I had a huge day yesterday. I'd booked the car in for maintenance, they recommend getting there at 8am; I thought I'd set my alarm for 6am, as I'm a couple of hours away from the city - but it seems instead of setting an alarm .. . I actually turned them all off! When I woke up I was already late! I didn't even have a coffee, I just got dressed & went. I got there about 10.30am. I explained about the alarm & they were ok with it, I knew it would be hours & the first thing I wanted was a coffee - so off I went. I wasn't offered 'have here or take away', I was given a take away cup; so I decided I'd go find a nice gutter in the car park to have a cigarette with my coffee. I'd forgotten to grab my hand trolley, so my norm, which is to do some shopping at Aldi's wasn't on; it's quite the hike up a hill & I couldn't do that carrying groceries. Instead I decided to look in a Kmart, they count the amount of customers going in & coming out & there's a sign saying how many customers they'll allow in the store. I don't really see how it helps, you've still got hundreds of people in an enclosed space, in fact that happens the moment you step into the plaza, counting them as the come in & out of each store doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I saw a lot of empty shelves? I wondered if people were still 'panic buying' or whether they were having problems getting the goods in, but this was the city I thought they'd have that sorted by now? The shop is too big for me to look at everything, I sort of go around the outsides, I actually get quite disorientated & feel the panic of being 'lost' if I delve too far in. I'd only gotten as far as the first corner, though I'd already seen a couple of things I liked . . . when the coffee kicked in! They don't have toilets in the separate stores, you have to exit whatever store your in & go to the middle of the plaza - another hike, I've learnt from previous visits not to wait till the last minute! So off I went, I'd just returned to the Kmart store when I got a call from the mechanic, I think he was trying to lessen the blow, when the first thing he told me was I didn't need new tyres {I usually get 2 every maintenance, which is done about every 6 months, that way I have a new set of tyres every year}; he then went on to tell me they'd found a problem with a bearing on one of the wheels - I saw dollars & cents ringing up in my eyes, but if it had to be done, it had to be done . . . particularly before my trip. But wait, there's more - he then went on to tell me it was running rough {I hadn't really noticed} & needed a new set of spark plugs & leads {the leads were expensive - $150!} But wait there's more! This one he really tried to prepare me for, explaining that my car was at the 100 000km mark, mentioning again that it was running rough & telling me it needed the timing belt changed - then explaining the problem with that is that it's quite expensive. All up it was $1300!!! I wasn't expecting that! But I still felt if it needed to be done, it needed to be done, particularly before my trip away. He also mentioned it wouldn't be ready until 4pm at the earliest, needing 3 hours for the timing belt job - so I had the whole day in the plaza, of which several shops were shut & there seemed to be no chairs to sit on! I'm used to not having a seat to sit on when I have a smoke, you have to go to out in the car park - & I mean really out, I usually go off to the edge of it . . . & these car park are like paddocks . . . several paddocks combined! Though I used to be able to go back in & almost always find a seat with a backrest I could rest on, this time they were all gone! With all that in mind, I'd have to say I find it quite understandable, that my body was complaining 😉 I had to go to the bank to ensure I had enough money in the right account to pay the mechanic, there was quite a long line up . . . all spaced out, standing on their crosses, that spand across several store fronts. I discovered a bonus to the current situation of the World - a bank employee greeted everyone personally as they joined the line, he asked me what I intened to do in the bank {which I suppose I could have taken offence to, but I was already exhausted so I just told him I wanted to transfer money from one account to another so I could pay a bill}; he looked a little confused & asked 'did I have internet banking?' to which I replied I did, but my computer was a couple of hours away . . . I was from 'out of town'. He suggested & went & got, a little gadget {I think they're called ipads} & helped me do the transaction online while I was in line, so I didn't have to wait as long 🙂 Whilst doing the transaction I noticed my account was pretty low, I decided I should get extra out. I might not eat much while I'm out . . . but I'd need more coffee!!! I was also making a slightly