or "a storm in a tea pot" as the brits would correct you.
when i was working in muscat, the sultanate of oman, some thirty-four or so years ago, i was given a choice between a red mazda miata and a silver saab to drive. although the mazda was especially ordered for my use, i didn't like driving a sports car. for one thing, the more senior executive assistant, an english woman and who was there before me, was rather jealous hinting that i was being given preference. but i didn't like the car she was driving, a big cadillac which was a bitch to parallel park. also, the miata was rather small and i like to have a lot of space in the car for you know, things! so we switched around the company cars. there were two cadillacs my boss being the boss using the newer model at the time, the cadillac that the english woman was using, the miata, and a newer model saab 9000 which the company driver used to drive the non-driving accountant around and to pick up visitors at the airport. the saab was a bluish silver colour and i liked it so i opted for the saab.
one friday morning, my boss called and asked me to come to work (friday is a non-working day in the muslim countries) as there was an urgent request for a quotation from one of the big oil companies. now, a few days before that, i was telling the driver that sometimes the saab seemed to be choking when i drove on the highway. the driver, an indian man who didn't believe that women should drive (even though he had more accidents than my boss and the english woman; i never had an accident, mind), simply ignored me and said maybe i should be careful when i shift gears -- even telling me that i should press the clutch with my left foot when i change gear -- the nerve! well what do you know, that friday morning, the saab choked on me totally as i was waiting for a red light and i was practically a few kilometres away from the office but thankfully on a regular roadway and not on the freeway. not to be frazzled by the other drivers honking at me, i got off the car and pushed my saab from the left lane across to the right lane and on to the nearest side street. luckily there was a phone booth and i called my boss who was already at the office and told him my situation. he got so anxious and i think he must've called the police department, the fire department, the fbi and the cia and everyone else he thought should come to my aid.
meanwhile, whilst waiting for a cab to pass by and for "aid" to arrive, i opened the hood of the saab to see if i might be able to determine what was wrong with the bloody thing. i was rather puzzled as i thought i opened a big computer with all those chips and what-nots. for pete's sakes, how would i even change the oil in that thing! i am pretty handy with little things with cars, like changing tires, changing filters, and oil change, to name a few. turned out those things, except changing tires, are done at the dealer's because the bloody car was "computerized". the company driver was snorting and rather condescending when he arrived at the scene and i had to drive the large cadillac whilst he waited for the dealer's mechanics to pick up the saab.
needless to say, there was a switcheroo with the cars again, as i was told to take the miata which was new and would probably not have a problem for a long while. my boss was upset about the saab breaking down on me, concerned about my safety and he wouldn't let go for about a week, even put it in his weekly report to the head office and everyone else sympathising with me as if i had a big accident. so one morning my boss heard me say to one of the omani officials that it was just a tempest in a teacup, to which my boss, who was british, told me "you and your american english. it's storm in a tea pot!" yeah, sure. whatever!
