Summary:
Week 55
Monday: Car (AM & PM Carpool)
Tuesday: No commute (didn't feel great - worked from home)
Wednesday & Thursday: Car (AM & PM Carpool)
Friday: No commute (vacation)
Week 56
Monday - Thursday: Car
Friday - Car (AM & PM Carpool)
Last Tuesday proved to be a test in patience which I failed miserably. As I pulled up to the client site and stepped into the frigid December air, I could feel the air gushing out of the rear driver side tire. The week already started off poorly on Monday (another story), and now a wrench had just been thrown into my day.
I dialed up the store where I purchased the tires a few months ago and was relieved to learn that it would be fixed without additional cost since it was covered under warranty. But they wouldn't come and get it so I needed a way to transmit the tire to them.
I've changed tires before but wasn't extremely excited about tackling the job in single digit temperatures, so opted to call a service station less than a mile away. In hindsight, the $35 quote was cheap, but the bean counter in me figured I could change the tire in about 15 minutes, effectively paying myself $140/hour. I wish I'd looked up and admitted to the camera with a brazened face, "I've made a huge mistake" and just forked over the $35.
For anyone who has never changed a tire, here's a pretty good "how to" wiki that lays out the process:
How to change a tire
You may find as I did, however, that the list above lacks some integral steps, namely #7b through #7i right between #7 "Remove lug-nuts" and #8 "Remove tire." My edits are included below:
#7b - Pull on tire to remove.
#7c - Pull harder, pansy.
#7d - Pull so hard you don't care what kind of road sludge you are slathering onto your winter coat.
#7e - Kick tire to dislodge from hub.
#7f - Kick tire out of frustration. (repeat if necessary)
#7g - Kick tire out of rage, lose composure, make loud yelling/howling noises to ensure that lost composure is evident to all.
#7h - Realize how ugly this might get without calling service station.
#7i - Admit defeat, call service station, pay $35.
I was almost thankful that the guy from the station experienced a great deal of difficulty getting the tire off of the hub, too. I would have felt even more ridiculous had he been able to pull it off without using any of his fancy tools.
When the tire was fixed and ready for me to pick up, I found out that a wrench hadn't been thrown into my day, it was a screwdriver. Not sure how it happened, but an entire regular screwdriver (excluding the plastic handle) had lodged itself into my tire.
It seems the most obvious lesson from this ordeal is that riding a bike on Tuesday would have saved me $35. Am I wrong?
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2 comments:
"And laugh at them in our turn..." Which means you'll get to have a $35 moment at someone else's expense someday. But - knowing you - you will assist them in their distress and advise that they just call the service station first. :)
James, I love this. Who among us hasn't aggravated ourselves into a nervous breakdown to save a buck?! We try to learn our limits now and so we've agreed to personally fund Duane the Plumber's retirement.
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