crazy plan, . . . I was going to get the latex pillow & the automatic treat dispenser toy for the dogs, that I'd seen in Kmart! I say crazy plan because the mechanic was already taking a percentage of my savings - & there I was planning to spend more! . . . & I did! I wandered over to a set of shops across the road from the plaza, that's like a cities block away 'cause that's how big the plaza is! There was an op shop there, I got a couple of bargains - a weather proof coat for my little dog & a 12v hand vaccum, got them both for under $10!! A bargain at last 😄 I found a coffe shop that had seats, although the tables with chairs that had backrests were all taken inside, there was a picnic table set up on the footpath & finally got to rest 🙂 On my march back to the plaza I noticed a shop that I'd bought my most favourite pair of slip on shoes from, I went in . . . I found them again, they weren't on special this time . . . but I got another pair!! It was about 2.30pm by the time I got back to the plaza, still at least an hour & a half to wait! Every time I went to the loo I went past another favourite spot, a massage place; they were having a special, you could get a full body massage for an hour for $60 . . . a dollar a minute. My body was past complaining & entering the screeching mode, I really liked the thought of laying down & the thought of being massaged whilst I did so . . . . well it won! I've never had a full body massage before, I'd been to this place a few times {whilst waiting for the car to be done} but never for an hour & never . . . . where you had to remove any clothing. I think the people that run this place are oriental, the lady seemed to use sign launguage more than words, I could tell by her actions she was saying to remove my top. She closed the curtains on the cubicle & left me to it. I did remove my top, but to be honest, it didn't even enter my mind to remove anything else! When she returned I heard a little 'Oh', she gently tugged on my trousers & made the actions to tell me to remove them - there was a moment of panic, it hadn't entered my head that that would be expected & here's something embarrassing - I often don't worry about underwear, I had long trousers on . . . I didn't need them! I was already feeling conscious about the fact that I don't have breasts, but had convinced myself that as I was laying face down, she wouldn't notice. I have quite a lot of psorisis & scarring on my legs, there was no hiding that. I suggested just pulling the trouser legs up & the waist band down a little & she seemed to understand & was ok with that - I also explained the skin was psorisis & wasn't 'catchy' . . . I just didn't say anything about the scars. She was really very wonderful & so was the massage!! 🙂 😄 It even involved my head, another little panic, I have some very large sores on my scalp, the Doctor says he thinks it's from stress, I never felt her pull back from repulsion, not once - I wouldn't have blamed her, I really didn't think the whole body thing through!! With less than 1/2 an hour to go I decided to find a spot on the gutter outside the mechanics & sit & have a smoke. My body had really appreciated my mind going through what it did, so it was shame to feel it complaining about the hard concrete. I decided I'd go into the mechanics waiting area, as they {used to} have a padded seat there, it was disappointing to see it had been removed. Luckily my car was being finished up & I began finalizing the bill at reception. I like this mechanics, as I gather more things whilst waiting, they allow me to put my trolley inside by the counter & leave it there. Finally the car was done, I put my things in the car & had to wander a bit of a distance to find a trolley bay to return the trolley. The mechanic had left the car going, so I felt a bit rushed to get back to it, but I did & immediately started my bee line back home. It wasn't until I was just out of the city that I noticed it . . . . my engine light was flashing!! $1300 & I had specifically asked if the engine light was now out & been told it was ... . . but it isn't!! I've never had it flashing before, I've sent a message via a feedback complaint online form & am hoping they'll ring today or at least tomorrow. The car does seems to be running smoother & it didn't give me any problems on the way home. I knew that even if I'd turned around immmediately when I noticed it, the mechanic would be shut on my return. It's pretty disappointing & I need to have it resolved before my trip. The whole thing is just exhausting!
Wow, what a blurb!
Love to all that need or want it 
@Mazarita @eth @outlander @Sophia1 @Faith-and-Hope @Zoe7 @Bunniekins @Shaz51
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. . . to touring the magical mystery of life outside my bubble! 
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