Today started out well. It was my last day of work before a 10 day vacation, and the babies were very good, and took big long naps while I played on the computer and had time to myself! Mark even left work a little early and joined me for the last hour of work. We didn't hit too much traffic on the way home, and he was even going to have time to drop me off at home before going to soccer practice (with the alternative being me dropping him off at practice, and having to come back later to pick him up). Good good good. Until about 5:50 pm when we heard an unusual noise coming from our car, and it got louder and louder, and we were forced to pull to the side of the motorway. Definitely a flat tire. Now this was a big problem for a few reasons. (1) Yes Mark does know how to change a flat, and yes we DID have a spare tire, but we were basically in a position where he would be sticking out in the middle of the freeway to change it, and there really was nowhere else to go to do it, and (2) Mark was going to be late for his soccer practice/game. I suggested skipping his practice, or telling them that he'd be late, but instead, he decided to call his coach, who arranged for a teammate to come and pick HIM up. Just him. And take HIM to soccer practice. And what did I do, you ask? Well, I typed this blog post. I read a book. I waited and waited and waited for roadside assistance (yes, Mark did call them before he left) to come and save me. I just wish I was all big and pregnant because this would be straight out of a movie or something.
But yes, I waited for about 45 minutes, alone, in the car, on the side of the freeway, hungry, and needing to pee. Then the guy finally arrived to change the tire, and it would figure that they sent the biggest asshole on the planet to come to fix our tire. First, he asked if I was a member of AA (which is the NZ version of AAA, not alcoholics anonymous...) No, we are not members, and he then told me he couldn't help me. Which was funny, because I'm pretty sure we asked specifically if they could help us if we weren't members when we called in the first place, and they said YES, and then charged us $180 on our credit card over the phone. So actually YES, he could help me. Ok fine, he finally agrees to help. Then he asks if I have a spare tire, which I did. Yay. So he pulls it out of the trunk, and tells me immediately it's flat, and just stares at me. So I ask, "well, ummmm... what do I do now?" to which he gives me this exasperated look as if I am an idiot, and he says he'll see if he can pump it up but he doesn't know how far it'll get me... ok great, for $180, he better be able to do at least something! So he puts air in it, and voila, it's fixed (or something like that). He then needs to actually change the tire, and he goes searching in my trunk for the tools he needs. And comes up empty handed. He mumbles something to me, which I couldn't understand, and he gets irritated that I asked him to repeat himself, and he then tells me he can't help me because I don't even have the right tools in my car. WHAT. So I tell him that they must be there, I have no idea where else they would be. So he looks again, and what do ya know, there they are! So he goes, fixes the tire, and basically walks away. When I don't leave, he looks at me and goes, "well... you're done." A-hole! So I drove home with a maybe not so great spare tire, with no advice/instructions on what to do next (i.e. don't drive too fast, take it in to get a new tire tomorrow, get all your tires checked... nothin'). Oh yes, but he did lecture me about how he's surprised this tire didn't blow earlier because it's been dangerous for a long time and anyone could see that if they looked at it. Well excuuuuuuuse me!
Hmph!! Mark owes me big time, let's just put it that way.
But yes, I waited for about 45 minutes, alone, in the car, on the side of the freeway, hungry, and needing to pee. Then the guy finally arrived to change the tire, and it would figure that they sent the biggest asshole on the planet to come to fix our tire. First, he asked if I was a member of AA (which is the NZ version of AAA, not alcoholics anonymous...) No, we are not members, and he then told me he couldn't help me. Which was funny, because I'm pretty sure we asked specifically if they could help us if we weren't members when we called in the first place, and they said YES, and then charged us $180 on our credit card over the phone. So actually YES, he could help me. Ok fine, he finally agrees to help. Then he asks if I have a spare tire, which I did. Yay. So he pulls it out of the trunk, and tells me immediately it's flat, and just stares at me. So I ask, "well, ummmm... what do I do now?" to which he gives me this exasperated look as if I am an idiot, and he says he'll see if he can pump it up but he doesn't know how far it'll get me... ok great, for $180, he better be able to do at least something! So he puts air in it, and voila, it's fixed (or something like that). He then needs to actually change the tire, and he goes searching in my trunk for the tools he needs. And comes up empty handed. He mumbles something to me, which I couldn't understand, and he gets irritated that I asked him to repeat himself, and he then tells me he can't help me because I don't even have the right tools in my car. WHAT. So I tell him that they must be there, I have no idea where else they would be. So he looks again, and what do ya know, there they are! So he goes, fixes the tire, and basically walks away. When I don't leave, he looks at me and goes, "well... you're done." A-hole! So I drove home with a maybe not so great spare tire, with no advice/instructions on what to do next (i.e. don't drive too fast, take it in to get a new tire tomorrow, get all your tires checked... nothin'). Oh yes, but he did lecture me about how he's surprised this tire didn't blow earlier because it's been dangerous for a long time and anyone could see that if they looked at it. Well excuuuuuuuse me!
Hmph!! Mark owes me big time, let's just put it that way.
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