Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wait and Weight
Hi again...remember me? I'm the one who swings by these parts every month or two to keep you updated on my life. I'm a procrastinator, I admit it. Always was, always will be. I remember back in school I would hear the phrase "What are you waiting for? Christmas?" from countless teachers. Things haven't gotten much better. In fact, it nearly IS Christmas, so apparently this is what I've been waiting for. OK, that was a stretch, but I'm tired and hungry. Give me a break.
Speaking of winter, I decided to finally bite the bullet and fork out the money for some snow tires for the car. I've always relied on the all season tires that came with it, but truth is, I've been sliding around this past winter and promised myself I'd try to stay on the road and alive this winter. I called the dealership where I've been getting all my work done for the past 16 years, and told them I wanted 4 tires and winter rims installed. They took my info, told me they'd mark the rims & tires and put them aside for me for my appointment on Monday.
I showed up Monday morning at 11:30 and was told it would take 30 to 45 minutes. No problem. So I went into the waiting area and hung out there, waiting patiently. Shortly after 1:00, the guy from the service desk came in and propped himself in front of me and said "We have a bit of a problem with your tires. We have the snow tires here, but we can't seem to locate the rims. The computer shows that they're here, but we just don't know where they are."
"It took you 90 minutes to discover this?" I asked.
"I'm really sorry, we've looked everywhere, and we don't know if they've been stolen or what's happened to them. Unfortunately, we've taken your other tires off the car, so we've just got to get them back on for you and you'll be ready to go."
I sat there stunned for a while. They left me there for 90 minutes while they knew they didn't have the rims. By the time they got the tires back on, I had been there for two hours. For nothing. I sent an e-mail to the shop's customer relations person, so we'll see what happens. When I got home last night, there was a voicemail from the guy at the parts desk saying that some wheel-something-or-other was in and that I should call for an appointment to have it installed. It should take 2 1/2 hours, he said. Hmm...only 30 minutes more than it took them to do nothing. Not bad! However, I think they've made some sort of mistake because putting on four snow tires that should already be on the rims should take somewhere in the area of 20 minutes or so. I've seen race cars get all four tires changed in about 20 seconds, so I really don't know why it would take 2 1/2 hours. But I digress.
Earlier on that same day I visited my chiropractor to go over my MRI results. My back sucks. Bones are degenerating, discs are bulging...it's not pretty. So he's referred me to another chiropractor who does decompression therapy. Apparently I'll be laying on the rack while it stretches me for 30 minutes. I'm not really freaked out by that, in fact I'm looking forward to seeing if it will relieve this constant pain. If not, we'll look at other options, including surgery. I SO don't want to have back surgery, so keep your fingers crossed that the rack will work. At $75 a session, it better work! My chiropractor thinks I'll have to go for 6 to 10 sessions. But let's discuss the elephant in the room (pardon the pun). I need to get back to losing this excess tonnage. I want to get back on the treadmill so bad, but currently I'm afraid to go on in case my back/hip locks up on me and knocks me flying. The Squeeze and I are currently examining a food plan that some friends are on. We'll see about it. Unfortunately, Christmas is coming.
Speaking of winter, I decided to finally bite the bullet and fork out the money for some snow tires for the car. I've always relied on the all season tires that came with it, but truth is, I've been sliding around this past winter and promised myself I'd try to stay on the road and alive this winter. I called the dealership where I've been getting all my work done for the past 16 years, and told them I wanted 4 tires and winter rims installed. They took my info, told me they'd mark the rims & tires and put them aside for me for my appointment on Monday.
I showed up Monday morning at 11:30 and was told it would take 30 to 45 minutes. No problem. So I went into the waiting area and hung out there, waiting patiently. Shortly after 1:00, the guy from the service desk came in and propped himself in front of me and said "We have a bit of a problem with your tires. We have the snow tires here, but we can't seem to locate the rims. The computer shows that they're here, but we just don't know where they are."
"It took you 90 minutes to discover this?" I asked.
"I'm really sorry, we've looked everywhere, and we don't know if they've been stolen or what's happened to them. Unfortunately, we've taken your other tires off the car, so we've just got to get them back on for you and you'll be ready to go."
I sat there stunned for a while. They left me there for 90 minutes while they knew they didn't have the rims. By the time they got the tires back on, I had been there for two hours. For nothing. I sent an e-mail to the shop's customer relations person, so we'll see what happens. When I got home last night, there was a voicemail from the guy at the parts desk saying that some wheel-something-or-other was in and that I should call for an appointment to have it installed. It should take 2 1/2 hours, he said. Hmm...only 30 minutes more than it took them to do nothing. Not bad! However, I think they've made some sort of mistake because putting on four snow tires that should already be on the rims should take somewhere in the area of 20 minutes or so. I've seen race cars get all four tires changed in about 20 seconds, so I really don't know why it would take 2 1/2 hours. But I digress.
Earlier on that same day I visited my chiropractor to go over my MRI results. My back sucks. Bones are degenerating, discs are bulging...it's not pretty. So he's referred me to another chiropractor who does decompression therapy. Apparently I'll be laying on the rack while it stretches me for 30 minutes. I'm not really freaked out by that, in fact I'm looking forward to seeing if it will relieve this constant pain. If not, we'll look at other options, including surgery. I SO don't want to have back surgery, so keep your fingers crossed that the rack will work. At $75 a session, it better work! My chiropractor thinks I'll have to go for 6 to 10 sessions. But let's discuss the elephant in the room (pardon the pun). I need to get back to losing this excess tonnage. I want to get back on the treadmill so bad, but currently I'm afraid to go on in case my back/hip locks up on me and knocks me flying. The Squeeze and I are currently examining a food plan that some friends are on. We'll see about it. Unfortunately, Christmas is coming.
