But recently, I've reached a whole new level of stupidity where I can't even manage to get on the bus in the first place.
It all started when my 30 day rambler expired and I had to buy a new one.
Being Aimee, I waited until the last day, thinking it would be no problem.
I was wrong.
I went into the usual place where I buy them and asked for a 30 day rambler. The guy smiled at me, went away and came back with a small, yellow card.
"€125 please," he said.
"Wait...what? It's meant to be €91.50."
"Oh...you wanted the student one?" he sounded bemused and surprised.
"Em...yes???" I sounded offended and pissed off.
He went away and came back again.
"Sorry, we're all out of student ramblers."
"Oh! Alright. Any idea when you'll have them in again?"
"I don't know...we usually get big shipments of them in on Sunday."
"Today is Tuesday..."
"Yeah...sorry."
I thanked him for his time anyway, left the establishment and entered a different supermarket up the road.
I walked up to the cashier and, within seconds, realized that I was talking to someone who bore a striking resemblance in personality to Karen Smith from "Mean Girls."
"Hi! Do you sell bus ramblers by any chance?"
She tore away from her busy task of gazing open-mouthed at the wall to gaze open-mouthed at me.
"...what?"
"Do you sell ramblers? Student ramblers?"
No reaction.
"For the bus?"
"Bus?"
I could almost see the confused thought circumventing her puzzled mind.
Bus...? But we sell groceries here. Or at least that's what they told me...
Just then, the hamster seemed to plop itself back on the wheel and she remembered something.
"Oh! They sell them in the corner shop outside!"
"Oh OK, thanks!"
"No problem."
She then happily returned to to her staring competition with the wall.
Following Karen Smith's instructions, I entered the corner shop outside.
The woman standing behind the counter smiled at me as I entered and I smiled back.
"Hi, do you sell ramblers for the bus?"
The woman blinked at me as her face succumbed to a frown of confusion.
"Ramblers? I...think so."
She then turned around and seemed genuinely surprised to find a series of shelves behind her. She also seemed surprised that she held the key to one of the lower drawers and even more surprised to realize that she worked in a shop in general.
She opened a drawer, took out a small box and placed it on the counter, looking absolutely shocked and enthralled by its presence.
At that moment, I wondered just what type of people are hired to work in shops these days. Apparently, managers favour people who have no understanding of stock or what the store in question sells.
"What type of rambler are you looking for again?" she asked me breathlessly.
"The 30 day student one?"
She searched the box, flicking through the various little cards.
"Oh, we don't have that particular one, I'm sorry."
"That's alright, thanks anyway."
I then left the shop to let the woman play with her new treasure.
I gave up for the night after that.
The next morning, I bought a return train ticket into the city, hoping that I'd be able to find a 30 day student rambler somewhere.
The first shop I went into were also pleasantly surprised to hear that they sold ramblers and proudly put them on display as I left (they also didn't have a 30 day student rambler. By this point, I began to doubt my sanity and wonder if they really even existed anymore).
Then I went into a corner shop and waited in line for ten minutes behind a man who momentarily forgot how to work his credit card.
But I finally got my rambler in that store.
The cashier just walked away and casually came back with a €91.50 30 day student rambler.
"Is this it?"
"Oh my gosh...YES!!!!!"
Never had that little yellow card looked so beautiful. :)
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