Catchin’ Feelings

I don’t understand! Why? I provided a compliment and received a slap in the face in return. Why I ask? Why?

Yesterday had been a long day at work. I recall (because to me yesterday was a really really long time ago) pulling into the underground parking lot beneath my apartment complex. Of course, since it was around 10pm, the parking lot was full. So as I circled around the lot unconsciously, the slight space up ahead gave me hope. Ahhhhhhh!!! There! There was a parking space. Perfect! After pulling in to the spot, I noticed the car parked next to me was a dark blue Acura TL. For those that know me, I am a big fan of any car made by Honda, but especially the Acura line. Having only driven Hondas throughout my wonder years, when it came time to buy a new car, I had no hesitation in immediately purchasing the Acura TSX. Largely because I needed a car, and the TSX seemed to fit my personality and needs the best. Personality? Yes, it fits my personality. It’s Nighthawk Black Pearl (even though I am brown) and agile (even though I can’t perform a sit-up without cheating). See, it fits me perfectly.

Let me get off the high-horse and back to the blue TL parked next to me. It was new and still had the new car polish. Looked amazing! But something else made it stand out. It was the tint on the windows. Wow!!!! I have been thinking about getting my car tinted for quite a while now, but have not been able to narrow down the exact shade or percentage that would work best. But this was it. This TL had this amazing tint job; it had a dark feel, but depending on the angle, you could also see a hint of blue streaking through the windows. It was perfect! Whoever owned this TL had found the holy grail of window tint. And I was definitely impressed so much so that even after 15 hours at the office, I was excited. Hmmmm…..what to do, what to do? I had to know the details of this TL’s tint. Maybe the owner would be able to tell me the shop that did the job as well. Hell, I’d pay a premium. There would be no limit.

I thought long and hard, and quickly began shuffling through the glove compartment and armrest. I found the yellow 3M post-its and a pen. On the post-it, I began writing a note:

Hi -
Like your tints. Can you please tell me what shade and percentage they are?
Thank you.
(signed) Black TSX parked next to you.

I stuck the post-it on the driver window, so there would be no chance of it going unnoticed by the owner. I figured when this person wakes up in the morning and is off on his way to work, he’ll see the post-it and respond to the compliment and question posed by yours truly. He’ll definitely be leaving the parking lot before I do, as I am always late to work. As a side note, some of you may be wondering why I say “he” and not “she?” That’s because this car is always parked tail-side in. And that my friends, is a guy thing to do.

I woke up this morning, locked the doors, and got on the elevator to the parking lot. It was 10AM. I remembered yesterday’s post-it, and was hoping the owner of the blue TL had responded on my post-it with valuable information – such as the shop, tint grade, and percentage. I actually got excited for a bit, thinking to myself that I would go to work and setup an appointment at the shop. Possibly even get a car wash since the recent snowfall has made my black TSX seem unappealing.

As I approached my vehicle, trying to sneak a peek at my driver-side window from the opposite side of the lot, I did not see any yellow sticky. Mayeb it fell to the ground? Much closer to the vehicle now, I neared the driver-side door and realized there was no post-it to be found. Looked on the ground, and nothing! Nothing! The blue TL had not followed the proper code of social car fanatic etiquette. A compliment should be rewarded with a response, dammit! My eyes continued to search, in the event that the post-it had been blown away by a draft of wind or some other natural wonder. And then there it was…There! 15 feet away….there it was. I could NOT believe my eyes. Who would do such a thing? What monster? There it was…lying crumpled 15 feet away from me, as if it had been given no respect, and was tossed sneeringly like one of those annoying flyers selling no-name vacuums. The horror!!!!! I could NOT believe it. I had been shunned. Disrespected. Was I not worthy of a response? Was I not worthy of 1-minute of his time? The laws of common courtesy and auto enthusiasts around the world would consider this a grand felony. And yet, this guy was going to get away with it. Just like OJ, just like Kobe, just like….hell…just like the guy who owns the blue TL. Bastard!

This may not seem like a “big” deal to you. But it is to me. After all, this guy lives in my apartment complex. I have never seen him, and he probably has never seen me. But I am now faced with a very “big” dilemma. Can I continue to live in the same complex as this fowl, rude criminal. Shall I move? Can I keep my mouth shut about this – OR – should I turn him in. Maybe there is an official blacklist created by auto enthusiasts and I should report this scum. Or maybe I should take this in stride and just not get window tints.

Short URL: http://www.updatist.com/?p=128

Posted by Charlie P on Mar 11 2005. Filed under Entertainment, Headline, Lists, Live, Play, Sex + Women, Sports, Stories, Style, Travel + Places, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry