Lame

Ok, this is also an old post (duh) that I just finished up. It happened sometime during the end of October or the beginning of November. But lucky you, you get to read it now!

My cell phone died. It's been dieing (is that a real word?) for a couple of months now and I've been putting off getting a new one because, well, because I procrastinate like it's my job. But when I finally was unable to talk on it without leaving the thing in the charger because the battery would die in under three minutes of use and then I blew out the home charger (see the first of the Ireland posts here) and could only talk on the phone while leaving it plugged into the car charger I knew it was time. So I went to the Verizon store.

Four times.

It was during my third unsuccessful visit with the sales associates that I got really upset though. Like, upset and frustrated to the point of crying. I don't know why... I mean, I was getting my period and was feeling weepy anyway, but I 'd also been having a really hard time getting through to those people all those times and the different models of phones I was interested in were never in stock and nobody seemed to want to let me upgrade despite it being over two years since I'd last renewed a contract and I just kept going from store to store without getting anywhere and the only place I could use the phone was in my car, while it was running.... So on my way out of the third store, almost before I even got to the parking lot I finally broke down and cried. Not just little tears of frustration, either-- big body wracking sobs. So what did I do next? I called Matt. He seemed concerned that I was crying until I told him why, and then both of us couldn't help laughing, but I still couldn't stop crying. So without getting a new phone, I left the lot and drove to the grocery store hoping to cheer myself up with the purchase of some avocado sushi. Mmmm. After I picked up the sushi I also grabbed a giant sugar cookie with a big yellow smiley face painted on it to mail to Matt as a thank you for having made me laugh at myself and at the situation. Then, much calmer and a bit more clear-headed, I headed to my car to drive home... but that's when it happened-- I had a run-in with a crazy man.

I don't know what his problem was, but I was still sniffley and red and puffy from the phone incident, so maybe he thought I'd be a good victim. When I got back to my car, I got in, sat down and started up the engine. I was about to drive away when I noticed this guy standing in front of my car, writing down my license plate number. Confused, I got out and asked if the guy needed any help with anything. He just said no and that the police would be handling everything. I had no idea what he was talking about so I turned off the engine and got out, asking him what he meant. He started shouting at me about ignoring him and not respecting his property and doing anything I wanted, and finally in all of his ranting I understood that he was accusing me of having slammed my driver-side door into his passenger-side door, which was ridiculous. I told him I thought he was mistaken and he said "what, you mean you didn't notice that my entire car shook when you slammed your door into mine?"

By that point my confusion had turned to anger and I had started to shake a bit. I told him he was definitely mistaken and to please stop screaming because I hadn't hit his car. He just kept shouting that the police would be here soon enough and I could go if I wanted to, and that I'd be hearing from his insurance company about the damages via the mail. I asked him if he'd called the police and he confirmed, but I had no idea if he was telling the truth and I didn't want to get into any trouble, so I sat back down in my car and called them too. I explained the situation and asked if they were sending someone and if I should wait around for an officer, and if I would have any legal repercussions if I left the parking lot with this lunatic still screaming about damages I'd made to his car. They said they weren't dispatching any officers and that since it took place in a parking lot, it wasn't anything the police were going to deal with. I was satisfied with that answer, so I decided that I was going to drive away from this guy. But before I was going to leave, I thought quickly and decided to take some photos of the guy's car, just in case. So I whipped out my digital camera and shot pictures of his car door, which didn't have a single mark on it from my car. He saw the flash, realized what I was doing, and came over to me, angrier than ever. "What in the hell are you doing?" he screamed at me, tossing in a bunch of curse words. I told him he'd better quit using that kind of language with me and explained that I was just taking notes in case the insurance company did contact me to show them that his claim was fraudulent. He then pulled out a flashlight to show me in the dusk a big scratch in his paint that was there towards the front of his door, but thinking quickly again, I opened my car door as far as it would go. "You and I both know, sir, that there's no way my car could have made that mark," I stated calmly before going back to taking photos of his license plate and the make/model insignias on the back of his car. Ha! Who's the smarty now! I was so proud of myself for thinking of the camera!

I guess the guy realized that I was more than just an easy target, so still screaming out his window, he sped off. As soon as he was out of the picture, I got back into my car and burst into tears again, called Matt to share the misery of my day with him, and drove home....

Now, nothing ever came of that crazy parking lot guy, Matt eventually got his smile-face cookie in the mail, and three days later I made my fourth trip to Verizon and finally got a great phone... so everything worked out pretty well in the end. But that wasn't going to stop me from posting about it online here, and though I usually try not to put too much identifying information up on the internet, there was definitely nothing that was going to stop me from putting the photos of this guy's car up here on my website. So come one, come all and take a long look at his license plate. If he ever tries to con you, don't give in! And if anyone reading this turns out to be a hacker or stalker or something, feel free to go after this guy. You've got my blessings-- he's a douchebag.

Go crazy, yo!!