Car, hair, eyes, oh my
1. My car
I took my car in for an oil change on Monday. Two days and lots of money later, I got it back. This is what cracked me up--I'd been at the dealership for a couple hours before the guy came up and told me what the techs found. He's going through this litany of things--and, oh yeah, Merlin definitely did NOT replace my oxygen sensor--and the last thing he says is, and your windshield wipers need replacing. ...Yes. Because *that's* the one item on this list that's totally going to break me here. I gave it five seconds of thought, and when he said he could put me in a loaner for no charge--and remember, when they give you the loaner for free, that's not a great sign--I went, just do it. I'm off this week. I don't want to come back later. It's already here. Have my other kidney.
And that's how I found myself driving a Highlander again. I even requested it, as the guy was like, normally I'd put you into a smaller vehicle... And I just told him, I had a Highlander the last time, it's fine. I'm guessing it was a 2023 model, as it was a little different from the other one, but I barely drove it so it didn't much matter. The only tough part was once I started driving, I realized the steering wheel was too low, to the point where I couldn't really see the speedometer. That's kind of important. At the same time, trying to fiddle with it while driving was not ideal, so I figured that out once I got home. I did a few things while seated in the driveway. I really only needed it to get to an appointment today, and that was fine, and otherwise I got it gas and took it back to Toyota. At that point the guy said that he could have gotten me the car back yesterday (I initially was told Wednesday, so that estimate was spot on), except when they got the parts in, they had the right box but the wrong part. Oh yikes. No worries, though; all is well. And, AND, it turned out there were actually two *more* sensors that needed to be replaced that I wasn't told about, and they just did them without charging me more. He said he fiddled with the pricing to get it to come out the same as the estimate I was quoted. Thanks; I appreciate that. (And given what I just spent today...yeah kinda. I should've asked for a punch card earlier this year with all the visits I've made and money I've spent there. I don't plan to go back before 2024.) Dad asked to check out the Highlander before I took it back; he hadn't looked at the other one. He liked it. He would not be opposed to me getting one. I said, then I'd have to start driving you guys around again, like when my car was new. He went, don't worry, I'll drive it! I'm sure. :)
2. Haircut
Yep, I finally did it, I cut my hair. The last time I tagged a post with "haircut" was back in April 2019, though I'm pretty sure I cut/trimmed it in August before my cousin's wedding on 9-1-19. Regardless, it's been four years since I last cut my hair. Right around when I was going to cut it that following March, everything shut down, I got sick, and by the time I was well enough to do it, we were ensconced in a global pandemic. I then said I wouldn't cut my hair again until the pandemic was declared over. I've basically had the go-ahead since May, but I've been dithering about it ever since. I liked having the length. It was kind of fun. But lately my ends have been truly terrible. I'd get past a certain point and it was like a bird's nest, just this awful tangle. My hair didn't really lay right because of it, and it could be hard to style at times. I finally pulled out my set of instructions I got online years ago and did away with it. I don't know that it's my best work but it was nice to get it cleaned up. The back of my head looks even. That's one of the things that's bothered me for a while, that there was this visible gap in my curls when I'd wear my hair down. Like, if you looked at my back, you'd see hair on the sides but not in the middle. It just looked weird. Now it's more even, and the scary thing is, there wasn't all that much hair that got cut off! It was a pretty small pile, all things considered. I may need to clean it up a bit more but for now I can live with it.
3. My eyes
It's been two years since my last eye exam. I don't want to go too long without doing one of those. The last time I went to Lenscrafters I was told I'd want to update my prescription every few years, now that I have the bifocals.
