I currently have a parking contract through the Texas Medical Center for Garage 4 (right next to Baylor Med). After having parked there for the last three days, I’ve come to one invariable truth – healthcare professionals/students may be incredibly gifted at “thinking outside the box”, but many of them apply this concept to parking as well. 😛
I’m not talking about one or two people parking outside the lines either. If I were to set up a video camera and watch the garage fill throughout the early morning hours, I’m convinced that the situation would be similar to this:
Person 1: “I’m in a rush! I have to park close to the elevator! Oh no, I’m outside the line, but I don’t have the 5 seconds it takes to repark because… I’m in a rush!”
Person 2: “Ugh, person 1 couldn’t park right. But instead of skipping the slot next to him, I’ll take my chances and park in the tight space next to him. After all, it’ll save me two steps worth of walking to the elevator. That’s called being efficient!”
Person 3: “What is this?! I got here exactly at [peak hour], and there are no available spots close to the elevator!? Oh well, I’ll just make my own next to this wall. No one will notice my miniscule, fuel-efficient, subtle… yellow H2 Hummer.”
Person 4 – 999: “Thanks to the person next to me, I have to park a little more to the right.”
Heh, I can’t wait to see what else I’ll come across in that parking garage over the next few months. 😀
I work in the Medical Center now, and lemme tell you, the Metro bus is pretty sweet. I used to have a contract (for $10!) at a parking garage that was a fifteen minute walk from where I worked. Granted, that’s not much of a sacrifice considering the price. But naturally, the price goes up after the first month (to an astronomical $100/month) and adding gas costs on top of that, riding the bus is comparable and perhaps even a little cheaper than commuting, and on top of that, you avoid rush-hour traffic almost completely. Naps on the bus home have become part of my routine.