♫Amber is the Color of Your Warning Light♪

For nearly three weeks now, I've been basking in the amber glow of a "service engine soon" light. It doesn't flash, it doesn't beep ... it just glows. It's almost comforting at this point.

It freaked me out at first, considering Lazarus' history of internal problems, but there was no smoke; no steam; no spewing fluids; and no grinding, clunking, whirring or whining.

Dad says it's probably an oxygen sensor, which to me translates: Eh.

A coworker today got a panicked call from her sister, about to hit the road and just realizing that her "check engine" light has lit up.

An office conversation ensued, during which I found out that I'm one of three people in our little room who has chosen to ignore the orange light.

Our consensus was this: A mere "check/service engine" warning is far too vague. It needs to be more specific. Like: "Engine Explosion Immenent" or "Could Probably Wait 'Til The Next Oil Change."

"It needs to have color-coded warnings, like the terrorism threat level," one person said.

I agree. If your car is going to terrorize your psyche with lighted warnings, you should at least know what level of anneurism to have when you see the light.

Me? I'm still going with a Code Green alert level. I won't be camping out at my mechanic, waiting for them to open in the morning.