tony and i stopped by our local video store on the way back from the theatre tonight. we had a set of videos to return and wanted to take the second set out. tony asked me to pay - i said ok.

we walked in, returned the first set of videos which were late (by one day) and i grabbed the tag off the second set we wanted to take with us. i planned to ask to pay for an extra day because i knew we'd need two nights to watch the series, and the only nights we could do that were tomorrow and friday.

so i went up to the cash, and handed the guy the tag. he got the movie and found us in the database. he realized we had just returned the first series and grabbed the discs to enter them in. i said i thought they were late. he said, don't worry about it.

here is where the loss of my neurons (see previous posts) kicks in.

not only did i NOT register that "don't worry about it" meant "hey, you guys come here all the time, it's cool, we'll pass the late charges on this one" but my neurons briefly flashed and flickered this fabricated meaning instead - i kid you not: "no worries, this series is on our new releases shelf, but no one in their right mind would rent it anyway, so you know you haven't made anyone's lives a disaster because you kept it 24 WHOLE HOURS MORE THAN YOU SHOULD HAVE."

the above fabrication took up so much neuron energy that a few couple hundred more fell by the wayside in my brain and fizzed. twitching.

which is only how i can explain the following:

Nice Guy (he even gets capitalization): "ok so that will be $6.79"
s: pulls out $10 and roots around for change, finds 70 cents
NG(hegc): thanks
s: "you can keep the change"
NG(hegc): ? "what?"
s: you know the change.
NG(hegc): uhh
s: you can just give me the big ones. you know like loonies and toonies
NG(hegc): i don't get it
s: uhhhh
NG(hegc): hands me 2 toonies
s: thanks *blushing* sometimes i can't speak the english language
NG(hegc): that's ok

i hightail it out of there, feeling something is really wrong. tony follows. as i get out of there i hear NG(hegc) say to his coworker in his robert de niro voice (did i forget to mention the robert de niro voice?!): "that was bizarre."

as we get outside i turn to tony and say, "what went wrong? i don't get it."

tony looks at me and says,

"well, basically it was like this: first the guy doesn't charge you for the late fee, then you give him tidbits of change that is 9 cents short of round change, and then you tell him just give me the big stuff, loonies and toonies."

"HE DIDN'T CHARGE ME FOR THE LATE FEE?!!!"

"no...!!!!"

then i distinctly feel myself crumpling into the pavement to join a water puddle at my feet. did i mention it was raining?

i berated myself for most of the walk back (je suis une flippin' eeeeejit!!!) until tony couldn't take it any more and said,

"yes, you're a flippin' eeeejit. for a whole 9 cents."

i guess in the big scheme of things it's not that bad. a whole 9 cents.

Labels: embarrassing moments