Confirmation of Stupidity

I've had numerous power problems with my car since we've had it. The battery dies easily (leave your headlights on for 20 minutes and it's dead); the security system thinks someone's breaking into it and won't let me start it; another dead battery; another dead battery... You get the picture. Lots of dead batteries, which then cause complications with the "luxury" features of the car.

So yesterday was a normal day. I went to start my car, realized I left the reading light on all night, and my car wouldn't start. Wonderful...I killed the battery yet again. I called up my boyfriend for a jump start--"Please help me out when you have a chance! I'm an idiot." This has happened before, many times, trying to find someone to jump my car. He's jump started many cars before--we're both pros. We hook up the cables, fire it up... and my engine starts smoking. I hurry to try to start my car and it won't. I look over, and his engine is on fire. Seriously. There was a flame a foot high shooting out of his engine!! He yells that my car's on fire too. This is just wonderful. Drama and panic break out for about two minutes until it's all under control again, and we're wondering what we did wrong?! + was to +, - was -...?? We briefly considered trying again with different jumper cables...but didn't want to explode the cars or the garage so decided not to. My jumper cables were toasty--in five pieces, part burned into my headlight, insulation burned off of it. That was quite a lot of heat going through those things!

Boyfriend graciously offered me his car to take to work, since my drive is longer than his, and I went on my way. We exchanged emails throughout the day discussing what went wrong. We know basics about cars, so really it wasn't too much of a discussion! Well, after work he got some friends together and tried to figure it out. They almost called a tow truck... but he was smart enough to figure it out on his own (unlike me). So they bought some dry gas, and put a gallon in my tank, and vroom! it started right up, and smoked for about 5 minutes.

I feel like an idiot. I swear I had enough gas, I had 1/8th of a tank, but I forgot I moved north, and I need to keep more gas in it when it's freezing outside. I feel like I confirmed the stereotype of stupid females not knowing enough about cars even to read the gauges to keep enough gas in them. Do you ever feel bad when you confirm a stereotype? Everyone tries to be unique, and then bam! you're doing something because you're just not thinking (it was 60F all week!) and you're stranded 30 miles from work, an hour late, with two cars on fire in your driveway, beating yourself up for being exactly what they said you would be.

Time to enroll in a auto mechanics class.