Ask Lemmy

Why, I do a pre-drive 100 points checklist, starting with the right wheel lug nut...

Waiting for the glow plugs.

Hey, I'm fat and disabled. It just takes a bit longer.

Waiting for the will to live to kick back in after that brief pause when you're alone in a quiet space

well, I usually roll a few cigarettes for the road, put directions on Google maps, and adjust my seating/coffee/whatever else I need to be comfortable. In total it takes a minute or two.

Brushing off the snow and scraping off the ice from my windows

Starting car Putting on seatbelt Backing out of carport without hitting house hopefully Backing out of driveway without hitting a neighbor dogwslking or biking Looking at the the neighbor’s house wondering what is going on over there Pushing gas to move to next exit trying to remember where I am going.

• Get in
• Start car
• Connect up bluetooth for tunes
• Wait for startup high-idle to finish warming the cats or whatever
• Drive

Waiting for my old phone to get ready to navigate and play music

My mother will sit in the car and watch at least three tiktoks before starting the car and before getting out .

if it's winter and really cold I'll let the car run for a bit before going. also have to clear ice/snow off the car sometimes too.

Starting Spotify and syncing it with Android Auto

I get in:

• seat belt
• turn on car
• fix phone stuff
• fix temperature and/or windows open/close
• make sure seat/mirrors are good to go
• jam to music
• then cautiously head out and drive

Setting up music, navigation, and letting it defrost

Leaning in, starting the car, hitting the garage door button, putting stuff in, grabbing ice scraper, begrudgingly pondering why I had to get another car that's currently in the garage, parked where if my running one was it would not need scraping.

Transmission is slow on startup (especially when cold) so the first shift always takes a while to engage, and I have to watch the lights to see if I still have enough coolant (fun leak)

Checking pbone, eating food, looking for cord, checking pockets, enjoying the view, making sure mirrors are adjusted properly, adjusting chair, adjusting steering wheel. Could be any number of things.

Loading up my favorite podcast

Not often this is the case, but when it is; it's always "fuck my seatbelt got stuck, let me pull it slowly"

Responding to this post, can't comment and drive

Reflecting on how ironic it would be for a deer to crash a car into a human crossing the road for a change.

I wait for my car to idle for a few seconds because the dealer told me to. The “cold engine” light turns off and then I’m good to go.

How about making sure I don't hit anything on my way out?

Depends. I drive a hybrid and live on top of a hill so my routine is set up to try and keep the engine off until I hit flat land and go above 30 mph. Typically that means plug in and set up my phone, buckle in, turn car in, and slowly cruise out of there with no delay. I don't really want the engine warming up until it actually needs to run.

Contemplating existence