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Showing posts from April, 2018

The Final Countdown

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        My observations did have to come to end. Each station the minutes count down begging to be fed quarters in return giving you more time. It is the ultimate business. The car wash resembles a competition against the machine; it is to see how clean you can get your vehicle and reveals how much one truly cares. However, these duties and activities of society can be time-consuming. Although people have busy days, there is a huge significance the car holds in our society. People are dependent to make a living through its transportation to and from places. The amount of time one puts in their vehicle or even the lack of time, made me develop the controlling idea that cars are in fact extensions of their owners. They reveal one’s income, geography, family choices, and decisions from past.          The most prominent thing I would like to research is the influence of technology on society with car washes. The new businesses are adv...

I'm in a Hurry

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           One by one, Lincolns, Audis, Porches, and BMWs push through the lanes impatiently waiting to get to the car wash. The line is constantly moving. It is, after all, time efficient with no work required. For just, $35 premium wash or $25 for regular people can be waited on to have their cars cleaned. The premium deal enquires two young teenage Latino American boys vacuuming out your car in a separate station off to the side. The regular deal is just an outside scrub.             The worker’s body languages suggest that they are trying their best to get tips and make money. They greet each customer the same and have a system organized to direct people to the best care and into the proper lanes. The inner lane was for the premium payers going through the inside vacuuming and extra cleaning. However, the outside lane was for people just waiting in line for the outside to be cleaned. Once the pe...

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

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         The lines in the self-serve are slow. Each quarter slotted into the machine gave a person one minute of time to select an option to clean their vehicle. No one seemed to be in a rush. Every car that pulled up, the immediate actions of each person was to get out of their vehicle. They seemed to enjoy the temperature and gaze over their vehicle thinking about how they were going to clean it.           A young man pulls up in a red Toyota pulls up. He has three cars in front of him, and obviously a couple of minutes before it's his turn. He opens his door, steps out, wearing a black t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. The man stands up, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes to smoke. He takes his time lighting the cigarette. Walking around his car. Looking around, nodding to the person driving the slightly tanned truck that pulls up behind him. He pops his trunk to reveal he has dozens of cleaning sprays, abs...

Here Comes the Sun

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          March 24. The equinox has come and gone. It was Saturday, and it quickly became a silver lining for the drivers of Thornwood, there was a spike in temperature up to 50 degrees. Clear skies and a soft breeze were expected. I trekked my way down to the car wash. I show up around noon and am shocked to find the car wash backed up. There are two self-wash stations and one automatic with workers surrounding the incoming cars. I immediately start to compare the types of people going to the stations and noting their car types and time spent waiting.                   The glaring difference was that more families and interactions occurred between people going to the self-serve versus every person in the automatic one was alone and kept their windows up not interacting. I related this immediately to the waiting times for each station. The self-serve had some instances where people would take up to twenty mi...

Drive

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The grueling winter of 2018 still lingers as the spring equinox approaches. The roads are slushy and slick with grains of salt lurking in the cracks of the pavement. In Thornwood, New York, the forecast for the week was unpromising. No sunshine, more snow, and colder temperatures. This time of year means business for car wash companies. Salt provides traction for imminent dangers of ice on the roads, but through repeated exposure, it can cause rust to form on a vehicle. It is necessary for weekly sprays of the undercarriage to prevent the deterioration of one’s vehicle. Any bit of  sunshine or clear skies with dry roads, attract and make people swarm car washes. With all these people rushing to wash their vehicles I hope to encounter many different scenarios. I want to how people act when rushed, or if they decide to talk to the people in front of them or not. I assume there will be an equal amount of both women and men present. When I think of people who go to...