Busy Day

This morning I got up and was taking advantage of the fact that even though I had a dentist appointment I actually had some time to sit around because it wasn’t until 11:20 by sitting around. About 45 minutes into my sitting around the phone rang. It was my dentist office asking if I could come in earlier. I still hadn’t showered, so I told them I’d be about 45 minutes, which would make it about 50 minutes earlier than my original appointment.
I did a little bit more sitting around, then showered and was on my way.
When I got there Tabitha, whose boobs looked especially good today, though overall she was a bit of mess (kind of puffy looing with some breakouts), was on the phone, but she waved to me as I came in.
I just remain baffled by the 180 she’s made in the last two years or so in terms of how she responds to me. She used to be fairly dismissive and just slightly contemptuous of me, but somewhere along the line she got really friendly (in relative terms).
I don’t think that it’s because she’s into me or anything because, well, duh, I’m Jon, so that’s not a possibility.
Besides, I just noticed that’s she’s got a sizeable rock on her finger.
I think that’s new from when I last did a ring check.
Still, I remain puzzled by her change in behavior. Maybe it’s not just me. Maybe there were some complaints and she started being nicer to all of the patients.
In any case, my actual appointment took about 45 minutes, and then there was about 5 minutes of confusion over the bill. First I was charged, then that was voided because I shouldn’t have been charged, apparently.
I go back on the 6th (too early in the morning to get any sitting around time) to get my permanent crown put in.
From there I headed off to Wal-Mart.
I picked up a couple of DVDs (The Prestige and Hellboy: Sword of Storms) and some shampoo.
All of the lines were really long and most of the self-checkout lanes were closed, so I got in the “express” lane.
The guy ahead of me was wearing a jean jacket and these faded jeans that made me think, “Hey, is it 1988? Because if it is 1988, what am I doing in Virginia? My parents and girlfriend must be worried sick about me.” Then I concluded that even if it were 1988, the guy would still have been too old to be dressed like that.
Shortly after that he turned around and noticed that I only had three items and, admitting that he actually had one more item than the sign allows for, offered to let me go ahead of him.
It made me think, “Gee, maybe I should take back the mean things I was thinking about him.”
I decided that I shouldn’t because they were funny.
From there it was over to Best Buy where I saw and nearly purchased this, because it would be cool and would make for an easy, non-invasive way for me to add a second TV tuner and HD capability to Hugin, but decided against it.
(I did buy something else while I was there, but I’ll write about that on another day, as there’s quite a bit I want to say about it.)
Next stop was Uno’s for lunch, and then I made my way home.
While home I decided that I should head back out again to try to get the emissions inspection done, this time opting for a different location.
The result was the same: the car didn’t have the necessary data.
The guy working there suggested that, since this was the third time it had failed I should go to The Tire Shop to get it checked out.
So I did. They hooked up a monitor and drove the car around for an hour in an attempt to reset the car’s systems and capture the data.
The good news is that it worked and I finally got the test done. The bad news is that it cost me an extra $85.
Between Wal-Mart and Best Buy I had stopped at the bank to deposit a check. While I was filling out the deposit slip some old guy came up next to me and started talking to me like I’m his neighbor or something, complaining about the weather.
I’m always baffled when people come up and talk to me, as it’s been my understanding that I exude a “don’t talk to me” vibe that most people find off-putting. Some would even say that there’s a palpable air of hostility about me.
It’s not necessarily conscious or even intentional, it’s just the way things are. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to flip out if people talk to me, it’s just that for the most part I’d rather they didn’t, and somehow it shows.
(Often even when I really don’t want it to; some people have told me that it’s part of what keeps women away.)
Anyway, the point is that I’m usually sort of surprised when random people try to strike up conversations with me, and I wonder why it is that they don’t seem to pick up on whatever it is that keeps most people away. What sort of social retardation is it that makes them oblivious to the subtle cues that more sensible people pick up on?
Generally, as was the case today, it’s old people who slip through my antisocial force field, so maybe there’s some critical faculty that tells you that people don’t want to talk to you as you get older.
(On a related note, my mother is able to pick up on it when people don’t want to talk to her, but when she does, she will do everything she can to prolong a conversation just to make the other person squirm. Why? Because she’s like that, and it’s fun.)
Anyway, the guy said, “I don’t know where they got 50 from.”
(These are the exact words that he initiated the conversation with. I wasn’t even looking in his direction; he just started talking.)
He continued, “It’s more like 35. It’s so cold it could knock you down.”
I wanted to say, “It’s much warmer than 35 out there, and even if it were only 35, that you would find that cold enough to ‘knock you down’ means you’re an incredible pussy.”
Instead, I simply made some sort of noncommittal sounds and said, in disagreement with his statement that it was just as cold as yesterday, “It’s quite a bit warmer today,” though what I really wanted to say was, “Don’t speak to me” and then turn towards him menacingly and add, “Don’t speak to me ever again.”
Sadly, I can’t deliver that line in quite the pant shitting-inducing fashion that Clancy Brown does as The Kurgan in Highlander, so I never bother with it, though I really, really wish I could pull it off.
In any case, that was my exciting and unexpectedly expensive day.
At least the damned emissions thing is finally taken care of, though I wish it could have been a little cheaper.
Oh, and the guy who rung me up at the Tire Shop was creepy. Like Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher creepy. I was just sitting there reading an e-book while I waited and I heard him really quietly say my name like he was just testing out how it sounded and he was sort of stretching it out slowly. Like, “Joooooooonnnnnnn.” When I looked up he was just staring at me with this really weird smile, and every time he said anything it was in that low, drawn-out fashion.
I really don’t know what was up with that.
Oh well, at least I don’t have to venture out into the world tomorrow, so I won’t be running into any talkative old people or creepy cashiers.