storytime with wan

so, a few stories to share - two that are kind of funny, and one that still infuriates me:



you already know that the teen has made her mama quite proud this school year, having made the honor roll three times in a row. so. stinking. proud.

(heh. i like to bust that picture out now and again)

anyway, all students who make the honor roll for the first three quarters are eligible for a trip to disneyland at the end of the year. the teen's had some major drama with her two [former] BFFs at this school that doesn't seem to want to go away, and so she was torn between being stoked for the day at the happiest place on earth and bummin' because now she'd have to resort to the B list of buddies to hang out with (shut up, you know you have an A and B list of friends too). but luckily (and not surprisingly), she befriended a couple of girls who she hadn't previously known too well but got along with swimmingly, and they were both going. this made her happy.

i was such a butthole during the height of the drama. "OMG, this is so junior high ... oh."

on monday, the eve of the trip, she came up with a brilliant plan. "i'm gonna wrap my ankle, which isn't a complete lie because it still aches a little anyway, and i'm gonna get a wheelchair! and then we won't have to wait in line for anything, and we'll get to ride all the rides!" my child, the sneaky genius. and you know what, it worked like a charm. ha!

last week, MIL decided it'd be fun to bust out the potty chair for the bean. we've had it forever, having received it at one of our showers, and i'm apparently in denial that my baby is going to be two years old in the not-so-distant future. oy. anyway, she put it in the bathroom, and when she had to go in there to do some bidness, the bean followed her in (as she does with me). eyeing the new toy sitting on the floor, she lifted the lid and sat down as if she'd been doing it all her life. and to MIL's amusement, she looked her square in the eye, smiled...

AND FARTED.

oh man, i wish i'd have been there for that. i think i'd have laughed for days. hell, i wasn't there and i still laugh heartily at the story. i'm also pretty excited, because although i know she isn't truly ready for potty training yet, it means she knows what that thing is for. yay!

and now, the story that still pisses me off when i think about it. i'm surprised i haven't already recounted the episode for you.

i took my beloved pri-yes to the dealer a couple of weeks ago to have the bluetooth accessory installed. i hate those earpieces, and i'd gotten quite spoiled by the one in my X5, so during the negotiations for this car, i made them throw it in the deal. i made my appointment and MIL came along to help keep the bean occupied for the hour and a half it would take to install. we checked in at 10, the paperwork promised completion by 12. okay, fine. i also pointed out to the service dude that there were a couple of scratches that the salesperson promised could be buffed out when we brought the car back, and he noted it on the forms.

confession: there was actually only one scratch at the time i drove it off the lot, but somehow there were a couple of new ones on the other bumper. i swear to you, i didn't hit anything, but i seriously have no idea how they got there. i swear!

yeah, the hub doesn't believe me either. poop on all of you.

so 11:30 goes by. 11:45, no word. 12:00, still sitting there. and at 12:30, MIL decided to hit the restroom and then inquire as to the status at the cashier's desk. coincidentally, she ran into the service dude, who made a stupid joke about how she didn't look like the lady who dropped the car off, and when she explained why she was there, he magically produced the paperwork and pronounced the car complete and ready for pick-up. amazing. he also told her that they'd tried to buff out the scratches, but weren't successful, and we'd have to talk to our original salesperson to figure out how to get it fixed. ugh.

the car was brought up, i strapped the bean (who'd been wonderfully well-behaved during our wait) in her car seat and then walked around to check out the bumpers. and then i was suspicious and annoyed to find that the entire car was still as dusty as it was when i'd first brought it in. not only was it obvious that they didn't do jackshit to fix those scratches (because wouldn't you have to at least wash the area before you tried to buff it out?), but they didn't even wash the car after a service? really? not to mention, nobody came out to show me how to work the bluetooth (although as i waited for the service dude to trot his ass out there, i figured it out. i'm just smart like that). there was some shitty little information card on the passenger seat, but no manual or anything.

once he finally made it out, he said that that card was the only "manual" available - but since i'd already gotten it paired up with my phone and tested it out, it was kind of a moot point. and then i pointed out to him that it was clear that no one had even attempted to fix those scratches. he half-heartedly tried to cover his ass, but when MIL and i walked him back there and showed him the dusty bumpers, he offered up a sheepish apology and said he'd take it back to have them try "again." such bullshit. i mean, you KNOW he took one look at me and figured he'd be able to put one over on me, the stupid female who doesn't know shit about cars. he probably expected me to just smile, nod, and be on my merry way. hmph. there's no way they'd have tried that crap had the hub or FIL brought the car in. no effing way. i was furious.

ten minutes later, the car appeared again - this time, the scratches were [again] magically nowhere in sight, but they still made no attempt to wash the rest of the exterior. what a crock of shit. i've never taken a car in for service - any car, any dealer - and not received a clean vehicle upon completion. have you?

i received an e-mail last week letting me know that i'd be receiving a survey about the service, and "if there are any reasons that i'd give them less than 100%, please contact us so that we can make it right." i dropped the service manager a long, detailed e-mail, and he responded the next day asking for a phone number to call me and discuss the poor service i'd received.

psh.