If you saw a black Kia carnival and a helpless looking woman staring at an engine in the middle of san miguel avenue yesterday, that was probably me.

Since I'm bumming around while looking for the dream job and doing a lot of soul searching, I am officially my mom's driver. I had to drive her yesterday morning to the hospital to accompany my uncle who is on cancer watch. Three days ago, his nose bled non stop and filled a kidney pan to the brim, when he just came back from China where he underwent cryo surgery. It's a new treatment under alternative medicine, which was perscribed to us through a family friend. So the entire family was pretty much shocked that this is happening when the doctors in China assured us of the treatment's success.

Anyway, after dropping my mom off, I was already in one of the main avenues in Ortigas and waiting for the light to turn green when I heard a distinct pop and saw some smoke. I thought at first it was the tailpipe of the car in front of me and brushed it off, but panicked in a matter of a second when I glanced upon the pressure gauge and saw the arrow on the red! I looked up for a brief millisecond and saw clouds of smoke ensuing from under the hood. It was like watching a scene from Dante's Peak. I could even hear the steam forcing its way out. Of course, I freaked out and turned the engine off right away. I was in middle of a very busy street in a very busy city, but I had no choice. I called my mom and told her what happened and she told me that I had to wait until the engine cooled so I can open the water tank and put some water in.

Then, I began freaking out some more when a traffice enforcer began to approach me. I knew for a fact that the car was off the road that day. I purposely dropped my mom off during the 10 am to 3 pm window, but the adrenaline rendered my brain incapable of processing higher thinking so I wasn't sure if he could give me a ticket or not. If the car was allowed at all within the vicinity of Ortigas.

But to my immense relief, he was very helpful but still slightly intimidating, and asked me to pop the hood. He inspected the engine, declared it to be still too hot and stood by me the entire time. It was very comforting to have him there as I was alone, in the middle of a sea of angry motorists who kept honking their horns to the thoughtless-girl-who-should-once-in-a-while-glance-at-those-dials-behind-the-wheel. And to add to the humiliation, the weather was so uncooperative that it kept drizzling the entire time.

When the engine cooled down after a couple of minutes, the traffic enforcer opened the tank. I found a bottle of water in the car and a liter of emergency water supply which my dad keeps under the seat for emergencies such as this. The traffice enforcer discovered the tank to be completely dried up and he walked off and looked for more water to put in. He was the kindest soul ever as he went back and forth to wherever he got the water for about 3 or 4 times. It must have been nearby, but he was gone for about five to ten minutes at a time.

It is also worth mentioning the other kind soul who opened his door during traffic and gave me his own water reserve.

My faith on humanity has been strengthened, and I am so grateful to those who helped me during that very stressful time.

When the water tank was finally full, the traffic enforcer asked me to turn the engine on and rev it a couple of times to make sure. Thankfully, it was still working or else I would have had to endure one of those lectures from my dad on how careless I can be sometimes. Case in point. He closed the hood and I gave him some money as a sign of my gratitude.

After that, I drove to the nearest gas station to have the engine double checked, and then drove home very hungry and with a bad headache that lasted me until evening.

What a day. Any horrible car problem stories you'd like to share? It would definitely make me feel better if you do.