Opposites

It's funny how something you think will be easy can become quite difficult, and something that should be difficult can be very easy.  Case in point -- both of these experiences happened to me in the span of 24 hours over one weekend.

THE UNEXPECTED EASY:

I got an email from the DMV alerting me that car was up for renewal on its registration.  I got all excited that I could do this online and promptly filled out the form.  That is until I got to the question asking me for my emissions info.  Uh-oh!  I totally forgot I would need to get the emissions done for the renewal.  It is now 2:00pm on a Saturday and I call the station across the street to find out how late they will be there for emissions testing.  3:30pm was the answer I was given. Cool!  I got in the car and drove to my favorite place to get the car tested.   Upon arrival I saw there were 3 cars in line and the last car had the sign attached to its rear windshield wiper "LAST CAR OF THE DAY".  Yikes.  So I went inside the station and asked if that really was the case or could they fit one more car in.  I told them I only needed the emissions, not the inspection.  Which ended up being a lie, because I am clueless and needed both!  The mechanic was super nice and said yes, they'd be happy to help me.  He comes to the line of cars and puts the "LAST CAR OF THE DAY" sign now on my car.  SWEET!  I am very happy about this and settle in the driver's seat with my kindle and a big cup of tea. 

Not more than 40 minutes later, my car is pulled into the service bay and within 15 minutes, I am back on the road ready to go with my emissions test and inspection completed.  I go home, finish filling out the online renewal form.  In Wednesdays mail, I receive the new stickers to put on my car's license plate.  Seriously, this process could not have gone better. 


THE UNEXPECTED HARD:

My friend (Heather) raves about Redbox and how convenient it is and an all-around awesome service.  Since we do Netflix, there really hasn't been a reason to try Redbox.  The kids and I walked across the street to get some ice cream at Cold Stone.  As we passed by the Redbox machine, Ian notices they have the updated version of the Wii Wipeout game on display.  Ian asked if we could rent it.  "Sure, why not?"  So I put my credit card in the slot and a $2.00 charge later, we now have the Wii Wipeout game for us to play for 24 hours.  The game is due back by 9:00pm the next night.

Ian has a blast playing the game and up until his bedtime the next night, we get our money's worth.  At 8:40pm, I get in the car to drive it across the street and return it.  Upon trying to insert the disc in the return slot, I get a message that says, "Disc can not be returned.  Please call customer service at xxx-xxx-xxxx"

So I call customer service and speak to a woman who tells me that I am getting that error message because the machine is filled to capacity with returned discs and can't hold anymore.  OMG!  Seriously?  She then tells me that I need to drive around until I find a Redbox machine that can accept the disc.  YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and I've got exactly 10 minutes now until the game is considered overdue.  I tell the woman that I will drive to exactly one additional location and then after that, this is her problem, not mine.  I am already thinking I'll put it in my mailbox and mail it to Redbox a la Netflix style.  She then says she will look up Redbox locations in my zip code and direct me to another spot.  2 miles down the road later, I find a new Redbox and successfully return the disc. Just in the nick of time. 

Just goes to show you, you can never judge a book by its cover.