I set my appointment for 10:40, the earliest I could get (the 10 AM slot was taken), and I did get there a bit early and I looked at frames for a couple minutes, but then I sat in the waiting area and waited...and waited...and waited. In the meantime, some guy came in and said his contact lens had broken, I think in his eye, and I believe he was the guy who got taken during my time slot. There was some other older guy who'd had a problem, though not as dire, but he was also getting a lot of attention too. I think he stayed in the frame room but contact lens guy was in and out of exam rooms for a bit, including time in the little waiting area. Eventually I got helped, but not until the next appointment time slot after 11 AM, so that was a bummer, but the couple people who worked with me apologized and appreciated my patience. The gal who did my pre-exam stuff asked if I wanted a retinal scan, and she told me my exam total would then be $94. Sure, let's do it. I want to keep on top of any issues. I then saw the doctor, who is a new guy, but he had a great personality and was very friendly. I liked him a lot. My prescription didn't change all that much, which is good, though I still thought I should get new glasses...and then couldn't find frames I really liked. They don't have the frames for my current glasses any longer (they're Tory Burch), and while I found some similar ones, they just weren't quite what I wanted to be stuck wearing for the next few years, so I opted to forgo new glasses and just paid for the exam. I got helped by a new guy, whom I'd overheard earlier tell people that he was shadowing so-and-so while he learned the ropes. He's the one who rings me up and he tells me, your total is $39. Wait, what? I know I got a AAA discount (sweet!), but the starting total was $79, which was less than what I was told. He double-checked his screens and didn't seem to find any anomalies, so he said, we'll just go with that. Holy crap. Add a zero and then another 50% of that and that's what I'm used to paying when I get new glasses. Seriously, under $40? That's unheard of for me. I got out of there before they could chase me down.
It was a nice day, so I decided to walk around the complex for a few minutes, plus I also found the public washroom and made use of that. My parents beat me home; I wondered if that would happen. I think had I gotten into my appointment on time, we would've been closer, but they got home about noon and that was roughly when I walked out of Lenscrafters. I'm just glad I had an uneventful ride home and got the loaner back to Toyota safely.
Bonus: 4. Errands unfulfilled (and one filled)
After I got my car back, I wanted to run to Office Max; I really could use a new two-year pocket planner, plus a couple other things, but the planner was the important item. They did not have any calendar-year pocket planners, and just one for two school years. That's not going to work. I have next season's calendars for both my bands and I really want to write down all my rehearsals and concerts and things--and I'll likely have a conflict for the last Regular Band summer concert next year, as it's a week later than this year's (we started a week earlier this year for some reason) and it falls when Fancy Band would likely start up. Hmm. Right now I'm leaning toward doing Fancy Band instead. Someone else can do Stars & Stripes Forever next year. But we'll see what happens. Anyway, with no appropriate planner available, I left without buying anything as the other two items I'd considered aren't really needs, they're wants. I then crossed the street to Menards and checked out their selection of stuff, but the only items I bought were tickets to the Ren Faire, as I have plans to join Laura's family up there this weekend. So, at least that got accomplished, but I'm really hoping I can find a planner ASAP.
I took my car in for an oil change on Monday. Two days and lots of money later, I got it back. This is what cracked me up--I'd been at the dealership for a couple hours before the guy came up and told me what the techs found. He's going through this litany of things--and, oh yeah, Merlin definitely did NOT replace my oxygen sensor--and the last thing he says is, and your windshield wipers need replacing. ...Yes. Because *that's* the one item on this list that's totally going to break me here. I gave it five seconds of thought, and when he said he could put me in a loaner for no charge--and remember, when they give you the loaner for free, that's not a great sign--I went, just do it. I'm off this week. I don't want to come back later. It's already here. Have my other kidney.
And that's how I found myself driving a Highlander again. I even requested it, as the guy was like, normally I'd put you into a smaller vehicle... And I just told him, I had a Highlander the last time, it's fine. I'm guessing it was a 2023 model, as it was a little different from the other one, but I barely drove it so it didn't much matter. The only tough part was once I started driving, I realized the steering wheel was too low, to the point where I couldn't really see the speedometer. That's kind of important. At the same time, trying to fiddle with it while driving was not ideal, so I figured that out once I got home. I did a few things while seated in the driveway. I really only needed it to get to an appointment today, and that was fine, and otherwise I got it gas and took it back to Toyota. At that point the guy said that he could have gotten me the car back yesterday (I initially was told Wednesday, so that estimate was spot on), except when they got the parts in, they had the right box but the wrong part. Oh yikes. No worries, though; all is well. And, AND, it turned out there were actually two *more* sensors that needed to be replaced that I wasn't told about, and they just did them without charging me more. He said he fiddled with the pricing to get it to come out the same as the estimate I was quoted. Thanks; I appreciate that. (And given what I just spent today...yeah kinda. I should've asked for a punch card earlier this year with all the visits I've made and money I've spent there. I don't plan to go back before 2024.) Dad asked to check out the Highlander before I took it back; he hadn't looked at the other one. He liked it. He would not be opposed to me getting one. I said, then I'd have to start driving you guys around again, like when my car was new. He went, don't worry, I'll drive it! I'm sure. :)
2. Haircut
Yep, I finally did it, I cut my hair. The last time I tagged a post with "haircut" was back in April 2019, though I'm pretty sure I cut/trimmed it in August before my cousin's wedding on 9-1-19. Regardless, it's been four years since I last cut my hair. Right around when I was going to cut it that following March, everything shut down, I got sick, and by the time I was well enough to do it, we were ensconced in a global pandemic. I then said I wouldn't cut my hair again until the pandemic was declared over. I've basically had the go-ahead since May, but I've been dithering about it ever since. I liked having the length. It was kind of fun. But lately my ends have been truly terrible. I'd get past a certain point and it was like a bird's nest, just this awful tangle. My hair didn't really lay right because of it, and it could be hard to style at times. I finally pulled out my set of instructions I got online years ago and did away with it. I don't know that it's my best work but it was nice to get it cleaned up. The back of my head looks even. That's one of the things that's bothered me for a while, that there was this visible gap in my curls when I'd wear my hair down. Like, if you looked at my back, you'd see hair on the sides but not in the middle. It just looked weird. Now it's more even, and the scary thing is, there wasn't all that much hair that got cut off! It was a pretty small pile, all things considered. I may need to clean it up a bit more but for now I can live with it.
