I'm back from the Secular Student Alliance conference! I apologize again for the dearth of blog posts. I was itching to blog the whole time, but I didn't have the time or the internet access. Lucky for you that in just a couple days, I'll be pooping out 49 blog posts in a single day! Hopefully that will more than make up for my absence. But since I made the mistake of checking my email before flopping into bed, here's one funny story you get from the trip.
I have realized that I should not drive bloggers.
Not because I hate bloggers or I'm a horrible driver or something. God just hates atheist bloggers in transit, apparently. When I had to pick up PZ from the airport, his flight arrived horribly late and I felt like I was going to kill both of us speeding off to our event. When I had to drive Greta Christina to Chicago, it was during a nasty blizzard, where we passed many cars in ditches.
And now I had a driving adventure with Hemant.
Hemant was nice enough to pick up me and my friend Mark on his way to Columbus, OH since we're fairly close to him. Half way into the six hour drive we decided to switch so he could nap as a passenger, instead of behind the wheel. He pulls over and we trade places.
Me: Man, your side of the car is really hot.
Hemant: Huh, I was just going to say the same thing about your side.
A couple minutes go by and we realize the air conditioning magically broke right when we pulled over. Not the end of the world, but definitely unpleasant since it was in the 90s and humid. Thankfully we were all sweating like crazy, so I didn't have to worry about my individual stinkiness.
I drive for a bit more. Hemant's already sleeping.
Mark: Do you smell smoke?
Me: ...Yeah.
In retrospect this should have been a red flag, but it smelled so similar to cigarettes we thought we were just driving by a particularly stinky area. Eventually it goes away, and I figure I'll start to be worried if I see flames shoot out from under the hood.
We're all dying from the heat, but the zoo is in sight. We're just stuck waiting to turn at the light, and then we're in the parking lot. Except there's just one problem.
Me: Um, Hemant, nothing happens when I press the gas pedal.
Everyone: [insert explitives of your choice here]
Eventually after much restarting, the car decides to live again. I make it to the parking lot, trying not to ever come to a full stop. This was especially interesting when I needed to pay for parking and I'm trying to exchange money without coming to a full stop. We decide to just park the car, go to the zoo with the rest of the group, and deal with it later.
Dealing with it later = Realizing the car doesn't start at all.
Thankfully my friend Mike was there with his own car and called AAA for us. So we spent the rest of the afternoon following a tow truck and scheming how we could possibly get back to Chicago without Hemant's car. Eventually we found out his car could be fixed, and we were able to get back to Chicagoland in one piece.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Hemant's wallet.
I'm starting to think this is compelling evidence for the existence of a God who hates atheist bloggers - not enough to strike them down, but just enough to annoy them with horrible driving experiences. Hopefully I never have to drive Richard Dawkins around - I can't imagine what major catastrophe would happen then.
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