Gas hands!
Since it's winter, I prefer keeping at least a half-tank of gas in the car. Monday and Tuesday were very cold, so even though the gas prices were good (in the $1.60s!), I decided to wait until today. Plus, I have a fair amount of driving to do this weekend, so the longer I waited, the more gas I'd have for then.
I pull in the gas station on the way home tonight, and the first set of bays are all filled. This station has 12 pumps total in four lines, you could say, so you can fit three cars per side of the pumps. When I saw all six spots taken at the pumps closest to the entrance, I went around the convenience store to the other side. The side closest to the store had just two cars, but the car in the middle appeared to be straddling two pumps. Hmm. I pass it and the car behind it to get to that last pump--and it's got an Out of Order bag over the handle. Great. So I turn the corner, and as I figured, the adjacent pump is also blocked off. However, the middle pump, where a car is sitting, is *also* blocked with a bag, making three of the 12 pumps bad. But, just as I turn the corner, the car on the end finishes, and the car in the middle pulls up, so, being tired and lazy, I pull behind him and wait at the unusable middle pump. What, that car had just done it, and now I'm perfectly in line for when this guy finishes.
Meanwhile, the price at this station is hard to beat, and cars are pulling in and around and trying to jostle for position. I don't know what it looks like on the other side of the store, but there were plenty of disappointed cars driving near me. The guy in front of me finishes just as some other guy sees him and has pulled up next to him. Sorry, dude--do you notice how I'm not out pumping gas? Do you see the yellow bag over this pump's handle? I'm waiting for that pump. He realized it and pulled away. Thanks. And, as I'm about to move into position, someone ends up pulling behind me and waiting at the middle pump. The cycle continues.
Since I knew someone was waiting, I tried to go as fast as I could. You can't really rush the pumping of gas, though, but when it finished, I didn't take my sweet time to do things. I'd also taken off my mittens so I didn't have to struggle with grabbing things and putting my gas cap back on, that sort of thing. Except when I pulled the pump out of my car, gas dripped out--onto my hand. GREAT! And, again, it was bare. Crap. Now what? Well, I put my gas cap back on, put the pump back on its holder, got my receipt, and got out of there as quickly as possible. And drove gingerly, trying not to touch anything with my right hand. Had it been my left, I may well have stuck it out the window, but that wasn't possible. I did wash it a couple times after I got home, and that seems to have helped, but ugh. No fun.
But I got cheap gas, the cheapest I've gotten in years, so there's that.
I pull in the gas station on the way home tonight, and the first set of bays are all filled. This station has 12 pumps total in four lines, you could say, so you can fit three cars per side of the pumps. When I saw all six spots taken at the pumps closest to the entrance, I went around the convenience store to the other side. The side closest to the store had just two cars, but the car in the middle appeared to be straddling two pumps. Hmm. I pass it and the car behind it to get to that last pump--and it's got an Out of Order bag over the handle. Great. So I turn the corner, and as I figured, the adjacent pump is also blocked off. However, the middle pump, where a car is sitting, is *also* blocked with a bag, making three of the 12 pumps bad. But, just as I turn the corner, the car on the end finishes, and the car in the middle pulls up, so, being tired and lazy, I pull behind him and wait at the unusable middle pump. What, that car had just done it, and now I'm perfectly in line for when this guy finishes.
Meanwhile, the price at this station is hard to beat, and cars are pulling in and around and trying to jostle for position. I don't know what it looks like on the other side of the store, but there were plenty of disappointed cars driving near me. The guy in front of me finishes just as some other guy sees him and has pulled up next to him. Sorry, dude--do you notice how I'm not out pumping gas? Do you see the yellow bag over this pump's handle? I'm waiting for that pump. He realized it and pulled away. Thanks. And, as I'm about to move into position, someone ends up pulling behind me and waiting at the middle pump. The cycle continues.
Since I knew someone was waiting, I tried to go as fast as I could. You can't really rush the pumping of gas, though, but when it finished, I didn't take my sweet time to do things. I'd also taken off my mittens so I didn't have to struggle with grabbing things and putting my gas cap back on, that sort of thing. Except when I pulled the pump out of my car, gas dripped out--onto my hand. GREAT! And, again, it was bare. Crap. Now what? Well, I put my gas cap back on, put the pump back on its holder, got my receipt, and got out of there as quickly as possible. And drove gingerly, trying not to touch anything with my right hand. Had it been my left, I may well have stuck it out the window, but that wasn't possible. I did wash it a couple times after I got home, and that seems to have helped, but ugh. No fun.
But I got cheap gas, the cheapest I've gotten in years, so there's that.