The Car Inspection That Never Happened

I'm feeling pretty dumb today.

My car is due for an inspection by the end of my month, so my mom was nice enough to help me out. Yesterday she left work to meet me at Hyundai and drive me to work. Then she left early to pick me up at work and get the car back.

I dropped my car off around 7:15 a.m. It was dark out and I was only moderately awake. I put the keys in the large black box right outside the door that said KEY DROP. What I didn’t pay attention to was the fact that underneath the words KEY DROP was an arrow and the word ENVELOPES. I vaguely remember thinking, “I don’t have an envelope so that’s not for me.”

Of course, when I walked in at 4:45 to pay, the woman behind the counter asked my last name, fake-shuffled through some papers and said, “Yeah, I think they were looking for your keys earlier.” I stepped out the door, opened the box where I had left the keys and, sure enough, they were still there. “I never would have even thought to look there,” she said. The other guys behind the counter echoed her sentiment, giving me condescending looks that screamed IDIOT!

After having to reschedule for Thursday, I walked out and re-examined the KEY DROP sign. Sure enough, there is a slot on their garage door that says, “Key Drop Envelopes Here.” I didn’t see it in the dark that morning. And I guess the box I put the keys in is actually where they’re supposed to have key drop envelopes. Could the system be better? Yes. Should I have paid closer attention? You betcha.

The worst part about the story is that when I first left the keys, I wasn’t totally sure what I was doing, so I asked my mom if I put them in the right place. She instinctively said yes, later adding, “You’re 24, I didn’t think I had to watch wear you put the keys.”

What else can I say? Sometimes I’m just an idiot, but at least I’ll know where to drop the keys on Thursday. Print this post