Friday, May 23, 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Ashfield drivers

It never ceases to amaze me how few people can drive. Living in Ashfield, you sort of get used to needing eyes in your arse, but I swear its getting worse. Before anyone screams racist, not so. There are many bad Asian drivers in Ashfield, but due to the local demographic, the majority of drivers are Asian. (although I am amazed at how many don't speak English when you verbalise your disbelief at their stupidity).

The case in question is of a Caucasian, teenage, female, green P plater, in her father's station wagon that ran up the back of my already multi dented Commodore. Although somewhat stressed and angry that someone could drive into the back of me going up a steep hill while I was stopped at a roundabout, I was completely surprised that it wasn't a white veggie van, taxi or turbo Nissan, that hit me. Although the damage to my car was minimal (I have a tow bar for just this sort of occasion), my tow ball was missing and steam was issuing from the girl's car with some ferocity.

With my stress building, and the girls face approaching purple, I felt some levity was required.
"How do you stop when I am not in front of you" to which she responded with a howling scream and a torrent of tears. She then jumped in the wagon, reversed from the impaling tow ball squeaking of plastic and metal along with a greater whooshing of steam and drove off......
I hope for the car's sake that she didn't live too far.

In hindsight, I wasn't quite expecting such a response, but now have a greater appreciation of sarcasm. It is a much underrated tool.

RTA

How stupid am I? Armed with my Pink Slip (white now) and my Green Slip, I try to pay my Rego.
Aha, a BPay bill number, but no biller code, just a reference to myRTA.com or the 1300 number. The 1300 number put me in the queue that beeps like they hung up, and the web site search function for BPay biller code returns a link to the BPay site, which if you type RTA into the biller section, provides zero matches.

Ariane has offered to take it to the RTA to pay as this would be quicker.

I am supposed to find this type of rant therapeutic, but at 11:00 am, I could still use a beer.