I Need Servicing

Well, I don't think that's any big surprise to anyone in the free world.

But really, my car is about 200 miles past a servicing, and also needs a tire rotation and a brake inspection. I've been trying to get this done for about a week. It's not going well. I finally decided to ditch band last night in an effort to go after work to get this little task completed and checked off my "to do" list, which is growing bigger by the minute. As I was standing at the counter, in the process of telling the service guy what I wanted, I realized I didn't go and pre-buy my oil filter. (They never have the oil filter that goes with podmobile2 on hand.) So my conversation went a little like this: "I need a regular servicing, and a tire oh, man! I don't have my oil filter. Man!" I'm so proud I resisted the urge to say "shit."

So I started backing away and apologizing, saying I'd be back tomorrow (which is today now), and the service guy said, and I'm not kidding here, "Yeah, tomorrow would be better actually. I'm off tomorrow." Yes, he used the exact line I've longed to use at work for over a decade.

Instead of the servicing, I just took podmobile2 to have a deluxe car wash. Then I cleaned him well on the inside when I got back home.

And so today became servicing day. I used my lunch hour to drive to the Subaru dealership, two towns over, to get my Genuine Subaru Part. I went to the counter I always go to. When someone finally decided to wait on me, they told me they were now Honda only, I had to go to the Subaru building. I got in my car and drove up a hill to the Subaru building and went inside. Where I was told that this was sales. Servicing was one more building up. I was starting to feel like I was trapped in a Monty Python skit, where I'd eventually end up getting hit on the head with a hammer and then taught to say, "Waaah!"

I drove up one more hill to the next shop, figuring it had to be the right one because there were no more any higher on the hill. I went to the entrance door and it said, "Employees Only." So, and this time I did say "shit," right out loud, I went in the main door of the building and ended up in a section where you buy car stereos. After another wait a young fellow asked me what I wanted, and though I wanted to say, "Not a stereo," I didn't because that might have hurt his feelings, and so I asked where I could get my oil filter. He looked at me a little like I was a complete idiot and said, "It's the door right outside. The door beside the big garage door." When I mentioned that door did actually say I shouldn't go in it unless I worked there, he dismissed it and told me they just hadn't changed the paint on the door yet. "Well, do that," I said, in my mind, while remaining silent on the outside and turning around to finally get where I needed to be.

One oil filter, a lot of heartache, and a drive back home, and my lunch hour was over. To be honest, it was past over, I was about 10 minutes late getting back to work. But at least I'd be ready to zip right from work and get podmobile2 his servicing.

I'd planned to leave the car, take a walk, possibly to a couple of stores nearby for some shopping, and I even brought a book along with me in case the shopping didn't excite me and I didn't browse long enough for the car work to be completed.

Notice I said "planned."

Since I was going to be out and about and walking around, I decided to quickly hit the restroom before I left for work. I told the boss to go along, I'd be behind her, I had a small wee, then as I was washing my hands I realized something. I didn't pick up my keys before I left. I had no car keys, no house keys, no office keys. I lit out of the bathroom and went to the back door, only to see the boss backing out of her parking spot. I screamed and waved, smartly resisting the urge to run after her because that would have meant the door of the building closing and locking behind me.

Normally it's such a nice sight, seeing my boss drive away from me....

And so there I was. Stuck.

Luckily, someone was still in the office space across from TheCompanyIWorkFor, and I asked if I could use the phone. They were very nice and said yes, and I called the boss's cell phone. No answer. I called the home phone. No answer. I called my workmate San's number. No answer. Shit. I really was stuck.

Now, I live within walking distance of my house, but I had no key, so that didn't help. In fact, my spare set of house keys? I keep them in the office. So I went to the last resort - I called the folks. After a very long and confusing conversation with them (I don't know, could have been my fault), I finally made my mother realize that all she needed to do was to come and pick me up on the street in front of my office. They live about 1 ½ miles away. It took her 20 minutes.

Not that I wasn't grateful or anything. She drove me to the boss's house where luckily I got a set of keys to the building and my office in it. Mom took me back, I picked up my keys, and, though I kept telling myself all was well now, I had a decidedly sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. But I hopped in the car and headed out anyway.

When I got to the servicing place it was six o'clock and there were nine cars in front of me. Seven in the lines going into the service ports, and two more in the parking lot, because they wouldn't fit in the lines. When I inched my way to the service counter, they all but laughed at me. At least they held back, and didn't point me out to the other service guys - "Hey, look at her! She thinks she's going to get a car serviced tonight!"

I backed away apologizing again, and said I'd return. I don't know when, though. I don't have a single free night next week. Pedicure Monday, haircut Tuesday, Sauerkraut Band gig Wednesday, driving back from an afternoon doctor's appointment in Roanoke Thursday, Oktoberfest Friday. At least I'll look nice and be healthy when the engine of my car falls out.

Did I mention I'm tired?

Betland's Olympic Update:
* When I got back home tonight, unserviced, I used my pent-up venom and wrote an e-mail to the Movie Gallery. See, when I was there renting movies last night a very upsetting thing happened to me. The girl in front of me asked the counter guy, "Hey, where's my movie?" and he reached under the counter and handed her a dvd. The lady she'd been talking to made a remark about it "being nice, knowing a man who works at the video store." I didn't think much about it till the girl was leaving, and I noticed the movie in her hand was "Monster House." A movie that doesn't come out until next week! That just pissed me off to no end, and so I tattled to the Movie Gallery. Mr Brady would be so disappointed in me. I don't care. Mr Brady's dead, and it's unfair.