It's the simple things that make technology seem like magic

This morning's pre-coffee adventure involved looking for something that I have seen time and time again and yet couldn't find. My reserved Zipcar!



In this case, one reserved at the Rozzie Village Commuter Rail stop. I have seen the cars multiple times as I ride the train. You look out the window, and there they are. I swear, I couldn't find the car this morning. Part of the confusion, now that I am looking at the map, is that in the app it just says

 "Fit Bride / Roslindale Village Commuter Rail" 

The actual website has detailed information, but who would have thought to use that???? I was, of course, in the lower (South) lot. It was the only one I knew from driving into the Village Square.

If you follow me on twitter or Instagram, you may be thinking, "Wait, you have a Jeep, why do you need a Zipcar???" Well, sometimes you just need a second car.  H needed to travel today for work, and normally in the spring or summer, commuter rail would have worked, but the trains have been unreliable since the snowstorm. I digress. Basically, it was either get a rental or try to figure out how to re-arrange meetings and work from home.

Guess what? When a hurricane-like blizzard hits a coastal area, all cars at the rental agencies get rented.


I have not owned a car since 2012 and, in general, have had no problem getting an Enterprise rental on short notice. All of the locations within 5mi of me (Boston is NOT that big, but it sure does have a lot of Enterprise lots) had no cars. None, nada, zip.

via GIPHY
via GIPHY

So I sucked it up and tried to see if I could an all-day use Zipcar. Woot! The answer is yes. And then I couldn't find it.

We're driving around the tiny (lower) lot looking lost and I decided to call Zipcar and see if maybe the cars were moved someplace else since where I thought the signs should be was just one massive snow bank. While on hold I used the Honk and Unlock Me option in the app.

Magic!!!

Still couldn't see the car but I could hear it. So we drove around the block, with the window down, in -2° C weather. Whaddaya know! There's another parking lot up there! And there's my Zipcar. So I unlocked it with the app because my hands didn't want to work in the cold and the windshield was covered with ice and my card wasn't working.

I am now thawed out enough to write this.

In other news, I have been completely spoiled by the options in the Jeep just the few weeks we've owned it, but that's another post.