We don't need no stinking plan

The original plan for the day:

- Take the girls to summer camp
- Stop by the tire shop for a replacement
- Go to work for a couple hours
- Pick up the girls for lunch
- Go to the school uniform sale
- Take the girls to the eye-doctor
- Take Darby to her softball game


The actual day went like this (in brief):

- Take the girls with me to tire shop (they insisted on going with me, despite my assurance it would be a boring experience for them)
- Sit in tire shop for five hours (and pay THEM for my time) with two very bored children (gameboys, books, toys, and CMT on the TV only occupy children for so long)
- Reschedule eye-doctor appointment (for later that day) when it's clear we won't make it on time
- Miss uniform sale entirely
- Drive VERY fast on new tires to eye-doctor
- Bite nails at eye-doctor's office while optometrist tries to finish exams on children that aren't exactly in the mood to sit still anymore, and have never had their eyes examined so were a little weirded-out
- Make many disciplinary threats to children that are running around the doctor's office touching everything while own eyes are being examined
- Zip through drive-thru fast-food before Darby's game in 20 minutes
- Drive VERY fast on new tires to softball field in tail-end-of-rush-hour traffic while kids eat in back seat


So I'll not elaborate heavily on all details, but I'm sure the tire question is looming. When we first got to the tire place this morning, based on yesterday's inquiry, I knew they didn't have my tire in stock and that they'd have to locate one. It was nearly an hour into my visit before they even found a tire. It was more than two hours into the visit before they said the tires were on their way. It was more than three hours into the visit before they said there was some kind of computer glitch, the tires weren't actually on the way all this time but were still being located, and would be on their way very soon.

You get the idea of how it all went. But throw in a non-stop VERY packed store, two or three other bored kids aside from my own in the not-exactly large waiting area, and the fact that early on in the process I decided, what the heck, I'll spend $400 dollars while I'm just sitting here anyway.

You see, my tire-paranoia has had me worried for months about our fabled trip to California this summer. After the experience in March (flat tire on the way back from Tulsa), noticing of late that it was not much longer for this world for my tire treads, and the recent development of my father having two flats on his own trip to California, well, the sales guy hit a nerve. He walks me out to the car with a tread-gage, shows me what I already know about my treads, explains that all-wheel-drive vehicles such as mine really should have four similarly-worn tires to prevent problems with the "differential" (whatever that means), and notes that they only have five of my type of tires left at the warehouse so if I want to get four fresh tires now would be the best time so he can have them all delivered at once.

He really knew how to get me. He saw that look of "tired desparation" on my face. But the fact that I only had to pay for three (since the fourth was covered by hazard insurance I bought back in March) clinched it. After various discounts (due to my wait time) I paid just over $400 for three new tires, but it would have been more than $600 for four and without any discounts. Again the "stupid size" of my tires was attributed to the cost. It certainly didn't help that I don't make $400 in a day's wage and wasn't even at work to be earning-off the cost of these tires. But I did get free chrome caps (that will be stolen soon I'm sure), a free oil change, and a free alignment out of the deal as well, so I wasn't completely burnt. And let's not forget, most importantly, that I now have tire-peace-of-mind come time for the California trip. As most NASCAR fans would concur, four fresh tires in that regard is certainly better than one. Oh, and I kept one of my old tires. I'll be getting a wheel for it and will be taking it with me to California somehow. Given my luck with tires of late, and given my dad's experience two weeks ago, I think I'm going to need all the assurance I can muster.