In which I am a bad person…

… but not as bad as I could have been. 

I have a reserved parking spot in front of my apartment building. The building is on the side of a hill and there aren’t really very many places to park. Part of my rent includes that reserved parking spot (#4). I pay a lot for my rent.

Tonight was the fourth or fifth time someone was in my spot when I came home. I called the towing company, gave them the magic password, and pulled my car around to block the other guy from getting out. About five minutes after I got off the phone, he comes outside and asks me to move my car. He’s college age, as are most of the people in the building. I explain the situation.

He’s shocked. We wait. He tells me that he was in and out in ten minutes while he dropped off his pet (hedgehog) for a friend to look after while he’s out of town. I tell him that’s nice. He says we’re just wasting more time waiting for the tow truck. I know. He huffs about how he thought he was in Portland but apparently it’s New York City. I tell him I’m originally from New York (this is true, though not the city).

He wanders away and makes a phone call to his girlfriend, explaining what is going on. He wanders back tells me she’s in LA and he’s going to visit her, hence the pet sitting. I say that’s nice. I find out the cherry red Toyota Prius belongs to his dad.  He again calls the situation ridiculous. I agree. Off he goes again, still on the phone.

It’s been about ten minutes since he came out now. I call the towing company and tell them not to send the truck. He seems shocked once more. I get in the car and he raps on the window, thanking me profusely. I tell him to think twice next time before parking in a reserved spot. Some people would actually wait for that tow truck.

But really, it was just too cold out to wait.