Not much done with the site today; just some behind the scenes stuff.
One of the biggest pains in the neck with owning a car in VA is having to get it inspected every year. I usually go to a local gas station to get mine done, and invariably there is a problem. Most of the kinds of places where you can actually leave your car don’t do inspections on the weekends, which is exactly when I have the opportunity to leave my car. Makes sense, right? At the gas stations, they inspect cars during the week (and on weekends sometimes), and you can wait while it’s done. However, they usually start inspections around 8:00 am and there is ALWAYS a line of people waiting there for the guy to show up. And the inspection guys don’t seem to have the best work ethic so they kind of show up when they feel like it. One time I went to one by my job, and I’m waiting and waiting…and waiting. Finally I go inside and ask what the deal and they tell me that he had a family emergency and wasn’t coming in. Thanks for telling me that, jerkheads! I came back to that same gas station a few days later (I know, big mistake) and the guy didn’t show up because of a silly, little ice storm.
But I digress. This morning I had the great idea of going to a gas station by my job that actually starts inspections at 7:30 am (at least, that’s what’s posted on the sign). My first thought is that everyone else will have this same idea so I better get there early. So, I wake up extra early and even leave before the sun gets up. I pull up to the gas station and, what luck, there is no one else there yet. So 7:30 rolls around and no inspection guy. 7:45…no inspection guy. Finally at 7:52, the guy comes out to take my car. I’m not really angry because I’m the first one there, but it’s really bad if you’re behind a couple of other people and have somewhere to go. It totally sucks because it’s something you HAVE to do, it costs you money to do it, and you’re at the mercy of the no-work-ethic-having inspection guys. If you live in a state that doesn’t require them, count your blessings.