• After approving the oil change and tire rotation, I barely had time to get comfortable before I was again summoned to the “decision podium”. While pulling the tires off, they had noticed the brake pads were very thin. Should I choose to get this done, I would have an extra hour and a half wait. No voting today OR no giving blood. My blood would still be there tomorrow, and I have the rest of the week too early vote. I went ahead and got the breaks done.
• I usually get a good snack after getting home from work. The new brakes meant I would be hangry as I waited for them to be done. I braved the drizzle and wandered down the street. Sonic was an early candidate for lupper, but Pei Wei won.
• After enjoying the meal and enjoying the free wi-FI for a little bit, I decided to be optimistic. I headed back in the general direction of the oil change place. As I saw a branch of my typically frequented hair cut chain in a strip mall, I could not refuse to get a haircut. I warned them I only had 20 minutes until the car would be “done”.
• The beautician did her part, but I didn’t leave beautiful. I only left with shorter hair. I continued to plod back toward my car. Across the street from my car’s temporary residence was a chain drug store. I could see the car was not done, so I restocked my shaving cream.
• The car still wasn’t done. They did let me know it would be “soon”. And, about 15 minutes later it was done–just 20 minutes after the estimate.
• When the car was brought around, the unexpected troubles started. I paid for the repair, but there was more to be fixed. The car was pulled up right outside the door. I hopped in and started it up. I gave it a little gas. Nothing happened–it had no power. I turned off the ignition and tried again. Still no power. The “almost empty” gas light was on, so they tried to make me believe that was the problem. (While it may have been, I presently had no means to drive to get any more gas–the car was NOT mobile.) The technician hopped in and had the same experience. He popped the hood. He quickly found a sensor that had been broken somehow during my visit. (The technician implied later someone else had broken it and done a shabby fix-it job. Their efforts didn’t really break it. It revealed the previously disguised, shoddy repair.)
• So, I go back into the waiting room. It took another 25 minutes, but it could have been a whole afternoon–my day started before 5. I was tired. I hopped into the car, and it was definitely driveable. The problem was the dashboard was ALL lit up. The code genius device and his sidekick, the technician, reset everything. I accepted its gift and hoped I would not have to return to deal with any additional unexpected gifts courtesy of my oil change…
• The fill-up was easy. On the downside, gas was 15 cents more per gallon than it was the previous day.

I do feel a level of guilt.  I walked less than a half of a mile.  Nothing I saw was part of my walk. They were all places I was walking toward.  Defining a walk as all encountered and the way to or from, does seem to make this a more legitimate walk then some I have tried to “sell” on this blog!