nope, no keys in the ignition and the car was locked. Like most people I think, of course the spare key was in side the car. As I double glanced all the doors, I noticed that a rear door was unlocked. Yes, winning. Thank you grandpa for having faulty central locking and leaving an entry for me. So in I climbed and dug out the spare key. Out I climbed through the rear door and thought, I better lock that door since the central locking is busted. Locked the door and closed. As soon as it shut, I instantly thought. That was not very smart. But I had the spare key so we should be all sweet.
 
Around to the drivers door I walk, in goes the key and yep. It wouldn’t unlock. “Your kidding me.” How is this possible, the spare key doesn’t unlock the drivers door. So I tried the boot. Nope. Still locked out. After a few swear words I thought Ill break into him. Easy. So, I marched back down the hill to the tender. Fanged back out to Nandji and grabbed a coat hanger. Fanged back to land, walked up that bloody hill again ready to break in. After ten minutes of attempting this, I realised that I am a shit car thief. I thought VS commodores were easy to break in to, they always get stolen… By this time, mother nature decides that I am dealing with all this a little to well, so she decides to rain. It pissed down for a solid fifteen minutes, whilst I tried to hide under a small bush with not much success of staying dry. The rain passed, I gathered my thoughts and went in for round two.
 
I jiggled that damn coat hanger in all the doors.  Up and down and around and didn’t get any where. After twenty minutes or so, I thought Ill call my mate in town, Juzzy, who just got back from working away. After a little chuckle at the predicament I was in, he looked up on YouTube how to break in to a car. I should of thought of that. So with a little help from our friends on the internet, we now had the knowledge. However, I still lacked in the skill. Being a good guy that he is sometimes, he rang the RAA to come and assist. My membership expired last week and I thought there is no point in renewing this as I live on a boat. RAA are the car helper guys that you call when you are broken down or in this case, lock your keys in the car. They informed us that they would be there in an hour and a half… Great.
 
Now Juzzy was on board and keen to get into grandpa. After another fifteen minutes and a few more YouTube videos later. I had a new technique of prying open the door and lifting the lock that way. So I scrounged around looing for some sort of wedge. I found a thin rock that proved to be useless and started hunting again.
 
Juzzy rocked up ready to rumble and even bought me a coffee to make me smile. Oh, thanks mate. He was armed with a few tools in his ute and out came the chisel to pry the door open. This worked well but we needed more door open to lift the lock. Out came the Jimmy bar. Now with over an inch gap of door open, we contemplated weather we could squeeze my arm down there without getting hurt. Just in the nick of time, old mate RAA rocked up and saved my arm. With a bent door now and Juzzy and I deep in problem solving mode. The RAA held off for a few minutes until he realised we weren’t getting anywhere fast. Two minutes later, the door was open.
 
Thanks mate and off he went. Now the all critical thought of if this spare key, that wouldn’t open anything, can bring life to grandpa. The key goes in the ignition. Okay that’s a good start. Now will it turn… Of course it wont. It is obviously a key not meant for this Holden. The entire 9 years of owning grandpa, I have never used the spare, it just lived in the centre console. The one day it was his time to shine and it’s the wrong bloody key.
 
Juzzy and I say our goodbyes after bending the door back to shape. At least we got into the car we thought. Juzzy went back to his car and I started to ruffle through the glove box looking to see if there was another possible spare key. It was around this time I looked out the front window and “Hello Sally.”
There was the keys tucked under the wind screen wipers! I probably left them hanging out of the door (which I have done before a few times) and some legend has seen that and tucked them under the wipers. Woohoo!
 
After a little dance and some screams of joy with Juzzy, off I went to find Bonita and tell her the good news.
 
Got to love it when things are looking so grim and then in the same sentence they turn into the greatest feeling. I thought today, dry June is over. Lets celebrate. But its to bloody cold to drink beer. If the sun was shining it might have been a different outcome.

After another roller coaster ride, I am back on Nandji where it is warm and dry. The keys are back on the key hook where they belong and we are all feeling quite contempt again.
 
So that was my day. How was yours?
 
Captain Yosh