nockergeek | (no subject)

Four trips back and forth between KC and Greenwood today. One to go to work, one to drop off my insurance payment, one to pick up Z (more on that in a bit), and one to pick up my parents from the car dealership (like I said, more on that in a bit). Add in one more trip to Sam's Club (more on that after the first bit.)

After my meeting earlier today (which never actually happened - I was never pulled in), I used my lunch hour to drive out to Independence so that I could drop off my insurance check and grab some subs with Sash. Once we got back to the office, we quickly ate lunch (as we were already over an hour) and I went back to my office. I decided it would be a good idea to check my voice mail, and lo and behold, there were 3 messages. The first was blank, but the next two were... interesting...

Apparently, the brakes in my mom's car went out... with her and Z in the car. Now, thank God that no one was hurt, not even the car - they were able to coast into a parking lot and use the emergency break. So, Mom tried calling me twice, and I called her back and finally got hold of her. Dad was on the way in his truck, but the truck only seats two, so someone would have to get Z. With a heroic flourish, I jogged to Sash's office and told him, "We gotta go," and we were on our way to rescue Z.

We got there, and Dad (master nocker that he is) had tested the car and the brakes were spongy but functional. This wouldn't be the first time the car's given Mom trouble but behaved for Dad... I'd say it knows better than to mess around. Still, though, squishy brakes aren't good enough for driving, especially if the car decided to mess with Mom again, so Dad was going to drive the car to the Saturn dealership, and give me a call if they needed a ride back. Z, Sash, and I headed back to the house, Sash sacked out on the chaise (for he was/is sick and needed sleep), and we waited for the call. About 30 minutes later, we got word, so once again it was time to head out. Before too long, we had picked up my parents and were on our way to drop them off at Dad's truck. By the time I got home, it was just after 5, about 3 hours after I first got in touch with Mom.

An hour or so later, we went to drop off Sash at his and Max's apartment, and then off to Sam's Club for a shopping trip that we had been planning on for a couple of days. Now, Sam's Club doesn't accept credit cards (except for either AmEx or Discover; can't remember which), so I had $60 in cash pulled out. Three twenties in my wallet that had been there since morning, just waiting to be spent that night. Actually, I'd pulled out $80, since I'd need money for lunch... so by 6:30, I had some change in there besides.

Now, my wallet was also full of receipts from the last couple of days that I was saving so that I could keep track of expenses. Before we headed out, I pulled the receipts and extra bills out of my wallet and left three bills in. We got to Sam's Club, did our shopping (in grotesque bulk quantities -- anyone want six pounds of penne rigate?), and got to the checkout. Now, by this time, I'm tired, hungry, thirsty... and thus, a bit crabby. I'm trying to take charge, and I was being a little cranky/pushy with Z, all the way to the checkout aisle. Order's wrung up, and the total is just over $53. I reach for my wallet, open it up, and check out the contents thereof...

Three bills. A five and two ones.

Just a bit short of the $60 I'd been expecting. My mind, in its starved/exhausted state, starts panicking. Are we going to have to put everything back? What the hell happened to my $60? Did I give it to someone without counting it? What happened? Slowly, I realize what happened -- when I cleaned out my wallet, I had pulled out the wrong bills, thinking that I had them in an order that I obviously didn't. I was still dumbstruck as far as what to do, though. Fortunately, Z kept her head about her and noticed that they take debit cards now (on a sign at the counter that I had totally missed). The day was saved, thanks to Z's keeping her cool. The whole thing was

Afterwards, Z and I remarked that it was God smacking me on the wrist (with a smile, of course) and telling me to knock off the cranky/pushy bit by showing me that I was not nearly in as much control as I thought I was. It was quite sobering, but in a good way.

So anyway, that's been my evening. I do believe it's time to go collapse somewhere.