well, about all i have to say about that whole experience is that if chicago ever really wanted to solve the problem of people not paying their parking tickets, they’d mandatorily impound the car of every new resident, and then once every ten years or so for existing residents. having had to go through that particular experience once would certainly make people want to avoid it. — well, that, and it’s a very, very good thing i went into the entire thing cheerful. that place was sort of a cesspool of misdirected anger. (sweetie, i’m sorry, but it just ain’t the mayor’s fault you didn’t read the “no parking Dec 1-Apr 1″ signs, and i’m not going to vote against him on your say-so. certainly not until you learn a more expansive vocabulary.)
the person who helped me spring my car, tonya, was unbelievably nice and cheerful, especially in the face of such horrible people. i think i shall write a letter to her supervisor. i sincerely doubt that people who work at the auto pound frequently get letters of thanks. (i was amused to find that the paperwork for each car was stamped in RED INK LETTERS ONE INCH HIGH with what category that particular car’s problem was. mine was, quasi-appropriately, “STEAL.” (you’d think it would be “STOLEN” or “THEFT” or something. “STEAL” kind of sounds like an imperative to me.) one sketchy man whose every other word was either “fuck” or some variant thereof, or “motherfucking,” had papers stamped “SOLICITING.” meanwhile, this nattily-dressed young gentleman — we shall call him “Chad,” for that is what he was — had papers stamped “SCOFFLAW.”) so. car: no longer stolen, safely in my parking lot once more, and verified reported recovered. wallet: $160 lighter. (ouch!) clock: well, there went four hours of my life i can never have back. now to figure out how the hell to get that awful grease pencil off my windows so i’m not driving around looking like my car was just impounded.turns out that there’s apparently a city car towing scandal going on right this very second! i had no idea!
well, thank god i didn’t have any pringles in the car, at least. and, in honor of it all:“The Lincoln Park Pirates,” by Steve Goodman The streetlamps are on in Chicago tonight,
And lovers a’gazin’ at stars;
The stores are all closin’, and Daley is dozin’,
And the fat man is counting the cars…
And there’s more cars than places to put ’em, he says,
But I’ve got room for them all;
So ’round ’em up boys, ’cause I want some more toys,
In the lot by the grocery store… To me, way, hey, tow them away,
The Lincoln Park Pirates are we,
From Wilmette to Gary, there’s nothin’ so hairy
And we always collect our fee!
So it’s way, hey, tow ’em away,
We plunder the streets of your town,
Be it Edsel or Chevy, there’s no car too heavy,
And no one can make us shut down. We break into cars when we gotta,
With hammer and pickaxe and saw;
And they said this garage had no license;
But little care I for the law!
Our drivers are friendly and courteous;
Their good manners you always will get;
‘Cause they all are recent graduates
Of the charm school in Joliet. To me, way, hey, tow them away,
The Lincoln Park Pirates are we,
From Wilmette to Gary, there’s nothin’ so hairy
And we always collect our fee!
So it’s way, hey, tow ’em away,
We plunder the streets of your town,
Be it Edsel or Chevy, there’s no car too heavy,
And no one can make us shut down. And when all the cars are collected,
And all of their fenders are ruined,
Then I’ll tow all the boats in Belmont Harbor
To the Lincoln Park Lagoon;
And when I’ve collected the ransom,
And sunk all the ones that won’t yield;
I’ll tow all the planes that are blocking the runways
At Midway, O’Hare, and Meigs Field! To me, way, hey, tow them away,
The Lincoln Park Pirates are we,
From Wilmette to Gary, there’s nothin’ so hairy
And we always collect our fee!
So it’s way, hey, tow ’em away,
Now citizens, gather around,
And I think it’s enough, let’s call his bluff,
Let’s throw the bum out of town!
i never thought i’d be saying this, but:
not a good way to start your monday:
- get ready for work;
- pack everything you need, lunch, etc.;
- walk out to parking lot to get car;
- discover that car is not where it was when you parked it last night at 11:30 after filling the tank — and have absolutely no uncertainty that you might have parked elsewhere, because that’s Your Spot.
there are two possibilities that come before the bad, obvious one:
- the parking lot management people moved my car; or
- the police impounded the car because of that time a year and a half ago i reported it stolen and was subsequently unable to report it un-stolen because they couldn’t find any record of it ever having been reported stolen, but maybe now they found the record of it having been stolen and towed it.
i think (1) is pretty unlikely. i had my january monthly permit displayed, it’s an unattended lot, and they’ve never even so much as put a reminder notice on my car on days when i’ve forgotten to put the permit up. i called and left a message with them, nonetheless.
i’m hoping for (2). there’s just one problem: i cannot remember my license plate number.i don’t know what the hell is the matter with me. i just can’t think of what it is. 42-something-8?
i was going to go to work and deal with it there, but when i realized i was drawing an utter, unbreakable blank on the plate number i came straight back home to go through my files. and i still cannot find it. it’s not on my insurance paperwork, and the plate registration is obviously in the car. it’d be on my city sticker paperwork but that’s in the car too. fuck me. why can’t i remember my license plate number??? my poor baby car! …well, i think it’s 4268. i’m going to call 311 and hope like hell the police can help me out, based on the previous report.just ran through quicken doing my 2005 budget based on 2004 expenses, which brought unwelcome reminder of expected results, mostly. there won’t be any fun trips overseas for niqui this year, budget or not. alas. according to its estimates, february is the only month it projects me in the black. woe.
yeah, yeah, i budget $100/month for each of movies and music, and other stuff like that, but … i’d rather cut back on groceries than on records. i should probably bug mom again (again, again, and again), but i wish i didn’t have to. because i wish i didn’t need her to contribute to the mortgage, but more importantly because i really hate asking. i wish she would just deal with it, or would have dealt with it the past times i’ve asked. it’s frustrating to feel this sort of guilt over a deal she can’t remember to deal with. bah. less eating out, more eating in. and fewer records. bah.
