Adventures at the car wash

Sometimes funny things happen, and you don't realize they're funny until after the fact. In fact, sometimes you are completely anxious and have no idea what to do at the time. It's always nice to realize how amusing they actually are.

Today I was bored so I decided to take in a movie. It's sort of become a hobby of mine, to go see movies by myself. It's really a very good activity to do alone. You can't really talk...unless you're in the cheap theater in Sioux Falls...and even then it's pretty much frowned upon. Anyway, this isn't even the story. Incidentally, the movie I went to, Leap Year, multiplied my desire to go to Ireland by like a thousand. I want to go. Now. Visit the castles, see the countryside...so awesome. Someday :)

Anyway, so after the movie I decided to get my car washed, since it was actually nice out and my car, usually burgundy, has become a shade of poop brown, which is easily transferred onto whatever clothes I am wearing. I don't like showing up at clients' houses with poop brown on my butt. Just sayin.

I picked the cheap car wash because, let's face it, my car is going to be disgusting again about two seconds after I leave the car wash. Of course the line was massive. It was one of the times when I remember to be grateful I'm such a nerd that I carry a book in my purse. Never know when you'll need reading material . I won't increase your opinion of my nerdiness by telling you that the book is "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief." Wait...

Wow it's taking a long time to tell this story.

So I waited in line for at least half an hour, probably a bit longer. There was a Ford Focus in front of me with the back window full of stuffed animals. A little strange, but I did that in high school, so I figured it was a younger person. I was a little shocked when an elderly woman leaned out to pay once she got to the front of the line, but really, I am going to be an eccentric old lady, so no judgment here. I was relieved to be at the front of the line. I punched in my code and settled back to wait. I watched the lady pull in too far. The car wash started yelling at her, "Back up...back up..." She did. The car wash told her to stop. She did...for about a second. Then she began inching forward. I started warning her, out loud of course, to stop. "Lady, you need to stop. Stop now, lady!" Nope. She was determined to move forward for some reason. The bar with the soap began moving...straight into her car. Nice. It stopped, backed up, and yelled at her to move forward. The door at the end opened up, and she sped away, her car still half soaped.

Now, this car wash is a little anxiety-provoking anyway, because it is a long one lane driveway in, and once someone pulls in behind you, you're stuck, no matter what. I had nowhere to go but forward. I pulled in, going forward just like the car wash told me too. It kept telling me to go forward. I thought, hey, you know, maybe I'll just cut my losses and leave because obviously something is wrong. I just paid for the cheapo wash anyway. So I kept going forward, expecting the door to open for me. Nope. Shut tight. So I backed up. And parked. And wondered what the heck to do. There was a whole line of cars behind me, and I was stuck. I was terrified to get out of my car, because what if the car wash started and I wasn't in my car??? They really should have a phone number posted in there to call in case something goes wrong. The car wash was screaming at me about some error the whole time I sat there. Finally, I decided to suck it up and got out of my car. Thankfully, the guy behind me told me that he already pushed the call button for help. I got back in and waited.

Finally a bored-looking woman came, talked to the truck man, then walked to my window. I rolled it down and told her what happened. She's like, "Oh, it did?" when I told her the bar hit the car in front of me. She went and reset it, and lights flashed and beeps happened and she came back to the window. She leaned down and said, "Well, there's no way...well just sit tight." Then she walked back to the truck man, who was parked next to the keypad for the wash. She talked to the intercom and a few seconds later, the water started going. Good thing I shut my window. I even ended up with the deluxe wash, shiner, protector, and even a timed dry. Not too bad.

So it was actually pretty funny. I told my sister about it, and apparently my five year old niece was worried that I was still stuck in the car wash and was going to miss my birthday and my cruise and that it was going to have to be my new home. And apparently was dead serious. She's so funny.

The end.

Sidenote. Pizza is yummy, especially Papa John's, which I decided to treat myself to after such a harrowing experience. But I miss the hot pizza delivery guy from Sioux Falls who used to flirt with me. Probably for the tips, but hey, I'm not complaining ;)