Last night I actually felt somewhat ill, just from sheer exhaustion. As in, genuinely not well, and not right, and so today is an enforced Margy-can't-get-sick-cuz-she-doesn't-have-health-insurance in-day. Prior to hitting the sack at 9pm, I took a hot bath to calm and soothe the muscles, but still somehow laid there for over an hour, unable to drift off. Weird.
Of course, it is required that my in day must end up being the nicest, dryest day so far, casting actual shadows on the deck I'm presently writing to you from:
Whilst inexplicably causing the color blue - BLUE! - to appear in the sky
I did go out briefly, which proved mostly frustrating. Firstly the rental car guy told me last night to expect his call around 10 or 10:30 this morning. This is the same company I have used for probably 15 years - Enterprise Rent a Car, because insurance companies contract out with them and they give adjusters a discounted rate accordingly. When no call came by 11:30 I called them and was told they were waiting on cars to be "returned", which didn't sound terribly promising. Finally perhaps an hour later, the call came, that one car had been returned, and the guy was on his way out to me to pick me up (another reason to use Enterprise - their free pick up and drop off service.)
I went downstairs and there it was, a Ford Fusion, black - not a bad looking or bad sized car - on par with a Corolla actually, so perfect. I got in. The kid who was driving literally looked about 13. No joke - he looked barely pubescent, at best. Turns out he's a college student at the local community college - right here in Capital Hill on Broadway, which we drove by on the way to the Enterprise office. It's easy to feel old in this part of town, and this kid wasn't helping, but he was pleasant enough.
The rental agent guy wasn't all that friendly, however. I was his only customer, and they literally had NO cars other than the one I'd just rented. Now, this I guess is understandable. It's just a satelite office and it's a holiday week plus there are multiple mega-festivals in town (Northwest Folk Life, Seattle Int'l Film Festival), so I was lucky to get decent wheels at all.
I walked up to the counter, and let me say firstly that Enterprise people are normally trained to the nines in politeless and customer service, like no other company I have ever dealt with. I've rented from them in Florida, Maine, Canada, California, and twice before in Washington, and if there is one constant, it's the service and politeness. Which is why I was a bit taken aback when I approached the counter in this guy's entirely empty-of-any-other-customers business, and the first words out of his mouth were not 'Hi, how are you, today?', but "I need a driver's license and a major credit card". Wow. Okay. Produced. I then explained I always get the adjuster's rate, known as the 'insurance rate", and seeing as I'd made a reservation for the smallest car they had, ie the cheapest, and they produced another car, I knew I would automatically get the upgrade at no extra charge. So the guy asked me a few questions, and then said the rate was $30 and change a day. I explained that is the rate that the general public is quoted - I'd just seen it on their website, and he said the rates "fluctuate depending on demand", and so that was the rate I was getting, regardless of the insurance factor. I didn't have much argument as it was true I was getting a free upgrade, but I believe I should have been given the car for about $23 a day, and not $30 a day, but there was no swaying this guy, and I didn't want to push the issue, so didn't.
I left the facility with intentions of having lunch at Dick's Drive-in, just up the road on Broadway, then going home for the day. (I intend to go out later with the car, after rush hour. Part of the reason I rented the car today instead of tmrw btw is because I was afraid on the Friday before this long weekend, there might not be any cars, or there would only be huge SUVs or cargo vans left.)
So I ended up going around the block literally about 3 or 4 times in heavy traffic because I kept missing where Dick's was, and was traveling at snail's pace due to the existence of construction which was backing things up all the way down this road.
At one point, turning once again down a side street and following a ginormous truck, a pregnant woman stepped off the curb and into the crosswalk. Seeing as I was already in the roadway/crosswalk, I didn't slow or stop - I have the right of way, and she stepped into the crosswalk despite the existence of my vehicle. I think I was in the right here - pretty sure. Anyway, I had my side window open to get some air, and into it she shouted, as I passed "BITCH!"
