It was time for our car to be sent for servicing. Reached 51,000km and according to the manual, the car needs servicing. When I was still working, the practice was to drive to the service center and leave the car there. The service center people will send you back to the office and when the car is ready, they will send the car to you.
Things are different when you are retired. You don't have to go to work. You have plenty of time so you can wait at the service center for the car to be ready. I went around 9.30am and told the guy I wanted the car to be serviced plus to check the brakes as they were making squeaky noises when I applied the brakes. He said no problem and invited me to the customer waiting room. There was a receptionist there to assist you should you need anything. I surveyed the room and noticed a TV, an automated coffee machine and an ice cream 'box'. Everything was self-service of course.
I am not used to serving myself, so I asked the girl if she could turn the tv on. She said no problem but informed me that there was some problem. She didn't mention what the problem was but turned on the TV anyway. As she was trying to get into the many channels offered by Astro, I asked her to click to the sports channel. Everytime there was a message, 'you are not subscribed to this channel'! Then she turned around and told me they (employer) may not have paid the Astro bill for this month. What a bummer! She said I could watch some movies from their VCD collection if I wanted. She brought the list of movies available and I quickly chose 'Pirates of The Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest'.
While I was waiting for her to get the VCD, I looked around and saw two other customers sitting at a table and deeply engrossed in the local newspaper. When you have a lot of time on your hands, you tend to read everything in the papers, from the news, the advertisements, the sports section right down to the obituaries. I didn't bring my reading glasses so I didn't have to do that. After she started the movie going she asked if I wanted a drink. I said yes and asked for 'Nescafe'. She was kind enough to get me the cup of 'Nescafe'. I settled down for the next one and a half hour wait, watching 'Dead Man's Chest' with a steaming cup of 'Nescafe'.
The film was not as good as the first one. Too much slapstick and couldn't quite get the plot of the story. Anyway, the car was ready before I could finish the movie. The bil came to RM 338.50. Cost for changing the engine oil, oil filter, brake oil, power steering oil, spark plugs and services charges. When you own a car, you have to get prepared to pay for the upkeep.
The squeaky sounds have dissapeared, and the car is running smoothly.
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2 comments:
well - not as good as the first pirates, but it had its moments. see it again on a nice big clear screen. makes all the difference.
It's been years since we have been to the movies. The last time I think was when I escorted my younger son and his friends to see Spider Man at the Cineplex in the City Plaza Complex! Things are different now. I have got used to parking myself on the massage chair with outstretched legs in front of the telly and playing with the remote until something interesting captures my attention!
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