No Free Parking

Okay, I guess you can chalk this one up as a "Stupid Kevin Trick." I was a total fool last night. I went to the Honolulu airport to pick up my parents, step-brothers and their significant others. I drove up to the parking garage entrance, and the gate was already open. Even so, I stopped at the ticket dispenser and pushed the green button to get a parking ticket, and it flashed a message at me: "GATE OPEN." Um... Okay... I pushed the green button again, "GATE OPEN."

So I said to myself, "Self, I guess since it's Christmas Day, parking is FREE!" I just figured they didn't want to pay the parking lot cashiers.

All the relatives arrived safe and sound (although delayed by a few hours), we loaded up the car and headed out. As we approached the exit to the parking lot, I developed one of those horrible sinking feelings in my stomach as I observed the lines of cars at the cashier stands... handing in their tickets to the cashiers... and handing money to the cashiers... "Self, you... are... an... IDIOT." What a FOOL I was to think that parking would be FREE.

I pulled up to the cashier, and she held out her hand for me to give her my ticket. I proceeded to tell her my sob story, and I'm sure in her mind she was saying to HERself, "Self, here we go again. I've heard THIS story before!" She had to call on her radio for some supervisor to come because of a "lost ticket". She had to walk around the front of the car and write down my license plate number and fill out some form. Then I had to fork out the payment for the ENTIRE DAY. Yep, I paid TEN BUCK$ for 30 minutes of parking.

Meanwhile, the line of ten cars piled up behind me are wondering to themselves, "Self, is that dude purchasing stock options up there or what?" I think they were all probably having one of those Office Space moments wishing they had gotten in the other lane.

Okay, we're off to the swap meet.

Oh, before I go. I wanted to share this awesome "compass" that ES drew on the back of a coaster at dinner the other night. I thought it was pretty good for a 6 year old.