In Touch with My Inner Dummy

The following story is so mortifying, I decided to put it in the extended entry. Read on if you would like a good chortle at my expense...

I took my Mom to a follow-up appointment today, and we needed to get gas on the way home. I was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which belonged to my Dad. (Yes, an eeee-vil SUV!) Although my Mom doesn't drive anymore, we kept the Jeep because it comes in handy and it's easier for her to get in and out of than my car.

So, I go to a gas station, which is one I haven't been to in years. I'm distracted and still not quite awake and I grab the leftmost pump, which I believe is what I'd use at my usual gas station.

The pump doesn't want to fit in the hole to the gas tank. I started getting frustrated and a little embarrassed. I already had swiped my card, we were low on gas, and I had to do something. So I pumped a little out and let it trickle into the tank, I did this a few times and then noticed, to my horror, the pump said "Diesel". Oh! No!

So I stopped pumping immediately (I had pumped less than a gallon, and I don't think all of it went in the tank). I told my Mom what I had done, and I was almost in tears. My Mom told me to ask the people in the store what to do but I was too embarrassed, so she went in. While she was gone, I pumped a full tank of the expensive premium gas to somehow make up for what I had done. I prayed that I had not done any damage to the Jeep.

When I got through, my Mom returned and told me she talked to two men in the store. The clerk saw how much I pumped and both men said that the Jeep should be okay as long as we just do city driving. They said it might smoke and run a little hot, but it should be okay. I talked to some guys at work who said pretty much the same thing. They said it was good that I put the premium in, since diesel has a very low octane.

On the drive home, the Jeep seemed fine. It didn't smoke and run hot. I drove it to work and back today and it seemed fine. We'll see.

I have only a few excuses for my stupidity. First, I don't think the station I normally go to even has diesel, so I'm not used the extra pump. I also didn't know that diesel pumps were larger and didn't fit in regular cars. This is really a good thing, because it could have been worse. Also, like I said, I was distracted and not quite awake. For some reason, I've been stuck on dumb all day.

And I absolutely, categorically deny that my blonde hair has anything to do with the above incident, so no lame blonde jokes, please.