Bit in the ass again

I know people don't intentionally make my life more difficult, but it seems that every time someone offers up their opinion or advice and I actually allow myself to listen, to believe them, it ends up biting me in the ass. I don't know why that is, it just is...that's just how my life plays out.

My brake light started coming on randomly about four or five days ago and the rear brakes started to squeak. So I come home Friday and tell my dad that I need to have my brakes checked. He says maybe all I need is brake fluid and he'll check that over the weekend.

So on Saturday at my brother's party, being that men need something "manly" to talk about, the subject of my brakes comes up. I tell the gaggle of men around me what is happening with my car and tell them it's three years old with just over 25k miles on it. They tell me not to worry because brakes should last at least 30k miles. I tell them that while I don't have a lot of miles, I do a lot of braking because the trips I usually make are local and I have to deal with lots of stop signs and traffic lights. The consensus is that I shouldn't need anything more than new pads and not to worry because they won't cost much.

We dropped my car off at the shop this morning, which is family owned...a family we've been friends with since I was about three years old. I came home and went to bed because I was exhausted. The call came in when I was still sleeping so my father took it. He just now came downstairs to tell me that he'll charge the cost of the brakes. Considering it wasn't supposed to be much...based on the crap I was fed at the party...I ask why, I have some money in the bank to cover it. He tells me it'll be $370!

What the fuck?? Every single guy at that fucking party that was involved in the conversation, and there were about 10 of them, insisted that it wouldn't be much. Because they hold down good paying jobs (for example: one is an anesthesiologist, another is the head of transportation for the Claire's jewelry store chain, and still another runs his own kitchen & bathroom remodeling company); do they consider $370 to be cheap? That sure as hell doesn't qualify as cheap to me and all of these guys but one knows I'm on disability cuz I'm a whack-job.

Now I'm irritated with myself for believing these guys when they told me it wouldn't cost much. Ticked off that once again I listened to what someone else told me and I'm the one that ends up getting screwed in the end. UGH! Why do I continue to listen when I know better?? I listen, get my hopes up, only to have them dashed by things not turning out as simply as I was assured they would be. Shame on me for continuing to be so damn gullible.