Nice way for a pregnant gal to speak, no? Frankly, I was shocked, but no matter. It's the city, baby! Also, as the song says "pregnant women are smug".
Of course I thought of things I wished I could have shouted back at her, afterwards, such as "Hey, I'm sorry your gut is hanging out like that; I know that must suck, and it does look pretty gruesome," and "What a wonderful mouth on a mother-to-be! I hope your unborn baby didn't hear that!"
*
Another few runs around, each time through the traffic backup, and I finally found Dick's and pulled in. I got in line - very popular, and super cheap place - and ordered a deluxe burger, fries and a chocolate milkshake - yes, lightweight fare - and then remembered seeing online that ketchup is separate, so asked the guy for two of those, and saw him toss something into the bag.
Now because I like a lot of ketchup, and I hadn't seen what he'd tossed into the bag, which was plenty, it turned out - little miniature plastic cups with covers (I had thought it was just two envelope packets, which are never enough), I then asked him for 2 more.
I then got out of the way of the guy behind me since I'd now paid and just needed to zip up my purse. The clerk who waited on me was very pleasant btw, and asked the guy, "May I help you, sir?" To which the guy laughed and said "I don't know, I can't decide", and he looked at me and then actually said "That's why men are paid more than women." Because women can't make decision, y'see.
Wow! I could not believe it, and that made two total assholes in a row! I mean, to bother to give a wholesale slam of all womanhood because he had to wait 5 extra seconds for his fucking burger! Seriously. I was so shocked, once again, that all I found myself saying was, "well I certainly don't understand that," which was lame as hell, and then I just walked the fuck off. In retrospect I could have stood back and said "Sorry, what? Excuse me, fuck-face?"
Dian wonders if all the rain here makes people grumpy. Dunno. Seattle, you have eight days left to prove otherwise.
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To put a capper on these unpleasant tales, I have to admit the Dick's meal was basically terrible. The milkshake tasted totally standard ie like one you'd get at McDonald's, even though their website claims they are hand churned; the burger was a mess - nothing special at all, and the fries appeared literally stepped on/smushed, were totally limp, and had completely grease stained the little bag they were in. The whole thing including ketchup was a hair over seven dollars, so I guess you do get what you paid for. Still, it's a cool place, even if I now know the food is bad. It only has burgers, fries, and soft drinks and milkshakes. Never branched out into salads or fish or any o' that fancy stuff, and it's been around in Seattle, this location anyway, since 1954, and I saw on the bag that they give college scholarships of $3k a year for the first two years to their full time students, and then up to $8k after that, payable directly to the school of their choice. Also, their minimum pay is just over ten an hour. I just checked - the minimum wage here in Washington state is the highest in the country - $9.04.
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Anyway, sorry to enter a downer of a post like this, but I'm trying to be honest with how my days go, good and bad. Great thing is, I've now got wheels, and it's SUNNY!!! And I'm about to head out for a small drive around the back streets, and maybe up to Volunteer Park, and perhaps a spin around the cemetary just north of that, which is supposed to have neat views. This is all within a few miles of the house - no big trips for me today.
I do feel a bit wimpy and am disappointed at having to rent a car - I certainly had no plans to, and I know from bombing around SF that there is no substitute for walking, to really get to know a city. Btw the total cost including 17% Washington state rental car tax (which the guy told me was just reduced due to the fact that they have finally paid off the local sport stadium, which tourists were getting soaked for) was $185 bucks. That is for Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, and I have til about noon or 1pm to return it on Tuesday. Enterprise closes at noon on Saturday, and are always closed on Sundays, and because of the holiday on Monday, they are also closed that day, so my only option was to return it by noon on Saturday, giving me really only a couple of days. $185 is not awful, but not exactly super cheap, and more than I wanted to pay, but it's a small investment in getting me around in a way that provides endless freedom and more importantly, minimal bodily wear & tear.
So .. see ya, off for a little trip in my Ford.
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