Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The First Time

The first time is so nerve-wracking.  There are a lot of unknowns – what if I don’t know what to do?  How long does it take?  Does weight matter?  Is it going to be dirty and smelly?  Well, okay, the smelly part doesn’t matter much to me.
On Saturday, I went to the landfill for the first time.  It was pretty awesome.  I haven’t had that much fun in a long time!  My dad and I loaded up our cars with all of the construction debris that’s been piled in my backyard since November when my brother installed my (beautiful) hardwood floors and made the journey to my county’s landfill. 
As we drove into the park-like facility, I nervously checked all the signs – do I go to the Convenience Center where they take household trash?  Do I go to the section where they take wood? (No!  Wood in this case is like, actual trees and stuff!)  I figured out that we had to go to the section where they take construction and demolition material (C&D waste).  Then came the next nerve-wracking moment - waiting to drive onto the scales so they could weigh my C&D waste-filled car.  There was a sign that instructed me to wait until the car in front of me proceeded off the scale.  That made me really nervous.  Like, what if I go too soon?  Will I screw up the guy in front of me?  Will the scale people yell at me?  It was the same nervousness that I sometimes experience going through the EZ Pass lanes at the toll plazas…that split second where you don’t know if you should go or not because the machine doesn’t say:  Thank You.  EZ Pass Paid.
I managed to get on the scale without incident.  The Silver Bullet weighed 2,960 pounds.  Impressive, I know.  I was directed to the C&D waste area and, yes, I panicked again because I didn’t know where to go.  I really need clear instructions.  There were four bays, numbered 4-7.  The scale lady handed me a ticket that had a big “1” on it.  What the heck did that mean?!  Was I supposed to go to Bay 1?  But there wasn’t a Bay 1.  Luckily, one of the friendly landfill men came up and explained what I already figured out – the scale people don’t explain things very well.  (The ticket had nothing to do with where you go…it was for something else entirely!)
Once I got it all figured out, the fun started.  You literally just throw all your trash or wood or whatever into a big garage-like building!  It took about an hour for my dad and I to load up our cars…it took about ten minutes for us to empty them!  The cars get weighed again on the way out – after unloading all the trash, the Silver Bullet weighed 2,740 pounds.  She lost 220 pounds in just ten minutes!  I wish I could lose weight in ten minutes…it’d definitely help the muffin top!  The best part – I only had to pay $7 for my entire load!  How can you beat that?    
Going to the landfill was a new, fun experience.  I can’t wait to go again!  I bet the second time will be even better!

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