Some Woman's Journal: See, I'm such an optimist like that...

This is why I can say it could have been worse. I mean, I could have shown up 2 hours late drunk and wearing mismatched pajamas instead of the mere 30 minutes that I was actually late. And I was sober. Major bonus points there, I'm sure.

I got lost on the way back, too. But there's always a platinum or perhaps a nice vanadium lining to this cloud of doom: I did happen upon an Auto Zone*, so I stopped to buy turn signals bulbs like I've been meaning to do for quite some time. And by "quite some time" I mean "about 6 months." (Oh hush, it's not the turn signal filament that was out- it was just the parking light one.) Then I changed my lightbulb, contrary to the instructions in my car manual telling me that only a highly trained professional may change this bulb. Two screws. TWO SCREWS!

Oh yeah, I think I also get bonus points for knowing three people who work there (who can verify that I'm not a total fuck up- just mostly), and by asking them (all four of the interviewers- talk about an interrogation!) about the demise of a certain product of theirs that was far superior to a certain competing product from Iomega. I got a nice rant out of that one. :^) Unfortunately I forgot to ask Sam's killer interview question.

[*] The only other place I know to get such car things is Wal-Mart, but I'm boycotting them. It used to be half-assed, but then I read Bethanie's link to that article on Wal-Mart about the gallon of pickles that I don't feel like finding the link to right now. So, I haven't shopped there since then.

Last time

[ryanr]

Last time I had to change a tail light, I removed the two screws for the light assembly, only to find that the plastic was partially melted, and the bulbs wouldn't come out any more. I had to order a whole new tail light assembly, and take a hammer to the old one to get the good bulbs and sockets out. Whee.

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[account_deleted]

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Re:I'm surprised you remembered

[Zirnike]

Umm... What is it? I might need it.

On the interviewer side, a friend told me about a friend of his that came up with an interesting question (not that it could be used in a real interview...)

You are going on a date tonight. You know that if you arrive on time, you will get laid tonight. You are running slightly late. As you leave your house, you realize you just locked your keys inside. What do you do?

Shows how well you behave under stress, etc.

My answer was twofold. One, I couldn't lock my k

Re:I'm surprised you remembered

[Some Woman]

If I were to be hired, what would let you know, in six months, that you had made he right decision? I've phrased it poorly here, but that's the approximate idea.

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LS-120?

[leviramsey]

I actually have one of those lying around...

Re:LS-120?

[Some Woman]

Nope. Thing common person. Think mid-late 1990s.

Pyjamas

[Tet]

So you've corrected the 3 hours to 2, and mentioned that you weren't drunk. But conspicuous by its absence was any further mention of the pyjamas, matched or otherwise...

lights replacement

[FortKnox]

Then I changed my lightbulb, contrary to the instructions in my car manual telling me that only a highly trained professional may change this bulb

That's because most people don't know you can't actually touch the bulb (the oil of your skin can heat up and cause the whole thing to splode). Of course, car manufactuers never removed the instructions if you have a 'full unit' replacement, where there isn't any exposed bulbs.

Just an FYI.

Re:lights replacement

[Some Woman]

Are turn signal bulbs really that much more delicate than headlight bulbs? The manual gives full instructions on the location and replacement of headlight bulbs.

Re:lights replacement

[Hal-9001]

Turn-signal bulbs are probably tungsten, so the no-touching rule probably doesn't apply to them. Headlights are probably halogen or xenon HID (high-intensity discharge), for which you should not touch the glass/quartz parts because residual skin oil can cause premature failure of those bulbs.

Re:lights replacement

[TechnoLust]

My Mistubishi owner's manual says not to touch the bulbs. It's very detailed and not written to make you think you hav to take your car in to add more washer fluid. It tells you a lot of things that most manufacturers say to take it to a dealer for.

Pickle Link

[Oculus Habent]

Issue 77, December 2003 of Fast Company:

The Wal-Mart You Don't Know [fastcompany.com]