May 26, 2005
Essance'?
This week my company has me training in Quebec with our R&D facility located in Mirabel. As this is my first trip into the French-Canadian province, this is all very new and weird. For example, I do not speak French. And while most of the people here speak English, not all of them do. I have been trying to do as much as possible on my own, without looking like a brash American, but that doesn't work out too well in all circumstances.
Yesterday I went to the local gas station to fill up. I though this would be a pretty innocuous event, since I can generally accomplish this in the US without EVER talking to anyone. Apparently, for some reason my bank and credit cards work everywhere up here EXCEPT the gas station pumps. So after I swiped my card and it told me to unhook the nozzle it starts beeping at me. The next thing I know, some French chick is YELLING at me over the speaker.
The conversation went something like this:
Dave: Everything is under control. Situation normal.
INTERCOM VOICE: What happened?
Dave: (getting nervous) Uh...had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?
INTERCOM VOICE: We're sending a squad up.
Dave: Uh, uh, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak...very dangerous.
INTERCOM VOICE: Who is this? What's your operating number?
Dave blasts the comlink and it explodes
Ok, maybe it didn't go exactly like that but I did the right thing in that situation. I put the cap back on my gas tank and split. Very manly.
(I actually went back today and got $15 in gas which only filled half my tank. Frickin Canadians!)
Comments
eh... it was a boring conversation anyway.
Now that you mention it, you DO look like Chewie.
Chew this!