Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

That's what I texted to a couple friends last night. I was waiting for the slow as molasses car techs to come inside so I could pay for my oil change and leave. However, despite their clueless and snail like behavior, they aren't the ones that had me whipping out the cell phone and texting like a madwoman.

It started as I was pulling out of my parking lot. I was pulling out (turning right) after a car had just gone by when this idiot starts honking and waving his arms at me. He was pulling out from the parking lot across the street from mine and turning left - so were both wanting to go the same way. The fact that I got to my stop sign first and was turning right - both meaning that I get the right of way - was beyond this guy. Apparently I was supposed to wait for him because he doesn't know what the road rules are or a complete stop. I stick my hand out the window and give some vague hand gesture - think Bono during the Elevation DVD when an idiot throws a cup of water at him - and yell, "I had the right of way you dumbass!"

So Bad Driver is driving beside me down the road (thankfully there are two lanes on both sides of the street), not passing me despite his earlier hurry. We near the street light and he slows down and gets behind me. Whatever. We turn right, I get into the left lane, he's in the right. Despite him being able to sail on by, he continues to pace right beside me. I ignore him. Never once have I actually looked at the guy (or his passenger) to see what they look like. I just know there are two of them. He slows down and gets behind me again when he sees that I'm going to turn left at the next light. Yeah so I'm regretting my hand gesture out the window about now. Light turns green and people ahead of me start turning left and just as the car ahead of me gets to the light, the left turn arrow turns yellow. I think for about 0.3 seconds of waiting like I normally would and then down shift & floor it so I can squeak thru the light before oncoming traffic starts heading for me. I lose Bad Driver at the light.

All the way to the library I keep one eye on my rearview mirror. See if any goldish bronzy colored 4 door squarish cars appear. None do. I pull into the library parking lot and park at the far side and watch the parking lot entrance the whole way I'm walking to the door. Paranoid? You betcha. After the crazy lady in the Target parking lot some months back, I'm not taking chances.

I come back out and switch between watching the parking entrance and my car. Visions of the crazy people (aka Bad Driver & his passenger) blocking my car in running through my head. It was fine. I checked all sides of the car and there weren't any new dings or scratches. Granted the only reason I did this was because I dropped a piece of paper and it blew under my car so I had to go to the other side to get it. Only to get to the other side, get down on my hands and knees and have the wind blow it behind my car. Figured since I had to walk all the way around it anyway, I might as well check for damages.

Then I head on over to get the oil change. I had to loop the entire mall as the drive lane to the autoshop was taped off for paving. I get there, go to the counter and wait for 10 minutes before anyone comes inside. After requesting an oil change the guy says to give them 10-12 minutes. And they were down in that amount of time just that they didn't come inside so I could pay and get my key back for another 10 minutes after they were done with my car. Nitwits.

Maybe it was the getting up at 4.30 that had my patience disappearing so quickly yesterday evening. I dunno. At least I ended my excursion on a bright note. I bought the new Nora Robert's book (came out this past Tuesday) and I didn't encounter Bad Driver when I returned to my parking lot.