3. My eyes
It's been two years since my last eye exam. I don't want to go too long without doing one of those. The last time I went to Lenscrafters I was told I'd want to update my prescription every few years, now that I have the bifocals.
I set my appointment for 10:40, the earliest I could get (the 10 AM slot was taken), and I did get there a bit early and I looked at frames for a couple minutes, but then I sat in the waiting area and waited...and waited...and waited. In the meantime, some guy came in and said his contact lens had broken, I think in his eye, and I believe he was the guy who got taken during my time slot. There was some other older guy who'd had a problem, though not as dire, but he was also getting a lot of attention too. I think he stayed in the frame room but contact lens guy was in and out of exam rooms for a bit, including time in the little waiting area. Eventually I got helped, but not until the next appointment time slot after 11 AM, so that was a bummer, but the couple people who worked with me apologized and appreciated my patience. The gal who did my pre-exam stuff asked if I wanted a retinal scan, and she told me my exam total would then be $94. Sure, let's do it. I want to keep on top of any issues. I then saw the doctor, who is a new guy, but he had a great personality and was very friendly. I liked him a lot. My prescription didn't change all that much, which is good, though I still thought I should get new glasses...and then couldn't find frames I really liked. They don't have the frames for my current glasses any longer (they're Tory Burch), and while I found some similar ones, they just weren't quite what I wanted to be stuck wearing for the next few years, so I opted to forgo new glasses and just paid for the exam. I got helped by a new guy, whom I'd overheard earlier tell people that he was shadowing so-and-so while he learned the ropes. He's the one who rings me up and he tells me, your total is $39. Wait, what? I know I got a AAA discount (sweet!), but the starting total was $79, which was less than what I was told. He double-checked his screens and didn't seem to find any anomalies, so he said, we'll just go with that. Holy crap. Add a zero and then another 50% of that and that's what I'm used to paying when I get new glasses. Seriously, under $40? That's unheard of for me. I got out of there before they could chase me down.
It was a nice day, so I decided to walk around the complex for a few minutes, plus I also found the public washroom and made use of that. My parents beat me home; I wondered if that would happen. I think had I gotten into my appointment on time, we would've been closer, but they got home about noon and that was roughly when I walked out of Lenscrafters. I'm just glad I had an uneventful ride home and got the loaner back to Toyota safely.
Bonus: 4. Errands unfulfilled (and one filled)
After I got my car back, I wanted to run to Office Max; I really could use a new two-year pocket planner, plus a couple other things, but the planner was the important item. They did not have any calendar-year pocket planners, and just one for two school years. That's not going to work. I have next season's calendars for both my bands and I really want to write down all my rehearsals and concerts and things--and I'll likely have a conflict for the last Regular Band summer concert next year, as it's a week later than this year's (we started a week earlier this year for some reason) and it falls when Fancy Band would likely start up. Hmm. Right now I'm leaning toward doing Fancy Band instead. Someone else can do Stars & Stripes Forever next year. But we'll see what happens. Anyway, with no appropriate planner available, I left without buying anything as the other two items I'd considered aren't really needs, they're wants. I then crossed the street to Menards and checked out their selection of stuff, but the only items I bought were tickets to the Ren Faire, as I have plans to join Laura's family up there this weekend. So, at least that got accomplished, but I'm really hoping I can find a planner ASAP.