Walmart: A Black Hole of Time

So, I went on a short trip to Walmart Saturday. I had planned my little trip the night before. I really just needed to grab a box of tampons and some salt for a saline solution to clean my new piercings with. By the next day though I had decided not to go and I was just going to walk down to McDonald’s to get something to drink. By the way, McDonald’s is just down the street, literally less than 5 min. to drive, 15 to walk, and it’s about a 7 min. drive, depending on traffic and the light, or a 30 min. walk to Walmart from the apartment. But then, right before I leave, our friend Becca IMs and tells us that she forgot the red box movie we rented the night before and it needed to be returned so she wouldn’t be charged anymore for it. *sigh* So, I had to drive to Walmart.

Normally, it wouldn’t be all bad. I decide to go to McDonald’s on the way back home instead of on the way there (big mistake this time) so I go on to Walmart. I go in, get my tampons (forgot the salt) and check out in less than 5 min. I return the movie, run into an old friend and head out to my truck. I get there, put the key in the ignition…no ding ding to start with….then nothing. Nothing at all. It wont turn over, there’s not click from the starter. Nothing. I couldn’t even get lights. I had nothing. I had a moment of panic, “OMG! My car’s dead, I’m stranded!” I take a few moments, calm down, pull myself together and go back inside to do the only thing I can think to do. Call Master. I wait in line to get the customer service desk, borrow the phone and call Master, who has the day off and is sitting at home watching tv because he didn’t want to come the store and I didn’t complain about it because I was just going to get tampons and return the movie. His advice is to wiggle one of the battery cables and the truck should start, that the truck did this one time with him right after we had the guys in automotive put in the new battery and if that doesn’t work, go back to automotive and have them check it out and see what they can do.

So, I go back out, pop the hood and attempt to wiggle wires and get the stupid thing to work. Nothing happens. *sigh* Grab my purse and head back in and to the back. I get back there and after a wait to get in contact with a manager to permit one of the guys to come out with me to see the truck, I go back, trailed closely by the automotive guy, Ken. We get out there, pop the hood again and he wiggles the wires, looks around, asks me to turn the key, nothing happens, he looks around some more and checks the fuses and says that they all look good so he’s going to go back and get the battery checker thing. Ok. I sit there. And I wait. Forever.

He finally comes back with this huge thing, bigger than the size of the battery itself. He hooks up, waits a few minutes and tells me that there isn’t a charge at all. He says they can exchange my battery for a new one because it’s still under warranty and I’m all for doing whatever we can to get the thing to even turn on so I can at least go home. He says he’ll send someone out for it and he goes and takes the charger checker thing back with him. A little while later, yet another automotive guy comes out and he tells me that instead of giving me a new battery they’re going to take mine and they’re going to charge it up. *shrugs* Ok. Whatever. I don’t care at this point, I just want it to run. So, he takes my battery out and tells me that it take at least another hour before it’s charged. Ok. I’ll sit here in my glorified chair.

I have no idea how long it really takes, seeing as I don’t have a cell phone and I haven’t bought a new battery for my Hello Kitty watch, but a long while later, when I’m half asleep in my truck, yet another automotive guy brings me my battery. He tells me that my battery is rated at 400-something and it’s reading at 500-something, so whatever the problem is, it isn’t my battery. He puts it back in, says he’s sorry that they couldn’t figure it out, that with everything that’s been described it seems like it must be a wiring problem. Basically they’re all baffled, seeing as the battery has a high charge and I wasn’t having any problems with it before then.

I go back in, go to customer service and call Master again. I let him know what’s been going on, that they can’t do anything and that I need a ride. He lets me know that my mom is going to come get me and that they would both come look at the truck and see if they can figure it out. I ask him to try and get a ride over from the neighbors downstairs, he says he will and we say goodbye. I go back out to wait for my mother to show up, who is at least 30 min. away at home. I take a nice long nap in the front seat, only to be awakened by the tingling in my numb hand. Not sure how much later, right as I’m drifting around, almost asleep again, I hear a knock on my window. It’s mom! She finally arrives.

We pop the hood and she looks at things, wiggles some wires and goes off to get her handy dandy set of tools. I’m sitting in the front seat, I can’t see what she’s doing but all of sudden, my truck starts to ding ding at me! Suddenly, I have power again!

Do you want to know what she did? She tightened two bolts! That’s fucking it. Two bolts connected to the clamp on the battery, creating a loose connection. *angry face* I was stuck in the Walmart parking lot for about 4 hours because of a loose bolt, that three automotive guys couldn’t figure out was the problem and fix!

Oh! and after she gets it fixed and puts the tools away, she turns and looks at me and asks, “You know you have roadside assistance with USAA, right?”. Well, no, I didn’t. But I do now. So, yeah, even if I only go to pick up a box of tampons, Walmart will still find a way to be a black hole for my time.

I’m really glad that that was the only thing wrong with it though. I’m pissed that they couldn’t figure it out. I mean, really, come on. It was simple, staring them in the faces and they didn’t see it. *shakes head*

Mom ended up taking me to Olive Garden for dinner afterward. We ended up sitting at the bar so we wouldn’t have to wait for 40 min. to get a table. It was an interesting experience, one I’m sure Mom wont want to have again. LOL It was fun though, getting to see Mom without her just stopping by and then rushing on home.

Later that night I ordered the crinoline skirt to go under my wedding dress. It should be here either by the end of the week or beginning of next week. We’ll see. Hopefully it’s full enough to majorly pull my dress up off the floor. Oh! Grandma and Grandpa called from their cruise…and now Grandma is insisting on doing the alterations. *sigh* I’m not sure what I’m going to tell April, a friend of ours, who is supposed to be altering the dress. Grandma’s going to be upset if she can’t do it for me. I hope April will understand. I’m going to feel bad though. *sigh*

Well, off to order Master’s wedding band and either watch some tv or go to bed.

xoxo

Slave Belle