The Positive Side of Paranoia

A lot can happen in just a few days. You can get a flat tire. (Again.) Your dog can accidentally eat chocolate. And you can think that even though rumor is bad things come in threes, maybe, just maybe, it will stop at two, call itself even and let you get a chance to catch your breath without letting slip that proverbial anvil in the sky just waiting to fall on your head.

Still I'm in the habit of looking up, and with my now never without them pair of sneakers close at hand, I'm ready to run. But only if it's honestly required of me.

And I do have to say, not that any of you out in wherever you are land will find this good reading or anything, but I did another three miles today on the treadmill.

I am a gym goddess!

Or at least on my way to becoming a gym rat. (Not to worry, I didn't see this one coming from a mile away either!)

Not that any of this is quite the point I was trying to make in the long way round of writing things. My point was something along the lines of pointing out that even though shit happens, sometimes you step in it and end up none the worse for wear.

Let me explain...

When you replace your tires and you still get a flat, somebody somewhere missed something big. And so because you know what you know, which is that you're honestly standing in the parking lot of your job staring at a tire that shouldn't be completely flat but oh so totally is, and it just happens to be the same tire you've been having problems with for the past two months, chances are the tire you thought was taken care of, wasn't...

So you make a call. And you talk to the assistant manager and you explain your situation, being very kind and courteous with a backbone made of steel. You present them with your problem, you let them know your expectations, and then you say, "Sure. Do what you've got to do and call me back at this number and let me know what you find out."

Hanging up the phone you don't hold out much for hope. You know you're telling the truth. You know you've got the story right, but they're the ones thinking you're trying to get away with something for nothing and a new flat tire you want fixed for free.

But you wait, not really holding your breath but holding it all the same, preparing yourself for the fight in case they insist you've got it wrong when they call you back. And then they say the most magical thing you've ever heard. Insofar as tires are concerned that is...

"Mam," he says, though you're thinking he'd be better off using Miss, "You're absolutely right. I checked the tape and they didn't touch that tire at all. If you can get your car down here, we'll take care of it for you."

Hallelujah! I think I just heard the word free tire!

Free because as the tape would show, and who knew they taped their garage employees fixing cars, it turns out the tire they were specifically given instructions to remove and replace was never fixed at all. Nope. Instead they took two perfectly good tires and replaced them with two completely new tires, and left the problematic tire exactly where it had been prior to bringing it in.

Needless to say, with all that egg on their face, the only thing they could do was make it right. And as far as I'm concerned, three for the price of two is good in my book any day.

As for Lucy Lu eating chocolate, that more or less, but leaning to the far right of more, was KC' slip up, all I will say in the very little defense I will allot her was she made a mistake that could have been much more costly than a vet bill. Fortunately I didn't have to have one of those either. But it was a bit nerve wracking to think that there was a chance my little pup could have been in jeopardy. I've gotten somewhat attached and wouldn't be able to bear coming home to a house without her.

KC, now sufficiently grounded until she comes of age, has hopefully taken this little life lesson to heart. Pet ownership is about being responsible for an animal who cannot be responsible for itself. And though she never likes to sit too long through what she has described as my endless lectures, it's a lesson she needs to learn this time around to prevent another accident in the future.

Lucy however is resting comfortably and requests that she will be accepting any and all squeaky toys during her time of convalescence.

Proof positive that I have a very smart dog.