"Jersey Girls don't pump gas" said the magnet on the car in front of me.
I'm all for Jersey girl pride and everything, but is not being able to pump gas really something we should brag about? I like staying in my nice, warm car while the attendant pumps my gas as much as the next New Jerseyan, but this is not why Bruce Springsteen wrote "Jersey Girl". But on other days, when I'm stuck behind people who take forever to find their wallets (they couldn't figure out they'd need them before the attendant asked them to pay?) or there's only one obviously stoned attendant working, I miss pumping my own damn gas.
I moved from New Jersey to Massachusetts (where I mostly used public transportation or paid extra for full service at the one gas station that had it) to Oregon, the only other state in the union that doesn't allow people to pump their own gas. It wasn't until I moved to Seattle at the age of 25 that I realized I would HAVE to learn to pump. People laughed at me when I asked about full-service and while charming people into pumping gas for me worked when I was a stranger with Oregon plates, it didn't go over so well when I had Washington plates and people saw me every other day. So I finally broke down and learned.
Now I am mostly neutral about the whole gas pumping question. Or thought I was, until I saw that stupid magnet. I mean, who brags about the things they can't do? I bet no one in Oregon has a magnet like that. People in Boston don't have magnets that say, "I can't pronounce 'r' correctly". People in Hawaii don't have magnets that say, "I can't drive in the snow."
This is the kind of idiot pride that foisted "Jersey Shore" on us. Ugh.
7 comments:
Yeah if I saw a bumper sticker like that I would think something BAD about the person driving the car.
I thought gas attendants days were gone?
I think I have always pumped my own gas.
Frankly I prefer to pump my own gas.
It's quicker.
I don't have to hand over my credit card to a stoned gas attendent who might cop the numbers (it's happened).
It annoys the people that don't have the balls to do it themselves.
What's really annoying is the people that leave their cars for the attendant to pump the gas and go get coffee and are not back by the time their fueling is complete. Which causes me to sit in linve and wait for their dumb asses.
See what you started?
I consider pumping your own gas a sign of an uncivilized society. I know how to because on occasion I've had to get gas in NYC or PA, but I don't like it. We have people to do that kind of thing for us, which is awesome.
Really? Laypersons are not *allowed* to pump their own gas in NJ? (I believe you; it's just baffling.)
A member of my old pregnancy BB commented back then, "My husband pumps gas for me when I am pregnant." I thought (meanspiritedly), well, aren't YOU just a delicate little princess! We have a few full-service stations here, but it's not at all the norm. I grew up thinking of it as sort of like parking in a handicapped spot. Didn't know until just now that there are places where mere mortals (as opposed to stoner attendants) are forbidden to touch the gas pump.
The TripleZmom blog: entertaining AND educational!
@KittyCat Go to Jersey or Oregon. It's like time stood still.
@Catootes I would hate that. Most of the stations near me don't have stores attached, so I don't have that problem.
@Exit Eleven I'd rather have people clean my house than pump my gas.
@Lisa Hehe, thank you. I think my husband pumped gas for me once. But not when I was pregnant, I think I had stitches in my foot. And we weren't married yet, so it probably doesn't count. :)
wow! I didn't know there were places where you are not allowed to pump your own gas!
Really? Laypersons are not *allowed* to pump their own gas in NJ? (I believe you; it's just baffling.)
A member of my old pregnancy BB commented back then, "My husband pumps gas for me when I am pregnant." I thought (meanspiritedly), well, aren't YOU just a delicate little princess! We have a few full-service stations here, but it's not at all the norm. I grew up thinking of it as sort of like parking in a handicapped spot. Didn't know until just now that there are places where mere mortals (as opposed to stoner attendants) are forbidden to touch the gas pump.
The TripleZmom blog: entertaining AND educational!
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