Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “point.” Open a book on your lap, close your eyes, and put your finger on the page. Whatever you land on, whether it be a word, a phrase, or a sentence, write about it. Enjoy!
To see the rules for this weekly challenge and all the entries for Saturday 3 November 2018, visit Linda G Hill.
On my desk … I have no books. Do I really have to get up now? Let’s try the kindle. I have loads of books on my kindle. Oh, the battery is flat. Of course. Ah, got it! There is a pamphlet on my desk to remind me that I need to replace the tyres (tires in the USA) on my little city car. A pamphlet is a book, sort of, right? Right!
I close my eyes and point. I wish I could point a wand Harry Potter style to instantly replace all four tyres on my car. Wouldn’t that be lovely? It would save me a lot of trouble and money. Come on now, concentrate! Open your eyes and see what you got.
I got: Balancing. Okay, let’s see what this is about. Big tyre sale. Prices include fitting and balancing. Special till the end of November. Great! This is great timing. So how much is this going to cost me? #SoCS will have to wait for a while; I need to take care of this straight away.
I look for the company’s web address and hop onto the internet to shop for prices. I must fill in a form to tell them what kind of tyre I want fitted.
First question: Class of car. Mmmm, very small is not on the list. Let’s try Passenger, although squeezing in more than two passengers is a tight fit.
Second question: Brand of tyre. Ha! I know that one.
Third question: Tyre size. The drop down list shows rows of numbers and luckily I know where to find that information. Not too stupid am I? But darn it, now I have to get up anyway to find those numbers on the tyre. Got it. 195/R50/15 82T. What does it mean anyway? Open another browser tab.
195 – Tyre width expressed in millimetres. Okay.
50 – Percentage value indicating the ratio of the tyre sidewall height (the place where the size is marked) to its width. In this case, value “50” means 50 percent of 195 mm, i.e. 97.5 mm. Yes, I think I understand.
R – Radial structure of the tyre. Not too sure what this means.
15 – Installation diameter, which is also the diameter of the rim, measured in inches. In which part of the world is anything still measured in inches, for goodness sake?
82 T – Load index with a value of 82, meaning the load capacity is 475kg. And where will I put this load? Surely not in the boot (trunk in the USA) which is the size of a shoebox and speed index of Class T (which means a maximum speed of 190 km/h). Smirk. Our maximum speed limit is 120 km/h but when the speedcop (traffic officer everywhere else in the world) stops me for speeding, I can show him the markings on my tyre. So there, Officer! Oh, I love google.
Waiting for the computer to compute my request. I’ll make an appointment online for next week and long before the Christmas traffic kicks in I’ll be jiving along on my new tyres and HOLY COW! That amount for ONE tyre? That’s my whole budget; what good is ONE new tyre to me? And with Christmas coming up. What about the balancing of my finances? Please explain THAT to me google!
Back to #SoCS.
I’m sorry. My whole balancing act fell apart. I can think of nothing to say.
lekkervurig
Hester, I know that feeling. Abalancing act we lose more often than not. Here is some virtual relief, send it back when you are done.💰😉
HesterLeyNel
Thank you, I believe there is some change left 💰Here is a virtual 🤗 for you, but the feeling behind it is real.
lekkervurig
😍
Rob Alberts
No car up here.
But I do gave 3 bikes.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kind regards,
HesterLeyNel
Unfortunately biking is a dangerous method of transport in this country. Thank you for the good wishes, I hope you enjoy your weekend as well.
robbiesinspiration
A most entertaining post, Hester, about the “joys” of balancing your budget.
HesterLeyNel
Thank you Robbie. I learned very early in life not to take money matters too seriously, otherwise I would burst into tears every time I look at my bank statement 😊
perdebytjie
Oulik geskryf, Hester! Bande is omtrent ‘n plaas se prys!
HesterLeyNel
Jô, praat jy wat lippe het. En dis die een ding waarop ek nie bereid is om geld te bespaar nie, veral nie op hierdie paaie van ons nie.
perdebytjie
Ja, veral as jy kort- kort deur ‘n slaggat slaan…wat ‘n gepaste woord!
HesterLeyNel
😄
travel460
Daar vat jy ñ baie ‘boring’ onderwerp, boring in elk geval vir my, en skryf ñ uitstekende stuk. Ek sit skoon en lag. Dat die koop en balansering van bande nou soveel interessanthede kan oplewer!
HesterLeyNel
Dankie Una 😊 Google is ‘n lekker maatjie. Dink nou net hoeveel slimmer sou ek gewees het as ek op skool al kon gegoogle het.
A. Shepherdson
Deciphering tyre codes! You really are a good little Googler! 😀
HesterLeyNel
😇 🤣🤣🤣
aj vosse
Ah well, no fine! Klink my dinge het duur geraak daar!
But… always remember… tyres are safety items! You need to be safe… otherwise you will become unbalanced and go into a pole… or tree… or truck… or bus… or bridge… and that will upset the balance of the universe… and us, your dedicated readers!!
Simple… gaan sit bande op!! 😉
HesterLeyNel
Ek het! sug AJ, everything is way over the top expensive in South Africa. Our economy is a disaster and our exchange rate a minefield. At least the shops are still well stocked. Of course, the exchange rate works in favour of the tourists and they simply do not understand that those in the lower income brackets (not to mention the unemployed), can simply not sustain even the most basic lifestyle.
aj vosse
Ja… life is not easy for you folk back there! We still often compare prices… and the comment! What, so and so Rand for that!? You must be mad!! Net so lank dop goedkoop is is alles reg!! Wha ha HAA! 🙂
HesterLeyNel
Janee, dit lyk my brandewyn teen enige prys is ‘n bargain
aj vosse
Ja! Uiteindelik het ek ‘n erkenning uit jou uit! Suip… dis LEKKER!! 😂🤣🍷🤣😈
HesterLeyNel
Ek het gepraat (geskinder) van ander mense, nie myself nie!