So finding an apartment couldn't be easy and straightforward so I will be flying out to Portland tonight at 7:00pm and coming home Thursday evening. While this is a bit inconvenient it is probably for the best as I will actually get to visit Portland before I just uproot and move there and I can properly evaluate apartments. I am just irked that I will have to come in two days the week after I should be done with rotations completely. Oh well. Pictures will be coming shortly.
Over the weekend I happened to get another flat tire and unfortunately decided to follow the AAA guy's recommendation and went to Import/Export Cooper Tire in Monroeville to get it repaired. I know nothing about cars at all and have not dealt with many repairs or mechanics so I figured that someone in the business like my AAA rescuer would be able to point me in the right direction. Well I can't comment on how Import/Export used to be, but I can say that it is now owned by Mr. Tire while still being operated by the old staff. This change required the implementation of a new computer system which was the downfall of my day. They were a bit busy but they assured me my tire could be repaired or changed in 1 hour. This gave Roxanne and I time to go grab some food at Kings. And watch some TV in the waiting room. And read every magazine in the waiting room. And color in children's coloring books with rose art 'crayons' (anyone who has used a RoseArt crayon knows the title is applied very loosely). So after 2 hours of waiting for a simple tire change, it was announced that our car was ready. So I go up to pay and there are 3 other people ready to check out. Well the 'kind' mechanic at the counter was very skilled at utilizing a computer, typing at a speed of about 10 KEYS per minute, looking up every few moments to utter some remark about how the system was new. Unless the 'system' came with a keyboard in Japanese kanji there is no excuse for how far behind on the learning curve he fell. Well after about 20 minutes of waiting to pay, I finally was set free and I can assure you I will not be returning. Perhaps if the staff were even just a bit courteous i could have overlooked the waste of my time but the customer service just is not there. Their symbol says it all. Mr. Tire will make you frown.
