blogging

Blogging like I used to: at the gas pump

For the remaining few months I remain here at WordPress.com I will blog like I used to; with storytelling.

Most cars I’ve owned, co-owner or driven were Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais. They all have their fuel gas filler hole thingy (what is that thing called?) on the left, aka driver’s side.

I drive a GM-made car now, my dad’s 20-year old Saturn. The fuel gas filler hole thingy on this car is on the right.

Recently, like a couple of months ago, I noticed a very helpful indicator on the dash:

It tells you what side the fuel door is with a helpful little triangle pointing in the correct direction. (And now we know what it’s called.) 😀

Funny how I never saw that before.

Anyway, I had a thing happened at the gas station because that’s the way the cookie crumbles in my life.

Actually, several things happened yesterday. It’s been a day and a half but I’ll save my other adventures for another day.

So, I went to the gas station and pulled in next to the pump with the fuel door facing the pump. I stepped out of the car, got the payment thing sorted at the terminal, and when it prompted me to lift the nozzle and select my grade, I did.

It’s not rocket science. I’ve been driving for 37 years, I know how to pump gas.

The nozzle was in and I pressed Regular. I can’t afford nor want to pay for Premium so Regular was my preferred choice.

I waited for the prompt to tell me to start pumping.

Nothing happened.

I pressed Regular again and this time, the blue light activated above the word Premium.

I stared at it. I did not select Premium.

I pressed Regular again and Premium flashed me again and then the machine started talking to me to stop it and go consult with the cashier.

I didn’t want consult with the cashier. I wanted to pump regular grade gas.

Since I hadn’t yet pumped any gas and therefore hadn’t been charged, I climbed back in the car and looked for another pump. There were several occupied ones but one in the middle on the other aisle was available. (There were 9 pumps.)

I drove over, half expecting the cashier to come chasing after me.

He didn’t.

I pulled up to the new pump, went through the song and dance with the payment terminal, got ready to pump and…

There was no fuel door on my car. It disappeared into thin air. 🥴

Took me a minute to realize I parked the wrong way.

Meh.

This was 35 years of driving Hondas etc firmly anchored into a habit of presuming the fuel door was on the left…

So once again, I abandoned my pump, drove away to turn the car around, but of course by now someone else pulled into my spot and I had to drive to a third pump, keeping in mind that the fuel door was on the right and to position myself correctly.

Sigh.

I looked at the cashier house to see if the little man called the police or something, but nothing happened. I mean, it may have looked like some neurotic frazzled woman was trying to pump gas but I wasn’t neurotic, just a bit frazzled. If the pump at the first stop had dispensed the requested correct grade of gasoline I wouldn’t be running around like this.

By the time I finished pumping gas, the only other thing that gave me grief was the receipt. I had to press the button three times for it to finally spit out the proof of purchase.

I decided at that moment I deserved a latte, so off I went to a coffee shop in a bookstore located across the street at a high end mall.

Sadly, that wasn’t the end of my adventures that day. Stay tuned for the bra and panties fiasco at Winners. 😳

Thank you for reading my post today! I’m so happy to be sharing my words with you again. See you in the comments!

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19 thoughts on “Blogging like I used to: at the gas pump”

  1. Pingback: Blogging like I used to: bra and panties fiasco at Winners – Writer of Words etc

  2. I find there’s too much technology already on y Honda CRV to keep track of small dials like the gas arrow you spoke about. Sometimes I just abandon the dashboard indicators and just think for myself.

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  3. You had me at bra and panties…

    But on another note, Tara pointed out that gas door trick to me shortly after we got together. Totally blew my mind. Every car I’ve ever owned (including both Saturns) has had the gas tank on the driver’s side. I won’t know what to do if I ever end up with a vehicle that has it on the passenger’s side. I’m guessing, pull into the wrong pump an awful lot.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. I still discover things I never knew about my car after 10 years of driving it. There’s stuff in there I’ve never used, like the blue-tooth capabilities. I remember when I bought it and the sales guy was sitting in the car with me, showing me all the features. He came to how to use the blue tooth feature. I just stopped him, told him I would never use it (and I haven’t) and said move on to the lights and wipers 🙂

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    1. Lol

      Yeah I resisted Bluetooth for a long time too but with all the driving to obscure rinks, having it to help with the map and navigation, I learned. Or, I tell a teen to set it up for me and just concentrate on the driving part. 😀

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      1. I was so proud of myself while in Colorado. We were looking for something specific, Alison already had her phone set for general directions to the city and so I pulled out my phone and all on my own figured out how (with voice directions) to find the other place we were looking for! I have no idea how I did it…

        Liked by 1 person

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