MacGyver would have been proud

I ran out of gas last night (Yes. Again. Suffice to say that I didn't have any money except for someone else's, and a friend I taxi about was going to put gas in the car later that night. My car gets unpredictable at an eighth of a tank, due to the fuel sensor, so it happens periodically.) It was in a rather bad spot, right at the corner of Richmond Road and Man O'War, right during dusk and during rush hour. Because I couldn't move the car myself (I had tried to get over and it died before I could turn back, so I was askew in a turn lane, with a kerb and road sign in the way, and this close to the surgeries, my hands aren't up to pushing a car, and I couldn't budge it using my feet and back) and since I was a road hazard, I called the non-emergency police line (always handy to have on a cellphone). Then I was able to start the car enough just to get around the corner and into a bike lane...still a hazard, but not as much.

The police officer was very nice. I wish I'd gotten his name. He took me up to the gas station. He was a little embarrassed because he had a lot of stuff in the front seat (after all, they don't transport people up front often). Whilst I was getting gas, he cleaned out the rest of his car. :) On the way back he showed me (yes, I asked questions, geek that I am) his computer and the things they can run quickly as a result. Everytime a call's dispatched, for example, it gives a history of calls at that location. I found out that the cylinders on the back of some of the cars are antennae for the Internet connexion. Nifty cool. I've never ridden in a police car before, and even though it wasn't for very long, we talked about the military (my being a brat, he being formerly active duty).

Then we went back to my car and as I was filling the tank the spout to the can suddenly went whoosh! down into the can. We were trying to figure a way to get it out. He started for his antenna, then said:

--Do you have a really long pencil?
--No...but I do have knitting needles!
--That would be great.

So we tried using the 14" needles chopstick-style to get the spout back up, but that was nigh on impossible--especially in the dark with just a flashlight and with a cutting icy wind. Then I had a brainstorm.

--Do you have a knife?
--Yes. Why?
--Because (I said, reaching into my trunk) I have recyclables!

At which point I brought out a 2-litre Fresca bottle. So he cut it around to make a funnel, then he put the rest of the gas in the tank for me, and I was on my way. Thanks to him, I didn't get hit or otherwise hurt, no one else was hurt, and wound up giggling at what could have been a much scarier situation. Plus (given my bad luck with the expired registration and finally getting pulled over when I went through a light as it turned red this past year, it made me feel much happier about the police in general. Excellent PR, it was.

Anyway, thanks LFCPD guy. It was a great help.

And in celebration, I washed the gasoline from the knitting needles (yay, aluminium) and knitted (and finished) my first real project. I knitted a butterfly, with a peacock-multi-coloured yarn for the wings and a strange dull green chenille for the soft fuzzy body, then a purple pipe cleaner for the antennae. Yeah, I know, tr&233; tacky...but it's finished, and I got to practice casting off. I put a bit safety pin through it and well, now I have a bit butterfly pin (my middle name, Eilir, means butterfly in Welsh).

Anyway, all in all, it was fun. And apparently the hour and a half I spent yesterday morning doing yoga and chakra meditation helped me keep my cool. :)