parking | Piss and Moan

Another fee

Posted on March 30, 2023 by backuphill

Accessing health care in the US is problematic, at best. The overall debate on whether it should be free to all (via government funds and a huge increase in taxes) or whether it should be something each individual should be responsible for is one I am not going to talk about today.

However, we all know that the cost of health care in the US keeps many people from accessing the care they need. People have to think about how it will impact their overall finances and whether or not they can afford to see a doctor. Obviously when you don’t think you can afford to get care you don’t go.

Yesterday, at a doctor’s appointment that is an hour away from home, I noticed the large facility that the appointment have been at for almost a year had new signage up in their parking garage and in the elevator areas. The signage basically said that “Parking is on us until we get the technical difficulties figured out.”

SAY WHAT?

So what has been free for at least the last year is now going to have a fee? I imagine at some point (based on construction and existing facilities) that there was parking for a fee previously. Not sure why it has been free up to the point of the visits.

But, it raises a larger question about yet ANOTHER FEE to access health care.

Should you really have to pay a fee just to park so that you can access health care?

It seems almost unfair for people who may already be struggling to access health care to add yet another fee.

I know of at least one other health care facility in the Seattle area that charges parking at it isn’t cheap – almost $10 an hour.

Something feels really slimy when thinking about people getting charged just to access their health care. They are already being gouged when paying for the care they need, but to add insult to injury they are now going to be charged to even access the building.

Imagine if you had to pay for parking at a grocery store so you could go inside and buy food (maybe this already happens in big big cities, I don’t know)…awkward right?

Gives me a really icky feeling. I am all for making money in places that make sense, but to punish the public to access something so vital almost seems underhanded – especially since they become a pretty captive audience one they’re in the parking garage.

How do you feel about these “hidden access fees”?

Park not!

Posted on September 4, 2019 by backuphill

photo of brown labrador retriever sitting in front of driveway

Photo by Chris F on Pexels.com

Get your #@$%&#! car off my driveway!

Alright, bear with me here. I am trying really hard to not be an arse-hole, but when someone does something blatantly just because they can when they know they shouldn’t…well, that just burns the hell outta me. Do you think I am being unreasonable?

When I first moved into my current house, it had a gravel driveway. I didn’t like it (call me a sissy if you want) because when I washed the car I would drag the hose around and then it would be covered in small bits of gravel and dirt and not very pleasant to pick up because it was all grimy.

Anyway, I happened to fall into an opportunity to get it blacktopped. So, now it is a nice smooth and surface to park on and to wash the cars on. Now, it’s been nine years since the blacktop was done. It has been seal-coated twice in that time and it continues to show signs of wear over time. It’s starting to crumble on the edges. Its starting to crack where tree roots exist under the driveway. It is starting to sag in one spot where a heavy city truck decided to turn around in our driveway. And, there are some spots of the driveway from where vehicles have dripped fluids.

There’s where the rub comes in! I know EVERY single drip spot on the driveway and pay close attention to them. They are signs to me. They tell me if something on the vehicle needs attention. At a time in the past there was a car that parked in the driveway (because it was mine) that dripped an awful lot until it was replaced. Why did I park it in the driveway and let it leave spots on the driveway? Because it’s MY driveway!

So, now the issue. There are others who have parked on the driveway who also have vehicles that drip fluids. They know this. It isn’t a something they didn’t know about. It wasn’t new to them. I have asked them not to park in the driveway because I don’t want extra spots on the driveway that need to be cleaned the next time maintenance needs to be done. Plus, it causes me stress not knowing if it came from one of our vehicles or not and then I have to figure it out. So, there are several other places to park that are close to the house that is in gravel or grass where they can drip away and it isn’t inconvenient at all.

But NOOOOOO, they still park in the driveway like they live here! It just burns me up. The disrespect is irritating. Are they doing it on purpose? I don’t know. Did they honestly forget? I don’t know and I don’t care.

Just don’t do it! It’s mine and I don’t wanna share with your POS car! Go away and take your car with you! Don’t come back until you figure out where to properly park!

Am I being unreasonable? Unfair? Possessive? Or, is what I have requested reasonable?

Hey, I’m driving here!

Posted on April 16, 2019 by backuphill

person holding red umbrella walking on street

Photo by Deva Darshan on Pexels.com

I sure hope you aren’t one of these people. I hope you aren’t a rude slow poke.

I’ll venture a guess you have experienced this though…

You enter a parking lot and proceed to look for a parking space. In the time that you are slowly driving around looking for a space, you inevitably encounter people who have exited the store, or perhaps are even headed into the store, and are walking right down the middle of the “road.” Thus, blocking you from moving any further as you wait for them to move.

Sometimes there are multiple people, walking shoulder to shoulder, creating a line across the roadway and preventing you from passing. They are oblivious to others around them, just walking and talking, taking their sweet time as your crawl at a snail’s pace, if you can move at all.

Rude? You bet! Frustrating? Of course. Wanna run over them? OK, keep that one to yourself as sometimes silence is the best policy…

GET.OUT.OF.THE.WAY!

Really, it’s not like I am in a hurry. In most cases, I am patient and can wait. But it is the principle of the thing – let’s not just be concerned with ourselves, shall we?

What are your parking lot pet peeves? Do you have bad habits you are can admit?

By all means, have my parking spot.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by backuphill

Photo by Jaymantri on Pexels.com

OK, so I like don’t park in the same place every day.

Oh, wait, I do! My mistake. That’s my spot! Get your jalopy outta my spot!

So why the hell are you parking in my spot? Just because you got here a fraction of a second before me? Yeah, ok, like I don’t let the air out of tires every day either…

It sits all day, so why not?

Posted on September 20, 2018 by backuphill

Photo by David McBee on Pexels.com

Electric cars.

I think they would be more prevalent if people weren’t so worried about distance it could travel and charging it. I think those two things are sort of intertwined.

I guess I have always wondered why you have to plug the thing in in the first place. Why? If there is technology out there that will make high rise windows into charging panels, why can’t that be incorporated into automobiles? Or if Tesla can make solar roofing tiles and turn the whole rooftop into something that charges your home, why can’t it make the hood (or roof) of your car out of the same material?

I know, it takes a lot of time to recharge and I know (I asked this once of a smarter friend) that it would take a huge amount of charging to make a car work from such limited charging capability. He asked, “Would the cost be worth it?” My answer was that I didn’t know because apparently no one has tried, isn’t some charge better than no charge, and eventually cost would come down because that is what happens with tech as it improves.

Here’s the thing, most people’s cars spend most of the day sitting around, either in the driveway or in a parking lot somewhere. Why can’t it be recharging at the same time without having to be plugged in?

Things that make you go, hmmmmm.