Two princes, a car, and a hamburger

I finally sucked it up and took my car in to get "repaired" on Saturday. I had taken it in twice before and of course, as soon as my car enters the lot, it stops whatever it was doing wrong. The problem was that my engine would rev up on its own. I could be sitting at a stopsign, and it would lurch forward, or the engine would race like crazy. I got a few looks from people who probably thought I was showing off in my 'wagon. Yeah.... I took it in and they had it run for about half and hour...never did it once. They hooked it up to the computer and it turned out fine, which kinda irks me. Obviously, there's something wrong with it, but the computer says no, so it must be right. What happened to the people who could listen to the car and 'know' that something was wrong with it, and then know where to look and how to fix it? Even from driving it, I could sense that there was something wrong with it just because I knew the normal sounds and the feel of it. But anyways, the computer declared my car at 100%, so I get in to leave and guess what...it revs up. Nice. They told me they would order an idle switch, which they thought was the problem.

Two days later, I go in to get it replaced. Idle switch? Hm...Not sure what you're talking about...I don't think they ordered it. So he ordered it again, and told me he'd give me a call. Well, the days turned to weeks, and no call. My car kept getting worse and worse, so I took it in yesterday (also needed an oil change) and they said, "oh yeah, we sent the part back, we didn't think you needed it. We'll have to reorder it and then call you." I told them, how about I just come in tomorrow and we skip the calling thing. They went ahead and changed the oil, and as he turned it on to pull it out of the garage, I think he tricked my car into thinking we were leaving, and it revved up. YES! Victory! He quickly got the computer and hooked it up. Bingo! He found the problem. It was a coolant temp thing that fluctuated from about 45 degrees to over 200 degrees, which caused the engine to rev to compensate. So now my car works.

I spent about 3 hours in the shop, although it wasn't half bad because they have a nice leather couch and I had the fan blowing on me. So I made myself at home. They had an older lady working, answering phones and stuff. She got a call and told one of the mechanics that it was either "a lockout, or they need a jump. I'm not sure which." She said, "It's just over in Mary (not sure of this spelling. Merry? Mary? I think Mary. Never really paid attention) Mart. It's an '02 silver Ford." The mechanic- "What kind of car?" Lady - "some Ford thing. It's silver." ("A red one") The mechanic and I exchanged an amused look. Mechanic - "So it's a lockout or a jump?" Lady - "Oh I don't know, I wasn't paying attention, I was reading about Prince Harry." Awesome! Later I found out what she was talking about because she gave me a "People" magazine which had a story on the two princes and their respective love interests. It went on to compare the two girls, very much a good girl vs. bad girl type of thing, and then assessed whether the late Princess Di would have approved and which girl was more like her. AH, such pressing issues in our world today. Didn't something else happen in London recently? Hmm..not sure.

The other fun conversation was regarding food from my PREVIOUS employer, McD's. The lady made a lunch run for everyone. I was deep in thought reading about what celebrity is sporting the new "black head band" look but was pulled out of my fashion reverie by the words, "where do you want me to go? McDonalds?" McD's it was, which brought a slight smile to my face. The guy working on my car got a salad, which in my head I immediatly thought, "what kind? Caesar, cobb, or ranch?" "Caeser" he then said, answering my unspoken question. Ah, you're one of those guys, I thought, the ones we have to prompt.* Chicken? Dressing? were my next thoughts. "Um, if they ask, I want grilled chicken ('Of course they'll ask', I thought defensively, and then, 'good choice', I thought, 'less chance of being parked because you have to wait for it to cook. I wonder how many we have to keep up with the new sandwiches? I wonder who's on grill today?' I then wondered if he'd tasted the new grilled chicken)." "That it?" replied the lady? "NO!" I wanted to shout. Dressing? What about your dressing?! "OH, what dressing?" asked the lady, to my relief. "Um...ranch if they have it. " Of course we do, I chaffed. I then mentally typed in his order and calculated the cost. "$4.68 with tax, a drink could throw it off though." I missed the other orders but when they returned, I got to hear the conversation regarding the Big Mac (value meal, or sandwich, I thought. $4.18 meal, $2.68 sandwich). The lady asked, "did you get a Big Mac? I don't think this is it! Was this what you ordered? This has double meat on it." (Of course it does, that's the whole point of a Big Mac!) "Double meat? I think it does. Well, I know the double cheeseburger has double meat on it (ding ding! We have a winner! Good call) but I don't know about the Big Mac." (This is McD's; we don't put extra meat on just for giggles) I really had to bite my tongue to keep from speaking up and reassuring him that yes, the Big Mac has two pieces of meat on it. "No, no I think this is right. I'm pretty sure." I sighed a sigh of relief.

*Prompters:

OT - Hi, what can I get for you today?
Promptee - Um, I'd like a happy meal
OT - *sigh* What kind? Hamburger, nuggets, or cheeseburger?
P - Nuggets.
OT - What to drink?
P - Diet
OT - Coke or Dr. Pepper
P - Coke
OT - Any sauce for your nuggets?
P - BBQ
---silence---
OT - Is that everything?
P - No.
---silence---
P - a salad
OT - Caesar, cobb, or ranch?
P - ranch
OT - Grilled or crispy chicken?
P - Grilled
OT - What type of dressing?
P - Ranch
---silence---
OT - ...is that...all?
P - Uh huh. (spoken so quietly it sounds like, "umhuhnonaoyeshtaih")
---silence---
OT - Was that all?
P - YES! (now spoken rather loudly and irritably)

Notice, they know exactly what they want, so it's not a matter of "um, I don't know, let me think." No! They know!