Thursday, January 28, 2010

Springfield Weirdness #3

Two more tales of the odd logic defying lifestyle we so adore here in Springfield...

#1 – I have a Shell Credit Card. Last night I stopped at a Shell gas station, grabbed a couple of small items and pre-paid my fuel. There is one of those little digital swipe and sign stations right there so as he totaled up my order I started to swipe. The cashier says “Wait!”
I froze and looked at him.
“Is that a Shell card?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, you can’t swipe a Shell I have to do it back here.”
I just raised an eyebrow and handed him the card.
“I guess that is pretty weird that a Shell card won’t work in the reader at a Shell station huh?”
I started to say – ‘Oh yes’ but after a few milliseconds thought though I replied, I work for state government so that does not even make the needle on my weird-o-meter quiver.”


#2 – I am driving to work this morning on a four lane thoroughfare here in the greater Springpatch metro area. A school bus is stopped with lights flashing so of course all traffic in both directions stop. Now the trick with an active school bus is you have to get past it between it’s stops to pick up students or else you get stuck at every.single.stop to pick up students. Getting past the but of course all depends on the person in the left lane; once the bus stops flashing if they don’t get on it and pass the buss before it goes two or three blocks and stops again everyone is screwed.

So after each stop one or two cars get past the bus and finally I get my turn and I am like "WHOO HOO!"

As I pass the school pus though I am shocked. About 75 yards ahead is another school bus with it’s lights flashing picking up students!

What the hell? We have *two* school buses going the same way on the same street making pickups at the SAME TIME? In what bizarre parallel universe does this make sense?

Ah, more of that government efficiency we have all come to know and love.

2 comments:

tammy said...

I love scratch your head moments.

Chandan said...

I agree with the Springfield weirdness and madness with State Govt of IL. They have this same school buses picking up from same street at the same time.... and then they have the same old oracle consultants doing the same project spending 4 million, and getting the same output (no ouput) year on year.. :-) Now I understand, where the word bankruptcy comes from... Nevertheless a good post.. :-)