Waiting and Wasting

I would I could stand on a busy corner, hat in hand, and beg people to throw me all their wasted hours. ~Bernard Berenson

Today I made a tactical error. I had noticed that my headlight was burned out so I thought I would pop into Canadian Tire and quickly get it changed. I ran over on my lunch hour and noticed the line up. One of the salespeople said, “No problem. We take appointments. Come back at 4:30.” Great, I thought. That is much more convenient.

Ah, wasted hours! How do you get them back? If only I had trusted that I could have popped into the store, bought a headlight and replaced it myself. Didn’t I take a mechanics course for women many moons ago? Didn’t I use to replace light bulbs before?

No, instead, I trusted that the store would be true to its word and I would be on my way within 10 minutes. Tick, tick, tick. After 30 minutes, I was getting ticked. After 60 minutes, I developed a tick. I mean, really, what was the problem?

I had sent a dozen emails, drafted a letter for my supervisor, and reworked my calendar. I was not going to waste valuable time while I waited. Nope, not me. I was going to be productive. Sigh. How many times is asking, “Is my car ready yet?” too many times? It is the equivalent to a child’s “are we there yet?”

I tried to be polite and then finally I just came and stood, looking at the salesman until he felt compelled to go in and ask when the car would be ready. I saw someone jump to life in the direction of my car. Was that a cape I saw? Super Mechanic to the rescue! Why had I not changed this sucker all on my own? I mean, even the temperatures cooperated as it was above zero.

“Can I just pay for this while I am waiting?” I asked, keeping my tone level. The reward came in the end: “No, it’s ok. I am pulling rank. There will be no charge.” The cost of my precious hour and a half: $5.95. Hmmmm...where is my hat and which corner should I be standing on?

Peace,

Suzanne