Burnout

I don't know if it's the increased speed with which time seems to pass, but I feel like I'm changing burnt out headlight bulbs on my car all the damn time.

I've been buying my bulbs in 2-packs, so I can keep a spare in the glove compartment, and I don't change both headlamps at the same time. So maybe it's like the Olympics, where the winter and summer games are 4 years apart, but since they started staggering them, something happens every 2 years, so they feel more frequent.

On the other hand, for a while, I've been buying the second-cheapest Sylvania bulbs, which are supposed to be brighter, but don't last as long (according to the bar chart on the back of the package).

Now, on my Mazda, changing the bulbs used to be incredibly annoying, since the coolant and windshield wiper reservoirs are behind each light (so no room to work), and the retaining clips that held the bulbs in place were real thumb-killers.

The past few times, it's only taken a few minutes to change the bulbs. Either I've gotten a lot more proficient, or the spring tension is coming off the retaining clips.

Anyway, the point of this fascinating story is that I went to buy a replacement bulb at the local auto parts store -- $15.63. I gave the clerk a $20.63, and I think the exact change threw him, because he thought I'd given him a hundred, and started counting out change accordingly:

I'm all for Bank Error in Your Favor, but I've worked a cash register and know how much it sucks when your drawer doesn't tally, and an $80 swing is pretty bad. So I actually did stop him as he was counting out twenties.