I am, admittedly, an insufferable know it all. This is why I teach, love school, and recently became addicted to the app Trivia Crack. However, when I get oil changes, I am forced to admit that, when it comes to cars, I know virtually nothing. (Though, you should know I can explain how an internal combustion engine works, Bernoulli's Principle as it relates to a carburetor, and why some fuels burn more efficiently than others based on molecular structure... Sorry, but you DID read the first sentence and choose to continue reading).
So, I waited anxiously for my oil change today wishing I could be anywhere else. No one likes feeling stupid. When I pulled into the garage, I was somewhat proud of myself for knowing the answers to the basic questions about my car (by referencing my insurance card) and ignored the fact that when the attendant asked if a certain oil was okay, I had zero idea if it was.
He let me know that there was a bench in the attached store, so I carried my backpack in and took a seat. To add insult to my naive-and-out-of-place-phobia, I found that my feet would not reach the ground. Regardless, with my childlike dangling feet, I took out a textbook to study (my formal Educator Effectiveness observation is on Tuesday, and I'd rather not leave any topic under researched).
A bit later, I was informed that I was set to go and got into line hoping that there wouldn't be any further discussion on my car. The man in front of me in line looked directly at me (I assumed he was judging me for staring so intently at the Peanut Butter Lindor truffles next to him on the counter. I was very hungry). After paying, he asked the cashier to wait and rushed over to the garbage can to pick out a receipt (this man is loopy and delaying my exit), then asked the cashier if the old receipt had an oil change special on it. He said, "No, but I can grab you one," and pulled a ripped half-off coupon from a paper bin to hand to the customer.
The customer handed it to me and I thanked him. He replied, "You're welcome. It's always nice to help young people save money."
And I'm taking this to assume that he thought I was a college student. I'm not. And I'm debt free, and since a couple years ago I was pretty accustomed to constantly paying more in tuition than I could earn in a year, I consider myself to be filthy rich at the moment, though that may be open to interpretation.
Anyway, it didn't cost him anything, but the fact that he thought about it, and decided that it wouldn't hurt to waste a few moments scouring a garbage bin to save me ten bucks, was pretty cool. Not exciting enough to write a blog post about it or anything (shit, oops) but nice. Nice enough to make me not hate oil changes for a bit.
Sue pointed out last week that she had to get used to exchanging small talk with strangers when she returned from Guatemala. In Wisconsin, if someone holds the door for you, it's not weird to then briefly discuss that it's a lovely day, or that the wind is particularly strong, or that you have a cute hair clip. I love the community I get to live in!
Musings concluded.
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