I spent all week excited to go mushroom foraging and camping with my friends last weekend. The weather was rainy, so I knew there would be a lot of great mushrooms in the Snowbowl area. I was excited to jump around the trails.
I usually keep my car keys clipped onto the loops of my jeans, but I wore leggings that day so I could hop around like a monkey and placed them in my jacket pocket instead. Even though the temperature was dropping, it was getting kind of hot, so I took off my jacket to tie around my waist.
Sigh.
If I could go back into the past and tell myself, "NO, JULIE. DON'T FORGET TO ZIP UP THE POCKET OF YOUR RAIN JACKET", I would. Instead, I jumped around the forest, like Tarzan in the You'll Be In My Heart music video.
It was starting to rain and get a little darker, so it was almost time to leave the forest, but noOo. I said, "Wait. Let's look over here instead!" So I put my rain jacket back on, and we spend some more looking for mushrooms. The only things we really found were broken dreams and sadness. We decided to start driving to out campsite.
I really don't like when someone is driving, and they wait until we're standing by the car door to look for their car keys before they unlock it, so when I'm around 100 yards away from my car, I reach into my pocket and feel nothing. I do that little panic thing, where I check my other pocket. Nothing. I frantically feel around my leggings, even though I don't have pockets. I check my original pocket again. I check the mushroom basked, filled with rain and hopeful nothingness. And then I do that thingy, where I pat my jacket down, only to stare into the abyss, knowing that I lost my keys in the woods.
Well, I'm sure everyone in the world has felt that moment when your heart drops. I knew I let my friends down. The tents, korean bbq, and dry clothing were in my car. And I'm just here with that sinking feeling as my friends turn around to look at me being panicked. The rain started pouring, and I just say I lost my keys and start freaking out.
Luckily, my friend had space in her car to fit my boyfriend and I, so I crawled into the back and felt extremely guilty. The sky turning darker, rain getting heavier, wind getting chillier really made me feel like I was withdrawing. I guess I'm sounding kind of dramatic here, but you know. When you're at 12,000 feet elevation, 4 hours away from home, and know that you just messed up everyone's night, it be like that.
My friend and boyfriend start calling locksmiths in the background and got in touch with this company. Time passed, and the sun started shining again. I honestly didn't even know cutting a key on the spot was even possible. I was thinking that I'd have to be driven home. Find my spare keys somewhere, and then I would have to have someone drive me back. Times have really changed, you know?
When Randall comes, I was like WOO. But something in my heart made me feel like something was going to go wrong. I drive an '08 Corolla, and I don't know. Just SOMETHING made me feel like we were going to have a hard time, and I'd have to end up going home or paying Toyota a bunch of money to cut and program a key for me.
The first thing he does is open my car for me. That took him less than a minute. We got some dry socks, and I was honestly happy to just be in my car. I don't know if anyone else is just as curious as me, but I kept asking him questions the whole time. What does this do? What does that do? Are you feeling positive we can get this? He was honest the whole time and said that it could be quick or it could take hours. If I sound annoying by asking all the questions, I guarantee you, I was way more annoying there. I asked him if it was hard to do this. (It can be.) I asked him what's one of the more difficult moments. (He owned up to accidentally breaking and having to replace a part in someone's car.) I asked if he has ever stolen a car. (No. But even if he did, I don't think anyone would admit to it.) When I asked more questions, he explained the process as he worked on it. He has these really thick manuals out and was looking through it, explaining it as he went along because I was just really curious. He showed us the lock and how it worked. He showed us the mistakes of the key he cut. He gave us examples on how many different scenarios he'd have to figure out using trial, error, and deduction. Honestly, it was really cool. It took an hour and 38 minute for everything. He gave me a programmed key and an extra key to keep. I couldn't believe that someone would drive in the rain, up a winding mountain road, fix the issue, and still give me an extra key to have. I am honestly running out of text to type this pointless story, but thanks Randall. I challenge anyone who is reading this to use him if you need ever need his services. He is awesome and honest. Also, sorry if you made it this far into the review, but if you're like me, you're stuck without anything to do anyway. Just call him. read more
