The reason I had to get up so early was that I had to bring my car in to the dealership for an oil change and a state inspection at 7:30.
I hate my dealership because they always make you call to “schedule an appointment,” it always has to be first thing in the frickin’ morning, and yet when you get there, it’s first come, first served, and the only way to be first would be to show up at like 5 am.
The thing is, if you just showed up without calling to schedule, you wouldn’t be able to get in. Basically you’re calling to schedule the right to wait in line.
Even though the actual inspecting and oil/filter changing wouldn’t take long, I knew that something would come up, just because that’s the way it always goes, so it was no surprise to me as I sat in the waiting room that all of the people who had gotten there before and after me were all on their merry way in short order while I sat there continuing to wait.
I’d been there for about two and a half hours when the service manager came in to use the vending machine, recognized me as someone he’d dealt with hours earlier, and asked me to remind him why I was there. I told him and said that I’m sure something must have come up, because it always does, and he said that, no, I was fine.
Then he said, “Oh, wait. There’s a leak in your front exhaust pipe. I’m trying to call Kia to find out if it’s covered by the warranty, but they’re not open yet.”
I said, “Of course,” and went back to waiting.
Shortly thereafter my Nextel beeped. It was Brian asking me if I wanted to have breakfast with him.
He swung by to pick me up and we headed to Deli South (where I had steak and eggs with hash browns and toast), and then he dropped me back off at the dealership.
I went inside, asked the cashier if my car was ready (as I had seen it parked outside), and she said it was but that they needed to bring in my keys. She called for my keys, I paid ($144. Yikes.), and was on my way.
It wasn’t until after I got home that I noticed that where there should be a sticker saying that my current inspection is good through August of next year there was a sticker with a big “No” symbol on it saying “Rejection.”
*Sigh* Like I don’t have to deal with rejection enough in my life without my car getting in on the act…
I called the dealership and found out that the cashier was supposed to send me to the service department so that I could be informed that they hadn’t fixed the exhaust because Kia still wasn’t open (they’re on Pacific time).
So once he gets in touch with them he’s supposed to call me to let me know whether or not I have to pay to get my exhaust fixed.
It’s been a couple of hours and he hasn’t called yet. I’m betting he won’t call today, a conclusion I’ve come to, again, based on previous experience.
Fortunately, I have 15 days in which to get it fixed and get a sticker, so there isn’t a big time crunch.
Yesterday during the salad fiasco at lunch Kathleen asserted her belief that the level of retardation in the service industry is increasing. I would agree with her, though I would add that the level of retardation among customers – as evidenced by my experiences behind people at self-checkout registers – is also increasing.
That doesn’t really tie into anything; it’s just an observation that I was reminded of by my experiences this morning.
Last night I went to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend with Scott and his brother-in-law.
I had gone in expecting to see a few funny scenes and some entertaining action, but I have to say that I enjoyed it a good deal more than I’d expected I would.
The full scene with the live shark hurled through the window actually proved to be even funnier than the snippet shown in the ads.
Luke Wilson, the Wilson brother with the less annoying voice and the non-penile nose, did okay in his role, though I would say that his character’s wimpiness contributed a lot to the dissolution of the relationship, as he was not as “up” for exploring the possibilities of having a super-powered girlfriend as some other men might be.
I find Uma Thurman to be kind of hit or miss in the beauty department. Sometimes she looks amazing, other times not so much. That’s how it was in this movie, in “both” of her roles. Most of the time as G-Girl, with her flowing blonde locks, she was a knockout, but there were a couple of times when she only looked okay at best. With the mousy brown wig and the glasses, she sometimes managed a rather understated beauty in her role as Jenny Johnson, but there were times, particularly when her crazy neediness was coming out, that she was a far cry from her more glamorous persona.
Still, even at her best I’ve never been that big on Uma Thurman, and certainly she wouldn’t really rank at the top of my list.
(Or at least she wouldn’t if I actually kept a list, which I don’t, because, like, a list of what? Hot chicks?. Women who really do it for me, maybe? But then, what is “it,” and how would these hypothetical women go about “doing it” for me anyway?)
However, her placement on this theoretical list aside, it’s unlikely that I would, given the opportunity, ever say something like, “Ms. Thurman, I’m going to have to ask you to stop making sexual advances at me, put your clothes back on, get out of my bed, and kindly show yourself out. And please refrain from offering me all the ‘dirty, freaky, sweaty action’ I can handle as you do.”
All that aside, I will say that I enjoyed her performance in both roles, as she brought a nice intensity to the role of the insecure, jealous woman scorned.
The role was an interesting one, as her physical invulnerability and strength were perfectly contrasted by her emotional vulnerability and weakness, character traits that, as the character was written, made sense.
As G-Girl, she was strong, confident, and capable, but as Jenny she was anything but. After all, dealing with a burning building or jewel thieves is simple compared to dealing with a relationship.
While it wasn’t explicitly stated, I got the impression that G-Girl was the only super-hero in her world, which increased the pressure on her to always be perfect and poised. Add to that the stresses of leading a double life and the trust issues that would result from having to maintain a secret and it’s no wonder that she would handle a relationship so poorly. Throw in the super powers, and you’ve got a spectacular mess that’s not so much a train wreck as it is a supernova.
So overall I was surprised that in addition to playing for laughs the movie actually explored some interesting concepts.
There’s a lot more I could write about the movie and those concepts, but I’ve already written more than I’d intended to, so I guess I’ll move on to…umm…okay, not much to move on to, but I’m still going to try to change the subject.
…
Okay, I’ve got nothing.
Oh, wait, here’s something.
I’ve often mentioned the late, lamented bit of televisual brilliance that was Dead Like Me in these pages, going on at length about what a bunch of dickless retards the executives at Showtime are for cancelling such a great show after only two seasons.
Anyway, the wonderful episodes that were produced during those two seasons are being aired on Tuesday nights on the Sci-Fi Channel, so if you’ve never experienced the joy that is DLM, this is your chance to do so.
Of course, in making the leap from premium to basic cable means a lot editing for content, which will rob the show of some of its edge (It’s just not the same if you don’t actually hear Rube say, “Somebody kill that fucking kid.”), so if you watch the show and like what you see, which is almost a given, I’d advise picking up seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. And writing letters to Showtime telling them that their executives are dickless retards whose only hope for gaining manhood (assuming that, you know, they aren’t women) and intelligence is to do whatever it takes to resurrect DLM.
At the very least someone needs to give series star Ellen Muth some work. If I can’t see her as George, I’d still at least like to see her in something.
How could anyone not want to see more of her? So sullen and surly. *Sigh*
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