How Google Saved my Life

No, really.

Okay, it's a slight exaggeration, but Google did save me from being stuck alone on the highway for several hours, which is a small portion of my life.

To start from the beginning: I went home to Salt Lake City for the Easter weekend. It was lovely: friends, family, candy, and all that. On Sunday night, I left for Provo at about 9:00 pm. About half an hour down the road, I started to smell smoke in my car. Not good at all, so I pulled over to the side of the road. My brakes didn't appear to be working too well either. I managed to stop, but it took forever and I nearly ran out into the on-ramp.

So, now that I was stopped, I needed help. I really had no idea what was wrong with the car. I don't know that much about them, and all the problems I could fix myself (flat tires, overheating) didn't appear to be it. I hopped back in the car to call my dad for help, but alas, dead cell phone battery. Shoot.

I sat there for a while, trying to figure out how in the world I could get a hold of my dad. Then I remembered that my laptop was in my backpack. I pulled it out, fired up Windows, and *tada* got a wireless internet connection from a nearby business.

Now I was connected to the world, but no one on my instant messenger lists was online, so I had no way of instantly getting hold of someone. On a whim, I searched Google for "free text messages," hoping I could send one from online. Lo and behold, Google SMS has a free service that you can send text messages from online. I was saved! I sent a message to my sister, who called my dad at home. Soon after, Katherine later came online on MSN, so I had her call my dad too, just in case. Thanks Katherine! My dad came and fixed my evil-van-of-doom. Turns out the fan belt on the brakes was totally dead, so it was a good thing I stopped.

Moral of the story: Don't secure your wireless network. You never know when it could save someone's life. (Just Kidding!)