Buddy!

It’s that time of year again when I need to renew my car’s VA state inspection certification. Last year I had to get two new tires before the technician would okay my car. This year, in preparation, I got another new tire and changed my front wiper blades. (It’s recommended that you change them every six months.)

New wiper blades run about $14-16 each, while refills cost around $4. So, of course I was looking for refills. The service station I got my last oil change at (which I went to because I had a coupon) said that they don’t make refills anymore when I asked if they had any. I looked at the guy and said, “No, they make them. You might not carry them is all.” He said, well, yeah, if I went to an auto part store, then they might have them. Duh.

I can’t believe how some people try to fool others when they think they won’t notice, or don’t know better. It’s really irritating actually.

In any case, I finally made my way to the auto part store. The clerk asked me if he could help me, and I asked for the refills, told him the year, make, and model of my car (so that he could look up the lengths of refills I needed) and a couple of minutes later came back with exactly what I needed. Simple. Easy. And cheap! What’s more, the guy handed me my receipt with a “here you go, buddy!”

I didn’t realize until just then how much I liked being hailed as “buddy.” It was friendly without being too familiar. I wonder what else guys use with each other?