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Cars cost money, but not like that
Apparently I'm a little stressed about my car costing money.
Dream 1: I managed, by some unusual circumstance, to get admitted to U.C. Berkeley exactly one day before the end of fall term. I had to go in to sign some paperwork and attend a sociology final I didn't actually need to take (yeah, it's a dream). I parked in one of the garages, which happened to have a block of open spaces labeled "Poor". (I expect in real life it would be "Low Income".) This is perfect, I thought -- my loans hadn't come through yet, so I needed a break. I took one.
At the end of my day, I went to pay for parking, and since it was a specialty spot, I stood in line at the parking-permit counter in the bookstore. My heart sank as I read the notices: low-income folks had to have two independent verifications of low-income status in order to qualify for parking in those spots. I finally got to the clerk, stated I was on Medi-Cal, and got distracted by some guy trying to interrogate the other clerk about problems with his apple tree. My clerk handed my card-wallet back to me stating that while my driver's license counted as one form of verification under Medi-Cal, she couldn't find my Medi-Cal card, and without that I wouldn't qualify. I searched the wallet twice, no card (I do usually have it). With dread, I asked her what the fine would be, and she said $230. Would I be able to appeal it, if I could present proof later? She said no. Most expensive parking fee I've ever paid... but as I've learned, the tag-line for parking in Berkeley, even UC, is "...Because Fuck You."
Dream #2: I was at a convention, and it was wrapping up. I gathered stuff together, said my good-byes, and jogged to the bus stop to catch one to where I had parked my car. I had parked in an office park over the weekend to avoid the hotel parking fees. When I got to the lot, however, there were a bunch of cars there -- I guess the company hadn't taken that Monday off, like everyone else? I searched where I had parked, but my Accord wasn't there. I went into the lobby and picked a desk clerk, then explained the situation. I had parked in the lot, and my car wasn't there; should I assume it had been towed? He looked regretful, and stated that yes, it was company policy. I hadn't seen any signs, but I asked him to tell me where I could go pick it up. He gave me the name of a tow company, then added that it was a one-million-dollar bail. I just stared at him. A million dollars? Sorry, he said again, company policy. Stunned, I realized that my car was gone, and I wasn't getting it back -- and I don't have the six or seven thousand dollars necessary to replace it. Without a car I can't even work to get the money. I'd have to fundraise, and maybe get something by next year, maybe...
I think I should schedule an appointment to get the clutch fixed, just so I stop dreaming about stuff like this.
Dream 1: I managed, by some unusual circumstance, to get admitted to U.C. Berkeley exactly one day before the end of fall term. I had to go in to sign some paperwork and attend a sociology final I didn't actually need to take (yeah, it's a dream). I parked in one of the garages, which happened to have a block of open spaces labeled "Poor". (I expect in real life it would be "Low Income".) This is perfect, I thought -- my loans hadn't come through yet, so I needed a break. I took one.
At the end of my day, I went to pay for parking, and since it was a specialty spot, I stood in line at the parking-permit counter in the bookstore. My heart sank as I read the notices: low-income folks had to have two independent verifications of low-income status in order to qualify for parking in those spots. I finally got to the clerk, stated I was on Medi-Cal, and got distracted by some guy trying to interrogate the other clerk about problems with his apple tree. My clerk handed my card-wallet back to me stating that while my driver's license counted as one form of verification under Medi-Cal, she couldn't find my Medi-Cal card, and without that I wouldn't qualify. I searched the wallet twice, no card (I do usually have it). With dread, I asked her what the fine would be, and she said $230. Would I be able to appeal it, if I could present proof later? She said no. Most expensive parking fee I've ever paid... but as I've learned, the tag-line for parking in Berkeley, even UC, is "...Because Fuck You."
Dream #2: I was at a convention, and it was wrapping up. I gathered stuff together, said my good-byes, and jogged to the bus stop to catch one to where I had parked my car. I had parked in an office park over the weekend to avoid the hotel parking fees. When I got to the lot, however, there were a bunch of cars there -- I guess the company hadn't taken that Monday off, like everyone else? I searched where I had parked, but my Accord wasn't there. I went into the lobby and picked a desk clerk, then explained the situation. I had parked in the lot, and my car wasn't there; should I assume it had been towed? He looked regretful, and stated that yes, it was company policy. I hadn't seen any signs, but I asked him to tell me where I could go pick it up. He gave me the name of a tow company, then added that it was a one-million-dollar bail. I just stared at him. A million dollars? Sorry, he said again, company policy. Stunned, I realized that my car was gone, and I wasn't getting it back -- and I don't have the six or seven thousand dollars necessary to replace it. Without a car I can't even work to get the money. I'd have to fundraise, and maybe get something by next year, maybe...
I think I should schedule an appointment to get the clutch fixed, just so I stop dreaming about stuff like this.