Home
March 16, 1998
|
x |
x |
n |
Rose late.Showered. Dressed.Went to see my accountant to pick up my taxes all set to file. Got a vegetable lasagna plate at the Andover Spa. Ate same at Starbucks with a grande latte. Ned and Patrick came by on their way to the library and told me about a poetry reading in April. Read more of Animal Talk and remain skeptical that I can read their little feline minds. Ran into Julie in the parking lot behind the old town hall. She was cleaning empty paper coffee cups out of Tom's car. She found one from Dunkin' Donuts - eeek, eeek - it's like Dunkies is Tom's mistress or something. Tom arrived and carried the cups to a trash can across the street. I chatted with both of them for a few minutes about the flower show, about Julie's new book contract, my stalled in its tracks piping plover essay for Paul's project... Then I headed to the Sears in Peabody to buy a new tire. OK, so like I was there at the Sears Automotive department for like half an hour waiting for somebody to wait on me. I was beginning to think I had come to the wrong place. Like maybe this is the place to come to after you've already bought the tire and had it installed and you just have to pay for it. I browsed among the tires. How do you browse tires? I know what size I need and what price range I'm willing to pay. I'm not sure what a half hour looking at tires in a showroom is going to change. Maybe the batteries look so good I'll buy a battery too? Or the artistically arranged shock absorbers on the wall will move me spiritually and I'll buy them too? Three people are in line ahead of me. Well, it's not exactly a line. Three people have been wandering around wondering how to browse at tires longer than I have. Someone comes in and looks longingly at batteries. Slowly, ever so slowly, the people ahead of me are served. Finally, a nice woman asks what she can do for me. It's simple really, I just want to buy a relatively cheap tire in size 195-60-15. I tell her. She asks me what size. I say 195-60-15 again. She has to look at the car and see what size tires are on there. We go out to the car and she measures the tread on all 4 tires and tells me I need new tires all around. They're not safe. "Yeah, yeah, don't give me that - this is Sears - I know your ways" I think but manage not to say aloud. Instead I say, look I just need one tire to put on the left front 'cause I can't drive much longer on the spare and besides it handles poorly. We go back inside and she looks in the computer for a tire. This takes a long time. Finally she quotes me a price. Then she looks in the computer again for a long time to see if that tire is in stock. The computer takes a long time to answer her. Finally, I've succeeded in ordering the tire. I sign the requisite forms, hand over my credit card, sign the credit card slip, hand over my key and go over to the North Shore Mall for awhile. The nice lady tells me the car will be ready in an hour. I order a frozen Mocha Blast at Au Bon Pain. It takes forever to make. Frozen mocha spills everywhere. When I finally get it, the cup is sticky and dripping frozen mocha. All the people in the food court are staring at me. Then I try to drink it. It's so thick it won't go thru the straw. I sit for awhile and let it melt. I finally drink about half of it and decide I don't like it. It's too much work for not enough beverage satisfaction. I throw it away. Still not time to pick up the car. I try to shop. Suddenly, I really need to find the restroom. But I hardly ever come to this mall. I have no idea where the restroom is. I find a directory. I try to orient myself but by now I'm in pain and sweating like crazy. I finally figure out where I am in relation to the restroom and walk there as fast as I can. Even when I'm done and I've washed my hands etc, I'm still dripping sweat. This takes all the fun out of shopping. When the hour is up, I head over to Sears Automotive to wait again. There are no clerks around. I stand there. One of the other people who was browsing when I was shows up too. We wait. Finally someone asks me what I want. I want my car. I know it's done 'cause it moved and it has a new tire on it. I saw that on the way in. The clerk can't find the paperwork. He looks at every file. I tell him I know it's ready. Then suddenly he discovers my paperwork right in front of him. I half expect him to come out with "you are leaving Y, commencing Z" when he hands me the key. I never knew buying a tire could be this surreal. If I hurry, I can be home in time for supper. | |
|
x |
x |
|
|