Irony?

After writing very enthusiastically about the prospect of driving our new (new to us--4 years old) car to the grocery store, I grabbed my keys and the shopping list and some coupons from the store's "loyalty card" program (aka club card in US-English), and went out to the car. What a thrill--a bit of trepidation as I am still getting used to driving a 4-wheeled motorized vehicle on the left side of the narrow road. (A two-wheel bike--no problem!) The remote didn't work, but I managed to unlock the door the old-fashioned way with the key. I settle into my seat, fasten seatbelt, insert key in ignition, and... the car wouldn't start. It sort of turned over, and over, and over. But no engine roaring to life. I stopped trying, sat there, and tried again. Nothing. Maybe I had flooded the engine? So I give up for now and decide to try later, or ... wait until Mike gets home! What a weird thought! I have only been married a year and a half, and after years of independence and knowing how to change my own oil thank you very much, suddenly I am falling back on that lamest of get-out clauses.... Mike is mechanical. He'll know what the problem is. He'll figure it out. Feeling sheepish and distinctly unliberated, I slouch back inside.

But really... Mike is VERY mechanical. And sure enough, several hours later, he thinks he has it figured out. I should have tried another key! Clearly, the battery in this one must be dead. And therefore, the engine immobilizer wouldn't have gotten switched off by the key in the ignition. I have never had a car with engine immobilization (to my knowledge...), so this is new territory. We go to Boots (chemist, er I mean drugstore) the next day to get a battery for the remote. We replace it and ... it still doesn't work.

So much for mechanics!

But maybe Irony is too strong a label for this event (or non-event). I reckon that is just the blogification of an ordinary life-bobble.

Yes, I did get the groceries in the end. I used Mike's key.