Christmas Present Irony

I asked for a pay-as-you-go cellphone for Christmas. I wanted to have one to take in the car with me on my trips, just in case of an emergency. I’ve never needed a car phone before but it felt like the right thing to do. My mom agreed and got me one.

It felt nice to have the phone in my car when I hit the highway for the first time with it last weekend. I never thought I’d need it though.

My battery light came on when I started the car but I decided not to worry about it. I figured it might go out on its own. But as I drove, the car just didn’t feel right. I pulled off to the side of the road and called my dad. He knows a bit about cars and told me that if the battery light is on that it probably isn’t charging and that I’m running on battery power alone. Once the battery dies, I’d be stuck at the side of the road.

So I drove home that Sunday night and parked the car in the driveway. The next morning I took it to the garage and sure enough, it was the alternator. The battery and connectors also needed replacing.

At least my car is fixed now and I didn’t get stuck on the side of the road. I just can’t get over the irony that I wanted the phone just in case something happened with my car and I needed it for that purpose right away.

It makes me think that had I not have gotten the phone for Christmas, this might not have happened. An emergency cell phone creates a need for an emergency. The medium is the message.

The crazy thing is I have been reading about this kind of literary theory this Christmas break too.

It’s just strange, don’t you think?

Or maybe it is possible that I knew I’d have a problem and that’s why I got the phone. Either way, I’m glad I had it. I think I might have kept driving till the next service station to use a pay phone. And who knows, by then my battery could’ve been dead and I would’ve been stuck. At least things worked out; not for my budget mind you, I’m gonna be broke for a while now. But that’s what it’s like to own a car, isn’t it?


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