The Haircut And The Dipstick

No post yesterday because I didn't actually have time to sit and write one.

All because I was getting an awesome haircut!  At least I hope it's awesome.  My hair is naturally wavy and the girl performed some sorcery so right now it's bone straight.  She promised me it would look good when it's wavy too so here's hoping.

Of course, for most people getting a haircut doesn't take all day.  But I had to drive miles and miles to get to this place.  I don't have a "stylist" so I just wait until there's a Groupon for a haircut and go wherever the Groupon takes me which, in this case, was Port Coquitlam.  Where I could park my car for 2 hours in a 1 hour spot and not get a ticket.  Awww Port Coquitlam so cute with your lack of meter maids.

Also I was supposed to pick up a dipstick.  Not my boyfriend, he was still at work (rimshot).

It's kind of a long story - fasten your seat belts:

About 3 weeks ago I went to Mr. Lube.  First they gave me a worse time for not changing my oil than the dental hygienist does for not flossing my teeth.  "You know you're ruining the engine every time you drive blah blah whine whine".  And THEN!  They broke my dipstick.  Snapped it right in half.

So the guy brings the broken handle to me and explains that the rest of it is still in my car.  And then he spends maybe 5 minutes trying to extract it until finally just saying "Sorry, I can't get it out.  You're gonna have to take it to a mechanic".  To which I reply "Uhhhh . . . what . . ."

We look at each other awkwardly for a while until I finally say "How much is this gonna cost me?"

"$40 worth of labor" he replies

"So . . . I take my car to you to get the oil changed and now my car needs to go to the mechanic?"

"Well . . . I could keep trying . . ."

"Yes.  Please keep trying!"

Two hours later (No really, I did sit in my car at Mr. Lube for 2 hours) they finally gave up trying to get it out.  They promised to pay half of the mechanic's bill and I was just glad to be free!  I figured $20 wasn't too bad to be out of pocket.

And it wouldn't have been.  Except the mechanic charged me $200!  AND he had to drain out all of the oil that Mr. Lube had so carefully topped up and charged me full price for.  And to top it all off, he didn't have a new dipstick for me and would call when it was in.  And when I didn't hear from him for another week I called him to demand my dipstick and he explained how he had "lost his phone" and so didn't have my number.

LIKELY STORY!

Two weeks later and I still do not have my dipstick.  If I call, they say they'll be out of town for a week.  If I drop by the following week, the shop is closed.  And when I stopped by yesterday in my new cute haircut, I got a story about how they had just moved things around and the guy didn't know where it was, and the guy who did know where it was couldn't be reached and could he call me when he found it.

I think it goes without saying that I still don't have a dipstick.

But what makes this story even better is that after explaining my dipstick adventure to my boyfriend's parents - all dramatic and full of arm waving and can-you-believe-its - my father-in-law sheepishly admits that HE broke the dipstick the last time he changed the oil for us and that he had just glued it back together!

So the joke's on me!  Or Mr. Lube.  Or the mechanic?  I guess it's not really a joke.