The Best Made Plans…

Ya… So here is what happened. This morning we figured that we would go to a few of the monuments before we headed out since we had a LITTLE time, and we didn’t get to see everything that we wanted to. Well, Bionca was driving (as she did the whole time in Washington and did a great job despite the crappy confusing roads) and went in the exit for the parking for the WWII memorial, and hit a curb. I was cringing and hoping that that rhythmic vibration was just my imagination, but it was not to be. You guessed it: a flat tire, but not just any flat tire, but a tire that had been torn on the side (read unrepairable). So there I was, illegally parked at the WWII memorial changing the tire while Bionca go to check it out. (I did tell her to do it, since changing a tire really is only a one person job). 30 minutes later, we can take off again.

Its a good thing that I have my work phone with me. It REALLY helped us on this trip with the data connection and Google Maps (a Flying Spaghetti-Monster-send). Using my PDA, I was able to look up local tire stores, but as I called around it quickly became apparent that they were all closed.

It is Sunday. The only store that was open was Sears. “Great,” I think, “Sears has great service, we will be in and out of there in no time, and I can get some breakfast while we wait.” Well, I was right about one thing, I did get to eat. Anyway, we got in there and we talked with sales guy, named Syed. We showed him our car, and he took our information that he needed. Well, that isn’t quite right, I gave him the information, but he couldn’t understand me, was not paying attention, or was stupid and couldn’t get it right. Finally after having to spell my name four times and the fifth not seeming to be any better, I took over his terminal and typed all of my information in myself. I know that it was a rude of me, but I really didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with that, and I can type a LOT faster.

Then he asks if we want the same tire or a different one. We tell him that as long as it is comparable then it doesn’t matter. Apparently this didn’t make sense to him, or we didn’t understand him, or one side of the other was brain dead, but it came out that there was only one tire that they had that could be installed on our car. (So why we had that conversation, I still don’t know.) Finally we give him my key and he says that it will be 2 hours. There are cars in each port, so that is understandable.

So we go to get some food since we had not eaten yet and it was getting closer to noon. We went to the food court and Bionca got the usual food court Chinese food while I went to this little Indian place that caught my eye. I ordered this vegetable empanada thing that I think was called a Samada but I am not sure, and this beef/chicken kabob plate. I get my little fired thing and the guy tells me that it will be 10 minutes for the other as he goes to cook it! In the mall! I went back to the table and ate my little pocket of goodness while waiting waiting on my meal and gloating to Bionca as she ate her slop. I went to counter while waiting for my food, and talked with the guy. He was very friendly and was appreciative of someone that is patient for good food. He had an interesting oven that was like a gas powered cooking pit, and the way that he made the flat bread was to flatten it out, wet one side, and use this mat to basically stick it to the wall of this oven. I had never seen a flat-bread being cooked vertically, and it was pretty cool. I got my food, and it was excellent. There was quite a lot and I shared it with Bionca.

We still had plenty of time, so we went to walk around the mall. It was a little strange since there were a number of stores that were there that weren’t like other malls that I have seen. There were a lot of small businesses in the stores, and it was a nice change from the homogenized types of stores in the malls around me, though it did have those too. We never really found anything that interesting but it at least passed the time. We got done at about 4 and were wondering why Sears hadn’t called us yet, so Bionca called the Service Center and asked. After giving the guy our information a few times (I hope that it was just the cell reception that made it difficult, as they can’t ALL be frig-tards there…) she was put on hold… for ten minutes. Finally their system must have kicked the call back to the main line where someone else answered and after giving the guy our info again, he told her that the car was done. Nice of them to call us to let us know.

Bionca was pretty hot about the whole thing, so she decided that she would stay in the car while I paid. When I get in, I am basically ignored while the sale staff moves about. Now to be fair, I think that they were talking to other customers, but it would have been nice to be acknowledged with a simple, “I will be right with you.” So I sit there for a while, and I finally see Syed not looking particularly busy and I go over to stand at his kiosk. He doesn’t look at me or anything, but I see him starting to make a call, so I stand there. Then I hear Bionca’s voice-mail coming from the phone and let him know that that is my wife that he is calling (this takes two attempts). Finally he seems to realize that I exist and that I want to pay, and tells me that it will be $130.24 (the agreed price when we left the car in their care) and then walks off!

I had now listened to the DieHard video twice loop (though it may have done so more without me paying attention), and I was getting tired of waiting. Bionca calls from the car, and checks on me, and I tell her that I should be out there soon. Ten minutes later Syed returns with some other guy, and I am thinking that there is something wrong with the car other than the tire, but it turns out that it is another customer that he is talking to (nice that he will do that for THAT guy). Finally he puts the guy on hold long enough to take my card and swipe it, and I have to wait even longer for him to get the papers for me to sign. At last, at 4:45 (almost 5 hours after bringing the car in) we leave.

So here we are. In the car, and sitting in traffic. Bionca is driving now while I type this. The drive is supposed to take 12 hours, but it isn’t looking good, and it is getting late (5:51 by the clock in the car), and it looks like we will be getting back late.