may 5 2013

i am guileless. today i went to Pep boys to deposit used motor oil from my car. i walk inside holding a plastic bottle and a plastic bag full of quarts of used oil. i go up to this guy working there wearing a bright, spotless white shirt and slacks, and say, "hi. i have some used motor oil i want to deposit." he says, "just go around to the side of the building"--where the garage is--"and empty it there." i say okay, and thank him and go back outside and around the building. i walk up to the open garage and spot a mechanic guy. i say, "excuse me." he turns around and i say, "yeah, i have some used motor oil." he says, "did you sign up inside?" I go, "oh, do i have to sign something inside?" actually, before i left my house my dad did tell me there was like a sign-in sheet inside, and i actually did see it, but since i asked the guy first and he told me to go ahead, i didn't bother. the mechanic guy then says, "yeah, there's a sheet on a clipboard you have to sign first." i was thinking okay, fine, whatever. so i thank him and then walk back around and go inside again. i go up to the same white shirt guy as before. "is there something i have to sign?" i ask him. he looks at me and goes, "nah, it's fine. just go." then he says after a few moments, "why, did they ask you?" i say yeah. and then he goes, smiling, "yeah, you should have just told them you signed-in already." and i thought, oh yeah, why didn't i think of that? then he leads me through a connecting door back to the garage, and i dump the oil and leave.