Little did we know when we moved here we'd have to pay for parking.
Not technically. We have a two car garage. The only problem is it currently only fits one car.
While we downsized our lives moving here to Tinytown, we weren't able to downsize our stuff. We tried, selling off whole rooms of furniture before the move. And yet, it wasn't enough. As the movers pulled away and we barely had room to move about the condo, the garage was still half full of boxes. We assumed this would be a temporary situation.
Over the past six months, we've tried to clear out the garage, to the point that every square inch of the condo now resembles a Russian nesting doll, with things within things within things. Still, not enough.
Initially I parked nearby in "guest parking". After a few days of that I walked out to my car to find a parking ticket. Not a real one. A ticket from the rent-a-cop who patrols the complex after hours, the man who has become my arch-nemesis...
"Officer Jacobson".
After the first ticket I wrote a very nice note, explaining that we had just moved in and were trying to rectify the situation and left it under my windshield wiper. The next day I walked up to the car and saw another ticket. Again from Officer Jacobson. Only this time he had violently circled the portion saying that after three tickets the car would be towed.
And so began a game of cat-and-mouse with me and Officer Jacobson. I'd park in guest parking for a day or two until I received another ticket and then went and parked my car on the street for a few days. Which is a pain in the ass. The nearest street parking is blocks away. After giving Officer Jacobson a few days to cool off, I'd resume parking in guest parking and we'd start another round.
Until last month.
I had only parked in guest parking for one night when I went out and discovered my car was gone.
Towed.
By Officer Jacobson.
Without even giving me the customary fake ticket. Asshole.
It cost $286 to get my car back and another $40 for the cab ride to the tow yard. Cabs in OC are worse than New York!
Since then I've decided not to take any more chances with Officer Jacobson. I've been parking on the street now for weeks and schlepping everything clear across the complex. The only problem now is I'm still getting tickets.
And these ones are real!
Really...."street sweeping"? I got my third one last week. At $40 a pop. For some reason I've got a mental block when it comes to Tuesday street sweeping.
I finally figured out a solution. I usually have lunch at least once a week with my folks so I've just scheduled it now for Tuesdays to make sure I get my car off the street. The only problem is I need to park the car in guest parking until 5, when "street sweeping" officially ends. I'm afraid if I forget I'm parked there, I'll walk out the next morning to discover Officer Jacobson has struck again.
At this rate, parking is going to cost me $1000 a year.
